Dave Barry Does Japan

If you're not a Dave Barry fan, that's your prerogative. It is possible to feel his overuse of the word booger leans toward the tasteless and juvenile end of the humor spectrum. But he's definitely found his niche. He's perceptive and entertaining, and he makes me laugh. So, I have a few Dave Barry books in my possession, and have read many others.

I you don't mind reading books that are used (I assume you don't mind if you ever use your library card) you can currently find Dave Barry Does Japan for as low as a penny right now at Amazon.com if you don't mind paying the $24 shipping. The Kindle version is only $9.99.

Here are a couple excerpts from the reviews on Amazon.com....

(1) As a Japanese citizen, living in the US, I thought I might be offended by this book, but after reading it I decided that this is the funniest book ever written. But it is not just funny and hilarious, Dave Barry sees Japan through very human eyes and all his observations are true. The way he describes Japanese culture and behavior is right on. Japanese culture and traditions may seem quite strange and foreign to many people but reading this book with its many discussions on everyday- life in Japan, will help to see Japan for what it is and not for what it use to be. Dave Barry does not make fun of Japan, he brings it to us in a very amusing and comical way. ~A Customer

(2) Dave manages to make a journey into an extremely foreign culture incredibly funny without being racist or offensive in any way. And believe it or not, I actually learned a lot about Japan by reading this book. Of course, you have to take everything said in any Dave Barry book with a grain of salt, but one of my favorite things about his writing is his ability to point out the absurdities of everyday life, which I would imagine become even more apparent when one is watching them from an entirely different cultural perspective. Plus, you gotta love the booger jokes. ~M. Stabil

What I especially did not expect in this books was the chapter on Hiroshima. In a singular aside that had even greater weight because of its rarity, Barry did not use his comic's voice in this chapter. Hiroshima was a seriously dark event in the 20th century and though there are many wanting the U.S. to apologize for dropping the bomb, Dave reminded his readers that as tragic as it was the Japanese were not "the good guys" in World War II. The dropping of the bomb was not a light, breezy decision by President Truman. As costly as it was in terms of human life, it spared hundreds of thousands more.

Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, one of the darkest days in modern times. Monday will be the anniversary of the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki. The ethics of having dropped a bomb on civilians will be debated for years to come.

It is my hope that we'll never see nuclear weapons deployed again in human history.

The end.

The Big Nine

When I think of the number 9, the Beatles' White Album comes first to mind, and specifically side four, Revolution #9. "Number 9, number 9, number 9." If you're older, you may recall the strange notion that Paul had been killed which got circulated based on clues from these later Beatles albums. For example, at the end of Strawberry Fields Forever (Magical Mystery Tour) you can clearly hear the phrase, "I buried Paul" in that weird exit ditty that feels like a receding train.

The rumor was that by playing Revolution #9 backwards on a turntable you could hear another of the clues. This was back when stereo turntables could actually be rotated backwards. And when I did this, the repeated phrase "Number 9, number 9, number 9" transmogrified into "Turn me on dead man." Or at least that is what it sounded like to me. How did they do that?

When I think of the number nine I also think of golf. Are we planning to play the front nine or the back nine this weekend? I dunno. I'm not the biggest golf aficionado, but I do strive to get in two rounds a year, once with my brothers and once in the company's annual golf outing, which happens to be coming up next week... which means I'd better get a few practice swings in soon.

Today's Big Nine has nothing to do with the Beatles or with golf. Instead it refer to nine authors whose work has repeatedly reached the top slot on the #1 New York Times Bestseller List. Before I spill the beans, who would you say are the top nine best selling authors of our time?

This particular list only covers the first half century of #1 bestsellers, from 1942-1992. And, for the record, being a bestselling author should not be confused with being a "great" writer. At least that is what John Updike stated in one of his interviews a few years before he died. Updike felt that authors who consistently produce pop hits are good at what they do, but the great writers take risks, and pop writers aim for the vast middle. Or maybe the great writers touch themes which are too hot for the masses to immerse themselves in too deeply?

To be a bestselling author requires knowing how to write, but also involves being connected to a publishing house. This year one million books will be published, primarily due to electronic publishing and publish on demand technologies. My guess, though, is that the bestsellers will continue to be published by places like Random House and McGraw Hill whose deep pockets and established distribution systems put their books in high profile locations at the bricks and mortar establishments that remain the bread and butter of the industry. Sure, Kindles are selling like hotcakes, but there's still a lot of us who would rather curl up with a good book than with a gizmo.

So, the Big Nine... the nine authors with more weeks at #1 than another other writers of their time. These nine authors accounted for 73 #1 bestsellers, or 14% of all #1 bestsellers from '42 to '92.

Stephen King

James Michener

Danielle Steele

Robert Ludlum

John Le Carre

Sydney Sheldon

Bob Woodward

Daphne Du Maurier

Tom Clancy

I guess you can't argue with success.

