Odds & Ends

Now that I've got the feature writing out of the way for a while, here's some things I've been meaning to post:

• John Horgan's Rational Mysticism was one of my favorite science books two years ago. Between all the research I was doing for that upcoming article and another book I was reading about consciousness for another assignment, I was thinking about it a lot yesterday, so I ended up at Horgan's website, where I discovered his description of the book includes links to several "outtakes" that didn't make the final draft. Great stuff--if it whets your interest, I strongly recommend the actual book (in fact, those are my words of praise in the PW review...).

• Amelia Thomas's article for the Christian Science Monitor about Edward Whittemore has made me add him to the list of authors I have to look for whenever I'm in a bookstore. His novels have been brought back into print by Old Earth Books, a small imprint that also publishes Avram Davidson and Edgar Pangborn, which will give the science fiction fans among you a hint of what they might hold in store for you and me--if we can find them; the Old Earth website warns that "Borders, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and B. Dalton have chosen not to carry these new releases at this time." To the indies we go! Also, to be honest, I'm a bit surprised to be reading about this guy in the Monitor instead of, say, The Believer...

• Ed Wyatt's NYT piece on the "fundamental error" of Rick Moody's book jacket was so amusing that I had to pass it on to Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, where they rag on cheesy romance covers on a regular basis. It made them laugh, too.

• Karen Spears Zacharias has told you some stories on this blog, and now here's your chance to tell her one in return. She's a cofounder of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee, which aims to "dispel the myths and stigmas associated with petite cup sizes."  She asks:

  "Please share your feelings, sentiments, and especially humorous tales of living life as a proud member of our community. IBTC also honors the men who love itty bitty titty women and welcomes their stories that lend praises and encouragement to the sisterhood. Tales that tickle the fancy of the IBTC board will earn the contributor a free t-shirt."

  And, yes, I'm pretty sure there's a book in all this somewhere down the line.

• Over a decade ago, I used to conduct flame wars on Usenet newsgroups in terza rima. Last week, Salon and the Academy of American Poets had a somewhat more lighthearted versical exchange, swapping poems about body image and then inviting readers to join in, including one who should get in touch with Karen pronto: "I am a girl-woman: / A woman with minuscule breasts / They barely fit in A-cups / And can't hold up a strapless dress..."

• On the other hand, none of the writers James Wolcott considers in his Vanity Fair essay on porn star memoirs is likely to be getting an IBTC T-shirt any time soon. He's read a ton of them, Wolcott has, and he's seen some patterns emerging in their stories. "I'm amazed that the casualty toll from drugs and AIDS isn't sky-higher, given the reckless and wanton ingestion on the part of nearly everyone testifying," he writes. "Alcohol, cocaine, heroin, crack, and crystal meth blaze through porn workers' bodies, burning through nearly every dollar they make."