lord_whimsy ([info]lord_whimsy) wrote,
@ 2005-06-03 11:58:00
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PASS THE POI, ROY
"Pray, Whimsy--don't you get into the city anymore? I mean, all we've seen on your journal recently is one tiresome pastorale after another!"

Why, yes I do go into the city quite often: the NY Book Expo is this week, and last night my agency Regal Literary had a 'luau' themed gathering on the rooftop that adjoins their penthouse offices. The deliciously-clad Pinkwater and I had a grand time meeting many lovely people: family and friends of the agency, film people, editors, authors, musicians, artists, etc--a fun mix.

On a personal note: hearing first-hand from my LA champions about the response to my book out on the Left Coast was very funny and exciting, as was the experience of people approaching me and introducing themselves--I was very surprised how many of them knew who I was. (Yes, I know fully well how that sounds. I'll wait until you've finished rolling your eyes...are we quite done? Let's advance!)

The gargoyles on the roof swayed to and fro to the Moonlighters' Hawaiian swing, rum punch and pineapples were bursting from bellies, and laughter rang through the concrete canyons of Manhattan. A good time, indeed. We humbly thank our friends at Regal for their warmth and hospitality!



W

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[info]that_cad
2005-06-03 04:28 pm UTC (link)
I see you just removed the photograph of yourself, which is saddening, since I was about to compliment you on the pose and the attire. I particularly adore your usage of a multicolored loose cravat to fit in with the whole "tropical" theme.

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[info]that_cad
2005-06-03 04:34 pm UTC (link)
I sit corrected — it has merely been relocated. Still, excellent photograph. Especially love the peacock feather.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-03 04:34 pm UTC (link)
Oh, thank you. I'd decided to throw it in amongst the others--seemed a bit vainglorious on its own--it will be back in a moment!

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[info]andsaca369
2005-06-03 04:39 pm UTC (link)
I have to agree with the poster above- the peacock feather is a delightful touch. *g*

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-03 05:08 pm UTC (link)
Thank you, I try to throw a in bit of color and fancy--and what better time than a luau?

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[info]besideserato
2005-06-04 05:37 am UTC (link)
I must agree, by far one of the better dressed men I could ever hope to encounter at a luau!

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[info]vingus
2005-06-03 05:00 pm UTC (link)
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/06/03/101.html

A treat for you...

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-03 05:06 pm UTC (link)
"People questioned my choice of this image for the back," Vainshtein said. "They were expecting a man in white tie, but that's just a standard uniform. The closest thing to a dandy today is a man who feels free from within and can make daring combinations."

I'll second that.

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[info]piratehead
2005-06-03 10:13 pm UTC (link)
Who would say such a thing? Everyone knows winter is the social season, and in the summer, a gentleman takes his sport in the country.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-04 04:48 am UTC (link)
Strange how that still holds true in large part.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-04 05:59 am UTC (link)
...Still, I'm glad I'd made the trek into the city: it's not everyday that one is proclaimed a 'genius' from the commanding heights of a Manhattan penthouse.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-05 04:44 pm UTC (link)
I should add that such a word as 'genius' should always be handed out with a sufficient amount of quotation marks, so that the reader may season it to their taste:

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''genius'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

That should just about do for this particular case.

W

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Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]stanleylieber
2005-06-03 11:05 pm UTC (link)


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Re: Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]ashrah_akai
2005-06-04 04:02 am UTC (link)
All very good books. I phant'sy that at some point, I will get around to finishing the final one.

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Re: Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]stanleylieber
2005-06-04 04:34 am UTC (link)
Have you read Cryptonomicon, and seen this website?

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Re: Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-04 06:33 am UTC (link)
'Baroque Cycle' is encouraging. Care to give a synopsis, Stanley?

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Re: Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]stanleylieber
2005-06-04 06:45 am UTC (link)
It is the closing of the 17th century and the dawning of the Enlightenment... Really, it is too large to encapsulate. I have failed you! For once I am at a loss for words. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the series very much, and perceive that might derive similar benefit from its contents.

