The Olive Press

Moving On

2006-10-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

I outgrew Blogger long ago, but I finally decided to bite the bullet and move to WordPress. I know I'm giving up what little equity I have in "The Olive Press," but I hope the few people who subscribe or read occasionally will follow me.

This is my last post at The Olive Press. I'll keep the posts active only as long as I feel I need to and will then delete them without warning or fanfare. All posts are now duplicated at my new site, which has a pretty good search feature, as well as support of tags for categories. If you can't find a post you're looking for, or if you'd like to link to a new post, please look for it at my new home.

If you're interested in updating your bookmarks or feeds, here they are:

Thanks for reading these last three years, and I hope to see you again soon.

The Arrival of Craft:

2006-10-12T10:55:00.000-04:00

A while back, I announced my excitement about the coming of Craft magazine, and now I'm even more excited to announce the actual arrival of the premiere issue. If you haven't heard of it yet, see if this doesn't pique your interest:

Craft is the first project-based magazine dedicated to the renaissance that is occurring within the world of crafts. Celebrating the DIY spirit, Craft's goal is to unite, inspire, inform and entertain a growing community of highly imaginative people who are transforming traditional art and crafts with unconventional, unexpected and even renegade techniques, materials and tools; resourceful spirits who undertake amazing crafting projects in their homes and communities. We call them "Makers."

I was lucky enough to have a sneak peak of the whole thing a little over a month ago and was blown away. On a recent visit to the inner sanctum of the Make/Craft headquarters in Sebastopol, California, I was treated to a view of the almost-complete magazine, laid out on a wall:

I found so many great projects I'd like to start that it's hard to determine which to do first and impossible to do justice with a summary here. Check out the TOC for yourself.

As the Cambridge ambassador for our primarily California-based magazine, I recently received a hot-off-the-presses box and had the pleasure of distributing it around the office, where all copies were snatched up quickly:

The general consensus seems to be that this something new and unique, not just for our publishing company (though it's certainly one of the furthest reaches we've made beyond our bread-and-butter technical market), but for the larger publishing community and craft world as well. To see for yourself, get a copy of Volume 01 now, or take my word for it and subscribe. In the meantime, the constantly updated Craft blog will give you a good idea of what to expect in the printed version of the magazine.

Because I'm an O'Reilly employee and contributor to the magazine, I know I'm biased, but how often do I plug anything from the company I work for on this personal blog? This product is really something special and it resonates with me on a more personal level than anything else we've done as a company, which is why I've worked so hard to edge my way into it (my work has been, and remains, primarily in the Hacks series of books). As a writer, editor, and craft enthusiast, this thing pushes all my buttons. In the former of these roles, I'm proud to be a part of it, and in the latter, I'll anxiously look forward to each issue.

Further Disclosure

It should be noted that the interest in my household for this magazine, both professional and personal, is not limited to me. My wife has an article in the first issue:

Here are a few pictures of the completed projects in her how-to:

And she and I each have articles lined up for inclusion in Volume 02, so stay tuned!

Request for Support

2006-10-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

My wife has been selected for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team and is looking for people to sponsor her running of the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2007 (proceeds to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research).

She has posted her goals and reasons for running and is keeping a training and fundraising journal. I welcome you to take a look and consider sponsoring her in any amount.

Thanks in advance. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me via email or leave a comment here or on her blog.

Automated Podcasts of Text Blogs

2006-08-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

I just discovered Talkr:

a service that allows you to listen to your favorite text-only news sources rather than read them. If you can point us to an RSS or Atom feed (a machine-readable version of your favorite blog or news source) we will convert that feed from text to speech.

Talkr can also provide you with a podcast of your favorite news sources. This means that you can plug your MP3 player into your home computer once a day and Talkr will provide you with hours of audio content with no additional work on your part. Talkr will keep tabs on your feeds and send audio to your computer as those audio files become available.

Though I'm really not interested in creating a podcast per se (which is why I haven't added an MP3-only feed to my sidebar, which is a possibility), having an audio option along with the text certainly makes a blog more accessible to blind or low-vision users, so I think it's a good idea.

I'm going to start test-driving Talkr links in my posts (see the one at the bottom of this post, but this example does a better job of illustrating how Talkr handles a longer post with images). Do let me know if you find them more annoying than helpful.

Listen to this article

My Previous Commute, in T Passes

2006-08-16T09:24:00.000-04:00

Remixing the Tarsier

2006-06-28T12:40:00.000-04:00

While watching Creature Comforts again recently, I couldn't help but think about O'Reilly's own blinking tarsier when the bit with the animated bush baby came around:

So, in a few idle moments one evening, I decided to remix it into a speaking O'Reilly mascot, delivering at least part of our company's mission statement:

Thanks to Daniel Steinberg for the audio (grabbed from the intro to his Distributing the Future podcast) and to Tim O'Reilly for being a good sport.

True Story: With God on Our Side

2006-06-21T08:03:00.000-04:00

Last night, around midnight, I had a vivid, hauntingly spooky dream, in which my toddler sang "With God on Our Side." Before the dream ended, I awoke to hear him crying. I went to his room to comfort him, to tell him everything was all right, though of course that isn't really true, is it? I wonder what he was dreaming about?

"I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in your yours." Bob Dylan said that.

DoubleTake for Panoramas

2006-06-20T12:49:00.000-04:00

I've been looking for a serviceable and effective panorama-creation tool, preferably free, but I just might need to bite the bullet and drop the $16 for DoubleTake (Mac OS X only). It's amazingly easy to use, and it produces excellent results.

Take, for example, this image, which I carefully stitched together in Photoshop (a time-consuming process) and still couldn't get rid of the transitions between individual photos:

Now, check out the DoubleTake version, which I did in just a couple minutes of dragging, dropping, and saving (best viewed Large or bigger):

Here's another example of an attempt at a panorama with Photoshop:

and its DoubleTake counterpart (again, best viewed Large or bigger):

Though it's true that the Photoshop versions would look a lot better if I had any skills, that's hardly the point. DoubleTake is easy without skills and produces brilliant results.

Productivity and "The Perfect Apostrophe"

2006-06-14T08:43:00.000-04:00

Though Merlin was kind enough to leave my name out of his 43 Folders podcast on "the perfect apostrophe," I am, in fact, the "very nice man whose life [he] temporarily ruined." While he overstates the damage done by just a tad, his depiction of me as "a character out a 30s screwball comedy" is uncanny.

powered by ODEO
But beyond my obvious involvement as a character in his story, it resonated with me on a number of other levels as well. For instance, I went through a remarkably similar process when planning to write this book:

My problem wasn't with the apostrophe, since I just copied it from another Hacks cover. My problem was getting the drop shadow on the title right--that, and not being able to get the fonts right on the tagline and byline, even though you'd assume I'd have access to the originals (you'd be wrong).

Anyway, I'll also have to note that my book idea didn't get beyond the cover stage either.

The ReadyMade Book: A Missed Opportunity

2006-06-13T10:24:00.000-04:00

As a happy subscriber to ReadyMade magazine, I was thrilled to hear about the release of their first book. Unfortunately, my brief assessment is that there's a huge opportunity for the book this could have been, but ReadyMade has largely missed it where it counts.

The description of this book is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for as a craft enthusiast:

From the pages of ReadyMade magazine appears this compendium of more than 30 projects making the most of recycled paper, plastic, wood, metal, glass, and fabric.

Okay, I'm hooked. How soon can you get the book to me? But perhaps I should actually check out a copy in the bookstore before buying it. You know, just in case.

So, here it is in the flesh. What a beautifully and creatively designed book! I love when design meets content, and the look and feel of this book perfectly match the edginess of the scope of projects. Basically, it looks like a handbound book, but the production goes straight from my step 8 to step 10, without ever covering the binder's board with paper. The yellow cloth used to cover the spine board is marked as a ruler, which is pretty cool (even if this flourish would end up being the potentially most useful feature of the book). This makes for a cover that really speaks to paper crafters on a gut level. Truly an inspired idea, executed perfectly.

The design combined with the pitch almost got me to buy the book without even opening it. But I was standing in the bookstore anyway, and I couldn't help peeking. I was glad I did, because it saved me my money. A chopstick clock? A colander light sconce? Waterbottle loungechair? A CD rack made out of FedEx boxes? A coat rack made out of plastic detergent containers? The list of "playful" and "interesting" project ideas goes on and on. Though the book might have a lot in the way of "inspiration" for crafters, there's not a single project in the book I'd personally want to make (or have be seen in my house).

As I write this, the two one-star "Spotlight Reviews" on Amazon say it all:

Unappealing projects, January 1, 2006
I expected this book to show me how to make projects comparable to those found in the "ReadyMade" magazine: Practical, attractive projects that make good use out of cast off items. Instead, this book shows projects made out of junk that look like nothing more than projects made out of junk. A coat rack made out of laundry soap bottles looks like a stack of laundry soap bottles. The cd racks made out of shipping cartons look like shipping cartons. I was very surprised to find not one item in the book that I wanted to make.

Tastes being what they are, you may enjoy this book more than me. All I'm saying is that you'd probably want to look at a copy of it before buying, to make sure.

Terribly Disapointing, January 30, 2006
I bought the book a few days ago, with hope in my eyes, and I'm re-selling it on craigslist today.

I can only define it as a "book for people who shop exclusively at WestElm and have an urge to "slum it" by occasionally making things to keep up their egos and illusion of street cred at parties."

So sorry, ReadyMade. You used to be the coolest thing, but you lost your way.

A lot of people have felt passionate enough about the promise of this book to leave rather emotional critiques like this on Amazon. People want the book that this book could have been, but ReadyMade fulfilled their promise only halfway, with, frankly, the less important half. They nailed the design and concept, but slipped on the execution of the content.

I can't say I'm too surprised, though. I feel kind of conflicted about ReadyMade magazine itself. Though it usually contains more practical projects I'd actually want to do (in that sense, the book actually is kind of surprising) than Make magazine does (as much as I love that magazine, I'm not as into learning to solder or hack on circuit boards as I am with craft projects), when Make handles a project I would want to do, they do it so much better than ReadyMade does (and I'm not just saying this because I've written an article for them myself, though I feel I should disclose that, as well as the fact that I work for their parent company).

That's why I was so excited to hear the announcement about Craft magazine, and why I think so many other people are too. The promise of a whole magazine featuring craft projects done right (which is to say, done by the makers of Make) is quite exciting.

I think projects can be hip without being impractical, cool without being ugly, and clever without being crappy. I think the potential of a Make/Craft book is even bigger than the one faced by ReadyMade before they tried and failed. When and if the good folks at Make put out a competitive book, it's really going to be something special. And I personally can't wait to see it.

Listen to this article

Don't Care for a Book? Alter It!

2006-06-04T11:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I ventured into the craft of altered books with baby steps: a workshop at a local stamp and craft store.

