tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87713108830475544702024-03-13T05:32:25.976-04:00Literary ConceitsRandom musings from my random state-of-mind.Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-57134748794867249242009-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:002009-01-09T10:56:57.376-05:00Relocating in 3 . . . 2 . . .. . . and that's it for Literary Conceits at this web address! I've moved the blog over to homebase at www.brianjayjones.com, where it's better integrated with the rest of the content of my home page. (If you type in that address and get the old page, just give it a bit of time for everything to reset. it will work in a bit.)If you're linking to this blog, please change your link address over Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-84640164275192769362009-01-08T06:00:00.007-05:002009-01-08T10:23:34.041-05:00Thanks For The Kind Words....During the final week of 2008, Friend o' the Blog and Feared Book Reviewer Josephine Damian spent several days over on her blog discussing what she considered the Best Books She Read During 2008. And what do you think was her pick for the best non-fiction book of the year? Well, it was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's News of a Kidnapping. But to my delight -- and complete surprise -- Washington IrvingBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-5881202715015143652009-01-07T14:16:00.003-05:002009-01-07T14:29:26.548-05:00Pardon the Mess....Several readers have e-mailed me to point out that comments on the blog have recently been disabled, and are wondering what's up. Squashing debate? Getting spammed? Tired of the adoration?Nope, none of the above. I'm in the process -- working with Me Bruddah the Webmaster -- of whisking this blog over to the Mother Ship at www.brianjayjones.com. We're also working on cleaning up the main siteBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-38346320643117029622009-01-07T10:27:00.006-05:002009-01-07T15:05:39.767-05:00A Moment of (Stunned) Silence at ArcadeLast night, I was alerted by Casey, my editor at Arcade, that Richard Seaver -- founder and president of Arcade Publishing -- passed away unexpectedly on January 5. He was 82. The obituary from today's New York Times is here.I never had the pleasure of meeting Richard personally, but I knew of his reputation and commitment to making Arcade a top-notch publisher that played with the big boys, Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-30159614209108465582009-01-06T10:00:00.004-05:002009-01-06T14:38:32.859-05:00Ringing In The NewHappy New Year! And it's good to be back after . . . yeeks, was it really nearly a week? Well, I missed you, at any rate.Nothing terribly interesting to note or report at the moment, but here's what's on my mind:. . . The ice storm that was threatening the DC region passed us by with a only drizzle of rain and a scrim of ice on the windshields this morning. This was much to my daughter's Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-2586823726508607132008-12-30T13:19:00.006-05:002008-12-30T14:29:36.251-05:00Lennon and LaptopsComing, perhaps appropriately, on the heels of yesterday's review of John Lennon: The Life, a number of readers have e-mailed to ask my opinion of the recent "One Laptop Per Child" commercial that uses Lennon's likeness and a digitized "voice." If you haven't seen it yet, here you go:My reaction? Meh. While many of the commenters on YouTube are offended that the highly-selective Yoko Ono wouldBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-81106345150092655252008-12-29T13:00:00.009-05:002008-12-29T13:56:00.758-05:00Reviews in Brief: John Lennon: The Life (Philip Norman)"In September 2003, I suggested to John's widow, Yoko Ono, that I should become his biographer," writes Philip Norman in the Acknowledgements section of John Lennon: The Life. However, after reading the final manuscript, "Yoko Ono was upset by the book," Norman tells us, "and would not endorse it . . . [saying] I had been 'mean to John.'"I actually don't think Yoko's got anything to worry about; Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-135185647145921752008-12-25T06:00:00.006-05:002009-01-06T10:48:11.168-05:00Christmas DinnerHappy Holidays! As promised, here are some highlights from Washington Irving's 1820 short story "Christmas Dinner." Enjoy.The dinner was served up in the great hall, where the squire always held his Christmas banquet. A blazing crackling fire of logs had been heaped on to warm the spacious apartment, and the flame went sparkling and wreathing up the wide-mouthed chimney. The great picture of theBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-40992685704792833572008-12-24T10:03:00.011-05:002008-12-24T16:10:06.729-05:00Christmas