A few weeks back I said that I would be talking about Canada Reads 2009 in my Sunday Salon posts. And I fully intend to, except this week I am taking a break for a few reasons: A) I am not finished reading the book I had planned to talk about because B) the sinus infection from Hell has descended upon my cranium and C) I feel like my head is a balloon that some sadistic clown is trying to twist into an absurd Cthulhian creature.
As I was updating a spreadsheet my hubs uses to keep track of his Star Wars books, I was getting really annoyed by the excessively long titles. But then I got to wondering what was the world’s longest title for a book and my Google searching led me to find this book by Nigel Tomm which contains 670 words. And even with all those words I still have no idea what it’s about :/
Here is a pic of the book cover, and below is the entire title.
“Selected Works of Nigel Tomm (2006/2007) (Shakespeare's Sonnets Remixed 2006 / Shakespeare's Hamlet Remixed 2007 / Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Remixed 2007 / Including Previously Unpublished Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender Remix 2007) Nigel Tomm is The Winner of The Anonymous Writers Club Award 2006 for The Best Anonymous Writer / Deconstructed Poetry Award 2006 for Innovations and Teamwork in Poetry / Decadence Prize 2007 for The Lifestyle / Flashy Rococo Coco Award 2006 for Flashy Thoughts / Baby Boomers Award 2006 for The Best Marketing / Anonymous Artists Prize 2007 for The Best Anonymous Artist / Life Academy Award 2006 for Ignorance of Some Aspects of Life / Graphomania Award 2007 for Writing / Formal English Institute Award 2006 for English Grammar Improvements / House of Original Remixes Award 2006 for Creativity / WordKillers Award 2006 for Killing Some Words Sometimes in Some Books / iStyle Award 2006 for Being Unnamed Style Icon / Librarians Under Sixty Award 2007 for Staying Young / Comedy Association Award 2007 for The Best Drama / Happy Dramatists Award 2006 for The Realest Reality Show / New Forms Award 2006 for Rediscovering Something Old / Best of The Best Award 2007 for Being The Best of The Bests / Alaska Lifetime Achievement Prize 2006 for Bringing The Sun to Canada / Flaming Unisex Award 2007 for Coming to Flaming Unisex Awards / Random Books Award 2006 for Random Words Which Sometimes Sell / Happy Housekeepers Award 2007 for Being an Example to Follow / Wild Foresters Award 2006 for Saving Trees from Book Lovers / Writing Bodybuilders Award 2007 for Keeping Nice Forms / Life Coaching Without Words Award 2006 for Bringing New Life to Some Words / Writing for Writing Foundation Award 2007 for Rewriting Some Writings / Speaking Parrots Award 2007 for Some Fresh Phrases / CopyPasters Award 2007 for Recopying Shakespeare / Silent People Award 2006 for Talking about Silence / Strange Books Award 2006 for The Best Back Cover Text / I Don't Care Award 2006 for Something We All Don't Care / Happy Clowns Award 2006 for The Biggest Sad Smile / Nonexistence Award 2007 for Trying to Believe in Existence / MTV eBooks Award 2007 for The Best Male Reader / Bicycle Fans Award 2006 for not Writing About Bicycles / Cool Firemen Award 2006 for New Flames in Literature / Penguin Lovers Prize 2007 for Being Vegetarian / Green Grass Award 2006 for Frustrated Ecology in Hamlet Remixed / Vintage Love Award 2006 for Writing About Old School Love / New Letters Award 2006 for Some Useless Innovations / Retired Encyclopedists Award 2007 for Universality in Rewriting / Nice Web Developers Award 2007 for Fresh Look / Space Lovers Award 2006 for Exploration of Literary Cosmos / Monotony Award 2006 for The Best Performance / Homemade Video Award 2007 for The Best Home Interior / Illusory Zoo Committee Prize 2007 for The Best Animal Character / Degenerated Politicians Award 2006 for Belief in Moral Norms / F***ing Teenagers Award 2007 for The Best Kiss / Tomorrow Morning's Fragrances Association Award 2006 for Smelling Words / London Punks Foundation Award 2007 for Ultra Cool Book with Hip Ending / Pessimistic Bankers Prize 2007 for Fresh Ideas on Pessimism / Soft-Hardcore Erotica Award 2006 for Remixed Feelings / Slow Talking Runners Award 2007 for Some Sweet Chats about Nothing / Honest Jet-Setters Prize 2006 for Being Honest to Honest People / Good Looking Pop Stars Award 2006 for The Best Interview Act / Disorientated Literary Agents Award 2006 for Trusting Nobody / Archaic Victorian Baroque Award 2007 for Crossing Borders Between Borders / Multicultural Context Prize 2006 for Multiculturalism in Books / Two Happy People Award 2007 for Mixed Palette of Happiness / Fragile Machines Prize 2007 for The Best Text on Robotic Psychology / Passionate Red Cherries Award 2006 for Dynamic Use of The Word 'Cool' / Late 1950s Award 2007 for Neutrality on Some Remixed Questions / Classical Counterculture Award 2006 for Development of Remix Cult”
