Showing posts with label Writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writers. Show all posts
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Listen to Benchley Perform The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
December 8 is the birthday of James Thurber (1894, Columbus, Ohio), so what a perfect time to listen to Robert Benchley and a full cast perform Thurber's most-popular work, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? It was recorded in December 1944 for CBS. Thurber loved this adaptation of the story from The New Yorker. This is the complete broadcast, not abbreviated. To celebrate Thurber today, let's share this with our friends, and try to get 100 listeners for both Benchley and Thurber!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
New York Walking Tour Sept. 17
 |
| The monument was dear to Benchley. |
Robert Benchley Birthday-1920s NYC Walking Tour
Monday, Sept. 17, 4:30 p.m. Meet at Grant’s Tomb, West 122nd Street & Riverside Drive, NY, NY, 10027
New York City’s “Fascinating Crimes” chapter of the Robert Benchley Society is sponsoring the walking tour. It meets in front of the General Grant National Memorial, better known as Grant’s Tomb, at 4:30 p.m.
The walking tour will include sites related to Benchley, starting with the Amiable Child Monument. The walking tour will include Riverside Park and the Upper West Side homes and haunts of 1920s figures, including Polly Adler, Babe Ruth, Dorothy Parker, William Randolph Hearst, George and Ira Gershwin, Heywood Broun, Edna Ferber, and many others.
We will see landmarks, historic sites, and noted architectural sites. The walk is led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, a licensed New York City sightseeing guide, author of “A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York,” president of the local Robert Benchley Chapter, and founder of the Dorothy Parker Society.
The walk will encompass approximately 25 blocks. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring a MetroCard because we will be boarding an MTA bus to skip over some blocks. The tour will end up approximately 6:15 in a cocktail lounge.
The walk is $10, or free for all Robert Benchley Society members. It is open to the public of all ages; dogs are welcome (but can’t go in the Memorial). For more information: email Kevin Fitzpatrick (Kevin @ dorothyparker DOT com), call 917.526.0597 or sign up on Facebook.
Monday, November 28, 2011
New Book by Kim Goldsworthy, "Lunch at the Algonquin," Features the 1920s Celebrities Known as The Algonquin Round Table
"Lunch at the Algonquin" is a new book by Kim Goldsworthy. A novelette of historical fiction, the book re-creates a dialogue between the group of writers known as "The Algonquin Round Table" or "The Vicious Circle," featuring Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley.
The author, Mr. Kim Goldsworthy of Rosemead, California, describes his historical fiction novelette as a re-creation of a one-hour luncheon attended by the famous Algonquin Wits of The Roaring Twenties or The Jazz Age. Specifically, the dialogue features the wit and sarcasm of Dorothy Parker (writer/screenwriter), Robert Benchley (writer/actor), Harold Ross (editor and founder of "The New Yorker" magazine), George S. Kaufman (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright), and Marc Connelly (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright), and others.
Like a fly-on-the-wall, the book records a typical conversation of this group as they eat lunch in the Algonquin Hotel in mid-town Manhattan, one afternoon in 1921, as they gab about the hot issues of the day: Prohibition; women's rights; radio; film; the Red Scare; the Sacco-Vanzetti trial of the century. They likewise converse about the little things, like pets, the theater, and what to do this weekend. In between bites, they spit their venom on each other as they toss off their insults and sexual innuendos between puns, word-play, literary allusions, and quotable quotes.
The author has included historical background to allow the reader to pick up the vibration of post-World War I America as expressed by the most literate New Yorkers living through the Jazz Age. For example, the newest interests of the early 1920s were mainly: the spread of the deadly Spanish flu epidemic; the spreading of jazz music; the propagation of radio as a consumer good; and the two newest Amendments to the U.S. Constitution concerning the right to vote ("women's suffrage") and the banning of alcoholic beverages ("Prohibition").
Popular interest in the Roaring Twenties and The Jazz Age is peaking right now, thanks to recent television shows like HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and the Ken Burns documentary "Prohibition" which debuted on PBS.
The author, Mr. Kim Goldsworthy of Rosemead, California, describes his historical fiction novelette as a re-creation of a one-hour luncheon attended by the famous Algonquin Wits of The Roaring Twenties or The Jazz Age. Specifically, the dialogue features the wit and sarcasm of Dorothy Parker (writer/screenwriter), Robert Benchley (writer/actor), Harold Ross (editor and founder of "The New Yorker" magazine), George S. Kaufman (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright), and Marc Connelly (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright), and others.
