Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog: The Book…

When I was younger, I scoured the school’s Scholastic Book Club to pick up the latest Unofficial Guides on The Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I hoped to learn more about the characters I loved, but I was just shelling out (my parent’s) hard-earned money for gems of information such as “Michelangelo likes pizza.” (Spoiler alert: All the Ninja Turtles enjoy ’za.) So when I saw a printed compendium to Joss Whedon’s three-part Internet musical, I was cautious, to say the least. Thankfully, our Lord and Savior, Joss Whedon, doesn’t let his followers down. Instead of recycled information and bad screenshots, this is 160 heavy-stock pages of cast and crew comments, a full script, and a complete set of sheet music. It’s a little more expensive ($12 on Amazon) than the $1.25 books I bought in middle school, but the sheet music alone is worth the price—if you can play an instrument. The book still recalls the days of downloading X-Files scripts at 14.4 kbps, but the quality, content and humor matches the source material perfectly. Consider it another way for hardcore fans to support this 2008 grassroots entertainment production that far surpassed anything from Hollywood that year.

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When I Grow Up…

Some may be surprised to hear that the same man who’s famous for song parodies has written a children’s book—and not just because they’re shocked that kids still read. Though if you think about it, who better to speak to children than someone who has made a career out of not taking life too seriously? The story, which unlike many children’s books has more than 20 words in it, follows young Billy as he explains to his class what he wants to be when he grows up. In a singsong rhythm, Billy’s job prospects forego the typical Sesame Street occupations for more creative endeavors such as a giraffe milker, professional pickle inspector, and a part-time assistant tarantula shaver—all humorously illustrated by Wes Hargis. Parents can read it to their little ones and use it as a jumping-off point to spark their imagination of their own future, or, who knows, maybe it will inspire the parents to finally figure out what they want to be when they grow up. After all, in Weird Al’s cult classic UHF, he worked at a lumber yard, mini-golf course, fish market, and Big Edna’s Burger World before finding a career at UHF Channel 62.

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Imperial Bedrooms…

Jaws 2, Return to Oz and Friday the 13th Part X. Sequels equal trouble and, unfortunately, this follow-up to Less Than Zero (the novel, not the film) is no exception. The characters who defined a generation fueled by drugs and sex and devoid of emotions and morals are back, but they lack the punch that they carried 25 years ago. The protagonist, Clay, now a Hollywood writer, once again returns to Los Angeles and the friends and lovers that he’s tried to leave behind. Where Less Than Zero shocked readers with a cavalier attitude toward horrible violence and sexual assault, Ellis’ sequel creates an apathetic behavior using text messages and a whodunit mystery surrounding prostitute/pimp Julian’s murder. Though Clay wanders through a life of casual sex and impending danger, we can’t help but feel our own apathy rise. Is it the author’s intention to show how desensitized we’ve become by presenting us with a horrific scenario over which we feel no gut-wrenching disgust? Or has he simply missed his mark in an attempt to fulfill a nostalgic return to the book that made him famous? There’s enough synchronization with the first installment to keep Ellis fans interested, but newcomers should just pick up Zero from the used bookstore and enjoy the original wasteland.

A Rough Ride to Redemption: The Ben Daniels Story…

The Wild West was forged by madmen and dreamers stretching through the country in search of adventurous new lives. Dead-ending at the West Coast, the crazy began to pile up, so it’s no surprise that the frontier times of the largely forgotten lawman Ben Daniels mirror and captivate our current culture. DeArment and DeMattos do a wonderful job of pulling Daniels out of obscurity using letters, newspaper articles and government documents and placing him in the wildest parts of the West: Dodge City and Lamar, Kan., and Arizona, back when they were considered the true frontier. An early life of horse thievery and accusations of murder haunted Daniels, driving him to seek penance as a sheriff, a U.S. Marshall and a Rough Rider. Of particular interest is Daniels’ ongoing personal and political relationship with President Theodore Roosevelt, under whom he served during the Spanish-American War. Telegrams and letters between the parties reveal a Code of the West and an “I’ll scratch your back” Capitol Hill atmosphere that would seem right at home on CNN or Fox News. In the authors’ hands, Daniels is an honest man with a dark past who sheds light on the right and wrong of not just his time, but also our own.