EveFor your holiday reading, here's an excerpt from Washington Irving's 1820 short story "Christmas Eve," lifted from the pages of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.And remember what I told you here yesterday: when Irving tells you something is "ancient custom," he is not to be trusted. The rogue.Anyway. Here we go:The grate had been removed from the wide overwhelming fireplace to make way Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-56422441153795297492008-12-23T20:30:00.005-05:002008-12-24T02:58:52.855-05:00Father Christmas and Secret OriginsWhen I give talks about Washington Irving, inevitably, one of the first questions I get is, "Why did you choose Irving as your subject?" And my answer is, "Because I'm a Christmas junkie."About ten years ago, while browsing the paperbacks table at Trover Books on Capitol Hill, I came across Stephen Nissenbaum's The Battle for Christmas, a book that -- according to its back cover -- "charts the Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-73488150616475429802008-12-18T11:26:00.009-05:002008-12-18T12:05:33.947-05:00There's Always A Nerd TableThe conversation I had with one of my sources yesterday -- I always think of them as "conversations" rather than "interviews" -- went spectacularly well. If this project pans out, and this is any indication of the caliber of people I'll be dealing with -- self-deprecating to a fault and bone-dry funny as hell -- then this is going to be even more fun than I already thought it would be.One of Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-13313252845820437842008-12-15T09:36:00.011-05:002008-12-15T14:52:30.186-05:00Don't Go Away, I'll Be Right Back . . .I'm working under a deadline this week -- as well as preparing my background materials and interview questions for another source for my work in progress -- so I'm stepping away for just a bit. But I'll do my best to be back here before the end of the week.In the meantime, just because I think it's funny, here's video of Senator David Vitter of Louisiana -- on the floor of the United States Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-55141911336012232442008-12-12T11:07:00.004-05:002008-12-12T11:20:44.566-05:00Hi-Keeba!!!My pal Scott Phillips is a staff writer for the new kids' television series Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, and he gave me a heads up that there'll be a "sneak preview" of the series -- which is Officially Premiering in 2009 -- on the CW Network this weekend. Check your local listings and write it down on your calendar now. In ink.The premiere episode isn't written by Scott -- his first episode willBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-6537974487787056312008-12-11T08:08:00.019-05:002008-12-11T12:57:50.252-05:00The Santa DilemmaOne of the most pressing moral dilemmas faced by parents is the Santa Claus Problem. You know how this works: as parents, we tell our children they should never lie, because lies make Baby Jesus cry and the world a rotten place. Yet, come Christmas time -- the time of the year when lying should be last thing on our minds -- we tell our kids an enormous fib -- namely that a jolly, bearded man inBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-19244817586256804192008-12-09T10:12:00.016-05:002008-12-09T11:44:11.728-05:00A Potency of LifeDecember 9, 2008, marks the 400th birthday of one of the most celebrated poets in the English language, John Milton. Colleges and universities around the world -- and, appropriately, even a number of churches and cathedrals -- are celebrating the day with marathon readings of Milton's epic Paradise Lost. Hit the Googles and see if there's one taking place near you, and then by all means go.If Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-42142195421060182222008-12-05T09:36:00.006-05:002008-12-05T11:24:25.657-05:00We're All Misfits!There are a number of questions that remain among life's most imponderable. What is the true nature of good and evil? Why does God allow suffering? And the most important question of all -- at least as it relates to western culture -- in Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, what in the heck was wrong with the doll that it earned a place of shame on The Island of Misfit Toys?For the benefit of thoseBrian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-8648182022641385272008-12-04T10:10:00.015-05:002008-12-05T09:35:56.434-05:00The End of An EraLast night's Domenici staff celebration was an absolute delight. Lots of familiar faces, many of which I hadn't seen in years, and plenty of opportunities -- usually starting with the question, "How old are your kids now?" -- to