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The next snack in my MacLean binge was Breakheart Pass (1974). Written for the movies (that’s where the link goes), Breakheart Pass runs along its (train) track and doesn’t stop for much. I recognized immediately that I had read it before, but no matter. I think the movie might be enjoyable, since the book felt like a screenplay. The novel even included a graphic detailing the different cars in the train (story is set in the 1870s or so), and a list of characters!

I wonder if the book sold well or not. With my media business hat on, I applaud the idea of the “release windows” being so close together! The book was published only a year before the movie was released. I think this one might have been better only as a movie, though.

During my vacation, I went on an Alistair MacLean binge. The first of the three tales I polished off was Ice Station Zebra (1963).

If you read MacLean, you read for the action. Ice Station Zebra hits on that count. Yet the first-person smug narration was more emblematic in this one. I haven’t been reading as many omniscient narrator books where so much is withheld from the reader along the way. Only in the wrap-up does the narrator hold forth, in dialogue, and explain all the hints he’s been dropping all along as inner monologue. Sort of maddening, but at least the action never stops to let you get too frustrated with the smokescreens.

Many of MacLean’s novels and stories were made into movies, including Zebra, but I haven’t seen this one. I probably have read this one before, but I wasn’t totally sure. I treated Zebra (and the following ones) as brain candy, and I left them in the vacation house for some other escapist to enjoy.

When I’m posting about books, I always think back to Phoebe-Lou Adams from The Atlantic Monthly. Phoebe-Lou is no longer with us, sadly. I did not know her very well, as I was at the magazine quite late in her career, and I was (frankly) a bit intimidated by someone 60 years my elder.

Yet, in three to five sentences, Phoebe-Lou could distill the essence of a book and give you a point of view which left you shaking your head at her tartness or admiration…or sometimes both. And she did this month after month, decade after decade, for maybe a dozen books each issue. I can only aspire to be so eloquent and brief all at once.

In the April, 2006 issue, The Atlantic seems to have returned to the concept of Brief Reviews, with Cover to Cover. However, while it’s useful to have summaries of a few dozen new books, there is no opinion in these precis.

The New York Times article :Death by Smiley Face: When Rivals Disdain Profit” muses on how businesses must now compete with those who are not motivated first and foremost by money. Whatever I think about this from a media point of view, I think it’s a nifty part of 21st century life that enough people can contribute this kind of time and energy to anything not directly insuring their survival. May seem obvious sitting in the United States, but the human experience isn’t so wonderful everywhere (even here), so let’s not forget to celebrate (occasionally) when people rise above the bare minimum and actually make each others’ lives better, in whatever small way.

The CNET reference which triggered my filters to this article in the first place:

Another example of genius ideas from people who don’t seek Internet riches is Chowhound.com. This nine-year-old site features community-generated restaurant review boards in various cities and steadfastly refuses to accept restaurant advertising. Rather than continue to grovel for donations and make a few dollars selling Chowhound books, the founders sold the company last month to CNET Networks, a Web business known for its reviews of technology products, for an undisclosed amount. Unlike Chowhound, whose independence and spirit it has vowed to maintain while helping to spiff up the site, CNET.com is chockablock with ads.

I finished Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcom Gladwell’s second expansion of an interesting magazine article, while on vacation last week. Not having read the original magazine article, I’d be interested to do so now. I’m interested in seeing what the proper length for a narrative is. Of course, it depends on the narrative.

Regardless, I think Gladwell’s clear writing and novel anecdotes illustrating his central theme do support book-length explorations.

Gladwell knows how to approach — and make approachable — academic subjects which enlighten us on ourselves. Human interactions are like the air around us, so slowing down to examine them is unexpectedly rewarding. I can only wish that more academics were so gifted with the written word, or perhaps that academia would reward clarity alongside precision, comprehensiveness, and verifiable results.

I preferred The Tipping Point, but I enjoyed Blink. Gladwell’s blog has been noted by many others before now, but as a reader who can’t imagine also subscribing to The New Yorker (as fine as it often is), I’m happy to have another option for reading Gladwell.

At Digital Hollywood Wednesday morning, on a panel with a long title (Branded Media Marketing – TV, Film, Broadband, Podcasting & Blogging, Mobile, Music and Games – Reinventing the Commerce & Media Model), a panelist, J. D. Heilprin, asked Maria Thomas, another panelist, from National Public Radio, if NPR was thinking of itself as a media company, not just a radio company.

The answer was yes, although it’s clear that’s an evolutionary step. (I’m paraphrasing.)

Which makes me wonder about the R in NPR.

How long before Steve Inskeep and others use only the acronym NPR to refer to their media company, rather than the bold, emphatic National Public Radio one still hears most of the time?

In a different forum, I once pointed out the danger of naming your publication after a time period.

The new corollary, I suppose, is to be wary about specifying your medium if you’re a media company.

But if I did have occasion to do my running indoors, I could only wish for a treadputer. Thanks to Steve Outing for calling my attention to Brad Feld’s set-up.

Today was a day of recovery, from a vacation! And a milestone.

I started clock three years ago today. I think my pace was greater the first year, and maybe the second year, too.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

(Keep repeating that!)

Jonathan Lethem’s Gun, with Occasional Music (Wikipedia page) read like a Philip K. Dick novel that wasn’t prepared to go all the way to the (crazed) edge. Similar first-person narrative, resonant mix of current culture with a future which has gone mildly awry with its reliance on central control (with a pervasive, encouraged use of drugs to aid the process). Beyond those similarities, this is a detective novel in the Chandler vein. I’m embarrassed that I haven’t read any Chandler, but noir was a theme that caught fire, so anyone can recognize it beyond its forefather.

I looked forward to diving in each night, so that’s a good sign. March 18, 2006

I’ll be in Los Angeles for three days at the end of March. First, on Tuesday, March 28, I’m a panelist at OMMA Expo in the afternoon, on a panel called “Does RSS = R$$? Feeding Publisher Profitability.” Then, on Thursday, March 30, I’m a panelist at Digital Hollywood’s Spring 2006 event, Alternative Media & Advertising: Personalized Consumer Broadband, RSS Feeds, Blogging and Podcasting. In between, I’ll see what I can learn at Digital Hollywood.