In an attempt to release some of the pent-up pressure inside my skull, I have created a blog: http://surlywriter.blogspot.com."
Go take a look. Entertaining, it will be.
Barry Trotter (Book 1)
The Hogwash School for Wizards was the most famous school in the wizarding world, and Barry Trotter was its most famous student. His mere presence made sure that every year twenty candidates applied for every open spot, no matter how rapacious Hogwash's tuition became. As a result, Barry and the school had come to an unspoken agreement: regardless of his grades, Barry could remain at Hogwash for as long as he wished. He had just begun his eleventh year...Freshman
Sleepy with boredom and gassy from lunch, Hart Fox sat in the hard plastic chair outside his dean's office. A kid walked in the door, pink detention slip in hand, bobbing his head a little so that the purple spikes of his mohawk didn't get bent on the transom. He slumped down next to Hart. Hart nodded--he remembered tis joker from sophomore American History, constantly arguing in favor of anarcho-syndicalism. Was his name Henry?...Sophomore
Arcing lazily through the air, the Frisbee smacked against the window. “Ooo-oo!” a chiseled and shirtless boy teased as it wobbleplummeted to the ground. “Sarah's in troub-le!”The beauty-boy was righter than he knew: Of all the windows on campus to hit, this one was the worst. It belonged to Stutts’ Professor of Clandestine Affairs, Glenbard North, who had destroyed more students than there were blades of grass on the freshly resodded Old Quad below...Coming Soon!
All you really gotta know is, I'm writing new things constantly and the more I write, the better my books get. So if you've read my earlier work--and millions of you have--we should keep in touch. This fall, at least one and maybe two new books will be available: a Dickens parody AND a comic mystery loosely based on The Beatles. Drop me an email at mikesnewbooks[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll be sure to let you know release dates, special deals, etc.Monday, May 30, 2005
Jar-Jar Binks makes mesa sick
A screenwriter friend of mine writes:
"I saw 'Revenge of the Sith' and it broke my brain. Actually, I saw it twice and the second time, I took notes (after having bought a lights-in-the-dark pen for this very purpose).
In an attempt to release some of the pent-up pressure inside my skull, I have created a blog: http://surlywriter.blogspot.com."
Go take a look. Entertaining, it will be.
In an attempt to release some of the pent-up pressure inside my skull, I have created a blog: http://surlywriter.blogspot.com."
Go take a look. Entertaining, it will be.
New Yorkers--Go See Triplette!
Triplette is a three-person comedy troupe from Chicago--one of the best I've seen. They're performing at The Upright Citizens' Brigade Theater, 307 W. 26th Street (b/w 8th & 9th Aves.), June 10th, 2005. You should go see them; in the meantime, here's their site.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Okay, like I don't have enough to do...
...thanks to a chance encounter in a used book store, I've been thinking about Jack the Ripper, specifically the Maybrick Diary, which (depending on which side you're on) definitively solves the case or is a shabby hoax. Check it out at this excellent website.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
More Star Wars...
A friend of mine was so irritated by the latest entry in the Star Wars franchise that she created a blog to vent. Her right-on-the-money comments are here.
She's threatening to post an entire alternate plot for the first three episodes. I've seen scraps of this and it's great.
She's threatening to post an entire alternate plot for the first three episodes. I've seen scraps of this and it's great.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Excellent interview with...
...Mark and Steve O'Donnell in the online edition of The Believer. I know Mark well, and he's one of my favorite comedy people (and teaches a perennially oversubscribed comedy writing seminar at dear ol' Yale). I don't know Steve, but seeing as he and Mark are identical twins, I figure he's probably a lot like Mark. Check it out here.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Monday, May 9, 2005
North Carolina barbeque...
Friend Anny Gaul pointed me to this primer on barbeque, North Carolina style. As a big fan of the smoky arts, I found it quite interesting.
What's the best barbeque in Chicago, you ask? Kate and I think it's here.
What's the best barbeque in Chicago, you ask? Kate and I think it's here.
Fans of movies...
...should check out a new blog by Larry Fouch. It's intelligent, opinionated, everything you want in a blog about movies. Larry seems to favor old stuff over current Hollywood product, and I can get behind that.
Monday, May 2, 2005
The best hamburger I've ever had...
...was this last weekend at Dottie's Dumpling Dowry, in Madison, Wisconsin. Spectacular.
Two thoughts while watching the new "Hitchhiker's" movie:
1) Douglas Adams was a comic genius;
2) There's definitely something missing there, for me. Kate suggested that the passivity of the characters, combined with the macro-thinking asides ("The Earth is x" or "The entire history of the Universe can be summed up y." totally saps any investment in the story or the characters. I don't know. All I know is, all the lines were tremendously witty and inventive, and I was nonetheless checking my watch.
I am perfectly prepared for this to be a deficiency in ME, not in Hitchhiker's. Also--and I know this is just the type of thing that makes me so annoying on a day-in, day-out basis, the movie didn't look right. It should've been made in 1980, with that kind of film stock; it should've been the long-lost brother to Holy Grail or Time Bandits. So much of the humor is embedded in 1970s British malaise...Ah, well. Better this good movie than that great nonexistent one.
Also: go see "Kung Fu Hustle"!
Two thoughts while watching the new "Hitchhiker's" movie:
1) Douglas Adams was a comic genius;
2) There's definitely something missing there, for me. Kate suggested that the passivity of the characters, combined with the macro-thinking asides ("The Earth is x" or "The entire history of the Universe can be summed up y." totally saps any investment in the story or the characters. I don't know. All I know is, all the lines were tremendously witty and inventive, and I was nonetheless checking my watch.
I am perfectly prepared for this to be a deficiency in ME, not in Hitchhiker's. Also--and I know this is just the type of thing that makes me so annoying on a day-in, day-out basis, the movie didn't look right. It should've been made in 1980, with that kind of film stock; it should've been the long-lost brother to Holy Grail or Time Bandits. So much of the humor is embedded in 1970s British malaise...Ah, well. Better this good movie than that great nonexistent one.
Also: go see "Kung Fu Hustle"!
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