A high-water mark for print advertising

Has anyone else noticed these glossy pro-corn-syrup ads in print magazines lately? Sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA), found online at the fetchingly named domain sweetsurprise.com.

Here are two of my favorite:

The first time I saw these, I was truly amazed. Not by the obvious duplicity, but by the sheer contempt the CRA is showing for their own customers here. The spiteful tone, the bitchy look on the models' faces, the hateful little punchlines - has the CRA really decided the best way to woo already-wavering consumers is to heap scorn on them for daring to question the health value of their own food? It's certainly a bold move. I'm looking forward to the "Hey, you stupid asshole, how about you shut up and eat some more corn syrup?" series.

New Poetry in PANK

I'm very pleased to have four upcoming poems in PANK magazine. One of the four will be online shortly and the other three will be available in a handsome bound paper version to be released this winter.

Congratulations, Zhu Yingxin

Last month Megan Shank selected Zhu Yingxin as our scholarship winner and presented her with the proceeds from the first production of "Impulse." Megan had the wise and generous idea of using proceeds from the play to create a scholarship for a young woman in China working in film or theater.

To quote Megan:

"Zhu Yingxin who is a student writer/director at Shanghai University. Zhu comes from a small city in Heilongjiang (a province in northeast China). Her father is a cop-turned-lawyer. Her mother is a housewife. She is finishing her junior year at the film academy. Zhu has already produced two short films . . . One is called 'Deliver the City' and the other 'The Summer of Wisdom' . . . One won a runner-up award in the shorts category at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

"Zhu says her main aim is to tell stories; she's particularly interested in telling women's stories, though her work would certainly appeal to general audiences. She has already begun her graduate project and is appreciative for the money, which will do much to help her produce what she believes will be her best film yet."

Thank you, Megan, and congratulations Zhu Yingxin.

Best Baby Gift Ever.

Dev and I are back from a wonderful four days in New York, visiting Travis, Aubrey, and Melissa (as well as Edward, Vanessa, Alistair, Elise, Jordan, and Grant).

While we were there, Travis and Aubrey presented us with what might just be the best baby gift ever .

Thank you guys so much! and thanks to Melissa, too, for her technical advice and assistance.