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A Tired Meme Rears its Head at the NY Times–Obama as Too Cool to Care

January 20, 2013 /4 Comments/in /by

Count on the NY Times to be dickish the day before President Obama’s 2nd Inaugural. The article leading off today’s Week in Review is a familiar litany of complaint from someone–David Rothkopf is who, please?–poking darts this time at Barack Obama’s management style. I read the whole column and found nothing about it persuasive as a critique. The presidency isn’t a business, and management isn’t necessarily the only goal, or holy grail, of leadership.

The opinion expressed in the column is unsurprising, even overly familiar but I have an even bigger beef with the illustration accompanying it. The artist, Mark Ulriksen–perhaps at the suggestion of Times op-art editors, or at least with their final approval–has created an aloof Obama in baseball uni with a bunch of dropped balls all around him, as one floats in the air above his hand. It seems to say, “Will he drop this one, too? Meanwhile, the caricatured president has his nose stuck up in the air striking an arrogant pose. I instantly found it offensive, perpetuating a meme of the president as unfeeling, uncaring, even a bit lazy, as if he can’t be bothered to catch the balls tossed his way. I’m sick of these portrayals of the president. Would anyone unfeeling have gone so gray in four years and often appear so careworn, even while his smile does still break out like a sunbeam, as in the official White House photo unveiled last week?Barack Obama portrait

I want to add that I’m not the only blogger to find this column odd, at the least. At TPM, Josh Marshall has asked people to read it and send him their thoughts on it. I’ll send my take to Josh.

There are times when I hate the NY Times, among other things for its smugness, its know-it-all air, and its attempts at coining the establishment line and minting conventional wisdom. This is one of those times. They’re the arrogant party here, not the president. Here’s a screenshot of the column as presented online, and the drawing on its own. Please let me know what you think, especially if you see it differently than me, or agree, and see aspects of the unfortunate meme that I’ve overlooked. For instance, maybe the subtext of the drawing is even more overtly racial than I suggested above. Could be. Obama drawing onlyObama column&drawing

This Time President Obama Nails the Oath

January 20, 2013 /0 Comments/in /by

As shown in this video, for the oath of office today–unlike 2008–Chief Justice John Roberts read the text from a piece of paper. There was no screw-up like 4 years ago, when Roberts’ out-of-order recitation of “faithfully execute” unavoidably tripped up the new president. It’ll be fun to see this done again tomorrow in front of a throng on the Mall. I hope Roberts is just as careful then. Sasha, the Obamas’ youngest daughter, can be heard saying, “Good job, Daddy,” to which he responds, “I did it,” and she adds, “You didn’t mess up.” Indeed. It’s a good day for the United States of America and the world. Video courtesy C-Span.

Enjoying Whitehorse at Hill Country with Friends

January 19, 2013 /2 Comments/in , , /by

Amid an incredibly busy week–teaching a nonfiction book writing seminar on Tuesday at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and attending Digital Book World (DBW) Wednesday and Thursday, it was fun to still get out and hear some live music, when Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland, aka Whitehorse, played at Hill Country, the fun BBQ restaurant and saloon in Manhattan on Thursday night. What made it even better was that I was able to bring some friends from DBW with me. Joining me were Peter Evans, CEO of Speakerfile, the Toronto company that connects conference organizers to author experts that do public speaking, whom I represent to the publishing industry; and Chris Howard and Jason Freeman of Libboo, an exciting new engine for book advocacy and discovery. We enjoyed an amazing dinner first and had a kinetic conversation that encompassed vintage guitars, music performance, emerging technologies, and whether Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is the best beer to have with smoked wings. Before we knew it, Whitehorse was taking to the stage.

I had heard and met Luke and Melissa last year, so it was great to see them again, and this time turn some friends on to their music. Though they are ‘only’ a duo, they play like twinned one-person bands, supplying percussion, bass, keys, guitars, vocals, and foot-stomping to the sonic mix. Melissa’s voice is a powerful, arcing instrument, and Luke’s guitar work, mostly on a big, white Gretch Falcon, is consistently mind-blowing. Their ensemble work was especially powerful on such songs as “Wisconsin,” “Passenger 24,” “Devil’s Got a Gun,” and “I’m on Fire.”

I love it when spontaneous fun can be enjoyed amid a busy trade show. Thanks to Peter, Chris, and Jason for all the good company, and Luke and Melissa for the soundtrack to our evening!Luke & Melissa 2

#FridayReads, Jan. 18–“God Save the Mark,” Donald E. Westlake and “Going Clear,” Lawrence Wright

January 18, 2013 /2 Comments/in /by

Westlake#FridayReads, Jan. 18–God Save the Mark, a wise-cracking mystery novel by the peerless Donald E. Westlake, featuring a naive young man who inherits a fortune from an uncle he never even knew of, and then tries to keep his hands on it, and away from the lurking no-goodniks who want to fleece him of his windfall. Westlake’s dialogue is street-wise, funny, and real.

