SQUIDLICIOUS
Calamari is popular in many Asian and Italian dishes. In Italian/American culture, calamari is considered a rite of passage; when you finally enjoy it, you’re no longer a child, but on your way to having adult tastes. While many people have no problem eating squid when it is cut into rings and deep fried and drowned in marinara or hot sauce, those who are too timid to sample the mini tentacle clusters are missing the true flavor and auraof calamari.
In my debut novel, DON OF THE DEAD (2009 Coscom Entertainment), there are several dinner scenes, which is befitting of a gangster tale. Pasta is served at every meal, and calamari is too, sometimes to an absurd degree. One of the older mobsters is even nick-named Carl “The Calamari.” He eats calamari with every meal. He has been known to toss some rings onto his corn flakes, or stuff some fried tentacles into his roast beef hero. Rumor has it a dish of the prized seafood was placed between Carl and his wife on their wedding night. In the novel, side characters are seen eating calamari, and its presence in the background—I believe—helped to give much of the proceedings a genuine Eye-Talian feel.
As a kid, I was almost afraid to look at someone eating squid. It grossed me out. But when I entered my early teens, my grandfather told me one Sunday afternoon at the dinner table to “knock it off” and try a piece. I’ve been hooked ever since. And so are the characters in DON OF THE DEAD. Calamari is their treat. It’s the little side dish and neighbor to the main meal that keeps them focused, that helps them to feel everything is right with the world.
And in the New York underground, that’s an important state of mind to be in.
Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Nick!
You can find Nick and his books here:
My previous post about The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction noted that it is in beta-text mode and so quite obviously incomplete. Among the lacks are entries on either Jeff or Ann VanderMeer. I am not a contributor to the encyclopedia nor am I in any way affiliated with it, but I do have a great interest in all things VanderMeer.
Earlier this year, I wrote a biography of Jeff for Fogcon, where he and Ann were honored guests. (Eric Schaller wrote the biography of Ann, which I hope he will allow me to reprint here, but he's not returning my calls or email at the moment, probably because I suggested that for Halloween he should dress his dog as a character from Twilight.)
I hope the information provided below will prove useful to the encyclopedists and any future scholars. My only goal in life is to be helpful. Jeff VanderMeer will, I expect, deny the accuracy of some of it, but I believe such denials only confirm the truths I am here able to provide to the world...
THE HOEGBOTTON GUIDE TO THE (MOSTLY EARLY) HISTORY OF JEFF VANDERMEER
compiled from notes found in the files of Orem Hoegbotton, including scrawls attributed to Duncan Shriek
edited and embellished by Matthew Cheney
At the tail end of America's revolutionary years, Jeff VanderMeer was born in Bellfonte, Pennsylvania, the county seat of Centre County and part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. His birth seems to have caused some consternation at high levels of the U.S. government, but all the files have been classified until 2068; we do know, though, that his parents soon joined the Peace Corps and brought the child with them to the Fiji Islands. After their work there was completed, they returned to the U.S. via a circuitous route that allowed the impressionable young man to encounter Asia, Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and Long Island — experiences that would deeply influence his later fiction.
By late adolescence, VanderMeer was living in Florida, primarily on a houseboat off the coast of St. Petersburg, the fourth-largest city in the state and the second largest city in the Tampa Bay area. VanderMeer's actual activities during this time are unknown, though he has variously claimed that he was working as a merchant of dried squid, an icthyologist, and a decoy for the Witness Protection Program. Whatever he was doing, we know that he was writing, because it wasn't long before his first book, a monograph on herpetology titled The Book of Frog, was
This week's challenge word is:
Cephalopod
A cephalopod could be a squid, cuttlefish, octopus, or nautilus. Have fun with it!
Joan Frye Williams and I did 2-1/2 hours on the changes in the library world this morning at the Buena Vista Branch of the Burbank Public Library. We had some terrific discussion, especially when a trustee from one of the area public libraries challenged us about dumbing down libraries.
After Joan and I wrapped up, six local librarians talked about some initiatives their institutions were taking.
Erin Pawlus of the Burbank Public Library talked about the very entertaining blog she and some of her colleagues have done. She also included some principles her team put together for what and why they would blog.
Terri Maguire from the County of Los Angeles Public Library discussed a consultancy Paco Underhill (author of Why We Buy and The Call of the Mall) is doing for the library. Watch for the results of this work to be published: it could be incendiary. One key finding: only 9% of library users ever use the OPAC there.
David Campbell from Palos Verde Library District talked about a staff training opportunity the library had launched. Everyone who completes the training gets an MP3 player and is entered into a drawing for a digital camera, an iPod or a Wii. The training consists of 10 exercises, including starting a blog, posting a photo album to Flickr, and create an RSS feed.
Nanette Schneir of the Santa Monica Public Library demonstrated the Vocera communication system her library uses. It is extremely cool---it allows staff to range throughout the building while still being able to handle reference calls or back up the desk.
Karen Schatz described the new Help Desk that replaced the old reference desk at the Oxnard Public Library. It's staffed by trained (but not-MLS) employees, it's placed in a very visible, highly strategic location, and it allows the reference librarians to provide more quality and quantity time with customers who really need help.
Finally, Danis Kreimeier and John Legree (whom Danis referred to as her library's "IT Bad Boy") talked about some of the outstanding innovations they have added to the Yorba Linda Public Library web site. The "Book Feed" is includes a constantly updated list of the books that have been returned to the library, the list of the Top 10 requested items in the collection, and a real time list of materials on order, for example. They also have a section where teens can review books, and a dynamic reader's advisory system.
So I learned a heck of a lot more than I taught today. A fine finish to my too brief visit to Southern California. (Photos of San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point coming as soon as I can dump my photos to the album.)
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these are SWEET!
Yes, all are wonderful!
Nice squid series... very funny expressions!