Prose before shows...
Oct. 7th, 2007 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taerowynI love the Harvard bookstore line-up.
In buying the tickets to my most recent event (James Watson! More on that later), I decided that book talks are to me what rock concerts are to a bunch of my friends. I like a concert every now and then, but for the most part I find I get just about as much enjoyment hearing a recording (with the exception of Cowboy Mouth when I still enjoyed them).
Instead, I'd rather spend my time and (significantly less) money on going to book talks. It's so much more satisfying and in so many more ways. The fangirl in me gets Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the comic geek gets Bruce Campbell and Michael Palin, the science geek gets Stephen Pinker and James Watson...what's not to love?
James Watson was just this past week (for non-science geeks, he's one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA...I said it was geeky). He's....a character. It was advertised as just him, but there were three people on stage (two Harvard colleagues) and it quickly became evident that they were there to control him as best the could. But, seeing as his first anecdote went from always have interesting facts available, to Jewish brains being smarter, to polygamy and Romney, to genetically defective sperm in old men, to how men should collect all "that sperm" when they're 15, to Anna Nicole Smith...let's just say the wranglers had a lot on their plate.
It was an interesting (if mind boggling) talk. He did have some great insights about education and the state of science today (and politics..."When it comes to science, the problem with Democrats is that they think the social sciences are SCIENCE" Hee!).
Next on the list will be Bill Bryson and the guy who does Post Secret.
Oh, and non-book talk, but equally as fun...guess who has tickets to see Steven Wright on Thursday? Wheeee!
In buying the tickets to my most recent event (James Watson! More on that later), I decided that book talks are to me what rock concerts are to a bunch of my friends. I like a concert every now and then, but for the most part I find I get just about as much enjoyment hearing a recording (with the exception of Cowboy Mouth when I still enjoyed them).
Instead, I'd rather spend my time and (significantly less) money on going to book talks. It's so much more satisfying and in so many more ways. The fangirl in me gets Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, the comic geek gets Bruce Campbell and Michael Palin, the science geek gets Stephen Pinker and James Watson...what's not to love?
James Watson was just this past week (for non-science geeks, he's one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA...I said it was geeky). He's....a character. It was advertised as just him, but there were three people on stage (two Harvard colleagues) and it quickly became evident that they were there to control him as best the could. But, seeing as his first anecdote went from always have interesting facts available, to Jewish brains being smarter, to polygamy and Romney, to genetically defective sperm in old men, to how men should collect all "that sperm" when they're 15, to Anna Nicole Smith...let's just say the wranglers had a lot on their plate.
It was an interesting (if mind boggling) talk. He did have some great insights about education and the state of science today (and politics..."When it comes to science, the problem with Democrats is that they think the social sciences are SCIENCE" Hee!).
Next on the list will be Bill Bryson and the guy who does Post Secret.
Oh, and non-book talk, but equally as fun...guess who has tickets to see Steven Wright on Thursday? Wheeee!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-07 04:53 pm (UTC)The book festival is in Madison next weekend, but this year's lineup isn't rocking my socks off the way last year's did.
The Watson talk sounds fun. (And hey, I guessed what Watson!)
And look whose icon I chose as the perfect one for this comment!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-07 05:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-07 05:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-07 06:06 pm (UTC)also, as long as i'm being self-centered: my mom had a tape of steven wright's i have a pony when i was in elementary school. that was pretty cool.