RandomCha

missmerrily bought 100SP from amazon … woohoo! Which means they sold their last copy on hand, which means they ordered … 1 more copy. I guess it’s too much to ask them to stock more than 1, until it starts selling a bit better. I am enrolling 100SP in the ‘search’ program; they scan in your entire book so that the whole thing is searchable by subject, words, names, etc. That means that anyone searching for either “John Cage” or “Big Trouble in Little China” will be directed to my book (!)

Last night’s DVD group went really really well. There was Corona and pizza and “the 400 Blows.” Ya can’t go wrong. I think our core group of attendees is really solid. Lots of variety personality-wise, and and I think we all do actually LOVE movies. (Loving movies is kind of like loving music: everyone SAYS they do, but only a minority really LOVES them). We’ll probably do our next meet up at the pad of backburner and endlezzdream again, although if it’s truly sweltering I made a motion to relocate to our place. I can stick the a/c unit in the living room.

Ahhhhhh tonight is the David Byrne concert at Navy Pier. Swoon. I’m stuck in a fantasy … you see, Mr. Byrne has a show tonight and Monday, which means he’ll be staying in town over the weekend (presumably). And I’m fantasizing that he’ll stop into the Barbara’s Bookstore at Navy Pier, see 100SP, and …

Any other Chicago people interested in going to opening night of “Fahrenheit 9/11” at the Landmark Century on Friday, the 25th? There’s a 7.30 pm show. I’d love to get a group together and buy a block of advance tix. Read about the campaign at http://moveon.org

Every Tuesday after work for the past 2 weeks, my friend Steven and I have met at the bar of the Congress Hotel to sit together and write. It’s a way of keeping each other in practice, and of sharpening our ideas. As much as I hate to cross the picket lines (hotel workers at the Congress have been on strike for 1 year now), it’s impossible to sit in that bar and NOT be inspired. Travellers from all over, a setting that recalls an English Pub by way of 1962 Chicago, and juicy panoramic windows.

That’s right, 100SP has passed the 100 mark!
Only 400 copies left! They’re going … eventually.

http://www.randomcha.net

also available at:

http://www.amazon.com
Quimbys Books, Chicago
Chicago Comics, Chicago
http://www.loopdistro.com
Barbaras Bookstore, Navy Pier, Chicago
Barbaras Bookstore, Oak Park, Chicago
Barbaras Bookstore, UIC, Chicago
St. Marks Bookshop, New York City
Mondo Kims, St. Marks, New York City

Order at http://www.randomcha.net and your copy will be personally autographed!
And all international orders placed through http://www.randomcha.net will be
charged only normal domestic shipping!
Wow, What A Deal!

What is 100 Spinning Plates?
100 Stories on 100 Cards. Shuffle & Read.

What some folks are saying:

“Rob Christopher’s 100 SPINNING PLATES is a fascinating exercise in specificity and the economy of language – no word unnecessary, no explanation given where none needed. We experience the author’s life through random ordered little snapshots, slices of life which stand individually but add up to much more than their sum. A book of memories, chance observations, sexual encounters, and odd little ironic events, all told with amazing objectivity which allows us to enter into the text like a piece of autobiographical detective fiction, putting together a very private life.”
– Greg Allen, Artistic Director, The Neo-Futurists and creator of “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind”

“100 Spinning Plates by Rob Christopher is addictive. Eat one slice of
(what appears to be) his life, and you’ll want another. Unpretentious,
charming and wholly believable, Rob’s stories are a thoughtful reflection
on the small oddities and quirks of everyday life. Threaded through these
stories is a sense of the randomness of existence – emphasized by the
design of the collection, which allows you to flip through the stories like
a deck of cards and read them in any order. Your experience of reading
Rob’s stories will be unique, just as your experience of life is unique –
and you never know what’s going to happen next.”
– David David Katzman, author of “Death By Zamboni”

“the story about my grandmother and the tornado that ripped through
indianapolis while she was in the movie theatre is true. that is, my father
told me the story, and then i told other people, including rob, and he
wrote about it in this book. i had to ask my father, recently, if i had
remembered the story correctly. was there really devasation all around as
my grandmother left the theatre? or had i just made that part up in my
enthusiasm to tell a good story? according to my father, rob’s version is
accurate. and that’s about as factual as a story about a woman who has been
dead for 20 years can be. as for the other 99 stories in this book, i can’t
in any way vouch for their overall accuracy.”
– Andy Steadham

“i’ve known rob for quite a few years and we are very good friends. i am
so proud to know such a talented man. i just know his collection of short
stories, 100 Spinning Plates, will receive the appreciation it deserves.
you should all purchase it so there will be further printings for further
generations to enjoy! **wait, let me try that again** i’ve known rob for
years and we are such dear friends. i couldn’t possibly be more proud to be
in the presence… etc etc blah blah blah…”
– Gavin R.

“100 Spinning Plates, intelligent, introspective, imaginative.. a great
way to explore your own imagination or develop one if you have none..”
-Joey Palmer

http://www.randomcha.net

Last night, spur of the moment thing, I met my friend Jeremy at Trader Vics and we had a few drinks. Wonderful, wonderful. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t make a Mai Tai at home that tastes the same as one at Trader Vics. I know they use tow very specific (and secret) kinds of rum, and that must make a real difference.

Tonight Andy & I shall indulge in a bit of masochism and watch “Matrix Reloaded” and “Matrix Revolutions” back-to-back. All I’m expecting is some mindless, noisy escapism. This should fufill my Keanu Quota for the next two years.

