Your Klutziness (aka me) managed to fall like the proverbial ton of bricks in an alley last night, right after a random encounter with a guy who was peeing in someone’s yard and whose date was toothless and giggling into her plastic cup (ah, spring in the city). Let this be a lesson about laughing at those who didn’t notice peeing guy or drunk lady. You will not see big hole in street. You will go boom. I emerged with road rash on my palms, a gashed knee (my favorite jeans survived intact, though, which I’m counting in the Wins column), and an extremely achy left shoulder, arm and knee. AND I have a packet due Wednesday night. All by way of saying, expect sporadic sketchiness here for the next day or so at best.
On Wednesday, Jon Armstrong of the lovely debut novel Grey (complete with a blurb by Michael Chabon) will be here to class up the joint and entertain you. In the meantime:
- The dazzling Craig Gidney reviews Liz Hand’s Illyria over at The Mumpsimus.
- Justine on mean Amazon reviews and a phenomenon I have much-puzzled over, which is apparently called "online disinhibition effect": So next time you’re starting to add something cranky to a comment thread or on amazon or wherever perhaps you should ask yourself if you would say what you’re about to share with the greater online universe to the person’s face. If you wouldn’t then don’t post it. This has been my online code for years, and I’m thoroughly annoyed by people who are bullies on the Web and kittens in real life. The "say it to your face" principle never hurt anybody. The "say it to her back" principle, on the other hand, is a cold-blooded killer.
- J.L. Bell on the Encyclopedia Brown books. I adored these as a kid, and am now a tiny bit less afraid to go back and give them another try. They sound (as if they’d still be) interesting.
- Ysabeau is working on revising the sequel to Flora Segunda, which she divulges has: Well…dragon-horse cars; earthquakes; ruined bath-houses; extremely loud rock bands; Hotspur-Sober-Now-A-Stickler-For-Rules; deserter sisters; more rangers; a horrible secret hidden deep beneath the City’s crust; a riot; bear-headed girls; phosphorescent bullets; revolutionaries; oubliettes; Udo’s new hat; and, of course, snacks.
- The Millions has a reply to n+1 being catty about book blogs.
- The WashPost remembers a Baghdad bookseller killed by a car bomb.
Thanks for the propz!
Craig
UM,”GIGGLING AND TOOTHLESS”? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE NEXT FRANK MILLER GRAPHIC NOVEL.
D
Teeth are overrated.
I gotta side with teeth here.
Poor bondgirl!
How do you feel about people who are bullies in real life, but kittens online?
It depends on whether they are bullies on my team or not. 🙂
udo’s new hat!!!!
It’s a BIG hat.
Thanks for the shout-out, Madama Double O Bond Girl!
ps. I gotta side with teeth, too. Most of my favorite snacks require them.
I like kittens who are bullies in real life, and people online.