A longtime bibliophile at heart, I knew it would be tough for me to begin defacing a book, even if it were in the name of art, so I decided to rip that band aid off quickly. I started with a book by one of my favorite authors, though the book itself ended up being more attractive than it was interesting (the first 100 pages or so were great, but after that the narrative dissipated and the story became tedious).

Without further ado, here was my "blank" canvas, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco:

The first alteration we made as a class was a simple pocket, formed by folding a page in upon itself and fastening it to the page below it with brads:

We then used distress ink on the all pages in the spread and stamped a couple shipping tags to stuff inside the pocket. I thought the Mona Lisa fit quite well with the Italian art and pop culture posters featured throughout Queen Loana (which, as I say, made the book quite visually interesting):

Before finishing that spread (which I get the impression might never really be done, but certainly not within a two-hour class), we then moved on to cutting a window through a page:

Again, this was just a beginning. Fleshing out the spread, both above and below the window, is my continuing homework.

The last couple alterations we had time for were a pop-up element and text masking. For the pop up, we used an illustration from the Dover archives. Here it is in the process of popping up:

And here it is fully popped up:

I chose the religious imagery on the page (there's plenty of that to choose from in Queen Loana) to go with the embellishment, but the text I found to mask was purely a happy coincidence:

In all, the class was quite inspiring. Though I began a little skeptically, due to all my book-loving baggage, I now think I'm hooked. This is going to be yet another expensive and time-consuming hobby, I can tell.

CoverFlow in Action

2006-05-24T11:57:00.000-04:00

Months ago, I gushed about CoverFlow, the slick visual interface to iTunes cover artwork, but it's really more impressive to see it in action. Back then, I had no way of really showing how it works (aside from the still images in my original post), but the following quick demonstration is brought to you by the new iShowU app:

If you're a music-loving iTunes user running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), I hope this brief video has convinced you to get CoverFlow.

UPDATE: Please note that the interface scrolls much more smoothly than this. The hitches and poor resolution of the video is the fault of YouTube conversion, not iShowYou or CoverFlow itself. For a frame of reference, here's what it looks like when played in QuickTime on my desktop (still screenshot only):

This difference is quite disappointing, actually, since I'm generally a fan of YouTube. Still, it doesn't look much better than the alternative:

I guess if you really want high-resolution screencasts, you can't get around hosting the videos yourself, which I just don't care enough to do for this demo. Hopefully, you get the idea enough to try CoverFlow for yourself.

Make Magazine and Handcrafted Music

2006-05-16T11:11:00.000-04:00

Regular readers of this blog (or, at least as regular as I post, which I realize isn't saying much) know that Make magazine holds a special place in my heart. The bad news, perhaps, is that my article is no longer featured in the current issue. The good news is that Volume 06 is out and it looks great! If you haven't snagged yourself a copy, do so now. It's really great to see the magazine continuing its great start and maturing with each new issue.

As an aside, if you already have your copy, you might notice the first full-page ad for "handcrafted music." At the bottom of the page, there's a URL for ordering this complimentary sampler (the same album that's sold through the iTunes Music Store for $9.99). I saw the same ad in ReadyMade last month and, as coincidence would have it, my copy just came in last week. It's quite a nice compilation and has already convinced me to buy The Little Willies album, which is a lot of fun too. You just gotta love hearing Norah Jones singing "Gotta Get Drunk," originally made popular by the band's namesake.

As a further aside, this is just one new album of many I've recently downloaded that are now in heavy rotation on my iPod. Here's a brief list of my current playlist (in order of purchase):

Sing-a-Longs [sic] and Lullabies from the Film Curious George, by Jack Johnson and Friends
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, by Bruce Springsteen
Surprise, by Paul Simon
The Little Willies, by The Little Willies

Each of these albums is great. I hope to get around to writing a more detailed review here for at least one or two of them, but in the meantime, I'll simply recommend them highly.

My Knitting Recipe

2006-05-12T08:12:00.000-04:00

I recently joined a fun new Flickr group called Knit Recipes, which its founder describes as:

A group for knitters to use to show off the process of creating a knitted object. The basics are simple: for each project you knit, post only ONE photo to the group pool. That photo should be of the completed project. In the description of that photo, put a link to the photoset that contains the in-progress photos of that project.

Here's the first recipe I've posted to the group pool:

And here's the happy recipient on Christmas 2005:

Glad I documented that project so thoroughly! I'll try do the same for the one I've just started:

But this one's going a little slower, so, while I'll post updates when I have them, I can't promise the complete recipe for a while!

Blogging Westford

2006-05-08T14:38:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted much here in a while. Though I can't say whether my negligence is due more to lack of time or lack of inspiration, I guess I just haven't been sufficiently motivated. My time and efforts have been focused elsewhere. Anyway, if you're still subscribed or stopping by occasionally, thanks.

So, what's the solution to a neglected blog? A brand-new blog, of course! I've just started a new site (which does not mean I plan on stopping this site), Blogging Westford, dedicated to documenting life in my new hometown.

If you're interested in either Westford or my life, this site will likely be of interest to you. If you're interested in neither, it probably won't.

Gmail Lockdown in Sector 4!

2006-04-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

This is not good. This is not good at all. If you're trying to reach me and I haven't responded yet, this might be why.

I have to say that this is the first time I've really noticed the difference between Gmail as a web service and a desktop application. Mac's Mail has never shut me out. This had better get worked out quickly, or I might cease to be such a loyal Gmailer. They've got all my messages and have been my only personal email account for years.

Here's a helpful note from the Gmail team (sent to my work email address when I filed an error report):

Thank you for your report. We apologize for any confusion or
inconvenience. For your security, we may temporarily disable access to
your account if our system detects abnormal usage. Abnormal usage
includes, but is not limited to:

- Receiving, deleting, or popping out large amounts of mail (via POP) in a
short period of time
- Sending a large number of undeliverable messages (messages that bounce
back)
- Using third party file-sharing or storing software, or software that
automatically logs in to your account and that is not supported by Gmail
- Multiple instances of your Gmail account opened
- Browser-related issues. Please note that if you find your browser
continually reloading while attempting to access your inbox, it is likely
a browser issue.

I used to have some Greasemonkey scripts that ran on Gmail, but I disabled them ages ago. This lockdown occurred when I received a message from the iTunes Music Store, letting me know that my preorder of Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions was ready for download (yay!). I clicked the link, iTunes opened, and whammo! No more Gmail.

Consider yourself warned.

Update: an hour later, my account has been unlocked. I probably should have given the Gmail team a little more credit (I do understand there are valid reasons for taking precautions, especially for security or anti-spam, which I support) before jumping the gun, but surely my gut reaction to such a fearful message is understandable and forgivable.

Bookbinding Wiki

2006-03-07T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've created a DIY Bookbinding wiki for the original, longer version of my "Olde-School Bookbinding" article in the current issue of Make magazine. While the editors did a great job of distilling ramblings that far exceeded the word limit I was given into a concise and useful article, the limits of space prohibited much of the additional description, background, nuance, and pictures of my original piece. So, I thought it was worth posting my first draft. What it lacks in polish I hope it makes up for in depth.

I also hope that this article will serve as a useful point of discussion for people who are interested in hand bookbinding, which is why I created it as a wiki that anyone can contribute to. Based on the huge response I had to the bookbinding Flickr set that led to this article, this seemed appropriate. I hope people find it interesting and enjoy contributing. I think there's a need for a portal like this, and I'd love to see contributions, questions, or feedback from others.

DIY Bookbinding Article in Make Magazine

2006-01-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that I've written an article on "Olde School Bookbinding" for Make: magazine, which will appear next month. For my complete how-to, see the forthcoming Volume 5.

In the meantime, as a sort of teaser, this collage of photos from the article (and many others that weren't included) is best viewed Large (or Original for a ginormous version), but the complete set is probably easier to navigate:

I'll have more news when the magazine hits newsstands, but for now, I'm not ashamed to admit I'm more than a little excited about seeing my name in print (as a writer, rather than as an editor, that is).

UPDATE
The new issue is back from the printer and Make has the complete TOC available online, including a link for my article.

Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary

2005-12-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

The Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary, created and maintained by an American lexicographer for Oxford University Press:

records undocumented or under-documented words from the fringes of English. It focuses upon slang, jargon, and other niche categories which include new, foreign, hybrid, archaic, obsolete, and rare words. Special attention is paid to the lending and borrowing of words between the various Englishes and other languages, even where a word is not a fully naturalized citizen in its new language.

(via Lifehacker)

Consider the Lobster

2005-12-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

David Foster Wallace, one of my favorite essayists, has a new collection out.

I loved the title essay and at least one other essay I know is included it, which might just get me to actually finish my first book in a very long time, after I actually get my hands on it.

Get with the CoverFlow

2005-12-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

If you're a music lover running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and iTunes, you absolutely must grab the free CoverFlow app, which goes out and rounds up any cover artwork you haven't already loaded as metadata for albums in your iTunes library and displays them in a flashy interface you can scroll around in, like this:

Once you settle on an album that grabs you, just double-click the centered album to launch it in iTunes!

CoverFlow brings back the satisfying feeling of leafing through my old meticulously organized CD collection (before I went completely digital), but reorganizing the whole collection alphabetically by title or artist takes just one click, and searching is much quicker and easier as well.

Book Burro

2005-12-01T10:58:00.000-05:00

I love the Book Burro extension for Firefox.

Book Burro
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

(And yes, that single customer review is from me.)

New Phone

2005-11-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed that my posting on this site has become considerably less frequent and much less text-heavy when I actually do post. Unfortunately, the increased limits of my time have turned this page into a glorified photo blog, so I thought it was at least time to get a cameraphone to make it official.

But it turned out that finding a cameraphone that works with my computer was not as easy as I expected it to be. I didn't want to invest in a data plan with my mobile service provider (to send pics via email, directly to Flickr or to this blog), which means I'd need to get the pictures off the phone by some other means of connecting my phone with my computer. But it seems that Nokia, Motorola, and the other usual suspects in the cell phone business just don't make phones that work with Macs.

My quest required more than a few customer service calls with various manufacturers, the gist of which can perhaps best be summarized by the following composite exchange:

Me: So, is it true that the RAZR V3 won't work with a Mac?

Motorola: None of our phones are compatible with the Macintosh operating system.

Me: Really? What about the ROKR?

Motorola: Oh yeah, that. Yes, that one works on Macs, but it's our only phone that does.

Me: Hmm... that seems exceedingly odd to me. Given all the hoopla surrounding Motorola's recent partnership with Apple, it doesn't make sense to me that your company has made no attempt to make your products actually work with theirs.

Apple: Ahem.

Me: Okay, then. That's all I wanted to know.

Long story short: though my phone refuses to speak my computer's language, my Mac has ways of making it talk. So, if you see lower-resolution photos appearing on this site, you'll know their source.

