Wiccan Potlucks, Literary Basketball

At 826 Valencia’s Creative Non-Fiction writing seminar, Beth Lisick talked about her decision to write her new book Helping Me Help Myself, which is a humorous take on trying to live by various self-help books. Of San Francisco, she said:

“You go to the park and there’s like two Wiccan potlucks â€” the alternative world. So the mainstream world did seem sort of exotic and interesting to me.”

Stephen Elliot introduced Po Bronson by noting that he meets other writers in a clandestine location for an occasional “big literary basketball game.”

Because most writers I know began writing in part to assuage the pain of always being picked last at kickball, my immediate mental image of “literary basketball” is a tangle of flailing arms and pasty middle-age guys yelling, “I’m open! Dude, Beckett! I’m OPEN!”

Endorsment

Go see Sweeney Todd at the ACT. If you live in the Bay Area, or have plans to visit, you must go. Buy your tickets now please. Spoilers ahead:

Sweeney Todd, of course, is a musical about a serial killer. In this production, the cast doubles as the orchestra. Do you hear me? They found people who could act and sing and play instruments.

You will come away feeling gravely untalented, but you will also want to kiss John Doyle on the mouth. (Is that cool, Mr. Doyle? Do you mind if San Francisco kisses you on the mouth? We like you as more than a friend.)

Anyway, see it! You must see it.

Duh

This week I’m posting from ideas in my book,
No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog. I’m doing this because I spent far too long wondering what to write about this morning before it occurred to me that I had written a book on the subject. Can you feel the force of my intellect from where you are? The way it’s blowing your face back slightly? I thought so.

Wardrobe Remix

I’ve been sucked in by the Wardrobe Remix tag on Flickr. It’s not so much people’s outfits, it’s what they’re doing in the photos that makes me extra happy.

–Ariel has a signature pose.
-This awesome gothy, rockabilly girl sometimes uses props, like birdcages and trees.
-The kids, they get saucy.
-The girls like to show you their poofy skirts.
-And there are dozens of people you might like to know.

SxSW, Woot!

The SxSW panel picker is up, and I’m hoping to present with Heather Armstrong this year. If you have thirty seconds to register (name, email, password, done), please go vote for our panel. Also, if you’re on the fence about coming, you should come. The margaritas alone make it all worthwhile.

Two Little Things

1. Missing the old Gilmore Girls writers:
“Are you sure you don’t want some tea? Tea usually makes things like this a little less awkward. There are things to hold and stir.”

2. A bit of lovely out of Blogher: Remedies for Small Blogger Blues

The Ladies

This is my mom group, and they are awesome. Unfortunately, most of them live in different states, which makes playdates difficult, so we spend a lot of time on email. Anyway, I’ve mentioned all of them before, but if you don’t know who they are, you should check out their super-genius sites — Eden is at Fussy, Heather is at Dooce, Melissa is at Suburban Bliss, and Alice is at Finslippy. They will rock you.

http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf

Flicker 24 Hours

I’m totally doing this.

Woody Wagons = Rock-N-Roll

You must visit this store’s collection of Kick My Ass clothing for little boys. Click on their Rock-N-Roll section, where you’ll find the startlingly counter-culture Golf Tee.

Two Instances of Genius

1. I was reading a New Yorker article about an entomologist who used to roll her hair up in the car window when she was driving while sleepy so that her hair would jerk her awake if she fell asleep at the wheel.

2. Alice’s correspondence with age Four and a Half will hurt you with its brilliance. Read it, and do not stop until you get to the bit about Obi-Wan Kenobi.