feel really, really old. Domenici staffers -- perhaps a reflection of the Senator's own rather laid-back demeanor -- always seem to always be among the funniest and Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-17683470003931030562008-12-03T09:34:00.008-05:002008-12-04T17:39:27.153-05:00People For PeteTonight, down on Capitol Hill, is the final gathering of former and current staff for my old boss, U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici, who's retiring from office. I wasn't able to attend any of the similar events in New Mexico, so I'm glad Barb and I will be able to make tonight's celebration.While cleaning out my basement last month, I came across a manila folder crammed with mementos from my Hill Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-70921515275440547242008-12-02T11:03:00.007-05:002008-12-02T11:24:48.158-05:00Christmas, Here's Your Cue...Sit down cross-legged on the floor of the living room and pull a TV tray over in front of you. In the days before video tapes, DVDs, and cable television made it possible to watch Christmas specials year round or multiple times, you had exactly one shot a year at catching Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without A Santa Claus, or A Charlie Brown Christmas. If you missed it, you were Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-83758959670472084042008-12-01T10:09:00.005-05:002008-12-01T10:26:51.046-05:00Grindstone and Coming AttractionsI'm back, after a good week away in which I had a terrific conversation with a source (during which I was also given several more contacts), a good day at the Library of Congress (I'll sing the praises of their online newspaper archives later), and a terrific Thanksgiving weekend. And all this in spite of the fact that both Maryland and New Mexico were smoked in their respective college Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-18590792357409750462008-11-24T09:36:00.009-05:002008-11-24T10:10:30.569-05:00Bigger Than JesusI know, I know . . . I vowed to stay away for a week. And I really am on my way out the door to go interview a source, but I just couldn't let this go past.Over the weekend, the Vatican announced that it had "forgiven" John Lennon for his 1966 comments in which he remarked that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. According to the article on the BBC website (which you can see here):The Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-57072558055536630502008-11-21T10:26:00.006-05:002008-11-21T10:48:13.076-05:00Hello, I Must Be Going...Next week, I'll be taking a brief hiatus from blogging while I do a bit of poking at my Work In Progress (which I still can't talk about, but if and when I can, I'll explain everything). On Monday, I'll be interviewing a source for several hours, then heading over to the Library of Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, it's a little thing called Thanksgiving; on Friday, I'll nail my Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-49861969286225588932008-11-20T09:39:00.005-05:002008-11-21T15:05:27.208-05:00"Someone Is Gunning For Masks...."This just keeps getting better and better.Movie Trailers - Movies BlogWhile I and my fellow nerds are squeeeing all over the Internets about the prospects of a way-cool Watchmen flick, there's one person who is decidedly unenthusiastic about the film: Watchmen writer Alan Moore.Over at the Los Angeles Times, there's a fascinating article and interview with the always-interesting Moore, who says Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-45534306924692265902008-11-19T10:32:00.012-05:002008-11-19T12:18:59.382-05:00Carnival of LightOver the weekend, Paul McCartney announced his intention to release a 40-year-old "lost" Beatles track, a 14-minute avant garde piece assembled by McCartney -- with an assist from John Lennon -- called "Carnival of Light." As reported by the London Guardian, the track was never released -- not even for the deep-drilling Anthology collection -- "because three of the Fab Four thought it too Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8771310883047554470.post-40013481865884533312008-11-17T07:58:00.005-05:002008-11-17T08:33:38.717-05:00Skillful and Habitual OdditiesI always put DVDs and CDs back in their cases with the title straight up and down, for ease of reading.I can only talk on the phone with the phone pressed against my right ear.I take notes in fountain pen.I'm not a great driver, but I can squeeze a car into almost any parking space with room to spare.When I listen to music, I often try to sing only the harmony or backing vocals. I call this "Brian Jay Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12887904346382617116noreply@blogger.com