Like a fly-on-the-wall, the book records a typical conversation of this group as they eat lunch in the Algonquin Hotel in mid-town Manhattan, one afternoon in 1921, as they gab about the hot issues of the day: Prohibition; women's rights; radio; film; the Red Scare; the Sacco-Vanzetti trial of the century. They likewise converse about the little things, like pets, the theater, and what to do this weekend. In between bites, they spit their venom on each other as they toss off their insults and sexual innuendos between puns, word-play, literary allusions, and quotable quotes.
The author has included historical background to allow the reader to pick up the vibration of post-World War I America as expressed by the most literate New Yorkers living through the Jazz Age. For example, the newest interests of the early 1920s were mainly: the spread of the deadly Spanish flu epidemic; the spreading of jazz music; the propagation of radio as a consumer good; and the two newest Amendments to the U.S. Constitution concerning the right to vote ("women's suffrage") and the banning of alcoholic beverages ("Prohibition").
Popular interest in the Roaring Twenties and The Jazz Age is peaking right now, thanks to recent television shows like HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and the Ken Burns documentary "Prohibition" which debuted on PBS.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Treasurer's Report Ruined My Family
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Apocalypse Now…Grab the Karaoke Machine!
Ed Tasca’s latest novel is a comic, cross-genre thriller that flies from page to page and asks the question, what will bring the world to an end.
All around her, Virginia, a conscientious, often paranoid spokesperson for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (Agency of Homeland Security), sees an apocalypse unfolding behind the secret societies that may be involved in a biogenetic experiment on a strain of test bacteria gone wrong; while Bruno, a free-lance writer, atheist and cynic, is trying to dig up incriminating info on Homeland Security against Virginia’s will.
A mysterious feud is going on all around the couple as they reluctantly join up to investigate. The central conflicts in the narrative include their own constant quarrelling, skirmishes between unknown agents of different religions looking to invest bacterial DNA with their respective scriptures, spread their “Word” into the future and end the world.
The oddball characters, obstacles and disasters our principals face at every turn, and most vividly, Virginia’s peculiar dreams, lead her to believe the world is ending and something must be done to stop it.
The story is a comic take on the complications of Homeland Security interactions and the craziness of religious zealotry, climaxing with a confrontation and resolution that gives us a glimpse of apocalypse and how it might actually become reality. Virginia and Bruno wind up, in the most bizarre way, literally in one another’s arms and locked in an unholy embrace with a flayed decomposed corpse, surviving the mayhem and turning the whole tale into a surreal romantic adventure. Whether they have saved the world or not remains an unanswered question, but several compelling issues are raised about what could be the ultimate reason for any apocalypse to occur. Ed’s new book is currently available in e-book format at all online bookstores. Published by Aardwolfe Books, September, 2011.
Ed Tasca was the 2009 first place winner of the Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor Writing.
All around her, Virginia, a conscientious, often paranoid spokesperson for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (Agency of Homeland Security), sees an apocalypse unfolding behind the secret societies that may be involved in a biogenetic experiment on a strain of test bacteria gone wrong; while Bruno, a free-lance writer, atheist and cynic, is trying to dig up incriminating info on Homeland Security against Virginia’s will.
A mysterious feud is going on all around the couple as they reluctantly join up to investigate. The central conflicts in the narrative include their own constant quarrelling, skirmishes between unknown agents of different religions looking to invest bacterial DNA with their respective scriptures, spread their “Word” into the future and end the world.
The oddball characters, obstacles and disasters our principals face at every turn, and most vividly, Virginia’s peculiar dreams, lead her to believe the world is ending and something must be done to stop it.
The story is a comic take on the complications of Homeland Security interactions and the craziness of religious zealotry, climaxing with a confrontation and resolution that gives us a glimpse of apocalypse and how it might actually become reality. Virginia and Bruno wind up, in the most bizarre way, literally in one another’s arms and locked in an unholy embrace with a flayed decomposed corpse, surviving the mayhem and turning the whole tale into a surreal romantic adventure. Whether they have saved the world or not remains an unanswered question, but several compelling issues are raised about what could be the ultimate reason for any apocalypse to occur. Ed’s new book is currently available in e-book format at all online bookstores. Published by Aardwolfe Books, September, 2011.
