Thursday, April 15, 2010
WORKPLACE WTF?
Posted by Michael Gill on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Well now, here’s a little something for the kids . . . A guide to get you through those work situations that must happen to someone, somewhere. Gregory Bergman and Jodi Miller’s WTF? WORK: How to Survive 101 of the Office’s Worst F*#!-ing Situations (Adams Media, 2010, 248pp., Paper, $995) has a self-explanatory title, if you read an attempt at comedy into the “F*#!-ing” part.
It’s more about making you laugh than about actually helping you with any workplace issues. Organized according to the job trajectory—hiring, workplace situations, and firing—it’s packed with advice on coping when you show up for the interview hung over, what to do when your cougar boss comes on, what to do if you or anyone in your office has a kitten secretary you just can’t leave alone, the prospect of uncontrollable farting in the work place, and coping when you get fired.
Here’s WTF strategy No. 1 regarding what to do when you spill coffee on your computer: Start a Witch Hunt. Got to your boss and complain that some idiot came into your cubicle and knocked over your coffee, and didn’t have the damned decency to fess up to it. By the end of the day, he’ll be interrogating everyone, and will have long forgotten about that pressing assignment, buying you a couple more days.”
Helpful, no? WTF?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
PULITZER CRIES
Posted by Michael Gill on Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Is it coincidence that The Pulitzer Prizes awarded in literary categories this year had a topical flair, dealing with tycoons and economic crisis, and nuclear doomsday? I don't think so.
The prize in History went to Liaquat Ahamed's Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke The World, published by Penguin Press, which the jury cited as "a compelling account of how four powerful bankers played crucial roles in triggering the Great Depression and ultimately transforming the United States into the world’s financial leader."
The price in Biography went to T.J. Stiles' The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, published by Alfred A. Knopf, which the jury cited as "a penetrating portrait of a complex, self-made titan who revolutionized transportation, amassed vast wealth and shaped the economic world in ways still felt today."
And the prize in General Nonfiction went to David E. Hoffman's The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy, published by Doubleeday, which the Jury cited as a well documented narrative that examines the terrifying doomsday competition between two superpowers and how weapons of mass destruction still imperil humankind."
Cheers you right up, doesn't it?
Monday, April 12, 2010
IMMORTALIZED
Posted by Michael Gill on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 3:53 PM
Karamu playwright in residence Michael Oatman got some ink in the New York Times last weekend (Sunday, April 11), as writer Erik Piepenburg featured Karamu’s production of his Eclipse: The War Between Pac and B.I.G. Piepenburg highlighted the degree to which writers have dramatized the life and death of the legendary rapper, keeping his memory alive. Piepenburg says at least three plays about Shakur have been produced in the US in the last 10 years, and calls them “labors of love by unknown authors.”
Thanks to Piepenburg, Oatman is just a little less unknown now than he was last week.
There’s no shortage of drama in Shakur’s life, of course, and Oatman mined it, focusing on the east coast / west coast rivalry between him and rival rapper Notorious BIG. As the journalist quotes the playwright:
“Tupac is a very Shakespearean character,” said the “Eclipse” playwright, Michael Oatman, of Cleveland. “He is loaded with contradictions. He’ll be talking about ‘bitches and hos’ one minute then give you a song that has a crushing sensitivity. He lends himself to theatricality.”
Check out the whole story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/theater/11tupac.html?ref=music