Save the Deli…

After reading this book, piled with analysis on the decline of the fatty, carb-filled joys of Jewish cuisine, you’ll want to step on the treadmill. Surprisingly, the author doesn’t tote the health concerns as the driving force behind the disappearance of Jewish delis throughout the world. David Sax’s explanation is one rooted in history and culture that places as much blame on the Jewish community as it does on the Holocaust for corned beef’s position on the endangered foods list. The Jews’ forced and voluntary need to assimilate into other cultures and a lack of interest in tradition from the community’s younger members all put nails in the gefilte fish coffin. While touring the U.S., Canada and Europe, Sax is brutally honest in his reactions to the Jewish food he encounters—dripping praise of a crisp knish dissolves into a diatribe against a mushy matzo ball. There is plenty of kvetching to go around, but Sax’s optimism and passion give the reader plenty to hope for—and drool over.

99 Drams of Whiskey…

Though she sets out to find the “perfect shot,” Kate Hopkins is more effective at railing against the whiskey snobs of the world. A travel diary and history lesson drenched in whiskey, the book, with a subtitle of The Accidental Hedonist’s Quest for the Perfect Shot and the History of the Drink, unconditionally succeeds at making the spirit approachable. Tasting notes and humorous storytelling make it all but impossible not to want to follow her down the list of the world’s whiskies. Unfortunately, with surprising frequency, it appears both the writer and editors had enjoyed a few drams of usquebaugh before tackling the manuscript. No fewer than a dozen painfully obvious grammatical errors are present (interestingly enough, more so toward the end of the book). Hopkins’ research into the history of the drink seems solid, but her approach is often half-assed. On her tour of Scotland, she doesn’t visit the distinct Islay region, opting instead to buy an “Islay Gift Pack.” Her excuse? She didn’t have time. Like a bartender with a bowl of salty peanuts, Hopkins succeeds in making you thirsty and providing the means to satisfy your craving. And that’s something we can all drink to.

War of Words…

Let’s take a break from the media’s boo-hooing about their imminent death (thanks for reading, send money) to explore the birth of one of America’s most prominent newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle. Although, even in this Gold Rush story of sex, scandal, and ultimately the murder of the Chronicle’s co-founder, Charles de Young, we can’t escape the present predicament. In de Young’s efforts to turn a $20 investment into one of the most powerful papers in California, you can’t help but notice that his success was based on everything current publications have abandoned. The city had multiple newspapers with dissenting voices waging wars on public figures and each other with vigor. Objective journalism was pushed aside to make room for gunfights with argumentative readers and disgruntled subjects of scandalous stories. And it all made for damn good headlines. Without implying editors should start packing heat, we can learn something from de Young’s page in history. The founding editor may be in the grave and the Chronicle one foot behind him, but at least de Young went down fighting.

Share and Share Alike

Children learn to cover their mouths when they cough, to not disrupt others by talking during movies, and to share their toys with other boys and girls. But somewhere along the line, we all lose the interest in sharing. According to two Berkeley attorneys, if Americans shared more of their material goods and time with each other, we could all make a significant dent in the economic and environmental problems facing our households and the world.

“There are so many things that each of us have and use that could be shared,” said Emily Doskow, the coauthor with Janelle Orsi of the forthcoming book The Sharing Solution. In their book, which comes out in June, the authors provide a how-to approach to forming sharing arrangements. These arrangements can help people organize a small or large group to share material goods, responsibilities, or basic needs.

The book addresses what someone should consider before entering into such agreements, the legal logistics, and how to ensure that everyone gets the most out of sharing. Small material items, such as rakes or even suits, may require less legal paperwork than cohabitation or forming a neighborhood babysitting co-op, but both situations can be beneficial on multiple levels, Doskow believes.

“The way that our society is using resources is not going to work out in the long haul,” Doskow said. “The amount of stuff we consume is not workable. So any solution, whether it’s recycling, reusing, or sharing, makes a dent and produces a positive good.” The authors believe that sharing can address the so-called triple bottom line by reaping financial, environmental, and personal and social benefits. Orsi sees these goals as a great place to start for people who know they want to share but don’t know how to begin.

Say two neighbors both need a new lawnmower. If they were to pool their money and buy one communal lawnmower to share, they could hit all three of the bullet points. Each neighbor would save 50 percent on the cost of the mower, the manufacturer would use half the resources and energy it would have taken to build two machines, and the neighbors become closer, strengthening a community bond.

