16 posts tagged “books”
Book: Show us a book everyone should read before they die.
Submitted by Rob.
When I have more time, I'll write a post with lots of links on him (and update his rather sparse wikipedia entry - there is a bio and some older links here. lawrenceweschler.net currently just seems to have a painting of him). There is video of a speech he gave at UC Berkeley in 2004.
The 2007 Chicago Humanities Festival (where he is the artistic director) will be on A Climate of Concern and take place October 27 to November 11th.
Jonathan Lethem is one of the most interesting writers working today both for his work and his ideas.
In the February issue of Harper's, he wrote an essay, The Ecstacy of Influence, and then put some of
those ideas into practice with the The Promiscuous Materials Project which gave the non-exclusive rights
to adapt (for a dollar) nearly 20 of his stories as well as lyrics which could be used in songs for free. Several
films are being made and a number of songs have been recorded.
He discussed it on Open Source Radio and the Leonard Lopate Show.
On May 15th, he'll go beyond his previous experiment and select a director to grant a free film option for his new novel, You Don’t Love Me Yet, which comes out on Tuesday (his tour begins March 15th in Chicago and he'll be in the bay area in mid-April).
Then five years after the film's debut, all ancillary rights to the film & novel ("anyone who cared to could make any number of other kinds of artwork based on the novel’s story and characters, or the film’s: a play, a television series, a comic book, a theme park ride, an opera – or even a sequel film or novel featuring the same characters. For that matter, they can remake the film with another script and new actors") will go into the public domain.
Details are at www.jonathanlethem.com/freelove.html He writes (I added links):
Why?
Lately I’ve become fitful about some of the typical ways art is commodified. Despite making my living (mostly) by licensing my own copyrights, I found myself questioning some of the particular ways such rights are transacted, and even some of the premises underlying what’s called intellectual property.I read a lot of Lawrence Lessig and Siva Vaidhyanathan,
who convinced me that technological progress – and globalization – made this a particularly contemporary issue.I also read Lewis Hyde’s The Gift, which persuaded me, paradoxically, that these issues are eternal ones, deeply embedded in the impulse to make any kind of art in the first place.
I came away with the sense that artists ought to engage these questions directly, rather than leaving it entirely for corporations (on one side) and public advocates (on the other) to hash out.
I also realized that sometimes giving things away – things that are usually seen to have an important and intrinsic ‘value’, like a film option – already felt like a meaningful part of what I do. I wanted to do more of it.
I was planning on buying the book (from a local bookstore, not amazon, but that is all that works now with vox), but now I'll definately see the film when it comes out. I hope this will inspire other writers (and creative people).
You can also learn more about these issues at Creative Commons.
More on Lethem at his website. Lethem in Landscape hasn't been updated in years, but it still has some good links (I contributed some).
What's something you should throw away, but can't?
The list is way too long. Many newspapers, magazines, and books (though I'd give those away). Lots
of VHS tapes once I transfer them to DVD.
She didn't just project her work on the screen and read them. It was a performance with some animation and sound. You can get a sense of it in these videos (and how a public performance is different).
Sherman Alexie does the intro to this collection is working on another project with here. A collection of her Lustlab illustrated personals for the Stranger will come out in 2008.
When I was briefly introduced to Marisa Handler by Chris Cook at the January 27th anti-war march, she had just received a copy of her first book, Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist.
She's been on a tour for the book and will be in the bay area over the next couple of days before heading to Seattle (, Portland, and LA. She'll have a conversation with Rebecca Solnit (who wrote the foreward) on Thursday, March 1st at 7 pm at New College (details). On Friday, March 2nd at 7:30 pm, she'll be reading at Black Oak Books in Berkeley.
A brief interview and a longer interview.
Series she wrote for Salon from the 2003 Miami protests.
The New Amazon, Orion Magazine
Interview with Larry Bensky on Sunday Salon (download MP3)
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Submitted by Glory.
I never really had celebrity crushes. I knew there was no chance of actually having
a romantic relationship with a celebrity.
