Gobsmacked

This NYT article, With No Jobs, Time for Tea Party, left me sputtering in disbelief & horror. Excerpt (emphasis mine):

When Tom Grimes lost his job as a financial consultant 15 months ago, he
called his congressman, a Democrat, for help getting government health care.
Then he found a new full-time occupation: Tea Party activist....

He blames the government for his unemployment. “Government is absolutely responsible, not because of what they did recently with the car companies, but what they’ve done since the 1980s,” he said. “The government has allowed free trade and never set up any rules.”

He and others do not see any contradictions in their arguments for smaller
government even as they argue that it should do more to prevent job loss or cuts
to Medicare. After a year of angry debate, emotion outweighs fact....

Mr. Grimes, for his part, is thinking of getting a part-time job with the Census Bureau.

Displaced

Movers are packing up my life as I write. Tomorrow everything goes on a van. Friday we fly to New York. On April 2 we face the unspeakable pleasure of unpacking furnishings for a 1900 sq ft home into 1300 sq ft, plus a very large (dry!) basement.

The Hardest Farewell of All

Boy Wonder's well-loved stuffed animals, on a closet shelf for 4 years, to be boxed up for the next generation. [SNIFFLE...]

VaBook Festival: The Business of Book Reviewing

Here are the Greatest Hits of what Washington Post Book World deputy editor Ron Charles said during the program I hosted last Friday, "The Business of Book Reviewing: Changes and Challenges." You can see and hear moderator Bethanne Kelly Patrick (at left) and author/reviewer Katharine Weber (at right), and hear one comment by me (explaining "trade magazines").



I'm too busy getting ready for my move to NY this week to write my own post about the festival, so read author & consulting client Clifford Garstang's comments here.

Off to Virginia Festival of the Book!

It's March Madness for me: From Thurs-Sat I'm conducting a Book Promotion 101 workshop, moderating 2 panels and hosting a 3rd, plus holding a lunch for 33 and dinner for 18.

I get back to Denver Sunday night, then the movers pack up all our stuff Wednesday and load the van Thursday. Next Friday, Darling Husband and I, with Max the Cat in tow, fly to New York. (The Boy Wonder plans to remain in Denver and hone his couch-surfing skills.)

Here are my events at VaBook, in my former hometown of Charlottesville:

Candy & Booze: Good for the Jews? (moderator)
Thu. March 18th, 2010 - 7:00 PM
Katharine Weber (TRUE CONFECTIONS) and Max Watman (CHASING THE WHITE DOG: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine) discuss the often-crossing paths of immigrant Jewish candymakers and bootleggers.

Book Promotion 101
Fri. March 19th, 2010 - 9:00 AM
Intensive publicity workshop for authors of commercially published books, led by Bella Stander. Guest speakers: Alison Larkin (THE ENGLISH AMERICAN) and Mary Sharratt (DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL). Advance registration required, class limited to 10. Hosted by WriterHouse.

The Business of Book Reviewing: Changes and Challenges (host)
Fri. March 19th, 2010 - 4:00 PM
With Ron Charles (Washington Post), David Montgomery (Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Beast), and freelancers Rebecca Skloot and Katharine Weber. Moderated by Bethanne Kelly Patrick.

Book Promotion for the 21st Century
Sat. March 20th, 2010 - 10:00 AM
Bella Stander (Book Promotion 101) talks with authors Carleen Brice (CHILDREN OF THE WATERS), Rebecca Skloot (THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS), Jag Bhalla (I'M NOT HANGING NOODLES ON YOUR EARS), and publicist Kelly Powers (Obie Joe Media) about what it takes to get your book noticed in the fragmented media world.

Quote of the Day

From today's NYT Fashion Diary by the sharp-eyed/eared/witted Guy Trebay:

“People used to have fun,” said Stéphane Feugère, the indefatigable photographer who has spent the last eight years shooting fashion parties and people, on assignment for French Vogue.

“But then everyone got a camera,” Mr. Feugère added, “and now they all wait for someone else to have fun so they can shoot it.”

Better than Ipecac

I challenge you to read this and not retch at the last line. The highlowlights, from The Salt Lake Tribune:

House Majority Leader Kevin Garn resigns amid hot tub scandal

House Majority Leader Kevin Garn announced Saturday he was resigning from the Utah Legislature, two days after revelations of a nude hot-tubbing incident with a minor 25 years ago and a payment to keep it quiet....

Garn, of Layton, admitted the two had sat nude in a Salt Lake City hot tub. He insisted there was no sexual contact, but admitted that it was wrong. [Cheryl] Maher insists there was touching and physical contact, but declined to elaborate.

In 2002, when Garn, a Republican, was running for Congress, she began contacting reporters and Garn arranged to pay her $150,000, provided she sign an agreement not to go public with the incident. She signed a nondisclosure agreement and Garn paid her the money in 2003, well after he had lost the Republican congressional primary....

With the news about to break, Garn made an emotional statement from the House floor Thursday night, with his wife by his side, apologizing to his colleagues and constituents....

His statement drew a standing ovation from his House colleagues, many of whom lined up to console Garn and his wife.

Full article in Salt Lake Tribune

Point of View

I'm just back from a week in New York, where Darling Husband and I signed a lease on a 1950s ranch house in Rhinebeck.

In square footage (1300 vs 1900) and architecture it doesn't compare well to the Victorian house in Denver we're selling:










But lot size (1/2 acre vs 40x100 ft) and the view looking out make all the difference.

From the front:










And best of all, from the back:

Quote of the Day

“I ache for the return of dysfunction. Dysfunction had its problems, but at least dysfunction has function in its title. We are not functioning at all.”

--NY Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell, quoted in NYT