On Zoe, Salinger and Orson

This is Zoe Keating. My friend Rob told me about Zoe after listening to this RadioLab podcast.

Rob assumed I knew about her already. I didn’t. Rob is always assuming that I’m much smarter and more interesting than I am. I’ve fooled him for years.

Isn’t she amazing? I’m buying her album. It reminds me of Max Richter which I already blathered on about here.

So Zoe.

Yeah.

ZOE!

Also, I just wanted to thank the boys over at Jersey Devil Press for nominating my story, Paper Heart, for a storySouth Award. That’s super cool. JDP has been really really supportive of my writing and I just wanted to say, again, that without all the work of small presses and the people who put their time, energy and money into it –  I basically would never get to share anything with anyone. I owe them.

Finally 62 years ago today, The Catcher in the Rye was published.

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Ain’t that the truth, Holden.

They’re making a documentary about Salinger. I’ll be seeing it. Here’s the trailer.

Finally finally with all the Orson Scott Card asshat-ery, here’s my two unasked for cents, summed up by aforementioned friend Rob who gave me permission to use it:

“If you wanna protest OSC that’s fine, but you need to go apply that standard to everything in your life if you’re going to be so righteous….Who makes your car? Do you use an iPhone? Well you endorse slave labor. Who made your purse? Where did your breakfast cereal come from? Your coffee? Do you endorse the political views of kohls or dunkin donuts? Do you have songs by Michael Jackson on your iPod?”

And I have to say, I agree.

Also this poem.

Not looking for a fight here, people. I think OSC is an asshat. I for one won’t be seeing his film because I never bothered to finish the book. But there is a bit of slippery slope if you get over zealous in your righteousness. Also, if I didn’t separate the work from the creator I would never read/watch/listen to or muse about anything. And that’s not productive either.