Sunday itinerary at the 2011 Tucson Festival of Books

Who is this rabbit?

I'll be tweeting for the Arizona Daily Wildcat @wildcatarts as SK. Here's my itinerary for second, and final, day of the 2011 Tucson Festival of Books with alternatives in place:

10 - 11 a.m.
Critics Table: The Power of the Restaurant Review
Culinary Stage - UA Mall
Bon Appetit magazine's EIC Barbara Fairchild, Tucson-based reviewer Rita Connelly and chef Janos Wilder all at once? I'm there.

Alternatives:
Building Comics from the Ground Up
Integrated Learning Center - Room 140
This is my first alternative if my first choice is full, which, given my experiences yesterday, is likely. Terry Moore was great to interview and Eric Esquivel is an engaging guy on, well, any topic.

Against the Odds: Women in Jeopardy
Student Union - Tucson Room
I caught Wendy Corsi Staub and Libby Fischer Hellmann at a panel about relationships in crime fiction and they were great to listen to, so this sounds like a good choice.

11 - 11:30 a.m.
Time for an early lunch, which proved to be a prudent choice yesterday.

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Modern Heroes/Heroines in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Integrated Learning Center - Room 140

Alternatives:
Banned Again! Difficult Issues in Teen Novels
Join Lauren Myracle, the most frequently banned author in the country, to talk about her experiences with censorship and the importance of building bridges rather than taking oppositional stances when a book is challenged. Oh, and she promises not to be boring.
Education Building - Kiva Auditorium
I've never read any of Myracle's books since I am not her target reader nor am I a parent. I'm curious as to what has made her books so controversial.

Writing Science for Non-Scientists
Integrated Learning Center - Room 137
Meg Daley Olmert

The Graphic Novel: Is a Picture Really Worth 1,000 Words?
UA Mall Tent
Diana Gabaldon and Luis Alberto Urrea speaking about graphic novels? Might be interesting, especially since I reviewed the comic book adaptation of Gabaldon's first novel for the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

12:30 - 1 p.m.
Break!

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
The Woman Who Ate Chinatown
Culinary Stage - UA Mall
I haven't read Shirley Fong-Torres' book, but it sounds like something I would do.

Alternatives:
Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis
UA Bookstore
There are obvious reasons for my interest in this.

Crazy Desert Dudes: Surviving the Southwest
Koffler - Room 204
From what Mitch Tobin told me in an interview early this week, this is about how to incorporate your own desert experiences into your writing and everyone will be talking about their desert adventures.

Books into Movies: Adapting and Being Adapted
Modern Languages - Room 350

2 - 2:30
Wander around, take photos, avoid the E-Reader Experience tent

2:30 - 3:30
Appetite for America: How Fred Harvey Fed America
Culinary Stage - UA Mall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_(entrepreneur)

Alternatives:
How I Killed Pluto
Mike Brown is an astronomer and the author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming." He discovered Eris, the largest object found in the solar system in 150 years, and the object that led to the debate and eventual demotion of Pluto from a real planet to a dwarf planet. Mike was named one of Time's most influential people of 2006.
Arizona Daily Star Pavilion - UA Mall

Food Writing 101
Integrated Learning Center - Room 135

Physics of Magic
Integrated Learning Center - Room 140

3:30 - 4 p.m.
Break!

4 - 5 p.m.
Future of Publishing
UA Bookstore

Alternatives:
Writing and Publishing Personal Essays
Integrated Learning Center - Room 119

Science Fiction vs. Fantasy vs. Horror: The Ultimate Showdown
Integrated Learning Center - Room 140
The fact that Arizona Public Media's Mark McLemore is moderating this would be worth a visit.

The Locavore Kitchen
Culinary Stage - UA Mall

University of Arizona Asian Music Club, Purple Bamboo Ensemble
Bear Down Entertainment Stage
I didn't know the UA had such a music club. Might be worth catching.

See you there!

Tags: Tucson Festival of Books, literature, business, publishing, food, writing, workshops, cooking, music, astronomy, history, Chinatown, comics, books

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Going to the 2011 Tucson Festival of Books: Saturday edition

 
Book Fair , originally uploaded by arizonadailywildcat.

This will be my second year attending the festival, and it looks to be a good lineup. I'll be posting updates and observations about the event via the Arizona Daily Wildcat's Twitter account for the arts desk, @wildcatarts, and through my own account, @GrayBackMatter, with #TFOB in my tweets. I will also have the day's recap at either DailyWildcat.com or the Daily Wildcat arts blog, On the Beat.

You can find more information about the two-day event in my Daily Wildcat preview article and at the official website. The organizers have also created apps for iPhone and Android users for the first time this year, which contains information about the festival. The Android version still has some bugs in it, but it's not a bad way to figure who and what are where.

