Monthly Archives: May 2012

John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces" Finally to be Filmed, With Zach Galifianakis playing the Inimitable Ignatius Reilly

So one of the funniest American novels EVER is about to (finally) make it into a film version (in which Hollywood will no doubt muck it up, but so it goes): John Kennedy Toole’s (infamous) A Confederacy of Dunces (1980), … Continue reading

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On Mud Rains & Wicked Windstorms: Crazy Weather in the Mountains as Backdrop for "The Bird Saviors"

So I’ve noticed the early reviews of The Bird Saviors mention the dust storms and pink snow featured prominently at the beginning of the novel. Although that might seem fantastic, actually crazy weather is common & seemingly growing ever more … Continue reading

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"The Bird Saviors" Wins the Green Book Festival Prize in Fiction

So I admittedly don’t know squat about what the Green Book Festival is, but my publisher entered The Bird Saviors in their contest, and it won the first prize in Fiction, described here. (Take that, Toni Morrison!) And although I … Continue reading

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Letter From Westcliffe, Colorado—After a Radio Interview in Denver, With a Shout-out to Richard Brautigan's biography "Jubilee Hitchhiker," Plus a Poke at Nick Reding's "Methland"

So yesterday I was in Denver for a radio interview with Irene Rawlings of the Clear Channel, who couldn’t have been nicer. It was relaxed and easy, and quick. The sound booth/studio (whatever they call that little room) reminded me … Continue reading

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On Alex Prud'homme's "The Ripple Effect": Why I Never Wanted to Read This, and Now Can't Put It Down

So I have to confess of all the environmental issues floating around out there—Climate Change, Peak Oil, Fracking hazards, Overpopulation, Resource depletion, General 21st Century Malaise (okay, I added that one)—I’ve been deliberately avoiding reading (or thinking about) the looming … Continue reading

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James Hansen Rants on Obama, and E.O. Wilson Gets Reviewed in the NY Times

So I liked the review in the NY Times this weekend of E.O. Wilson’s The Social Conquest of Earth, which I’m still reading (it’s long), which is here. One thing I’ll note: Although I knew about and recognized his argument for … Continue reading

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On Alex Prudhomme's "The Ripple Effect," Plus My Very Own Drinking Problem

So I have a confession to make: I have a drinking problem. But no, it’s not that kind, the James Frey kind (greatly exaggerated, we later learned), the sadsack rehab kind. Like the weepy drunk on the barstool next to … Continue reading

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Super Moon Over St. Louis, With Barred Owl Hooting His Heart Out

So tomorrow we embark on the final leg of our semi-annual migration West, and last night in St. Louis we went out to see the notorious Super Moon, only to be serenaded by a Barred Owl (famous for having a … Continue reading

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The Heartland Institute's War on Science, Michael Mann's "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars," and E.O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth"

So I’ve been sick the last week with a travel bug, which I suspected I caught in a St. Louis restaurant via an infected cook, a la Gwyneth Paltrow in last year’s bird flu epidemic movie Contagion, but I’m alive … Continue reading

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