Don’t think I blogged about it at the time, but I was a judge at the Boston citywide spelling bee that sent the first kid from this city ever to the Scripps spelling bee in Washington this year. It was really cool cause not only did I get to ring the bell that means “Wrong! You got it wrong!” but I also got to re-pronounce the word and use it in a sentence when asked. Too fun. And our winner was really good.
We didn’t have this word, though… Oh man, I wish we had. Incidentally, this is from this year’s finals of the national bee and this kid went on to win after spelling the word guerdon. What a guerdon is, though, is anyone’s guess.
As you may or may not know, I am in Los Angeles at the BookExpo America conference. It’s my favorite professional conference that I attend, as it’s all about the publishing industry and books. You get to meet and listen to tons of authors (if you so choose) and pick up tons of free books (if you so choose.) I was really excited because I was finally (after 20 + years of admiration) going to see Neil Gaiman speak as part of a Children’s author breakfast along with Eoin Colfer, Sherman Alexie and Judy Blume. The panel was terrific and Neil was a wonderful speaker.
So several hours later, I was in the HarperCollins booth with two colleagues for a meeting with our Library Marketing reps, the wonderful Virginia Stanley and Bobby Brinson. We were chatting about various things (like the delicious cupcakes that HarperCollins were passing out) and hadn’t started the meeting yet, when I glanced over my shoulder and who should I see but… you guessed it, Neil Gaiman. Well, I think I gasped when I turned back to the others and blurted out, “Oh my God, Neil Gaiman is here.” Well, without even blinking, Virginia grabbed my arm and said, “Let me introduce you to him.” And sure enough, a few minutes later, we were chatting. It’s weird, I’m not usually “star-struck” when meeting authors, actors, filmmakers, etc. I’ve gotten quite used to it through Chlotrudis and all that, but this was very different. My heart was racing a little and I think I babbled (although Viriginia said I cam across very intelligent and composed if a little excited). We chatted about him coming to Boston, about Black Orchid, his first work in comics, and then he offered to sign my book on the spot. It was a lovely meeting; many, many thanks to Virginia. He was just darling.
Wow, Jonno finds the freakiest things. Apparently this is a series of commercials, but what it’s supposed to be advertising is anyone’s guess! Check out Takashi Murakami’s Inochi.
Ah-aight, y’all. Everyone who told me “You have to see Zardoz because you love bad movies!” has lots of ’splaining to do. Chadd, Marlin, etc. — you really must think I don’t know how to watch a film, cause if you think this is bad… whoa. We need to have a talk.
How can anyone dislike this film? Number one: Sean Connery in nothing more than a red diaper for over half the film. Less than this picture shows. This was his fancy costume. No crap. And he trims no body hair. It actually makes a poignant point in the film, but I leave you to discover that. I don’t want to spoil the fun of the erection scene.
Number two: Young Charlotte Rampling had boobs. And she wasn’t shy about sharing them. Of course, neither was any other English actress in the 70’s, it seems, but whatever.
Number three: This film looks like I imagine most every novel or short story by Philip Jose Farmer, Ted Sturgeon, James Tiptree, or the senile Robert Heinlein of the 80’s, bless his freakishly polyamorous conservative soul. It’s just that weird. Remember the PBS version of The Lathe of Heaven? This is so much more, but it’s all about capturing that same feeling.
Number four: Well, there’s the title and why I’ll be shelving it where I will be shelving it.
Number five: There is a fantastic scene where Zed wakes the apathetics. It includes lots of same-sex kissing. A couple of girl-girl ones, of course, but even a boy-boy one! Remarkable for 1974!
Number six: Did I mention Sean Connery in the red diaper? Dude seems so proud of his hairy Scottish ass. Awesome.
I’ve been grooving on a lot of early 80’s Boston, local music lately, like November Group, Face to Face, Adventure Set, Private Lightning, and this seminal Boston band, Berlin Airlift. Songwriter/leader Rick Berlin is a Boston institution, and you can still find him hanging out in Jamaica Plain. This song, “Over the Hill (I Love You)” and Berlin Airlift the band, was so important to this incipient fag when I was solidifying my identity. The songs were clearly coded and from the point of view of a gay man. What a find this video is!
Need I say any more than that? See http://manbabies.com. (Thanks to Bitter Cup of Joe for making me lie awake all night with this image in my head. WTF, indeed.)
