Sara Paretsky's Blog, page 22

Freedom to Write Alert

On December 23, 2009, the People's Republic of China condemned the poet Liu Xiaobo for the crime of "inciting subversion of state power."  The trial lasted less than three hours, and the defense was not permitted to present evidence. Two days later, on December 25, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison and two years' deprivation of political rights.

Mr. Liu's alleged crime was the co-authoring of Charter 08, which, inter alia, advocates free speech and the end of single party rule.

The...

Revels

Every January for more than 5o years, people in the University of Chicago community have tried to lighten winter's bleakness with a musical revue.  For many years, the witty Robert Ashenhurst and Ned Rosenheim provided words and music in a Noel Coward/academic vein.  More recently, Andy Austen, by day ABC-TV's courtroom artist, by night a playwright, has written scripts that are both clever and charming–and often very funny.

We're lucky to have the talent in the community to make it a  good...

What's In a Name?

I haven't posted anything new for awhile, because I've been working flat out to finish the draft of my new novel before I head off to the UK on tour.  I finished the draft this afternoon, with more of a whimper than a bang.  I lay down for an hour–it's physically strenuous, writing like a madwoman, and then went to rehearse for the Revels, which take place the last weekend in January. This year I play a fundraiser who sings the "Habanera" song from Carmen, warbling "L'argent," instead of...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to anyone who's able to open their eyes enough to look at a computer today. I was way over my limit last night but finally, at two p.m. on New Year's Day, in Chicago's 7 degrees, I'm ready to look at the world if not to smile at it.

Because it's the new year, and we all want it to be a good one, I thought I'd start with sex. Writing about it, to be more precise. We've all heard Elmore Leonard's dictum about leaving out the stuff the reader skips many many times–but I almost...

Entr'acte

My last post was so serious, if not downright melancholy, that a little lightheartedness seems in order.  So, as the year winds down, I thought I'd share some of the high? lights in random categories.

Best text messager: Andy House, who drove his $2 million Bugatti Veyron into a lagoon because he was texting at the wheel and what was left of his brain was allegedly distracted by a low-flying pelican.  The link's headline says "$1 million," but other sources put the price at around $1.8...

More Light

Chanukah begins at sundown on December 11.  It's a child's holiday, with candles, songs, and, in the affluent west these days, presents.  For adults, at least for me, it's a bit more problematic–it's a holiday that celebrates confusing things, the triumph of religion over reason, the cleansing of the Temple, the start of a theocracy not unlike current-day Iran's.

Religion and politics in the Middle East in 167 BCE were just as complicated and deadly a combination as they've remained today...

A Quiet Week

in Lake Woebegone, Garrison Keillor's home town, but not so much so in Chicago.  We started with a gang of housebreakers who targeted our area.  They would come to the front door; if anyone answered, they'd say they were looking for yard work.  If no one answered, they'd hustle around to the back and break in through the second story windows–they even carried ladders with them.  We haven't seen them for a few days and don't know if they were caught, or simply cleaned out our street and have m...

The Wolf in the Garden

I entertained myself today by writing a story for one of my honorary nieces, whose truelove just done her wrong.  In case it might amuse you, here it is:

For Maude Baggetto

It was dusk when I finally drove into the city of W–.  A series of mishaps had dogged my journey, making me feel almost as though the Fates themselves were conspiring to keep me from my destination.  First, the cloak of fog that engulfed the airport and delayed our flight by nearly four hours,

Fog surrounds the Airport

and...

A Weighty Matter

I was a chubby kid.  When we lived in town, a couple of boys in my school used to stand on the sidewalk and chant a rude verse at me on the way home ("Fatty," it began.  I sometimes worry that as my brain disintegrates with age, that verse will be the last thing I retain.)  I was almost thirty when I lost weight, going to Weight WAtchers.  I don't know what WW is like now, but back then, you'd get on the scale, and, if you'd lost anything, the group would applaud; if you'd gained, they offer ...

Will Write For…

A violinist I know who's part of The New Millennium Orchestra told me they're working on a business plan these days.  Up to now, if they had money they paid the musicians; if they didn't, everyone played for free.  The musicians are all young, energetic, and very hard working.  They travel long distances to teach to make enough money to continue with their art.  Or their profession.

They grapple with making old music fresh.  When an orchestra looks bored, they lose connection with their...