Monday, April 28, 2008

Re: The Tasteful Public Nudity of Your Child

Dear Billy Ray,

Okay, um, I was going to address this letter to both you and your daughter, but then I woke up and remembered she's fifteen and the onus is on you.

So, er, did the name Annie Liebovitz not mean anything to you when you signed up for the Vanity Fair dealy? If not, did you not happen to mention to anyone that Miley was signed up for this dealy? If not, did it not occur to you to maybe Google Annie Liebovitz? If not, let me tell you about getting your picture taken by Annie Liebovitz. Many times, shirts come off. I realize this is a bit late.

Moving on. Actually, I personally think it's a nice portrait. Actually, I think it may be the most honest, least contrived, lovely and artful, if, yes, provocative, photo of her I've seen. Actually, I think what you should really be worried about are those photos she posted on the web herself, pulling up her shirt. That's provocative, minus the art. And that's what fifteen year olds do these days, when their parents aren't looking.

So, um, I'd maybe concern yourself with monitoring the internet use and not so much with the Annie Liebovitz.

Yours truly,
E. Crane

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Road Report: Day 1

Greetings from Seattle!

Left sunny and warm Chicago yesterday and arrived here to, well, snow. Snow and hail. But I made the best of it, checked into my hotel and then poked around a little bit.

Yesterdays highlights:

1. Running into sweet Nancy Pearl on my flight.

2. Exit row aisle seat. Leg room!

3. Not going up in the Space Needle. It's a few blocks from the hotel, but I kinda freaked in the Eiffel Tower. Decided not to freak in the Space Needle.

4. Dude who tried to get me to sponsor starving children. He looked kind of like a 20-year-old Donal Logue, and tried so hard, but I couldn't commit on the spot. He was way funny, though. Dude kept calling me dude. I talked to him for a while. He almost hugged me but I told him my husband was 6'4" and he said, Dude could kick my ass, right?

5. Took the bus to another neighborhood and poked around some vintage and antique stores, didn't see anything I couldn't live without.

6. Walked all the way home. Didn't really mean to, I was planning to get on the bus at some point, and then as I got closer, I started thinking it wasn't that far, but then as I got farther, I realized I wasn't there yet, and that I still had a ways to go, and that I was pretty tired but now I was nowhere near the bus line I'd taken and didn't really know how else to get back besides walk or take a cab. You know how, in your own city, you think, Ok, I'd obviously never walk from Hyde Park to Wicker Park, but in a strange city, you don't realize how far something is so you think it's okay to walk but then you suddenly become aware that you've been walking for kind of a while? And that you may very well have walked the equivalent distance from Hyde Park to Wicker Park? And that you're really hungry? And there's nowhere to get a sandwich, which is what you really want? Or else there is somewhere to get a sandwich, but they're out of the only kind you want? So you just start looking for any place of any kind where you can take something out? Which results in:

7. Two major donuts. One was chocolate cakey glazey, the other was chocolate raspberry glazey. This raspberry donut was for sure the most delicious donut ever. This basically ended up being dinner.

8. Cable TV zone out. Rock of Love!

9. Check in with Ben. Sounds like his thesis show went well (total bummer that I had to miss it) and he went out and partied down until 1 am!

Monday, April 14, 2008

What Up, West Coast?

Come to some readings!

Sat., April 19, 2pm
Olympia Timberland Library
313 8th Ave. SE Olympia, WA
*With Abraham Rodriguez and Nina Revoyr.

Sat., April 19, 7:30pm
Elliott Bay Book Co.
101 S. Main St. Seattle, WA
*With Abraham Rodriguez and Nina Revoyr.

Sun., April 20, 7:30pm
Powell's Books (Burnside)
1005 W. Burnside Portland, OR
*With Abraham Rodriguez and Nina Revoyr.

Tues., April 22, 7pm
Black Oak Books
1491 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA
*With Abraham Rodriguez and Nina Revoyr.

Wed., April 23, 7pm
City Lights
261 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco, CA
*With Abraham Rodriguez and Nina Revoyr.

Thurs., April 24, 7pm
Book Soup
8818 Sunset Blvd.
W. Hollywood, CA
*Akashic Books hosts a pre-LA Times Festival of Books party. With Abraham Rodriguez, Nina Revoyr, and Mike Farrell

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Sugar and Mint

After my wonderful book party in New York, at Nina's house, there were a lot of leftovers and Nina sent me home with most of the sweets. Besides about a jillion cookies, I took a lovely box of sugared candies that are shaped like little daisies, brightly colored daisies, so cute are these daisies that I really don't want to eat them, at least until I take a picture. Except I did eat one or two, and it turns out they are delicious sugary mints.

Conversation with Ben regarding these candies as he's about to choose one:

Me: No! Don't eat that!
Ben: Why not?
Me: They're too cute. I want to look at them.
Ben: Take a picture.
Me: Okay I will but not right now.
Ben takes one anyway.
Me: Ennnh!
Ben: Mmm. What are these made of?
Me: Sugar.
Ben: Sugar and what?
Me: Mint.
Ben: Yeah, but sugar and mint and what?
Me: Just mint.
Ben: But what's the binder?
Me: Mint.
Ben: No but what are they made of?
Me: Mint.
Ben: But what holds them together?
Me: Sugar.
Ben: But what holds the sugar together?
Me: Mint.

Dead Man's Cell Phone



I just saw it at Steppenwolf in Chicago. Jessica Thebus directed it, she of the fantastic adaptation of When The Messenger is Hot, and it's amazing. You should go see it. I don't want to say much more except it's really funny, but also really moving and thoughtful and surreal. It's everything good.

If you live in New York, you can also see it there.