Here's my Saturday itinerary for the festival with alternatives in place in case something is canceled or I get bored:

10 - 11 a.m.
Bringing Meaning out of Meaninglessness: How Literature Can Respond to the January 8th Shootings
Chemistry - Room 111

Alternatives:
Are You Smarter Than a Cheese Grater? Word Games with Merl Reagle
Arizona Daily Star Pavilion - UA Mall

Digging Holes and Turning Cards: Creating Characters that Become Books with Louis Sachar
Education Building - Kiva Auditorium

11 - 11:30 a.m.
Small lunch break + Chinese dance

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Spin, Ink: Exposing Corporate Malfeasance
Koffler - Room 204

Alternatives:
Hot Times: Can Nature Survive Us?
Student Union - Gallagher Theater

Bon Appétit Desserts with Barbara Fairchild
Culinary Stage - UA Mall

Writing Comedy for TV: An Interview with Bill Odenkirk
Integrated Learning Center - Room 130

Collaborative Food Writing: A Delicious Blend of Science, Art and Great Taste
Integrated Learning Center - Room 119

12:30 - 1 p.m.
Small lunch break + meandering
I'll probably check out the Twitter wall and head to the E-Reader Experience tent to play with the Nook, Kindle and other gadgets.

1 - 2 p.m.
Be the Moon: Stories of War and Hope
Integrated Learning Center - Room 130

Alternatives:
Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century
Integrated Learning Center - Room 150

It's Okay to Eat Watermelon: Wally "Famous" Amos
UA Mall Tent

Louis Sachar
Teen Authors Lounge

2 - 2:30 p.m.
Meandering + rehydration + snack time

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
I See Rude People: The Collapse of Civility and What We Want To Do About It with Amy Alkon
UA Bookstore

Alternatives:
From Silly to Serious: Writing Across Genres with Louis Sachar, Candace Fleming, and Grace Lin
Education Building - Kiva Auditorium

Writing Spaces and What They Look Like and How You Can Design Your Own
Integrated Learning Center - Room 119

How to Document Your Culture: 40 Years of Photographing Latinos in the U.S. with José Galvez
Integrated Learning Center - Room 137

3:30 - 4 p.m.
Break time + confer with other reporters + take photos

4 - 5 p.m.
Writing Your Family History Through Family Recipes with Linda Murray Berzok
Integrated Learning Center - Room 135

Alternatives:
The Glamour of Grammar: A Journey Through the Magic and Mystery of Practical English with Roy Peter Clark
Arizona Daily Star Pavilion - UA Mall

The Ties that Bind: Relationships in Fiction
Student Union - Catalina Room

Twisted and Torn: Relationships in Crime Fiction
Modern Languages - Room 350

Eagerly Awaiting the Zompocalypse
Integrated Learning Center - Room 150

I hope to see you there!

Tags: books, reading, Tucson Festival of Books, arts, journalism, media, literature, food, recipes, cooking, Tucson shooting, fiction, workshops, literature, Arizona Daily Wildcat, Bon Appétit magazine, Hoover Dam, Arizona, history, mystery, crime, war, memoir, Oberlin College

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Arizona's government plans to cut $170 million from state universities

My friend and news editor at the Arizona Daily Wildcat goes on Arizona Public Media's "Arizona Week" to talk about the $170 million cuts to the state universities:



Tags: video, journalism, education, Arizona, government, Arizona Daily Wildcat

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My review of A.J. Liebling's "Between Meals"

Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris by A.J. Liebling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Due to a combined misfortune of timing and circumstance, I have not been to the Paris that Liebling describes in "Between Meals." Given that this was Liebling's last book before his death in 1963, I suspect that the Paris contained within this slender book were no more than so many remembered meals by the time this was published. Regardless, Liebling's Paris recalls a time when people savored their food and drink. (Then again, this was also when our traditional notions of men and women dominated and civil rights in America were not at a high point.)

However, as the title implies, the meals were secondary to the people who toiled to create them and the company they provided to those who appreciated good food. The meals, which are sumptuously described, are nothing more than catalysts for Liebling to recall his Paris and its inhabitants.

Liebling's writing exemplifies the New Yorker magazine's style: literary in tone, knowledgeable without sounding too snobbish, rich with the right details, humorous and opinionated without being unseemly. Few writers and journalists nowadays can write like this and not sound pretentious. Even though "Between Meals" represents its time and an era that no longer existed, it continues to serve as a classic food memoir by which other food memoirs should be judged. Well worth reading.

View all my reviews

Tags: journalism, food, memoir, reviews, books, writing, New Yorker magazine, Paris, France, wine, nonfiction

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It started out well...

