Best of American Splendor

I'd long read about Harvey Pekar, and American Splendor, and I'd heard about his passing this past summer. But this was the first time I actually read any of it. I can see why everyone regards it so highly -- he does such an amazing job of capturing the nature of everyday life... in a way, certainly, that has never been done before. I frequently wonder -- why are comic artists so tormented? So much more so, it seems, than writers, or other graphic artists. My guess is that the torment makes the comics... not the other way around.

Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!

Oh, man, this was super fun. It caught me off guard that Douglas Coupland was writing a biography -- but it was a biography only he could write. I've dug through other biographies about McLuhan before, but never did I read one that made me understand his career path so clearly -- I expect because this book is so short and focused.

I've had a McLuhan obsession for a long time, even though I've found his books so difficult to wade through. I used to think it was me, but now I see it was Marshall. He just didn't care that people didn't follow him. He just went with the vibe of his thoughts. Building the bridge was the reader's problem. Coupland's book really shows how most of his writing was built off of lectures... which made me feel great, since that's how most of my writing is built. I guess it worked for Aristotle, too. Did you know that all we have left of Aristotle's work is his lecture notes? The books themselves were all burned. Anyway...

I recently got more focused on McLuhan than I ever had been. I had made some corny joke at a party at a neighbor's house, "The Medium is the Mysoginist", I think. (It's a problematic joke. No one ever reads "The Medium is the Massage," so no one gets it.) And the person I'm talking to is the father of the host, and says, "Oh, you know the works of Marshall McLuhan?" and I explained that in my line of work, he comes up a lot. And he says, "Judy and I were good friends with Marshall, when we were younger." It's worth mentioning here that Vince and Judy are extremely venerable, I'm not sure how old they are exactly, but they speak nostalgically about WWI, and visiting the 1935 World's Fair after college, etc. Anyway, I always like talking to them because they are so very interesting and wise. A few months later, I saw them again, and they said, "We're cleaning up our library... would you care to have our collection of McLuhan books?" and... yes... yes, I would. They were kind enough to bring them over, and I was kind of shocked to find that several were inscribed. The gem of the collection, I think, is Understanding Media, in which he wrote, "People will forgive you if you're wrong, but they'll never forgive you if you're right. For Vince and Judy, in affectionate recall of many extended conversations and our mutual investigation of many media. Marshall."

So... I'd tried to read this book before, but always got stymied. But Coupland's biography, combined with the aura of a signed book, have given me new steam -- Coupland has made me understand Marshall much better, and I get less stumped as I read. It is shocking how far ahead of his time he is... he is ahead of us still.

I can see the handwriting of both Vince and Judy throughout the book, annotating passages, and leaving thoughtful notes. In my boldness, I decided I would annotate, too, on the off chance that the world remembers me a little while, and perhaps someone will enjoy seeing a book with such an odd lineage.

Oh! After they gave me the books, Judy says... "Hmm... we have some other stuff Marshall gave us... like his old Tom Lehrer records. Would you want those?"

Yes... yes, I would.

Anyway, I highly recommend Coupland's eccentric biography of good old eccentric Marshall.

Ignore Everybody

This is a book about something I wrestle with constantly... in short, being an artist. It's lonely and scary -- there's no two ways about it. I don't think there is a way it can't be lonely and scary. If you are going to stay true to that little voice, to that blurry vision, to that fickle scent trail, there is no choice but to ignore everyone... they are just going to make it harder for you to make it come true. It's hard, like climbing Everest is hard... but it's Everest for Christ's sake.

And there's funny cartoons, too.

You can read the first quarter of it free, here.

The Red Balloon

Found a nice DVD of The Red Balloon at SF MOMA. I always wonder: how did he get that balloon so red? The attention to detail always astonishes me. It's so hard to imagine how the film was made.

Books

I had no idea that Larry McMurtry was a full-time book dealer as well as a novelist. This was a fascinating look into the world of book dealing, and book collecting. I keep trying to understand my relationship with books, and it's complicated. Reading this inspired me to pay a visit to the juiciest used book shop in Pittsburgh, Caliban books. The thing I found scary about this book was how impersonal it was, how detached. In telling the tale of his life with books, McMurty speaks with so little emotion. Never does he tell a story about how books formed the foundation of a friendship, or much about anything very personal at all. And I guess book people get that way. One concrete thing I took away - McMurtry's writing habit is to get up early, and write five pages, every day, forever. This discipline is how he's written everything. When I wrote my book, I did something like that, though not in the morning. It does take some serious discipline to keep it going.

The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society

How have I gone my whole life without getting deeply immersed in the Kinks? I mean, I'd heard songs here and there, sure. But how did I miss this? The lyrics from the title track alone...

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, Vaudeville and Variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties
Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do?
We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society
God save Mrs. Mopp and good Old Mother Riley
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them
We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula
We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
God save little shops, china cups and virginity
We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affiliate
God save tudor houses, antique tables and billiards
Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do?
God save the Village Green.

Babbitt

I had previously read Elmer Gantry, and thought it was magnificent, and Babbitt is just as good, if not better. It is amazing to me that something so modern was written in 1922. When I find something so sparking, so alive like this, from so long ago, it is a reminder that people simply don't change that much. The whole club scene culture celebrated by Ke$ha is just flapper culture all over again.

I hardly know what to say about this book. Parts of it resonated a bit close to home (Babbitt is in his forties, owns his own business, struggles with his bad habits, has a wife named "Myra", for God's sake). Parts of it were a really education into the culture of the time -- I'm not sure I've ever heard such a clear description of what it must have been like to have a dinner party during Prohibition in the 20's. All the clear descriptions of business travel by train made me realize that what goes on in airports today is so very similar to what went on in train stations a hundred years back. Consequently, I have a very different experience when I visit airports now -- it used to feel modern and artificial -- now, after reading Babbitt, it feels like I'm taking part in something old and venerated, tried and true.

In short, it is a story about a man so arrogant that he has never bothered to think for himself. But one day, he starts to wake up, and finds that modern society has him in a subtle trap that he is unable to get out of. I am tempted to say that it is the original mid-life crisis novel -- surely, "Rabbit, Run" is meant to evoke a connection to Babbitt. And American Beauty has certain parallels, as well. I kept wondering -- how can this thing possibly end? And I found the ending very pleasing, indeed.

As a footnote -- I listened to the Libravox recording by Mike Vendetti, and found his reading of it quite masterful. There are one or two spots where he trips over words, but, what do you want for free? It just made it seem more human to me. I guess I'll see if there is an audio version of Main Street!