Surely everyone must have seen those giant coffee table books filled with photos. Some people actually do keep them lying around on their living room tables and shelves, I’ve seen a lot of homes sporting books featuring landscapes, favorite animals, those god-awful Geddes babies, motorcycles/cars and numerous other things. Well, I have to admit that I have a few of these myself – although my particular photo delight is kind of strange – I love pictorials featuring barns, abandoned buildings and outhouses! Yup I love photos of unusual outdoor toilets. What thrills me to no end is that some of the most beautiful shithouse photos are taken by a local photographer named Sherman Hines. (He does take many other types of photos too) There is even a Museum named after the man. In Liverpool, Nova Scotia you can visit the Sherman Hines Museum of Photography where you can see lots of exhibits about the history of photography and also many different collections.
My skills with a camera are pretty pathetic and I know I’ll never have a book of my own photos – unless it’s a people with their heads half missing themed book – but regardless of that fact I still like to take pics of any interesting structures we happen upon. Here are two that I took in September that I really quite like.
Onto more strangeness, I thought I would share some of the weird things I’ve learned about authors. I’m a complete freak for trivia and useless facts, my head is filled with this stuff.
William S. Burroughs author of Naked Lunch, shot and killed his wife during a party. Not intending to harm her, he was merely trying to shoot a glass that was sitting on top of her head, as part of a drunken party game.
Famous writer Graham Greene faced a possible prison sentence after being sued by Shirley Temple in 1937. Apparently she wasn’t too happy about a film review he did, in which he wrote: "Her admirers - middle-aged men and clergymen - respond to her dubious coquetry, to the sight of her well-shaped and desirable little body, packed with enormous vitality, only because the safety curtain of story and dialogue drops between their intelligence and their desire." Not that I’m a prude or anything, but I have to agree. I wouldn’t doubt that there are still lots of dirty old men collecting her movies. Seriously I have issues with parents who deck their kids up like prosti-tots and parade them around beauty shows. (Hope I don’t get any calls from lawyers … meh)
“I’ve had 18 straight whiskies - I think that's a record.” Dylan Thomas 1914 – 1953
"Lord help my poor soul." Edgar Allan Poe 1809 – 1849
“Kill me, or else you are a murderer!” Franz Kafka 1883 – 1924
"And now what?" This one is from Kafka’s Metamorphosis but it’s my favorite.
I’d definitely recommend checking out John Greens site for more info on Famous Last Words. After reading his book Looking For Alaska I became kind of addicted to the subject of last words. And everyone has probably seen this video, but it’s awesome – so if you’ve been hiding under a rock here is John Greens 50 Famous Last Words in 4 Minutes.
So there you are, a whole plethora of chaotically random stuff. Anybody else have any weird habits when it comes to books or facts? Or am I alone in being strange?
Oh one last thing … it’s more trivia. Who knows what famous author choked to death on a household item? Gold star if you can also tell me what it was this writer shouldn’t have put into their mouth.
And no it wasn’t a cat!
UPDATE: Amy from My Friend Amy answered this bit of author trivia correctly. Tennessee Williams choked to death on the cover of an eyedropper bottle. He normally held the cover between his teeth while tilting his head back to insert drops into his eyes. Authorities suspect the use of drugs and/or alcohol may have caused his gag reflex to be defective.
Ha! So much great randomness in one post. I'm positively in heaven! I haven't read a thing by John Green, and I have indeed been living under a rock, so I'll be watching that vid shortly.
I love trivia, but I don't know the answer to your question. Hmm...can't wait to see the answer, though. I don't have any quirks about books (aside from collecting Harry Potter books in other languages, I guess), but I do enjoy my fair share of randomness. :)
Joanne, this was an entertaining post. I'm not sure that it relates specifically to books or authors, but in general, the weirdest facts and information seem to stay in my memory FOREVER.