Ed Tasca was the 2009 first place winner of the Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor Writing.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Another RBS Success Story
Robert Benchley Society member and winner of the 2009 RBS Award for Humor Writing, Ed Tasca, has just been declared the Grand Prize Winner for his new screenplay.
Ed’s screenplay, Vinegar and Brown Paper, won the 5th Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition! The story, comprised of a wilderness battle of man against beast in an attempt to recover his wounded son and a back-story of a family disintegrating because of hidden secrets, is told with virtually no dialogue - a unique feat that makes the most compelling use of cinematic narrative.
Screenplay Search is one of the most respected competitions for screenwriters. The winner of the Screenplay Search Scriptwriting Competition will have his script presented to literary managers, producers and directors, who are looking for top-notch scripts for development and production.
Ed’s screenplay, Vinegar and Brown Paper, won the 5th Screenplay Search Screenwriting Competition! The story, comprised of a wilderness battle of man against beast in an attempt to recover his wounded son and a back-story of a family disintegrating because of hidden secrets, is told with virtually no dialogue - a unique feat that makes the most compelling use of cinematic narrative.
Screenplay Search is one of the most respected competitions for screenwriters. The winner of the Screenplay Search Scriptwriting Competition will have his script presented to literary managers, producers and directors, who are looking for top-notch scripts for development and production.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Nothing to Do with Baseball: On Writing
Friday, April 22, 2011
RBS Member Nominated by the NSNC
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I was delighted to be notified by the NSNC that I have been nominated for Membership Chair. Elections will take place at the Conference: Announcement.
I am honored and looking forward to serving on the Board of Directors.
The Robert Benchley Society Ann Arbor Chapter “A Moderate State of Preservation,” is organizing a gathering during the NSNC Conference. Tom Saunders will provide details to the attendees.
Please join us in Detroit for an exciting weekend! --Rose Valenta
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci
The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci is a small collection of fables created from notations for fables and half-finished fable ideas found in the back of Leonardo's famous notebooks. The collection teaches how little stories can drive home insightful human ironies, while displaying a bit of the literary thought-processes of the great genius. The book is also a delightful way to introduce children to Da Vinci and the Renaissance. One-of-a-kind, this book may be considered the first volume of da Vinci’s fiction. It is an attempt to reveal something of his inner moral core through his fable ideas, those celebrating such virtues as humility, self-sacrifice and egalitarianism; and those deploring pretension, pomposity and dogmatism. The writing and the illustrations have been done in a style fitting the period in which Leonardo lived.
Published March, 2011 by Roseheart Publishing, USA.
Author: Ed Tasca is an award-winning humor writer and novelist, and a student of da Vinci’s extraordinary life. This little book of fables is a homage to that writing genre, offering readers of every age a taste of the simplicity and clarity of one of man’s oldest and most revered forms of fiction writing. Author’s email: edtasca@gmail.com.
About Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo had mastered virtually all the known arts, sciences and engineering principles of his time (the High Renaissance – a period roughly between 1450 and 1550), without having had a formal education. If one could find one individual who represented the beginning of the modern intellectual world, it would be Leonardo da Vinci.
ISBN number: 978 0 9845470 8 9
Price: $12.95. Available on all online booksellers and from Roseheart Publishing.Order information: Direct Orders: fulfillment@roseheartbooks.com.
For more information see this promotional flier.
Published March, 2011 by Roseheart Publishing, USA.
Author: Ed Tasca is an award-winning humor writer and novelist, and a student of da Vinci’s extraordinary life. This little book of fables is a homage to that writing genre, offering readers of every age a taste of the simplicity and clarity of one of man’s oldest and most revered forms of fiction writing. Author’s email: edtasca@gmail.com.
About Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo had mastered virtually all the known arts, sciences and engineering principles of his time (the High Renaissance – a period roughly between 1450 and 1550), without having had a formal education. If one could find one individual who represented the beginning of the modern intellectual world, it would be Leonardo da Vinci.
ISBN number: 978 0 9845470 8 9
Price: $12.95. Available on all online booksellers and from Roseheart Publishing.Order information: Direct Orders: fulfillment@roseheartbooks.com.