“People can just start to look at what their needs are,” Orsi said. “If their goals are to save money, then they can look at what’s costing them the most money in their lives. If their goal is to live sustainably, they can look at their carbon footprint. Or maybe they’re just looking to meet more people or have a sense of community.”

Orsi, who shares office space with Doskow and four other lawyers, goes one step further and envisions sharing as a means of meeting people’s basic needs. “In my ideal world, the world’s resources would be distributed so much differently,” she said. “Many of people’s material needs aren’t being met. We have so many resources; the way they’re distributed is inefficient and causes a lot of suffering in the world. A car sits in a parking lot all day while you’re at work, or a vacuum cleaner is used only once a month. We have all these resources sitting there and people’s needs just are not being met.”

So what keeps us from sharing? When did we lose the ability to share a cookie? A lot of it probably has to do with fear. “Worrying about people encroaching too much on your personal boundaries deters a lot of us from wanting to do more things cooperatively,” Orsi said. The Sharing Solution doesn’t spend an extensive amount of time on personal space and conflict resolution because the authors focus on building strong communication skills and developing a clear understanding of any potential disagreements. These preventative measures, they say, open the doors to a more trusting and honest relationship.

“The more we share, the more we trust each other, and society will become a safer place,” Orsi said. “If we have people coming in and out of our garage to borrow a barbecue, we’re going to be surrounded by people we can trust. People in neighborhoods will be that much more connected to each other, and it makes the world a much safer, gentler, and more humane place to live.”

To a die-hard American capitalist taught to covet promotions, wealth, and material goods, the word “socialism” may come to mind. However, sharing is the basis for many of America’s biggest capitalist endeavors. Every year we pay state and federal taxes for the maintenance of our highways. Water, electricity, and gas are all public utilities that we as a society jointly pay for each month. Monopoly, the unabashed cheerleader of capitalism, didn’t forget to put in squares for Water Works and Income Tax, after all. Still, there’s something deeply ingrained in our society that causes us hesitation when it comes to communal endeavors. “Our culture itself is so structured for people to be insular,” Doskow said. “We’re not necessarily isolated because often we’re insular with other people.”

The book will be full of worksheets, sample agreements, and resources for people who want to become better sharers, and for those who never forgot their playground lessons. What readers won’t find is preaching about how to save the planet and lighten your household budget at the expense of gas-guzzling Hummers and imported Italian handbags.

“When I talk about The Sharing Solution, the vast majority of people are excited,” Doskow said. “But I come across people who say ‘Absolutely not! I couldn’t possibly share my stuff. I don’t want to have to communicate with a neighbor when I want to use my own grill.’ My response is ‘Fair enough, not everyone has to share.’” The attorneys stress to do what works for you. Doskow, who shares baseball season tickets and is part of a neighborhood work group that pools resources to enable basic home repairs, understands that people have limits.

“Nobody can touch my Easter candy,” she said.

The Templars: The Secret History Revealed…

If you’ve decided to extend your knowledge of the history of the Templar Knights beyond their representation in Indiana Jones’ adventures with the Holy Grail, then you’ve chosen wisely. Author Barbara Frale does more than give a comprehensive look at this religious order; she also provides the final piece to the historical puzzle. As a Vatican Secret Archives historian, Frale discovered the missing Chinon Parchment, which details the trial of the Templar leaders that leads to their downfall. For those well-versed in medieval history, this essential nail in the coffin will be exciting. For the rest of us, the meat of the book will prove far more interesting. Frale’s examination of an order created to protect occupying Christian forces in Jerusalem reveals a unique group of religious figures. Known for their discipline, religious devotion and excellence on the battlefield, the Templars came to be one of the strongest political, social and economic forces in the world. Without dwelling on the myths and legends, Frale is still able to weave a tale of a secret society that would make Henry Jones proud.

Butting up Against the Porn Industry…

Businessmen lined the entrance to the Adult Entertainment Expo, eagerly anticipating a glimpse of the porn stars wandering to and fro. Their joy, a perverted hybrid of Hollywood red carpet and fifth-grade boys impatiently waiting for Susie to swing above them across the monkey bars, beamed from their eyes. While these gawkers — mostly attendees of the neighboring Consumer Electronics Show — milled about outside, Adult Expo insiders nonchalantly entered a world of pornographic proportions. Waiting for autographs from women they last saw in Bound or Accidental Hookers, fans snaked past men and women in cages, displays of dildos, loads of lube, and countless LCD screens in continual XXX loops. Against this backdrop, the Berkeley book publisher Amorata Press stuck out like clever dialogue in a porn film. No booth babes or freakishly large body parts filled its 100-square-foot plot on the convention floor. While this first-time exhibitor of how-to sex manuals might seem risqué if encountered in a Barnes & Noble bookstore, here it was a quiet relief from an over-stimulating industry.

