Gabriel Thompson's Blog, page 3

Salon and WNYC Interviews

The past ten days or so have been pretty non-stop, capped off with a recent trip to Mexico for a wedding (not mine). The activity has left me with very little energy to do any substantial writing for the blog–which will change starting tomorrow–but I did want to mention two new pieces that have been published.

Last week Salon ran an interview I did with their food editor, Francis Lam. Francis was a great interviewer, and I'm happy with the result. One thing that I'm learning is that a key...

Working America's Unwanted Jobs

more about "Working America's Unwanted Jobs", posted with vodpod

New Report, and New Book Excerpt

Last week I went to a press conference where the National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a new study about labor law violations in New York City. The report, Working Without Laws, is based on a survey of nearly 1,500 low-wage workers. I've put a link to the report below, but here are some of most notable findings:

- One in five workers were paid less than the minimum wage
- More than two-thirds of the workers who were owed meal breaks were not given them as required by law
- More than...

Overwhelmed (in a good way)

Here's more or less my previous writing experience:

For whatever reason, Working in the Shadows is getting–for me, at least–a lot of attention, and seems to be attracting a readership beyond the ten people closest to me. This is fabulous, and no doubt has a lot to do with the dedicated work of my publicist, Mary McCue. It's also just a little crazy. Yesterday at this time, for example, a woman was putting...

Publication Day!

Today is the official publication date for Working in the Shadows! Of course, it has been out in bookstores for two weeks now–but still exciting, nonetheless.

Thanks to everyone who came to the book release party last Thursday, and for all who spread the word about the event. The turnout was crazy, and it was great to see so many people and hear so many kind words about the quality of my guacamole. It was also nice to be able to introduce Enrique, from my first book There's No Jose Here, and...

The Passing of Howard Zinn

If you haven't yet heard, Howard Zinn passed away yesterday. Zinn is one of a small handful of people who I can without doubt say has played a huge role in my life, which is pretty incredible because I'm certain there are about a million other people who can say the same thing.

When I was on the cusp of failing high school, I first came across A People's History. I still remember how quickly I tore through the entire book (and it's a long book), and how this helped redefine history for me as...

How Quickly I Forget

I've done several interviews over the past couple days, and one of the questions that has come up is how working on the book has changed me. When asked, I make the point that I have spent a lot more time reflecting on how much hard work is being done, every minute, that I benefit from, and how little I thought about this before. When I first left the lettuce fields in Yuma, I couldn't enter a grocery store without spending a good amount of time in the produce aisle. I'd go from head to head...

Whither Immigration Reform?

There has been an undercurrent of anxiety about the prospects for immigration reform following last week's Republican Senate victory in Massachusetts. I'm far from a political junkie–even five minutes of cable new coverage makes my head hurt–but despite my cultivated political ignorance, I think it worth making a few points in support of pushing for reform in 2010.

Reason #1: It cuts across traditional Democrat/Republican voting patterns.

One of the things I hate about politics in the US is...

Whites-Only Professional Basketball League!

Here's one thing I've learned about blogging: it can be very hard to actually do it when dealing with things like a job and a bunch of random book publicity stuff! But after this week I should have more time to carve out space to write more…that's this week's resolution, at least.

In the meantime, I came across a story courtesy of Color Lines yesterday that, well, what can be said about it that I don't say in the blog title?

The All-American Basketball Alliance wants to begin in twelve cities...

Book Trailer is Live

There is finally a book trailer for Working in the Shadows! Whether or not a book trailer can actually improve sales is a very open question. I did learn, though, that it's a fun and very challenging project to attempt to boil down a year's worth of experiences and 300-pages of writing into a video less than five minutes long. I've posted it below, and hope you enjoy!