Some readers might remember a post I made a while back after watching "The Weather Underground," a documentary on the radical group of the late 60s-early 70s. Yesterday, an anonymous reader sent this comment:
"If you weren't there you couldn't possibly understand. How bad were the Weathermen as compared to a coke snorting, draft dodging coward of a right wing president who in abject terror of attack had the superpatriot, anti-american, government snooping act made into law? Power to the people!"
Er, right on, anonymous. But what does our current Nincompoop-In-Chief have to do with the Weather Underground? Here's an answer: both W. and the WU were self-indulgent privileged clods unable to think of politics as anything but a stage for their narcissism. We all go through phases where we're self-absorbed and obnoxious, but only Baby Boomers demand that the whole world get dragged along for the ride. Don't blame Bush for The Patriot Act, man, he's just doing his own thing.
Remember last summer before the conventions when people on the left were terrified by the possibility of "another '68"? That is, images of street fighting suggesting that the country was falling apart--and needed a strong authoritarian at the top? You could make a case that it's been the bogus-but-carefully-stoked FEAR of hippie revolution which has guided the country steadily to the right over the last 36 years. The WU can't be blamed for that, but note nobody was fearing "another Martin Luther King." My problem with the WU isn't their desire for change, their utopianism, or even their anger; it's their use of violence, which belies at best a youthful impatience and at worst makes them no better than their adversaries. Using violence to stop violence is, to use a Sixties phrase, "like fucking for virginity."
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.Sunday, November 28, 2004
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Terry Southern interview
Hello again! Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving.
Through friend Dennis Perrin's brand-spankin'-new blog, I discovered a very interesting interview with writer/avatar of Hip Terry Southern.
Southern is probably best known for his work with Stanley Kubrick on "Dr. Strangelove," but he did a lot more than that--Easy Rider, the mega-selling dirty book "Candy," some excellent journalism and short stories, as well as a few baroque satirical novels that can feel a bit dated. Time is the scourge of the social satirist, and the pace of damage increases with the accuracy of the work in describing its original moment--as mores change, the work suffers. Still--Southern's well worth reading, especially if you dig the smart edgy side of the Sixties as much as I do.
Through friend Dennis Perrin's brand-spankin'-new blog, I discovered a very interesting interview with writer/avatar of Hip Terry Southern.
Southern is probably best known for his work with Stanley Kubrick on "Dr. Strangelove," but he did a lot more than that--Easy Rider, the mega-selling dirty book "Candy," some excellent journalism and short stories, as well as a few baroque satirical novels that can feel a bit dated. Time is the scourge of the social satirist, and the pace of damage increases with the accuracy of the work in describing its original moment--as mores change, the work suffers. Still--Southern's well worth reading, especially if you dig the smart edgy side of the Sixties as much as I do.
Monday, November 22, 2004
More Weekend Update jokes...
For $9.99, computer users can now download a video game based on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, the game’s makers warn, no matter what they score, nobody will believe it.
Or, “The best players will compete for a prize of $100,000 and a chance to be shot on live television.”
This week, real estate mogul Donald Trump’s casino empire filed for bankruptcy. It was the shortest such filing in history: “I’m fired.”
Twelve months after Janet Jackson scandalized the world during the Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL announced that this year’s show would star venerable icon Paul McCartney. It could've been a lot worse--they could've gotten Yoko Ono.
Monday, Israeli leaders said that they will do their utmost to allow Palestinian elections to take place. Then, after a brief pause, they shouted the Hebrew word for “Psych!”
Thanks to increasing levels of estrogen from birth control pills, fish with both male and female sex tissue have been discovered near wastewater treatment plants in Colorado. “I really think it’s a win/win situation,” a scientist said. “We get to have sex with each other, and the fish can have sex with themselves.”
A Great White Shark in California has set the new world’s record for time spent in captivity, seventeen days and counting. The Monterey Bay Aquarium celebrated the occasion by blasting the theme from Jaws until the neighbors complained.
Or, “…by dumping blood in the tank and standing around chanting ‘Fren-zy,’ ‘fren-zy’!”
For the second time in nine months, Britney Spears has gotten married. The ceremony, which took place in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, was over soon enough for Britney to hit the bars.
Or, “The best players will compete for a prize of $100,000 and a chance to be shot on live television.”
This week, real estate mogul Donald Trump’s casino empire filed for bankruptcy. It was the shortest such filing in history: “I’m fired.”
Twelve months after Janet Jackson scandalized the world during the Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL announced that this year’s show would star venerable icon Paul McCartney. It could've been a lot worse--they could've gotten Yoko Ono.
Monday, Israeli leaders said that they will do their utmost to allow Palestinian elections to take place. Then, after a brief pause, they shouted the Hebrew word for “Psych!”
Thanks to increasing levels of estrogen from birth control pills, fish with both male and female sex tissue have been discovered near wastewater treatment plants in Colorado. “I really think it’s a win/win situation,” a scientist said. “We get to have sex with each other, and the fish can have sex with themselves.”
A Great White Shark in California has set the new world’s record for time spent in captivity, seventeen days and counting. The Monterey Bay Aquarium celebrated the occasion by blasting the theme from Jaws until the neighbors complained.
Or, “…by dumping blood in the tank and standing around chanting ‘Fren-zy,’ ‘fren-zy’!”
For the second time in nine months, Britney Spears has gotten married. The ceremony, which took place in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, was over soon enough for Britney to hit the bars.
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