January 23, 2006
The Cat's Away
I've pre-posted a few items for you to appear while I'm in Michigan. I will be back tomorrow, though posting is unlikely to resume until late in the day. Back soon.
January 10, 2006
Guess The Nation
This is utterly addictive: Guess The Nation, a game in which you have to figure out the country based on the flag, and a couple of clues.
Link via Metafilter.
December 09, 2005
Late Start
After the reading last night at Gravy, I walked to my car to find one of the back windows smashed. The doors were still locked, nothing was missing, and the alarm, if it kicked off, was certainly not loud enough that we could have heard it across the street.
As I started to clean the glass shards out of my car, I thought about the senselessness of the exercise--destroying someone's window for the fun of it. It reminded me of Graham Greene's 'The Destructors,' which I read in my first or second year of college. In the story, a band of street urchins set about tearing a house down, for no reason but that they want to do something fun, something different.
"You hate him a lot?" Blackie asked.For the teenagers, destruction was "after all, a form of creation."
"Of course I don't hate him," T. said. "There'd be no fun if I hated him." The last burning note illuminated his brooding face. "All this hate and love," he said, "it's soft, it's hooey. There's only things, Blackie," and he looked round the room crowded with the unfamiliar shadows of half things, broken things, former things.'
I suppose this is a long way of saying: I'm off to a late start this morning, so posting will be light.
November 23, 2005
Thanksgiving 2005
It's a short week here at Moorishgirl. Aside from consuming gargantuan-sized meals, I plan on spending the next few days working on my novel. Have a happy Thanksgiving. I will see you back here on Monday, when I will have more lit news, cultural commentary, book reviews, recommendations, and giveaways.
October 17, 2005
All Apologies
Things have been rather hectic for me in the last few days due to the book tour, so I haven't been able to comment much on literary news or post any book reviews or recommendations. Sorry about that. Things should start going back to normal within a week or so. In the meantime, I'll continue to put up updates on readings and events I'm doing. Enjoy!
August 01, 2005
Hi Again
Many thanks indeed to Randa Jarrar who's been blogging at Moorishgirl on Fridays for several months now. I know some of you are wondering whether there will be any content here on Fridays and what prompted the change in schedule. As I get closer to the release of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits I find that there is a lot that I want to talk about that doesn't always fit in the daily digests, recommendations, reviews, and other news I post during the week. So I wanted to devote Fridays to talking about Hope, and to share some of the latest news about it. Meanwhile Randa's blog, Rockslinga, continues to be one of my must-reads, and I urge you to add it to your bookmarks.
July 28, 2005
See Ya
That's all for Moorishgirl this week. Fellow writer Randa Jarrar guest blogs here tomorrow. I will be back on Monday. Have a great weekend!
July 21, 2005
End of Blogging Week
That's it for me this week. Fellow writer Randa Jarrar usually blogs here on Fridays, so come by and say hello. I will be back later this weekend or on Monday, with more news, a book review, another recommendation, and assorted commentary.
July 18, 2005
Tech Help
I noticed a sizeable surge in my stats file of referrals from casino ads, online gaming, viagra pills, and other spammers. Does anyone know how I can block these, or at least stop them from cluttering my stats file? Please email me if you have suggestions.
July 15, 2005
Off Friday
The one and only Randa Jarrar is in Connecticut this week visiting her family so I'm going to be around here today. I'll be catching up on some old posts I've been meaning to write, so stay tuned.
July 07, 2005
See Ya
I've been hooked to the news the rest of today, so I won't be much use around these parts. Randa Jarrar guest-blogs on Moorishgirl on Friday, so I'll be back here on Monday.
July 05, 2005
I'm Back
I spent the weekend trying to relax and trying not to think about the imminent battle for the Supreme Court. I went to a reading/live show with Rob Roberge on Friday. I also read the much-hyped The Almond and hope to post my thoughts about it sometime soon. And I worked on my novel, as usual. It's starting to get a bit unwieldy. Ugh.
June 27, 2005
Hi Again
It was a quiet weekend at Dar Moorishgirl. We saw Batman, which Alex loved, but which I found slightly hard to get engaged in. I'd watch Christian Bale in anything, and I love Christopher Nolan's work, but the whole set up was just too middle-of-the-road for my taste. I've started reading Admiring Silence by Abdulrazzak Gurnah, and spent some time with family and out-of-town visitors. I didn't get a lick of writing done, and I'm OK with that. I'm still working out things in my mind even when I'm not typing three pages a day. I guess I'm not as paranoid these days as I used to be.
