Author Archives: Ron

Austenmania!

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It is thoroughly stunning that a Jane Austen cottage industry flourishes 200 years after her death. Modern authors have thrust her characters into the 21st century, thrown people from the present into her novels, added supernatural elements to her oeuvre and written continuations of and prequels to her works. Following are a few titles that Jane Austen fans might want to check out.

UPDATES
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Riguad
Fitzwilliam Darcy is the founder and lead guitarist of the rock band Slurry. His bandmates think that Long Bourne Suffering, a trio made up of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet and Charlotte Lucas, would be the perfect opening act for their upcoming tour. Darcy, on the other hand, worries that touring with desirable women will create unwanted problems.

Also for your consideration:

Vanity and Vexation:  a novel of Pride and Prejudice by Kate Fenton
The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
The Dashwood Sisters Tell All:  a Modern-Day Novel of Jane Austen by Beth Pattillo

TIME TRAVEL
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
L.A. denizen Courtney Stone finds herself in Jane Austen’s England, living the life of a 19th century gentlewoman named Jane. In the sequel, Jane finds herself hurled into Courtney’s body in the 21st century.

Also for your consideration: 
Prada and Prejudice by Amanda Hubbard

ALTERNATE POINTS OF VIEW
The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy by Mary Street
Fans of Pride and Prejudice will enjoy this retelling from Fitzwilliam Darcy’s point of view. As Austen did not reveal much of Darcy’s thoughts in the original, P&P enthusiasts will delight in the new insights into his character.

Also for your consideration:
Captain Wentworth’s Diary (Persuasion) and
Colonel Brandon’s Diary  (Sense and Sensibility) and
Mr. Knightley’s Diary  (Emma) by Amanda Grange

Dearest Cousin Jane: a Jane Austen novel by Jill Pitkeathley
Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd
An Assembly Such as this: a novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
MYSTERIES
Murder on the Bride’s Side and
Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely
Drawing from the classic Sense and Sensibility, Tracy Kiely recounts the adventures of Elizabeth Parker, the likable Austen-quoting sleuth, in this witty and charming series.

Also for your consideration:
Jane and the Canterbury Tale and many others by Stephanie Barron

The Intrigue at Highbury: or, Emma’s Match and many others by Carrie Bebris

 
PARANORMAL
Jane Bites Back and
Jane Vows Vengeance by Michael Thomas Ford
Elizabeth Jane Fairfax (aka Jane Austen) owns a bookstore. Oh, she’s also a vampire. Tired of best-selling Pride and Prejudice knockoffs, as well as the 116 rejections of her last manuscript, Jane attempts to find an in-road into the modern publishing world.

Also for your consideration:
Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls: A Prequel by Steve Hockensmith
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange


CONTINUATIONS
These stories pick up where Austen left off, adding more details to the lives of her beloved characters.
Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife:  Pride and Prejudice Continues and
Darcy and Elizabeth:  Nights and Days at Pemberley:  Pride and Prejudice continues by Linda Berdoll


Mr. Darcy’s Daughters and many others by Elizabeth Aston


Jane Austen might be dead, but if she were a vampire and owned copyright to her works and characters, she would be rolling in royalty checks.

Ron

Librarians Gone Wild!

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Librarians have long been burdened with a variety of uncomplimentary stereotypes, stern old maid and milquetoast bookworm being perhaps most common. Oh, and we mustn’t forget that standby of 1960s sitcoms, the plain-looking young woman who upon removing the hairpins from her tightly-wound bun transforms into a sexual dynamo. Thank you Mr. Freud.

In my personal experience with librarians I have encountered few to none of these personality disorders. However, one could probably safely deduce that librarians are interested in reading, research and learning. All of which seem rather tame compared to say the activities of the X-Men.

So as a library employee I’m always interested to find a story where a librarian has a bit of adventure in his or her life.

A recent pleasant surprise that came my way is Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines. The main character of this story, Isaac Vainoi, is a librarian, and while his occupation is somewhat irrelevant to the story, his love of books is vital. Isaac is one of a select group called the Porters, people who have such strong imaginations and symbiotic rapport with books that they are able to pull objects from stories (as long as said objects are not larger than a page). This trick comes in handy for Isaac and his fellow Porters as they try to keep the peace between themselves, vampires (yes, yes, I know, vampires are very last Thursday), and regular humans. Sadly, Isaac has been removed from field work and demoted to research duties after letting his magic run amuck. But when a group of vampires attacks a Porter stronghold and libriomancers start dying gruesome deaths, Isaac is thrust into the battle. He is a most excellent example of a bookish, non-athletic, not particularly brave person thrown into a highly dangerous adventure.