Old Hat

2005-11-21T09:39:00.000-05:00

When the incumbent's spousal approval rating reached an all-time low (it had long held on solely on the basis of preserving the status quo), the younger, more telegenic challenger won in a landslide.

Old Hat
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

Almost Religious in My Obsession

2005-11-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

I first became enthralled by religious propaganda during my high school years, when attending a Pro Choice rally in Houston, TX. A woman walked carefully through the crowd, making eye contact with me from across the crowded demonstration area. When she reached me, she reached out to grab my hand, into which she thrust a photocopied (a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, by the look of it) Love Letter From Jesus, saying, "This is for you."

Of all the souls in dire need of saving on that day, she picked me out as special. "What a personal touch," I thought, and I became fascinated with the whole world that surrounds these religious tracts, from conception and design, to printing and distribution methods.

Since that day, my collection has grown, piece by piece, as I've discovered new items, either directly handed to me or left on the ground.

So, for whatever reason, do you share my obsession for collecting religious tracts? Or perhaps you simply have a passing interest or curiosity in printed fear-mongering propaganda, similar to those who are fascinated by train wrecks? In either case, please feel free share your choice finds in the Flickr group I've set up. I'd love to hear people's stories as well as see their photos.

Mountweasel

2005-10-25T11:28:00.000-04:00

As a longtime lexiconophilist, if I needed yet another reason for yearning to be a dictionary editor, this is perhaps the clincher. But, I suppose by just spending the time dreaming of such things, I'm guilty of esquivalience and should get back to work.

Gender and Privacy Lessons at Toys "R" Us

2005-10-14T12:58:00.000-04:00

Normally, I make a point of avoiding Toys "R" Us at all costs. Aside from hating everything it stands for as a goliath multinational corporation, it consistently has the worst customer service and merchandise of any store I've ever been into (Radio Shack ranks a not-so-distant second). But, occasionally, need seems to propel me through their multicolored grammar- and punctuation-abusing doors (though, it must be said, even on those occasions I never find what I'm looking for, which proves that I'm either a slow learner, a glutton for punishment, or perhaps both).

As it so happens, my son is turning one year old next Saturday and, for various reasons, my wife and I are having a hard time finding the precise party supplies we're looking for. Once again, I mistakenly thought I'd find just the thing in the small city known as Toys "R" Us, so over lunch today, I found myself back in that soul-sucking purgatory its actual rulers would like you to believe is presided over by the towering giraffe with such a friendly face.

After quickly figuring out that the store offered nothing remotely close to what I was looking for (it never ever does; I just want to stress that fact), I decided to have a little fun documenting some of the more grotesque aspects of the store. After all, I had my camera with me and a little time to spare.

There being so much to choose from in the deliberately labyrinthine marketer's rat maze around me, I decided to start with the most obvious: gender lessons. I was shocked--shocked!--to learn that Toys "R" Us is so helpful for parents or other adults who need to know immediately, and with absolute certainty, the gender to which a given toy belongs.

On previous trips, I'd already learned that the sections of the store were clearly delineated as "boy" or "girl" departments, though the well-researched and no doubt heavily tested layout was much more complex than simply drawing a line down the middle of the store (which would perhaps be admitting to much, even for a place as obviously gendered as Toys "R" Us). Rather, the twists and turns make sure you at least cover the opposing gender's territory, even if you think you have no interest in buying toys from those sections. Last time I was there, I turned the corner of the board game section (thinking I'd find what I was looking for there, since I hadn't found it yet*) to find myself awash in the blinding and ironically stomach-churning Pepto-Bismol realm of Barbie.

At any rate, this time around I paid a little more attention to the gender divide within sections, and I began by taking a few snapshots of some of the more obvious examples of the assistance provided by the team effort of manufacturer's packaging and store layout. I don't think the following photos really require much comment:

As I mentioned earlier, such stereotyping should come as no surprise to anyone, and I'm hardly the first person to observe or report it. If this were all I had to say about my trip to Toys "R" Us, I would have just grumbled all this to myself and perhaps chuckled to myself (a little uncomfortably) as I looked at the pictures. But what interested me most was what came next.

I'd meant to take more pictures and provide a somewhat more nuanced analysis of the interior of Toys "R" Us in general. Even though I'd started with the most obvious, I wanted to eventually go a little deeper. But I never got the chance, because evidently, taking pictures within Toys "R" Us is illegal (or simply against Corporate Policy, though the security guard's reaction seemed to suggest--or actually believe--otherwise).

Our exchange went like this:

Security Guard (there always seems to be more security guards around in Toys "R" Us than clerks): Excuse me, sir, no photographs are allowed in the store.

Me: Really? Isn't this a public place?

SG: No photographs are allowed. There's a sign at the front of the store.

Me: But I don't understand. Why aren't photos allowed?

SG: It's store policy. You need to have permission from Corporate to take pictures inside the store.

Me: Can you tell me the reasoning behind this store policy? Are you worried that people will expose to the world the way the interiors of the stores look?

SG: Sir, it's store policy. You can't ...

At this point, I gave in to my inevitable defeat (I wasn't really interested in the conversation anymore anyway) and left the store to return to my desk and finish off my lunch hour by writing up this overly long post with a single not-so-meaty nugget: the many evils of Toys "R" Us include an unnecessarily unhealthy store layout and an unnecessarily restrictive privacy policy to cover up this fact.

Actually, perhaps I'm glossing over this "store policy" too lightly. It might actually be protecting the store more than I know. Who knows what I could have exposed with my camera and modest blog, if only I'd been allowed a few more shots ...
___________________

* I never did find Super Scrabble there last Christmas. The clerk had evidently never heard of the most popular word board game on the planet, on which this newer version is based.

New Album Trend for Old Musicians?

2005-09-23T16:20:00.000-04:00

Is the new trend for musicians of a certain age to release albums with neither artist name nor album title on the cover?

The Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" (top) and Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" (bottom) are currently "Better Together" at Amazon.

New Album Trend for Old Musicians?
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

In related news, see Ed's hilarious, spot-on comments on the latest paperback book cover for an author of a certain age.

iTunes 5 Search Bar

2005-09-08T09:38:00.000-04:00

The best new feature in iTunes 5 is the enhanced search bar. Now, when I want to find John Wesley Harding's song "Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue & Me," I can do a Song search for "bob dylan" without bringing up the 600+ songs by Bob Dylan in my iTunes library.

Similarly, I can do an Album search for "john wesley harding" to find Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" without also finding John Wesley Harding's "Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue & Me."

Very helpful indeed.

iTunes 5 Search Bar
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

Now, I just wish I could search for "bob dylan" by Composer only, excluding the Artist column. Until then, I'll just have to stick with my always-expanding "Dylan Covers" playlist.

The Bat Segundo Show

2005-09-07T15:12:00.000-04:00

The Bat Segundo Show
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

If you want to have your finger on the pulse of the literary world, but prefer to take your information aurally, do check out Ed Champion's Bat Segundo Show, "a podcast in tenebrous standing."

Recent shows include Norman Solomon; Paula Kamen; Amanda Filipacchi & Kevin Smokler; Dennis Loy Johnson, Valerie Merians & David Kipen; Jonathan Ames; and David Mitchell.

Today's installment features Periel Aschenbrand.

The Bat Segundo Show
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

(Click on image for a somewhat more detailed, if still incomplete, view of the Bat Segundo show archive.)

Mosaic: Babies aren't cheap

2005-09-03T10:26:00.000-04:00

Mosaic: Babies aren't cheap
Originally uploaded by jbum.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster

2005-08-24T16:58:00.000-04:00

The Flying Spaghetti Monster
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

Make your voice be heard. Write to the Kansas School Board and make sure the true version of intelligent design is given its due.

Thanks to Tom Yeaton (via Boing Boing) for the logo.

Brass and Ivory Pocket Notebook

2005-08-12T14:31:00.000-04:00

Brass and Ivory Pocket Notebook
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

I so want this "18th century version of the PDA" (via 43 Folders). Thanks for giving me something else to drool over, Merlin.

Flickr Books on the Way

2005-08-12T10:39:00.000-04:00

DSC05849
Originally uploaded by pt.

Can't wait for these. Thanks for the tease, Phil!

Sunset over Memorial Hall

2005-08-07T09:16:00.000-04:00

Sunset over Memorial Hall
Originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

Least Wanted

2005-06-16T15:45:00.000-04:00

nyc 1907
Originally uploaded by Least Wanted.

The guy behind Least Wanted describes his collection humbly and briefly: "i collect mug shots. nobody famous." But what an amazing and enthralling collection of photos of "crazy ladies," "commies," "trannies," and other small-time criminals from the turn of the century through the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Truly unique, classic, memorable, and mesmerizing, it's tough to look away.

On Deck: Brooklyn Noir 2

2005-04-16T16:08:00.000-04:00

I just received an advance copy of Brooklyn Noir 2 in the mail and can't wait to crack it open. As it happens, and purely by coincidence, I'm just about to finish another collection of genre fiction (McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories), so the timing of this book's arrival couldn't be better. I don't have much time to read lately (as I've mentioned more than once recently; it's a bit of a sore issue for me), so this book will have to bump the rest of the books in my ever-growing list to take its place at the top of the queue.

Why the special attention? Frequent readers of this site (if, indeed, there is such a category of people) may remember that I quite enjoyed the first book in this series. I guess I'm not alone, because the press release that accompanied Brooklyn Noir 2 referred to "the stunning success of the summer '04 award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir," which has launched not just a sequel, but also "a groundbreaking series of original noir anothologies." Forthcoming Akashic Noir titles include Manhattan Noir, Baltimore Noir, Los Angelos Noir, D.C. Noir, Dublin Noir, Chicago Noir, and San Francisco Noir.

I don't know that I'll ever have the time to read every book in such an ambitious list of titles, but for now, I'll content myself with Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics. While the first installment featured original stories by contemporary writers only, the second installment "offers short stories by the classic authors who blazed the path for the success of the first volume." That doesn't mean you won't find any contemporary writers in the mix, but there are indeed some serious noir heavyweights on the contributor list, which includes H.P. Lovecraft, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, Pete Hamill, Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, Carolyn Wheat, Thomas Wolfe, Hubert Selby, Jr., Stanley Ellin, Gilbert Sorrentino, Maggie Estep, and more.

I'll of course post my complete review when I finish, though I can't make any promises for how soon that might be.

