Non Fiction Rocks
Okay, let me start this blog by saying I hate technology today and I will continue to hate it until the end of the week. I spent a huge portion of my day yesterday writing up this super-fantastic blog only to have it disappear when Internet Explorer hiccuped. Blogger is supposed to "Save your progress automatically". Three words about that, LIE! LIE! LIE!
So, starting again with the basic framework that I had before my work was blasted into the ether. . .
Some of you may know that I am a fan of Documentaries. If you didn't know this, then you haven't read my intro blurb thing. I also enjoy the non-fiction books, which makes perfect sense if you figure that Documentaries are just non-fiction movies. It would be perfidious to my friends who churn out fiction to say I prefer one over the other, but sometimes a person just wants to read about real things without the dose of reality-televisionism or save-the-world-from-terrorism that comes along with some books nowadays.
To be perfectly fair, some Non-fiction books are enough to bore the bark off of a fence post. Some are so dreary that you would rather gouge your left eye out than finish the book--I am talking to you Noam Chomsky! I am not talking about books like that. I am talking about Non-Fiction that you will enjoy, Non-fiction that will hold your attention, Non-fiction that you will make you want to grab the person next to you on the Metro and say "Oh my goodness, listen to this. . .".
--Please don't try that, you may get hurt--
I am talking about Creative Non-Fiction.
Creative Non-fiction is a journal devoted exclusively to the creative nonfiction genre.--Don't you love the Webster's definition that uses the word to describe the word? I got that right from their website.--More accurately, it is stories about real things, written by great fiction writers who use all their skills at creating characters and describing situations to illustrate an actual event that happened and wasn't contrived.
Lee Gutkind is the driving force behind this journal and he has also collected the best stories and articles in a volume called, Best of Creative Non-Fiction. Lee scours the blog-o-sphere, alternative publications, literary journals and other often-overlooked publications in search of new voices and innovative writing that captures real life with the power of cinema and the integrity of fact. Some notables in this volume include; Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater by John O’Connor from Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. Consumption by Sunshine O’Donnell (remember Sunshine?) from Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing and a staple for any teacher out there in the school system, 66 Signs That the Former Student Who Invited You to Dinner is Trying to Seduce You by Lori Soderlind from PMS poemmemoirstory
Why am I telling you all this? Why else? Lee is going to stop by the Dupont Circle store on August 21st to tell us all a little bit more about this project. Lee also wrote another book (proving that he works harder than me and is ten times smarter)called Almost Human: Making robots think. Robots Kick Ass! Lee dove into the world of Redbull and Robots at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University learning about little, robot dogs that play soccer, traverse the landscape of Mars, even make sushi. Did you know that there are robots that can make sushi? Me either, I only found out after Lee dropped the knowledge on Jon Stewart during a taping of the daily show.
That's right, the Daily Show. Lee isn't some hide-in-the-dark editor, he is a very energetic man who loves to answer questions and share his knowledge. He looks like a young Eli Wallach if you ask me, but that might just be the glasses. Lee started writing creative non-fiction back in the early 70's when he was a young man tooling about the country on a motorcycle and immersing himself in the struggles and challenges of people from different walks of life. He has written on topics ranging from his motorcycle travels to baseball umpires and from veterinary hospitals to psychiatric institutions. The only reason you might have for not coming out to hear such a brilliant man would be because you were out of the country. If you are in DC and are within the sound of my voice, get to Dupont Circle on August 21st, 7 pm.
That is all for me for two weeks. I am headed to Alaska to swim with moose and wrestle killer whales. Okay, maybe I have that backwards. I might just ride a bike and eat too much but if I see a moose swimming with killer whales, I will take pics and post them upon my return.
So, starting again with the basic framework that I had before my work was blasted into the ether. . .
Some of you may know that I am a fan of Documentaries. If you didn't know this, then you haven't read my intro blurb thing. I also enjoy the non-fiction books, which makes perfect sense if you figure that Documentaries are just non-fiction movies. It would be perfidious to my friends who churn out fiction to say I prefer one over the other, but sometimes a person just wants to read about real things without the dose of reality-televisionism or save-the-world-from-terrorism that comes along with some books nowadays.
To be perfectly fair, some Non-fiction books are enough to bore the bark off of a fence post. Some are so dreary that you would rather gouge your left eye out than finish the book--I am talking to you Noam Chomsky! I am not talking about books like that. I am talking about Non-Fiction that you will enjoy, Non-fiction that will hold your attention, Non-fiction that you will make you want to grab the person next to you on the Metro and say "Oh my goodness, listen to this. . .".
--Please don't try that, you may get hurt--
I am talking about Creative Non-Fiction.
Creative Non-fiction is a journal devoted exclusively to the creative nonfiction genre.--Don't you love the Webster's definition that uses the word to describe the word? I got that right from their website.--More accurately, it is stories about real things, written by great fiction writers who use all their skills at creating characters and describing situations to illustrate an actual event that happened and wasn't contrived.
Lee Gutkind is the driving force behind this journal and he has also collected the best stories and articles in a volume called, Best of Creative Non-Fiction. Lee scours the blog-o-sphere, alternative publications, literary journals and other often-overlooked publications in search of new voices and innovative writing that captures real life with the power of cinema and the integrity of fact. Some notables in this volume include; Badlands: Portrait of a Competitive Eater by John O’Connor from Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. Consumption by Sunshine O’Donnell (remember Sunshine?) from Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing and a staple for any teacher out there in the school system, 66 Signs That the Former Student Who Invited You to Dinner is Trying to Seduce You by Lori Soderlind from PMS poemmemoirstory
Why am I telling you all this? Why else? Lee is going to stop by the Dupont Circle store on August 21st to tell us all a little bit more about this project. Lee also wrote another book (proving that he works harder than me and is ten times smarter)called Almost Human: Making robots think. Robots Kick Ass! Lee dove into the world of Redbull and Robots at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University learning about little, robot dogs that play soccer, traverse the landscape of Mars, even make sushi. Did you know that there are robots that can make sushi? Me either, I only found out after Lee dropped the knowledge on Jon Stewart during a taping of the daily show.
That's right, the Daily Show. Lee isn't some hide-in-the-dark editor, he is a very energetic man who loves to answer questions and share his knowledge. He looks like a young Eli Wallach if you ask me, but that might just be the glasses. Lee started writing creative non-fiction back in the early 70's when he was a young man tooling about the country on a motorcycle and immersing himself in the struggles and challenges of people from different walks of life. He has written on topics ranging from his motorcycle travels to baseball umpires and from veterinary hospitals to psychiatric institutions. The only reason you might have for not coming out to hear such a brilliant man would be because you were out of the country. If you are in DC and are within the sound of my voice, get to Dupont Circle on August 21st, 7 pm.
That is all for me for two weeks. I am headed to Alaska to swim with moose and wrestle killer whales. Okay, maybe I have that backwards. I might just ride a bike and eat too much but if I see a moose swimming with killer whales, I will take pics and post them upon my return.
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