Tonight, Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and I are guests at the Readergirlz Summer Sizzle, 6 pm Pacific and 9 pm Eastern. We are celebrating the return of summer, the end of school, summer reading, and How to Be Bad!
There are also a lot of giveaways;
Meg Cabot's AVALON HIGH, CORONATION graphic novels and AIRHEAD t shirts
Laurie Halse Anderson's TWISTED
Mary Pearson's THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX.
Just be a myspace member (you already are, anyway, aren't you?) -- sign in, and then go to the Readergirlz forum!
Sarah, Lauren and I will celebrate, answer questions, make fools of ourselves -- all the usual things.
At long last, the answers to the John Belushi Quiz. You guys gave me over 100 answers and they were ALL USEFUL in editing the third Ruby Oliver book, especially the footnotes. I am SO GRATEFUL.
However, not all the answers were correct. But that was good! That was the whole idea -- to see what pop culture references resonated -- and what did not -- for those of you under 18.
So now, the answers. If you read this, and watch the videos and look at the photos, you will then be able to hold a reasonable conversation with a person age 35-45, which might occasionally be necessary.
1. Who was John Belushi? (you should know this if you read The Boy Book!)
He was a comedian. He was on Saturday Night Live. He was in The Blues Brothers and Animal House. He was very, very funny. He died of a drug overdose. Roo has a footnote about John Belushi in The Boy Book.
I searched for examples of his greatness across the internet -- but sadly it looks like folks at SNL keep a very tight reign over those classic videos. So you'll have to be content with this:
2. What is a hair band? Can you name one?
A hair band holds your hair back, yes. Ponytail is the name of a hair band, as so many of you answered.
But I was asking about heavy metal bands of the 80s that were known for GINORMOUS HAIR that they would fling around while rocking out heavily. This here is the band Poison.
3. What is ennui?
Boredom, passivity, lack of action. As in, "I would save the world but I suffer from ennui, which forces me to lie on the couch watching bad TV and eating spearmint jelly candies."
4. Have you seen the movie Moulin Rouge? The Baz Luhrman one.
I am sad that you guys haven't seen this. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Nicole Kidman. Ewan MacGregor. Amazing costumes. Music! Drugs! Dancing! Evil! Here's the trailer (there's a weird TINY bit at the start, but then it gets big). Really. Trust me. This is an awesome film.
5. What was Queen? You guys knew this. You even loved Queen! Rock band featuring Freddie Mercury as lead singer. Famous songs include: Another One Bites the Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, We are the Champions, We Will Rock You, Under Pressure. Freddie Mercury managed to be extremely queeny and hardrocking at the same time, and also sexy with buck teeth. He had a voice like a demented angel.
6. What are Birkenstocks?
German sandals known for contoured cork and rubber footbeds. Very hippie-ish. Very Seattle. You guys knew this one!
7. What year do people in your school take the SATs? Junior or senior?
Most of you said end of junior year. But there seem to be whole other tests that old people like me never had to take.
8. What's a Vespa?
A brand of motor scooter with retro-mod appeal. Noel drives one in the Ruby Oliver books. I always wanted a boyfriend who drove a Vespa.
9. What is anime?
Japanese animation. Jackson is obsessed with anime.
10. What is an emulsion?
An emulsion is a stable mixture of two things that do
not normally mix. Oil and vinegar are usually separate, yes? Put them both in a
jar, and the oil stays on top and the vinegar on the bottom.Mix them together, and they will
separate themselves. But it's possible to add an emulsifier, perhaps a little
mustard or egg yolk, mix vigorously, and create a stable mixture: salad
dressing!
11. Have you seen the movie Point Break?
Nah, you guys hadn't. It's a movie where Patrick Swayze plays this surfer guy and Keanu Reeves is a cop who has to INFILTRATE THIS GANG OF SURFERS who are also bank robbers. Lots of hot guys in wet suits. But for Roo3 I just needed a movie full of beefcake, and since you all didn' t know Point Break, I went with Troy instead.
First image below from Point Break, second from Troy.
(Okay, that was a little gratuitous. I admit)
12. Who is John Hughes?
Film director who made a bunch of seminal 80s teen movies:
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird
Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He also wrote and produced Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful.
13. Have you ever read anything by Edith Wharton? What?
No, you pretty much hadn't. She wrote at the start of the 20th century: House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome.
14. Have you heard of/seen the movie The Godfather?
Most of you had heard of it, but not seen. Movie directed by Frances Ford Coppola starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. It's about an organized crime family. It's awesome. Ugly, complicated, gorgeous to look at, brutal, amazing acting. Here's the trailer, though it doesn't do the movie justice.
Phew! Sorry it took me so long. Enjoy! Roo3, aka The Treasure Map of Boys, will be out in August 09.
Comments open if you have further questions. I am here for your education!! :)
Friday night the 27th, Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and I are guests at the Readergirlz Summer Sizzle, 6 pm Pacific and 9 pm Eastern. We are celebrating the return of summer, the end of school, summer reading, and How to Be Bad!
There are also a lot of giveaways;
Meg Cabot's AVALON HIGH, CORONATION graphic novels and AIRHEAD t shirts
Laurie Halse Anderson's TWISTED
Mary Pearson's THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX.
Just be a myspace member (you already are, anyway, aren't you?) -- sign in, and then go to the Readergirlz forum!
Sarah, Lauren and I will celebrate, answer questions, make fools of ourselves -- all the usual things.
You know you love the LOL cats. You know you love Holly Black, author of Spiderwick Chronicles plus Tithe, Valiant, and other awesome faery stories for older readers.
The makers of Gossip Girl TV show plan a series set at a girls boarding school. It will either star Taylor Momsen or they will introduce a new character in the fall who is later spun off. The storyline will be based on the arc of Jenny Humphrey in the books.
I know I owe you so many blog things I have promised to do. But I am WRITING A BOOK. So you must content yourselves temporarily with Hollywood gossip.
Sarah and Lauren and I interviewed over at Little Willow's.