So close and yet...

The writer of Virigin Suicides hasn't given us a third novel, but, well, read what Publisher's Lunch sent me today:

Pulitzer winner for MIDDLESEX Jeffrey Eugenides' GREATEST LOVE STORIES OF ALL TIME, an anthology of classic love stories, to Jonathan Burnham at Harper, with Jill Schwartzman editing, for co-publication with McSweeney's Books in October 2007, with proceeds going to 826 Chicago, by Lynn Nesbit at Janklow & Nesbit.

Book Review: Transmetropolitan

Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Darick Robertson
Published by Vertigo

Having tentatively foisted the heavy fire door open and exited the rainy night, I mount the rotting stairs through the stinking, smoky, dubious air. The soles of my boots draw themselves from each print left in the…I’m not sure what, nor do I want to know. I’m up and face another door that meets with my jacket-clad forearm. Each chance taken is something else willingly given up.

I arrived at the party late, but people are still lying about with smiles of conversion and lights of redemption gleaming from their countenance. Thus I associate myself with the world of Spider Jerusalem.

Fashioned after Hunter S. Thompson, Jerusalem is a nasty bastard who hates the world, which hates him back. In fact, the distopian world is pretty hateful. And cynical. And selfish. And expensive. And invasive: bodily, spiritually, and psychically. Turn on CNN and think of a Bush dynasty lasting another decade. Get the picture? Yup. Pretty fucking bleak.

Which is why Ellis and Robertson’s collaboration remains so timely. Originally published in 1997, the Transmetropolitan series has been collected and reissued as a perfect-bound edition. As seemingly miserable Jerusalem is, even his cleverly half-shaded-half-rose-coloured glasses see a glimmer of light. It reminds us that we lunatics aren’t insane, we just haven’t taken over the asylum. But it is possible. And we can, if we want. Just turn on your brain and open your eyes.

These are the end times. It rained cheese last night. The Black Squirrel has been seen has been seen as far afield as Luton…And behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death…. If anyone in this shithole city gave two tugs of a dead dog’s cock about Truth, this wouldn’t be happening.
---Warren Ellis, from the introduction.

Indi-no-go

The June 2006 edition of Harper's is only available at fine independent bookstores and magazines shops in Toronto. So there's no need to enter the giant-purple-people-eater megashop to find it. Heather, it seems, would prefer you to spend your hard-earned bucks elsewhere. This is fine with me. Who needs smelly candles with their freedom of speech? Makes me sneeze.

What caused this tempest in a java-cup? Art Spiegelman's article "The Art of Outrage," which reproduces and discusses the infamous Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

This from Quill & Quire:

Chapters/Indigo hearts censorship
If you’re looking for the new issue of Harper’s, don’t head to Indigo or Chapters, ‘cause it ain’t there. The Globe and Mail reported on Saturday that the mega-chain has pulled each and every copy from its 260 stores Canada-wide. The reason? Those pesky Mohammed cartoons again!Indigo is crying foul over an Art Spiegelman article that contains all 12 of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's infamous cartoons, along with some new comix, including one penned by Spiegelman and, according to the Globe, “two by Israelis, ‘inspired’ by an Iranian newspaper's call in February for an international Holocaust cartoon contest ‘to test the limits of Western tolerance of free speech’.”The Globe also boasts a leaked e-mail that was sent to Indigo execs, instructing them on how to respond to customer complaints of censorship, which includes the ever-so-natural and spontaneous-sounding "the decision was made based on the fact that the content about to be published has been known to ignite demonstrations around the world. Indigo [and its subsidiaries] Chapters and Coles will not carry this particular issue of the magazine but will continue to carry other issues of this publication in the future.”And the final dash of salt to this wound in free speech's side? Harper’s publisher John MacArthur
chided, “I'd expect an American company to do this, not a Canadian.” Ouch.

The article also links with the Globe and Mail article

And while you're browsing in Pages or Book City or This Ain't the Rosedale, take a gander at the other titles that may not be available in the chain store.