June 23, 2005
See Ya
That's it for Moorishgirl this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar guest-blogs here tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend!
June 09, 2005
See Ya
I am taking off a bit early today, mostly so I can enjoy the last few pages of Abdulrazak Gurnah's Desertion, which is the best thing I've read in a while. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. If you're lucky, she might transcribe other conversations she's had in New York last week. Do come back next week--I'll have more news, reviews, recommendations, and guest columns. Have a great weekend!
June 06, 2005
Apologies, etc.
I'm just now back from the trip to New York. The reading at BEA went really well, the RAWI panel was awesome, and I finally got to meet some people for the first time. I still have a ton of work to do, though, and lots and lots of sleep to catch up on, so I don't think I'll post anything for today or tomorrow. Check back again on Wednesday, though, because I'll have a longer post about what my personal experience was like--sort of a writer's take on the madness that is BEA, and the completely opposite experience of a conference like RAWI. In the meantime, you can check out my pick for the LBC Read This! selection. And if I owe you an email, please have patience with me--I am slowly catching up.
May 26, 2005
See Ya
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Monday being a holiday in these parts, I probably won't be back here till Tuesday. Have a great weekend!
May 23, 2005
Thanks
Thanks to Randa for watching the site on Friday. I have a whole bunch of things to share with you this week: a great event held in Seattle, a book recommendation from a good friend, a guest column on writers' rejection, and a sneak preview at a bunch of recent reads. Stick around.
May 19, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a good weekend!
May 16, 2005
Thanks
Thanks to Randa for minding the site on Friday. I posted a bunch of items for Monday, but things are awfully busy this week (in a good way) so posting may be sporadic.
May 12, 2005
See Ya
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over at Moorishgirl tomorrow and every Friday. Be back on Monday.
May 05, 2005
I'm Off
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. I will be back on Monday. Have a good weekend.
April 28, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Do come back next week, when I will have another underappreciated book recommendation, possibly a book review, and more news and commentary.
April 27, 2005
Welcome
My stats page has shown yet another spike over the weekend (8,000 unique visits on Monday!) and I wanted to say hello to the new readers. Welcome to Moorishgirl. Take a look around and let me know if you have any questions.
April 26, 2005
Please Come Again
Despite the title of the previous post, it turns out I'm not actually back in action. Work has piled up while I was away so I'm taking a day off to catch up and will be back here on Wednesday. Come back soon.
April 18, 2005
Hi Again
Many thanks to Randa Jarrar for minding the site on Friday. I feel very fortunate to have such a great writer (and awesome friend) be a part of this blog.
April 09, 2005
Thanks, Hello, and Some News
Many thanks to Randa Jarrar for watching the site on Friday. I'm back from my writing retreat (about which I'll have more on Monday.)
In the meantime, take a look at the LBC's first press mention, courtesy of the L.A. Times. (The site requires registration, but you can use bugmenot for an anonymous login and password.)
Marking a departure from the solitary life of reading and writing, about 20 independent literary bloggers announced Friday that they will begin working together in hopes of drawing readers to books they feel deserve more attention, while seeking to generate more and deeper public discussions of literature.This is all very exciting. Be sure to bookmark the LBC's site for further news.Calling themselves the Litblog Co-Op, the effort includes the sites the Elegant Variation, Moorishgirl, Rake's Progress and Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, all of which will continue to operate separately, the bloggers say.
Key to the effort is the Read This! campaign they've created, in which five of the bloggers will each nominate a title he or she thinks deserves readers' attention, then the co-op will vote for one to promote jointly. The first title (four will be selected each year) will be announced May 15 on the group's website, Los Angeles blogger Mark Sarvas, who drew the project together, described the effort as less an award program than a conversation starter.
April 07, 2005
Reminder
I'm away this week to work on my novel. The entries this week were pre-posted (as are the ones you'll see next week.) But rejoice! The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday, and I'm sure she'll have lots of good stuff for you. Be well.
March 31, 2005
Reminder
I'm away this week to work on my novel. The entries this week were pre-posted (as are the ones you'll see next week.) But rejoice! The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday, and I'm sure she'll have lots of good stuff for you. Be well.
