Caleb J. Ross's Blog, page 89

This Day In (Made) History

Today is my birthday. I'm not much of a celebrator of this, or any, traditionally celebrated day. I'm not a scrooge, a prude, or a buzkill. I'm just lazy. But my dis-affection hasn't stopped others from wishing me all the best on this day.

From family, to Facebook, to forums, virtual and physical friends alike have been fantastic.

Below is an especially warming well-wish:

This day in history (courtesy of Mr. Nic Young)

1775 The Spanish establish a presidio (fort) in the town that...

Coming late 2011: I Didn't Mean to Be Kevin (the book, not the apology)

It's official. Negotiations have been negotiated. Signatures have been signed. Bells have been sleighed. I Didn't Mean to Be Kevin will be published in late 2011 by Black Coffee Press. I'll keep this announcement short and tidy; there is plenty of time for me to drone on about how proud I am of this book. For now, just make sure your nutting pants are clean.

Perhaps not coincidentally, I do drink my coffee black.

Black Coffee Press has a quite a list of books lined up for...

It's about TIME I got a fake TIME cover

It has been 10 years since a living novelist has appeared on the cover of Time (since Stephen King in 2000). So why does Jonathan Franzen get to right this wrong? Why not me? "Because you've never had a novel published," you say. True. Though smell on the street is that travesty will soon to be rectified….more to come on that lovely bit of teasery a bit later.

Until then, come on, you be the judge. I make a damn good counterpoint.

Peter Griffin does porn and literature

In my continuing hunt for literary references in cartoons, I sometimes forget those that have been with me for years. I've long been a fan of Family Guy, and the episode "Peterotica" features some delightfully tacky parodies of contemporary classic novels used as the titles for Peter Griffin's erotica writings. Enjoy. If you feel so inclined, watch the full episode here.

Angela's Asses by Peter
Angela's Ashes by Frank
Shaved New World by Peter Griffintd

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" mentioned in The Simpsons

Ever since I made my first "Great Unexpected Literary References" post, I seem to have grown keen to book mentions in cartoons. And to be honestly, none has surprised me more than Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," a short story that I assumed was only known among the academic literary cliques. But no. Unless of course Matt Groening, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone were all at one time part of a literary clique. I wouldn't doubt this; those guys are smart.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone ...

Mind effed: Jose Saramago hates on wisdom nuggets, bitches

Authoritarian, paralyzing, circular, occasionally elliptical stock phrases, also jocularly referred to as nuggets of wisdom, are a malignant plague, one of the very worst ever to ravage the earth. We say to the confused, Know thyself, as if knowing yourself was not the fifth and most difficult of human arithmetical operations, we say to the apathetic, Where there's a will, there's a way, as if the brute realities of the world did not amuse themselves each day by turning that...

The Velvet Podcast, Episode 007: INTERVIEW with Blake Butler

Episode #007 of The Velvet Podcast is now live!

"If I made it I might as well destroy it by eating it" – Blake Butler

In this interview episode of The Velvet Podcast, I interview Blake Butler, author of Ever (Calamari Press), Scorch Atlas (Featherproof Books) and the forthcoming There is no Year (Harper Perennial). Blake and Caleb discuss the impact of eReaders on visual-dependent literature, the novels vs. movies fallacy, and the importance of humility in an predominantly...

Many Clockwork Oranges

I was watching an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force the other day (yes, I spend my time wisely), and for the first time I made the connection between the data-injection scene in the "Super Trivia" the infamous video scene in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (yes, I said "for the first time" implying that I've seen this episode many times. Like I said, I spend my time wisely). The infamous scene portrays Alex (played by Malcolm...

Mind effed: Jose Saramago karate-chops the 4th wall and drops knowledge about lazy novelists

The journey was uneventful, that's what novelists in a hurry always say when they think that, in the ten minutes or ten hours they are about to eliminate, nothing has taken place that would warrant any special mention. Strictly speaking, it would be much more correct and honest to put it like this, As in all journeys whatever their duration and length, there have been a thousand incidents, words and thoughts, and for a thousand you could read ten thousand, but the narrative...

Blame Caleb for the BP Oil Leak

It seems book deals are overwhelmingly the result of celebrity. But because I have never madamed a gubernatorial knob gobbling session, didn't shoot to national fame by positioning my condescension to gullible suckers as empathy for "the real America," and unfortunately wasn't smart enough to fool Oprah first, my current celeb-cred holds steady at terror alert level negative green. In fact, I barely warrant an obituary, let alone a book. But if controversy is what the...