Yes, it all begins at noon: East Line Books, Old Village Plaza, 1714 Route 9, Clifton Park, NY 12065 (Just north of Rt. 146 on Rt. 9 across from Snyder’s Restaurant, between Clifton Park Pizza and Captain’s Treasures). I will be playing my kantele off and on — and if that’s not enough of a…
Month: May 2009
BitchBuzz: Guardians of the Planet
My latest column for BB is all about our fave superheroes of information: Librarians! Here’s a taste:Go ahead, laugh. But think about it; what is the most crucial commodity in the world today? Information. Even if you’re not quizzing Number Six, you are still bound to be wading through tons of information every day even…
Death on the Internet
Dietmar Trommeshauser was the first person that I knew only from the internet who died. We make a lot of noise about virtual communities being every bit as real as fleshly ones, but it’s very easy to offer help and support with a quick email message or even a Paypal donation to a worthy cause….
The Thing about Vampires
Teaching is all about planning + improvisation. You have to plan well and provide a structure, but it’s also important to roll with the vagaries of the unexpected. Today was a case for this kind of flexibility. After talking about the ambiguity that signaled the 1980s shift in horror films, we were all primed to…
Branding: Medievalist
Yes, the third prong of my branding identity, such as it is, has to be me the medievalist. I realise that all of my many attempts at branding only make it clearer that I have weird and esoteric tastes that resist any attempt to brand me for a potential audience. At least “medieval” is surely…
Connecticut Jaunt
Despite the tight schedule I have this month, I decided to take the opportunity to run down to Connecticut and see my pals before I take off for Britain for a month on June 1. I headed out with the sun shining and the windows down while I blasted music through the lovely Berkshires. First…
BitchBuzz: Harried in 140 Characters
My latest column for BitchBuzz is up. Here’s a taste: With the mainstream blossoming of social media sites on the web, a lot of writers I know are tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, linking and commenting everywhere they possibly can in order to get the word out on their books. A book launch is no longer a…
Jaws of Suspiria
I already wrote a bit about Jaws and my long connection to it, but I don’t think I’ve yet got around to the student reactions. It’s hard to keep track of things in the midst of the mad swirl of the summer intensive. I’ve made things even tighter by planning to run down to Connecticut…
Self-Reliance
“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his…
Horror Class: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Yesterday we delved into the weird world of 70s horror with the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Some of the students were familiar with the remake and had thoughtful comments about the ways the two differed. The film purports to be based on a “true story” although it’s only very loosely inspired by Wisconsin’s own Ed…