Drum Roll Please...

And Webster's Word of the Year for 2008 is...

Bailout.

:).

Read the rest here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/25/national/main4632824.shtml

John

It's not quite the Nobel Prize, but John Updike has a new literary accolade: laureate of bad sex.

Updike, who has a long and graphic history of detailing coupling on the page, won a lifetime achievement award Tuesday from judges of Britain's Bad Sex in Fiction Prize, which celebrates crude, tasteless or ridiculous sexual passages in modern literature.

The judges, editors of Literary Review magazine, said Updike had been shortlisted for the prize four times in its 16-year history. "Good sex or bad sex, he has kept us entertained for many years," they said in a statement.

:)

J

JCVD

I saw JCVD today and it is a beautiful, beautiful piece of film-making, anchored by a powerful, and very moving performance by Jean Claude Van Damme.

See it. Right now.

:).

J

Turkey

This is just... how can this even be real?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-kjM1asH-8

God bless her soul.

J

Challenge This!

A very cool interactive story courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio that lets you decide how to count contested ballots in the Norm Coleman / Al Franken senate race recount. Considering Franken trails by less than 200 votes, nit-picky stuff like this is ridiculously important... and sketch bomb at the same time.

Check it out! How many of these votes would you count?

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2008/11/19_challenged_ballots/

Legacy

From The New York Times Magazine:

"Bush, locked in his Oedipal struggles — father and son, World War II and Vietnam, a faded generation and a fading one — again and again mistook rigidity for fortitude and never really evolved in office, as all presidents must. He rose up, using his innate trust of emotion and impulse, to meet the first challenges of 9/11, but then froze solid. At a time when the nation’s challenges, so fresh, so fast-moving, so startling, demanded constant reappraisal and response, he — the child of a president — thought it was about him: his issues, his battles, his heart. It’s not, at least not now.

In a time of crisis, the American public took hold of its system of self-governance, broken, over many years, by compulsive divisiveness, and said, Let’s try something new — and reach for history’s arc.

That’s why they, the people, sent Barack Obama onto the stage. The Bush era ended, officially, the minute he passed that top step and turned his face into the roar of the future."

To see how far George W. Bush has fallen check out this video from CNN.

No one would even shake his hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Y_ncOVlDw

I feel sad for him.

J

Prop 8

An outstanding article from fivethirtyeight.com debunking the notion that increased African-American turn-out ensured the passing of Prop 8 in Califormia. Some telling passages:

"Certainly, the No on 8 folks might have done a better job of outreach to California's black and Latino communities. But the notion that Prop 8 passed because of the Obama turnout surge is silly. Exit polls suggest that first-time voters -- the vast majority of whom were driven to turn out by Obama (he won 83 percent [!] of their votes) -- voted against Prop 8 by a 62-38 margin. More experienced voters voted for the measure 56-44, however, providing for its passage.

...If California's electorate had been the same as it was in 2004, Prop 8 would have passed by a wider margin.

Furthermore, it would be premature to say that new Latino and black voters were responsible for Prop 8's passage. Latinos aged 18-29 (not strictly the same as 'new' voters, but the closest available proxy) voted against Prop 8 by a 59-41 margin. These figures are not available for young black voters, but it would surprise me if their votes weren't fairly close to the 50-50 mark.

At the end of the day, Prop 8's passage was more a generational matter than a racial one. If nobody over the age of 65 had voted, Prop 8 would have failed by a point or two."

Basically, Obama's new and diverse voters made sure Prop 8 passed by a small margin, as opposed to the large margin it would have passed by had they not come out.

Read the rest here:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/prop-8-myths.html

J

Future

One of the best things that can come out of an Obama Presidency (aside from America becoming made out of gold, and sharing this gold with everyone) is the complete, total and radical over-haul of the Republican Party.

Yes, there are traditionalists out there who will want to continue down the same path of Guns, God and Sarah Palin to the White House, but reformers within the party understand that America is changing: it's becoming more diverse, educated, urban, and if the Republican Party is to survive, it has to leave its Sarah Palin's behind and find a true leader with a powerful, unifying, national vision. Right now, the Republicans have no one like that in sight, and I know that they are going to use the next four years searching through its ranks for their own Obama (maybe it's Bobby Jindal).

Obama's election proved that conservatives have to appeal "more to Hispanics, blacks, independents and younger voters," and "they cannot continue to insult the sensibilities of the educated class and the entire East and West Coasts." The party understands that the south's political influence is waning and that the cultural battles they have used to drive wedges into the electorate don't matter as much now.

Want to contribute? Help them out? Then check out their new website: http://rebuildtheparty.com/

It's basically a list-generator for their database, but you get a chance to outline what you think the party has to do entering the 21st Century.

