The Guardian newspaper is running a fun contest related to the new Harry Potter book. THEY say that Albus Dumbledore buys the farm in HP6, and are asking readers to write ol' Albus' death scene. The winners will receive a bunch of loot from Waterstone's...
By the way, I'm writing this from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It's very weird here, both in the hotel and in the town outside. I clambered around the lip of the Grand Canyon today. More later; you can read the details of Kate's and my trip so far here. We'll be updating it soon--2200 miles in five days cuts into blogging-time.
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.Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Road Trip!
So Kate and I are about to set off on, if not the Mother of all road trips, at least the Aunt. Friends and other interested parties can chart our progress from Chicago to LA by checking out this super-special blog!
Comments--tips on how to talk your way out of a speeding ticket, memories of the Donner Party--are welcome.
Comments--tips on how to talk your way out of a speeding ticket, memories of the Donner Party--are welcome.
Sunday, July 3, 2005
Quick post about National Lampoon...
I'm packing. It's insane. Kate and I go to sleep every evening with delightful visions of bonfires dancing in our brains.
Meanwhile, friend Jules Lipoff forwarded me this article on the long-dead-yet-somehow-still-living National Lampoon. For people who admire the old magazine, it's depressing as hell. On the other hand, for people who admire the concept of commerce as "selling crap to the suckers," it's inspiring.
To save you the effort: it's the same article that gets written every time the name changes hands. The people in charge get a brief burst of notoriety, based on the old magazine's quality and reputation. They take this moment in the limelight to vomit out some nonsense about licensing and leveraging and maximizing brand identity, etc etc, which proves beyond any doubt that they have NO IDEA what made the Lampoon financially successful in the first place: collecting a group of really funny people, letting them do whatever the hell they wanted, and distributing whatever they produced.
Comedic institutions are worthwhile to the extent that they facilitate collaboration and creativity (see Second City, ImprovOlympic). When they stop doing that, and the people at the top start thinking like marketers (see SNL, MAD Magazine) comedy fans should assemble with torches and pitchforks, and tear 'em down.
I have spoken!
Meanwhile, friend Jules Lipoff forwarded me this article on the long-dead-yet-somehow-still-living National Lampoon. For people who admire the old magazine, it's depressing as hell. On the other hand, for people who admire the concept of commerce as "selling crap to the suckers," it's inspiring.
To save you the effort: it's the same article that gets written every time the name changes hands. The people in charge get a brief burst of notoriety, based on the old magazine's quality and reputation. They take this moment in the limelight to vomit out some nonsense about licensing and leveraging and maximizing brand identity, etc etc, which proves beyond any doubt that they have NO IDEA what made the Lampoon financially successful in the first place: collecting a group of really funny people, letting them do whatever the hell they wanted, and distributing whatever they produced.
Comedic institutions are worthwhile to the extent that they facilitate collaboration and creativity (see Second City, ImprovOlympic). When they stop doing that, and the people at the top start thinking like marketers (see SNL, MAD Magazine) comedy fans should assemble with torches and pitchforks, and tear 'em down.
I have spoken!
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