Dogs, Doctors, and Jews with Words

While yesterday's Report was television-based to commemorate a death, today's is a book-based birthday celebration.  My all-time favorite novelist, Michael Chabon, celebrates his 49th birthday today, so we're going to celebrate him in today's report. 

Many of you no doubt have heard me talk about him, and you've likely seen the photo of the two of us that pops-up now and then as a profile picture.  (I'm the one grinning like an idiot... Which I'm fairly certain is how I came off.)  You might even recognize him Simpson-ized, but you won't have seen him as one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People," though he was nominated, and with good reason.  (He turned the "honor" down, later saying, "To be praised for something like that is just weird. It just felt like somebody calling and saying, 'We want to put you in a magazine because the weather's so nice where you live.'")  And speaking of the weather where you live, Chabon writes some pretty great weather descriptions, captured here in fourteen skies.  If you'd rather be read to than read, though, here's Chabon reading from his most recent book, The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man.

Chabon's novels, stories, and essays are just great, though roots in genre fiction and comic books have led some (presumably jealous) critics of his work to bemoan him as too much of a nerd.  Chabon dismisses the word as "woefully imprecise" in one of his essays, but clearly embraces what it stands for, even if he doesn't necessarily bear some of the other trademarks associated with it ("physical awkwardness, high-water trousers, loserhood, emotional retardation, etc.").  But as far as descriptors are concerned, he could do worse, especially given "nerd's" literary roots.  The word, I learned from this great list of facts you may not know, was coined by Theodor Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss, in his book If I Ran the Zoo.  Actually, I was surprised by how much I learned from that list, especially given I've read two biographies and all of his books.  (Favorite: I Had Trouble In Getting To Solla Sollew.  Readership survey: What is yours?)

And, in an effort to maintain the Report's reputation for interesting articles, videos, and web-findings, while maintaining its original links to cuteness... I wonder what these canine readers would think of the Cat In the Hat...

Those of you who don't like reading but do like comic book movies can opt to celebrate a different birthday today.  Alfred Molina, who played Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2, is 59 today.  Throw him the idol, he'll throw you the whip!

That's all for this week; I'm out of the office tomorrow.  The Report will resume on Tuesday, following the Memorial Day holiday.  Enjoy the long weekend!

No doubt, as usual, I have exaggerated everything,

--Evan