I had planned to have another “Bizarro Week” but the tepid turn out for the last one has convinced me to wait a bit before engaging in such an endeavor. However, I still plan to discuss some bizarro in a lump, more or less. Then we’ll leave basic bizarro and branch out into other books, and hopefully some non-fiction. I miss discussing non-fiction over here. But in the upcoming weeks, look for discussions of Bradley Sands, David Barbee, G. Arthur Brown, David David Katz, Kevin Astkin, and hopefully in July I can get back to discussing odd non-fiction as well.
I’ve been busy at work over on Houdini’s Revenge. A mention on MetaFilter and an indignant conspiracy theorist resulted in an onslaught of new readers and all sorts of comment situations. I thought running IROB for five years had prepared me for the worst that “creative” thinkers bring to the comment section. I was wrong. Oh, was I wrong. Mr Oddbooks wants me to close comments, but I am leaving comments open over there and just keeping my ban hand strong. In five years of IROB I’ve had to ban two people, and one of them was unbanned later. Not the case over on HRev. In another two weeks, I think I will be in possession of a data set that will show a definitive link between Tor accounts and anti-semitism. Maybe I’ll apply for a grant to complete a study, or maybe I’ll just smack myself in the head repeatedly with a copy of Modern Trolling.
On another note, I noticed some incoming links from a site called HTML Giant and found I had been referenced in a very interesting analysis of Tao Lin’s Shoplifting from American Apparel. I am unsure if being “compellingly tedious” is a good thing yet the description delighted me. It’s possibly the best description of what I do, now that I think of it. But back to Lin. Increasingly I feel less… offended by Tao Lin and warming toward his style or his schtick, or whatever it is he has going on. And the article over on HTML Giant is very much worth a read so have a look if you have an opinion on Lin.
Thanks to all who offered support during my resent “unpleasantness.” The situation is largely resolving itself and while one can never say never, I don’t see a similar problem cropping up any time soon. I am working very hard to catch back up and an heartened that I have such great readers here. Lurkers are awesome too because you raise your heads at just the right moment. IROB’s readers rock!
See you next week!
Yay! Glad to hear that things are better. You rock, please keep rocking as awesomely as you have done so far. Flex that crushing banhammer with all your might. 🙂
“Compellingly tedious” — yes, oddly apt, but also kind of a depressing expression, since it basically translates to “too long; enjoyed reading.” It is pretty high praise in these degraded times when anyone makes it through something longer than four paragraphs with no pictures.
Not sure how I feel about that piece. The Buddhist thing is probably true insofar as Lin himself cops to it, but I find it irksome when people read Eastern philosophies into someone’s work just because they’re Asian-American. (Lin was born in Virginia, grew up in Florida, doesn’t even identify as “Asian-American,” and his literary heroes are all white, so obviously he’s an “Asian-American author” who writes Zen koans and mantras.)