Alex Kudera's Blog, page 155
March 8, 2011
cyrus is stranded
I've been told I have low standards, but not by my students, not to my face anyway, and it's also been implied that my expectations are too high, in the worse kind of nonhallucinogenic way.
So, low or high, goofy or no, I should say I am positively peachy over the fact, that Cyrus Duffleman has infiltrated the greatest used bookstore of all (with apologies to all the other greatest used bookstores), and he rests snug on shelf, in good condition, at a rather nimble price point of $7.45.
What will be this copy's fate? Will it survive and persist at The Strand until the final disaster for all print media, whereupon the amazing store closes down and the e-world takes over?
Well, I had the good fortune to visit The Strand this past winter, a fine cold, slushy day with dirty piles of ice at every intersection and all manner of Manhattannite traipsing about. What I saw were hundreds of browsers and buyers looking for new and used and used used and other there. Truth be told, the store seemed like a dynamic site for literate commerce.
Alas, I didn't fill out an application, no courage, and I couldn't tell you if Duffy did although the website has no qualms about noting his financial pain.
And so we trudge on.
So, low or high, goofy or no, I should say I am positively peachy over the fact, that Cyrus Duffleman has infiltrated the greatest used bookstore of all (with apologies to all the other greatest used bookstores), and he rests snug on shelf, in good condition, at a rather nimble price point of $7.45.
What will be this copy's fate? Will it survive and persist at The Strand until the final disaster for all print media, whereupon the amazing store closes down and the e-world takes over?
Well, I had the good fortune to visit The Strand this past winter, a fine cold, slushy day with dirty piles of ice at every intersection and all manner of Manhattannite traipsing about. What I saw were hundreds of browsers and buyers looking for new and used and used used and other there. Truth be told, the store seemed like a dynamic site for literate commerce.
Alas, I didn't fill out an application, no courage, and I couldn't tell you if Duffy did although the website has no qualms about noting his financial pain.
And so we trudge on.
March 7, 2011
man with a manuscript
i did want to add, as a PS of sorts from my previous "content that doesn't suck" hyperlink, that to the best of my knowledge, the esteemed ghost of elberry, whose name i could provide if called upon although i hardly know the chap (as in, we've never met), is not only a transient laborer in the teaching field of Business English, but also a man with an unpublished novel.
So, hey, check out his blog, publishers, and see if this isn't the kind of intellectual morbidity that you've secretly craved despite your Harry-Potter wannabeism and power-of-positive-thinking front and back lists.
Here's an excerpt to get you started:
"i contemplate the prospect of another Kiel-like ordeal with weary resignation. If i go to X-burg i predict i will fall foul of the Director of Studies, a wizened power woman on speed, a type i have met many a time in office work – they instinctively loathe me. i will probably be fired or just given the worst jobs, teaching Business English to 19-year-old engineering apprentices, etc. i'm not sure i can take any more of this. i feel dangerously close to snapping in half; though, then again, it is surprising how much one can take, when one has no other choice. And it is certainly a mistake to suppose life is essentially enjoyable, or that it is arranged for one's own convenience.
"i should welcome unemployment and destitution and debt, since Kiel was a valuable time, spiritually speaking – forced back on yourself, rejected by the world, you must consider matters without niceties. But in truth i just want a half-way decent job and a flat i don't have to share with a retarded hippy. However, lacking any worthwhile skills or qualifications (or money), i must make do with what i am given. In spite of everything i am still alive, aged 35, and that seems so improbable as to suggest things might work out, improbably."
and follow this for more from the aske man.
So, hey, check out his blog, publishers, and see if this isn't the kind of intellectual morbidity that you've secretly craved despite your Harry-Potter wannabeism and power-of-positive-thinking front and back lists.
Here's an excerpt to get you started:
"i contemplate the prospect of another Kiel-like ordeal with weary resignation. If i go to X-burg i predict i will fall foul of the Director of Studies, a wizened power woman on speed, a type i have met many a time in office work – they instinctively loathe me. i will probably be fired or just given the worst jobs, teaching Business English to 19-year-old engineering apprentices, etc. i'm not sure i can take any more of this. i feel dangerously close to snapping in half; though, then again, it is surprising how much one can take, when one has no other choice. And it is certainly a mistake to suppose life is essentially enjoyable, or that it is arranged for one's own convenience.
"i should welcome unemployment and destitution and debt, since Kiel was a valuable time, spiritually speaking – forced back on yourself, rejected by the world, you must consider matters without niceties. But in truth i just want a half-way decent job and a flat i don't have to share with a retarded hippy. However, lacking any worthwhile skills or qualifications (or money), i must make do with what i am given. In spite of everything i am still alive, aged 35, and that seems so improbable as to suggest things might work out, improbably."
and follow this for more from the aske man.
