2009
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Lost in Space
For Mary Miller’s characters, the world is anything but big. These are women trapped in little towns and little lives, but the emotional resonance is limitless.
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BAD MOMMY BLOG: Princesses, part II
I have a few more things to say about the princess posse. I didn’t say it all in one post because I have a short attention span and figure you do, too. The princesses aren’t that big a deal. Far…
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Save the Words
Though once upon a time Noah Webster wrote a dictionary to reflect the ever growing and changing language of American English, the Oxford English Dictionary does regularly update their logs to include such words as “bootylicious” and “MILF” – terms…
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Destructo Swarmbots On the Verge
First there were cyborg rats. Then came electroneural Shark and Awe. All part of DARPA’s ongoing effort to weaponize the animal kingdom, which is all part of DARPA’s ongoing effort to weaponize everything, including the weather. But for now, let’s…
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The Return of Sweetness
For Dante, Heaven sweetened souls; for Bidart, who does not believe in Heaven, sweetness comes haggard, if it comes at all.
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THE EYEBALL: Burn After Reading and The Iron Giant
Oscars, whatever. I had two comfy movie-watching experiences this weekend. On Friday I watched the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading with my wife and yesterday sat down with my son to watch the Brad Bird animated movie The Iron Giant.…
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Stona Fitch’s Publishing Idea
Is the fix for what ails the publishing industry a new model that “definitely guarantees” writers won’t get paid? Author and founder of the Concord Free Press Stona Fitch thinks so. Concord Free Press gave away all 1,500 copies of…
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Winston Smith Is 39
1. Winston Smith is 39. And, rereading 1984 for perhaps the fifth time, so am I.
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Poetic Lives Online: Links by Brian Spears
Whoever wrote this poem lo those many years ago ought to be forced to wear those shorts. I’m really surprised there hasn’t been more of a response to David Orr’s piece in the NY Times Book Review last week. Are…
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The Last Book Party
So, where is the publishing industry going? No one really knows. But we like to speculate. For the March issue of Harper’s Gideon Lewis-Kraus covered the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, what he called “the last book party.” Read an interview…