Jun
19
Some select pics from the Nemeth photo shoot, including this self-satisfied shot.
Twenty-seven minutes later Tibor asked how work was going on the next book. The resulting stance is obvious.
Anyway. Next week I’m posting an essay on an old David Mamet play, concurrent with publication in a UK theater mag. Everything old is…well, still old again. Speaking of, later this summer I’m recycling the Jetcomx articles–Throwback Thursdays, for those keeping track–and inserting all new video clips, pithy commentary, and updated pop [...]
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Jun
12
Tibor Nemeth said photo shoots are weird. He’s right.
Yesterday I sat for my author photo, courtesy of the aforementioned Tibor. It wasn’t a terrible time—thanks to Tibor, he of the Lance Armstrong/Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods photo shoots—but still. I kept reminding myself to relax and breathe and think about something other than the camera. A Buddhist monk said to try not thinking about an elephant, and see where that gets you; I should’ve thought about an elephant.
So it continues [...]
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Jun
6
No, you didn’t miss the game last night, and yes, I got it wrong. Yuri Foreman was terrific, btw. Not as skilled as Cotto, but any fighter who wills their way through a bum leg–even in a losing effort–gets HBO on their side. We’ll see him again.
On a darker note, I’m not sure how 50+ head shots affects one’s rabbinical studies.
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Jun
5
Tonight I’ll be flipping between Jewish boxer/Rabbi-in-training Yuri Foreman and Game 2 of Celts vs. L.A. I can’t imagine a better Saturday night. Go ahead and insert your mid-30’s joke here, except I’ve always been this way. In college I loved doing laundry on Friday nights. Wash, dry, fold…ah, bliss.
Micah,
Congratulations on winning the PEN/Saul Bellow Award. I am duly, duly impressed. Please give me your predictions on Lakers vs. Celtics. You live in Boston, right?
Kindly,
Dan Wiktor
I’ll take the [...]
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May
27
I threw. Scout ran. I threw again. Scout ran some more.
And now he waits.
Evidently when one uses “cyclobenzaprine” in a post, worry ensues. Fear not–my back is almost all better. I resume boxing next week.
This link to a Boston Globe article about my good friend Steve Trefonides is long overdue. He’s an incredible artist, person, and mentor. In the few years I’ve known him, I learned that self-doubt is universal–among artists especially, though maybe we just whinge louder–and [...]
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May
21
Cyclobenzaprine is one hell of a drug. I now understand why they called it Mellow Yellow. But it’s gotten the back spasms under control. On that note (really?) I have some long-overdue pics taken by my (un)official photographer, Vincenzo Colecchia.
Short story shorter: Met Enzo while on book tour in Como. He runs a small bookstore there, a single room tucked among the sloping alleys of that old Roman village. We became fast friends, he and his lovely girlfriend visited us [...]
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May
20
The pre-order is here for LOSING GRACELAND. Barnes & Noble has the best price point, but the others work fine as well. Along with your local bookstore, let’s not forget, and they probably need the business.
Pre-order from Random House.
Or Amazon.
Or Barnes & Noble.
Nine consecutive days of chin-ups turned my back into a spasmed mess. I’m lying in bed, legs crossed, listening to the whine of circular saws across the street.
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May
13
Frank Frazetta died. He introduced me to Conan. The barbarian, that is. Without Frazetta we would not have this:
Almost every sci-fi/fantasy cover of almost every pulp mag post 1960-ish has that Frazetta composition: the thick-legged damsel in distress (often in foreground, dagger in hand), the broadsword-wielding hero in midpoint (broad shouldered, vein-strewn biceps), the dragon/long-fanged gorilla/green alien looming in the back.
I love Frazetta’s work. I love that in his later years he suffered a stroke and taught himself [...]
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May
11
Been meaning to post this early Danny Elfman clip:
It’s atonal, bizarre, and…somehow ahead of its time. I think.
Question: How long until they resurrect The Gong Show? Was it not the proto-version of “reality TV”? (which is a label that must die, just as friend Brian Jenkins insists “epic fail” must be tossed in the word-bin).
The NYT ran a piece on one of my favorite directors Bong Joon-ho. Genre-blending at its finest.
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May
7
Copy-edits are usually a chore, but the Random House copy editor is so damn good that I’m actually…well, entertained.
I’ve won the Saul Bellow Prize for fiction. Super-agent Jud and I celebrated by trading stories about Rick James until 4:30 a.m. I’m trying to convince Takashi Murakami’s NYC gallery to host the book launch. How cool would that be? Forget the book–seeing superflat up close is incredible.
This time of the year always finds me antsy; an hour hitting the heavy bag [...]
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