Acting as a breath of fresh air to an often-excessive industry wasn’t the original goal of Amorata Press. When Ulysses Press published its first sex-themed book in November 2001, the company hadn’t imagined starting a separate division of the company that dealt exclusively in carnal pleasures. Demand from a niche market was what prompted Ulysses Press to publish its first sex book. When that first book did well, the company followed up with another and another.

“We did one book, then two, then four, and then 25,” recalled company sales and marketing manager Bryce Willett, during an early January interview at the Expo. “Eventually it made sense to distinguish the titles, give them a name in the industry.” The Amorata Press imprint, which was created in the fall of 2006, brought all these titles together under one roof. Now, with a catalog of almost thirty titles, the publisher seeks to offer men and women “a path to higher pleasure with books that are informative, sexy, and edgy.” Filled with provocative tips and tantalizing photos — enough to keep both men and women happy as they flip through the pages looking for sparks of inspiration — the motives of Amorata Press seemed almost wholesome beside the tits-and-ass-ambience of the Adult Expo.

The company’s presence at the expo was like some perverted scene from Mister Smith Goes to Washington. Surrounded by smut peddlers, sex workers, and fans gobbling the whole scene up, Amorata Press seemed to be calling out the wayward Mr. Paines of the world. A pile of books sat stacked on a small table in front of a humble banner hung against the cloth backdrop of the Amorata Press booth. Willett, a tall man with a shaved head and earrings, sat back in his chair or casually talked up interested visitors to the booth. Although the people who attend the expo aren’t really his target audience, that didn’t faze him one bit. “Those films have wonderful scenes, but don’t try it at home,” Willett said. “They’re great positions to photograph, but not enjoyable ones.”

Punctuating his comments were the repetitive sounds of a neighboring booth where free vibrators were being awarded to any girl who blew up a balloon until it popped. The occasional explosions were like bullet points for Willett’s thoughts. “Porn does a great job, but that job is not to make you better at sex, its goal is to be fun to watch.” POP! “The core idea of the Adult Entertainment Expo is fan worship of porn stars. The long lines at the big booths are for that. However, that only lasts so long. Everyone can have sex without a book, but it’s not necessarily good sex. Empowerment is at the core of all of our books. Half of it is about being comfortable, knowledgeable, and secure.”

One chief difference between Amorata’s books and much of the porn on the convention floor was that Willett’s target audience is couples, not single males. So where the publisher’s exploration of female ejaculation is simply entitled Female Ejaculation, pornography from that genre bares titles such as MILF Squirters 2. Book titles like Unleashing Her G-Spot Orgasm, Going Down, and The Best Sex You’ll Ever Have! seemed tame next to the DVDs circulating the rest of the convention floor.

Willett didn’t claim the moral high road or suggest that his company is socially more responsible than the producers of teen gangbang videos or the P.S.I. (Porn Scene Investigator) team with the sign reading “Flashing welcome” in the booth next to him. Still, one couldn’t help but notice the differences between each side’s tone, approach, intention, and attitude toward sex in general and women in particular.

But perhaps Amorata seems mild mannered only next to the supermen of pornography. Indeed, the niche market for the company’s books has been fed by the pornography industry. After all, the Adult Film Database lists female ejaculation titles dating back to 1989, while Amorata Press’ book on the subject first hit shelves in 2008. Did public interest in female ejaculation create the pornography, or did the pornography create the public interest?

In their book, The Porning of America, Carmine Sarracino and Kevin M. Scott argue that pornography and American culture have influenced each other so much that imitation has become the standard. In essence, pornography has become the norm and the norm has become pornographic. If this is true, (and anyone who has watched fifteen minutes of reality television must concede that the argument holds some weight) then the porn industry and Amorata Press are born from, and serve, the same master — providing men and women with sexual satisfaction and encouraging an exploration of sexual fantasies. Yet, at the end of the day when you go home to your partner, adult films are celluloid propaganda, and Amorata Press is the real deal.