March 5, 2011
content
I graded a lot of papers of this week. Fretted. About most of it. Yeah. And sorry I haven't written in a while, but I just don't know what to say to you anymore. And I'm censoring myself at every turn. Of course, it wasn't really worth hearing about anyway.
Alas, I'd tell you I've taken a corporate turn, but in fact, this post has no sponsorship whatsoever.
But thank you for allowing this content into your life. Have a nice day.
PS--On second thought, I thought I'd share someone else's content. Content that doesn't suck. In a best case scenario, it might get Elberry a record deal.
Alas, I'd tell you I've taken a corporate turn, but in fact, this post has no sponsorship whatsoever.
But thank you for allowing this content into your life. Have a nice day.
PS--On second thought, I thought I'd share someone else's content. Content that doesn't suck. In a best case scenario, it might get Elberry a record deal.
February 22, 2011
spring and summer readings
Here's a list of events, times and places, where I'll be reading from
Fight for Your Long Day
and signing copies available for sale:
March 1, Tuesday, 7 to 8 p.m., The Bengal Tiger, 101 Keith Street, Clemson, SC
Spring Break in Sunny Philadelphia!
March 21, Monday, 6 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA
March 23, Wednesday, noon, Barnes and Noble, University City (Penn Bookstore), Philadelphia, PA
March 25, Friday, 4 to 6 p.m. (signing only) Faber Books, 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA
May 6, Friday, 7 p.m., City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC
May 7, Saturday, 3 p.m. Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville, NC
May 9 or 10 Atlanta, Georgia courtesy of Ben Tanzer (details on the way)
And for the July 4 to Bastille Day lull in your life:
July 9 and 10, details forthcoming, Chesnut Hill Book Festival, Philadelphia, PA
I'll revise or add to this as more events are confirmed or appear.
See you somewhere, some day. I hope.
March 1, Tuesday, 7 to 8 p.m., The Bengal Tiger, 101 Keith Street, Clemson, SC
Spring Break in Sunny Philadelphia!
March 21, Monday, 6 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA
March 23, Wednesday, noon, Barnes and Noble, University City (Penn Bookstore), Philadelphia, PA
March 25, Friday, 4 to 6 p.m. (signing only) Faber Books, 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA
May 6, Friday, 7 p.m., City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC
May 7, Saturday, 3 p.m. Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville, NC
May 9 or 10 Atlanta, Georgia courtesy of Ben Tanzer (details on the way)
And for the July 4 to Bastille Day lull in your life:
July 9 and 10, details forthcoming, Chesnut Hill Book Festival, Philadelphia, PA
I'll revise or add to this as more events are confirmed or appear.
See you somewhere, some day. I hope.
February 18, 2011
i feel the same way.
i feel the same way.
February 16, 2011
thanks, ben
When Ben Tanzer changes your book's shelf life, he doesn't [redacted] around. Thanks, Ben, for the rich review and positive energy all around.
And the man is selling (at least) two of his own books this year, with orders already possible for this April release.
OK. In no particular order (so let's make it alphabetical), a list of my favorite novelists with whom I've crossed Ultimate paths:
Abeer Hoque
David Hollander
Kate Ledger
Ben Tanzer
Well, truth be told, I've only read slight sections from their books, but intend to improve upon that. Once in a while, I get a strange vision that it would be possible to jog and then run and then play Ultimate again. Hmmm. I ought to go get some ice cream and think this over.
And the man is selling (at least) two of his own books this year, with orders already possible for this April release.
OK. In no particular order (so let's make it alphabetical), a list of my favorite novelists with whom I've crossed Ultimate paths:
Abeer Hoque
David Hollander
Kate Ledger
Ben Tanzer
Well, truth be told, I've only read slight sections from their books, but intend to improve upon that. Once in a while, I get a strange vision that it would be possible to jog and then run and then play Ultimate again. Hmmm. I ought to go get some ice cream and think this over.
February 14, 2011
long weekend
Friday evening, Ron Rash burned bright at The Bengal Tiger's first reading in the spring series, and it went well enough that we will have at least three more readings (look for details soon), including my own on March 1 (a Tuesday, 7 p.m.). We then saw and heard Ron read again at City Lights in Sylva, NC the following Sunday, as in yesterday, a bright, beautiful day at that.
And so, I'm motivated and in the mood to read from Fight for Your Long Day . In front of an audience, no less. I'm fairly certain I'll have details soon for my spring reading plans. If you want to book me for an event (in a way that doesn't involve electrocution by wet kindle or slamming an unabridged dictionary over my head), please do not hesitate to e-mail, f-book, or t-weet although telepathy remains my e-best mode of communication of course. It looks like I'll be in the mid-Atlantic from March 20 to 27 and the Clemson region (within a couple hours of Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.) for the rest of Feb through April.
