Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Savannah Guz and Kris Collins open for Stephen Elliott 11-23-09
New Yinzers Kristofer Collins and Savannah Guz will be opening for Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries, given a starred review by Kirkus and pronounced 'superb' by Time Out New York.
When? Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 8:30 p.m.
Where? Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh)
Cover? $4
When? Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 8:30 p.m.
Where? Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh)
Cover? $4
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Prisoner--an fascinating, Orwellian concept
"The Prisoner," an AMC miniseries, offers a very Orwellian tale about an intelligence agent, who once monitored close circuit video feed of public places in search of significant patterns. After he angrily resigns (over what the viewer does not yet know, and the main character has apparently forgotten), he wakes up in a desert, near a village from which he cannot escape. The village has almost every amenity and some idiosyncracies, much like our own world, and nearly everyone has accepted it, unquestioningly. It has become their reality.
'Six,' whose name was Michael, longs for his old life and refuses to live under the silent, ostensibily beneficent tyranny of the man called Two. Six, who rebels against his new name, often shouts Claire Wolfe's mantra "I am not a number!"
The Village is a pure distillation of our more heterogenous world. There is no genuine escape in the closely monitored residential, leisure, or commerical spaces, since there is no privacy. And until Six arrives, there is no fraternity of underground resistance, where rebels can find kindred spirits. The whole tale points to the fact that, even as we have creature comforts, we are not truly free. We are monitored continuously, in ways we aren't even aware of. Everything comes at a price, and most often that price involves our liberty. But we knew this. What's more fascinating is that "The Prisoner" presents a trenchant vision of society that actually calls into question (let's face it, not just the Western World's but...) America's current definition of freedom. Is it still the same as it was in 1776? Or has our concept of freedom significantly altered in response to external controls and personal desires? Have we willingly enslaved ourselves? And an even more interesting question to ask: why show a movie like this now, at this specific moment?
See various explanatory trailers here:
http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner/?bcpid=19921019001&bclid=45497761001&bctid=49981935001
'Six,' whose name was Michael, longs for his old life and refuses to live under the silent, ostensibily beneficent tyranny of the man called Two. Six, who rebels against his new name, often shouts Claire Wolfe's mantra "I am not a number!"
The Village is a pure distillation of our more heterogenous world. There is no genuine escape in the closely monitored residential, leisure, or commerical spaces, since there is no privacy. And until Six arrives, there is no fraternity of underground resistance, where rebels can find kindred spirits. The whole tale points to the fact that, even as we have creature comforts, we are not truly free. We are monitored continuously, in ways we aren't even aware of. Everything comes at a price, and most often that price involves our liberty. But we knew this. What's more fascinating is that "The Prisoner" presents a trenchant vision of society that actually calls into question (let's face it, not just the Western World's but...) America's current definition of freedom. Is it still the same as it was in 1776? Or has our concept of freedom significantly altered in response to external controls and personal desires? Have we willingly enslaved ourselves? And an even more interesting question to ask: why show a movie like this now, at this specific moment?
See various explanatory trailers here:
http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner/?bcpid=19921019001&bclid=45497761001&bctid=49981935001
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bill O'Driscoll reviews American Soma in Pittsburgh City Paper
Savannah is over the moon about the review of American Soma in this week's edition of Pittsburgh City Paper!
Read the review here:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A71099
"...Her cautionary science fiction sits alongside "Patent Leather Sidewalk Evangelist," a bitingly ironic story that recalls Flannery O'Connor. The humanistic fantasy of "The Fountain" -- filthy tavern toilet springs the fountain of youth -- contrasts with the quietly chilling "Secret Convexity," about a young woman's descent into depression. Guz even offers a few short, funny epistolary pieces, including "A Salesman Reborn," a kiss-off to a boss that suggests something from George Saunders' oeuvre...."
Read the review here:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A71099
"...Her cautionary science fiction sits alongside "Patent Leather Sidewalk Evangelist," a bitingly ironic story that recalls Flannery O'Connor. The humanistic fantasy of "The Fountain" -- filthy tavern toilet springs the fountain of youth -- contrasts with the quietly chilling "Secret Convexity," about a young woman's descent into depression. Guz even offers a few short, funny epistolary pieces, including "A Salesman Reborn," a kiss-off to a boss that suggests something from George Saunders' oeuvre...."
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Savannah reads at the Ohio County Public Library, Oct 6th!
Savannah will read from American Soma at Wheeling's Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 12 noon, as part of the library's fantastic "Lunch with Books" series!
The Ohio County Public Library is located at 52 16th St., Wheeling, WV 26003.
Come enjoy a lunchtime story....or two!
The Ohio County Public Library is located at 52 16th St., Wheeling, WV 26003.
