Gasp!

Dear Theater Bloggers

I am no longer a member of the theater blogosphere. Theater will no longer be a topic on Gasp, and I will no longer participate in discussions of theater on the blogosphere.

Please adjust your blogrolls accordingly.

Thank you.

Book Review: Manhattan

Manhattan
by Neal Travis
Crown Publishers, 1979, 212 pages

This book ended up in Decatur, Alabama where I bought it for a dime and I would love to know how it happened. How could a book, about beautiful New Yorkers wind up in a thrift store shack?

The main character is the New York magazine called Manhattan. All of the characters are tied into the magazine. The publisher, Michael Glennon, must fight a hostile takeover of his empire. Jamie Kilgour, a gay gossip columnist, wants to prove his worth as a reporter. Both Glennon and Harry Cave, Managing Editor, are having an affair with Jane, Glennon’s secretary.

Peripheral characters are patterned after famous people. Leon Spielberg is similar to Stephen, except that he’s a 70-year old bald director. Glenda Davis is a dead-ringer for Bette, and Louise appears to be a nod to Linda Ronstadt. These little character asides are fun, but also distracting.

"Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin was published in 1978, and "Manhattan" is reminiscent of it. Whereas Maupin wrote about the characters and their relationships with each other, Travis writes about the space between the characters. Which is to say, he’s writing about thin air. The pace of the book is fast, too fast to get to know anybody.

Perhaps it mimics life in the Big City. In between the mafia, bricks of cocaine, famous locales, and pseudo-celebs, there’s very little substance. Maybe that’s why the apple on the cover looks like more like tomato.

Chewing Erasers

I can't be the only one in the world who approaches each new writing assignment with a complete lack of confidence. Every week, as deadline looms, I sit at my desk nervously wondering if this is the week that I'll come up with absolutely nothing. Phrases that don't fit, ideas awkwardly stated, a full deck of failure.

When I write plays, I don't have these issues. I approach an assignment nervous, but excited. Sure, I have my neurotic head weirdness, but I also feel exhilarated. I don't think about rejection. I don't worry about failure. Even the times that I wrote on deadline for a public reading, like at Raw Impressions for instance, I didn't concern myself with these kinds of fears. I just listened for the characters.

Playwriting comes easily for me. It feels natural. When I decided to go in this other direction, I knew that it would be like learning a new language. That's why I started blogging years ago. I wanted to learn another form of writing.

It will get easier. I know I'm not the only one who goes through confidence issues. Discomfort means growth, so the best thing to do is keep being uncomfortable.

Book Review: Secrets of a Former Fat Girl

In yesterday's Birmingham News, my review of Secrets of a Former Fat Girl: How to Drop Two, Four (or More!) Dress Sizes - and Find Yourself Along the Way, by Lisa Delaney. Read it online.

Book Review: See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward

In the Sunday arts section, my review of See You in A Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America by Logan Ward.

For background on the book, read Bob Carlton's interview with Logan Ward, where he explains why a New Yorker would dump modern conveniences, move to a Southern town, and live in an old farmhouse.

I know it sounds vaguely familiar, but at least I don't milk goats.

Book Review: Running Home

My review of RUNNING HOME, 35 Moving Meditations, by Toby Estler was published in Monday's Birmingham News. Read all about it here.

Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007

“I look at Mrs. Johnson and I think that she is perhaps the only woman who ever lived who could have been married to him for that many years and remained a person.”
---Bess Abell, Assistant to Lady Bird
in "Lyndon, an Oral Biography" by Merle Miller

I have lots of Lyndon and Lady Bird memorabilia from my time in Austin, researching at the LBJ Presidential Library. This issue of Life Magazine is from August 13, 1965.

You can’t spend time at the LBJ without seeing Lady Bird’s influence. The ground floor of the library is a time capsule of Lyndon’s life and events from the 60s. But if you go up to the 8th floor, there’s a replica of Lyndon’s Oval Office and First Lady’s Gallery. Press a red button and Lady Bird will narrate portions of the tour.

The Reading Room was just around the corner from the Oval Office. I used to hear her voice over loudspeakers, just before I’d enter the double doors to the research library. It used to drive me a little crazy, to be honest. Her Texas twang would break my concentration as I headed in for long day of sifting through and photographing government documents.

While I was there in 2005-2006, Lady Bird was still active at the library. I remember one night when the guards and staff were nervous because of her impending arrival. It amazed me that she was still alive. Imagine what she must've lived through and how the world has changed since 1912.

Lady Bird's memories of the President Kennedy's assasination are chilling and emotional. The ground floor of the library has a short recording of her reading from her entries that day.

The following are more links to useful sites about Lady Bird:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has created a wonderful tribute site.
Lady Bird’s Bio on the Library page
At the bottom of this page, you can see one of Lady Bird's home movies

The Accomplice by Matthew Head

The Accomplice
by Matthew Head
Dell Publishing, 1947, 240 pages

Hank Bewley has a crush on Corrie Walters, who in turn is in love with Lex Abbott, who accidentally married the uber-odd Mimi Decors.

Hank serves as the narrator. His voice submerges itself in the story. Despite the long sentences, it never overstays its welcome.

“I was at a bar, in Paris. Not a fancy bar, and not a student bar, just a nice commonplace comfortable little bar, and we were drinking chocolate. This was in the middle nineteen-thirties, 1934 to be exact, and I was with a very nice girl from Kansas City, named Corrie Walters.

…She didn’t have the kind of ravishing good looks that take you off your feet at first glance, or even the impertinent prettiness that can hit just as hard, but the longer you looked at her, the more nice things you began to discover.”

Mimi is the one on the cover and readers can correctly assume that she’s the one who dies. The murder takes place late in the story. It becomes incidental to the intertwining lives of the characters.

This would all be mundane treachery, but Mimi believes she is the reincarnation of Ninon de Lenclos. She also runs a cult called Kwanah, where people find their famous personalities through history. Mimi manipulatively uses her wily powers to bind herself to Lex.

Of course, Lex is a rich, pretty boy with a violent streak. Hank has his eye on Corrie, who can’t seem to let go of her crush on Lex. Try as he might, Hank can’t get Corrie to forget Lex. Both she and Mimi are possessed by him.

The death itself adds a surprising element to the book. I would’ve thought that having sex with a corpse would be unmentionable in 1947.

There’s a list of characters in the beginning of the book, along with a map of Mimi Décors’ house on the back cover. The uncredited cover art is fabulous, and was recently duplicated. (Or do we call that an homage?)

A solid psychological thriller which definitely stands the test of time.

Book Review: High Performance Health

My review of HIGH PERFORMANCE HEALTH: 10 Real-Life Solutions to Redefine Your Health and Revolutionize Your Life, by James M. Rippe, M.D was published in yesterday's Birmingham News. Read all about it here.

Book Review: What's In Your Food?

As usual, I forgot to post a link to my weekly book review. Note to self: Write note to self.

On Monday, my review of What's in Your Food? The Truth About Food Additives from Aspartame to Xanthan Gum by Bill Statham was published in the Birmingham News. You can still read the online edition.