NYC You Are Here Talks to Liniers at the Lyon BD Festival -France

The Lyon BD Festival has just finished up it's 8 Edition in Lyon, France. NYC You Are Here got to talk a little with Argentine Cartoonist Ricardo Siri Liniers about his new book for children, "The Big Wet Balloon." He is Known for his comic strip published in the La Nación Newspaper. Liniers has many a book out in Spanish. This year he will publish not only his new collection of comics in English (Macanudo) but has jumped into making children's books with Toon Books of New York City. This September Toon Books and Liniers will celebrate the publishing of "The Big Wet Balloon" at the Brooklyn Book Festival. This Wet book is a funny and sweet portrait of the cartoonist daughters and the way they love Saturday's, even rainy ones. Liniers said that comic strips like "Charlie Brown" and "Calvin & Hobbes" are one of the reasons he started to draw. Also he took inspiration from cartoonist like Art Spiegelman and Matt Groening. So much so that he took out a pen and paper to draw a cartoon of himself as a cross on Art's "Maus" and Matt's "Life in Hell" cartoons. Check out "The Big Wet Balloon" this September from Toon Books and look for Liniers other comic collections in print in Spanish and soon in English.

Toon Books "The Big Wet Balloon"
English:
http://www.toon-books.com/about-the-book-lin_en.html
Spanish:
http://www.toon-books.com/about-the-book_lin_spanish.html

Brooklyn Book Festival
http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BBF/Home

Book Then Movie: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Here we have the classic book of the Beat Generation. In this short read Kerouac invites us into the world of Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. This little soft cover even introduces the reader to the great William Burroughs. We meet these great men before the height of their individual glory. The reader meets Cassady before he is the driver of Ken Kesey's Bus and leader of the Merry Pranksters in the 60's (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test-Tom Wolfe) and Ginsberg before Howl. The Old Bull Lee in this book even shows us Burroughs with his wife before the gun shot that made Naked Lunch. This story of the road and what one can find on it, is the first book of its kind. It has been an influence on all kinds of popular culture from the 60's, 70's and on to today. The amount of people that state it as a lighting rod that changed their ways of thinking about life and growing up are to many to mention here. Kerouac took the notes he had from the Road and after receiving a thousand-word rambling letter from Neal Cassady wrote the scroll that later became the book. This scroll was a long one page fury of words, with no paragraphs or even punctuation. Jack used what he called the "Essentials of Spontaneous Prose" to write one of the books that changed the way generations would look at literature and writing. This is what good films are made of, but if one does not read the words first they will miss what these men were meant to teach us.

 "To be beat is to be at the bottom of your personality, looking up.” - John Clellon Holmes 1958, Esquire magazine

  ‘You know, this is a really beat generation’ ... More than mere weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and ultimately, of soul: a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness. In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself.” - Jack Kerouac 1952, New York Times Sunday Magazine

Elf Girl By Rev Jen

This holiday season on a sunny day in the L.E.S. one might just see a real elf walking her dog. This would seem strange living in Chicago or Boston, but here in New York everything can and will happen. This place is a mecca for artiest, weirdos, and outsiders. Wrap all these into one and put elf ears on top and you get Rev Jen. Aka Elf Girl the “patron saint of the uncool.” She lives her life in a fun and unexpected way and puts it all into words that paint a wonderfully uncool picture of how to "make it" in lower downtown. Her book starts with a job at Bloomingdale's as a Christmas Elf and continues in such a flirtatious manner that it is hard to put down. She makes writing look easy the way she runs through her jobs as an elf, Slurpee Technician and Curator of the Troll Museum. This is not just a coming of age story for nonconformist. It is almost a how to in being yourself and getting that self out to the masses. She has so many Ideas and takes them as far as they will go. Like Doo-Doo the Hard drinking Teletubby or Rats, the shortest running show on Broadway. As life in the LES gets bigger and more and more upscale its nice to know that there are still the underground artists walking around with elf ears.

To get more on REv Jen check out:
Live Nude Elf: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen
Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood/Les Misrahi
The Adventures of Electra Elf: The Complete Series on DVD
Or go to an Anti-slam:
http://www.revjen.com/antislam/index.html
and check out:
http://www.revjen.com/
or vist the Troll Museum!

