Goings on About the Rump

James Franco's Face and Benefit Party w Care Bears on Fire

At the Rumpus, my write-up on the New Yorker Festival has been linked to by a few places like PW Morning Report, Tao Lin's blog and Vol. 1 Brooklyn, which liked my title, "James Franco's Face."

Also, save the date, the Rumpus and Tin House are having a benefit party on November 17th 2009 that's going to be a blast.


MORE THAN YOU EXPECTED, A NIGHT AT THE HIGHLINE

Rick Moody, author of Right Livelihoods, Jonathan Ames, author of The Double Life Is Twice As Good, This American Life's Starlee Kine, David Rees, author of Get Your War On, comedians Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman, HBO Def Poetry Jam star Vanessa Hidary, the Six Word Memoirists and music by kid core phenomenon Care Bears On Fire

DOORS 6:00PM, SHOW 7:00PM @THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM, 431 W. 16TH STREET

Showpage: www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=1183

$10, Cheap!

Photo of Care Bears on Fire by Phil Knott

New Yorker Fest, Goodbye

What James Franco, Neko Case and Malcolm Gladwell Had in Common

Two of my favorite events at the New Yorker Festival, which took place this weekend, were Neko Case (she performed "That Teenage Feeling" among other songs, and talked about being a "cougar") and Malcolm Gladwell who told a story about a couple of WASP anthropologists who got drunk, ritualistically, in Bolivia in the fifties, and NOT Michael Vick, as he said he would. James Franco, who spoke very slowly, was asked what it felt like to be a stoner icon. He also talked about the art project he's involved with, Erased James Franco. And his audience wore much less clothing than any other audience of the six total events I had been to. George Saunders said "Pas de Chat" 73 times, Gary Shteyngart said he was bribed with cheese in Leningrad and Jonathan Franzen was asked a "personal" question by a young woman currently attending his alma mater, Swarthmore. I'll be posting something about all of the events I saw for The Rumpus later this week.