Author: robertyune

My Whirlwind Tour of Cleveland

My Whirlwind Tour of Cleveland

by robertyune ♥ 1 Comment

 

My friend and former classmate Aubrey Hirsch is from Cleveland, and she keeps telling me that the city is wonderful and that it’s made out of mermaids and rainbows.  And sometimes, truffles fall from the sky.  So when I got the chance to visit the city for part of Dogzplot’s summer reading tour, I jumped at the chance.  

The part of Cleveland I drove through was pretty rough.  I saw a cop waiting for the bus, carfuls of angry-looking shirtless men, and several private armored security vehicles.  It was a lot like the movie Robocop, except without the robocop.  Eventually, we left that part of the city and found a pleasant industrial neighborhood surrounded by old factories and water towers.

The reading itself was in the Morgan Conservatory, which is a great space.  It reminded me a lot of the high school art room, with a row of impressive art prints leading into a warehouse-sized room full of printing presses, mannequins, tables, and scattered cabinets full of art supplies.  Highlights of the reading include, of course, the impeccable Aubrey Hirsch and the handsome Devan Goldstein (or is it the other way around?); Steve Kowalski reading the hilarious and sad piece “When Cleveland Wins the Super Bowl”; and Andrew Rihn’s rustbelt poetry.  I picked up copies of Rihn’s chapbooks The Rust Belt MRI and Foreclosure Dogs, and I’m loving them: they’re clever and sad, steeped in the darker shades of Americana.

Afterwards, we went to the wonderful (and wonderfully-named) Prosperity Club.  They had great fish and chips, and my buddy Sal got the Reuben on Potato Pancakes, which is described on the menu as “House cooked corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing between two potato cakes.”  Basically, the city’s equivalent of the Double Down.  Sal said it was delicious, and I’ll definitely order it the next time I’m in town.  So, basically, Aubrey was sort of right: Cleveland’s streets might not be paved with singing glitter and there weren’t t-shirt cannons shooting cheeseburgers at us, but it’s definitely a pleasantly surprising and underrated city.

Original Cleveland sign photo by Flickr user Nodame

Things I’ve Learned from Literary Fiction, part one

Things I’ve Learned from Literary Fiction, part one

by robertyune ♥ 2 Comments

1. It is possible to stuff a cat in a basket and drive with it for several hours.  Until suddenly, it isn’t.  “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor

2. It is unwise to accept rides from strangers who have been smoking hashish.  “Car Crash While Hitchhiking,” Denis Johnson

3. Female enemies are easily destroyed.  “The Catbird Seat,” James Thurber

4. Life is a series of disappointments, ultimately culminating in misery and despair.  Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates

5. Love endures.  “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner

6. Resist the urge to chuckle if you are a bank robbery hostage.  “Bullet in the Brain,” Tobias Wolff

7. Hair grows back.  “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry

8. Heroin is bad.  “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin

9. Your dog will abandon you in the hour of your greatest need.  “To Build a Fire,” Jack London

10. Discussing abortion, even in an exotic locale, can be fraught with tension.  “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

The Office, The Walking Dead

The Office, The Walking Dead

by robertyune

You know, as much as I enjoyed the season finale of The Office, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed about my options.  I just couldn’t imagine any of them really being interesting enough to carry the show.  I think James Spader will be an interesting boss, although he seems more creepy than funny.  (According to Wikipedia, anyway, Spader is going to be the boss in season 8.)  Personally, I would have preferred Jan to return as the boss, or even David Wallace (and what a perfect name for a CEO, and that character, too).  I miss both of them.

*Spoiler alert if you haven’t read the past few issues.  On the other side of the entertainment spectrum, I have a prediction for what’s going to happen to Carl in The Walking Dead.  My prediction is that he’s going to wake up from his coma and not remember anything.  Although some people claim this probably won’t happen (too soap opera-esque), I think it would be the most interesting option.  If Carl dies, then Rick will most likely go into supervillain mode and destroy the town.  I guess the last panel of issue #86 kind of predicted this: whenever anyone says something like “I think this is going to work out” in this series, that means bad things are coming.  But if Carl lives and is blind in one eye, that seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity.  If Carl has forgotten the past year and Rick has to choose what to tell his son about his mother and the past, that would be an interesting moment.  And in some ways, it would be a blessing: Carl wouldn’t remember Shane or Ben, for example.  That’s my prediction, and my hope for that storyline. 

I also kind of hope something else happens.  For the last two issues, it seems like the main action has just been carrying out Rick’s plan for zombie-proofing the town, which we’ve already heard about, in detail.  Part of me is hoping for a flash-forward, maybe a month or two.  Issue #87 could start with Rick giving his amnesia-stricken son a tour of their new town.

The day after tomorrow, I’ll be returning with a new series: Things I’ve Learned from Literary Fiction.  Stay tuned!

Summer Reading Recommendations

Summer Reading Recommendations

by robertyune

The Kenyon Review has released its summer reading list.  You can read it here.  My recommendations are at the bottom.  I’d also add Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I’m currently reading.  It’s an excellent and fascinating book, and I think it’s more “summer reading” than the four I listed.  Egan’s book has a little more thrash and energy.  And overtanned record producers.  And pools.

    

photo by Pieter M. Van Hattem 

New Favre Rumor: Bucket Seats

New Favre Rumor: Bucket Seats

by robertyune

When asked what management and labor needed to end the current NFL lockout, Brett Favre answered emphatically: “They need rhinestones and fontaines.  A pair of Pioneer subwoofers.  And a bucket of shame worms.  Like a heaping bucket.”  The future hall-of-famer refused to elaborate or explain his comments, as he is wont to do.  Normally, a team of Favre experts would be busily translating his response, but–like their elusive and mercurial subject–most have retired.