Street Book Here is New York E.B White

Found - Houston and 2ND
Picked up because - E. B. White is he American Author of Charlotte's Web

Finding certain books on the street feels like fate. One look down and there could be an adventure at your feet. This small volume by E.B. White has some revealing things to say about New York City. Written in 1948 when the city was different, but was it that different then? The City has always been the City of Dreams, has it not? This book has been called an essay because it kind of teaches more to the reader then one would think. In this White touches on the real New York and how it feels to live in the Big Apple at the height of its glory. He seems to know all the things that ring true for the city and its people. With a turn of phrase and informative rants this book is a must read for all New Yorkers. This Street Book came with a note inside "Here is to finding your New York during your stay. Enjoy the Adventure and embrace serendipity." So if fate steeps in and "Here is New York" is your next read don't feel surprised

Street Books - Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert

Found - Central Park
Picked up because - Its a classic

In the days of high speed Internet and cable T.V. its hard to realize how monotonous life was back in the 1850's. In France at the time there was a big difference between everyday life and the popular novels. Gustave Flaubert wanted to point out this fact in his first novel "Madame Bovary." In this story a young Doctor marries an older widow his mother picked out. Then he becomes a widow himself, ah such is life. When he meets the young Miss Bovary she marries the Doctor. He moves from one small town to a slightly bigger town in northern France, near Rouen in Normandy to please his new wife. The book is told through his "eyes" till this point. Then the reader gets into Madame Bovary head. She wants luxury and romance, but gets bored with her not so sharp husband. Walk with her down the wrong road of infidelity and debt. This bestseller of the 1850's was put on trial when it came out for "offenses against morality and religion." The story of longing and seduction is considered a masterpiece. Reading it now over a century latter the themes seem to echo forward. After all life might be different but the struggles of love are the same.

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

This great work of Twentieth Century American Fiction was not so well known in Fitzgerald's life time. The first printing that came out in 1925 was over 20,000 copies and sold out. The second printing (3,000) sat on the shelves of a warehouse for 15 years. Only after the news of his death did the last of the second printing finely sell. His novel is not just a social history, but is a pleasure to read. The Jazz Age, that great party before the depression. This is what is represented with the bigger then life characters in the Great Gatsby. The twenties was a time of bootleggers, flappers, and self made men. Fitzgerald knew how full and just how empty these characters lives could be. "The Jazz Age, it was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire." Gatsby is the man of the Jazz Age. He Has "some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life...an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness." This is a story about life, love and money from the 20's. It is also a story about New York, Long Island and how even back then young people flocked here to be where the actions is. The narrator Nick Carraway comes from the Midwest to find himself before being married. His story is told by reconstructing events in Gatsby's life from his own prospective. This Tall Tale is not just Gatsby's, or Nicks, but it becomes yours as you form your own prospective. "I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." Nick lives next door to Gatsby on Long Island. On the Island rich people have big parties, nice cars, and huge estates. In Contrast some of the story goes on inside Manhattan, in small apartments, city streets and train stations. Nick's NYC is a big bustling place full of surprises. The whole book has a dark feeling that is heightened when in the city and lifted, if only slightly, within the excess of Long Island. But this is a vale, a fake cover for people that want to run from not through life's twist and turns. A must read for any New Yorker.

Street Books - Valley of the Dolls Jacqueline Susann

Found - Coat check in Atlantic City
Picked up because - Wanted to read again

Vally of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann was a instant hit. Her tale of three friends brought together by life in 1940's New York City, was a sensation in 1966. Even now one can find it in every book store, or when getting coats from a casino in Atlantic City. This book is worth reading a second time. This is hard because when you lend it out to people it never comes back. That's what happens with really good books, they come in and out of your life. New York.. if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.. hard to say why this rings true. People come to New York to catch a dream. Each of Jacqueline's woman has a dream to achieve, each one has heart to break, and each find help in the "Dolls." Those beautiful little helpers that keep everything on track. This story is set when women were on the verge of liberation. It has all the dangers that have to be over come to make it on your own. Read it and then pass it on, its that good.

Street Books - Inner City Hoodlum Donald Goines

Found - Eastern Parkway and Washington Ave across the street from the Brooklyn Museum of Art
Picked up because - The name of the book "Inner City Hoodlum"

This is a short little fiction that is set in the "Cesspool of Los Angeles." This story is about the streets and from the streets. This is the last book from who is concerted one of the first African American writers of urban fiction Donald Goines. Inner City Hoodlum, which Goines had finished before his death, was published posthumously in 1975. Donald did have a hard life on the streets. He Lived and finally died on the streets when he and his wife were shot to death in Detroit one October night. Goines has been a thief, a pimp, drug dealer and an addict. He has lived the life of his characters. He wrote 16 books in just five years, most in jail or the Penitentiary. Some of his books have become films, such as "Never Die Alone" and "Crime Partners" with Ice-T and Snoop Dogg. Many rappers have praised Goines and his writing like RZA, 2Pac, Nas, Ghostface Killah, Ludacris, and Common. This career criminal with seven prison sentences proved he could also be a writer and could give the "real" story from the ghetto. In this book he has a good story of two friends that get pulled deeper and deeper into the "game." A story that runs into some tight spots that make it that much more exciting. To bad this author was gunned down in the streets and the identity of the killer or killers remains unknown.