As it turns out, Libriomancer is just one of many books that feature the exploits of librarians.  Here are just a few that you might want to check out.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Henry DeTamble is a librarian who involuntarily travels through time, which creates a strange and challenging relationship between his wife and himself.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton
An American librarian goes to Africa to help with a library that delivers books to nomadic tribes via camel.


The Librarian by Larry Beinhart
In this uproarious thriller, university librarian David Goldberg finds himself on the Ten Most Wanted Criminals list as well as involved in a conspiracy to steal the presidency.

The Giant’s House: a romance by Elizabeth McCracken
In 1950 Cape Cod, an unlikely romance blossoms between a little librarian and the tallest boy in the world.


Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper
A children’s librarian is fired, mistaken for a deer and shot, turned into a vampire, and framed for a series of vampire murders. Any questions?

In addition to these captivating novels, there are a number of graphic novels that feature librarians.

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett Krosoczka
Cave of the Bookworms by Michael Dahl
Unshelved by Bill Barnes
Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner

 
So the next time you feel compelled to paint librarians into tiny boring boxes, pick up one of these titles to give yourself a refreshing dose of reality.

Ron

Twick or Tweet

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Back in the seventies there was a lot of talk about the generation gap, the set of things that separates one generation from another. For example, my parents did not wear bell bottom jeans. I did. These jeans were one small part of the generation gap between me and my parents.

Music is another important part of the gap. As a child, I was defined by The Monkees, The Beatles and later The Boomtown Rats and Madness. My parents: Mitch Miller and George Jones.

In more recent times, technology has become perhaps the most important piece of the generation gap puzzle. It seems that kids these days are born knowing how to use devices that people of my generation can only stare at in wonder, waiting for them to open cans or launch a nuclear device.

As I approach my sixth decade (that’s age 50 for those of you who aren’t on top of the math thing), I’ve decided that I need to take a stand on what defines my personal generation gap. Thus, Twitter does not exist for me. Oh, I’ve used the MySpace and still use Facebook (while secretly hating it), but I have not and will never tweet.

But recently I’ve discovered books that use the limitations of social networking (i.e. how many characters can be in an entry) as a starting point. And this I find interesting. Setting a strict limitation and then trying to create art within that limitation is an exciting exercise.

And so, I leave you with a few titles, some twicks, some tweets.

The Ten, Make that Nine, Habits of very Organized People. Make that Ten: The Tweets of Steve Martin by Steve Martin 

Steve Martin is a generation older than I, but he decided to explore Twitter as a means of keeping his comedy chops sharp, of perhaps creating new material that he could use on his current bluegrass tour, and finally as a way of receiving funny responses from his followers. He has collected some of his tweets into a slim volume, perhaps a thirty minute read. It’s not the funniest book I’ve come across, but it is charming and fun to see how Mr. Martin used Twitter in perhaps a different way than most users, and how his usage evolved over time.

Eat Tweet: a Twitter Cookbook by Maureen Evans 

Yes Virginia, there is a Twitter cookbook. This collection of 1000 recipes follows the tweet format of 140 characters or less per entry, providing social networkers with a veritable feast of outstanding food. Betty Crocker, move over. But just a little bit; these recipes don’t take up much space.

Twitterature: The World’s Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less by Alexander Aciman 

The premise of this book is to synopsize literary classics in less than twenty tweets (making the maximum number of characters available 2800), with a sense of humor. This limitation forces long passages to be described succinctly. For example, from Tolkien’s The Hobbit: “Walking walking walking … Still walking – this is so boring!” Good for a chuckle or three.

iDrakula by Bekka Black 

Bekka Black’s iDrakula is a modernization of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The original text consisted of letters and diaries, and this update uses a similar format but with text messages, emails and Web browser screenshots. The story is not an exact retelling of Stoker’s classic, but Black sets an excellent tone with the opening text: “Renfield had a psychotic break. Carted off to Bellevue. More l8r.” An excellent addition to the Dracula canon.