March 28, 2005
Thanks
Big thanks to Randa Jarrar for taking over the site on Friday. I'm away this week to work on my novel, so any entries you'll see pop up for the next few days were all pre-posted for your enjoyment. Be back soon.
March 24, 2005
Reminder
I'm away this week to work on my novel. The entries this week were pre-posted (as are the ones you'll see next week.) But rejoice! The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday, and I'm sure she'll have lots of good stuff for you. Be well.
March 20, 2005
Thanks
Big thanks are due to Randa Jarrar for taking over the site on Friday. I'm away this week to work on my novel, so the entries you'll see pop up for the next few days were all pre-posted for your enjoyment. Be back soon.
March 17, 2005
Reminder
I'm away this week to work on my novel. The entries this week were pre-posted (as are the ones you'll see next week.) But rejoice! The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday, and I'm sure she'll have lots of good stuff for you. Be well.
March 14, 2005
Appendage Monologues
My favorite blog at the moment is the hilarious The Amazing Angry Talking Penis. Check it out, why don't you.
March 10, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. I will be taking a break from blogging for the next 3 weeks while I try to complete a draft of my novel in a very quiet place with no internet access. I've pre-posted a whole bunch of reviews, recommendations, giveaways, and guest columns, though, and Alex will step in from time to time with news items. The one and only Randa Jarrar will mind the blog on Fridays, as usual, so you will be in good hands, my friends. See you soon.
March 03, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend!
February 28, 2005
Help, Please
I'm working on a project and need to talk to other Arab American bloggers. If you are one, or know of one, please email me web addresses at llalami AT yahoo DOT com
February 24, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend!
February 22, 2005
Hi again
Thanks to Randa for doing such a great job on Friday. I spent the three-day weekend mostly relaxing and trying to over that awful cough. Posting should resume at the regular pace this week.
February 06, 2005
Hello & Goodbye
If you've come to this site after seeing the BookTV/C-SPAN panel rebroadcast, welcome. I'm away this week because I'm busy working on the final revisions for my short story collection, The Things That Death Will Buy, which will be published by Algonquin Books in the fall. Writer and punk rock enthusiast Jim Ruland will replace me from Monday through Thursday, and then writer and punk rock enthusiast Randa Jarrar will take over on Friday. (Hmm, I detect a pattern here.) Anyway, have fun reading the blog. I will be back here on Valentine's Day, with more news, reviews and commentary.
February 03, 2005
Presumably They'll Ask Kids To Put The Book On The Card, Too
Citibank Singapore is rolling out a comic book to "teach kids about money."
February 02, 2005
Apologies, etc.
If you've sent me mail in the last ten days, please bear with me. I'm completely immersed in revisions right now, but promise I will answer each of your notes soon. Thank you for your patience.
January 31, 2005
Thanks
Thanks to Randa for taking over on Friday here at Casa Moorishgirl. By the way, if you can help out in any way with the tragedy that she's facing, do please contact her at randajarrar at gmail dot com.
January 27, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend!
January 26, 2005
Oscar Noms
Nominations for the Academy Awards were announced yesterday. I was happy to see that among the nominated scripts in the Adapted Screenplay category was Sideways--a film I loved, but which some of my friends really hated. Mostly though, the list of nominees reminded me that I need to get out more. I haven't yet seen Ray or Hotel Rwanda or Million Dollar Baby or Closer or even Kinsey, which has been out so long I doubt it's even playing anymore.
January 20, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.
The World Is Falling (Again)
Gays, Mormons and Muslims have one thing in common: They want to take over the world, apparently:
Four years ago, Wagner set out to research six groups and their missiological strategies for growth: the Assemblies of God denomination, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Muslims and the Southern Baptist Convention. Further into his research, he discovered that only three of the six had an overall mega-strategy of growth -- homosexuals, Mormons and Muslims.Read about it here.
January 17, 2005
Marhaba
I noticed a spike in hits since C-SPAN/BookTV re-aired the panel, moderated by Dennis Loy Johnson, that I and other bloggers participated in at Housing Works in New York last month. If you're a new reader to this blog, welcome. Take a look around, browse the category archives and by all means visit all the links collected here.
January 13, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me for this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend and see you all next week.
January 11, 2005
Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming
If you've sent me mail in the last two days, please bear with me. I'm trying to catch up on all my email, but I promise I will get back to you. Blogging will now resume as usual.