Movie Review: V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta
Director: James McTeigue
Writers: Andy and Larry Wachowski
**Possible spoilers**


V for Vendetta is stylistically executed but is simplistic and flawed. While I don’t expect the answers to life’s big questions to be resolved by a comic book-based movie, when the movie in question purports to provide them, then I do want something. Alas, I left with a steak-less belly and sizzle-speckled specs.

Lead character V (Hugo Weaving) has suffered at the hands of an oppressive government and is out to secure freedom for the masses. The State’s draconian laws have suppressed art, speech, association, and sexuality under the linked guises of security and religion. “Heroine” Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) is the asker of questions and the executor of answers. The setting is near-future London where we hear about the civil wars in the United States (still the colonies, it seems). Old story, I know.

There were a number of forgivable problems that are given up to willing suspension of disbelief. The eventual posthumous success of Guy Fawkes’ blowing up of Parliament isn’t it. It has been argued that even if the historical saboteur/freedom fighter/terrorist had been successful, nothing would have changed; indeed, things might have gone much worse. The tragedy of 9/11 proves it. What V suggests (the destruction of a symbol to give revolution meaning) is what many terrorists claim; that the World Trade Towers were the symbol, the epitome of selfish, capitalist, Western arrogant hubris. While that may be true, what rose from the ashes was (and is) far more oppressive to far more people and dangerous to all bystanders—innocent or otherwise. The metaphor of “blowing up old institutions” is all very well and good, but what do you replace it with? What has the solidity and the foundation? One must build on something.

In the world of V for Vendetta, somehow a villain gained power. And meanwhile, people sat back and let it happen. Then someone told them it was wrong and they got up and followed the next person. What if both leaders they’re both wrong? Certainly the State was evil in the movie and ought to be overthrown. (Think a mix of Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s 1984, Burgess'/Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Ah, but the Brits do authoritarianism so well.) Then what?

There were hints of grey throughout; that perhaps there were a multitude of options other than the two put forth (authoritarianism versus anarchy). Perhaps we were to leave thinking about a third, forth, fifth answer. I’m just not convinced that it was put across successfully.

So is it worth a watch? Sure, I guess. This is James McTeigue’s directorial debut. He’s worked with the Wachowski brothers before, and this is their type of fare (see the Matrix series). There are some nice visual effects about three-quarters in, but don’t expect a lot. And we could have done with out the stupid love scene. V for Vendetta had a lot of potential, but predictably, failed to act on it.

Book Review: A Dirty Job

Title: A Dirty Job
By Christopher Moore
Published by William Morrow
Hardcover: $32.95
(Reviewed from an advanced reading copy)

Have a box of Kleenex near you for A Dirty Job. Again, Christopher Moore engages your brain, your heart, and your funny bone. His research bolsters all this writing (Lamb, Fluke) and this is no exception. Employing myth in its traditional way, he attempts to understand one of the great mysteries. Moore’s life has also informed A Dirty Job, which makes reading his latest such a satisfying experience.

Book Review: Adverbs

Adverbs
By Daniel Handler
Published by HarperCollins
Hardcover $29.95
(Reviewed from an advanced reading copy)

Adverbs is Daniel Handler’s third book for adults. Under his better-known pen name, Lemony Snicket, he fooled me into thinking he was an English author. Adverbs changes that presumption. Handler’s style reminds one of Dave Eggers; its quirky and slightly off-putting. He forces you to pay attention to the moment, to understand the characters as they exist in each short story. Meanwhile, your brain recognizes them from a previous scenario. Engaging and neat for fans of words and structure.

Artists Are Sayin' It for Themselves

This popped into my mailbox this week via a digital-copyright email list I'm on. The likes of Broken Social Scene, Barenaked Ladies, and Avril Lavigne have banded together to form the Canadian Music Creators Coalition.