For most of these writers it isn't "literary value" that built their following, but that they had each established themselves as a brand. Their works had brand identity, and it made them easy to market. Stephen King: horror/suspense. James Michener: deeply researched pop epic. No one is hoping for romance fiction when they reach for Tom Clancy.

Hot Tip: If you are an artist, or musician, or writer seeking pop acclaim (i.e. wealth and fame): identify and strengthen your brand, crank out a lot of product, and get connected.

It's all just trivia. Something to think about as you enter the weekend.... Hope yours is a good one.

Wallpaper

I was walking past a cubicle at work a couple days ago when I noticed something cool. Someone in the office was using my White Tiger painting (above) as wallpaper on their desktop. My first thought, Capitalist wretch that I am, was to wonder if I could make money selling White Tiger Desktop Wallpaper. If people are spending billions on ringtones and virtual land in Farmville, why not make a buck apiece for wallpaper. But, a quick search shows that there's hundreds of thousands of free wallpaper designs out there already, so... the idea had a short shelf life in my brain.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about real wallpaper lately. Ever since "art" was liberated from painting in oils on stretched canvas, artists have been exploring alternative surfaces to paint or stain with colors, images, designs. If you're someone who likes to try new things, here's a suggestion for you. Check out what's available in wallpaper.

Many paint supply stores have wallpaper sample books from which interior decorators and homeowners can get ideas for the dining room, bathroom, kitchen, etc. What many people don't realize is that once a month these stores will discard their sample books when they get new ones. These sample books have all kinds of wallpaper styles. Textured papers, fabrics, pressed papers, paper made of grass, paper with patterns from Scots plaids to Colonial.... It can be fun experimenting with the different papers to see how they absorb or repel inks, pigments, paints. The face (above right, click to enlarge) is the result of one such experiment.

The close up at left shows what happens when you put a splash of red paint on a very textured piece of wallpaper, then take a six inch wide putty knife and scrape across the surface. It makes an interesting effect. Actually, smearing paint across almost any surface with a six inch wide blade makes for interesting effects.

The painting titled Bleah! at my Many Faces of Ennyman art blog was painted on paper cut from one of the wallpaper sample books above.

Nothing earth-shaking to report today. Just a few thoughts about wallpaper. And it's so easy to download. Right click, and when the menu opens hit Send to Background. You have a new wallpaper for your desktop. Help yourself to my White Tiger and see what you think. Don't like it... In ten seconds you can replace with scenes from Italy. It's easy.

It would be nice if everything were that easy. Maybe.

In the meantime... have very colorful day.

Dylan Manhole Art Contest Loser Announced

"I heard ten thousand tweetin' and nobody listenin'... It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."

On the news front, my white on black entry for the Dylan Manhole Cover Art Contest was not chosen. I received an email that the winners have been selected and that four new manhole covers for Bob Dylan Way will be forged in September. I wasn't crushed, but am now eager to see what the winning art looks like. Congrats to the winners!

The original, which has been on display at Beaners Central during the month of June, is now back at home for viewing during "studio tours."

Win or lose, embrace the day!

The Most Influential Books

I just finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird, and I can only say it deserves all the accolades it has ever received. The book is so much more than a story. It is a mirror reflecting the distortedness that infected our culture as a result of racism. The writing is beautiful and vivid, and the manner in which the story is told is singular. Thank you again, Ms. Lee.

Interestingly enough, To Kill A Mockingbird never made it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, which was birthed on August 9, 1942.

I mentioned last week that Mockingbird was named in a 1991 survey as one of the most influential books of all time. You might be interested to learn some of the other books on that list in the order they were listed. NYT #1 Bestsellers are in bold.

1. The Bible, whose Revised Standard Version and New English versions were both #1 when released.
2. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand ("Who is John Galt?")
3. The Road Less Travelled, by M. Scott Peck
4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
7. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
8. The Book of Mormon
9. The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan
10. A Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
11. Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl (tie)
12. Passages, by Gail Sheehy (tie)
13. When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harrold Kashner

It's been said that the biggest influences on our lives are the people we meet and the books we read. So a list of most influential books is also a good barometer of the culture. If I were a betting man, I would guess that a number of these books would not appear on a list compiled today, 19 years later.

Actually, with a simple Google search you can come up with all kinds of lists of "influential books", but most seem to be individuals conjecturing on what books were most influential in history, or others outlining their own personal lists (eg. NY Times blogger Ross Douthat) which can often make a good starting point for your next reading program.

Lists like this can also be very personal, and a book that I found influential might not have any significance for the next person. For example, unless you're ambition is to be an influential writer yourself I doubt the book You Can Tell the World will be on your list.

