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Puddles of My Podcast - Episode 27

As you all know by now, tomorrow night I will be hosting the Puddles of Myself First Ever Fiction Reading.  In preparation for this event, I am presenting you with the podcast I recorded with Chandrahas Choudhury in order to introduce you to the author, his voice and his own account of his work and time as a writer.  In this Episode 27 of Puddles of My Podcast, Chandrahas and I discuss Walt Whitman, his novel Arzee the Dwarf, the enjoyment of autumn in Iowa,  the power of cities, the beauty of New York City, cricket,  Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, the process of writing, choosing stories for a fiction anthology, top five American novels and top five Indian writers and a variety of other subjects where I only sometimes make an ass of myself.  This is a very stimulating podcast and I recommend that you listen to it immediately.  I enjoyed this one very much.

Puddles of My Fiction Reading (Really?)

I told you that I would have a few blog related events to announce to you in the coming weeks (how many times have I promised you that?) and of course I deliver.

On November 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM, courtesy of Book Thug Nation and one of its partners, Corey Eastwood, I will be "hosting" a reading at the Book Thug Nation storefront.  I will be reading some of my own material from From Here to the Last Mound of Dirt, but the reading itself will be a showcase for the Indian novelist, Chandrahas Choudhury. Chandrahas is the author of the novel Arzee The Dwarf as well as the editor of the fiction anthology, India: A Traveler's Literary Companion.  I will also be conducting a podcast with Chandrahas prior to the reading so you will be able to hear him speak at length before you listen to him read his fiction at Book Thug Nation, which is located at 100 North 3rd Street, Brooklyn, New York:


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I am very happy that Chandrahas will be participating in this event and this is a turning point for this blog as a whole as there will be more events to come in the future.

As I always say, just stick with me - I'll get you to where you should be.

Puddles of My Podcast Episode 19

Well, my Puddlers, its hot out and hopefully that thunderstorm is going to come and wash all our problems away and blow some kind of breeze in through our screened, un-airconditioned windows.  And if that thunderstorm doesn't come? Well, you can always slide in Puddles of My Podcast because we have a brand new one for you this evening/Thursday during the day when you're bored at work.  In this, Episode 19 on  Puddles of My Podcast, I welcome writer, retired political activist, and owner of the book store Book Thug Nation, Corey Eastwood to the program.  In this installment, Corey and I discuss the Hudson River Valley, Jack Kerouac, Ralph Nader, the organization of NYU, the East Village,  Tomas Bernhard, selling books on the street, opening your own book store, writing and what makes a piece of fiction good.  This is an action packed podcast that features a special guest as well as a special promotional offer that you would be a fool not to check out.  This is one highly enjoyable listening experience whether it is in the rain or in the snow.

I'll be back either tomorrow evening or Friday with some links and general thoughts for you all to check out.

Live From New York...

It's ridiculously humid!  Seriously, I have to go on record and say that this is one of the best weather New York summers of all time - granted it is only my third REAL one.  I mean its hot, our apartments are sweltering, the average amount of sweat is up, power is running low, people are burning LeBron jerseys, we are definitely reaching classic summer psychopath levels here - you have got to love it.

Anyway, the reader comments are rolling in about my LeBron column and I just want to thank you all for doing so.  Keep up the comments and continue to let me know what you think.

Tomorrow, me and my associates will be submitting our sketch material to Saturday Night Live for consideration.  Here are a few synopses for your brief reading pleasure:

1. A teacher who literally has a stick up his ass conducts class.
2. The matriarch of a family - used to eating from a trough - doesn't know what plates are.
3. A husband has been lying to his wife about knowing famous people.
4. A fourth, tone-deaf Wilson brother joins the Beach Boys in the studio.
5. A racist guru delivers his wisdom to unsuspecting pupils.
6. A commercial for old fashioned duck sauce.

Do any of those topics interest you?

Now, to clear the backlog of items with a few links:

- I am planning a podcast this fall with the Indian writer Chandrahas Choudhury.  You can check out his blog here.  Chandrahas has one novel out called Arzee the Dwarf  and has just finished editing a collection of Indian fiction called A Traveler's Literary Companion. He is a friend of my friend, the artist, Janelle Sing and he is coming to America in the fall. Stay tuned for that and get acquainted with his work in the meantime.

- Another podcast I am planning is with the guys who run the bookstore, Book Thug Nation, on North 3rd Street between Berry and Wythe. I have met one of the guys, Corey, who runs the store at a party at my apartment and he definitely knows his stuff. I have heard a lot of good things about their collection and I will be stopping by this week.  They do readings and other kinds of events so hopefully you will be hearing about a reading that I will be doing there in the near future.

- First news from the Walkmen's new album, Lisbon.  A new track, "Stranded" has been released through NPR radio.  It seems like the Walkmen are taking up right where they left off on You and Me and are even looking to enhance and polish their sound if ever so slightly.  I am looking for a very brooding and wistful end of summer/fall listening to an album's worth of these songs.  Who knows, maybe I'll write about it in about four years.  But you need to check this song out for now.

- Finally, my current, upcoming reading list:

1. Finish Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (classic Domino toolbox book)
2. All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren (classic Domino toolbox book that I just wrote about and in the process reminded myself that I need to re-read it.
3. Rabbit, Run by John Updike (talked into by this New York Times article. Updike reminds me of me).

Alright, my Puddlers, stick with me.  Enjoy my sports writing and I swear we are going to have another podcast up here this week. Too much basketball talk to cover that if I can't get a guest I may just literally podcast myself to get it off my chest.

It's just Puddles of Myself.