From their press release:

Suing Our Fans is Destructive and Hypocritical
Artists do not want to sue music fans. The labels have been suing our fans against artists’ will, and laws enabling these suits cannot be justified in artists’ names

For more info, visit the CMCC

Dusted

Just poking my head up from the boxes that remain unpacked. Yes, I moved three weeks ago and I'm still settling in. It's been nearly a month of finding old stuff I need, buying new stuff I need, and realizing I don't have everything I need. Twenty-one days of catching up with missed deadlines, hooking up new phone lines, and figuring out impromptu washing lines. But now that March's lion is succombing to April's lamb, I will find time to spout off on books, movies, and most appropriately, this bullshit that Toronto's going wireless. Till then, I have one more missive to draft, and one more draught to miss.

Freedom of ...

I've been wondering how to address the issue of freedom of speech as it's being terrorized this week. To be honest, I worry. Zealots know no bounds. Zealots have no respect. Zealots have thin skins. And bullets and bombs and rocks render skin shattered, effectively shutting down any speach of the individuals. However, braver souls and publications than I have taken this issue on. I encourage you to visit the following sites:

Get Religion (a very balanced religion journal)
International PEN (an organization defening freedom of expression)

Out of the Frey-ing pan...

...and into rehab. Apparently being a loud-mouth junkie will get you a sweet book deal. From my e-mail inbox from Publisher's Lunch:

Velvet Revolver front man Scott Weiland's memoir of his rise to the
pinnacle of rock stardom, first with Stone Temple Pilots and later recreating himself as the sober lead singer of Velvet Revolver, to Brant Rumble at
Scribner, by David Vigliano of Vigliano Associates.

Courtney Love's Dirty Blond, journals including never-before-seen intimate
photos and revealing writings about her career, family, and rehab, to Denise
Oswald at Farrar, Straus, for the Faber imprint, by David Vigliano of Vigliano
Associates.

Márquez Puts Down His Pen

From The Guardian:

The Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Gabriel García Márquez, has announced that he has given up writing.

Mr. Bean Goes to the Museum

...or life reflects art in many tiny pieces.

via bluno.org

1 Year, 12 Months, 365 days...

Yup, it's Muse Ink's first anniversay this month. My, it just seems like yesterday...In the words of Fred Flintstone and the gang, Happy Anniversary! Thanks for visiting.

Condos, Shmondos

Sadly I must post that Ottawa independent record shop Record Runner is shuttering to make room for condos. Should you reside or visit the nation's capital and need to relieve yourself of much money on worthy CDs, visit the handful of shops mentioned on the link OR drop by Birdman Sound on Bank Street. Owner John Westhaver is one of the most enthusiastic and encylopedic music people I've ever met; taught me everything I love about freeform radio at CKCU.

via PWI

Toolin' with Maiden on the Net

Last week I indulged my inner metalhead and picked up Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beat (one of my top ten of all time) and Tool's Lateralus (both thanks to a Christmas-bonus gift certificate). They have yet to leave my CD player as the smile has yet to leave my face. I bring this only because tonight, having done my homework and house work, I've time to listen to the BBC online while I sort though bank slips. As I type this, Bruce Dickinson, former frontman for Iron Maiden, is hosting his "Rock Show." Nice to see that one can be in a successful metal band, keep your brains, and still be articluate. Lemmy aside...

RIAA Killed the Satellite Radio Star

I remember an innocent age when I taped music from the radio that I couldn't afford or get my grubby teenaged hands on. It might have been a concert or an interview or just a song. I probably still have them, dust coating the evidence of my illicit, infringing days of yore. Today radio is crap, and I've yet to be convinced to buy a $400 unit + subscription fee. Nevertheless, the new technology is here with the same old cry for regulations hot on its heels.

If Truth Is Beauty...

