89-year old man returns library book after 76 years

Mark McKee kept his favorite library book for 76 years. before he finally plucked up the courage to send it back to the library. He also sent a letter along with it, in which he wrote: “My conscience took over. I was entranced by the book and kept it with my prized possessions, intending to return it forthwith.”

Mr. McKee borrowed “A Dog of Flanders” written by English author Marie Louise de la Ramee, when he was 13 years old from the public library in Mount Clemens, MI. When he sent back the book, he was convinced that he owed the library thousands of dollars in fines.

But the library director, Donald Worrell Jr., not only waived the late fee, but also sent Mr. McKee a new copy of the book stating “we figure the story is better than the money”.
This is certainly true – the story went viral after being picked up by the local media, giving the library a nice PR boost.

In case you wonder what captivated young master McKee for so many years, read on.

The story of “A Dog of Flanders” takes place in 19th century Belgium. Orphan Nello went to live with his grandfather in a small village near the city of Antwerp. One day, the boy found a dog (Patrasche) that was almost beaten to death. The two became close friends. Nello helped his grandfather selling milk with Patrasche shackled to a dogcart to get the milk into town each morning. Nello fell in love with Aloise, the daughter of a well-off man in the village. Nello entered a junior drawing contest in Antwerp in order to win first prize (200 francs annually). He lost and then his grandfather passed away. After being accused of arson, Nello went to the cathedral of Antwerp to see Rubens' The Elevation of the Cross, but he could not pay the entrance fee. On the night of Christmas Eve, he and Patrasche found the cathedral open and went in. The next morning, the boy and his dog are found frozen to death in front of the triptych.

Marketing Ms. Middleton

The Royal family, aka The Firm, has just launched its latest potential bestseller: Ms. Middleton, the future Queen. Poised Kate has the face that launched a thousand Tweets – to the delight of the blogsphere.

The engagement was a typical British affair – the couple sat stiffly together without any physical contact delivering well-scripted lines. Ms. M. showed the rock on her finger – a second hand bauble that once graced the finger of iconic Diana.

The son of the heir to the throne explained the sentiment behind it – so no, it is not due to the bad economy or lack of personals funds that he sprung for a new one. Personally, I would be freaked out by it. Katie made sure that her dress was the same color as the rock – the girl has style. Her outfit was a far cry from the ill-fitting suit that her fiancé’s mother once wore.

The reaction of her future father-in-law was hilarious. He mumbled something along the lines of “it’s about time”. Well, he was a heck of a lot older when he reluctantly dragged himself to the altar. At least Wills didn’t inherit Chuck’s mumbling speech. TV stations had to subtitle the future king’s comments – o dear! John Cleese once set next to the Prince of Wales at dinner and desperately tried to figure out if he said “we just declared war on France” or “my mother broke her leg”.

The timing of the announcement is perfect – the economy in the dumps and the country loves nothing more than a royal fairytale wedding. Obviously, Elisabeth’s subjects are too star-struck to wondering if the bill will be footed by the government out of their paid taxes.

The engagement is kicking of mass production of memorabilia, bookies will take bets on the exact date of the marriage, en the fashion world is a buzz on what the wedding dress will look like.

I advise Middleton to hire a good lawyer to help her with the prenuptial contract that will quite likely have the size of the Gutenberg Bible. After the marriages of 3 of her 4 children disintegrated, I am sure that the Queen’s lawyers will try to protect the royal assets. (I am also pretty sure that the engagement ring must be returned if the marriage crumbles; which would make it a loan - ugh).

The royal marketing machine is in full swing. The new member must be carefully branded to ensure the future of The Firm. Middleton is no dummy and has ample business experience. She patiently (craftily?) waited years to land her prince – without putting one foot wrong for all those years.

The beta-phase of the future Princess of Wales-product already started with Kate quitting her job. Once groomed, the new and royalty will be launched and (hopefully) revitalize the House of Windsor. But careful what you wish for – I predict that Kate is another Queen Mother. But then, that’s just what the Windsors need.

(Cartoon courtesy of www.cleveland.com)

Paris Which Sleeps - amazing movie!

The other night, I watched “Paris Qui Dort” (literally “Paris Which Sleeps”, also known as “At 3:25” and “The Crazy Ray”). It is a 1925 French Sci-fi comedy short directed by René Clair.

The film is about a mad doctor who uses a magic ray on citizens which causes them to freeze in strange and often embarrassing positions. People who are unaffected by the ray begin to loot Paris. It provides a wonderful insight into daily life in the 1920s: air travel (way before 9/11), restaurants, cars, apartments, etc.

The plot reminded me of “FlashForward”, a great Sci-Fi series that never made it to the 2^nd season (much to my chagrin). Funny how ideas resurface 80+ years later.....How will generations to come look at StarTrek, Babylon 5, and the like? Quirky like the Lucy Show? Or as a classic like Casablanca? Time will tell....

The Curious Case of Charlie Chaplin's Time Traveler

George Clarke, a film festival organizer in Belfast, claimed to found proof that time travel is possible. He discovered that a woman in the Charlie Chaplin movie “The Circus” (1928) seems to be talking on a cell phone.



The woman is passing in front of the camera holding her hand to the side of her face while talkin - similar to the way we talk into our cell phones. He therefore came to the conclusion that the woman is a time traveler. More sensible people came to a different conclusion: the woman is using her hearing aid (invented by Siemens in 1924).

It’s quite easy to understand why the woman cannot be a time traveler:

• If she would be a bona fide time traveler, she would not be in a Charlie Chaplin movie using a high-tech device. The idea is to remain incognito.
  
• Considering that you need cells and masts to get cell phone coverage - how was she able to get a connection? Or was she talking to the Indian helpdesk of Verizon?
  