January 06, 2005
It's A Wrap
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. I will be back on Monday with a major announcement, so please come back soon. Have a great weekend.
January 05, 2005
News To Warm Your, uh, Never Mind
As has been noted elsewhere, the inimitable TMFTML has cut short his retirement. Yay!
January 03, 2005
Round The Sphere
Ron explains the mysteries of the Amazon ranking system.
Ed rants about the latest Gitmo horror.
Lit Saloon decodes an article about 'fastsellers.' The answer: fiction.
Beatrice, Maud Newton, The Elegant Variation, Tingle Alley, Rake's Progress, and Book Angst 101 are some of the fine lit blogs mentioned in this Denver Post article. It's nice to see such deserving sites be recognized.
Happy 2005
A happy 2005 to you all! Welcome back!
I've made a couple of changes during the break, which you may have noticed. For instance, my lit blogroll column was getting unwieldy so I moved it and a few others to separate pages.
I also added a feed to book events at Powell's, and I'm hoping to extend this to other Portland-based booksellers. The XML isn't terribly complicated, so please email me if you're interested.
December 22, 2004
Brief Hiatus
Like many of our noted blogging pals, we're going to take a break here at Moorishgirl until the first week of January. We'll be using the time off to mull over some changes to the site and put the final touches on new features. See you all in 2005.
December 16, 2004
Later
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend!
December 09, 2004
Later
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar guest blogs tomorrow and every Friday. Have a great weekend.
December 01, 2004
Dictionary Catches Up With Blogs
Merriam-Webster Inc. has announced that "blog" was one of the most looked-up words on its Internet sites this year.
The company said most online dictionary queries were for uncommon terms, but people also turned to its Web sites for words in news headlines.If you look up the word on the company's website, though, you find that the word is only available at Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com, which you have to pay to use. If you have a subscription, though, drop us a line and let us know how their lexicographers defined it."That is what occurred in this year's election cycle ... with voluminous hits for words like 'incumbent,' 'electoral,' 'partisan,' and, of course, our number one Word of the Year, 'blog,"' Merriam-Webster President and Publisher John Morse said in a statement.
Update: Reader Antti A. writes from Finland to provide Merriam-Webster's def.
blägSo now you know.
Function: noun
Etymology: short for Weblog
Date: 1999
a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer
- blog·ger noun
- blog·ging noun
November 23, 2004
Blogroll Update
I finally got around to update my woefully anachronistic blogroll, so please do check out the fine sites listed on the right. For instance, take a look at Bookangst's posts about whether ads sell books (short answer: yes) and a recent success story from an author whose book wasn't neglected, underpublicized, or remaindered (the story you're more likely to hear, these days, it seems).
November 18, 2004
Hasta Luego
That's it for me this week. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow (and every Friday) so do stop by and say hi. I'll be back next Monday with the usual lit news fare, plus another book recommendation, and maybe a review of a debut novel. Have a great weekend.
November 15, 2004
The Dog Debate
I love dogs. The bigger the better. Once I'd even considered getting a Great Dane but relented because I weighed less than he did, and wasn't sure I could hold the leash if Marmaduke decided to take off. Anyway, I found this Slate piece kind of cute and scary at the same time. Scary because of the excessive washing--we had dogs when I was growing up and I don't remember this being part of it--and cute because, well, did you see those big brown eyes (on the dog)?
November 11, 2004
It's A Wrap
That's it for me. The one and only Randa Jarrar takes over tomorrow and every Friday. I will be back next week, with more news, commentary, a book recommendation from Tod Goldberg, a review of Orhan Pamuk's Snow, and other assorted goodies. Have a great weekend.
November 04, 2004
Last Words
The fight is over. Let the fight begin. Until then, I leave you in the capable hands of the one and only Randa Jarrar, who takes over on Fridays.
October 28, 2004
Weekend Starts Early Here
That's about it for me. The lovely and amazing Randa takes over tomorrow, so do check back. Next week is likely to be busy with a wrap-up of the PEN celebrations for the new Best American Short Stories, a post about the election, a review of either Snow or three debut novels that have been sent to us, and of course the usual lit news.