...and beauty is truth...and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then cast thine eyes upon this. Cartoonist R. Crumb envisioned science fiction author Phillip K. Dick's visions in Wierdo #17.

via Mixmaster Shecky at Glorious Noise

Fooled Me Once

People are still nattering away about James Frey’s book and what a terrible human being he is for lying, that he’s just a rich, drunk, frat boy etc. Ok. Let’s get past that. He ain’t the first. He ain’t the last. And folks are just pissed that they got taken. Hey, “fooled me once, shame on you. Fooled me twice…”

I found a great article in the New York Times Magazine (Jan 8, 2006) by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt entitled “Hoodwinked?”. The tagline reads: “Does it matter if an activist who exposes the inner workings of the Ku Klux Klan isn’t open about how he got those secrets?”

Dubner and Levitt included in their book, Freakonomics, a chapter about the men in white. This is their lead to the magazine piece that centred on 1940s American activist Stetson Kennedy who is best known for taking on the Klan and wrote a book about it called The Klan Unmasked (originally published in 1954 as I Rode With the Ku Klux Klan). Kennedy described how he infiltrated the organization and helped bring it down a notch or ten. He dutifully archived his notes, letters, and reports.

In 1992 Ben Green began writing a book about a black civil rights advocate and collaborated with Kennedy. Turns out the man who unmasked the KKK didn’t lift the hood alone. He had help. Ok, fine. Except in the book Kennedy claimed to have done a lot of things and spoke to a lot people that he himself didn’t really do at all. This came to light with the publication of Green’s book when The Klan Unmasked was footnoted as a “novelization.”

But it was all for a good cause. Right?

Canadian author Farley Mowat has long been an advocate for the North and the First Nations people who live there. And he has “never the facts get in the way of the truth.” This has brought him as much criticism as adoration. But since it’s all for the right reasons, does it matter?

I ask this because Kennedy and Mowat appear to be forgivable. Their respective foes were reprehensible and genocidal. But rather than fuel the battle with zealotry, I believe one must arm oneself with facts.

But what can you believe? Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair blew his and the paper’s credibility by stealing articles and inventing quotes. Is he just the one that got caught?

History is mainly written by the winners. We only know what we do about Britannia, for instance, because the invading Romans were literate. Interesting that the culture that introduced coinage to that island didn’t recognize that said coin had two sides.

And so here we are in January 2006. George Bush lied to his country and sent young soldiers on a deadly wild goose chase. And Canada goes to the polls after a winter of discontent and rhetoric.

Frey pales in comparison.

A Million Little Refunds

James Frey's book (pick a genre any genre) A Million Little Pieces has generated a lot of press. I'm not sure the reason is unprecedented, but it's certainly uncommon. "Misrepesentation" is the bread and butter of showbiz and, let's be honest, much of book publishing is showbusiness.

That said, Frey has certainly moved people with his writing. I haven't read either this or his new one, My Friend Leonard, supposedly based on the headline-making paperback. If A Million Little Pieces was promo'd as a work of fiction none of this would have happened. OR if he included a disclaimer of sorts, like David Eggers did in Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, no one would be "hurt", or at least egos would have remained fully inflated. Question is, would people had liked it as much?

So at the end of day, if you bought the book and are utterly dismayed that the story is mileading, find the receipt (provided you bought it directly from the publisher), read this, and call Random House to try and get your money back. If you liked it for a good yarn and don't give a damn about its veracity, all the better.

As for me, my curiousity is piqued so I'll put a hold on at my local library.

For more information on James Frey by the man himself, visit BigJimIndusries.

Creative Non-Fiction

I take issue with the term "creative non-fiction." Perhaps I'd be happier with the cinematic workaround: "based on a true story." The former implies that the incidents contained within the covers are true, more or less...

And so we have James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, and the man who got one over on Oprah. If the usually savvy businesswoman doesn't have factcheckers yet, I suggest she hire some damn soon. Perhaps Smoking Gun has a couple of interns looking for work.

The story was also covered in the New York Times (requires registration, but it's free) and by McSweeny humourist John Warner.

Either Mr. Frey is salivating over the additional sales this "bad" publicity has generated, or he's made a quick call to his lawyer to review the terms publishing contract, you know, just in case.