Fantastic Metropolis

Music

Hush, performed by Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin

Bobby McFerrin is the kind of performer who inspires me to work harder at my craft because listening to him reminds me that art is not only possible but fun. This collection showcases two great performers, blending the melancholy perfection of cello with a remarkable human voice.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Donde Estan Los Ladrones?, Shakira

My daughter introduced me to this amazing adaptable singer. She sings the impossible and has that kind of voice that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and listen to he song. Mysteriously, her English language recordings don’t have the same verve and power of her native Spanish, but this recording is a gem.

☑ Laugh (the kind of laugher that sometimes washes over you from joy) ☑ Think

Stories

“The Wages of Syntax”, Ray Vukcevich

(Sci Fiction, 2002)

I love Ray. He’s so logically wacky it boggles the mind. This story is about love, academia, and the universal translator. And it has a rubber ducky of destruction. What’s not to like?

☑ Laugh ☑ Think

“Lambing Season”, Molly Gloss

(Asimov’s, July 2002)

This touching and beautifully written story of first contact was one of my favorites last year. It’s a story about the miracles of birth and death, loneliness and connection.

☑ Weep ☑ Think

Poetry

“To Dorothy”, Marvin Bell

I’ve heard him read this three times and you’d think I’d be mature enough to read it silently without weeping. But I just read it again yesterday and fell apart. It’s so romantic. Let’s all swoon together.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think

The poem (and others equally fabulous) is available in its lovely presentation book: Poetry for a Midsummer’s Night.

Movies and Television:

Punch-Drunk Love

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (of Boogie Nights and Magnolia)

Everyone keeps telling me, “I don’t want to pay to see Adam Sandler.” All I can say is that this is a brilliant, unpredictable, dark, comic, romantic, edge-of-your-seats artsy thriller and you’re missing something genuine if you boycott it because of its star’s past stupid films.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Episode 56 of Sex and the City, “My Motherboard, My Self” is a funny, touching, irritating episode, and one of the best things I’ve ever seen on television. I’m glad we bought cable last summer, for this particular show and a very few other programs. Grief, sex, and computer neep.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Novels

Dreamer, by Charles Johnson

Dreamer is set around the time of MLK’s assassination and is an evocative examination of greatness and failing. The narrative voice is beautiful and the story compelling. It’s a big story told on a very personal level.

☑ Laugh (the painful uncomfortable inner-chuckling kind of laughter) ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops, and Hermaphrodites With Attitude, by Amy Bloom

I admit to being fascinated by things I don’t understand. The essays and interviews in Normal are thoughtful and beautifully written examinations of what it means to sexed outside the norm.

☑ Laugh (the painful uncomfortable inner-chuckling kind of laughter) ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, by Oliver W. Sacks

A memoir by a writer who makes every subject fascinating. Every Oliver Sacks book is worth reading. This one is simply his latest.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think

Catalogs

William Spear Designs

Eileen Gunn gave me my first William Spear enamel pin and I’ve been a collector every since. He makes a great “Write Hard, Die Young” typewriter biker pin that’s a must for any writer and you can find Ray Troll “Spawn till you Die” pins and pins that look like stomachs and oh so much more.

☑ Laugh ☑ Think

Mark Ziesing Books

Mark Ziesing’s catalogs are a great read and I’d pay to subscribe to them. Instead, I try to buy new books from him whenever I can. The catalog has great covers and interesting articles by Mark about what’s going on in his life. Inside is a wish list of books to buy and read.

☑ Laugh ☑ Weep ☑ Think