Here is what Amazon has to say about it:
    In Quicksilver, the first volume of the "Baroque Cycle," Neal Stephenson launches his most ambitious work to date. The novel, divided into three books, opens in 1713 with the ageless Enoch Root seeking Daniel Waterhouse on the campus of what passes for MIT in eighteenth-century Massachusetts. Daniel, Enoch's message conveys, is key to resolving an explosive scientific battle of preeminence between Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz over the development of calculus. As Daniel returns to London aboard the Minerva, readers are catapulted back half a century to recall his years at Cambridge with young Isaac. Daniel is a perfect historical witness. Privy to Robert Hooke's early drawings of microscope images and with associates among the English nobility, religious radicals, and the Royal Society, he also befriends Samuel Pepys, risks a cup of coffee, and enjoys a lecture on Belgian waffles and cleavage-—all before the year 1700.

    In the second book, Stephenson introduces Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. "Half-Cocked" Jack (also know as the "King of the Vagabonds") recovers the English Eliza from a Turkish harem. Fleeing the siege of Vienna, the two journey across Europe driven by Eliza's lust for fame, fortune, and nobility. Gradually, their circle intertwines with that of Daniel in the third book of the novel.

    The book courses with Stephenson's scholarship but is rarely bogged down in its historical detail. Stephenson is especially impressive in his ability to represent dialogue over the evolving worldview of seventeenth-century scientists and enliven the most abstruse explanation of theory. Though replete with science, the novel is as much about the complex struggles for political ascendancy and the workings of financial markets. Further, the novel's literary ambitions match its physical size. Stephenson narrates through epistolary chapters, fragments of plays and poems, journal entries, maps, drawings, genealogic tables, and copious contemporary epigrams. But, caught in this richness, the prose is occasionally neglected and wants editing. Further, anticipating a cycle, the book does not provide a satisfying conclusion to its 900 pages. These are minor quibbles, though. Stephenson has matched ambition to execution, and his faithful, durable readers will be both entertained and richly rewarded with a practicum in Baroque science, cypher, culture, and politics. --Patrick O'Kelley--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


I don't so much agree with the criticisms offered above (though in the latter quarter of the first volume it does become apparent this is a Neal Stephenson novel), but it should give you a rough idea of the contents.

Perhaps of interest is the fact that many of the characters in this cycle are the anscestors of the contemporary figures in Stephenson's 1999 book Cryptonomicon.

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Re: Sir, I have been meaning to recommend these books to you
[info]johnschreimann
2005-06-04 02:11 pm UTC (link)
I've been meaning to tell you that I read that Neal Stephenson novel you recommended awhile back.

I don't normally read that sort of thing, but that was pretty far out.

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[info]halfwest
2005-06-04 07:38 am UTC (link)
I have never found your pastorales tiresome at all. They're a welcome respite from my own most tiresome city, Washington DC -- not to mention recent inspiration for some of my private poetry. It isn't suited for public consumption, really -- rough around the edges and all -- but I'd be willing to clean it up and post it here if you liked.

By the way, I don't believe I've had the chance to introduce myself. I'm Ravenna -- Ven for short. It's been quite a pleasure reading you since I found your journal last week.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-05 04:45 pm UTC (link)
Thank you, and welcome.

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[info]bifteck
2005-06-04 05:26 pm UTC (link)
Oh, that party, what fun! The drizzle was a shame, but hopefully you had enough cover on that rooftop. As for me, I was out last night with no umbrella and I'm afraid I caused some water damage to my precious Western boots.

One of my great wishes for this summer is to attend a rooftop party.

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[info]cannondale
2005-06-24 05:37 pm UTC (link)
I think I have a crush on you. Unfortunately I wear logo'd jerseys more often than not, mostly by requirement. It does nothing for my sense of proper dress... I suppose that's one example of fashion not following form.

And I'm a guy. That complicates things.

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[info]lord_whimsy
2005-06-24 05:50 pm UTC (link)
Hah ha. Well, we certainly share an enjoyment of bicycles in common, although I tend to wear wool jerseys.

My wife thinks you have marvelous taste in men.

W

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