Survivor of Nazi Massacre Had Amazing Journey
December 13, 2013
The North Shore Weekend, Dec. 13, 2013 During World War II, as a Jew in occupied France, Serge Ross escaped from two labor camps and survived
It is a vanity project and a writing closet, a treasure chest for news, views and reviews.
More prosaically, it provides a store house for my writing. Some of it is quirky – poems, sayings and asides. There are movie and book reviews, profiles and other articles from my past and present sojourn as a journalist. Plus my new book — The Dream Machine: A Novel of Future Past!
Novel
The Dream Machine: A Novel of Future Past
A thrilling, highly imaginative and tautly written journey back in time to find “the tool to unrule” a post-American fascism.
“Brilliant,” says National Book Award winner and MacArthur Genius Fellow Charles Johnson of “The Dream Machine: A Novel of Future Past.”
“A great tale, brilliantly told,” says violist and international recording artist Roger Chase. “There are surprises on every page, and the end, which comes only too soon, is a coda of marvelous drama, invention and imagination.”
Fragments
December 6, 2013
Story ideas, quotes, openings, titles:
– In some dystopian future, it’s legal to trade options on people’s lives.
– “I’d hardly describe myself as a creep. Rather….”
– “Answer Man”: Play takes place in a radio station late at night. DJ hosts weekly show, “The Answer Man” taking callers’ questions, complaints and stories. DJ and engineer laugh at callers off the air, but the stories hit too close to home.
– Doctor who has lost his license (drink? drugs? malpractice?) starts investigating Medicare fraud by nefarious insurance companies and gets way too close to the truth.
– Liberia 1982: Peace Corps volunteer befriends brilliant and ambitious Army sergeant, who foments a violent uprising against the government. Volunteer is implicated.
– “Winter Is Hard”
– Song lyric: “World’s going to hell again, Troubles seem to swell again, Heading down and round again, All because of you.”
– “Prospect Park”: urban halfway house, each chapter is a life story.
– “Diapason” (Greek for octave): Researcher finds 3,000 year-old Greek music text, with many intriguing song fragments illustrating why the ancients thought music was the most profound art. Book hints at author’s life and leads researcher to Greece for further discoveries on the power of music.
’12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ – Hard History Lessons
December 6, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Dec. 5, 2013 It’s a rare synchronicity when two fine and provocative movies based on true stories about national horrors – “12 Years
Evanston Music Club: Keeping the Beat For More Than a Century
November 22, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Nov. 21, 2103 Evanston has always had a song in its heart and music in its soul. According to “The History of Evanston,”
Curt’s Cafe Owner Honored
November 7, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Nov. 7, 2013 By Les Jacobson Susan Trieschmann, the owner of Curt’s Café, has been awarded $10,000 by L’Oreal Paris as a “Woman
‘Captain Phillips’ – Actors Keep a Tight Ship
November 7, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Nov. 7, 2013 “Captain Phillips” tells the true story of Richard Phillips, the Merchant Marine officer whose U.S. cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama,
Junior Mance: Evanston’s Gift to Jazz
October 25, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Oct. 24, 2013 Legendary jazz pianist Junior Mance left his native Evanston more than half a century ago, but the last time he
Jonathan Wilson – Bringing Theater to Life
October 14, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Oct. 10, 2013 The award-winning director and longtime Evanston resident Jonathan Wilson’s path into the theater world was unusual. In 1967 he was
‘Gravity’ and ‘Enough Said’ – High-flying and Down to Earth
October 14, 2013
Evanston RoundTable, Oct. 10, 2013 “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…” “Mere” anarchy? Had William Butler Yeats