October 21, 2004
Introducing Randa
Good news, kids. I've asked the one and only Randa Jarrar to appear as regular Friday blogger on Moorishgirl, and I'm delighted to announce that she has agreed. Randa's stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Sex and the Umma, and Eyeshot. She won the Million Writers Award earlier this year. She outlines the difficulties of writing her first novel (mainly procrastination in the forms of single motherhood, trailer living, food, Namco, excessive moving, a punk rock plumber, Kafka tattoos, and a homeless SCA guy) in the current issue of Kitchen Sink. She also has stories in Dinarzad's Children, the first anthology of Arab-American fiction. She lives in Austin, Texas, where her days are spent revising, fantasizing about November 3, playing poker with her kid, and making strangers feel uncomfortable. So, please stop by and say hi to Randa tomorrow. I'll be back next week.
October 14, 2004
Sick Day
So here's the thing. I've been dragging this cold for more than a week, my head feels like a watermelon and my ears have started to make this weird buzzing sound. So I'm going to take a day off and see if that doesn't make things better. In the meantime, I leave you in the capable hands of the many fine folks on the right.
October 04, 2004
Spam, Spam, Spam
Nathalie reflects on spam.
Spam, as a homonym, suggests metaphor. But the daily habit of removing spam from this site requires explicit metaphors — a way of talking about the still-new, but time-consuming, activity of spam removal. As to what metaphors best apply, I’m of two, or three, minds.Read her here.
September 30, 2004
Stop The Presses!
Wait, so now you're saying The Daily Show viewers are also better informed than those of other late night shows?
Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program
Thanks to Terri Brown-Davidson for taking over Moorishgirl yesterday and best of luck to her with her new book, Marie, Marie, Hold on Tight.
September 28, 2004
Who You Calling 'Stoned Slacker'?
Bill O'Reilly has once again put his foot in his mouth. During Jon Stewart's appearance on his show a while back he kept referring to people who watch the Daily Show as 'stoned slackers.' Comedy Central was not too pleased, so they did some research.
And guess whose audience is more educated? Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research.Wait--you mean to say to that folks who watch O'Reilly are not as educated as...er...others? You don't say! Related: For a similar study about how Fox viewers are uninformed, read this older post: This Is Your Brain on "Fair and Balanced."
September 27, 2004
Slow Start
It's a slow start here at Casa Moorishgirl. I was out of town for a wedding and just flew back this am, so I'm afraid there are awfully mundane, terribly unliterary matters that need attending to, but please come back after lunchtime and I should have a few posts up for you then.
September 24, 2004
Neruda Medal
Rock star Bono has been awarded the Pablo Neruda Medal of Honour by the Chilean government for his contribution to music and to humanitarian causes.
September 12, 2004
Vacation's Over
And I'm back here in Portland, where it's raining today. I had a great time in Rabat and Paris but it's wonderful to be back home to my own bed, my own computer, my own desk. But it's taking me a while to go through all my mail, so please have patience with me if I haven't yet responded to your note.
August 30, 2004
Thanks
Many thanks to Jim Hanas for guesting on Friday. If you're interested in guesting next Friday, drop me a line.
August 27, 2004
One for the Road
That's it for me. Like my hostess, I'm off to a faraway land by the sea — although in my case that means Atlantic City. I leave you with my favorite item of the week: The Morning News' guide to inside tricks used by people in various professions. I particularly like the entry about faking it as a street musician, since the same method could be used for just about anything — writing, editing music for the floor exercise, guest blogging ...
In street performance, it’s possible to make money without really knowing how to play your instrument. You can pick up a cheap accordion at a thrift store and simply make stuff up on the street corner. Most people usually won’t stick around and listen for long if you are on a sidewalk where there’s little room to stand, and you can play the same thing over and over and still make money.
See what I mean? Let's keep it moving out there, people.
The Worst Floor Exercise Music Of Its Generation
Whatever gets done, somebody must have done it, and I always enjoy hearing from people who create things you come across all the time without necessarily wondering who is behind them. To wit, Slate chats with Barry Nease, the king of floor exercise music. Nease, who got shut out of the Olympics because none of the gymnasts who use his music made the team, was not impressed with this year's music selections, which he says were "not entertaining, not charming" and had no impact. He cautions further:
Esoteric or vague music lends itself to esoteric and vague gymnastics. There's no room for ambiguity in a floor exercise. Is that a landing or isn't it? When my athletes hit a landing, it's like a sledgehammer!