For some more social networking inspired books, try the following:

Tweet Heart: a Novel in E-mails, Blogs, and Tweets by Elizabeth Rudnick
The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel by Daniel Sinker
Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Ron

Parodies Found

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It seems like a guy can’t swing a sack full of bats these days without hitting a book that parodies a specific title, author, or genre. As an avid reader and writer I can understand the numerous reasons that might compel one to create such a spoof.

Myself, I often battle a nearly uncontrollable impulse to lampoon many a detestable piece of twaddle that sells kabillions of copies (did I say Fifty Shades of Grey out loud?) thus making the author rich and convincing the reading public that said writer is a genius. It’s almost an obligation to point out to the unsuspecting masses, using the two-pronged sword of humor and irony, that their $10 would have been better spent on a chia pet shaped like Don King’s head.

Conversely, I suspect that some writers think to themselves: “Self, the Harry Potter industry has generated enough cash to buy one of Saturn’s moons. I need a piece of that action. It’s time to cash in. But how? (Finger snap!) Ah yes, a parody is just the thing! And it will be called (reverb emulating the voice of God): Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring. (End reverb). Hopefully I can catch a ride on the Potter juggernaut. I’ll be richer than Croesus! (Dramatic pause). Self, who the Helen-of-Troy is Croesus?”

Then there’s the fickle factor. Humans tend to be capricious, and it’s not unusual for something that quickly soars to dazzling heights of popularity, say vampire books, to just as quickly fall into the Marianna Trench of uncoolness. And when this occurs, parodies are sure to follow.

Take for example The New Vampire’s Handbook:  A Guide for the Recently Turned Creature of the Night by Joe Garden. This important how-to volume for the recently turned gives tips on oral hygiene, faking your way through a meal, using your new vampiric powers and maintaining a fashionable wardrobe while avoiding mirrors. Edited by the vampire Miles Proctor, this helpful book is a must-have for any newly-bitten immortal.

And let us not forget that most wonderful motivator, the green-eyed monster. Humans are jealous and vengeful creatures, and it’s entirely natural for one to seek out a successful person, someone high on the survival-of-the-fittest scale, and bring them down a rung or three. And if a wee bit of income is generated from this exercise in humility, well… Who’s to say what’s wrong or right in the game of capitalism?

And speaking of games, Stefan Petrucha has given us a biting lampoon of The Hunger Games trilogy in his graphic novel,  The Hunger Pains. In Petrucha’s version, Ratkiss Everspleen takes her sister Dim’s place in the district’s annual battle to the death. Joined by fellow contestant Peek a Choo, the two train under Haybitch Blubbernasty for the most unnecessary battle of their lives.

But perhaps the best reason of all to create a parody is simple laziness. By taking a pre-existing work (one out of copyright, of course) and adding a few scenes containing the latest literary trend (say perhaps zombies?)… Viola! A brand-spanking-new tome, such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith is born with nary a sweat crossing the author’s brow. This novel novel uses 85% of Austen’s original text and rounds it out with, as the title says, ultraviolent zombie mayhem! Austen’s characters still have the same traits and yearnings, but in addition to being very properly British they are also highly-skilled zombie killers. So, with just a few thousand new words in a dead author’s style, you too can have undreamed of notoriety and wealth.

Thus we are left wondering if parody is the highest form of flattery, or if it’s simply a quick trip to the bank. Ultimately it matters not, for if we the readers are entertained by a spoof, then perhaps its author has brought a bit more happiness into the world. And isn’t that what literature is all about?

Along with huge piles of cash.

by Ron, Everett Public Library staff

Scandalous!

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Tabloids such as The National Enquirer are simply not my cup of tea and in fact elicit rumblings of anger and nausea. Yet the new book Scandalous! : 50 Shocking Events you Should Know About (so you can impress your friends) by Hallie Fryd immediately caught my eye as well as my interest.

Perhaps the major difference between this book and a tabloid is that important, albeit sensational, historical events are examined. Each event includes The Scoop! (a short synopsis), What Went Down (a more detailed description of the event), The Players (a short list of those involved), a photo, Quoteables (quotes, usually from more than one side of the issue in question), The Aftermath (what became of those involved), Why We Still Care (repercussions of the event that made changes in American life) and More (other famous incidents of a similar nature). All of this in four short pages per topic.

