New e-book serves an entrée of eastern enlightenment

by Jason P Freeman

Starving actors and artists frustrated with their foodservice side jobs can take point from Chicago-based career-server Jonas Simon. In his self-published, self-helping table-maintenance tutorial, Zen and the art of Waitering, Simon tells his belabored colleagues the hard-to-hear truth about being a waiter: Your customers don’t respect you (likely because they think you’re incompetent), and they probably won’t tip well—so find your inner peace or get fired.

Nonetheless siding with staffers, Simon asks the weary waiter, “Is it better to be right or at peace?” Zen suggests several ways in which the insulted server can surpass their slight by way of balancing out the ying and yang of waiting tables with Master Ichi et al’s restaurant-themed mantras, as well as Asian-formed metaphors involving bamboo and cranes.

“I’ve been a server for most of my adult life, and a student of Buddhist/Eastern philosophy for the same,” Simon says of his inspiration for writing Zen. “After only a couple of years of frustration with bad tippers, campers, special orders, d-bags that come in five minutes till close, crashing kitchens, backed-up bars, rude guests, and the myriad of other annoyances and grievances that come with the profession both minor and major, I was getting pretty burnt out. I started to wonder if there was anyway I could do this job and not want to murder multiple guests and co-workers in the process. In what I can only describe as a painfully slow and ongoing process, I began to see how the principles of peace and acceptance I was reading about in my off hours could be applied to that chaotic and hectic world I inhabited five nights a week. My book [is the result] of that realization.”

A light-hearted, quick and, at times, humorous read, Zen and the art of Waitering is an e-book buffet of Buddhism that will surely satiate the spiritual center of both new and old servers a like.

Available on Amazon.com; $5.99.

Pictured above, left to right: Writer/waiter Jonas Simon and friend enjoy the foodstuff offerings of a spiritually centered server.

As the writer of over 50 published titles to date, multiple literary award-winning and LGBT-focused author Michael Thomas Ford transcends gay literature by successfully weaving the categorical niche into mainstream genres. From memoir, to politics, to health, to education, to romance to teen and adult fiction and to horror, sometimes Ford will even successfully weave a couple of those mainstream genres together too—throwing in a little niche as well for a “comprehensively all-inclusive” and engrossing read. Such can be seen in the paperback release of Suicide Notes and especially is the case with Ford’s latest work, Z.

Z combines the horror, gaming and romance of Josh and Charlie, top-ranking players in a virtual reality zombie-hunting game based on the zombie epidemic that ravaged their world 15 years prior. However when the game goes underground, the virtual reality becomes actual reality. Josh finds himself amidst blood spills, vanishing players, drugs and zombies that are apparently acting stranger than what those familiar with zombie behavior would expect.

From menacing macabre to mental malaise, the paperback release of 2008’s critically acclaimed Suicide Notes opens with Jeff who, at 15-years-old, finds himself waking on New Year’s Day in a hospital’s psychiatric ward. Informed that he will be undergo a 45-day treatment program, despite his protest and disbelief, Jeff is ultimately forced to face his self, his sexual orientation and come of age while surrounded by “crazies with problems.”

Published by Harper Teen, Z and Suicide Notes hit bookstores September 7, 2010. www.harperteen.com

New York-based graphic design specialist and typography enthusiast Ina Saltz’s famed 2006 sociological photo-report of worded notations inked on skin, Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh followed up in March 2010 with Body Type 2: More Typographical Tattoos. In kind with BT, BT2 continues to examine the substance and style of typographical tatts—the definition, the personal meaning of it’s barer and its expression, via the tattoo’s typographical choice—in an imaged exploration divided into ten emotional, faithful and/or creative categories for upwards of 200 pages, ambigrams included. Published by Abrams Image; www.bodytypebook.com.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.–- Educational Publisher Mason Crest announces the creation of a pioneering series of books geared toward young adult students and older and focusing on a variety of topics surrounding gay lifestyle. The Gallup’s Modern Guide to Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Life will be available fall 2010. The series presents gay lifestyle in a positive tone as an accepted way of life, not as an “issue”. The 15 books comprising the series examine gay lifestyles, positive role models, and supportive communities. The series also covers the social and political stigma that gay people still face.

