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!)