I have a sad today: it's Thursday, but my usual Thursday indulgence in my pop cultural obsession Person of Interest has been preempted by the Republican National Convention. I'm not saying I don't care about politics; I do. However, the speeches given at both the Republican and the Democratic national conventions tend to be content-poor, essentially meaningless self-congratulatory blather having little to do with any actual political issues. If I'm going to watch nonsense on TV, I'd like to choose the nonsense, please. When I want glassy-eyed individuals chanting "Four legs good, two legs bad," I'll crack open Animal Farm.
Now watch this sexy literary nonsense.
I thank my Google+ friend Kimberly Chapman for introducing me to this literary-themed pop song. It's not quite as clever and fun as "Bitches in Bookshops," but then again, so little on YouTube is.
This isn't new (Bloom uploaded it in 2010) - obviously, Ray Bradbury was still alive when it was made. He passed away in June of this year. I just learned about this video yesterday, though. This Rachel Bloom (http://www.racheldoesstuff.com/) is a funny chick - and judging by her name, probably a Yiddish-American woman like my mom's mom.
If my name was Bloom, I'd tell people I was related to Isaac Nathan Bloom, even though he's a fictional character in From Here to Eternity. Dublin has its James Joyce Bloomsday, but Honolulu should have an Isaac Bloomsday, on which we get really drunk and make out with boys, but then do NOT feel guilty about it afterwards, 'cause it's not 1941 anymore and Bloom, you were born that way. James Joyce and James Jones sound pretty similar anyway, so why not?
Showing posts with label James Joyce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Joyce. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Marilyn Reading
Don't forget to comment on the Ravaged post (through Monday, Aug. 6) for a chance to win my newest release!
On Mondays I hook up with Pinning! at A Night Owl Blog/Baxtron{Life}.
August 5, 2012 was the 50th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe. I'm not a gigantic Marilyn Monroe fan, although I do admire her work. I will always stop flipping channels when I happen upon Some Like it Hot. (It doesn't hurt that Tony Curtis is a gorgeous Hebrew hottie.)
I'm no fan of Joyce Carol Oates, but I have read bits and pieces of
Blonde, as I wrote about in "The Good Parts."
*By the way, my dad still has that biography of Marilyn in his bedroom (I stumbled upon the book when he went to Florida and left me the keys to his Ford Ranger - it was in the drawer with the truck keys). I called it "trashy," but I think I was unfairly dismissive of it. *
This is that book, Goddess by Anthony Summers, being held with affection by Megan Fox, star of Jennifer's Body. Fox has a Marilyn tattoo on her left arm.
Marilyn herself loved to read. This is the image I have pinned to my Hotties Read board.
But Pinterest abounds with photos of the oft-photographed actress with her beautiful nose in a good book. Here she is tackling James Joyce.
Here she is reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.
She read standing. She read sitting. She read lying down. (Notice her book is called How to Improve Your Thinking Ability.)
She read on park benches.
She read on the floor.
She even read to children.
She was photographed reading so often, you could make a collage.
...and of Marilyn's The Misfits co-stars, the very dapper Clark Gable could, on occasion, be caught reading...
Here they are together on a movie tie-in edition of Arthur Miller's book.
On Mondays I hook up with Pinning! at A Night Owl Blog/Baxtron{Life}.
I'm no fan of Joyce Carol Oates, but I have read bits and pieces of
Blonde, as I wrote about in "The Good Parts."
*By the way, my dad still has that biography of Marilyn in his bedroom (I stumbled upon the book when he went to Florida and left me the keys to his Ford Ranger - it was in the drawer with the truck keys). I called it "trashy," but I think I was unfairly dismissive of it. *
This is that book, Goddess by Anthony Summers, being held with affection by Megan Fox, star of Jennifer's Body. Fox has a Marilyn tattoo on her left arm.
But Pinterest abounds with photos of the oft-photographed actress with her beautiful nose in a good book. Here she is tackling James Joyce.
Here she is reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.
She read standing. She read sitting. She read lying down. (Notice her book is called How to Improve Your Thinking Ability.)
She read on park benches.
She read on the floor.
She even read to children.
She was photographed reading so often, you could make a collage.
...and of Marilyn's The Misfits co-stars, the very dapper Clark Gable could, on occasion, be caught reading...
Here they are together on a movie tie-in edition of Arthur Miller's book.
Friday, January 28, 2011
'Joy in a Box' by Sally Hanan, Inspirational Flash Fiction
Texas author Sally Hanan is originally from Dublin. Perhaps that's why the soul-searching slices of life in her flash fiction collection Joy in a Box (2009, Smashwords, also available for Kindle) might remind you of a miniaturized Dubliners.
The stories range from bitter to sweet. A few are based on Bible stories or true events. Most are canny observations of how Christians do, should or shouldn't act. Yes, this Christian author pokes gentle fun at misplaced zeal. She turns the same lovingly, teasingly critical eye on us authors in "Writers Forum: Translation 101." Deep down, we all think we're William Shakespeare, don't we?
What Hanan does exceedingly well is focus on relationships. Some of my favorites include "Roses Are Red," in which a widower must find a way to express his true feelings for the second love of his life. In "In the Orange-Sherbet Light," a middle-aged woman expresses gratitude to the aunt who adopted her many years before. Perhaps the best is "I Can Smell Him," a story of love and loyalty in which a married woman is tempted by an office romance.
There's also a touch of humor, as in "That Stalker Thing." Anyone who's ever had a celebrity crush should be able to relate to the hapless cocktail waitress's experience. Any author/edit whose other website is devoted to the fashion uses of duct tape [sorry, it's defunct now] must have a sense of humor.
Because it can be read in small chunks, this book is perfect for inspirational book clubs composed of busy members. If you loved Oliver Frances' book Heart and Souls, you'll also love this book.
The stories range from bitter to sweet. A few are based on Bible stories or true events. Most are canny observations of how Christians do, should or shouldn't act. Yes, this Christian author pokes gentle fun at misplaced zeal. She turns the same lovingly, teasingly critical eye on us authors in "Writers Forum: Translation 101." Deep down, we all think we're William Shakespeare, don't we?
What Hanan does exceedingly well is focus on relationships. Some of my favorites include "Roses Are Red," in which a widower must find a way to express his true feelings for the second love of his life. In "In the Orange-Sherbet Light," a middle-aged woman expresses gratitude to the aunt who adopted her many years before. Perhaps the best is "I Can Smell Him," a story of love and loyalty in which a married woman is tempted by an office romance.
There's also a touch of humor, as in "That Stalker Thing." Anyone who's ever had a celebrity crush should be able to relate to the hapless cocktail waitress's experience. Any author/edit whose other website is devoted to the fashion uses of duct tape [sorry, it's defunct now] must have a sense of humor.
Because it can be read in small chunks, this book is perfect for inspirational book clubs composed of busy members. If you loved Oliver Frances' book Heart and Souls, you'll also love this book.
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