Disquieting Modern Trends: William Safire Edition

2005-04-13T15:07:00.000-04:00

For anal-retentive curmudgeons and editorial blowhards only. If the only thing you liked more than reading Eats, Shoots & Leaves was finding fault with Lynne Truss's own usage in the book, you'll have a grand time picking apart Yankee Pot Roast's Disquieting Modern Trends: William Safire Edition:

There is nothing we love more on this green Earth than traveling the lay of our great nation and listening to the stupid stuff that people say. We consider ourselves pleasant conversationalists and witty raconteurs, and there is no more lovely an afternoon than one spent chitchatting with our adoring public. But we get maybe one paragraph into one of our really good stories (like, for example, the one about how we wound up eating Cheerios out of Kathy Lee Gifford's brassiere cups) and--some knucklehead interrupts us. And when they do so, they inevitably say something that utterly annoys us.

It should be noted that we are rarely upset by the substance of what people say. We are tolerant men, men willing to consider various points of view on the topics of the day. But what we cannot fathom, accept, or endorse are people who say stupid things stupidly. We're not too hot on people who say smart things stupidly either. And don't even get us started on people who say anything at all that contains the word "dialogue" used as a verb.

Let us dialogue with you right now: American tongues are a battlefield, and we aim to bring out the heavy-gauge shotguns to defend all that is normal, plain, and unpretentious. William Safire we may not be, but here is our list of the most irritating, illogical, and cumbersome word abuses and usages out there right now.

(via Maud)

The Great Gatsby Turns 80

2005-04-10T17:20:00.000-04:00

A very happy birthday indeed to The Great Gatsby, still great after all these years.

So, three cheers for Fitzgerald, for he's a jolly-good fellow, and all that, but don't forget to save the second slice of cake for Maxwell Perkins, without whose editorial hand the book would have likely been called Trimalchio in West Egg, Gold-Hatted Gatsby, or The High-Bouncing Lover.

Flickr, Yahoo! 360°, Here, There, and Everywhere

2005-03-30T10:55:00.002-05:00

I realize that I haven't been posting here very frequently lately, but if a picture is worth more than a few words, then I've been writing a whole mess of stuff over at my Flickr account. It's so much quicker and easier to post a photo than write a blog entry, so lately, when I've been swamped (which has been more often than not), I've decided to let the photos speak for me.

Now, to add to the mix and confuse things even more, I've started to take my brand-new Yahoo! 360° page for a test ride. (The service just opened up to beta testers and is still by invitation only. Let me know if you want an invite). Yahoo! 360° (~~please note that a degree symbol is required after "360," which is quite annoying for someone with HTML skills as rudimentary as mine~~ [Update: degree symbol supplied by a kind reader. Thanks, Karen!]) is, of course, Yahoo!'s highly anticipated and much ballyhooed new blogging tool cum social networking site, photo sharing service, etc., etc.

Keeping in mind my work blog, I realize I've spread myself pretty thin. With the notable exception of Flickr, since I can't even manage to keep one of these blogs current, I'm not sure yet how to best centralize all this stuff, so that people who care to keep current with me can go to just one place. Yahoo! 360° seems pretty ambitious in its attempt to become a sort of one ring to rule them all, and it does look pretty spiffy, but we'll see how it all works out.

Till I've figured this all out, look for continuing updates (with greater or lesser frequency, depending on an increasingly complex nest of issues) here, here, here, or here.

Proust in The Life Aquatic

2005-02-20T12:49:00.000-05:00

In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Ned (Owen Wilson) comes across Jane (Cate Blanchett) in her berth, reading aloud to her unborn child, and asks her if she's reading poetry. "No," she says, "it's a six-volume novel."

Even if you haven't read it, and even if you can't make out Swann's Way on the cover of the book she's holding, you'll probably recognize the reference to Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu. I was thrilled to see the book in the movie, but I was a little confused about the number of volumes she claimed made up the novel, especially since her count differs from the actual number of books she has lined up (click on the still from the film to see a larger version, in which I've helpfully numbered the books).

I know that Proust actually conceived of the novel in seven volumes:

Du cote de chez Swann
(English: Swann's Way, The Way by Swann's)
A l'ombre de jeunes filles en fleurs
(English: Within a Budding Grove, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower)
Le Cote de Guermantes
(English: The Guermantes Way)
Sodome et Gomorrhe
(English: Sodom and Gomorrah, Cities of the Plain)
La Prisonniere
(English: The Prisoner, The Captive)
Albertine disparue or La Fugitive
(English: The Fugitive, The Sweet Cheat Gone)
Le Temps retrouve
(English: Time Regained, The Past Recaptured, Finding Time Again)

But because it was released serially, and printing costs were incredibly high at the time (I think I have this combination of factors right, but somebody please do correct me if I'm wrong), the original novel had to be published in many more books. I remember seeing a complete collection of these thin tomes at an antique book fair, and each volume spanned several books.

That said, since she's reading the novel in an English translation, Jane's assessment of the number of books the novel spans certainly meshes with my memory. The editions I read (translated as In Search of Lost Time) did fit into six books (The Captive and The Fugitive were squeezed into one book). I'm pretty sure that the first English translation was Rememberance of Things Past, and that edition collected the whole novel into three heavy books. Aside from the new translations that are in process (which haven't yet gone beyond Swann's Way and In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower), I'm not aware of any other English translations, so I'm wondering about that stack of seven books she refers to as "a six-volume novel."

So, after a fashion, my question is this: does anyone know of a hardcover, English version of In Search of Lost Time/Rememberance of Things Past published in seven volumes (that is, books)? Or is this something I need to send to Movie Mistakes?

Classic Simpsons Valentine

2005-02-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of deconcept (click the image for a larger one, suitable for printing and giving to your sweetheart):

See a similar riff on this theme in Merlin Mann's real-life found version.

50 Gmail Invites

2005-02-02T13:41:00.000-05:00

Wow, just noticed I now have 50 Gmail invites to give away:I'm guessing it won't be long before these are available to the public, but if anyone wants one now, anyone at all, just let me know.

The Big Lebowski Random Quote Generator

2005-02-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

This site just made my day. I can't wait till it comes up on my personal favorite quote from my personal favorite movie:

The guy treats objects like women, man!"

Thanks for the link, Maud.

UPDATE
Well, close enough:

Another Side of Brian

2005-01-17T20:45:00.000-05:00

It ain't me, babe:

Dictionary Suggest

2005-01-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

If you love the way Google Suggest works and dig online dictionaries, you must try the ObjectGraph Dictionary (thanks for the link, Reg). Just start typing, and a list of possible word choices pops up and keeps narrowing the possible combinations with every new character you add:

Unliike other online dictionaries, you get what amounts to a page of definitions with a single search, featuring several variants of the word you're looking for. Also, no more searching several times for a word that you consistently misspell by only one letter. Your error will be made clear quite quickly. Just back up and type again!

Brian Beckham: A Fantasy Photo Mash-up

2005-01-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the wonders of Photoshop, I've created what I imagine to be my wife's ideal husband:

+
=

UPDATE
Perhaps this mash-up puts a finer point on my hypothesis:

The Final Solution

2005-01-02T14:06:00.000-05:00

[Note: Due to a recent precipitous drop in available free time, for the immediate future and continuing indefinitely for, I imagine, quite some time, the books I read and review (that is, if I even get a chance to do the latter after miraculously accomplishing the former) will be much shorter than they have in the past (e.g., I don't anticipate any A Suitable Boys any time soon). Also, my disclaimers may, at times, be longer than my actual reviews.]

The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon. 131 pages, illustrated. Good read.

Completed in 2005

2005-01-01T01:01:00.000-05:00

The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell

Assassination Vacation [audio]
by Sarah Vowell

The Full Cupboard of Life
by Alexander McCall Smith

The Code Book
by Simon Singh

McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
by Michael Chabon (ed.)

The Wisdom of Crowds
by James Surowiecki

Chronicles, Volume One [audio]
by Bob Dylan (read by Sean Penn)

The Final Solution: A Story of Detection
by Michael Chabon

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
[audio and print]
by the Writers of The Daily Show

Beastlemania

2004-12-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

Quick, before Apple Records gets around to shutting it down or suing the artist (dj BC), check out The Beastles, nine fabulous mash-ups of Beatles and Beastie Boys songs (link via BoingBoing).

Perhaps it's just because I prefer the Beastie Boys to Jay-Z, but in my book, this album beats The Grey Album, hands down (though that album is also amazing, so do check that out too if you haven't already). These mash-ups are getting addictive ...

Work Blog

2004-12-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

I've just started an official work blog, hosted by the blogging service that my employer provides as part of its its online publishing arm.

Though you'll find my first post vaguely familiar, I do not intend to duplicate content across these two sites in the future. My O'Reilly Network blog will be the exclusive repository for all explicitly job-related topics. Please continue to visit The Olive Press for literary musings, miscellaneous ramblings, knitting updates, the occasional cat photo, etc.

Dear Scott/Dear Max

2004-12-12T09:04:00.000-05:00

Though it's been out of print for years, I'd like to submit that Dear Scott/Dear Max: The Fitzgerald-Perkins Correspondence should be required reading for every editor and every author (or anyone else interested in learning how the publishing industry works) who can get their hands on it. It's a real shame that it's out of print; I would love to send a copy to every new author I sign.

I originally read it a few years ago, but I'm dipping back into it again now (I've been buying up used copies when they've cropped up on eBay, Alibris, and Amazon's used book department). The collected letters between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his editor, Maxwell Perkins (editor par excellence to Edith Wharton, Thomas Wolfe, Henry James, and Ernest Hemingway, just to name a few), illustrate the various aspects, intricacies, tensions, and ultimate value of the ideal editor/author relationship. Every conceivable aspect of this relationship is detailed in the book, and there's gold on almost every page.

This behind-the-scenes look at the crafting and delivery of content as a collaboration between editor and author is priceless for the access it offers. (It's also quite interesting to learn that Fitzgerald couldn't spell or punctuate grammatically correct sentences by himself to save his life. All errors in the quotes in this post are sic.) Take, for example, this passage from Fitzgerald regarding the title for the book he was working on at the time:

I have now decided to stick to the title I put on the book [Trimalchio in West Egg]. The only other titles that seem to fit it are Trimalchio and On the Road to West Egg. I had two others Gold-hatted Gatsby and The High-bouncing Lover but they seemed to light.

This note came in response to the following suggestion, gently offered by Perkins:

I always thought that "The Great Gatsby" was a suggestive and effective title, -- with only the vaguest knowledge of the book, of course. But anyway, the last thing we want to do is divert you to any degree, from your actual writing, and if you let matters rest just as they are now, we shall be perfectly satisfied. The book is the thing, and all the rest is inconsiderable beside it.

In the end, we know who won this battle, but Fitzgerald stuck to his guns, even as the book was going to press:

I wired you on a chance about the title -- I wanted to change back to Gold-hatted Gasby but I don't suppose it would matter. That's the one flaw in the book -- I feel Trimalchio might have been best after all.