Oscars: Opening Montage with Anne Hathaway and James Franco

Posted to New York Magazine by video on February 27, 2011

Click to Play | View Details

Tags: Academy Awards, 2011, video

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Academy Awards 2011 edition

The winners:
Documentary short subject - "Strangers No More"
Short film, live action - "God of Love"
Short film, animated - "The Lost Thing"
Film editing - "The Social Network"
Visual effects - "Inception"
Sound editing - "Inception"
Sound mixing - "Inception"
Documentary feature - "Inside Job"
Makeup - "The Wolfman"
Costume design - "Alice in Wonderland"
Cinematography - "Inception"
Art direction - "Alice in Wonderland"
Original song - "We Belong Together" by Randy Newman
Original score - "The Social Network" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Animated feature - "Toy Story 3"
Foreign language film - "In a Better World" (Denmark)
Adapted screenplay - "The Social Network"
Original screenplay - "The King's Speech"
Best actress in a supporting role - Melissa Leo for "The Fighter"
Best actor in a supporting role - Christian Bale for "The Fighter"
Best actress in a leading role - Natalie Portman for "Black Swan"
Best actor in a leading role - Colin Firth for "The King's Speech"
Best director - Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech"
Best picture - "The King's Speech"

My picks:
Documentary short subject - "The Warriors of Qiugang"
Short film, live action - N/A
Short film, animated - N/A
Film editing - "Black Swan"
Visual effects - "Inception"
Sound editing - "The Social Network"
Sound mixing - "Inception"
Documentary feature - N/A
Makeup - "The Wolfman"
Costume design - "Alice in Wonderland"
Cinematography - "Inception"
Art direction - "Alice in Wonderland"
Original song - N/A
Original score - "The Social Network" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Animated feature - N/A
Foreign language film - N/A
Adapted screenplay - "True Grit"
Original screenplay - "Inception"
Best actress in a supporting role - Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit"
Best actor in a supporting role -  John Hawkes for "Winter's Bone"
Best actress in a leading role - Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone" or Natalie Portman for "Black Swan"
Best actor in a leading role - Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," or Jeff Bridges for "True Grit"
Best director - N/A (Too tough to choose!)
Best picture - N/A (Missed out on four of the nominees: "Toy Story 3," "127 Hours," "The Fighter," and "The Kids Are All Right."

So what have I learned from the Academy Awards this year? One, many of the Best Picture nominees deal with the body in one way or another: "Black Swan," "127 Hours," "The Fighter," "Inception," "Winter's Bone," "The King's Speech." The show, from what I could watch, had a lot of missteps in terms of pacing and entertainment. Now, it's time to try and catch the nominated films I missed, especially "Toy Story 3."

Tags: films, movies, awards, 2011, Academy Awards

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Brief comment on the 53rd Grammy Awards

I saw about the last third, but it was a great last third.

• Arcade Fire won Best Album of the Year for The Suburbs.
• Esperanza Spalding beat Justin Bieber for Best New Artist.

All is right in the world of mainstream music — for now.

Tags: music, TV, awards, 2010

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My review of 'The 4 A.M. Breakthrough'

4 A.M. Breakthrough: Unconventional Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction by Brian Kiteley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unlike his previous book, "The 3 A.M. Epiphany," this is a collection of writing exercises and prompts to jumpstart the imagination. Many of the exercises require research, which is a nice challenge. Many of the explanations are autobiographical in nature, which often proved to be engaging for me. (Your opinion may vary.) I haven't taken many English or creative writing courses, but I was surprised that Kiteley notes how graduate students often resist or groan about writing prompts. There is a lot of great writing that is produced within defined restraints and conventions, e.g. genre fiction. At some point, I'll have to randomly choose a prompt and write within its borders. For now, this book provides some roundabout insights into how writers approach the blank page and generate strands of fiction that may or may not be used in a future project.

View all my reviews

Tags: books, writing, literature, reviews

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Valentine's Day in Japan

From the Wall Street Journal blog, Japan Real Time:

"In Japan, the burden falls on the woman to shower the men in her life with chocolates. And in another departure from the Western tradition, it is a gesture that sings a more obligatory note than a lover’s serenade."

(UPDATE: My friends on Facebook pointed me to "White Day," which takes place a month after Valentine's. I'm not surprised there is an answer day. My thanks to Chris and Liz for pointing this out!)

Tags: Japan, culture, Valentine's Day, chocolate, food, business, social

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Photo editing diversion

This comes from my friend Abby via Facebook:

(1) Go to Wikipedia and hit Random Article. The first article you get is the name of your band. (2) Go to quotationspage.com and hit Random Quote. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your album. (3) Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days." The third picture, regardless of what it is, is your album art. (4) Use Photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.

I cheated a little in my creation. Instead of choosing "explore the last seven days," I went with the third picture from The Commons area of Flickr to avoid any issues with copyright. (The Creative Commons area is also a good place to grab a photo, too, as long as you are familiar with Creative Commons licenses.)

Anyway, here's the result:

I did the photo editing with Aviary's Phoenix tool, which is free to use.

Tags: photography, art, Facebook, friends, diversion, Creative Commons, Flickr

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