Fitz Picks for the Week
My recommendations for cool stuff
“So Far So Good”
In spite of Elliot being my best friend I read “So Far, So Good” and much to my surprise I loved his writing chops so much I now envy him and I can even confidently say I hate him. Who knew he was a better writer than me? Overcoming my petty jealousy, I will mutter “So Far, So Good” is an excellent read, beautifully crafted in the manner of the finest New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs authors, rivaling the wit of David Sedaris, the conceptual brilliance of Simon Rich and the sly warm humor of Jonathan Franzen. Read it and you’ll see why I’m feeling petty. I may as well start practicing law.
Here are the Amazon and Barnes & Noble links to buy this perfect holiday stocking stuffer.
The Barnes & Noble link is: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144233228?ean=9798986404998
Here Elliot lists a few of the many reasons you ought to purchase this book. “Top 5 reasons for buying "So Far, So Good-Answers To Questions I Should Have Been Asked."
5. If you want to laugh til you pee in your pants, read this book. If you don't want to laugh til you pee in your pants, take off your pants and then read this book.
4. After reading it, this book fits neatly into most Free Libraries and all Christmas stockings.
3. If you like the book, you can share the joy by purchasing another book for a friend. If you hate the book, you can spread misery by purchasing two more books for your enemies.
2. It's your chance to be one of the only people on the planet that has read books by Jack Kerouac and Elliot Glicksman!
1. And the most important reason to buy my book is that you'll be ....doing something nice for yourself!
That's right! When we do something nice for someone else, we benefit far more than the recipient of our kindness. And here’s an opportunity to feel really good about yourself by doing something nice. For me. If a book sells 5000 copies, it can be included on the New York Times Best Seller list. So if just one of you will buy 5000 copies, bingo! You will feel really good about yourself and I’ll be a NYT bestselling author.
If each of you buy one copy, you’ll still feel good about yourself, just 5000 times less good than if you’d bought 5000.
So please help me help you feel good about yourself while helping me become a New York Times Best Selling Author.
Have a wonderful holiday season and I hope you enjoy my answers to life's should have been asked questions.”
I found it a joyful read.
Sign up for Molly McCloy’s Creative Nonfiction Course (WRT 207)
If you are the least bit interested in creative nonfiction writing, as I am, this joyful course is for you! Molly, my dear friend, is an award winning Moth storyteller and Odyssey Storytelling headliner and she will be teaching this her famous course this Spring at Pima Community College's West Campus at 2202 W. Anklam Tuesday afternoons 12:45pm to 3:25pm, starting January 23 and ending May 19. (Room A102 in the Santa Rita building)
Molly will cover personal essay, memoir, and some research-based nonfiction. “Students will learn to write compelling nonfiction stories and to provide constructive feedback for classmates. We'll also be reading work by established authors and discussing their techniques.”
Molly asked me to “ Please tell anyone interested in the course to email me about the registration process, which can be a bit tricky. I can also answer any questions at mamccloy@pima.edu.”
Molly is the finest storyteller I have ever known.
I confess I love her creative genius —and her delightful partner. Here’s her bio: “Molly McCloy is a four-time Moth slam winner and Lambda Literary fellow. Her memoir Nine Grudges: The Spiteful Origins of the Happiest Dyke on Earth won first place in the 2023 Book Pipeline Unpublished contest and has been excerpted in the Blue Mesa Review and Foglifter. An excerpt told as a live story for Risk! was chosen for their "Best of" Podcast. Molly earned an MFA in Nonfiction from The New School and now teaches writing for the awesome students of Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. Reveling in the bright sunshine of a joy she once thought impossible, Molly lives with her wife Rebecca and their dog Princess Pinwheels of the Purple Mountains. Go to mollymccloy.com for story videos and published work. “
It’s a Puppet Slam! At the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre! This Friday and Saturday night, December 1st and 2nd.
Open your mind and your heart to how truly cool the art of puppetry can be! I am always blown away by the entrancing creativity. These short-form puppetry acts are intended for adult audiences. “Enjoy a variety of vignettes performed by musicians, actors, and puppeteers. Be prepared to laugh, reflect, shed a few tears, ponder the uncertainty of existence… and laugh some more!”
https://scoundrelandscamp.org/tucson-puppet-cabaret
The Tucson Puppet Cabaret is part of a global PUPPET SLAM NETWORK sponsored in part by Heather Henson's IBEX Puppetry. Puppets of all shapes, styles, and sizes will take to the stage in acts created by artists from not only our local Tucson community, but from across the United States.
For Scoundrels 16+
Showtimes: Friday, December 1, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 2, 2023 @ 7:30 pm
Location: The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre at The Historic Y
738 N 5th Avenue #131, Tucson, AZ, 85705
Runtime: Approximately 90 minutes
General Admission: $18 pre-purchase / $20 at the door
Questions? Call our Box Office at 520-448-3300 or email boxoffice@scoundrelandscamp.org.
If you haven’t subscribed to SecularAz.org do it now!
https://secularaz.org/about-secular-az/
Secular Az is one of my favorite homegrown groups working to keep us informed about the nitty gritty nuttiness Arizona faces day after day from the fringe fanatics and zealots on our school boards and in our legislature. Whether the issue is Healthcare, Reproductive Justice and Reproductive Rights, Education, Discrimination, Tax Policy,or Religious Expression Secular Az is on the front line preserving the wall between church and state which is under constant threat here in Arizona.
Jeanne Casteen, the Executive Director, knows Arizona education
“JEANNE CASTEEN has a bachelor’s degree in human communication and history from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU and a master’s in education, also from ASU. Jeanne has over 11 years of experience teaching in Maricopa County’s public schools. In 2011, Jeanne completed the Emerge Arizona program and in 2012 became a school board member of the Creighton School District. She served as Board President from 2016 through 2020. In 2020, Ms. Casteen ran for Maricopa County School Superintendent, and came within 12,000 votes of winning. She has been awarded the Arizona School Public Relations Association Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Political Contributions to Education as well as the Arizona School Board Association’s All-Arizona School Board Member Award.”
The Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show is back!
The 9th and final Annual Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show, featuring the Arroyo Cafe Players, takes to the stage of the The Rialto, next Saturday, December 9th at 12 noon. Guests include Bobby Rich, Lucinda Holliday, Priscilla Fernandez and Dave Membrila. Music by Mindy Ronstadt, The Cadillacs, Grandsons of the Pioneers, Sly “The Piano man” Slipetsky and John Booth & Friends.
Tickets are $22.50 online at Ticketmaster: bit.ly/48ViSrt
All proceeds go to Doctors without Borders.
'Creative Nonfiction' sounds a little like a 'Semi-true story', to be honest :-)
Nicely done!