Barack Obama announced today that he’d like to debate Jack “Pretty Boy Divorcee” Ryan in a series of Lincoln/Douglass-style debates. Can’t wait to see those. Coverage of Obama’s campaign has been disappoitingly scarce.

Speaking of divorcees, I saw the following headline today: “Limbaugh, Wife Agree To End Marriage.” Aside from the usual hypocracy of Mr. Ultra Right Wing advocating one thing while doing something else, the incredible EUPHEMISM of the wording TICKS ME OFF. They’re GETTING DIVORCED, so why not tell it like it is instead of saying “agreeing to end marriage.” Just another sentence in the fucked up hypothesis that says that were gays allowed to marry, straight marriage would be threatened.

O my gosh, what a terribly busy, stressful afternoon it’s been at work. The phine has been posessed by the Always-Ringing Demon. Sometimes, I’m afraid, the truth is painful: there IS a depressing percentage of people who work for the federal government who are IDIOTS. (So why am I still a leftist? Rhetorical question.) I had two different people calling me today who INSISTED that their orders were never delivered, only to be comfronted (by me) with tracking numbers and THE NAMES OF PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN OFFICES WHO SIGNED FOR THE DELIVERIES. Jeez, communicate with the people down the hall before you call me up and waste my time!

Tonight I am DEFINITELY having a Mai Tai.

Federal agencies, some City and State offices as well as other private offices as going to be closed on Friday for the “National Day of Mourning.” I alas still have to work; there’ll be nothing to do of course, but we all still have to be here “just in case.” Ya know, it’s just like Dubya to take it upon himself to create an impromptu 3-day weekend. If he does it a few more times at strategically-timed moments, he’ll easily beat Kerry in November. Perpetually-overworked Americans are just BEGGING to be commanded to take a vacation. Subconsciously we’re all submissives waiting for Uncle Sam Dominatrix to tell us what the hell to do.

My friend Steven is among those who suddenly has Friday off. He quipped, “Well, I guess I can no longer truthfully say that Reagan never did anything for me.”

Margaret Whiting singing “Moonlight in Vermont” … at first the arrangement seems so straight, so square. But then there’s the piano, softly, in the background, and it sounds just like petals of moonlight falling on a clear mountain stream. The strings come in. And the words are all stream-of-consciousness, one image after another. No rhymes, just rhythm. So vivid and crystal clear, pure delight. You feel the people in the song without them even being mentioned.

Only I will know the significance of these words in the hours to come, days to come. The fan spinning crazily overhead, but it’s comforting. Not threatening. I can’t believe I just watched the entire hour of “60 Minutes” and their tribute to Reagan. Somehow sad and and heartrending and also filled with revulsion. He was always an old man. Old Man, even when I was a little boy and first saw on TV he was an Old Man, always an Old Man. The U.S. President as Old Man, he pioneered that concept, that portrait, and generations will attempt unsuccessfully to live up to that. “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” by Willie Nelson. Big chart hit, makes me think of Reagan. Then “Every Night” by Paul McCartney, the anti-Reagan, yet recorded when Ronnie was the governor of that great state of California. Vanilla ice cream. That great state of carmel fudge brownie sundae California. He was a smart man, but was his benign mask a coverup of some deep ignorance, willful ignorance of reality? Think of him in “King’s Row,” as the soldier who has the lower half of his body amputated, his classic line as he first wakes up after the operation and says, “Where’s the rest of me?!” Time to see that film again. George W is just … it’s like a different nightmare altogether. Grown up & evil this time, smiling but shrewd, not just in the old fashioned Hollywood way. I feel so old. I’m 28, I feel so old.

I had soft serve ice cream this afternoon. There isn’t a restaurant within a 5-block radius of the office, but we DO have an ice cream truck that’s been coming by after lunch every day. Just think of how irresistable it’ll be when it’s actually HOT.

The day off was wonderful. I got up around 6, called into work & used my raspy voice to leave a voicemail (no one picked up the phone of course), and then had a shower. Got dressed and went to Intelligentsia for coffee, cheese danish, and a bit of writing. Came back home for a bit. Went to the store and bought a huge bottle of rum for tomorrow’s party punch, and got a haircut. Back home again, surfing online too long. Then doing laundry and lunch. Then to the gym. Then a shower at home, and sitting on the couch in the wonderful afternoon sunshine reading “Impossible Vacation” by Spalding Gray. It’s a really gripping book, funny and sad, and all the more sad because of his death.

Andy came home and we had dinner (burritos) and then we watched “Play It Again, Sam.” That put us in a Bogie mood, and it was still early, so I dashed to Specialty and rented “Marked Woman.” It was great! Tough as nails. Pretty brutal too. Bette Davis’ kid sister gets pushed down a flight of stairs by a gangster and breaks her neck, and then her corpse ends up floating in the river.

Tomorrow is the b-day party! We won’t have a huge turnout (maybe 12 people) but then again, we almost never do. Not quite sure why. Our parties are always fun. A few people already had plans, which is understandable. 8.30pm it “kicks” off, big bowl of rum punch with plenty of snacks. Andy insists on cleaning the whole apartment top to bottom before then. That’s never made sense to me. I mean, the place is gonna get plenty dishelved over the course of the party anyway.

Party music selections will be important as well. One CD in the changer will be the all 1974 music CD Andy put together (he was born in ’74). I have not yet asked him what other music he wants to play. I fear that question may bring out his obsessive/compulsive side.