AnimaMundi

"Sound Unbound"

I have only read a few of the 36 pieces about media in all forms in this enlightening take on the remix and sampling. Assembled by DJ Spooky, the contributors take vastly different angles on pop media culture as recombinant mixes of what nature and man have created out of chaos. I'll try to post about some of the pieces in the book. I recommend it to those interested in music, sampling, plagiarism, remixing culture, media etc. 

 "Sound Unbound"

Maud Newton's Long Awaited First Novel

Maud Newton has published the first, as far as I know and what do I really know, excerpt from her first novel. If you have read her blog or any of her short pieces this is very welcome news. This is good writing and hilarious to boot! She's been working on it for what seems like decades. For her, it probably seems like aeons. I would keep on eye out for it. It will do your soul good.

Post Mortem, David Foster Wallace

When a musician or author dies I usually read their obit. Unfortunately due to an early untimely death and fortunately due to a later timely death, I try to seek out the artist's works and thereby come to appreciate some of the artist's work. I had never read a word of David Foster Wallace until he committed suicide. I read his commencement speech at Kenyon University 2005 right after he died. A very worthwhile read.

Re-membering David Foster Wallace

Via Kottke

At Times A Romantic Voyeur

"But I love traveling in India," Mr. Theroux continues, "because Indians are approachable. If I were traveling in the U.S. and asked people some of the questions I ask in India, I'd get a very dusty answer. People would say 'Who are you?' 'You work for the government?' When you're in India, you can ask, 'Where do you live, what do you do, how much do you earn, how many children do you have?' It's the accessible poor. You can do that in Southeast Asia, too. But in America you can't. Try asking those questions in Jackson, Mississippi."

Wrestling With Words

Maud Newton is some one that I would like to drink a few bottles of wine with.

New Stories From The South

Maud Newton's randomizer has yet to come up with my number. Maybe the benefit for New Stories From The South edited by ZZ Packer for NOLA artists and MC Maud Newton will change my luck. It's racing season in Saratoga Springs and I can't hit a rolling donut hole with a flying fuck.

Vonnegut Style

First there was Strunk's "Elements of Style", then came Kurt Vonnegut.

For a discussion of literary style in a narrower sense, in a more technical sense, I recommend to your attention The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. E.B. White is, of course, one of the most admirable literary stylists this country has so far produced.

You should realize, too, that no one would care how well or badly Mr. White expressed himself, if he did not have perfectly enchanting things to say.

Lesbian Nuns

In order to avoid talking to people on planes, John Waters wraps whatever he is reading with the cover of the book "Lesbian Nuns".

After his show "Filthy World" he said:

"Porn is art now. Rich kids are jerking off to the Christies catalog!" And of Los Angeles, he noted, "Everyone has face-lifts. Everyone looks surprised and Cubist."

Via Maud Newton

What Tipped "The Tipping Point"? & Bloggers as Reviewers

Robert McCrum, outgoing literary editor of The Observer, on Malcolm Gladwell's first book:

"The Tipping Point was almost a flop. It was published to mixed reviews in the US, did no serious business in the UK and was saved by -- yes -- word of mouth. After a dismal launch, and as a desperate last resort, Gladwell persuaded his American publisher to sponsor a US-wide lecture tour. Only then did the book 'tip'. Eventually, it would become a literary success of its time, turn its author into a pop cultural guru and spend seven years on the New York Times bestseller list. This was one of those pivotal moments that illustrates the story of this decade."

Then on Blogs vs Reviewing he states the "omens are not encouraging". He then mentions Maud Newton.com as one of the blogs. I think that in this case he is dead wrong. Maud Newton is a published author and very good writer. So she knows of what she writes. She writes with care, humor and insight. I have a ton of books on my wish lists that she has reviewed. So he might want to read her a little more closely. I wish she would finish that novel that she is anguishing over, so she can tour and sign, move back to her beloved Florida and regain the title of the whitest woman in the Sunshine State. 

H/T Kottke

Would You Like a Side of Avocado Pits With That Dawg?

It's a well known fact that when summer kicks in, all men go into heat, i.e. cooter hoo-ha. So when I came across this bit of salacious news about a new German book I was forced to read it.

H/T Gastriques

Top photo: Zardoz