Street Books - Present at the Future Ira Flatow

Found- Ludlow and Stanton St. in the LES.

Picked up because - Ira Flatow is on NPR.
Ira Flatow is the heart of NPR's Science Friday. He has come out with a book to help us realize that we live in the future now. This book makes things like Cosmology and Nanotechnology look easy, well easy to explain anyway. He does us a favor by breaking down science principles in such a light hearted way. The first five chapters look inward to the mind. These are kind of a searching exercise for you brain. Then he moves out to space before coming home again to Global Warming. This look at the energy crises does not stop there. No Mr. Flatow dives deep into the types of energy we use and could be using in the future. One of the most eye opening chapters is about technology at its smallest, Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Before it all over he dabbles in the everyday science he likes to point out in a segment he calls "Beauty in the Details." In this book Ira Flatow shows us that the future is now so we are all "Present at the Future."

Who Shot Rock & Roll? Last Two Days in Brooklyn!!

Rock & Roll is a driving force in peoples lives. It can be personal and public at the same time. Our minds eye "sees" music in it own way but our memories of music are generally the same as others. Many types of media helped shape what music means to all of us. Now music is on Myspace and Youtube. For everyone that remembers the 80's it was MTV. Before that the in the 70's radio was king. The one thing that seemed to grow with the music is photography. With the help of print media like "Rolling Stone," and the fact that photography is still used as one of the best ways promote a band or album, photography has stuck around. A new Book by Historian and author Gail Buckland shows us the role played by photographers in Rock & roll history. The Brooklyn Museum was the first stop for the accompanying photography exhibition. This is Weekend from 11-6pm is you're last chance to check out these performance photos, portraits and behind-the-scenes snapshots of musicians you know and love. (Dylan, Jagger, and Lennon, Madonna, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Bjork, Blondie, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Notorious B.I.G., U2, and the Velvet Underground) Their are all there in black and white as well as color. This includes the work with many photographers, like David Corio, Annie Leibowitz, Chris Stein and Richard Avedon. If you can't get down there to see this then check out the book with captions that accompany over 250 portraits told from the photographer's perspective. This Book and Museum tour of pictures will help us think more about all the things that make music so universal.



Exhibition's Museum Tour:

Worcester Art Museum

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Akron Art Museum

Columbia Museum of Art.

Book Then Movie: The Road

You think we have problems now just Wait till the end of civilization is upon us. With all these movies about the "end of days" it's hard to look forward to the future, but remember you never know what the future can bring. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a short little narrative about the day to day hardships of a man and his son after the would has turned to "ash." Without any chapters the small journal like entries are followed by some dialogue between the two wonders. Lots of Danger out there on the road but you have to travel south as the winters are getting longer, darker, and colder. This book was almost to easy to finish. (read in three sittings) The movie looks good with a good director and a a fitting cast, but you don't want to feel like you missed out when someone says, "you should have read the Book first."

Great Sci-Fi Books

Book Then Movie: Where the Wild Things Are

This wonderful children's picture book is from the early '60's and is loved around the world. Written by Maurice Sendak it has sold 19 million copies. Maurice came up with the "Things" when at his family's home in Brooklyn. Using his aunts and uncles for the likeness and names of the monsters. This book is about the imagination of a little boy and how it helps him understand his emotions. With little text Maurice uses mostly pictures to tell the story line. In the book Max, the young boy, is sent to his room for acting up. From there his mind takes over and he goes on an adventure to the land of the Wild Things. A book not short on critical acclaim being held high right after its original release. Even then they new that the story has a balance of complex thinking and simplicity. Manohla Dargis noted that "there are different ways to read the wild things, and probably as many ways to ruin this delicate story of a solitary child liberated by his imagination." If you have not read this book go into a bookstore and read it through once or twice. Please glance at this children's book before you see this movie.

