Fricasseed finger

I flew to Baltimore on Friday morning to attend The Three Kings, a PEN/Faulkner event featuring Stephen, Tabitha and Owen King. It was originally supposed to be held at the Folger Shakespeare Library, but due to heavy demand it was moved across the street to the Lutheran Church of the Reformation. About 525 people were expected, and the sanctuary certainly felt like it was full.

The Kings were in fine fettle. Tabby made some reference to being late because a man was driving and wouldn’t stop to ask directions without naming names. She read from a novel in progress called The Potter’s Rib. Owen read a new short story called “Nothing is in Bad Taste” that was received very well. It can be found in issue five of Subtopics magazine. Steve read the section from Duma Key where Wireman describes “la lotteria” or what happened to his wife and daughter. Some of the readings were “spicy” in terms of language, which led me to wonder if the Lutheran Church of the Reformation would have to be reconsecrated afterward.

Afterwards there was a brief Q&A that was as lame as these often are, where the questions imply the answers (Owen, did your father ever read you bedtime stories? Owen replies, “Yes.”) The signing was well organized. No inscriptions or photos, which sped things along. That part was held in the Folger Shakespeare Library, a very impressive building with lots of old manuscripts on display and tapestries on the walls.

I met up with the group from Cemetery Dance beforehand, so I was in good company. I also encountered a few people I knew via screen names at various message boards, but probably not as many as I should have. There wasn’t much chance to mingle.

I also got to spend some time in the Smithsonians earlier in the day and to take in the cherry blossoms, which were in full bloom. My legs were sore from walking by the end of the day. I flew back on Saturday morning, but before boarding I managed to give myself a second-degree burn on the top of my right index finger when the top popped off my cup of superheated water and splashed me. Twice. I woke up to an enormous blister yesterday that must have contained 3-5 cc of serum. I was able to squirt it out like from a syringe.

We watched a movie called Dedication the other night, starring Mandy Moore, Billy Crudup and Tom Wilkerson (lately of Michael Clayton). Crudup writes children’s books but he has a lot of emotional issues. When his collaborator dies, he’s teamed up with Mandy Moore, as odd an odd couple as you might imagine. It plays out a little predictably,. but there are some wonderful character moments. My favorite is when he has to choose between the rock and the dedication page. Build her up or tear her down. The soundtrack featured some fascinating music. A little loud at times, but intriguing. Directed and written by actor Justin Theroux.

I heartily approve of Adam’s nominations on Big Brother last night. He could have toed the corporate line and done the predictable, but instead he turned this into a contest. Sure, he pissed off his long-time allies, but they’ve become too complacent. He’s a funny guy. Simultaneously a tad deeper than he seems at first glance and exactly what you see.