So while each event is indeed sensationalized, deep insights are also offered. Take for example the story “World Famous Pilot Charles Lindbergh’s Baby is Kidnapped and Killed”. Things I learned that I had not known include: The kidnaper’s ransom notes were poorly written (perhaps indicating a lack of education), people from all over the country offered help to Lindbergh (John Condon, a retired principal, even acted as an intermediary between the Lindberghs and the kidnapper), negotiations continued for weeks, when money was finally given to the kidnaper it was marked so that it could be tracked, the instructions given by the kidnaper to find Lindbergh’s baby were fake, and a month after giving out the marked money the baby’s body was found. The alleged killer was eventually found, put on trial, and put to death. But questions about his guilt remained for years.

The part of each scandal that was most interesting to me was the section Why We Still Care. For the Lindbergh case, there are two reasons given.

  1. The trial shows how public opinion can influence a trial – The idea here is that Lindbergh was a beloved figure and people wanted retribution for the kidnapping and murder of his child. Newspapers played up every piece of evidence against the alleged killer, and in the trial the jury was only presented with circumstantial evidence. Yet the accused was put to death, perhaps largely because people were stirred up by the media.
  2. It was one of the first cases to use forensics to help solve a crime – The FBI opened its first crime lab the same year as the kidnapping occurred. In this case, handwriting in the ransom notes was analyzed, and the wood from the ladder found at the kidnapping scene was matched with wood in the accused man’s attic.

It’s fascinating to see actual historical events leading to changes that improve various aspects of our society.

The topics covered in this short book, while definitely qualifying as titillating, also tend towards the historically important, making for a fun and educational read. Some of the stories included are:

  • Native American Decathlete Jim Thorpe Stripped of Olympic Medals
  • Wealthy Chicago Teens Leopold and Loeb Kill 14-Year-Old Boy for Thrills
  • Hollywood Star Charlie Chaplin Accused of Fathering Stalker’s Baby
  • Rigged Quiz Show Scandal Stuns TV Audiences
  • Unethical Syphilis Experiments Conducted on Black Men
  • Janet Cooke’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning Story Declared Fake
  • DNA Tests Spark Controversy Around Jefferson’s Second Family With a Slave
  • Tight Gore-Bush Election Results Lead to Bitter Battle Between Parties

All in all, a fascinating book, designed to be read by those with short attention spans (which currently includes… hey, what’s that shiny thing?), and a bit of a guilty pleasure. And guaranteed to have less calories than a pan of brownies. What more could one ask for?

Ron

Music, Music, Music!

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It’s the time of year when savvy hipsters start planning to attend summer concerts. From Arlington to Everett, Woodinville to Seattle, outdoor music will soon abound, with ticket prices ranging from free to less than the cost of a college education.

If I could choose only one of the many fine offerings coming to our fair region, I would be hard pressed to decide between the sultry voices and hypnotic stylings of Madeleine Peyroux and Diana Krall. Then again, I do have a morbid curiosity to witness a not-so-youthful Blondie singing songs of teenage romance and lust. Or even better yet, it’s been 30 years since I’ve seen Devo perform and it might be fun to see if any of the members are still climbing speaker stacks and jumping off of them whilst soloing.

Decisions, decisions.

To fully prepare yourself for a concert (and the quiz that’s sure to follow), check out some CDs from Everett Public Library.  Many of these visiting artists can be found in our hallowed halls, or at least on our hallowed CD racks.

Here are a few of the performers coming to our neck of the world this summer:

BLUEGRASS
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

 

BLUES
Ray Wylie Hubbard


COUNTRY
Rosanne Cash     Steve Earle and the Dukes     Asleep at the Wheel     Lee Brice
Alison Krauss     Emmylou Harris     Lyle Lovett

  

FOLK
Leo Kottke     Buffy Sainte Marie


JAZZ
Madeleine Peyroux     Dr. John     Diana Krall

 
KIDS
The Brian Waite Band

 

NEW AGE
Tingstad & Rumbel
 


POPULAR
Pink Martini     k.d. lang     Jake Shimabukuro     Shawn Colvin


REGGAE
Ziggy Marley
 


RHYTHM
Mavis Staples     Earth, Wind & Fire
 


ROCK
Melissa Etheridge     Los Lobos     Grace Potter     Los Lonely Boys   
Alejandro Escovedo
Chicago     Crosby, Stills & Nash     Bonnie Raitt     Blondie
Devo     Chris Isaak      Steve Miller Band     The Beach Boys
Ringo Starr     Boz Scaggs     Michael McDonald     Donald Fagen
 



