It Takes a ‘Village’…
I’m in this Village Voice piece about lit-blogging.
On This Day:
On the 20th of April…
*1775: The British Army begins their seige of the colony city of Boston after the historic “Shot heard round the world” the morning before at the intersections of Lexington and Concord. The American Revolution had begun.
*1832: Congress establishes Hot Springs Arkansas as the nation’s first National Park.
*1841: Edgar Allen Poe publishes The Murders in the Rue Morgue, now considered the first detective story.
*1912 and 1916: Fenway Park opens in Boston. 4 years later, Wrigley Field follows in Chicago. Along with Yankee Stadium in New York, the two comprise the last of the old time baseball stadiums still in operation.
*1943: In honor of Hitler’s birthday, Nazi SS soilders begin a campaign of total destruction against the ZOB, a Jewish defense organization that has rebelled within the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto. They hold off the Nazis for 28 days but in the end, all are either killed or sent to the death camps at Treblinka.
*1999: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold enter their high school in Littleton, Colorado and begin shooting. By afternoon, 13 people will be dead, 23 injured and Harris and Dylan will have killed themselves (archive). They supposedly chose April 20th because it was Hitler’s birthday.
*2002: In an event of only personal historical significance, Midwestern transplant Kevin Smokler purchases a home in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Each year, on April 20th, he takes a moment to reflect on how much has happened since that day. He then listens to the song “20th of April” by Oysterband, because he feels this day is a little haunted.
The New Pope:
So there’s a new pope in town. His name is Joseph Ratzinger, he’s German, 78, former Dean of the College of Cardinals and has chosen the name Pope Benedict XVI. Far as I can tell, his favorite color is white.
Some hoped that whomever they elected as the 256th pope would be a more progressive pontiff as now most of the world’s Catholics are poor, of color and living in developing countries. Elsewhere in the world, interest in Catholicism is declining. So what to do about this 21st century thing, ya know?
Elect a pope that CNN calls a “Guardian of Orthodoxy”? Another white-European guy? Eh wouldn’t be my first choice but A) I’m not Catholic (or even Christian) and B) This new pope is 78 years old. Unless he is in superb health, he’s not going to be reigning for 26 years as his predeccesor did. I have a feeling we’ll be right back here in 5 years or so waiting for the revealing of Mr. 257.
Does Race Matter When you Blog?
A bunch of bloggers recently convened in NYC to bat this question around. My friend George Kelly was on hand and recorded the conversation.
Sunday Morning Shards #26:
On my mind and in the reading queue this week. The "crusty" edition.
*I’m intrigued by The One Campaign which I heard about at a U2 concert last week but it’s mission seems curiously broad. I’ve signed but I’m adopting a wait-and-see attitude beyond that.
*Coverage of the The Lit Blog Co-op continues. Stories are now posted at the Associated Press and Inside Higher Ed.com.
*New version of All Consuming has been released which I’m eager to use to update my book lists, if I could only find the time.
*Sepulculture is a new blog from an employee at a major publishing house whose sole job is to discover and deploy new technologies for the promotion of books. More than overdue (via Buzz, Balls & Hype).
*When I was in Toronto, My buddy Rannie was kind enough to show me the famed Secret Swing.
*Several of the Toronto Bloggers (including my friends James, Brent and Neil) indicated they might be willing to come down to Ann Arbor to see me at the Ann Arbor Book Festival. That would rock way hard.
*Ten Mistakes Apple has made since the return of Steve Jobs (via Matt Haughey).
*Book is T-minus six weeks and counting.
Evening After Big Speech:
Wherein I slip off to sleep…
Morning of Big Speech:
Wherein I stall from getting ready and convey fear.
Toronto Bound:
I’m off to Toronto to give two speeches at the New Face of Publishing Workshop. Going to be hanging out with the GTA Bloggers too. I’m excited and plenty scared.
Audio reports from the road. Be home Friday.
All Consuming is back!
All Consuming, the web’s bestest book cataloging application is back and better than ever. Its creator, Erik Benson, explains the changes.
The ‘Biggest’ Myth:
When I was growing up, my friends and I used to argue for hours about meaningless trivia like what was the biggest selling album of all time and whether it sucked or not. We didn’t have the internet back then which would have ended the discussion in a flash. But we probably would have some equally stupid to fuss about.
Well now that we do have the internet I’m a little surprised I never bothered looking for the answer to that question. But I checked in on the Long Tail blog this morning and there it was: The 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time.
I feel better now.