• More intriguingly, with whom did she talk? “Hi, it’s your Mum. I am an extra in a Charlie Chaplin movie. Don’t forget to brush your teeth before going to sleep.”

Well, unless you are traveling with Doctor Who in the Tardis, you cannot talk on you cell across time (or space).

Mr. Clarke and his "theory" did create a viral storm on Internet, so at least he had his nanosecond of fame. Not bad for an unknown filmmaker....

Jane Austen was not the elegant writer we thought she was….

Jane Austin (1775-1817) is renowned for her precise, exquisite prose. She completed six novels in her lifetime, two (Northanger Abbey and Persuasion) of which were published posthumously. She is widely celebrated as a supreme stylist - a writer of perfectly polished sentences. According to Austen's brother Henry: "everything came finished from her pen."

But according to research from Oxford University English professor Kathryn Sutherland, this seems to be a myth. Professor Sutherland, an Austen authority, studied Austin’s unpublished manuscripts that gave her "a more intimate appreciation" of the author's talents.

The manuscripts reveal that Austen was an experimental and innovative writer, constantly trying new things. But the 1,100 handwritten pages of unpublished work also show that she broke most of the rules for writing good English. "In particular, the high degree of polished punctuation and epigrammatic style we see in 'Emma' and 'Persuasion' is simply not there," Sutherland said.

Letters from Austen's publisher reveal that editor William Gifford was heavily involved in editing Austen’s work.

Gifford was a poet and critic in his own right. He worked for Austen’s second publisher, John Murray. Gifford did not edit earlier books such as "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice," that are much closer to Austen's manuscript style.

Jane Austen was obviously not great at spelling or correct use of punctuation. One of her grammatical errors was the inability to master the ‘i before e’ rule and her works were littered with distant ‘veiws’ and characters who ‘recieve’ guests. She also wrote in a ‘regional accent’: ‘tomatoes’ as ‘tomatas’ and ‘arraroot’ for ‘arrowroot’.

Austen's handwritten manuscripts can be found at http://www.janeausten.ac.uk.

The reality star that snagged a book deal

Many writers are struggling to get their novel published. Especially landing a deal with one of the major publishers is not easy – unless you are a uncouth reality starlet.

“Jersey Shore” is one of the many reality shows of the “watching train wreck” variety. One of its starlets is a short, chubby, troll-like creature that goes by the nickname “Snooki”. The snookster admitted that she only read two books in her whole life: Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" and Nicholas Sparks' "Dear John."

(Don’t let the picture fool you, it’s unlikely she is really reading "The 48 Laws of Power")

This poses the question what she was at school when the teacher introduced the class to American literature. (Pity Mark Twain is not around to comment) .

Simon and Schuster's Gallery Books is going to publish her work of fiction “A Shore Thing”. Well, that’s good news for her ghost writer/editor – they have their work cut out. According to a press release, the book will revolve around “a girl looking for love on the boardwalk (one full of big hair, dark tans, and fights galore).” Yawn.

Miss Snooki is not the first reality celeb to pen a book. Lauren Conrad appeared "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach", who penned two successful novels that made it to the New York Times Best-Sellers list.

The Snook-novel will hit stores in January 2011. The intriguing question: who will buy and read it? How many bookworms watch reality shows? My prediction? It will end up heavily discounted at Costco.

O tempora! O mores!

France and the rise of the e-book

France has an interesting law that bars heavy discounting on books. The law passed in 1981, and prohibits the sale of books for less than 5% below the cover price. A publisher typically offers bookstores a profit margin of between 30% and 40%. The idea behind it is that shops will be able to compete with large chains. Booksellers now hope that it will also protect them from a new threat: the electronic book.

In the US, independent bookstores and small publishers are subjected to the market forces. The UK is the only large European economy that allows retailers to discount books freely, according to the Federation of European Publishers.

"France has long believed that a book is not just business," said lawmaker Hervé Gaymard, who has published research on France's fixed book prices. "It's a cultural identity."

But small French book businesses fear a repeat of the price war that erupted when e-books arrived in the U.S. for reading on computers, e-readers like Amazon's Kindle and, eventually, tablets like Apple's iPad. Trying to compete with e-books, big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target allowed shoppers to buy printed books at steep discounts. Prices at smaller bookstores, already struggling against big chains, were massively undercut. Publishers, meanwhile, worried that the low prices undervalued their books.

French Senator Jacques Legendre has proposed a new law that would allow publishers to set the retail price of e-books. His bill will be debated in Parliament next month. It will face criticism, since it’s difficult to determine what regulations apply to e-books. France's competition authority therefore recommends waiting two years to see how the market for e-books will evolve before implementing any laws.

E-books are fastest growing, but are still only less than 1% of the $2.2 billion book market in France (according to French Booksellers Union). Electronic readers are also not heavily promoted yet.

Hachette Livre, France's biggest publishing house, supports Mr. Legendre's proposed law - quite likely in an effort to have control of the pricing of their books and keeping a vast network of bookstores in operation is in their interest. Hachette Livre, a unit of Lagardère SCA, recently signed a deal to sell about 8,000 French books through Apple's store for e-books. Amazon doesn't yet sell French e-books.

French lawmaker Mr. Gaymard is proposing another law that would reduce the value-added tax on e-books. France currently taxes e-books at 19.6%, like most other consumer products, while printed works are taxed 5.5%. This proposal would partly offset the effects of Mr. Legendre's anti-discounting law.

Booksellers are afraid that an anti-discounting law isn't going to save them. Some independent bookstores are banding together to create their own website, 1001Libraires.com, which is scheduled to start selling printed books and e-books at the end of next month.

No matter what, France will have to face the rise of the e-book.