 

WORLD
Ladysmith Black Mambazo     The Johnny Clegg Band     Mickey Hart

Ron

Mr. Peabody’s Corner of Research and Revelation: Doc Holliday’s Wild West

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Today’s topic of interest is a steampunk novel of the Wild West by Michael D. Resnick titled The Doctor and the Kid: a Weird West Tale.  In Resnick’s steampunk universe, first described in The Buntline Special, the United States ends at the Mississippi River with territories further west controlled by magically powerful medicine men, most notably Geronimo and his ally/nemesis Hook Nose. In an effort to combat this magic and expand U.S. borders the government sends inventor Thomas Alva Edison to Tombstone, Arizona to work on magic-negating inventions with fabricator Ned Buntline. Also prevalent in the story are Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers who try to keep Edison and Buntline safe.

The Doctor and the Kid picks up one year later with the infamous Doc Holliday losing his life savings in a drunken poker game, money he’d earmarked for a comfortable room in a sanatorium to ease his inevitable demise from tuberculosis. In an effort to recoup his gambling losses Holliday decides to hunt down the outlaw with the largest bounty on his head, newcomer Billy the Kid. But in order to have a chance to defeat the Kid (who has magical protection provided by Hook Nose), Holliday has to make a reluctant deal with Geronimo and to enlist the inventorly genius of Edison and Buntline.

Most of Resnick’s characters are real historical figures, although he plays around with timelines and circumstances. Still, I yearn to learn more about the history of the story’s setting. Here are some questions that come to mind and some titles that might help provide answers.

 1) In Resnick’s book Doc Holliday is 32 and nearly dead from tuberculosis. Is this an accurate portrayal of his medical condition?

     
2) What is tuberculosis and how prevalent was it in the late 19th century?

3) What events led Billy the Kid to a life of crime and murder? How much of what we “know” about the Kid is factual rather than apocryphal?          

4) Were medicine men thought to have magical powers?

5) What are some of the important inventions that have forever changed Americans’ lifestyles?

 6) Were violence and corruption part of everyday life in the Wild West?

            
And if you’re interested in historical fiction revolving around these characters, take a look at the following titles:

Can’t talk, lots more to learn.

Zombies: New and Improved, with 20% Less Brains

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One of the things I always enjoyed about vampire movies is that the vampires had to follow a (somewhat flexible) set of rules. It’s comforting to know that if you haven’t invited a vampire into your house then he cannot enter it, and you are more-or-less safe.

Then filmmakers and authors began to play with these rules, and this too was interesting. Charlaine Harris’s vampires, for example, have a blood substitute available so that they do not have to use humans for their nutritional needs.

Zombies also exist within a fairly tight set of rules. They typically crave brains and thus try feed off humans, they can survive loss of limbs and other severe bodily damage, they don’t sleep or breathe or feel pain, they do not remember their previous lives, typically they moan but do not talk, and they are strong but slow moving. The standard method of dispatching a zombie is to destroy its brain.

Zombie infestations are generally caused by objects from space, chemicals, or disease. If a living person is bitten by a zombie, he or she joins the ranks of the brain eaters. Most zombie stories feature groups of the living trying to survive zombie attacks and to wipe out the zombies.

So what fresh zombie twists have been unleashed on our zombie-hungry nation?

In Handling the Undead by John Ajvide-Lindqvist, strange weather causes the dead to come back to life. In addition to your typical zombie mayhem, the author examines the psychological side of the undead.

In Dead Mann Walking: a Hessius Mann Novel by Stefan Petrucha, a criminal is executed, exonerated, and then brought back to “life” as a zombie. This story looks at the details of zombie life, culture and slang.

In My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, Angel Crawford dies in a car crash and then comes back as a zombie. In life Angel was a drug addict, but in death her only addiction is to brains. Fortunately for her, a local serial killer seems to prey upon a victim whenever Angel craves brains.

In The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven C. Schlozman, a medical team studies zombies in an attempt to find a cure for the zombie epidemic. This book details the unique biology of zombies and includes anatomical drawings.

Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament by S. G. Browne is a romantic zombie comedy that details the day-to-day life of zombies.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks tells about the zombie wars as if they were an historical event. Included in the text are interviews with survivors of the zombie apocalypse.

