Where I've Been This Week
I went to hear Andrew Ross Sorkin after all and I'm so glad I did. I hadn't planned to read Too Big to ReadFail, but the level of access he had was incredible and if the book is as insightful and as full of language as his talk, it might be worth 10-15 hours. I thought I knew everything I wanted about the recent financial crisis, but his comments made me reconsider my opinions on a few matters. He commented that many of the remaining bank(er)s see themselves as survivors, not as rescuees: I hadn't considered how deeply the thread of social Darwinism continues to run in financial circles.
One of the most fascinating things about his talk was how cinematographically he saw his work. He compared his storytelling style to the movie Crash. Actually, the fact that he saw it as storytelling, rather than presenting "just the facts ma'am" was surprising.
I also thought it was interesting to hear what he had to say as a new media person who has leveraged the stodgiest of old media into celebrity and fortune. Someone asked about the future of newspapers and he said he sees newspapers becoming less generalist and, like GE, concentrating more on those areas where they are #1 or #2. I had some thoughts on this, but as I write, I want to consider them more.
The other reason I'm glad I went to hear Sorkin was the quality of the crowd. The next day, I went to hear Sue Grafton at the same group where Nigella Lawson was speaking and zomg was it depressing. The guy sitting next to me, upon hearing what I do, went on a rant for 5 minutes about my industry. Who does that?? I ignored him and tried to figure out if the author was signing in the front.
I've never read a Sue Grafton mystery, but she's so witty in person, I'm tempted. She talked a little about her character and answered audience questions about decisions she's made with the character. The best parts thought were when she discussed the writing process. She talked about conventions as a way of getting an editor or agent's attention; she is a fan of writing classes. Apparently she keeps a journal, which comes to 9 books of 50-100 single spaced pages for every 500 page (double spaced) novel she writes. wow. She also gave a list of her favorite mystery authors: Elmore Leonard (her favorite, for the dialogue), Michael Connelly, PD James, Barbara Vine, Robert Crayce, Demolition Angel, Hostage (these are directly from my notes - I haven't had time to check them). If she read her own books, I'd own some by now and as it was, I liked her talk so much, I almost bought a hardcover of U is for Undertow to get her autograph.
Last night was a young supporters' viewing of Traveling the Silk Road at the AMNH. The talk was a little disappointing; instead of a anthropologist, the speaker was the VP of exhibits. He talked about the process, decisions they made in developing the exhibit, and some neat things they have in it, like live silk worms, an 80% size loom built by a craftsman from the silk museum in China, and a 1/4 reproduction of dhow built from one presented by the Omani ambassador. The exhibit itself is quite nice, although a bit simplistic: I'd say it'd be good for a bookwormy 8-12yo.
One of the most fascinating things about his talk was how cinematographically he saw his work. He compared his storytelling style to the movie Crash. Actually, the fact that he saw it as storytelling, rather than presenting "just the facts ma'am" was surprising.
I also thought it was interesting to hear what he had to say as a new media person who has leveraged the stodgiest of old media into celebrity and fortune. Someone asked about the future of newspapers and he said he sees newspapers becoming less generalist and, like GE, concentrating more on those areas where they are #1 or #2. I had some thoughts on this, but as I write, I want to consider them more.
The other reason I'm glad I went to hear Sorkin was the quality of the crowd. The next day, I went to hear Sue Grafton at the same group where Nigella Lawson was speaking and zomg was it depressing. The guy sitting next to me, upon hearing what I do, went on a rant for 5 minutes about my industry. Who does that?? I ignored him and tried to figure out if the author was signing in the front.
I've never read a Sue Grafton mystery, but she's so witty in person, I'm tempted. She talked a little about her character and answered audience questions about decisions she's made with the character. The best parts thought were when she discussed the writing process. She talked about conventions as a way of getting an editor or agent's attention; she is a fan of writing classes. Apparently she keeps a journal, which comes to 9 books of 50-100 single spaced pages for every 500 page (double spaced) novel she writes. wow. She also gave a list of her favorite mystery authors: Elmore Leonard (her favorite, for the dialogue), Michael Connelly, PD James, Barbara Vine, Robert Crayce, Demolition Angel, Hostage (these are directly from my notes - I haven't had time to check them). If she read her own books, I'd own some by now and as it was, I liked her talk so much, I almost bought a hardcover of U is for Undertow to get her autograph.
Last night was a young supporters' viewing of Traveling the Silk Road at the AMNH. The talk was a little disappointing; instead of a anthropologist, the speaker was the VP of exhibits. He talked about the process, decisions they made in developing the exhibit, and some neat things they have in it, like live silk worms, an 80% size loom built by a craftsman from the silk museum in China, and a 1/4 reproduction of dhow built from one presented by the Omani ambassador. The exhibit itself is quite nice, although a bit simplistic: I'd say it'd be good for a bookwormy 8-12yo.