The title of Fitzgerald's first book with Maxwell Perkins (and Scribner's) also underwent a title change, though Fitzgerald suggested this switch. Perkins actually thought that "The Education of a Personage ... strikes us as an excellent title," but Fitzgerald bluntly changes his own mind in his follow-up letter on the subject:

The title has been changed to This Side of Paradise from those lines of Richard Brookes: "... Well, this side of paradise/ There's little comfort in the wise."

These exchanges are perhaps the juiciest, and the most fun with the benefit of hindsight, but the interesting and substantive parts of their letters begin from Fitzgerald's very first contact with Perkins, in which, even before the editor has even seen a bit of the book or expressed any interest in signing it, the author is already trying to dictate the precise month in which the book should be released:

Now what I want to ask you is this -- if I send you the book by August 20th and you decide you could risk its publication (I am blatantly confident that you will) would it be brought out in October, say, or just what would decide its date of publication?

Perkins' response captures perfectly how the needs of the publisher to have sufficient time to adequately sell the book to buyers make this timeline impossible (a conversation I've had with more than a couple authors myself):

But there is one thing certain: no publisher could publish this book in October without greatly injuring its chances; for the canvasing of the trade for the fall season began several months ago, and would now order grudgingly, and in much lesser quantities than they would at the beginning of the season.

Of course, even in the face of a well-articulated business reality, the author always reserves the right to still be upset and to make bizarre, passive-aggressive, guilt-inducing statements regarding the personal nature of his disappointment:

Both last week & this noon at lunch I tried to say this but both times couldn't get started because you personally have always been so good to me -- but Mr. Perkins I really am very upset about my book not coming out next month. I explained to you the reasons financial, sentimental & domestic but more than any of these its for the psychological effect on me.

Once Perkins expresses early interest in the book that would become This Side of Paradise, he immediately gets down to business. One great voyeuristic insight offered by the book is its peek into the specific terms of Fitzgerald's publishing contracts:

As for terms, we shall be glad to pay a royalty of 10% on the first five thousand copies and of 15% thereafter, -- which by the way, means more today than it used to now that retail prices upon which the percentage is calculated, have so much advanced.

It seems that in almost every other letter, Fitzgerald is asking for another advance to get him through, which Perkins usually ends up giving him. Fitzgerald's gratitude for this understanding brings him to request a smaller advance on his next book. Not knowing this is the cause for Fitzgerald's changed terms, Perkins responds:

Why do you ask for a lower royalty on this than you had on the last book where it changed from 15% to 17 1/2% after 20,000 and to 20% after 40,000? Did you do it in order to give us a better margin for advertising? We shall advertise very energetically anyhow and if you stick to the old terms you will sooner overcome the advance. Naturally we should like the ones you suggest better, but there is no reason you should get less on this than you did on the other.

Fitzgerald sees the reasoning behind Max's interest on his behalf and decides to revise his original request for terms with this compromise:

I made the royalty smaller because I wanted to make up for all the money you've advanced these two years by letting it pay a sort of interest on it. But I see by calculating I made it too small -- a difference of 2000 dollars. Let us call it 15% up to 40,000 and 20% after that. That's a fair contract all around.

Of course, once the terms have all been settled, the content has been finished, and the book is actually in print, Fitzgerald questions and bemoans his book's sales:

I thank you very much for the $1500. I thought as there have been 41,000 printed the sales would be more than 33,796, but I suppose there are about five thousand in stock and two thousand given away or sold at cost.

I could go on and on with gems from this book (I'm not exaggerating when I say there's something amazingly relevant on almost every page of the book), as their discussions cover marketing, promotion, cover design, reviews, proofs and galleys, and just about everything else I discuss with my authors on a daily basis (including actual book content), but I leave you to check out all the gory details for yourselves, if you are so inclined (and I do hope you are).

I hope I'm not giving away the ending to anyone by pointing out the result: a successful and respected editor and a happy author, who, through all of his editor's feedback and guidance, was able to say, "I feel I've certainly been lucky to find a publisher who seems so interested generally in his authors."

Oh yeah, and more than a few pretty good books. ;-)

Google Suggest (Almost a Hack)

2004-12-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

How cool is this (link courtesy of Ben Hammersley):

As you type into the search box, Google Suggest guesses what you're typing and offers suggestions in real time. This is similar to Google's "Did you mean?" feature that offers alternative spellings for your query after you search, except that it works in real time. For example, if you type "bass," Google Suggest might offer a list of refinements that include "bass fishing" or "bass guitar." Similarly, if you type in only part of a word, like "progr," Google Suggest might offer you refinements like "programming," "programming languages," "progesterone," or "progressive." You can choose one by scrolling upor down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.

Here's what a search for yours truly looks like:

Though this isn't covered in the book (on account of the fact that it's already gone to print), look for stuff even cooler than this in the second edition of Google Hacks, in stores just around Christmas (sorry, couldn't help the plug ;-).

The Greatest Passage from The Great Gatsby

2004-12-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Years after reading The Great Gatsby, this beautiful passage, especially the penultimate paragraph, continues to haunt me with its multilayered observations. I think A Bona-Fide Piece of Printed Matter would be a great title for a book.

A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books. As we entered he wheeled excitedly around and examined Jordan from head to foot.

"What do you think?" he demanded impetuously.

"About what?" He waved his hand toward the book-shelves.

"About that. As a matter of fact you needn't bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They're real."

"The books?"

He nodded.

"Absolutely real--have pages and everything. I thought they'd be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, they're absolutely real. Pages and--Here! Lemme show you."

Taking our scepticism for granted, he rushed to the bookcases and returned with Volume One of the "Stoddard Lectures."

"See!" he cried triumphantly. "It's a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too--didn't cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?"

He snatched the book from me and replaced it hastily on its shelf, muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse.

This Is Not My Beautiful Cat

2004-12-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

Though the resemblance is eerily striking, this is not a picture of my cat:

This picture hangs in the cubicle of a coworker of mine, who has no clue regarding its origins, other than his mother saw it somewhere, thought it was funny, and sent it to him.

My cat actually poses like this sometimes (sans beer or remote), which makes the picture that much creepier. Then again, we did adopt Yeti when he was eight months old, so perhaps this photo documents his early upbringing, which would actually shed a bit of light on his unique personality.

Finished the Blanket

2004-12-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the baby blanket (only six weeks past the deadline I set myself):

For those of you who haven't kept up with my knitting projects, here's an archive.

Satellite Zoom on My Office

2004-11-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

This is amazing, and just a little bit creepy. The following satellite images zoom into a shot of O'Reilly's Cambridge office, where I work (images obtained via TerraServer):

View larger versions of these images as a zooming slideshow here.

O Is for O'Reilly

2004-11-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

According to Google, my employer is virtually synonymous with the letter O. Don't believe me?

Go to Google.
Type O into the search box.
Click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.

You'll be taken directly to O'Reilly's home page.

Thanks to Ward Cunningham for blogging this gem (and thanks to Daniel Steinberg, who passed it on). If you'd rather not try this out for every letter of the alphabet, Ward has already done the work for you. Still, that site's a bit out of date (A is no longer for Apple, for instance), so if you have a lot of time on your hands, knock yourself out.

An Improbable Success

2004-11-21T13:53:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading an advance proof of the debut novel by Adam Fawer, Improbable, which his publishers are describing as "brilliantly accessible prose [that] weaves an action-packed, fast-paced plot with dynamic characters and straightforward explanations of historical and modern theories of mathematics, probability, quantum physics and psychology" (full synopsis posted earlier on this site).

Based on this description, my interest and hopes were piqued, but I actually believed that the likelihood that the book would fulfill that ambitious promise was best described by the book's title. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, like the book's protagonist, this book beat the odds and lived up to its billing.

It's difficult to provide adequate exposition on such complex topics as quantum physics, probability theory, and Jungian collective unconscious, while still keeping the narrative flowing, interesting, and convincing. Like The Da Vinci Code, the sensation of a bestseller to which Improbable's publishers are appropriately likening this book, the book relies on the presentation of these ideas as much more than mere dressing. (Disclaimer, in case one is needed: I'm one of the millions of readers who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code.) Always a challenge for such "thinking thrillers," it's easy for an author to get sucked into scenes that read more like lectures than fiction. To this book's credit, much of the theory is actually presented as lecture, in the form of a college classroom, but not all of it can fit into that neat framework, and even the classroom bits can seem a little forced at times.

That said, the book is a lot of fun, and the smart use of probability theory to support the plot is one of the most satisfying aspects of the book, adding a great deal of thought to what would otherwise be a more standard action novel, which, though indeed fast-paced and exciting, was not what attracted me to the book in the first place. I found the sexy rogue CIA agent, explosions, and bullet-dodging less attractive than the brains of the book. Fawer clearly did his homework when he studied statistics in college, and the only thing that keeps me from thinking it's a shame that he's not teaching somewhere is the fact that he is instead using his talents and knowledge to write a book like this.

The end of the book was a little too tidy for my tastes. If wrapping up the various elements of the book into a single system is necessary or desirable for this book (I don't necessarily think it is), I'd expect it to be a little messier around the edges. Still, the fact that Fawer does pull it all together, and in a way that does work, is a testament to the ambition and talents of this author. I put the few criticisms I have for the book (and they're largely quibbles) down to the work of a debut novelist. I look forward to reading Fawer's next book and recommend this one highly.

View of the Pru

2004-10-23T19:56:00.000-04:00

As Game 1 of the 2004 World Series is just getting underway right down the street, here's what the Prudential Building looks like from the ninth floor of Bringham and Women's hospital:

Democrats Wear Red Sox; Republicans Wear Pin Stripes

2004-10-20T20:36:00.000-04:00

As I write this, the big game between the Red Sox and the Yankees is getting underway. This strikes me as a fitting moment to draw your attention to a post by the venerable Edward Champion, in which he brings up a connection I've been thinking of for quite some time, actually:

Mark my words: the Sox will make it. And if the Sox make it into the Series, then I have a strange feeling that Kerry will take the White House with ease. It's only a working theory and I have nothing sizable to go on other than the Massachusetts connection. But for the love of baseball and for the love of the nation, suffuse all your good juju into the Sox, baby. Let's take this nation back. Preternaturally. This will be Mass's year.

I'm grateful to Ed for forcing me to put to words a version or angle of a theory I've been developing. You'll want to head over there to read the whole lively thread, as Ed has some great insights into this connection (I hadn't even considered the Yankees' pin stripes as a factor), but I give you my contributions here.

*********************************************************************

It's more than just a Massachusetts connection, even if you can't quite put a finger on it. For a while now, I've been developing this theory that the Red Sox are to the Democratic party as the Yankees are to the GOP. I too can't quite flesh it out with a proof, but it strikes me as true in a very real sense.

The corollary to this theory is my belief that no one should root for the Yankees. Beyond representing support of the Right, it also strikes me as rooting for wealthy or powerful people; they just don't need it, and even if they did, why would you want to give it to them?

