If after you’ve read a book, you find yourself more interested in what was left out, what didn’t fit the narrative, than what was actually in it, that can be both a good or a bad sign. Good, if it means you found so little to criticize about the book itself that in a sense you only wished it would have covered even more ground. Bad, if the author’s priorities were out of order, if he ignored some hugely important aspect that renders his main analysis incomplete, or worse, irrelevant. (more…)
Archive | February, 2010
‘The seeds of normalcy that never grew’: My Interview with Bryan Borland
23 FebBryan Borland is practically glowing these days. His first poetry collection, My Life as Adam, has just been published, and he’s obviously proud of it. Or at least I think he’s glowing. It’s hard to know when you do an interview via Facebook and email. But judging from the enthusiasm of his responses, this is something he really wants to do. Or, rather, needs to do. He doesn’t need the recognition, necessarily, but like anyone who has ever struggled with words even semi-professionally, he knows that although they can be your friend or your foe at different times, one thing never changes; they need you to express them. I throw a sort of stock opening question at him (‘What are your views on inspiration?’), but while his answer has things in common with what any self-respecting writer will tell you, it has the rhythmic energy readers will come to appreciate in the Borlandian school of poetry; a belief that being serious about your craft doesn’t have to mean you can’t also be playful. (more…)
My Favorite Political Pundits
14 FebThis blog has been known to dip its toes into politics every once in a while, and you can follow my musings on American politics and lots of other stuff on Twitter, @queerlefty. This brief break from our regularly scheduled programming of homosexualized pop-culture-mongering, then, is meant to provide with a quick guide to the political pundits that most influence how I view American politics. Consider it something like an extension of What To Read, the almost-weekly segment of noteworthy essays and articles from around the web. As with WTR, you will notice that most of the people and publications mentioned here are of the center/left variety. Don’t shoot me, I’m a liberal. (more…)
Historic February SMA Has A New #1
8 FebThere are several reasons why this month’s Sexiest Males Alive list is historic, the least of which is that this is the first ever February edition of the SMA. More importantly, we have a new #1. And not just a change of frontrunner, but one who has never before been in the top spot. Thus, after Jesse McCartney, Hunter Parrish, Zac Efron and Emile Hirsch, we welcome Logan Lerman to this exclusive club of winners. Fresh off his eighteenth birthday, he’s also the youngest guy ever to hold that position; the guy who has taken the longest way to the top (he debuted at #27 – McCartney has never been below #12; Parrish #6; Efron #8; Hirsch #12), and he’s only the second (Hunter Parrish was the other) to climb from #5 to #1 in one month. Sure, some of these firsts are minor, but there’s still a sense of history in the air. (more…)
‘I’m A Nick Jonas Jonas’
3 FebIt’s was not that long ago that I criticized music critics for comparing Jonas Brothers to Hanson almost by default. Since I probably like them both much, much better than the next guy, I don’t think either of them should take these comparisons as insults; they’re just so incredibly predictable. But here we are, just months later, with the youngest Jonas Brother, Nick, prepared to launch his solo debut, Who I Am, with able The Administration as his backing band. (more…)
And I Love Them
1 FebIn the Washington Post’s recent America’s Next Online Columnist contest, one piece of advise for the contestants was that they should avoid anniversary columns at all cost. The may be an easy five hundred words for the writer, but they’re group-think feel is likely to bore the reader. I won’t say that was why I managed to miss out on writing about The Beatles for one of their marquee events last year (release of remastered box set, 40 years since the release of Abbey Road), but it is true that the sheer volume of commentary made me feel I didn’t have much to add at that time. But the most important lesson with regard to anniversary journalism probably is that The Beatles are one of those band that don’t need an anniversary to justify their place in the public discussion. (more…)
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