Observer » Molly Fischer

Freedom on the Loose Thanks to Amazon Error

Molly Fischer — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:25:38 -0400

The Post is reporting that for a brief period yesterday, Jonathan Franzen's Freedom slipped free of its embargo and was available online in its entirety thanks to a mistake by Amazon. It is gone now, but not for long: the book will be available to non-presidential readers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, The New Yorker obliges the impatient with links to a couple excerpts, plus some Freedom-related journalism by Franzen.

Items! Snow Leopards, Memories

Molly Fischer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:20:34 -0400

Coming up in The Paris Review: Interviews with Norman Rush and Michel Houellebecq.

Slate helps you poop.

No, you cannot eat kangaroos or snow leopards.

Burnch with music sounds like too many things.

Memories of Ken Mehlman.

The Rumpus interviews Lydia Davis.

Isabella Rossellini: "Bed bugs have penises like knifes!"

James Franco's Book: 'Amazingly … Stories'

Molly Fischer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:30:08 -0400

Publishers Weekly has released their review of James Franco's forthcoming short story collection, Palo Alto. It is not a good review.

"The author fails to find anything remotely insightful to say in these 11 amazingly underwhelming stories," declares PW, adding that several stories read "like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho fell into a Catcher in the Rye remix."

We find this image confusing (fell into a remix?), but we will be charitable and assume that it is intended to underscore the collection's "overall failure." Instead, we elect to focus on a particular adverb choice: "Amazingly." Even when James Franco fails, he does so to an amazing degree.

Fashion Week Mystery Tweeter Revealed

Molly Fischer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:35:12 -0400

An anonymous tweeter writing as FashionweekNYC began attracting attention in the last few weeks with a steady stream of tweets describing Fashion Week plans. Who was this person? How did he attract 24,942 followers? And who was he working for?

Lincoln Center and IMG both denied any affiliation with the account, but Racked tracked down the man behind FashionWeekNYC: His name is Nathan Stobezki, and he is just some guy. Stobezki graduated from Camden County College last year and now bills himself as a "Fashion Tweetologist." According to Racked:

"He's a friend of a CEO of a major retailer who doesn't go to any shows and, thus, gives Nathan his invitations," our tipster says. "He's just one of those wannabe guys who talks to actual industry VIPs like they've been working together for years when, in fact, they haven't."

His online exuberance has gotten him into some scrapes before, and a previous fashion-oriented Twitter account seems not have taken off in the way FashionweekNYC did.

In retrospect perhaps there were signs that the account was not the work of a hardboiled industry insider:

Success is not the key to happiness, Happiness is the key to Success! Happy Thursday!

Whither Vice, Without American Apparel?

Molly Fischer — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:40:54 -0400

American Apparel's financial future continues to look bleak, and the retailer may be forced to cut back on its signature ads. WWD reports that in the last year already, AA's advertising, trade show and catalogue spending fell by $9.6 million, mostly in advertising. So what does this mean for the "blogs, specialty titles and alternative weeklies" where the company has typically bought space? For example:

The back cover of Vice magazine, a signature spot for the retailer and one it's held since June 2003, goes for a little more than $24,000 an issue, according to the publication's 2010 media kit.

This could be the end of a beautiful relationship of symbiotic skeeze. How will we know that Vice is transgressive if there isn't a crotch on the back?

Items! Bad Speakers, Cold Days

Molly Fischer — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:59:16 -0400

Amazon says the new Kindle sold big, but continues to avoid actual numbers.

NPR has a Franzen excerpt.

Novelist Rosecrans Baldwin likes crappy speakers.

Reviewing the city's many Shake Shacks.

West Village signage: "PLEASE call...(212) 564-7453...Christine Quinn's Office, West Village District, if you have had or are having any community problems with Marc Jacobs business re traffic/employees, et cetera. *They will listen!"

Bob Dylan rarities, coming this fall.

A cold day brings news of another heat death.

Lady Gaga loves her drag alter ego.

Food stylists get messy.

Keith Richards and Jay-Z visit the library.

Did New Royalty Rates End the Random House-Wylie Standoff?

Molly Fischer — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:48:50 -0400

What brought about yesterday's resolution to the Random House-Wylie standoff, and was Wylie really the loser that he appeared to be? Publishers Weekly hears that Random House has been maneuvering behind the scenes to appease agents:

One high-placed source with direct knowledge of the rights talks said the house has quietly been offering agents a better deal on backlist e-book rights for a brief period now.

The source said Random is offering a royalty built around a sliding schedule on e-book rights for backlist titles that can approach 40% "rather quickly." The source explained that the royalty is based on a certain number of books selling over a specified period of time and, depending on what's negotiated, the rate will rise based on the rate of sale.

Regardless, the question remains of what Wylie hoped to accomplish with the original gambit: Did he seriously intend to become an e-book publisher? Sara Weinman at DailyFinance thinks not. "The origins of Odyssey Editions seemed scatter-shot and unfocused at best," she writes.

Maybe he just wanted to keep publishing people on their toes in the slow summer months.

American Apparel: Maybe Bulk Back-to-School Spandex Will Solve All the Problems

Molly Fischer — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:02:27 -0400

The financially woebegone retailer puts on a brave face: "Shop our Back to School packs!" they tweeted today.

So, if you have a hankering for three Cotton Spandex Jersey Strapless Ruched Bodysuits—maybe you should get on that, before American Apparel is totally hosed.

Mario Batali Asks Times Readers to Imagine Him Having Sex

Molly Fischer — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:13:39 -0400

Today Frank Bruni returns briefly to the restaurant beat with a profile of chef Michael White, whose new restaurant—Osteria Morini—will be opening this fall. White was a real live wire, Bruni writes:

He was caroming from one bold proclamation to the next: If his surname were Italian, the city's food establishment would have rallied around him sooner! He spent twice the time in Italy that Mario Batali did, and never takes the liberties with Italian cuisine that Andrew Carmellini does at Locanda Verde! Neither of them has quite his combination of knowledge, authenticity and commitment!

"I eat, sleep, live and die Italian food," said Mr. White.

This could sound like a prelude to BEEF. But Batali, when Bruni contacts him, makes like it's no big deal:

Mr. Batali, in an e-mail that mixed full words with abbreviations, wrote, "He definitely spent more time in Italy than I did, he married a real Italian and probably makes love like an Italian too, defo better than me."

Aw. But... ew.

James Franco to Pursue Surgical Career Next, Maybe

Molly Fischer — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:43:02 -0400

James Franco's masochistic interests are not limited to endless graduate studies: James Franco is also interested extracurricular amateur amputations.

In Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, Franco plays Aron Ralston, a climber forced to saw off his own arm after it got trapped under a rock. If this new trailer is to be trusted, the reason Ralston's arm got trapped under a rock is that he lived a life of freewheeling experimentation, pushing the limits of human endurance, flush with the hubris of youth. Perhaps it is a story that will teach us lessons!

DO NOT FLY TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN JAMES FRANCO.