Let's start the show

So, I've encouraged my fellow participants to take whatever tone and style they so desire. I, myself, will be engaged in long rambling semi-pointless deconstructionary tactics. It's just the way I roll. It's what I do. I do hope Jhazz will get in the game because he will more than likely provide a more professional approach, but all around it should be interesting. I just wanted to get the ball rolling a little bit, and start talking about a book that I will be reviewing over the course of who knows how long. It's William Goldman's More Adventures in the Screen Trade. As some people know, Bill Goldman is a fairly famous novelist and screenplay writer. If a screenwriter could have any two credits, I would think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and The Princess Bride would probably be somewhere on the list. Kick-ass flicks, but his style of screenwriting leaves a lot to be desired. He's no Coen Brothers. Now those two write great stand alone screenplays. Whatever, that's kind of beside the point. Bill Goldman has written two all-time classics, but he also wrote Marathon Man, Absolute Power, The Ghost and the Darkness, Maverick. To name but a few of the stinkers. Still those two are all time top one hundred classics for sure. I don't know the actual AFI list, but screw those pretensious jerks anyway if they don't include at least Butch.
The point here, which I'll make and then come back to at another time, is that Goldman is a phenomonal writer when he's hitting on all cylinders, and highly mediocre when not. Actually, that wasn't the point. The point is a little murky just now, but he does have some really interesting stories about the process of filmmaking and some insightful analyses of some of his favorite scenes from other people's films. And I'll get into all of that as we go along.

Hey there!

hey everybody,
I'm a good friend of the Brown Dog Affair, and he asked me to write for this blog. I really like the idea that we're basically having an on-line book club, and we can comment on other people's interpretations and stuff. I do hope we'll continue to try and meet in person as well, but you know how it is. Everybody's schedules are just chock full. This is a good alternative though, and a way for us literature fiends to stay connected on some level. I can't wait to reread Black Boy. It's such an incredible novel. We're starting pretty heavy though. It's a pretty rough story. Young Richard takes it on the chin pretty good. Well, I'm glad to be here and a part of this, and I look forward to much wonderful literary blogging.

The Harbinger of Vampire Folklore

I tried desperately to come up with a profile title that would outdo The BDA there, but his is way esoteric. I guess I'll have to make due with the fact that mine's longer. HA! Take that you lactating fruitbat. Spell monograms with spagetti-O's, and drive to Loredo with your sister in the backseat. Alas, poor Yoorick (sic?), there is but one life to live, so live yet well, and pass the cheese dip.
I am the Harbinger of Vampiric folklore, scaring children and titilating teens since the 18th century. Did you know that in Slavic vampire folklore vampires could take the form of butterflies? I kid you not!
All in all, it's just as useless but twice as fruitless. That's a tricky second act, let me tell you. Yes, I am only partially making sense, but which part?
The BDA thought it would be good for me to interact with people more, and since I haven't left my apartment in a year and a half, this was his best solution. A collective blog. Yeh gods and little fishes!

Once again a Manifesto of Intentions...

It is entirely possible that I'm addicted to blog creation. This being my forth and final (maybe) one, and I really felt that I needed to get in on the collaborative concept, so this is my entry into the collaborative world of blog-o-mania (insert audio for evil laugh here). Okay, enough with the funny stuff, let's get to it and fix up the rubber diaper, maybe throw in a beer.
A litcritblog felt like the kind of collaborative effort that all my friends could get into, so that's what we're gonna do here. As we start off we'll just review whatever books we've read recently or are reading , and they will probably range from as polished and formal reviews from Jhazz to wild kinetic nonsense from Vampire Folklore, which I think will be interesting comparative stuff. Ultimately, we're gonna start getting together on book readings and start cross reviewing the same book, but it'll take us a while to get synced up on that, so to start with it'll all just be reviews of whatever whoever's been reading has read and wants to review. Man is it hard to try and speak for a group without using the word we, which I was trying to avoid since I can't totally speak for all of my compadres. I've discussed the project with a few people, but we'll see if it comes together in any serious way. I'm distinctly hopeful.
And so to all you out there who are saying to yrselves, "Man, do I want to be a part of this". Well, it's understandable that you'd want to hitch yr star to this wagon, and I'm all for it. I would've done an open-invite thing, but I just wasn't up for the whole moderation process, so if you want to get into the act, send an e-mail to Alfred, and as long as you sound somewhat sincere...hey, that's enough for me. Al may be more picky, but since he agreed to get set up and sort through an e-mail bin for requests, he's the guy you gotta go through to get into the game. I'm quite sure you'll all be falling all over yrselves to get in on this, but just try to keep cool.
Anyway, I'll let everybody introduce themselves, and then we'll get started with the whole raving about the books that we love because that's were this whole thing is probably heading. I want to start our collective review with Richard Wright's Black Boy, but we haven't all agreed on a book yet, so wait and see...