And now I'm here, too, squatting on Old Man Bezos's land.
Slog Through Your Tuesday!
And so, I'm motivated and in the mood to read from Fight for Your Long Day . In front of an audience, no less. I'm fairly certain I'll have details soon for my spring reading plans. If you want to book me for an event (in a way that doesn't involve electrocution by wet kindle or slamming an unabridged dictionary over my head), please do not hesitate to e-mail, f-book, or t-weet although telepathy remains my e-best mode of communication of course. It looks like I'll be in the mid-Atlantic from March 20 to 27 and the Clemson region (within a couple hours of Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.) for the rest of Feb through April.
And now I'm here, too, squatting on Old Man Bezos's land.
Slog Through Your Tuesday!
long weekend, long monday
Last week, Muriel was reunited with her little Yiyi and even lectured by her son about being more of a proactive, toddler-ready grandma like the new and improved ones we've seen coming over from China. Younger, faster, and more devoted due to single-child policy effectively making a four-grandparent to one grandchild ratio the norm. But Mur and Yi had a nice time, together, and toward the end of the visit, Muriel did note that Yiyi has great communication skills. ("She does whatever she wants" was an early impression on this trip.)
After that, Friday evening, Ron Rash burned bright at The Bengal Tiger's first reading in the spring series, and it went well enough that we will have at least three more readings (look for details soon), including my own. We then saw and heard Ron read again at City Lights in Sylva, NC the following Sunday, as in yesterday, a bright, beautiful day at that.
And so, I'm motivated and in the mood to read from Fight for Your Long Day. In front of an audience, no less. I'm fairly certain I'll have details soon for my spring reading plans. If you want to book me for an event (in a way that doesn't involve electrocution by wet kindle or slamming an unabridged dictionary over my head), please do not hesitate to e-mail, f-book, or t-weet although telepathy remains my e-best mode of communication of course. It looks like I'll be in the mid-Atlantic from March 20 to 27 and the Clemson region (within a couple hours of Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.) for the rest of Feb through April.
And now I'm here, too, squatting on Old Man Bezos's land.
Slog Through Your Tuesday!
After that, Friday evening, Ron Rash burned bright at The Bengal Tiger's first reading in the spring series, and it went well enough that we will have at least three more readings (look for details soon), including my own. We then saw and heard Ron read again at City Lights in Sylva, NC the following Sunday, as in yesterday, a bright, beautiful day at that.
And so, I'm motivated and in the mood to read from Fight for Your Long Day. In front of an audience, no less. I'm fairly certain I'll have details soon for my spring reading plans. If you want to book me for an event (in a way that doesn't involve electrocution by wet kindle or slamming an unabridged dictionary over my head), please do not hesitate to e-mail, f-book, or t-weet although telepathy remains my e-best mode of communication of course. It looks like I'll be in the mid-Atlantic from March 20 to 27 and the Clemson region (within a couple hours of Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.) for the rest of Feb through April.
And now I'm here, too, squatting on Old Man Bezos's land.
Slog Through Your Tuesday!
February 9, 2011
sample betrayal
A nice chunk of The Betrayal of Times of Peace and Prosperity is now available for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/40939/1/the-betrayal-of-times-of-peace-and-prosperity
It just might take you where you want to go.
http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/40939/1/the-betrayal-of-times-of-peace-and-prosperity
It just might take you where you want to go.
February 4, 2011
Gone Dog Press
Gone Dog Press, a publisher of "awesome e-books," delivers The Betrayal of Times of Peace and Prosperity on Superbowl Sunday. This longish story, or shortish novella, has something for everyone--from fatty meat frying in the wok to inadvertent touches that can end a life. It's of a genre that could be termed "college commencement angst" although I'm having trouble thinking of a story or novel that would compare.
The book will be available at http://www.amazon.com/ as well as http://www.smashwords.com/, and eventually it should be compatible with all kinds of electronic book reading devices. At smashwords, you'll be able to read it right off the screen or download it as a printable pdf. Or so I'm told by the e-authorities from the land on book.
So you should be able to download a copy for a buck forty-nine or so. . . graduation angst at bargain-basement pricing!
Happy reading.
Peace.
The book will be available at http://www.amazon.com/ as well as http://www.smashwords.com/, and eventually it should be compatible with all kinds of electronic book reading devices. At smashwords, you'll be able to read it right off the screen or download it as a printable pdf. Or so I'm told by the e-authorities from the land on book.
So you should be able to download a copy for a buck forty-nine or so. . . graduation angst at bargain-basement pricing!
Happy reading.
Peace.