Dr. James T. Sears, former professor who has taught at Harvard, Penn State, and other universities, lectured author of 20 books, and international expert in the field of gay and lesbian studies and education, is the noted senior consulting editor on the series. He brings 27 years of vast experience on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies to the books, including founding editor of the Journal of LGBT Youth.

“Schools are here to educate and to do that properly, we must provide comprehensive information to students,” said Sears. “Currently we are miseducating kids by providing a hetero-centric learning environment. We teach everything from a ‘straight’ perspective, fearing discussing alternative sexual details of history, literature, science, etc. will pollute the educational setting. By opening up the learning environment to include a LGBT perspective we can allow kids of all sexual and gender orientations to gain a greater acceptance for peer differences.”

This series of books is aimed toward the pre-teen and early teenage group of both homosexual and heterosexual tweens. It confronts the issues honestly, sympathetically, and without bias, offering young adults, whatever their sexual orientation, the necessary facts to build understanding and tolerance. That being said, discrimination, bullying and rejection are still very real issues facing today’s homosexual tweens. According to a National School Climate Survey conducted by The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 86.2% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation.

The titles in the series are:
1. Being Gay, Staying Healthy
2. Coming Out: Telling Family and Friends
3. Feeling Wrong in Your Own Body: Understanding What It Means to Be Transgender
4. Gay and Lesbian Role Models
5. Gay Believers: Homosexuality and Religion
6. Gay Issues and Politics: Marriage, the Military, & Work Place Discrimination
7. Gays and Mental Health: Fighting Depression, Saying No to Suicide
8. Homophobia: From Social Stigma to Hate Crimes
9. Homosexuality Around the World: Safe Havens, Cultural Challenges
10. A New Generation of Homosexuality: Modern Trends in Gay & Lesbian Communities
11. Smashing the Stereotypes: What Does It Mean to Be Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender?
12. Statistical Timeline and Overview of Gay Life
13. What Causes Sexual Orientation? Genetics, Biology, Psychology
14. Gay People of Color: Facing Prejudices, Forging Identities
15. Gay Characters in Theatre, Movies, and Television: New Roles, New Attitudes

For more information on the series visit www.LGBT-Books.com and/or www.Masoncrest.com.

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has it all: A booming musical career, a dedicated fan base, a smile that makes young girls swoon and an innocence that makes parents smile. Now Bieber is set to become a comic book hero when Bluewater Productions taps his life story for its popular Fame series of biographical comics. Bieber certainly has a story worth telling. He’s a self-made star who used technology and social networking to promote himself and his music. He also happens to make music that’s undeniably infectious.

Writer Tara Broeckel Ooten said that while researching the comic she became convinced that Bieber has what it takes to craft a long musical career. “I’m reminded of the stories my mom tells about when she was young and Beatelmania invaded the United States. For me it was New Kids on the Block,” Broeckel Ooten said. “Now today’s teens and tweens go wild for Justin, and rightly so. He is a talented young musician. He has such an enormous global fan base. That and his talent will probably give him some real staying power in the industry.” and she continues to express her feelings “I listened to Bieber’s music for the first time while working on this project, and I have to admit, it can really stick with you, I would hear it played somewhere, usually in Target, and I’d start singing along. I respect the musicianship that Bieber brings to his projects.”

Claudio Avella is the artist on the book, and Broeckel Ooten said that he perfectly captured the feel of her story. “He is an extraordinary talent,” Broeckel Ooten said of Avella. “His work has a real energy and life to it, a positive energy that works well for this book.”

