Orbital Boned
I've been quiet in this space for a couple of days because Jewish law demands silence after one of the best players on your favorite basketball team breaks his right orbital bone after hitting the floor while attempting a breakaway dunk. It's an obscure bit from the Talmud, but I know my Talmud. The Suns can and will endure without Joe Johnson. They must, for the future of humanity. Dallas played well on Wednesday, but tonight is Friday, if you didn't already know.
Meanwhile, Book number 19 is in the can. I tried to get the new Bruce Wagner novel at the library, because I've always wanted to read one of his Hollywood satires, but it was unavailable, so instead I got his first one, I'm Losing You, which is a little dated but still delightfully vicious. There's a great parody of a "Kathy-Acker-style" novelist in there. That's why the book is so sneaky. It manages to mock literary culture as well as Hollywood culture. The dirty secret of literature is that it's really controlled by Hollywood, because that's where the real money is for writers. More and more, authors are being advised to make their books more cinematic, so they can get an option. It's not bad advice, really. What's wrong with a well-told story? But readers would do well to remove the blinders of naivete.
Anyway, I'm Losing You. Sometimes it's a little too baroque, a little too dense, but you can't deny the power of Wagner's satire. That back jacket author's photo creeps me the hell out, though.