But then, I live in Massachusetts and embrace the liberal reputation Bush ascribes to the state as a whole, so perhaps this theory is just me. All that said, go Sox!

*********************************************************************

Just to clarify my position, though I did say that supporting the Yankees is "like rooting for wealthy or powerful people," my point wasn't really about money. That really wouldn't make a lot of sense, because if the Sox aren't really that poor in comparison to the Yankees, Kerry certainly isn't poor either.

It's just that the Yankees have had it so good and are so pretty and ... oh, I don't know, there's just something very creepy about them in a Stepford Wives kind of way. The ugliness of the Sox might just be shtick, but it's hardly wholly ironic. When you look at Derek Jeter (either in his shampoo commercials or on the field) standing next to any of the Sox (excluding, perhaps, Johnny Damon, who actually knows he looks good and intends to keep it that way) it's clear that the Sox are just embracing a grittiness that has always been there, which I kinda like.

Perhaps it's nothing more than a gut reaction, but I can't see how supporting the Yankees can give anyone any pleasure. The Sox just make me feel good to live in Boston and like following baseball, and the Yankees don't make me feel good about anything. And that's basically how I feel about the respective political parties I've assigned them in my theory (subsituting US for Boston and politics for baseball, of course).

*********************************************************************

Plus, have you noticed how the very logo for Yankees seems to have become synonymous with the American flag? Like its overused and abused counterpart, it's turned into some kind of symbol for what it means to have "American pride." Just as I can't stand the American flags plastered all over the huge bumpers of SUVs to show how much everyone uncritically supports anything that the current administration does in the name of America, I cringe at the ubiquity of the overlapping NY I see everywhere. When I lived in Northern California last year, I began an unsuccessful search for a Red Sox cap in any sports store I could find. What did I find? Caps for every Californian team (as one would expect) ... and Yankees caps.

It's one thing for a New Yorker to be a Yankees fan. But when being a Yankees fan became the mark of a true patriot, that's when I started associating the Yanks with Republican rhetoric.

*********************************************************************

And now, I'm off to clutch my Red Sox cap (which I finally acquired when I moved back to this fair city) and hope for the best, in both baseball and politics. Let's break the curse. Let's take back the White House. I believe ...

ABC News: Check Your Hed!

2004-10-18T16:46:00.000-04:00

I realize that when it comes to editing text, I'm a little more anal than most, but I can't imagine there are many people who wouldn't catch this headline gaffe (click image for larger version).

Come on, ABC News. So you picked up the story from the Associated Press. The least you could do is read the headline all the way to the end before running with it. This pains me. It really does.

Still Reading, Improbable as That May Seem

2004-10-17T16:37:00.000-04:00

Though my recent schedule has kept me from posting here as often as I'd like, I am still managing to find the odd moment or three to read. At the moment, I've once again pushed aside the perennial Wodehouse collection (which I will finish--oh yes, I will) and am really enjoying an advance copy of Improbable, the first novel by Adam Fawer, which will be published on January 18, 2005.

The book is quite the page-turner and is therefore tough to put down, but given my sporatic attention to reading lately, I might not get to curl up with it as often as I'd like. Since I'm not quite halfway through the book yet, it's far too early for me to give the review I'll eventually get to (hopfeully sooner than later), but I want to at least mention the book as early as possible here. So, in the meantime, here's the publisher's synopsis:

David Caine's life is spinning out of control.

A compulsive gambler plagued by crippling epileptic seizures, he spends his nights trolling Manhattan's underground poker clubs. Able to calculate the odds of any hand in the blink of an eye, Caine wins more than he loses, until the night he makes a costly miscalculation--and suffers his most intense seizure ever.

Desperate to regain control of his life, he agrees to test an experimental medicine. But the drug has unexpected--and unnerving--side effects: inexplicable visions of the past, present and future. Unsure whether he's perceiving an alternate reality or suffering a psychotic break, Caine embarks on a journey that stretches beyond the possible into the world of... the IMPROBABLE.

Gradually, he discovers the extent of his astonishing ability--the power to foresee the consequences of his actions and the probability of various outcomes--as well as its limitations. But he's not the only one who knows his secret. And now powerful forces want him for their own. With the help of a rogue female CIA assassin, Caine must fight for his survival--and his sanity.

In the tradition of The Rule of Four and The Da Vinci Code, IMPROBABLE's brilliantly accessible prose weaves an action-packed, fast-paced plot with dynamic characters and straightforward explanations of historical and modern theories of mathematics, probability, quantum physics and psychology.

William Morrow executive editor Mauro DiPreta notes, "IMPROBABLE is A Beautiful Mind meets Kill Bill: with a savvy plotline, an intellectual risk-taker of a hero and an ultra-empowered secret agent heroine, I bet this book will appeal to readers of every persuasion."

I must admit, when I first read this back-cover copy I was a bit concerned about what I'd find. With a build-up like this, a book could be just what I'm looking for, or it could fall flat on its face with an embarrassing and uncomfortable thud.

The ambitious promise of "an action-packed, fast-paced plot" in combination with "straightforward explanations of historical and modern theories of mathematics, probability, quantum physics and psychology" is quite a tall order for any book, but it's all working. In fact, the smart use of probability theory to support the plot is one of the most satisfying parts of the book.

Probability that I'll finish the book and review it before the book's release: 99.7%

Probability that the review will be overwhelmingly positive: 82.3%
(All signs point to that result now, but with a book like this, everything hinges on the ending.)

UPDATE
I finally finished it. See my complete review here.

Knitting Update

2004-10-02T08:48:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't stopped knitting since completing that sweater I'm so proud of.

Here's my latest progress on a baby blanket I've been working on (my first attempt at cabling). My deadline is actually approaching quickly, so I plan on having it finished by the end of the month.

For those of you who haven't kept up with my knitting projects, here's an archive.

Flickr for Photos

2004-09-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

me_in_sweater,
originally uploaded by Brian Sawyer.

Just started using Flickr to post photos and host the images for this site. I'm looking to completely get rid of Earthlink (where my current photos are stored and the host for all non-Blogger pages in this site) soon, so some images and many pages may disappear without further warning.

Book/Marriage Proposal

2004-09-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Looks like O'Reilly's Hacks series is bringing people together in more personal ways that I'd ever expected. I recently worked on PayPal Hacks, but I passed the book off before Dave Neilsen worked this bit into the acknowledgments:

I'd like to thank ... Erika, my inspiration, who makes me smile every day. Erika, I feel so lucky to have found you. With you, every day is beautiful and new. Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you...Erika Anderson, will you marry me?

Rael blogs the update here: she accepted!

Happy Birthday

2004-09-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

The Olive Press turns one year old today ... just learning to walk!

Science for Word Geeks

2004-09-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting article I hope to eventually find time to read (via Tim):

Evidence from the last 20 years of work in cognitive psychology indicates that we use the letters within a word to recognize a word. Many typographers and other text enthusiasts I've met insist that words are recognized by the outline made around the word shape. Some have used the term bouma as a synonym for word shape, though I was unfamiliar with the term. The term bouma appears in Paul Saenger's 1997 book Space Between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading. There I learned to my chagrin that we recognize words from their word shape and that "Modern psychologists call this image the 'Bouma shape.'" ... The goal of this paper is to review the history of why psychologists moved from a word shape model of word recognition to a letter recognition model, and to help others to come to the same conclusion.

Cloud Atlas

2004-09-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

Ed's rave mentions of Cloud Atlas put it on my "Eventually" list early on, but its recent position on the Man Booker longlist just pushed it up the queue to "Currently."

I expect to follow the advice suggested in Michael Chabon's cover blurb ("I'm grateful to have lived, for a while, in all its many worlds, which are all one world, which is, in turn, enchanted by Mitchell's spell-caster prose, our own") and take a good, long time with it.

I'll let you know when I'm back.

UPDATE
I'm just over halfway through, and the book just made the Booker shortlist, an honor I can now concur it richly deserves. If you haven't read it yet, bump it to the top of your list. Thanks again to Ed for his fine biased reporting of the book and its many accolades.

Finished Hitchhiking

2004-08-31T21:51:00.000-04:00

I just finished The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an omnibus edition that includes the following five books and one short story:

When I began reading, the series was fun, fresh, and different, which kept me reading. Slowly, though, the parts of the books that were fun and fresh started to become a bit routine and a little old. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy them; I did. I just don't feel the overwhelming need to run right out and start The Salmon of Doubt any time soon.

More Gmail Invites to Burn

2004-08-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

On the off chance that someone reading this does not yet have a Gmail account but still wants one, I have a few more invitations to offer. Now that Google's gone public, I can't imagine that these things are worth much anymore (I'm sure they'll drop the whole invitations gimmick soon and officially release the darn product), but who knows? If you'd like one just a little bit earlier than the last few souls who don't have one, now's your chance.

The restrictions are the same as they were last time:

Okay, so I've already given out Gmail invitations to everyone I know who's expressed interest in getting one. Now, I have a couple left, but I think it's ridiculous to capitalize on the bizarre demand for a free service by selling them or swapping for them.

That said, if any of my friends, family, or cherished readers want them, I'd be happy to offer the invites I have left. So, let me know if you're interested in beta testing Gmail. The only requirement I have is that I actually know you, either in real life or via my blog. If you can convince me that I know you, I'll give you the invite. If not, please don't bother asking. It's that simple.

For what it's worth, I've been using Gmail for a couple months now and really like it.

iPod News

2004-08-26T12:25:00.000-04:00

After years of hoping and dreaming, I've finally crossed a major item off my extravagant wishlist. A couple weeks ago, on Massachusetts' "tax holiday," I braved the crowds at my local Apple store an picked up a shiny new fourth-generation 20GB iPod.

Among other, more personal, justifications, this was my reward for sending iPod & iTunes Hacks to Production. If you own an iPod and want to get more out of it, be on the lookout for this book near the end of October. You're going to want it.

Slow Book ... Arriving?

2004-08-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

Almost a full year ago, I commented on the delayed release of Dylan's much-anticpated Chronicles, Volume I (at the time of my original post, the book was already a couple years late). At that time, Amazon's best guess at a release date was January 5, 2005. Now, it looks like the skimpy book will actually be ready by October 12 of this year.

Simon & Schuster is now hyping it as "extraordinary, revealing, and surprising ... a beautifully written, singular acheivement," but the numerous delays make this belated promise a little doubtful. I'm no longer sure how much I want to buy a 300-page book (about 100 pages longer than proposed!) that took so long to write. Perhaps I'll look for it at the library.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2004-08-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

So, should I read this, or what? Seriously. There's a rumor going around that this overlooked series is actually quite good.

UPDATE
This past weekend, I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and now I'm hooked. Next up: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

UPDATE 2
Okay, so I enjoyed the series enough to go all the way through my "Ultimate" omnibus edition. The only book I have left is Mostly Harmless, which is up next.