For more information see this promotional flier.
"The only other person to hold that distinction was humorist Robert Benchley in 1912."
To learn the name of the other person and what distinction is referred to click here to read the article on biography.com.
BlogTalkRadio Interview Tonight at 7:00 PM
Yes, the newspaper headline in the cartoon reads "Limbaugh Elected." That's when I fell in. But that isn't the announcement.
Tonight, I have a BlogTalkRadio interview scheduled with Giovanni Gelati at 7:00 PM EDST. Giovanni publishes the popular Gelati’s Scoop and my book is among the “Top 25 Self-Published Books for 2010” on his website. We will be discussing humor, writing, and my book - Sitting on Cold Porcelain. Click here for details - Gelati's Scoop on BlogTalkRadio
Please curl up with a dry martini and tune in.
And his portrayal of an embarrassed ignoramus, commenting on classical music in inane non sequiturs, harks back to Robert Benchley.
Read the rest in The Wit and Wisdom of Barack Obama
by Paul Shlichta in The American Thinker.
by Paul Shlichta in The American Thinker.
Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
The following column appears in today's edition of the (Boston) Post-Gazette newspaper.
Res Publica - Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
by David Trumbull - April 1, 2011
Some Boston residents are resisting the city’s latest drinking water conservation measures, especially the proposed tap-by-tap monitoring of individual water consumption, claiming this is an unwarranted and possibly unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
The new water restrictions can be traced back to the May 2010 water main rupture that left Boston with no drinking water for a few days. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (“MWRA”) fixed the problem and conducted a thorough inspection of the system. What they found was alarming, especially for City of Boston residents. While last year’s leak was in Weston, it was actually here in Boston that the inspection revealed the most weakness and potential faults. The situation was so bad that the MWRA was forced to undertake substantial unscheduled maintenance and repair work in Boston and now those cost are being passed on to Boston municipal government—at a time when City Hall does not have the money to cover these additional fees and must pass them on to the residents.
As we found during last year’s “boil water” emergency, there was no shortage of clean water for purposes other than drinking or food preparation—the problem was in getting enough water that had undergone the additional steps to make it safe for drinking. The same thing applies now. It is specifically drinking water than the city will be paying more for, and that cost must be recovered from the citizens.
Here’s how the new system will work, according to a press release from the mayor’s Office of Citizen Outreach and Public Service:
o In restaurants, in addition to the 6.25 percent meals tax, a three cent per fluid ounce “Safe Drinking Water Special Assessment” will be charged, so that an 8-ounce glass of water will have a 24 cent water tax. For a family of four that’s an additional buck on your bill. The tax will apply to bottled water as well even though that does not come from the MWRA and costs the city nothing. “Those the bottles themselves are a strain on our recycling system, therefore they will be taxed the same as tap water so that people will not switch to bottled water to avoid the tax,” said city spokesperson, Bill Wetmore.
o Particularly hard hit will be Starbucks and shops where coffee or tea is the primary beverage sold. “Those coffee shops use a lot of drinking water,” said Wetmore, “and coffee, being a natural diuretic, rather than replenishing bodily fluids, actually dries you out so you need even more water,” he continued, explaining why, in the case of coffee and tea the tax will be doubled to six cents per ounce. That means that on a Starbucks “Venti” (20 ounces of java) the additional tax will be $1.20.
o In schools, hospitals, and offices in Boston one half of the total number of drinking fountains or bubblers in the building will be disconnected or drained of water. The idea is “out of sight, out of mind” – if there are fewer drinking fountains available perhaps people won’t think so often about getting a drink of water.
o As mentioned earlier, the most controversial step is the individual tap monitoring of water usage by Boston households. Water usage is currently metered and residents get quarterly bills from the city for water, but that measures all water consumption in a household, not just drinking water. Under the new measures, workers from the Department of Hydration Regulation and city’s Healthy Housing Initiative will enter every residence in the city and attach meters to every drinking water tap. Some residents are opposed and have said they do not want to let the city workers in, but the administration is insisting that all homes, apartments, and condos must get the new meters and that workers will enter by force if necessary. The city’s chief legal council says that this is constitutional and warrants are not required as the workers have been strictly instructed to ignore and not report any illegal or questionable activities they may happen to see while installing the meters. “There’s no issue of illegal search or seizure,” said city attorney William (“Bill”) Drinkwater, “nothing will be search or seized, just the installing of some necessary plumbing.”
