Gasp!

Bill Buckley is dead

Fox News is reporting that William F. Buckley Jr. died. I have no doubt that this post will annoy some people. But let's go beyond politics for a moment, and allow me to tell you why this is sad.

1) As an author, Buckley treated his readers with respect. His books on conservatism lacked the crassness of the current crop of writers. You may not have agreed with him, but he didn't indulge in gratuitous insults and pointless rants.

2) As a television host, he had style. His classic interviews with such people as Noam Chomsky are still worth watching. Two intellects battling it out without yelling, spitting and exclamation points. Buckley, Dick Cavett and others could never find a home in today's environment, where saying it loud beats out saying it well.

3) Again, you may not have agreed with him, but people of his generation were well-schooled in the classics. It makes me green with envy when I consider his education. While I was not as fortunate to have his social class and background, I always felt that I could achieve his level of mental acuity by following the Walt Whitman method of education. Reading, studying the classics, and thinking things through makes one a better person. I have a feeling that Bill Buckley would've agreed.

Here's the classic Chomsky/Buckley interview off of YouTube.

Book Review: Distorted

My review of Distorted: How a Mother and Daughter Unraveled the Truth, the Lies, and the Realities of an Eating Disorder, by Lorri Antosz Benson and Taryn Leigh Benson was published in Monday's Birmingham News

"The book is told as a dual narrative, with each author recalling the same events from a different perspective. This structure provides readers with a grim view of this disintegrating relationship. It is hard not to admire their honesty, as well as their eventual forgiveness. This is an important book for families battling this illness."

Read the whole review... or not.

Tap, Tap

I'm still here. Project 1968 has expanded a great deal - and in a way I hadn't forseen when I first started the site. Most of my time has been completely devoted to content, book discussions, responding to emails, the journals and diaries of the girls, and a slew of other stuff. Though I've been reading what's been going on elsewhere, I haven't felt connected enough to respond in a meaningful way.

The hardest part about writing the Project is that I have to live in 1968 and 2008 at the same time. It gets confusing. I've forgotten to pay bills and when I do write checks, I date them 1968. While I was conducting research in Austin back in 2005/6, I suspended my blog for a few months to completely immerse myself in the time period.

I don't feel the need to do that again. But I don't want to let a long time lapse before writing here. So please bear with me during this period. Balance is forthcoming.

Monday Three

A world-wide Ebay strike? Small Press Blog tells us that Ebayers are in revolt. No activity on Ebay from February 18 to February 25.

If World War II pin-ups are your thing, scroll through the Skylighters, The Web Site of the 225th AAA Searchlight Battalion. It also includes memories from World War II soldiers.

If you're traveling overseas with one of those new-fangled RFID US passports, you might want to check out the RFID Blocking Passport Billfold. If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, you might want to read this quick article.

Birmingham Folks...

What's on Second? is having a celebration on Feburary 15th. This note is straight from their email, and I thought I'd pass it along.

If you've never been to the store, it's a vintage playground of ephemera, old toys, magazines and the like. Some of Project 1968's stuff was purchased there.

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY AND BLACK CULTURE

Opening Reception
Friday, February 15th 5-9 pm
What’s on Second?
2306 2nd Avenue North

Exhibit 2/15-2/29

Myron Pierre- political art, downtown cityscapes, and impressions of Gee’s Bend Quilts

D. Todd (the portion) – God’s Work and Grace, charming depictions of women’s accoutrements-in the outsider tradition

Special guest:

ANNIE MAE YOUNG - We’re very honored to be celebrating the work of Gees Bend quilter Annie Mae Young. She will be joining us on this evening and will have a group of her quilts for show and sale. She and her work will be on display ONLY on Friday, February 15th. Come by and meet this remarkable artist.

Back to Pulp

Report for a Corpse by Henry Kane
Dell Publishing, 1947

Women have a lot of nicknames in pulp: dames, broads, cherries... but I've never heard of them referred to as tomatoes.

This collection of short stories by Henry Kane has detective (or "Private Richard" as he calls himself) Peter Chambers on the case against sleazy husbands, duplicitious clients, among others. His compatriot, Lieutenant Parker at Homicide, reluctantly has his back.

Most of the stories center around greed. Chambers doesn't come off like a know-it-all. At times, he plays right into the hands of the culprits and unmasks the murderers by accident.

The women are tempting, and so is the smell of dirty money. Whether you call them tomatoes or damsels in distress, reading Report for a Corpse is a good way to spend an afternoon... Especially when you're sick in bed.

A Discussion of the Books from the Period

Project 1968 is still going strong, and it’s attracted the attention of some very interesting people.

One recent commenter asked if I was planning on publishing a book after this was done. My response? Yes, but the site stands on its own. It isn’t being used as a promotional tool for another project.

Judging by the ISPs, the Project has gained popularity with the college crowd.

With both storylines underway, there will be a few more additions to the site. As you know, the main blog is for the actual story. The back pages are for source notes, credits, etc. Starting this week, discussions of books will be introduced on the site. There will also be more pictures to go along with the stories.

Project 1968’s book discussion begins with Joyce Maynard’s book, “Looking Back: A Chronicle of Growing Old in the Sixties.”

I’ll be posting even more additions in the coming weeks. Feel free to stop by for a visit.

Mid-Afternoon Must Read

Maud Newton's summary of David Payne's essay on how Northerners view Southern writing. Bias? I never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Of course, these things don't really exist. That's what they tell me anyway...

Undefined

Sickness is an allowance. It provides time and space to reconsider choices.

Over the past few days I’ve been thinking about labels: playwright, writer, reviewer, critic, whatever, blah, blah.

I thought about how I’ve tried to fit into a hole: “Oh, I’ll be (fill in the blank.)” or “(Fill in the blank) is what I’m doing now.”

I don’t know how I became preoccupied with providing descriptions of who I am. Perhaps it was the slug line exercise: Create a sound byte describing yourself as a writer.

I wonder who benefits from these descriptions. Marketing people? Agents? Because boxes don’t benefit creators.

Rather than letting the work define itself, those descriptions define and limit people.

It's time to dump all that. I will no longer tell people that I’m (fill in the type of writer).

Maybe who I am hasn’t been invented yet.

This morning, 4 a.m.

Is it possible to get a decent cup of tea while cowering from tornadoes? This is what it was like in our dark tornado basement this morning.

Yes, there is no picture for quite a while. And keep in mind, I sound slow and stupid because I'm sick.