Subscribe to Me

2004-07-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

Tired of checking in every day to see if I've managed to post something to this page? If you find yourself doing so for a number of blogs, chances are you'd benefit from a subscription at Bloglines, which dumps all the recent posts from your favorite blogs onto a single page.

In other words, don't hold your breath. Instead, click this button (now available at the bottom of my sidebar) to subscribe to The Olive Press:

Finished the Sweater

2004-07-25T13:57:00.000-04:00

I finally did it. I finished my sweater:

Remember, it was supposed to look like this:

Not bad for my first sweater, if I do say so myself. I'm quite pleased indeed.

Brooklyn Noir

2004-07-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

I've never read much crime fiction, or so-called "genre" fiction of any kind, really, but I'd heard such good things about Brooklyn Noir that I decided to give it a try. Plus, it seemed like a good summer read and a good way to get away from work for a while. I was not disappointed.

This book is a lot of fun and reminds me a bit of McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, the only other genre compilation I've read in recent years. However, unlike Thrilling Tales, Brooklyn Noir doesn't have any clunkers. (Of course, there's another big difference: namely, it's all crime fiction and--with one delightful exception that I leave you to discover on your own--it doesn't have any fantastical or supernatural stories).

Every story is a pleasure to read and is just the right length. Plots or styles that I have a feeling might grow stale or a little tiresome in a full-blown novel are perfect for the 15 to 20 pages that make up most of the stories in this collection. Cops and robbers, thugs and gumshoes--this book is just bursting with cool and feels like such a guilty pleasure for an avid reader of so-called "literary fiction." I read most of the stories before going to bed at night, and I felt like an excited little kid the whole time, nestled under the covers with a flashlight and just hoping that my mom wouldn't come in and tell me it was time for me to get to sleep. Each story is so compelling that it's tough to put the book down when you finish the one you're reading.

The seedy setting of Brooklyn is so effective and so masterfully crafted that someone like me with little background in either crime fiction or Brooklyn can't help but wonder if noir itself would even be possible in another city. Though each writer makes the city his or her own, they all give the impression that Brooklyn is noir, and vice versa; the two cannot be disjoined. The TOC includes a nice touch, though: it provides the particular neighborhood in which each story is set, showing that though Brooklyn has unifying characteristics and a general inclination to noir, it also contains multitudes. Think that Park Slope is the same as Downtown? Sunset Park and Canarsie no different than Coney Island, Brooklyn Heights, Bensonhurst, or Brighton Beach? Think again, and get ready to witness the differences.

The epigraph that begins the book, "Dere's no guy livin' dat knows Brooklyn t'roo an' t'roo, because it'd take a guy a lifetime just to find his way aroun' duh f---- town" (from Thomas Wolfe's "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn"), makes a good point. But by the time you finish the book, you feel like you do in fact know the city t'roo an' t'roo. Perhaps that's because you don't have the word of one guy. You have 20 unique perspectives, each with a different voice, angle, agenda, and incredible story to tell.

I won't single out any stories for special attention, because I really don't want to run the risk of leaving some of the best stories out. They really are all worth reading. Just get this book and read them all. Have fun!

Since You Ask

2004-07-11T11:08:00.000-04:00

Since You Ask is a book that sneaks up on you. From its unassuming beginning, Louise Wareham's consistent use of a detached, first-person narrative begins to do its job, a position you're not quite clear about at the onset. The first paragraph of the book ends with these lines:

Usually, I was nervous around Ray, but I wasn't that day. Partly because I didn't live at home anymore and partly because Ray didn't bother me anymore.

A recent reviewer of the book commented:

We soon realize that as a narrator, Betsy is a master of detached understatement. That "bother me" actually means she endured years of sexual abuse by her drug-addled sibling.

The phrase "detached understatement" is itself an understatement that doesn't quite capture exactly what's going on in the way Betsy sees and describes the world.

The writing style, which often overpowers the content with seemingly amateurish preoccupations with trivial descriptions, takes a while to get used to. For example, almost every new character, place, or object is introduced almost solely in terms of details that do little to flesh out the person or thing being described. Short, matter-of-fact statements describe scenes with more detail than is necessary, but with less feeling than you'd expect to come from such overdescription. Color is often the most identifying characteristic in any given description. We learn that "the grass was long and green" or that Betsy was "drinking from green bottles of beer," but these descriptions seem both unnecessary and incomplete. At some places, such descriptive sentences just follow one another, creating what appears to be an unnessessary inventory of the colors in a given scene:

His shirt is pale blue, with the smooth light sheen of part polyester/part cotton. His tie is navy blue and loosely knotted. Out the window, the grass is thick and green and dark.

The irony of such overdescription is that it actually doesn't describe enough. It reduces an otherwise rich circumstance, event, or person to a collection of superficial identifying characteristics.

This style becomes relentless and numbing, like the early stages of Chinese water torture, but the more you read the more you begin to realize that's the point. The style itself gets the reader into Betsy's head, which has itself been numbed by years of actual abuse, manipulation, anger, fear, and self-loathing. She sees the world with this cold, alienated gaze, in which surfaces hold more interest and less danger than the personalities inside. As a reader, looking to understand her environment on a deeper level, we're left constantly disappointed and made acutely aware that we're seeing exactly what Betsy sees, a world that might be colorful but that is far from pretty.

Ultimately, this style is a tough device to maintain and still offer a payoff in the end. Though resolving the novel's main conflicts without oversimplifying them would be inappropriate and rather insulting to the reader, leaving them unresolved makes for an unsatisfying conclusion. Still, it's a brave ending. You realize that Wareham's goal is not to satisfy but to unsettle, and she definitely succeeds in doing so. The itch you go the whole book looking to get scratched remains tingling in you after you've put the book down. Since Betsy gets little relief herself, this seems fitting and fair.

A note on the design: This book's main handicap is its unfortunate cover. Based on this cover, I would never have even bothered picking it up at the bookstore, which would have been a shame indeed. Akashic would be wise to redesign the book before its first reprint. I'm sure it would help sales.

Since They Asked

2004-07-06T08:46:00.000-04:00

Because this web site has the fortunate distinction of being recognized as an "object of [Mark's] affection" over at The Elegant Variation (thanks, Mark!), the good folks over at Akashic Books have noticed me and offered review copies of a couple books.

Since I find myself incapable of resisting free books from an independent niche publisher with a unique and interesting list, I've squeezed Since You Ask and Brooklyn Noir into my reading list. Reviews are forthcoming, as soon as I finish each book.

Fun with Heidegger

2004-06-30T12:46:00.000-04:00

Here's something interesting:

Go to Google.
Search for Heidegger.
Click on the first link that comes up (when I searched, it was Ereignis).
Scroll down about halfway down the page, perusing the links.

Notice anyone familiar? Pretty cool, huh? Who knows how they found me?

Please pardon my shameless horn-tooting. I'm such an online nobody that this sort of unrequested linkage still excites me. I actually remember consulting this page when I was a student, so I'm rather flattered to actually be among the outbound links.

Wodehouse Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

2004-06-28T12:53:00.000-04:00

After considering reading Wodehouse a number of times, based on many recommendations, Rael's offhand mention and a fairly recent article in The New Yorker recently put me over the edge.

I've just read the first few stories of The Most of P.G. Wodehouse and have found them quite rummy indeed! Very much in the spirit of Jerome K. Jerome and exactly the sort of thing I've been in the mood for lately.

Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson

2004-06-23T12:32:00.000-04:00

On tour together this summer for "The Bob Dylan Show."* See if they're coming to a Minor League baseball stadium near you.

*I know, the name of the tour sounds more than a little disrespectful to the coheadliner to me too.

Gmail Invites to Burn

2004-06-16T00:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I've already given out Gmail invitations to everyone I know who's expressed interest in getting one. Now, I have a couple left, but I think it's ridiculous to capitalize on the bizarre demand for a free service by selling them or swapping for them.

That said, if any of my friends, family, or cherished readers want them, I'd be happy to offer the invites I have left. So, let me know if you're interested in beta testing Gmail. The only requirement I have is that I actually know you, either in real life or via my blog. If you can convince me that I know you, I'll give you the invite. If not, please don't bother asking. It's that simple.

For what it's worth, I've been using Gmail for a couple months now and really like it.

Best Job Ever

2004-06-14T12:36:00.000-04:00

The June 2004 Newsletter of the OED features journal entries by OED editors on "19 April 2004: a day in the life of the OED." Over at Language Hat, where I learned of the OED Newsletter, folks are having fun picking apart this account by Katherine Martin, Assistant Editor (North American Editorial Unit):

I was working on a draft entry for the verb other (and the related adjective othered). Due to the complex and philosophical nature of these terms (and our mutual interest in the subject matter), Abigail and I decided to split them up--she took on the noun othering--so that we could discuss the definitions in detail and share our research.

Oh, if only contributing to this discussion could be my job and not just what I fiddle about with over lunch. [sigh]

It Is Finished

2004-06-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

Somewhere between packing, moving, unpacking, picking up a previously stalled knitting project, painting walls, and performing other homemaking tasks (oh yeah, and working), I finally managed to complete A Suitable Boy. I don't have the energy or interest to write a real review, so the length of my comments will be inversely proportional to the 1,474 pages of the book.

It was pretty good; it could have been better.
It was very long; it could have been shorter.
The ending was suitable; it was not suited to me.

Talk to the Animals

2004-06-10T12:45:00.000-04:00

No polyglot zoophilist's library is complete without Harrap's Rat-English Dictionary:

Over 5,000 references, 80,000 translations and hundreds of new expressions! Contains usage notes to avoid being bitten, and slang signals on a wide variety of subjects. Contains examples to show how sounds are used.

Here are a few samples from the E section:

e [i:] v. left; e ip, left a bit!
e e [i:i] v. right; e e ip, right a bit!
ee [ii:] a. just right, ee ewp, ooh, yeah, that's just right.
ee eee ['i:ii] v. tr. to stop grooming; ee eee ip!, stop nibbling my head now.
eee [iii] v. to stop; eee! stop that!
eee e [iii:'i] v. to quit; eee e! quit it!
eee ee ['ii:i] v. tr. to want; eee ee awp, I want that pea.
eee ee ee [iii:'ii:i] v. to go away; eee ee ee eep! get out of the hammock now, it's my turn.
eee eeee [ii:'iii] v. to leave; eek eee eeee, let's leave the vet's and never come back, okay?
eee eee ee [iii:'iii:ii] v. tr. to explore; eee eee ee e ee eek, Let me out so I can explore behind the filing cabinet!
eeee [iiii] v. tr. to give; eeee! gimme! eeee awp! gimme that pea!
eeee ee [iiii:'ii] v. tr. to take; eee ee ewep; I'll take that corn, thanks.
eeee ee ee [iiii:'ii:ii] v. tr. to steal; ip eee ee ee; hey, he stole my avocado!
eeee eee [iiii:'iii] v. to abscond; eeee eee ee chrp; he absconded with my paper towel.
eeee eee e ['iiii:iii:i] n. dinner. eeee eee e eep; I'm ready for my dinner now.
eeee eeee [iiii:iiii:] v. to feed; eeee eeee pwip! feed me, I'm starving!