But I did have crushes on characters in books I guess because they were part of my imagination.
Gary Snyder read last night from his new collection of essays, Back on the Fire.
He talked about and read an interview from 2001 he reprinted in the book. He said
Susan Denning called him up and asked for an interview for the online magazine, Caffeine Destiny.
He said yes and asked when do you want to do it? She said now. He asked her how long
it would take. She said about two minutes, so he did the interview.
Snyder also read from this speech he gave about haiku which is in the book .
The Lanon Foundation has audio of a 1999 reading by Snyder and conversation with Wendell Berry online. They
have recordings of many more writers and have started a podcast.
Snyder will be reading tonight (Feb. 15) at 7:30 pm at Berkeley City College (2050 Center St) with several other writers
and on Friday, Feb 16 at 7:30 pm at Diesel Books in Oakland (he'll probably be doing other readings - unfortunately
his publisher doesn't have a list).
A few more photos on flickr.
Do you buy products made locally? Is there anything made in your area that you love?
I buy things made locally when I can.
Mitchell's Ice Cream (and now Bi-Rite Creamery) and Lucca Ravioli are great. So are farmer's markets and community supported agriculture.
I also shop at local merchants when I can (which means please don't buy from any of the amazon links here - go to a local bookstore - a recent LA Times article focused on bookstores closing in the bay area).
Show us some holiday decorations.
There will be house screenings of An Inconvenient Truth on Sat. Dec. 16th
pol.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=69
It is also out on DVD
www.climatecrisis.net
www.citylights.com/His/CLhowl.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl
Sunday, December 10 @ 2 PM
Olney Hall at College of
Marin
835 College Avenue
Kentfield, CA 94904
Suggested donation: $10
Co-sponsored by Marin Peace and Justice Coalition, Take On The Media, College of Marin, Students for Social Responsibility and Progressive Democrats of America
Sunday, December 10 @ 7 PM
First
Congregational Church of Oakland
2501 Harrison Street
Oakland, CA
94612
Suggested donation: $10
Co-sponsored by Media Alliance, Take On The Media, Global Exchange, American Friends Service Committee, Progressive Democrats of America, Don’t Attack Iran Coalition, and First Congregational Church of Oakland
A book signing with Scott Ritter and Jeff Cohen will immediately follow each event.
For more information visit www.ustourofduty.org or call 310.842.8794
Scott Ritter, author of
TARGET IRAN and IRAQ CONFIDENTIAL, was one of UNSCOM’s most senior
weapons inspectors in Iraq between 1991 and 1998, after having served for eight
years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a Marine, he
conducted arms inspections in the former Soviet Union, and provided analysis of
Iraq’s missile capacity to General Schwarzkopf in the 1991 Gulf War. Nation
Books is the publisher of “Target Iran: The Truth About the White House’s Plans
for Regime Change” and “Iraq Confidential.” “The important thing to know
about Scott Ritter is that he was right.” - Seymour Hersh
Jeff Cohen, author of CABLE NEWS CONFIDENTIAL, worked for MSNBC as an
on-air commentator and senior producer of “Donahue” until the show was
terminated on the eve of the Iraq war. He founded Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting (FAIR), co-hosted CNN’s “Crossfire,” was a weekly panelist on Fox News
Channel’s “Newswatch,” and appeared frequently on many national TV and radio
programs, including “The Today Show,” “Larry King Live,” “The O’Reilly Factor,”
C-SPAN, and NPR. PoliPointPress is the publisher of Cable News Confidential: My
Misadventures in Corporate Media.” "Jeff Cohen's dissection of cable TV
news is both irresistibly funny and civically painful. It goes from uproarious
anecdotes to those that make you wince." - Molly Ivins
U.S.
TOUR OF DUTY is a non-profit project that supports and promotes the anti-war
advocacy of Iraq veterans, military families, performers, and policy analysts by
organizing public forums, developing media strategies, and producing audio/video
content. More info at www.ustourofduty.org