Bieber joins a long list of celebrities on the Bluewater’s Fame series list. Lady Gaga and Twilight star Robert Pattinson, both of whose Fame issues sold out of their first runs, along with Tyler Lautner and soccer star David Beckham.  Two new issues of Fame come out this month featuring Kristen Stewart and Taylor Swift.

Darren G. Davis, founder and president of Bluewater Productions, says that the biographical comics continually bring new readers to sequential storytelling.  “This is a great medium for kids as well as adults.  I had a hard time reading as a kid and comic books really improved my reading skills. One of the goals is trying to get kids away from the video games and reading more. With the Fame series, we have succeeded in exposing comic books to readers who otherwise wouldn’t pick up, say, an issue of Spider-Man.” and he continues with confidence “I’m certain that our Justin Bieber comic will do the same; he certainly has a devoted group of fans whom I’m sure will be thrilled to see their favorite performer immortalized in comic form.”

Fame: Justin Bieber is a traditional biography comic book and will hit comic book shops and online retailers in October. This 32-page issue will retail for $3.99.

You can check out exclusive pages of the Fame: Justin Bieber comic book visit  RADARONLINE.COM and clicking http://bit.ly/8ZHVUn.  To pre-order the comic book visit www.comicshoplocator.com .

Bluewater aims to unite cutting-edge art and engaging stories produced by its stable of the publishing industry’s top artists and writers.  For more information, visit www.bluewaterprod.com.

This first unauthorized biography of Karen Carpenter is based on almost 100 interviews with personal confidants and industry insiders who knew her best.  Openly gay author Randy L. Schmidt interviewed many celebraties such as  Olivia Newton John, Frenda Franklin and her longtime producer, Phil Ramone. The result is an intimate portrait of the ‘70s pop icon.

A nostalgic and reverent biography, *Little Girl Blue* shares surprising new details about Karen’s tumultuous and brief marriage, her relationship to her mother, and early death from anorexia nervosa at age 32. Schmidt’s well-researched account includes never-before-seen photographs and crafts a moving portrait of Karen’s life and career, including her close bond with brother and band mate, Richard; her extraordinary musical talents; and her quest for perfection.

Published by Chicago Review Press, July 2010.

New thriller eerily parallels the current political climate as it explores a fictional look at the homophobia, racism and the religious right leading up to the 2012 Presidential Election

When author John Riley Myers took on the role of Chairman for Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate Campaign’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee in 2004 he had already grown frustrated and disillusioned by the wedge politics used to sow the hatred so prevalent during the Bush years. As the final days of the 2004 election drew near, the storyline of this wild and irreverent tale came to him in a dream.

PRINCE OF THE PHARISEES (Trade Paperback / $14.95) is a raucous social satire on the current state of politics, religion and sex in this country. The ensemble cast of characters includes the reigning queen of family values, a brassy black lesbian journalist, a charismatic conservative U.S. senator determined to be the Republican presidential nominee and a lonely drag queen searching for his biological family. Their lives intertwine in the days leading up to the Republican convention in 2012 with tragic-comic consequences.

Long before Sarah Palin used her Down Syndrome child as a political prop, long before John McCain attempted to ride his POW experience into the White House, long before Idaho Senator Larry Craig got caught cruising an airport men’s room, and long before the religious right stormed Washington to protest George Bush’s successor, John Myers brought to life a vivid tale that eerily foresaw the dark rumbling forces that threaten to destroy the social fabric of this nation.

Myers’ fresh, new voice and compelling story telling makes PRINCE OF THE PHARISEES a gripping, nearly impossible-to-put-down read. His prescient look at the political zeitgeist, from birther controversies to Tea Party rebellions, peppered with uproarious, cheek-blushing humor, makes his first novel a stunning revelation of what is yet to come. The book itself, with hints of Maupin’s Tales of the City and Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate, will surely find itself tucked into bookshelves amongst the most celebrated literary fiction of this generation.

John Wooden: An American Treasure is considered
the definitive book on Wooden’s extraordinary life,
from his early years as a small-town legend from
Martinsville, Indiana and an All-American guard at
Purdue to his legendary years at UCLA and the
fruitful years following his retirement.