(I think I originally saw this in a post at Language Hat, but it was a while ago, so I can't quite remember.)

New Don Q: Excellent Translation and Narration Make Perfect Audio Book

2004-06-08T12:48:00.000-04:00

The audio book of Edith Grossman's new translation of Don Quixote was the perfect driving companion for my trip across the country. At a whopping 40.5 hours, I listened to the 35 CDs almost nonstop but didn't even finish it in the car (though only about 20 minutes were left for me to listen to after arriving).

As I suppose I could have guessed, the text of Don Quixote is particularly well suited to the audio book format. Among other things, it's largely a book about storytelling, and many long sections of the book felt very much in the spirit of The Canterbury Tales. Characters enter, tell their stories to the main characters (and to us readers in the process), and then go their merry way. It strikes me as the perfect book to read to a child a chapter a night, as each chapter stands on its own as an isolated adventure or even a story within a story. Like A Thousand and One Nights, it begs to be read aloud in installments.

Of course, the success of a good oral story depends on the reader, who needs the right voice, interpretation, interest, and believability to tell the tale in a gripping, convincing manner. George Guidall is the perfect narrator for this story. From the first pages of the Preface, I could already tell that his voice was the one I'd imagine for Don Quixote (and, by extension in my mind, Cervantes himself). His narration always captures the humor of the book without turning it into slapstick comedy, and he effectively reads all characters, both male and female, as rich, distinct voices without resorting to caricature. For example, he characterizes his female voices by using a softer tone, not a higher pitch. He doesn't try to sound like a woman; rather, he simply conveys the fact that a female is speaking. I often find this is a challenge for readers of audio books. There's nothing worse than hearing a male reader go falsetto when reading a female character's lines.

Also, though I've never read or heard any other translation and so have nothing to compare it to, I found Edith Grossman's new version remarkably crisp, current without being anachronistic, and generally easy on the ears, which, since I imagine that's how the Spanish would have sounded to Cervantes' original readership, strikes me as a success.

In short, if you're planning your own cross-country drive, or if you have some other long-term commitment to solitude that you need to fill with a good yarn, I highly recommend picking up this audio version of Don Quixote. If you're just looking for something to occupy your daily commute, this might not be the book for you, simply because you'll be listening to nothing else for quite some time.

Cross-Section of U.S. Gas Prices over Memorial Day Weekend

2004-06-07T12:36:00.000-04:00

All prices are for regular unleaded.

5/27
Santa Rosa, California: $2.299
Fernley, Nevada: $2.199
Winnemucca, Nevada: $2.169

5/28
Wendover, Nevada: $2.279
Lyman, Wyoming: $1.839
Cheyenne, Wyoming: $1.899

5/29
Lexington, Nebraska: $2.159
??, Iowa: $2.079
??, Illinois: $1.999
??, Indiana: $1.999

5/30
West Unity, Ohio: $1.979
Fredonia, New York: $2.119
Little Falls, New York: $2.149

If it looks like I filled up often, it's only because I wanted to make sure I didn't run out of gas out in the boonies. I actually made pretty good gas mileage: an average of 35.5 mpg for the whole trip.

Tolls on I-90

2004-06-01T12:47:00.000-04:00

In case you ever plan to travel the length of I-90 (from the western border of Indiana to Boston), here's what you can expect to pay.

Indiana: $4.45
Ohio: $5.45
New York: $12.15
Massachusetts: $4.50

Total: $26.55

Itinerary

2004-06-01T12:35:00.000-04:00

(view map)

Day 1 (5/27)
Begin: Sebastopol, California
End: Winnemucca, Nevada
Miles: 410
Time: 6.75 hours
States Covered: California, Nevada

Day 2 (5/28)
Begin: Winnemucca, Nevada
End: Sidney, Nebraska
Miles: 904
Time: 13.5 hours
States Covered: Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska

Day 3 (5/29)
Begin: Sidney, Nebraska
End: Hammond, Indiana
Miles: 831
Time: 13.25 hours
States Covered: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana

Day 4 (5/30)
Begin: Hammond, Indiana
End: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Miles: 969
Time: 16 hours
States Covered: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts

Total Miles: 3114

Arrived Safely

2004-06-01T09:37:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know I arrived safely in Cambridge. I'm writing on a borrowed computer at the moment, but I'll write more when I'm officially back online.

On My Way

2004-05-27T14:37:00.000-04:00

I'll be incommunicado (no blog updates, email responses, etc.) for the balance of Memorial Day weekend (driving across the country), but when I resurface bright and early on June 1, I'll once again be calling Cambridge "my fair city."

My intention is to document my trip in some fashion (via pictures or some sort of log), but, knowing how way leads to way, that just might not happen. I remember having the same good intentions on my last cross-country trip, but after driving all day, such intentions tend to fade away.

At the very least, I'll check in to let everyone know I arrived safely, but I can't promise how much more I'll say when I get there.

Returning the Plug

2004-05-26T15:59:00.000-04:00

After many years of neglect, I just got back in touch with my old friend and former college roommate, a much welcome reacquaintence.

Since he was kind enough to point his readership in my direction, I thought I'd return the favor. Check out Radikal Papi, his personal blog with a very political bent. Also check out his other site, Crass Politics, which reflects his "observations about current local, national, and international events from a purely political viewpoint."

Excerpt from Oblivion

2004-05-26T15:47:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Ed for reporting on the online excerpt from David Foster Wallace's forthcoming Oblivion. When I have a moment or three, I hope to actually get around to reading "Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature" and giving it a chance.

Till then, I'll remain conflicted on whether to buy the book. As I've mentioned before, though I've consistently enjoyed both of DFW's novels and most of his nonfiction (unfortunately, I just wasn't man enough to get through Everything and More), his collections of short stories have left me pretty cold so far.

Grape Press Update

2004-05-21T15:25:00.000-04:00

Over at my other site, I have recounted the continuing results of my survey (Who would you like to see as the subject of the next essay posted at The Grape Press?):

Immanuel Kant: 4
Martin Heidegger: 3
Saint Augustine: 2
It doesn't matter to me. The whole site is just pretentious crap anyway, and I'm not interested in it at all.: 2

Since I've already responded to the demand for Kant, I've just added a little something to satisfy those Heideggerians out there: "Tensions in Heidegger's Hermeneutic Phenomenology."

All you Augustine fans will have to wait just a little longer.

Homeward Bound

2004-05-20T13:10:00.000-04:00

In just one week...

Gmail Capacity: 1 Million MB?

2004-05-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

When I logged into my Gmail account today, I found the following message displayed at the bottom of the screen:

Just yesterday, the message correctly indicated that 16 MB was 2% (rounding up) of my 1000 MB capacity. So, what gives? Is this message an error? Or am I really going to get a million megabytes of storage for my email? Now, that would be something.

Update
Bummer. I just logged in this morning (5/19) to find that the situation has been "fixed." Looks like I'm back to my puny gigabyte.

Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing

2004-05-17T15:56:00.000-04:00

Even if the topic were not especially timely for me, I'm sure I'd still get a kick out of Not Without My Handbag's "Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing" (the funniest thing I've seen online since "10 worst album covers of all time"):

It's simple. Some parents are just plain crazy. But few are as crazy as many soon-to-be parents, who, wrapped up in the fear and anticipation, the social status and expectations, go just plain mad. Mad as march hares with swollen ankles and morning sickness.

The following is a catalog of naming questions and suggestions posted on several different baby naming bulletin boards going back as far as early 2001. All entries are left unedited except for length.

As you will see, some parents-to-be have gone so far into the realm of baby-obsession they have lost track of the real, adult world. Their view is so skewed their only concerns are a) making their child "unique" and b) trying to keep the kid from being teased, often with terrible results.

Steel yourself, take a few deep breaths, and read.

Though you'll want to take the time to relish the many, many pages of ridiculous names and humorous responses for yourself, here's a quick sample:

Ridiculous Name: i have a 20-year old son named case mitchell and an 18-year old daughter named cheyenne autumn. my daughter has some of the most beautiful red hair in the world so her name fits her to a tee.

Response: Not only does she have beautiful red hair, Cheyenne Autumn stars James Stewart and Richard Widmark and is regarded by many critics to be John Ford's most cynical of his later Westerns. She runs 2 hours, 35 minutes and is available on VHS.

Trust me; they get even funnier. Thank goodness I was warned away from names like Catatonia and Melancholia before it was too late!

At Last: New Sedaris

2004-05-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

The wait is almost over. David Sedaris's new book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, will be released on June 1.

Apropos of this wonderful news, I bring you an article on the roots of Sedaris's storytelling and personal subject matter (link via Maud):

Competitive storytelling was a skill David Sedaris learned in a household of six children. Everyone wanted their mother's attention, but if their after-school stories went on too long she complained: "You are boring me to death." "You had to be fast, efficient and as interesting as possible," says Sedaris. "Saying the teacher had slapped Mike, even if it didn't happen, was more interesting than going on endlessly about some minor dispute."

As an adult, Sedaris has turned storytelling into a career and his relatives into subject matter. Before his second book of personal essays, Naked, came out in 1997 every family member had to sign a form saying they wouldn't sue him. Since then they haven't bothered with legalities. Readers are familiar with his grouchy, penny-pinching, Greek-American father, his acid-tongued, chain-smoking mother, his rap-talking brother, "The Rooster", and his four talented, eccentric sisters. "They're really good sports about it," he says.

I expect a great many stories on this familiar cast of characters in the forthcoming book, especially after hearing the sneak peak of recent readings of new stories that will presumably be included. I can't decide which version I want more, the audio CD or hardcover. Perhaps I'll just skip the decision and get both.

More on my ongoing Sedaris obsession here and here.

New Look

2004-05-13T15:57:00.000-04:00

Lured by the new features offered by The Great Blogger Relaunch, The Olive Press is trying out a new look. Feel free to let me know what you think.

At the very least, I hope you'll agree that the new, built-in comments feature pretty much blows away my previous Enetation comments (the archives of which I'm afraid are now permanently lost).

Update
Okay, based on feedback (in my new commenting system) that basically confirmed what I'd already believed (that my previous design was nicer and more original than my new one), I've gone back to the "classic" design for this site. The good news is that I think I figured out how to keep the only feature of the new design I actually liked (i.e., the page-per-post commenting engine).

But I'm still open to feedback (see how seriously I take it?). If you prefer the "new" design (which you can still check out over at my other site), let me know.