Here's what I wrote:

"Don't start building your party around a potential 2012 candidate (because none of them are encouraging right now). Build your party around the sentiment that prevailed last Tuesday: more hope, more love, more big ideas and vision... just become Democrats."

:)

J

Barack...

He won with one of the broadest coalitions in history, and when John McCain said that the American people have spoken, and "they have spoken clearly," it was an understatement. Obama received the most votes for a presidential candidate ever. He's brought people who have never been together, together, and he is now carrying the hopes of so many millions. Hope is a heavy thing, and as America moves forward to face its most difficult challenges in a century, it is their most valued weapon.

This election has re-shaped the American political landscape in remarkable ways. For one, Obama's election was a sound rejection of the anti-intellectual, culture war politics of fear that has come to define American politics under the Republicans: Nixon, Reagan and the Bush's. And it also marks the end of Sarah Palin's rise in politics. Make no mistake about it, American's have rejected the mean-spirited base she represents, and only one VP candidate on a losing ticket has ever gone on to lead a national ticket... and that candidate lost (Bob Dole). If anything, this startling repudiation of the Republican Party will hopefully lead to its re-invention, and yes, it is possible. There are powerful, multicultural voices in the party (like Bobby Jindal), and if the Republicans can find their true identity as the party of big-ideas, hope, and giant steps... the party it once was... then that will be an amazing thing for America.

Another encouraging element of Obama's win was his share of the youth vote. 66% of young people chose him as President. And these are the very young, first time voters, aged 18-29 that we keep hearing about in the news. Reagan solidified the Republican Majority for decades by sweeping young people, recruiting a future generation of Republicans to carry the torch and ideals forward. Obama has done the same thing, and if he holds true to his pledge to promote more national service and community involvement for Americans, then we will have an engaged group of young people, looking to change America from the bottom up... and that is a powerful and hopeful sentiment. The possibilities in this are endless, and I believe that America's young will do amazing things. They did amazing things for his campaign... who knows what they will do for America.

And then there is the African-American community, I'm sure many, waking up this morning and wondering if last night was a dream. To experience such a sweeping sense of change, despite the burden of American's troubled relationship with race must have been over-whelming. When the news networks cut away to Jesse Jackson during Obama's victory speech, his face wet with tears, it was a powerful and very moving moment. Obama was on stage thanks to "the work and sacrifices of Jackson and his generation of aging or long-departed activists, men and women who did not appear onstage with the president-elect, but who sat in and marched and protested so that Americans like Obama might be treated as Americans." So many before Obama had worked and given their lives to make his moment possible; they faced dogs, and hoses, and bullets. Obama's victory was a testament to their hard-work, to their courage and to the resolve of hope. As McCain whipped up the fringe of his party, promoting the kind of racial fear and hate that came to define the Civil Rights struggle, Obama offered the prospect of healing those divides: "As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: We are not enemies but friends ... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."

Finally, Obama made clear in his victory speech that he faces many challenges as president, and that to get there and meet these challenges will take more than a single term, and will take the help of the millions who voted for him. He is lowering expectations because he knows that running a campaign is far different than running a government. He did not have to make the kind of painful compromises that come to define so many other presidents of the past. Yes, he stepped back from promises during his campaign, like his vote on the FISA bill, as well as his pledge to accept public financing. And yes many were quick to anger and weariness (myself included) when it seemed like he was transforming from the revolutionary Obama in the primary, to the safe, centrist politician that won last night. But make no mistake: we will be disappointed during his tenure (at least at first), but the potential for true greatness is achievable, and something that all Americans will have to fight for.

Yes, Obama will bring inspiration back to the white house, and he will work hard to sell us on some of his future compromises, and yes some of them may hurt deeply. But we must not be weary too easily. We must never be quick to despair. I really, truly believe that "we will overcome," and to do so will take guts, and hope, and spine... and unity. Always be united. Because man... a united people can do anything.

I was proud to witness history last night, and to witness the election of a thoughtful, smart, and very articulate man to the presidency of the United States.

Like I wrote before, love and hope won last night. Love and hope will bring about the change we need.

Yes we did.

:)

J

Beautiful...

This goes beyond politics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW-6DpC-mj8

It was a nice video that captures an important theme of Barack Obama's campaign: that his coalition captures "young people who voted for the first time and the young at heart."

If you have friends and family in the United States gently remind them to vote tomorrow (or today if they can).

J

Thank You

Thanks for coming out to The Word On The Street. We hope you had an amazing time.

See you in 2009.

J

Tomorrow!

The Word On The Street Book and Magazine Festival hits Queen's Park tomorrow, from 11am to 6pm. Come on down to enjoy the very best Canadian Literature has to offer.

It's going to be an amazing time.

See you there!

J

4 Days Away!

Where did the time go?

