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July 28, 2008

An Evening Without

This Wednesday, in Wellfleet, MA (a lovely town on Cape Cod, not far from Provincetown), PEN New England and the Massachusetts ACLU are co-sponsoring this event (flyer below) that Michael and I will be part of. I'll be reading Neruda....

Posted by scottheim at 02:25 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2008

Twelve Screw-Ups & Meltdowns

If there's one thing that consistently makes me laugh, it's a screw-up or flub that was caught on film or tape, especially the ones that lead to celebrity meltdowns. The more obscenities involved, the better. Here are some hilarious examples, starting with Mr. Finger-Lickin'-Good himself. Most of these aren't all that safe for work, and some don't even seem real:

(1) Colonel Sanders:

(2) Casey Kasem:

(3) Siskel and Ebert, really belligerent:

(4) Siskel and Ebert, a little less belligerent:

(5) Orson Welles:

(6) Britney Spears:

(7) Alex Trebek:

(8) Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis:

(9) Jack Palance:

(10) Alec Baldwin:

(11) F#ckhead O'Reilly:

(12) coked-up Richard Pryor (a rather long one):

Posted by scottheim at 01:54 PM | Comments (3)

July 10, 2008

Where the Hell Is Matt?

This is the coolest thing I've seen on the Internet in ages. Please watch all the way to the end.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Posted by scottheim at 12:11 PM | Comments (3)

July 04, 2008

Identity Theory; Out Traveler; Italian Edition; Pardon My French

I've been the world's worst blog-updater. I still plan to continue my reports from the book tour, even though it's been three months or more since I was actually out "on the road" for the damn book. But... until I finally get busy with the update, here are a few things:

(1) I was recently interviewed for the Identity Theory website by the fantastic singer/songwriter/writer Anna-Lynne Williams, who also happens to be one of my favorite female vocalists who sings for one of my favorite bands, Trespassers William. This was especially cool and thrilling for me, primarily because Anna-Lynne asked great questions about music instead of books (a nice relief after all my recent We Disappear interviews). Oh, and Anna-Lynne has a new solo project called Lotte Kestner, which is a little more stark and minimal but equally lovely and touching as her primary band's music. (Pictured below: covers for "Having," Trespassers William, and "China Mountain," Lotte Kestner.)

(2) I have an essay, "The Universal Language," in the latest issue of Out Traveler magazine. It's for their regular "Meaning of Travel" section. (There's also a photo on their main webpage right now, which was taken by Todd Dionne--check out his website.)

(3) The Italian edition of We Disappear has just been published by Neri Pozza. The title there is Le sparizioni (which I think translates to "The Disappearances"). While looking for Italian reviews of the book online, I've been growing rather attached to the "Google Translation" feature, which often produces odd results such as this Italian-website description:

" A novel written as a noir classic, sharp and detailed, bitter and hot, full of mystery and anxiety. At the same time a lacerante anatomy of a family today, emotions in silence, the reluctance of things ever said that as boulders weigh about a love invincible, troubled and tenacious, the one between mother and child. With the poignant poetry and worried of a childhood that extends into adulthood without ever really blossom in the flower of happiness."

(4) On a very different note: Pictured above is the flyer for this Sunday's Pardon My French, a monthly party at the Phoenix Landing in Cambridge. The night is hosted by my friend Christopher Muther, an excellent DJ and writer for the Boston Globe. This particular Sunday, I'm going to be Chris's assistant/guest-DJ; I'll be mixing 80s new wave, electro, and early EBM/industrial songs with Chris's usual French pop. Below are some hints of the sort of stuff I'll probably play....

Posted by scottheim at 01:29 AM | Comments (1)