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- Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
- “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- “I don’t think my books should be in prison libraries.” — Patricia Highsmith, 1966
- “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.” — Archie Leach
- “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.” — John Carpenter
- Shadow and pools of light
- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
- “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Mirrors #24
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- Maddy on Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
- Melissa Sutherland on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- Maddy on “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- Molly Larson Cook on R.I.P. Sam Schacht
- Melissa Sutherland on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
- Clary on “I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Maddy on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Scott Abraham on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Scott Abraham on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
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Tag Archives: Balkans
“No one can ever know anything about this madness, because all its components are unknown.” – Zlatko Dizdarevic, Sarajevo: A War Journal
Written in real time during the siege of Sarajevo, by Zlatko Dizdarevic, an editor at the only remaining Sarajevo newspaper at that time, Sarajevo: A War Journal is horrifying reading, and essential reading. I was reminded of it the other … Continue reading
Snapshots
— Reading a book on the fall of Yugoslavia. Can’t get enough of the Balkans. When times get tough, I usually start reading books about war. Maybe it satisfies my need for carnage and revenge. Who knows. I recently saw … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Balkans, friends, Memphis, snapshots, Stephen King, Yugoslavia
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Disappeared Worlds: Cinema Komunisto and The Miners’ Hymns
These reviews originally appeared on Capital New York. Cinema Komunisto Cinema Komunisto begins with white words on a black screen: “This is the story of a country that no longer exists except in movies.” A cinephile’s dream, Cinema Komunisto, written … Continue reading
The Books: “The Historian” (Elizabeth Kostova)
Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova The story of the publishing of this book is almost as interesting as the book itself. It’s a first novel. It’s 5,000 pages long. It’s a sweeping historian’s look at … Continue reading
A good luck charm
I’m so proud. Thanks, Mejack, for the wonderful link!
How do you write “Holy shit” in the Cyrillic alphabet?
At this very moment a raging argument is going on on a Macedonian blog between nationalist Bulgarians and nationalist Macedonians – about those posts of mine. I have no idea what is going on but everyone is obviously VERY angry, … Continue reading
The Books: “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia ” (Rebecca West)
And here is my next excerpt. My history bookshelf. Next book on the shelf is the great Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Penguin Classics), by Rebecca West. A 1200 page masterpiece. Is it possible that every page contains interest, horror, … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Balkans, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, nonfiction, Rebecca West, war, Yugoslavia
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The Books: “Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History” (Robert Kaplan)
My history bookshelf. Onward. Next book on this shelf is called Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History by Robert Kaplan. This was the book that launched Robert Kaplan’s career- although he had been writing books and articles for Atlantic Monthly … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Balkans, Macedonia, nonfiction, Rebecca West, Robert Kaplan, travel, war, Yugoslavia
2 Comments
The Books: “The Collapse of Communism” (NY Times)
And here is my next excerpt of the day: I have now finished with the first bookshelf – in my kitchen – and have decided to now do excerpts from the books in my History/Biography bookshelf. I’m scared! But I … Continue reading
Finishing Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
… I finished Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon early this morning. I began it in May. I tried to stretch out that damn epilogue – because even though the book is pretty much one long expose of pain … Continue reading