Madeleines In Manhattan By Colette Rossant

Seeing movies in French subtitles, and just finishing a book written by a French woman makes one want some strong coffee and a good pastry. Colette Rossant is known as one of New York's ultimate foodies. She lived in Ciro and Paris for most of her childhood years. Then falling in love, getting married and living in Italy, are all briefly covered in the first two chapters. This small volume is mostly based on her move to Manhattan in the '50's. Everything she writes about is surrounded by food. With charming little recipes after each chapter, you can practically eat you way through this book. Reading along you feel like your following Colette through her life one meal at a time. Lets just say don't read this on a empty stomach. As she gets used to the train and the city she finds there are some things no one wants to get used to. White bread and iceberg lettuce being two things she can't stand. Exploring each neighborhood she finds places that reminded her of home, and places that are totally new. Somehow Colette takes each new experience in stride and they find a way into her cooking. After odd jobs she settles into teaching French. Having a wonderful Husband and eventually children she loves to cook and have guest over. Her guests rave over her strange style in the kitchen. Making the move from midtown to downtown Colette tries to fit in on their new block. With her upfront attitude and pleasant demeanor she wins over most of her new neighbors. In time she becomes a author of many cook books, teaches cooking to kids on PBS, and writes articles for Food Arts Magazine. She even becomes New York Magazine 'Underground Gourmet.' Must have been nice to secretly dine in eateries and then review them. New York is not enough for this lively women. She travels the world not forgetting the food everywhere she goes. She lived a full life moving across the ocean, finding her way in the big city, and having four children. Through it all she is optimistic, positive and most of all hungry.

Time Travelers Wife- Book Then Movie

My mom gave me this little book because I like Science fiction. It was not only the fastest read but impressed me a avid Sci-Fi reader. Now there is a movie coming out and I wished more people had read the book. The story of a man who time travels with no way to predict it. Jumping back and forth through peoples lives, living his life in scattered fragments. Written by American author Audrey Niffenegger. A must read.....hopefully before you see the movie.

Street Books - Nicholas Ray An American Journey by Bernard Eisenschitz

Found - Essex St. and Rivington St in the LES .
Picked up because - James Dean on cover.
Nicholas Ray was an under appreciated part of early Hollywood. An highly passionate director that most people don't know by name. Yes everyone knows "Rebel Without a Cause" was a classic, but now after reading this biography by Bernard Eisenschitz, one finds that this director had real life experience with the nitty-gritty of American life through the 30's and 40's. Born in the Midwest he moved to New York during the depression, there he became a part of the theater. Then when President Roosevelt's New Deal gave many artist work throughout the country, Nick went out into the backwoods of this country to help rural areas with local theater activities. These experiences in peoples homes and backyards in the 30's helped Nick set up the feeling of real American hardship in his films. During this time Nick got to work with Charles and Pete Seeger. This started his love of folk and blues (used in most of his films) and Nick's technical skills in sound. Before going back to theater and then moving on to film Nick moved back to New York. Working the sound for many jazz clubs he meet Billy Holiday and other greats. Also he would bring up some of the musicians that worked with him on the radio and lived with him in the country like Leadbelly. Living such a rich life before Nick went west to Hollywood might have been why he seemed so passionate to others in the film industry. In this book Bernard Eisenschitz takes you from movie to movie with an easy flow. Here is where the reader gets the whole story about RKO, and Howard Hughes. Lucky RKO lent Nick out for Bogart's "In a Lonely Place." The title says a lot about how Hollywood could feel for the writer/Director. Even in the western, Johnny Guitar there are hints of how Nick felt about Hollywood with lines like: 'I'm a stranger here myself." The best is how Nick handled the actors and actresses. Mostly with little whispered suggestions, he was said to be able to pull the character out of the actor. Working in a very loose way, sometimes with only part of a script he would encourage improvisation, unheard of with most directors of the time. This book does not glorify Nick, Eisenschitz puts in all the gambling, drinking, and the problems with Nick's wife's. Eventually Nick goes to Europe to make some films, then ends up back in New York as a teacher and lecture. Film direction, Nick told his students, is a "hunt for the truth" This books "hunt for the truth" was more then just a story about Nick Ray, it was about how sometimes we as Americans don't really see who we are. How we need artists like Nicholas Ray to show us our own story before we believe in it.

-Nicholas Ray An American Journey by Bernard Eisenschitz, translated from French by Tom Milne

Street Books - Ghosts of 42ND Street Anthony Bianco

Found - Brooklyn on Gram near Metropolitan
Picked up because - black and white cover looked cool
History is never boring on the forty deuce, from stars to strippers its seen it all. This little corner of New York became the center of the world, "The Great White Way." Then it almost fell into ruin before being lifted up back on high. Yes it's a ruff and tumble story. A great topic for a book, fitting that our first "Street Book" is about a street. This does read easy but also tells specifics. Theater from vaudeville to burlesque, business from real estate to retail, even some police actions. All the cheaters of the streets come out when reading about what went down on 42ND and Broadway. From stables to today what other part of America could make 300 pages seem like a quick read. An exciting twenty four hour, year round street part of what makes New York, New York. Times Square is a destination for the whole world and after reading "Ghost" you know why.