Come enjoy a lunchtime story....or two!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
American Soma on The Jeff Farias Show
Jeff Farias will interview Savannah today for his Phoenix-based talk radio program The Jeff Farias show. Savannah is honored to have the chance to talk with Jeff about her work and has sent some books to be distributed this Friday (10/02/09) as part of the show's excellent "First Amendment Fridays."
Tune in tonight, Tuesday, 9/29/09, at 7:30 p.m. EDT here: http://www.thejefffariasshow.com/?p=1401
Tune in tonight, Tuesday, 9/29/09, at 7:30 p.m. EDT here: http://www.thejefffariasshow.com/?p=1401
Savannah reads Post-Modern Colonialism at Baltimore Bookfest
The premise of American Soma is this...
American Soma is comprised of a variety of dystopias, either personal or communal.
The personal dystopias are intended to point to larger communal problems. Each story intended to have allegorical significance
The book’s original title was Behold: Mankind, and was supposed to made reference to social satirist George Grosz’s incendiary 1923 portfolio of satirical drawings, although Grosz's was a more diffuse criticism of mankind.
"American Soma"
title story imagines the mass drugging of the nation through popular foods, like pizza, coffee, and beer to assure the results of a presidential election. This is my nod to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
"Evolution"
Story is about the slow morphological adaptations in mankind due to chemicals in our water.
I wrote this in 2004, when fish were found to have both sets of reproductive organs.
Confirmed in April 2009 = PBS ran an edition of Frontline called “Poisoned Waters” which revealed that the environmental threat from chemicals in consumers' face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners…they wash into storm drains.
In "The Fountain," the dirty water of a dive bar toilet can make people younger. Considering that injections of botulism toxins and painful chemical peels are now the accepted way to rejuvenate your appearance, I imagined celebrities reaching into a scummy toilet in order to maintain their youth.
"Postmodern Colonialism" is a not-so futuristic story, which charts conquests achieved through expansion of capitalism and war. In host nations, protective compounds are created, in which American white collar employees (mostly male) are stationed and eventually cannot leave—for safety reasons.
The personal dystopias are intended to point to larger communal problems. Each story intended to have allegorical significance
The book’s original title was Behold: Mankind, and was supposed to made reference to social satirist George Grosz’s incendiary 1923 portfolio of satirical drawings, although Grosz's was a more diffuse criticism of mankind.
"American Soma"
title story imagines the mass drugging of the nation through popular foods, like pizza, coffee, and beer to assure the results of a presidential election. This is my nod to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
"Evolution"
Story is about the slow morphological adaptations in mankind due to chemicals in our water.
I wrote this in 2004, when fish were found to have both sets of reproductive organs.
Confirmed in April 2009 = PBS ran an edition of Frontline called “Poisoned Waters” which revealed that the environmental threat from chemicals in consumers' face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners…they wash into storm drains.
In "The Fountain," the dirty water of a dive bar toilet can make people younger. Considering that injections of botulism toxins and painful chemical peels are now the accepted way to rejuvenate your appearance, I imagined celebrities reaching into a scummy toilet in order to maintain their youth.
"Postmodern Colonialism" is a not-so futuristic story, which charts conquests achieved through expansion of capitalism and war. In host nations, protective compounds are created, in which American white collar employees (mostly male) are stationed and eventually cannot leave—for safety reasons.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Chris Hedges Writes a Compelling Call to Action
An excellent appraisal of war's cost and its use to the corporate state appears at Truthdig this morning. Author Chris Hedges writes a compelling call to action:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090914_stop_begging_obama_to_be_obama_and_get_mad/
Stop Begging Obama and Get Mad
By Chris Hedges
"The right-wing accusations against Barack Obama are true. He is a socialist, although he practices socialism for corporations. He is squandering the country’s future with deficits that can never be repaid. He has retained and even bolstered our surveillance state to spy on Americans. He is forcing us to buy into a health care system that will enrich corporations and expand the abuse of our for-profit medical care. He will not stanch unemployment. He will not end our wars. He will not rebuild the nation. He is a tool of the corporate state."
(read the whole article at the link above)
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090914_stop_begging_obama_to_be_obama_and_get_mad/
Stop Begging Obama and Get Mad
By Chris Hedges
"The right-wing accusations against Barack Obama are true. He is a socialist, although he practices socialism for corporations. He is squandering the country’s future with deficits that can never be repaid. He has retained and even bolstered our surveillance state to spy on Americans. He is forcing us to buy into a health care system that will enrich corporations and expand the abuse of our for-profit medical care. He will not stanch unemployment. He will not end our wars. He will not rebuild the nation. He is a tool of the corporate state."
(read the whole article at the link above)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Cartel
How can kids graduate from high school and still not be able to read or write? This movie, distributed by the Moving Picture Institute--whose tag line is "Promoting Freedom through Film"--offers a valid, compelling, and frightening explanation:
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