A novel in fragments…
Vladimir Nabokov wished this rough draft of his final novel burned. But his heirs have decided otherwise.
The book consists of 138 hand-written index cards reproduced on every other page, with typeset text below. While the literary value isn’t as high as his finished work, it is interesting to see the development of fragmented ideas and to imagine how they might have been arranged by Nabakov had he lived to finish the novel.
Roll the 35 Greatest Joints of All Time!
An exceedingly strange fusion of joint technology and origami artistry. Inside, you’ll find, as author Chris Stone so eloquently puts it, ‘conversation piece j’s.’ There’s the Spaced Station which has multiple access points along a geometric space hub. The Jumbo was probably inspired by NASA’s Columbia spacecraft design, as it looks like it’s about to take off into the atmosphere. A circular joint called the Wheel of Fire would seem to be a victim of the law of thermodynamics’ entropy. According to Stone, however, it is not only possible but it works well, provided you have enough material to make it a foot long.
The book itself is a hilarious conversation piece. A great gift for a Holiday White Elephant give exchange party.
Today in The Baltimore Sun, read an appreciation of Sister Maura Eichner, who taught for many years at The College of Notre Dame in Baltimore and died recently at age 94. Diane Scharper, an English professor at Towson University, describes the guidance she received as a student from the fastidious sister. Here’s an excerpt:
Sister Maura considered writing to be work, and if nothing else, I was going to learn the value of that work during my numerous courses with her in our four years together. She said writing was 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration — although she didn’t like the word "perspiration." She preferred "sweat," the Anglo-Saxon word, because she thought the Latinate word was pretentious.
An astute and picky critic, Sister Maura believed that good writing came from good reading which, for her, meant the classics of Greek, Roman, British and American literature. We had to read and analyze the text to decipher what the writer meant — not what we wanted it to mean.
An astute and picky critic, Sister Maura believed that good writing came from good reading which, for her, meant the classics of Greek, Roman, British and American literature. We had to read and analyze the text to decipher what the writer meant — not what we wanted it to mean.
No matter that ee cummings didn’t punctuate his poems. We had to follow the rules before we could break them — if ever. No fancy British spellings. No exclamation points. Let the words show the excitement, she said. Choose strong verbs. Slash adverbs and adjectives.
Photo from the College of Notre Dame
We could use the thesaurus sparingly — to find the right word, not to show off our vocabulary. She disapproved of pretension and wordiness, telling us to follow the directions on the ladies room paper towel dispenser: “Why use two when one will do.”
The lessons sound easy now. But I learned all of this the hard way after many arguments and numerous revisions of my poems, term papers, short stories, essays and plays — under Sister Maura’s stern ice-blue eyes.
From Stanley Kubrick to Steven Spielberg:
The Vision Behind the Film
A wonderful book chronicling the genesis and long gestation period of what is undoubtedly one of the finest science fiction films ever created. And created is the operative word here (not directed) because so much collaboration went into the making of this film, that it could hardly be said to be strictly a Kubrick/Spielberg vision.
The source material was, of course, Super Toys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss (a haunting short story), who collaborated on a treatment and screenplay with Kubrick for about 15 years. Much of that time was spent expanding the short story into a larger mythological fairy tale, which involved the absorption of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio novel (with some of Disney’s version) into the narrative. Ideas were also incorporated from Kubrick’s collaborations with Ian Watson, Bob Shaw, Sara Maitland and Chris Baker, the comic illustrator whose elaborate storyboards were approved by Kubrick himself and heavily utilized by Spielberg during the filmmaking process.
Artificial Intelligence details this three decade long process of bringing Aldiss’ story, by way of Kubrick and Spielberg, to life. Kubrick’s notes are even reproduced here–notes which will certainly put to rest, if not all, then certainly most of the misconceptions of the film, and the lazy criticism that followed the film’s release.
The book names a number of the pre-eminent artificial intelligence thinkers and their respective writings, which served as an influence for not only Kubrick, but the succession of writers with whom he collaborated.
One final thought: The fact that this book was published eight years after the film’s release indicates a growing fascination and appreciation for a film of such thought-provoking layers and complexity, that perhaps one day we’ll be able to once again see it in all its glory on the big screen.
Along with William Eggleston, (another) William Klein are my favorite photographers. Both men seem to know the importance of a good book design – and “Rome + Klein” is an exceptionally beautiful object to look at. But beyond that, this book really gives you the flavor of Rome circ. 1954.
Klein was called to Rome to work with Fellini. But due to film business and the way of the world, Klein had time on his hands, so he photographed Rome. And what we have here looks like the visual image of later-day Morrissey songs. Beautiful men and beautiful women doing what they do best – living the Rome life to the max and maybe beyond.
The layout of the book is so Klein. Double paged spreads of crowded street scenes, where your eyes goes from one inch to the other just absorbing the textures and expressions of Rome’s citizens. It’s very modern and clean. Even though the book was originally released in the 50’s, it still seems fresh and chic.
So, yeah the book is iconic, but it also witty and incredibly charming. The book comes in two parts. The photographs and then another smaller volume with text by Klein plus quotations about Rome. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to have this book. I can’t imagine life without “Rome + Klein.” I can’t imagine life without William Klein.