Some citizens are highly critical, even outraged, at the mayor’s proposal to use the household water tap metering data to shame the city’s “guzzlers.” Billboards in each neighborhood will identify, on a per capita basis the household that drink the most water. Not all residents oppose. For example the Reverend Phil M. Upton of Sts. Judy and Liza Episcopal Church jokingly said, I just follow the advice of the Bible at 1 Timothy 5:23 – “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake.” But it is fair to say that opponents outnumber the supporters of the new drinking water conservation measures.
The backlash has even generated a new grass-roots political organization, the Beer and Wine Party, which is similar to the TEA Party only with a vow to avoid water and all beverages, such as tea, brewed with water, until the mayor backs down from his plans. Now if you think that is ridiculous, check the date of this newspaper.
Res Publica - Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
by David Trumbull - April 1, 2011
Some Boston residents are resisting the city’s latest drinking water conservation measures, especially the proposed tap-by-tap monitoring of individual water consumption, claiming this is an unwarranted and possibly unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
The new water restrictions can be traced back to the May 2010 water main rupture that left Boston with no drinking water for a few days. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (“MWRA”) fixed the problem and conducted a thorough inspection of the system. What they found was alarming, especially for City of Boston residents. While last year’s leak was in Weston, it was actually here in Boston that the inspection revealed the most weakness and potential faults. The situation was so bad that the MWRA was forced to undertake substantial unscheduled maintenance and repair work in Boston and now those cost are being passed on to Boston municipal government—at a time when City Hall does not have the money to cover these additional fees and must pass them on to the residents.
As we found during last year’s “boil water” emergency, there was no shortage of clean water for purposes other than drinking or food preparation—the problem was in getting enough water that had undergone the additional steps to make it safe for drinking. The same thing applies now. It is specifically drinking water than the city will be paying more for, and that cost must be recovered from the citizens.
Here’s how the new system will work, according to a press release from the mayor’s Office of Citizen Outreach and Public Service:
o In restaurants, in addition to the 6.25 percent meals tax, a three cent per fluid ounce “Safe Drinking Water Special Assessment” will be charged, so that an 8-ounce glass of water will have a 24 cent water tax. For a family of four that’s an additional buck on your bill. The tax will apply to bottled water as well even though that does not come from the MWRA and costs the city nothing. “Those the bottles themselves are a strain on our recycling system, therefore they will be taxed the same as tap water so that people will not switch to bottled water to avoid the tax,” said city spokesperson, Bill Wetmore.
o Particularly hard hit will be Starbucks and shops where coffee or tea is the primary beverage sold. “Those coffee shops use a lot of drinking water,” said Wetmore, “and coffee, being a natural diuretic, rather than replenishing bodily fluids, actually dries you out so you need even more water,” he continued, explaining why, in the case of coffee and tea the tax will be doubled to six cents per ounce. That means that on a Starbucks “Venti” (20 ounces of java) the additional tax will be $1.20.
o In schools, hospitals, and offices in Boston one half of the total number of drinking fountains or bubblers in the building will be disconnected or drained of water. The idea is “out of sight, out of mind” – if there are fewer drinking fountains available perhaps people won’t think so often about getting a drink of water.
o As mentioned earlier, the most controversial step is the individual tap monitoring of water usage by Boston households. Water usage is currently metered and residents get quarterly bills from the city for water, but that measures all water consumption in a household, not just drinking water. Under the new measures, workers from the Department of Hydration Regulation and city’s Healthy Housing Initiative will enter every residence in the city and attach meters to every drinking water tap. Some residents are opposed and have said they do not want to let the city workers in, but the administration is insisting that all homes, apartments, and condos must get the new meters and that workers will enter by force if necessary. The city’s chief legal council says that this is constitutional and warrants are not required as the workers have been strictly instructed to ignore and not report any illegal or questionable activities they may happen to see while installing the meters. “There’s no issue of illegal search or seizure,” said city attorney William (“Bill”) Drinkwater, “nothing will be search or seized, just the installing of some necessary plumbing.”