Also, just starting to read Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief,Lawrence Wright’s careful dissection and, as the flap copy reads, “deep penetration” of a modern cult. One case Wright reports on is that of Kyle Brennan, a 20-year old whose tragic suicide may have been preceded by his father’s acquiescence to a Scientologist bigwig’s instruction to withhold from the young man medicine prescribed for him by a psychiatrist. The NY Times has already released a review of the book that will appear in this coming Sunday’s Book Review, by Michael Kinsley, who calls it “essential reading.” Should make for revelatory reading this weekend. Going Clear

Speakerfile, on Stage at Digital Book World

January 15, 2013 /8 Comments/in , , /by

Thursday Update: Here’s a pic of Speakerfile CEO Peter Evans at the Digital Book World podium yesterday, just after the panel he was part of discussing innovation. Photo by Mercy Pilkington. Today I’ll be on the floor with Peter talking with publishers and agents about how Speakerfile can help their authors be discovered by more readers.DSC_0015

Wednesday Update: Speakerfile has sent out this press release on the wires about CEO Peter Evans’ appearance on a DBW panel later today about innovation:

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It’s not even the middle yet of what’s bidding to be a great week.

Today, Tuesday, I team-taught in a nonfiction book writing seminar at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

Wednesday and Thursday I’ll be attending Digital Book World (DBW), third year in a row I’ve gone to this conference that showcases the evolution of the book world in the sometimes lurching transition into digital reading. What’s more, tomorrow Peter Evans–CEO of Speakerfile, a Toronto company I represent to the publishing industry–will be part of a DBW panel devoted to innovation in publishing. Speakerfile, which has a click-through promo near the upper right corner of this website, is a software platform and website that  connects conference organizers, meeting planners, and members of the media to author experts and thought leaders who do public speaking.

WideSkyscraper(Authors)I began working with Speakerfile in 2012, and one of the first clients I brought them was Movable Type Management (MTM), a literary management firm. Last summer MTM put two dozen of their author clients in to a mini-speakers bureau that resides on Speakerfile’s website, with the same bureau also appearing on MTM’s site. MTM president Jason Ashlock has just recorded a brief testimonial video about Speakerfile in which he says, “Within the first week we had a couple of bookings . . . we’ve now booked over a dozen events for our clients, each of which has paid our clients well and promoted them across the audiences that we’re really hoping that we’ll reach.”

With publishing clients I’ve introduced to Speakerfile finding many new speaking engagements for their authors, I am convinced that this smart Canadian company can become a dynamic engine of discoverability for publishers, bringing authors and their books together with motivated audiences. I’m very pleased that Peter Evans will have the opportunity to share Speakerfile’s story with the questers for innovation at Digital Book World.

Today’s Work–Teaching Journalism Students at CUNY Grad School

January 15, 2013 /2 Comments/in , , , /by

Enjoyed myself today, team-teaching in a nonfiction book writing seminar with a dozen students at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism on W. 40th Street. I first presented the evolving book world–digital and print–and filled in my book biz background, from retail bookselling to years as an editorial director at major houses publishing topical nonfiction. In the 2nd half of our session, the students presented book project ideas they’re thinking of launching into. With Prof. Glenn Lewis, who’s invited me to join him at least 5 years in a row, we listened to their pitches, hearing some really good ideas. Encouraged them to be in touch going forward, and hope to hear from them again, particularly a few.

Chuck Hagel is Kryptonite to Shamed Neocons

January 14, 2013 /0 Comments/in /by

 

The debate over President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense is prompting unpleasant reminders of the worst of the Reagan and Bush years, with discredited right-wingers attacking Hagel over matters they were catastrophically wrong about only a decade ago. Steve Benen, of the MaddowBlog, read the same James Rutenberg article in the NY Times that I had tweeted about above. He ends his post with this observation:

“Or put another way, the decorated combat veteran [Hagel] who’s reluctant to launch new invasions is being lectured on war-avoidance by the same ‘chicken hawks’ who left their credibility in Iraq–and most of the GOP doesn’t find this odd.
I’m reminded of an on-air conversation Rachel [Maddow] had with Chris Hayes last April about the neocons’ failures: ‘No one [on the right] has ever had to face up to what happened, this sort of magnitude of the error is just completely erased by history. It’s like those old Stalinist books where they just get rid of the people that were disappeared.’
At the time, Chris was talking about folks like Dan Senor taking a leading role in the Romney campaign, despite his role in ‘the worst period of American foreign policy in 100 years, quite plausibly.’ But the problem obviously continues.”

It’s easy to see why hopeless characters like Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, and Bill Kristol are showing such an aversion to Chuck Hagel. He didn’t hesitate to call them out for their  specious arguments justifying the invasion of Iraq, and they can’t get over it. Oh, well, the bigger the pig poked the louder it squeals.

Earl I. Turner, a Happy Man

January 13, 2013 /3 Comments/in , /by

Earl in CA Rockies, 1082My late father Earl I. Turner (1918-92) on a trip he made to the Canadian Rockies, 1982. He went by himself and had a great adventure. On the back of the photo is written in his familiar printing, “10 Peaks, Moraigne Lake, July 1982”. Dad loved dramatic scenery, maybe one of the reasons I’ve always been partial to landscapes like this one in Canada, as well as Scotland, the Southwest, and New Hampshire’s White Mountains, where I went to Franconia College.