Living the writing, and more

March 31, 2005

• Tod Goldberg used the same author photo for his first two novels. While mulling over the photo possibilities for his third book, he’s “run across the very disturbing trend of authors trying to either look like their characters, or, worse, authors looking like strung out real estate agents.” He posts “a few notably bad author photos,” with descriptions like:
  

  Granted, this author writes sci-fi fantasy, but are we to believe that she spends her days lounging on gargoyles amidst scented candles? Couldn’t she just, you know, be sitting in a chair?

• Extreme Vacations for Wordsmiths include:
  

  Heli-cross
  It’s a ten-letter word for extreme fun! Ellipses Guiding Services now provides helicopter service to remote living rooms in the mountains of Alaska, where you can solve the Sunday crossword puzzle in peace and frigid tranquility. Our guides have scoured the north reaches to find ideal living rooms with rustic appeal–comfortable couches, good lighting, and nary a child or utility bill in sight. Weekend Word Warriors need not apply–your vacation home has no dictionaries, nor phone service to call in for clues. Your pilot will only return when the puzzle is complete, unless you require food drops. Cabins include two-way radio to listen to NPR and report grizzly attacks.

• Tolkein: a proponent of Comparative Translation Studies? (Via Languor Management.)

• Sir Isaac Newton took some notes as he began to work out his theory of gravity.

• And Kafka’s Gregor Samsa could have been an alienated loofah.