Some citizens are highly critical, even outraged, at the mayor’s proposal to use the household water tap metering data to shame the city’s “guzzlers.” Billboards in each neighborhood will identify, on a per capita basis the household that drink the most water. Not all residents oppose. For example the Reverend Phil M. Upton of Sts. Judy and Liza Episcopal Church jokingly said, I just follow the advice of the Bible at 1 Timothy 5:23 – “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake.” But it is fair to say that opponents outnumber the supporters of the new drinking water conservation measures.
The backlash has even generated a new grass-roots political organization, the Beer and Wine Party, which is similar to the TEA Party only with a vow to avoid water and all beverages, such as tea, brewed with water, until the mayor backs down from his plans. Now if you think that is ridiculous, check the date of this newspaper.
Friday, March 25, 2011
"Once Wicked, Always Dead" a Novel by T. Marie Benchley To Become Silver Screen Feature Film.
Hollywood Veteran Jim Fitzpatrick To Write & Direct Edge-Of-Your-Seat-Thriller.
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(Los Angeles CA, February 22, 2011) -- The film will begin principal photography following the adaptation of “Once Wicked, Always Dead,” by Jim Fitzpatrick and thriller-writer T. Marie Benchley, relative of Peter Benchley. Under the direction of Jim Fitzpatrick, the team will Write & Produce the project under the PacAtlantic Pictures banner. Fitzpatrick’s PacAtlantic has relationships with all of the top Studios in Hollywood and currently the helmer has three projects connected with several for distribution, including MGM which will release the feature film “A Fonder Heart,” starring Daryl Hannah, James Brolin and Stockard Channing, due out this fall of 2011.
Fitzpatrick stated during the interview that “Once Wicked, Always Dead,” will be a romantic suspense-filled-mystery, that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotion and will give you mental whiplash! The film will be great, because the book is filled with love, loss, betrayal and murder.”
For more information go to http://www.tmariebenchley.com/tbenchley-news.htm.
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Fitzpatrick stated during the interview that “Once Wicked, Always Dead,” will be a romantic suspense-filled-mystery, that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotion and will give you mental whiplash! The film will be great, because the book is filled with love, loss, betrayal and murder.”
For more information go to http://www.tmariebenchley.com/tbenchley-news.htm.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Kerry Ashwin Publishes Humorous Novel
This is my new novel Literary Licence.
A trendsetter in humour.
you can download or buy a paperback and it won't break the bank.
A laugh out loud read ~
--
A trendsetter in humour.
you can download or buy a paperback and it won't break the bank.
A laugh out loud read ~
--
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
National Society of Newspaper Columnists Mentions RBS Awards
In its March 2011 eColumnist newsletter, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) had this to say:
Mitchell, Valenta Among Finalists for Benchley Award
Two NSNC members, Rose Valenta of Chalfont, Pa., and Eileen Mitchell of Palatine, Ill., made the list of the top ten semi-finalists in the 2010 Robert Benchley Society Humor Writing Competition.
Valenta's entry, "How Government Plans to Achieve Potty Parity", and Mitchell's "The Sex Life of the Spineless Jellyfish" didn't make it to the finish line, but being in the top ten is quite an achievement.
The 2010 winner, announced unusually late this time around, was Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn., author of "Story Time with the Children."
This national contest seeks to find writing that best reflects the humor and style of Benchley, an American humorist of the 1900's best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. He was a member of the famous Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and actors who met regularly at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.
The Society has announced that Washington-based humorist Mark Russell has agreed to be the final celebrity judge in the 2011 competition. More information may be found at www.robertbenchley.org/competition.
Mitchell, who is the "Film Hound" blogger at the Seattle Post, also is a contributing writer to a scholarly film book published by McFarland coming out this spring. The title is In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater: 3000 Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing.
Valenta participated in an Authors On Tour Facebook Party on February 25 when writers were invited to "Pump Up Your Book." The author of "Sitting On Cold Porcelain" also promoted her book in an interview on BlogTalkRadio. She also reports that the syndicated service "Senior Wire" has picked up another one of her columns under "Aging Gracefully."
Mitchell, Valenta Among Finalists for Benchley Award
Two NSNC members, Rose Valenta of Chalfont, Pa., and Eileen Mitchell of Palatine, Ill., made the list of the top ten semi-finalists in the 2010 Robert Benchley Society Humor Writing Competition.
