Counterbalance

Lit Bits and a Bit About the Writer's Strike

• Junot Diaz will be on Bookworm today at 2:30pm. Definitely worth checking out. The fastest talker and the slowest talker talking together. Good stuff.
• Any mention of my new boyfriend Seamus Heaney is enough to grab my attention, but a post about how it is likely his beloved Beowulf will be destroyed when Angelina Jolie stars in the film version is, well, really enough to grab my attention.
• James Tata has been running a lengthy essay (it has ten parts!) on publishing and writing and American Literature. He's on part four now and shows no signs of stopping. Do check it out.
• Yes, the writers are striking.  And do you know what pisses me off? All the people who are against the writers striking. Particularly the people who make a ton of money off of the writers when they are not striking.  And the media who slants their coverage in favor of the big corporations who make money off the striking writers when they are not striking. Despite some crap coverage by LA media, there's been some good inside coverage of the strikes here in LA where the daily picketing is pervasive. Instead of trying to sum it up tidily for you (because such a thing is in progress, it cannot be tidily summed now, if ever), I point you toward some excellent posts, pieces, ponderings on the issue:
  • Antoine Wilson's very sensible breakdown of what it all means - The Office is on strike & the most sensible breakdown of what it all means on You Tube - Why The Writers Are Striking
  • Heath Biter for LAist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
  • The Huffington Post has all sorts of writers from all sorts of angles
  • LA Times checks in with the picket lines
  • Obama, Clinton & Edwards back WGA
  • Strike Zone has all sorts of goodies...
  • What will happen to your TV shows & when (and it's here that I'll say if you care so much about your shows and what will/won't be on, then it should by now be pretty damn clear how important the writers of those shows are, no?)
  • UPDATE: Jenna Fischer/Pam Beesley's blog has some great recent updates
  • UPDATE: Jenna/Pam directs us to James Gunn, who says it all so well (those writers!)

Lit Bits & A Bit About Rome

• Am I the only one who sees a connection between Jennifer Egan's The Keep & Scott Smith's The Ruins?  I have searched and cross-searched and double-dog dare searched to find a review, a blog post, a technorati random mention, something that I feel certain I've read comparing these two. If it exists, please light the way. If not, I think I'll have to write my own. While it is no secret that I found The Ruins to be lacking in so many ways, I am firm in my belief that Egan is a better writer and handles a similar (esque?) tale with much more nuance, insight and texture.  Yet. Yet.  There was a passage in The Keep that stopped me in my reading tracks, so similar in tone and content to a passage I am certain exists in The Ruins. Unfortunately, my copy of The Ruins has been returned to my Little Tokyo library which means I can't spend countless hours poring over the text to find the exact passage I'm certain (am I though?) exists in both books.  Maybe I just don't dig this type of story in the first place and should let sleeping castle vines lie?  If nothing else, Amazon seems to see the similarities, as a search for either The Ruins or The Keep suggests that others who bought one bought the other.  I hesitate to let Amazon provide guidance in this regard, but I'm at a loss without finding either another copy of The Ruins or that blog post I know I've read that will render my need to write about it obsolete.
• Two excellent posts about writing characters that resonate with readers -- Justine Musk (Via) & Eric Rosenfeld (Via.)
• Rome. Yes, that's right. Rome. Have you seen it? Do you love it? Can you even handle it? Can you possibly sit still until the next season begins on Jan 14th?  Let me put it to you this way: I hate historical fiction. I loathe historical films. I'm not interested in period drama, period. I don't care what form it takes. Why? Because you know how its going to end, where's the suspense in that?  But Rome, blessed Rome.  Never have I been so wrapped up in a period drama -- never did I expect to wonder aloud "Who will kill Caesar? When will it happen?" I became such a part of the magical world they've created that I forgot I already knew the answers to these questions. I'm so excited for Season 2 to begin so I can find out what happens.  Pure silliness, really, given that I already know what course history took. But oh to see it acted out in all its brutal glory. I simply cannot wait for January 14th, 9pm, PST. Yet here's the rub: I don't have television. Have been off the juice for over a year.  I had to wait a full year for the Season 1 DVD to come out (which I've clearly just gorged myself on, hence the excitement) & I simply cannot wait that long for the Season 2 DVD. I can't. I won't. Yet -- Rome isn't even available for a season pass on iTunes.  So. I'm hatching a plan to seek out a neighbor or other unwitting soul with HBO and free Sunday evenings that just might be willing to bargain.  Ahhhh...I feel the weight of the Roman empire and it's thicket of political manoeuvrings creeping its way through my veins as I type.