Ha ha... Yeah, I am totally with you on the Sherman Hines thing. I have his autograph! (It was a gift, not really something I went looking for, but still cool!) I haven't made it to the museum yet. Everytime I have been in Liverpool, it has been closed. Maybe this summer.
And, that picture, is that the Fort in Windsor?
As to John Green, I just finished Looking for Alaska yesterday! It was a good book!
670 words? that's enough to keep me from reading the book!! If you can imagine, when hubby and I lived in small town Texas before moving to Dallas, one of our neighbors had an outhouse in their front yard. They didn't use it, but it was rather funny--and very stereotypical of a small rural town.
Ha, I love the balloon Cthulhu! Evidently, I've been under a rock, since I was oblivious to the existence of the John Green video. However, I've already watched it twice.
And we had an outhouse when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence.
I was thoroughly entertained by this post! Get random anytime! I love the outhouse books...my mom likes to lovingly describe the one she had growing up.
yes, great post and I thought for sure that I would be one of those people you could accuse of living under a rock. But I had seen the last words video! I must be cool.
30/yo who enjoys reading (perhaps too much), I've usually got at least 5 books going at anytime. I've just completed taking some English and Sociology University upgrading courses, and I am in the process of obtaining a Library and Research Tech certificate.
I read constantly and I have been known to read instruction manuals, cereal boxes and the YellowPages if I am without a book.
So there you are, a whole plethora of chaotically random stuff. Anybody else have any weird habits when it comes to books or facts? Or am I alone in being strange?
20 comments:
Can't wait to see what the answer is to the question of a choking author!
I became obsessed with last words too after Looking for Alaska...Huxley's cracks me up.
And look at that!!! A balloon Cthulu! How cool is that??
Ha! So much great randomness in one post. I'm positively in heaven! I haven't read a thing by John Green, and I have indeed been living under a rock, so I'll be watching that vid shortly.
I hope you feel better soon, Joanne! The sinus infection sounds bad, but I have to say I love the Cthulhian balloon :D
Eek, I didn't know that about Burroughs. His poor wife :( And I'm with you (and Greene) on temple...I have no doubt that happens.
I have no idea about that last question, but I sure am curious now :P
*Temple (I need to learn to proofread)
I think my cat really does put horrible things in my mouth when I sleep.
I love trivia, but I don't know the answer to your question. Hmm...can't wait to see the answer, though. I don't have any quirks about books (aside from collecting Harry Potter books in other languages, I guess), but I do enjoy my fair share of randomness. :)
Fantastic post! Randomness rules.
Joanne, this was an entertaining post. I'm not sure that it relates specifically to books or authors, but in general, the weirdest facts and information seem to stay in my memory FOREVER.
Um, Tennessee Williams? He choked on a cap to something as I recall.
Great post...full of such fascinating things!
The Huxley last-words seem very characteristic of him. :) Gotta love that man....
Ha ha... Yeah, I am totally with you on the Sherman Hines thing. I have his autograph! (It was a gift, not really something I went looking for, but still cool!) I haven't made it to the museum yet. Everytime I have been in Liverpool, it has been closed. Maybe this summer.
And, that picture, is that the Fort in Windsor?
As to John Green, I just finished Looking for Alaska yesterday! It was a good book!
670 words? that's enough to keep me from reading the book!! If you can imagine, when hubby and I lived in small town Texas before moving to Dallas, one of our neighbors had an outhouse in their front yard. They didn't use it, but it was rather funny--and very stereotypical of a small rural town.
Ha, I love the balloon Cthulhu! Evidently, I've been under a rock, since I was oblivious to the existence of the John Green video. However, I've already watched it twice.
And we had an outhouse when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence.
Love the outhouses books - who knew there were such books? I certainly didn't. Fun post!
I was thoroughly entertained by this post! Get random anytime!
I love the outhouse books...my mom likes to lovingly describe the one she had growing up.
Tennessee Williams...I thought he choked on a nasal spray cap. Oh well. Same sad outcome...
yes, great post and I thought for sure that I would be one of those people you could accuse of living under a rock. But I had seen the last words video! I must be cool.
a balloon Cthulhian creature, very cool!
I hope your sinus infection is better.
fun post :o)
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
That was fun! I must have been hiding under a rock because until now I never saw that 50 last words video! Thanks!
Kristina
LOLOL! Love that top right photo. I've had those kind of days. ;)
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