Read today that Iggy Pop once fell out of a window and onto a cat. I believe everything I read online, especially if it makes me laugh-snort-laugh during my post-lunch coma. Iggy Pop fell on a cat? What sort of a stupid cat can’t tell that a noisy and heavy human is going to land on it?
I miss The Adventures Of Pete & Pete. Iggy was great as Nona’s dad.
I went in search of word of David Sedaris’s new book tour. Instead, the first review of the book I came across was one by Poornima Apte, friend of my sidebar buddy, Tilo! Poornima begins the review with David Sedaris on NPR giving her the best “driveway moment.” (You know, when you sit out in your driveway and listen to the radio until the segment ends because you just can’t bear to miss what happens next.) D and I share many such intimate driveway moments when Sedaris recounts yet another one of his Parisian tales on This American Life. Our neighbors must think we’re nuts — Sage, the Heinz 57 next door, catches sight of us and barks like we’re up to no good, grabbing the attention of the entire block with her incessant woofwoofwoofwoofwoofwoofwoofwoofwoofwoof. Oh well, we’re having our own variety of fun together.
As we talked about him at a poolside barbeque last night, our hostess asked, “Who is David Sedaris?” “You know, the guy who wrote Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day, gets along well with Ira Glass, and tells really funny personal stories on This American Life in his slight nasal lisp,” I replied. “Yeah, I know who you’re talking about!” exclaimed the hostess.
Someone else chimed in, “The New Yorker who’s gay and writes those funny books?” (Oh yes, that funny, gay New Yorker, who doesn’t know him? *eye roll*) “Well, more than gay, he’s Jewish. He’s very Jewish,” countered D, in his usual deadpan, knowing fully well Sedaris is not, in fact, Jewish. My dearest makes me giggle when I least expect it.
D and I will be at the Garden District Bookstore for the Corduroy and Denim reading and signing on Friday (6/24) night. See you there.
I don’t know if David Sedaris is a New Yorker.
I think he normally lives in Paris (or at least he
says that’s where he lives in Me Talk Pretty One Day; but you
already knew that). And he’s from Raleigh originally.
And is he Jewish? Or maybe your friend was
just making a crack at the expense of the people at
the barbecue. Like this stereotypical chain of associations:
Funny, gay == New Yorker == Jewish
Something like that.
Yes, Sedaris usually lives in Paris and no, he is not a New Yorker. One of the other people at the BBQ assumed that because he is a gay, literary type, he must be from New York. (Part of my *eye roll*)
To the best of my knowledge, however, I do believe that his family is Jewish.
Actually Sedaris is Greek. I suppose he could be greek jewish, but i dont think so.
My favorite Iggy Pop story, from memory: Iggy gets arrested for being drunk and belligerent and Iggy like in LA. His friends hear about it and come to bail him out the next morning. They wait for him in the police station. He walks out of the jail. They stare at him. Finally,
“Iggy! You’re wearing a woman’s dress!”
He draws himself to his full stature.
“I beg your pardon. This is a man’s dress.”
Yeah, Iggy! Zurich was covered in posters for an Iggy Pop Blue Balls tour. Maitri, you might enjoy Please Kill Me: An Oral History of Punk Rock—or maybe you already know it.
BTW, we’ve made a word for your money making scheme.
Cyberhypercavicunicucunctatalinkus.
Google it. :-)
“the act of jumping down internet rabbit holes, following one link to another, with overtones of procrastination”
Praise be to Jehovah, there is a term for my condition!!! Workman’s comp form, here I come!
Greek explains the name Sedaris a lot more. Listening to him as long as I have, though, he definitely comes off as Jewish. Must be the internal need to ascribe to a creed. (Remind me to elucidate some day on my theory pertaining to Indians being the lost tribe of Israel.)
“Remind me to elucidate some day on my theory pertaining to Indians being the lost tribe of Israel.”
Actually I know some mizos who beat you to it :)
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000238.html
Why go as far as the Mizos? As a kid of orthodox Hindu parents who has orthodox Jewish friends, I feel like my friends and I are long lost kin. I would love for someone to do a genetic study, but until then, all I have to go on are startling similarities between the rabbinical Cohen tradition and Hindu gothra and the word-of-mouth transfer of Talmudic/Vedic knowledge.
There are also the strong affinity for cultural and religious obligations as well as the strong desire to succeed, academically, financially and philosophically.
Of course, this can all be attributed to being two ancient cultures that have withstood the test of time and other emergent cultures and religions. Yet, I would get a kick out of it if we are indeed genetically related. It will go to show that our ancestors got around more than we give them credit for.
He’s definitely not Jewish. He’s Greek, and he splits his time between Paris and London. He is, however, very gay, and he has an endearling little lisp.
OH cool – I love the guy. He is better in person, BBC did a book of the week with him, one week obviously and it was so good. when I read the book by myself it was not half as funny…….
Enjoy……
Mites – I think he is a “New Yorker” because the NYorker publishes his pieces all the time.
OH the one on Halloween Candy was hilarious. I just chanced upon on one of my back issues recently…….
Greek or Jewish, New Yorker or not, I love the way Sedaris speaks and we’re glad to hear him “live” on Friday night. Just the simple act of purchasing batteries in Paris is so charming and awkwardly endearing when it’s with him.
I started thinking about Iggy Pop and ended with a bunch of people defending someone else’s ethnicity and place of origin. My imaginary bank account is bursting at the seams!