The manner in which the list is assembled will certainly influence the outcome, too. The list above was assembled in conjunction with the Book of the Month Club, few of whom were compelled to include Marx or Thoreau on their lists, authors whose influential works have produced worldwide reverberations.

In the meantime, what's next on your reading list? There really are too many books, and so little time.

The Harp of Burma

Finished watching The Harp of Burma (Biruma no tategoto) last night. Moving story of a Japanese soldier in Burma at the end of World War Two & the events that lead him to become a priest. During an early scene in the movie we see he is a sensitive man to begin with. In his last words to his comrades (who are returning to Japan) he states that he has committed himself to burying the dead and comforting those who are suffering.

Like the hero of this film we find ourselves in a broken world. We, too, must comfort our fellow sufferers.
Journal note, June 24, 1993

Around 1990 or so my wife and I befriended a street person named Robert Lookup who lived in Duluth's Seaway Hotel. His life consisted primarily of watching movies and visiting the library, the Depot, and historic businesses like Woolworth's, whose passing caused him great grief. When I first met him, he showed me the fruit of a major project he had undertaken. Robert was a lover of trains. Combining this passion with his love of movies, he had committed himself to watching every movie in the library and rating it based on the accuracy of its presentation of the trains therein.

For example, an Abbott and Costello film received demerits because while the story took place in Florida, on the wall was a Pennsylvania Railroad calendar. This would never happen, he emphatically stated. In retrospect, I would venture that no other movie goer of our generation ever noticed this faux pas.

I mention Robert because of his special love of obscure films with dark themes. The Harp of Burma was such a film, flowing over the screen with its tragic tale of a sensitive man awakened to the real horror of war. Without Robert's urging I would no doubt have never viewed this moving film. Robert was a sensitive man himself who no doubt identified with the hero.

As we read today's headlines, we understand that our 21st century world is no rose garden. It is a world littered with sorrows, with hurting people who need a message of hope. Let's commit ourselves to being part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

This post is a reprint of one of my 2007 posts.

A Little More About Yesterday's March for Freedom in Duluth

This week's Duluth News Tribune has been ablaze with stories about the Tall Ships, including this morning once again. I find it interesting that a U.S. Senator flew into town, marched with a group of protesters and drove to Minneapolis for a sister event and that the story that made the news was an Associated Press pickup about the mothers of the imprisoned hikers from the day before when they were in New York. Perhaps a protest march is more suited for television. All the television stations were present for yesterday’s march and silent auction to bring awareness to the plight of Josh, Shane and Sarah.

The silent auction was scheduled to begin at The Play Ground at two, but with the senator’s plane delayed leaving the Cities the gathering had more time to meet, greet, hug, hear stories. What I found especially interesting was how ordinary this group of people is. It’s a family with kids, like the rest of us, thrown into a situation no one dreams of where one feels almost powerless. Yet, you can’t sit back and do nothing, so you find ways to work the systems to bring about the desired outcome, a homecoming.

That the country’s highest elected officials would take an interest of such ordinary people (as if any of us could be called ordinary) speaks volumes. Both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton made remarks to the media, despite the distractions of Chelsea’s impending wedding. But the Bauers haven’t relied solely on political channels. Cindy, Shane’s mom, said that they have also found great assistance from the inter-faith community. The Archbishop has a relationship with a high ranking person who has talked with the Islamic head person there in Iran.

Shane’s dad, Al Bauer, was also here today. He said that one day he tried to sit in an empty room to see what it would be like for a day in confinement. After an hour he said he was climbing the walls.

Perhaps the most difficult thing is the not knowing. Not knowing how they are doing. Not knowing what will happen to change things from their current status. Not knowing how long it will go on. Not knowing about their health, their hope, their strength.

I spoke with Nicole Lindstrom, Shane’s brother, for a few minutes before Senator Franken arrived.

E: What has it been like this past year?
Nicole Lindstrom: It’s hard to describe what this past year because it’s like this whole thing happened yesterday, because nothing has really happened for a whole year. There has been no movement. They’re sitting in a cell in the same situation they were in a year ago.

E: Are they in three separate cells?
NL: Shane and Josh are together but Sarah is separate. She sees Shane and Josh for a half hour twice a day. Otherwise she’s completely alone in her cell. Shane and Sarah got engaged in January in the open air room… four walls with a caged in ceiling. Josh stayed in the room that day so he could propose to her.

E: How many countries has he been to doing photojournalism?
NL: Yemen, Darfur, Syria, Iraq. When he went to Iraq to do his journalism stuff we were all nervous about it, but he was always with a security person. He always took care of himself that way. The second time, he said it was a very peaceful region and tourist destination in the Middle East and people go there all the time.

E: Have you seen a deeper part of your mom since this happened that maybe while growing up you took for granted?
NL: My mom has always been really supportive in everything that we do and she’s always been there for us. I would just say it’s more amplified now, and she is really determined to get Shane home.