Discourse Chronicle

After nearly a week of controversy, Kaavya Viswanathan’s publishers have finally recalled her debut novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life from bookstores all across the United States. Her Publisher, Michael Peitsch for Little Brown and Company said in a statement in New York on Thursday that a notice has […]

category: Popular Culture    

[4/21- McCloud]: And then, only two days later, on May 4, I’ll be speaking in Abilene, Texas at Abilene Christian University (on the subject of comics, not religion, obviously!). 7:00 pm in Cullen Auditorium. [Unfortunately, I will be presenting at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire English Festival next week, but I love McCloud’s books and […]

category: Comics, Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics    

“My Name Is Earl” star Jason Lee is lending his voice for the title character of Underdog, Spyglass Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action adaptation of the classic 1960s cartoon, says The Hollywood Reporter. The cartoon followed the adventures of a humble dog named Shoeshine Boy who became the superheroic Underdog, who spoke in rhyme. […]

category: Popular Culture    

The charge against the novel by Kaavya Viswanathan, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, was led yesterday by the Harvard campus newspaper, The Crimson. Written when Ms Viswanathan was still in high school in New Jersey, the novel earned her a $500,000 (£280,000) two-book contract and a film deal with […]

category: Popular Culture    

Both Marvel and DC, the two largest comic book publishers, have signed deals that will integrate product placement in the issues of some of their titles. DC will have a new hero called The Rush drive a Pontiac that the publisher says is just as important to that character as the Aston Martin is to […]

category: Comics, Popular Culture, Rhetoric and Poetics    

According to Cirque du Soleil’s Website, the idea for Love was originally inspired by the friendship and admiration between “quiet Beatle” George Harrison, who died in 2001, and Cirque founder Guy Laliberté. This project is the first theatrical collaboration for record label Apple Corps Ltd., which has kept its Beatles catalog under strict lock and […]

category: Popular Culture    

We read your proposal with geniune enjoyment, but regret to say that we did not choose it for inclusion in our collection. We received many proposals on superheroes, so the competition was very stiff. [I submitted “Superman’s America: History, Reception, and Imperiex” for this collection. I am still working on my “Superman’s America” series of […]

category: Life, Rejections    

The Office of Research Training and Services (formerly the Office of Fellowships) has completed its review of applications for internships at the Smithsonian through the Institution’s Minority Internship Program for Summer and Fall 2006. Although the review panel was impressed with your academic credentials and goals, I regret that we are unable at this time […]

category: Life, Rejections    

[Here are a few highlights from my trip to Atlanta, GA: Day 0 – April 11, 2006 I am convinced being a cab driver requires NO knowledge about city streets or locations. A cab from the airport to the hotel costed $38. I left copies of my paper and handouts I requested from my department […]

category: Comics, Life, Popular Culture    

[No blog this week. I am presenting “Audience, Reception, and President Lex” in Atlanta, GA. The National Popular Culture Association conference is one I always look forward to each year. BK]

category: Life