Valenta's entry, "How Government Plans to Achieve Potty Parity", and Mitchell's "The Sex Life of the Spineless Jellyfish" didn't make it to the finish line, but being in the top ten is quite an achievement.
The 2010 winner, announced unusually late this time around, was Mike Tuck of Eden Prairie, Minn., author of "Story Time with the Children."
This national contest seeks to find writing that best reflects the humor and style of Benchley, an American humorist of the 1900's best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. He was a member of the famous Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and actors who met regularly at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.
The Society has announced that Washington-based humorist Mark Russell has agreed to be the final celebrity judge in the 2011 competition. More information may be found at www.robertbenchley.org/competition.
Mitchell, who is the "Film Hound" blogger at the Seattle Post, also is a contributing writer to a scholarly film book published by McFarland coming out this spring. The title is In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater: 3000 Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing.
Valenta participated in an Authors On Tour Facebook Party on February 25 when writers were invited to "Pump Up Your Book." The author of "Sitting On Cold Porcelain" also promoted her book in an interview on BlogTalkRadio. She also reports that the syndicated service "Senior Wire" has picked up another one of her columns under "Aging Gracefully."
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
How They Find Us I Know Not, But Find Us They Do
This came in over the transom:
I couldn't invent this. My exchange with the local librarian this morning:
ELWIN: Hello. Do you have any Robert Benchley?
LIBRETTA: Hmmm...(tapping the name into a file search) No, I don't see any. Let's see, is that Benchley with a "Y"? Is he local?
ELWIN: No, with an "I.E." First name, Robert. Try "Bob Benchlie." I'd heard he'd taken a respite from cheese-farming to write a book on ... well ... cheese-farming."
LIBRETTA: (tap-tap-tap) Hmmm...nope, not there.
ELWIN: Hard to believe. I'm disappointed.
LIBRETTA: (anticipating a gasp) Do you KNOW him?
ELWIN: Yes, I met him once at the Cheese House, where he was busy ranslating "omnia vincit amor" into the more colloquial "Love beats a blue-veined Gorgonzola."
LIBRETTA: (stifling a gasp) Uh, wait. I'll check that under "Titles."
ELWIN: (exit, anticipating a stifling gasp, and pining for Dewey's lost undefiled hierarchy and a cheddar melt)
Best, El
CONFIDENTIAL TO DANNY G: Yes, I've not only read JAWS five times, I actually stood on the bridge (courtesy of Mr. MacDonald) under which passed the very carcharodon carcharias jawggernaut used in the movie. The shuttle track used to propel the mechanical marvel was still visible.
CONFIDENTIAL TO EVERYONE: For pity's sake, don't tell Danny it was an elongated golem. He still thinks those little bits of beachcombs stuck to his feet are Robert Shaw bio-bits.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Semi Finalist in America's Funniest Humour Writing Contest.
My humorous article "The stimulant of choice" by Kerry Ashwin came in as a semi finalist on this web site: http://www.humorpress.com/Results/HumorShowcase-Index.htmNow I know why my grade five teacher said "Must try harder". I knew her advice would come in handy one day.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
BlogTalkRadio and a Facebook Party
I'm giving you the heads-up on two upcoming online events:
On Tuesday evening, February 22nd, at 6:30 PM EST, I will be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio's "A Book and a Chat" with Barry Eva. It is a live call-in event, so you can participate with questions. Click here for details BlogTalkRadio
Then, on Friday night, February 25th, you are cordially invited to an exciting Facebook party with 10 authors, including me, who are participating in the Pump Up Your Book virtual tour. The festivities begin at 9:00 PM EST. If you have a facebook account, please "Like" the group page Pump Up Your Book Party. Then, you will be able to chat.
Please join the fun.
Thanks in advance,
Rose
On Tuesday evening, February 22nd, at 6:30 PM EST, I will be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio's "A Book and a Chat" with Barry Eva. It is a live call-in event, so you can participate with questions. Click here for details BlogTalkRadio
Then, on Friday night, February 25th, you are cordially invited to an exciting Facebook party with 10 authors, including me, who are participating in the Pump Up Your Book virtual tour. The festivities begin at 9:00 PM EST. If you have a facebook account, please "Like" the group page Pump Up Your Book Party. Then, you will be able to chat.
Please join the fun.
Thanks in advance,
Rose
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