The Word On The Street is only 4 days away, and we're gearing up for what we hope will be our best festival ever! Be sure to check out our special insert in EYE WEEKLY tomorrow, our Toronto Star insert on Saturday, and look out for our Festival Programs, available for pick-up throughout the TTC subway line right now!

For more information on this year's Exhibitor Marketplace and Festival Programming check out our website at www.thewordonthestreet.ca. And if you want to have access to some outstanding contests and festival promotions, then text BOOK to 2-4-6-8-0, regular rates apply.

Remember. This Sunday. Queen's Park. 11am-6pm. The Word On The Street Book and Magazine Festival.

Spread the word!

J

Call to Action!

The Word On The Street is Canada's largest book and magazine festival, annually attracts 200,000 visitors to Queen’s Park on the last Sunday of September. They come to browse our 250 book and magazine exhibits, opportunity to interact with more than 250 of Canada’s top authors, poets, storytellers and presenters and participate in almost 200 readings, performances, workshops and other events.

As a not-for-profit event, the festival relies on the commitment, time and energy of more than 200 volunteers to help bring the event to life. Volunteering is an opportunity to lend your experience, learn new skills, meet and work with new people, to share in the enjoyment of Canadian books and magazines and to give back to your community in an exceptionally positive way. The day is rewarding in so many ways: you'll get to meet fellow literature enthusiasts, authors and publishers as well as leave satisfied that you have supported a wonderfully vibrant community-based event.

---What roles do we need volunteers for?---

Here’s just a few of the areas for which we are looking to find volunteers:

Administration, Guest Services, Logistics, Programming, Exhibits

---What is expected of festival volunteers?---

Volunteers will typically be assigned a 4-6 hour shift based on their availability. All volunteers are expected to participate in orientation and training which will be held on-site on the day of the festival.

---The details!---

The 19th annual The Word On The Street will take place on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 from 11am to 6pm at Queen's Park, Toronto. Visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca or email volunteers@thewordonthestreet.ca to register for the Toronto event as a volunteer today.

We hope to see you at this year's festival!

Mobile

Grab your cell phones booklovers!

We are very excited to partner up with Open Book Toronto to launch our first ever Mobile Book Club! Text BOOK to 2-4-6-8-0 for the latest festival info, exclusive promotional offers, great book deals and more! Regular rates apply.

See you at The Word On The Street, Sunday September 28, at Queen’s Park from 11-6.

Spread the word!

J

Hotel

Coming to Toronto to check out Canada's largest book and magazine festival? Then book your hotel rooms today courtesy of our Official Hotel Sponsor The Suites at 1 King West. We have an outstanding rate package available ($149) to all exhibitors of the festival and we urge you to take full advantage of it.

Just cut and paste this link into your browser and follow the online instructions. It's as easy as that!

https://res.onekingwest.com/smsworld/wc.dll?smsWorld~AvailBox~&RGP=&RCR=WRDSTREET&RAD=07%2F29%2F08&RDD=12%2F31%2F08&RUN=1&RCA=&RCC=0&RT1=

See you at the festival.

J

4 Weeks Away!

Just wanted to remind everyone to spread the word: The Word On The Street is less than
4 weeks away!

For more information on this year's festival check out our website at www.thewordonthestreet.ca

Also: be sure to invite your friends to join our Facebook group for festival information,special contests, promotional offers and more!

Check back here as we lead up to the festival for all of The Word On The Street's breaking news!

J

Contest!

We want to give away copies of all the featured books by the authors appearing at the Great Books Marquee! Books by Adam Sol (Jeremiah, Ohio); Rachel Manley (Horses in Her Hair); and Daria Salamon (The Prairie Bridesmaid) just to name a few. All you have to do is check out our schedule at a glance at:

www.thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/whats_on_schedule.asp

to find out the name of the last author appearing at the Great Books Marquee, then send us an e-mail (mary@thewordonthestreet.ca) with your name, e-mail address, telephone number and answer. Entries will be accepted until August 21st.

Thanks,

K&M

Who's coming...

Want to know who's going to be at The Word On The Street this year?

Then visit our website at:

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/whats_on_schedule.asp

To see our outstanding line-up of authors, musicians and performers.

See you at the festival!

J

It's Coming...

The Word On The Street 2008 is fast approaching!

For more information on this year's festival check out our website at www.thewordonthestreet.ca as well as on Facebook (search for The Word On The Street).

It's going to be an amazing festival, with a huge and diverse exhibitor marketplace, as well as programming from some of the most celebrated authors in Canada. The festival really has something for everyone!

So mark your calenders: Sunday, September 28th, from 11am to 6pm at Queen's Park.

The Word On The Street 2008. Be there or be square. Seriously :).

J