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Archive for May, 2008
Bibliophile 5/27/08: I Was Told There’d Be Cake By Sloane Crosley
Author: spencer28 May
[The following entry was written by Synthesis Weekly columnist Emilie Clark. She can be reached at emilie@synthesis.net ]
I Was Told There’d Be Cake
By Sloane Crosley
Riverhead
I, like everyone else interested in book publishing, journalism, music or theater, have always fantasized about moving to New York City. That’s where it all happens, you know, and I heard if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. I discarded that pipe dream a while back, but NYC still interests me. Which is why I read Gawker on occasion and keep up on the New York literary world though the Internet. I guess it’s inevitable to know a lot about the city and its inhabitants since most media spawns from within its confines. This is a long-winded way of saying that I had some definite preconceptions about New York publicist Sloane Crosley’s debut book.
According to The New York Observer, Sloane Crosley’s path to writing started with a mass e-mail to some friends describing a story that would later become an essay in the book. The story is about how when moving from one apartment to another (three blocks away) she locked herself out of both apartments. It’s a funny story in the book and I’m sure it was a funny e-mail, but that’s not important. What’s important is that one of her friends — and therefore e-mail recipient — was the editor at The Village Voice and offered to publish a polished-up version of the story. This is essentially how Crosley became famous. And it’s also why I’m having a hard time liking her. I can’t help but wonder how different my life and writing career would be if I were friends with the editor of The Village Voice. But I guess my envy is really neither here nor there.
Now that we’ve whetted your interest, the actual review can be found after the jump… (more…)
Down With The King! - Nepal Ditches its Monarchy
Author: spencer28 May
Nepal, known best in the West as the place where heavily bundled sherpas help rich, white, dumb people climb Mt. Everest, is happy to announce that after 240 years of royal rule, they have voted the monarchy out. Former insurgent Maoist rebels (now just “Maoists”) came out the strongest party after last month’s elections and have ousted the widely-unpopular royals.
From BBC:
The approved proposal states that Nepal is “an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic nation”.
Only four members of the 601-seat assembly opposed the change.
Royal privileges “will automatically come to an end”, the declaration says.
It also states that the king’s main palace must be vacated within a fortnight, to be transformed into a museum.
Several thousand people began celebrating in the streets of Kathmandu ahead of the move. “This is the people’s victory,” former Maoist rebel Kamal Dahal, 22, told Reuters news agency.
“With today’s declaration of a republic we have achieved what we fought for.”
Now, whether or not Maoist rule will ultimately benefit Nepalis remains to be seen.
Reason Number 203,596,218 Why Fox News is Made of FAIL
Author: Dallas VonKillbot28 May
Word on the street here is that Fox News isn’t looked that fondly upon around the office, and until Rupert Murdoch buys us out like he bought Myspace, I don’t think it’s going to change very soon. Oh, speaking of the neo-fascist soul eaters that is Fox News, their contributer Liz Trotta accidentally made a little slip up on air, stating that assassinating Ossama or Obama would be a grand thing. Cute.Direct quote, anyone? “…and now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, umm, ah…Obama, well both if we could…haha….” @1:34. Check the video.
Bag Borrow or Steal?
Author: alisse28 May
There seems to be quite a bit of controversy generating around the bagborroworsteal.com Web site. It is a place for accessory hounds to “borrow” handbags, shades and jewelry. I personally think it is a good idea if you want to try out a bag but you can just as easily go to the store and ogle it as long as you’d like. When did renting and leasing move from houses and cars to designer goods? I love owning my accessories and this takes the thrill out of saving up for an item you desire. This also takes away the shopping aspect and being able to actually touch the product.
They require an expensive membership fee but if you want to have the latest trends ASAP, then this is for you. Shipping and sending the accessories back and forth might be a pain because the items are so delicate and high-priced. Rental prices are high but their selection is growing very quickly and they have every high-end designer your little heart desires. If you are going to spend $500 monthly on a rental bag, why not buy it? Overall I think the best reason to use this site is for trying out bags for a short period of time to get a feel for them before deciding which pricy one to actually purchase. Also, jewelry rental for special occassions could come in handy - like a black tie event, wedding, etc. It’s not for everyone but test drive some of their products and decide for yourself. Here are some samples of their available accessories:
LV clutch:
Jimmy Choo sunglasses:
Chanel bangle:
Betsey Johnson necklace:
Director & Actor Sydney Pollack Dead
Author: alisse28 May
Sydney Pollack was diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago. He died Monday afternoon in his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family. He was 73 and a notorious Hollywood filmmaker. Hollywood is grieving his death, as his works included many A-list actors. He was a great actor himself. One of his most memorable films was Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” which he did with Tom Cruise. His most famous film, “Out of Africa” won seven Oscars at the Academy Awards. He also produced “Sense and Sensibility”, “Cold Mountain” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” His first love was acting and had roles in television shows like “The Sopranos” and in many Broadway productions. He will be missed greatly and Hollywood will continue to mourn this tragic loss.
Andruw Jones is a 36 million dollar flop, and the Dodgers suck.
Author: The Sloth27 May
I’m a Giants fan, so I naturally hate the Dodgers. And even though the Giants are the current owners of the worst contract in all of sports (see Barry Zito’s $136,000,000 fiasco) the Dodgers don’t have a lot of room to laugh. This off-season they signed Andruw Jones to a 2 year, 36 million dollar contract to patrol center field and to add some power to their impotent offense. It was a risky signing to start with, considering the fact that he only hit .222 last year with 26 home runs (which is tied for his lowest total since he started playing full time) last year and he was healthy. The market was totally dry for him because he had a terrible 07′ and he turned in to kind of a fat ass, and the only reason he signed with the Dodgers in the first place is because they were literally the ONLY team that were willing to offer him a two year deal worth a shit (everybody else was either offering one year for big money, or several years for shit money). So the fact that he is not only having an even worse year this year (he’s batting .165 with TWO home runs and only SEVEN rbi’s in 43 games!!!!! WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!), but he is now on the shelf for 4 to 6 weeks after having knee surgery earlier today makes me laugh until I piss down my own leg.
The Dodgers also signed away the Giants best pitcher, Jason Schmidt, before the 07′ season giving the then 33 year old with a declining fast ball a 3 year, 47 million dollar deal that most people thought was a pretty big risk at the time as well. He almost immediately blew out his shoulder (which was no surprise to any giants fan that watched him pitch through the 06′ season) and in two years has pitched in all of 6 games, amassing a 1 - 4 record with a 6.31 era.
The team is currently hovering around .500 with a 26 - 24 record coming in to play today, which makes them a huge disappointment considering their stacked pitching staff, and with Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones, and Jason Schmidt all on the disabled list for quite some time the future doesn’t look too bright.
As a Giants fan I couldn’t be happier.
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