JD Salinger Dead at 91.

Breaking News Alert from the NYT:

J.D. Salinger, the elusive and enigmatic author of “The Catcher in the Rye,” has died, The Associated Press reported. He was 91 and lived in Cornish, N.H.

The A.P. cited a statement from Mr. Salinger’s literary representative, saying that he died of natural causes at his home.

Published in 1951, “The Catcher in the Rye” became Mr. Salinger’s most famous work with its distinctive depiction of its angry, iconoclastic teenage protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Mr. Salinger frequently dealt with the subject of precocious youth in his short stories of the Glass family, as well as “Franny and Zooey,” a collection of two long short stories. He had not published a new work since 1965, and lived in near-total isolation, having refused the attention of the literary world and the news media for decades.

So sad. I read Franny + Zooey and Raise High the Roof Beams... this year. And like any angst ridden teenage boy, Catcher in the Rye was one of my favorites.

Watching the Apple iPad conference...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/?sort=newest&refresh=60

The iPad. You heard it here first. ;)

.5 inches thin, 1.5 pounds -- 9.7 inch IPS display. 10 hours of battery life.

NYT : With Apple Tablet, Print Media Hope for a Payday

An interesting article on the eve of the alleged Apple Tablet release. Doe a good job of explaining why the ailing media industry is all atwitter, but also outlines some of the potential pitfalls:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/technology/26apple.html?em

Summary:

It will run all the applications of theiPhone and iPod Touch, have a persistent wireless connection over 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi, and will be built with a 10-inch color display, allowing newspapers, magazines and book publishers to deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print.

Their optimism for the tablet also stems from consumers’ willingness to spend money using mobile devices. In the last decade, while people downloaded music illegally to their desktop computers, they happily paid small amounts of money on their cellphones to download ring tones and send text messages.

The iPhone has provided further proof that the economics of mobile devices are unique: the Apple App Store is expected to generate an estimated $1.4 billion this year, according to an analysis by Piper Jaffray.

Kaiser Report on Media Consumption for Kids (8-18)

An interesting (and somewhat unsettling) report on media consumption for kids (8-18) by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Interesting to see the breakout by media type. The hours per vehicle are informative, but also stunning.

Summary : According to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation,
eight-to-eighteen year-olds spend an average of more than
71/2 hours a day, seven days a week with media. The aim (of
this study), says Kaiser, is to provide a more solid base
from which to examine media's effects on children, and to
help guide those who are proactively using media to inform
and educate America's youth.

Media Use (8- to-18 year-olds; Average Amount Of Time Spent With Each Medium In A Typical Day)
	Time Spent (hrs:min)
Medium	2009	2004	1999
TV content	4:29	3:51	3:47
Music/audio	2:31	1:44	1:48
Computer	1:29	1:02	:27
Video games	1:13	:49	:26
Print	:38	:43	:43
Movies	:25	:25	:18
Total media exposure	10:45	8:33	7:29
Multitasking proportion	29%	26%	16%
Total media use	7:38	6:21	6:19
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Study, January 2009

Review : The Gum Theif - by Douglas Coupland

I met Douglas Coupland at a reading of "Girlfriend in Coma" years ago. He was totally cool, funny and down to earth We totally would have been BFFs. He was in a Smith's phase (obviously). The lights dimmed for a second at the reading and he said "Shoplifters of the world unite". We traded music recommendations after the reading. He was a cool, funny, genuine, down to earth dude. So I will always support him and buy his books.

Like all of Coupland's work, this one was a little depressing, while at the same time uplifting, with threads of pop culture, and an obsession with the apocalypse.

The story within a story could be criticized, but I thought it kept it moving nicely, and enjoyed the multiple narratives. I loved the nod to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (Edward Albee), a favorite play of mine from college, and have now picked that up as my next read.

Review : Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby

I have been reading Mr. Hornby's books since a friend recommended "High Fidelity" when it first came out (the book, not the movie) - I underlined almost every line in the book. I love his style, humor, pop culture references, and love for/taste in music (he coined the phrase "Westerbergian"). I love how he confesses to loving Nelly Furtado in "Songbook" and says "you are either for music or against it". When I started this one I was afraid it was a rehash of "High Fidelity" for the digital decade (which I heard him mention in a review). But it found its own heart about 1/4 through, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe he will read this review like Tucker! Hope he likes it. Keep 'em coming!