In I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked it by Adam Selzer, a high school student starts dating a zombie without realizing that he is undead. When she does find out and tries to break up with him, things do not go as easily as planned.

 
In My So-Called Death by Stacey Jay, a freak cheerleading accident leaves Karen undead. She is sent to a boarding school for the “death-challenged” and discovers a mysterious plot that might bring about the end of all the students.

Ron

Mr. Peabody’s Corner of Research and Revelation: Art

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In An Object of Beauty, author Steve Martin introduces readers to the rarified world of art dealers and art collectors. As a person who is more likely to collect fez-wearing chimps than fine art, I am not overly conversant with art galleries, auction houses or the quirks of rich collectors. Here we find Lacey, a young woman who will use any means to get what she wants, working in the lower echelons at Sotheby’s. As she rises through the ranks we learn about a variety of artists and styles as well as the behind-the-scenes operations of art auctions. Lacey is not a likeable character, but her careless attitude towards others is more self-centered than malicious. Eventually opening her own gallery, Lacey begins to focus on living artists, and thus Martin introduces the many unusual faces of contemporary art.

The story is narrated by an acquaintance of Lacey’s and he presents her adventures as a cautionary tale. We learn that morally questionable business practices can stall a career (when the perp is caught), that the art world is at the mercy of international economics, and that major events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks impact business and economics.

Martin’s writing style is delicate and genteel and the narrator creates just the right degree of tension to make the reader wonder what’s going to happen next.

As a result of my narrow focus on fez/chimp related art, many questions arose as I read Martin’s novel. Here are a few of those questions along with some Everett Public Library holdings that might offer answers.

 1)      What goes on in the lives of art dealers?

2)      Martin paints art collectors as a rather idiosyncratic bunch. How much truth is there in this portrayal?

3)      Collectors might see something in a piece of art that I cannot see. How do I learn to better appreciate art?

4)      After primarily selling works of dead European artists, Lacey becomes interested in living American artists. What are some of the trends and techniques in American art and who are the artists who have been successful?

5)      “What is art?” is an all-encompassing philosophical quandary. A simpler version of this question is, “Why is modern art considered to be art?” Paint splatters, found objects and installations where the viewer is part of the artwork have become commonplace means of expression. How can one appreciate such unconventional works?

Gotta go, so much more to learn!

Ron

A Wild and Renaissancey Guy

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It was May of 1978 as I sat on the Princess Marguerite with a bunch of older teenagers, trying to be impressively hilarious by (so I thought) imitating Steve Martin’s Wild and Crazy Guy. I’m pretty sure the other kids thought I was having a seizure.

In later years I came to love his goofball comedies like The Jerk and The Man with Two Brains for their hilarity, but somewhere along the way I discovered that Mr. Martin (or Steve as his friends might call him) is a fine actor. In 1987’s Roxanne, a modern retelling of Cyrano, Martin (or Mr. Martin) presented what I thought was an Oscar-worthy performance as a wonderful guy with a huge nose.

Throughout his performing career, every now and again I would see Steve (or Steverino) play banjo and think to myself, “Hey, this guy’s good.” And now he’s making fabulous bluegrass albums.

He has written comedic books such as Pure Drivel, novels like An Object of Beauty, and theatrical plays, for example 1993’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

Even children’s books are not safe from Mr. Martin’s (Steve’s) multi-genre-al skills.

I have seen him dance divinely in Pennies from Heaven, perform in ridiculous and hilarious skits on Saturday Night Live, and juggle kittens.


Somewhere along the way, namely in 2003, Little Steve-O became the #4 box office star in moviedom. Not bad for someone who at one point had only his friends and his thermos. Here are some movies the S-Dog (Stevabamalama) can be found in:

Did I mention that he makes fabulous balloon animals?

What we have here in Steve Martin is a Renaissance guy in the true spirit of the word, a man who has mastered not just one but many artistic forms. I find this to be truly amazing. Perhaps it is difficult to take a comedian seriously, but Steve Martin has some serious talent.

In Katie Couric’s book The Best Advice I Ever Got, Martin cites a quote by e. e. cummings:  “Who would be secure? Any and every slave.” Which leads me to believe that he is not a secure person, for Steve Martin is not a slave to people’s expectations nor to artistic norms. He’s a wild and renaissancey guy.

Ron