Written with the blessing and support of Wooden
himself, the book reveals why this kind, endearing,
unbelievably intelligent coaching legend, will live on
as one of the most fascinating, extraordinary, yet
humble men of this, or any, generation. Ultimately
he was America’s Teacher as much as its most
celebrated coach. ]]> http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/23/john-wooden-an-american-treasure/feed/ 0 http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/18/katherine-a-briccetti-my-kids-are-straight-and-tolerant/ http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/18/katherine-a-briccetti-my-kids-are-straight-and-tolerant/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:38:28 +0000 DavidCohen http://pinkmag.com/blog/?p=1907

To win a copy of Blood Strangers, please e-mail your name, phone/cell, city to:  giveaways[at]pinkmag.com

Fascinated from an early age by the holes in her family tree, author Katherine A. Briccetti takes it upon herself to search for her father’s birth parents. In her memoir Blood Strangers, her search begins to reveal more tantalizing clues about the family she never knew, she is forced to confront her own tenuous relationship with her two fathers—the father who gave her up as a little girl and the stepfather she struggles to connect with in her adult years. But when she forms her own family with Pam, her longtime partner, Briccetti learns that families can be made under many different circumstances.

Recently PINK caught up with Katherine in San Francisco, to learn more about her new book and and her  life as a lesbian mom.

PINK: Tell us about your book.

Katherine: BLOOD STRANGERS is a memoir about making family with the people we love. It’s about three generations of adoption and absent fathers and two women raising two sons in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s also a coming of age (and coming out) story and a search for missing family. My biological father was adopted in the 30s in a traditional closed adoption; I was adopted by a stepfather in the 60s and lost contact with my biological father; and my partner adopted our kids in a second-parent adoption in the 90s. BLOOD STRANGERS  is about my journeys to find my missing family members while making my family in a nontraditional way. Those searches are the mystery parts of the book; the scenes with the boys when they were young provide the humor; and the scenes of reunification are touching—they make some readers cry.

Was Pam involved with the writing of your book?

She read every draft and commented occasionally, but she trusted me to tell our story and gave her approval at every step. She also took on more of the home duties when I was writing, and for this I’m forever grateful.

What made you decide to start a family?

I grew up with teen magazine posters of boys in rock bands plastered to my bedroom walls. I always imagined my wedding—to a man—and having babies. When I was in my late twenties, though, I met Pam and fell in love with her. I didn’t know what this meant—and I delve into my sexual orientation in one of the chapters in the book—but I knew I wanted to be with her. I also knew I was willing to give up the wedding (this was 1987) but not the babies. So we went to the Sperm Bank in Oakland and made two beautiful boys, two years apart, with the same donor. When the kids are 18, the sperm bank will release his identity if the boys want to meet him. We know about him but have never seen a photo of him. I think we’re all eager to at least see what he looks like. That might be the sequel to BLOOD STRANGERS!

What challenges/successes have you encountered as a mother of two boys?

Before I got pregnant, and when I was pregnant the first time, I worried so much about what it would be like for two boys to have two moms and no father. My step-father and mother had divorced when I was a teenager, he had moved out-of-state, and I considered myself “fatherless.” I worried both about the effects of fatherlessness on our kids and about them not having the male role model that so many people said was critical to the mental health of children. Of course, now we have research that shows that worry to be unfounded. Kids of lesbians and gays are doing great. My kids are doing great. I worried about things like my kids feeling sad on Father’s Day every year and being ridiculed for not having a father. But in preschool, they were the object of envy—having two Moms bumped them up a level in status. Then, attending schools in Berkeley, California, they simply didn’t have problems because of the make up of our family. They are still friends with the kids they made in kindergarten. When I published essays about them in national venues, I changed their names to protect them, but eventually they told me I didn’t need to. They didn’t care who knew about their having two moms. It was all they’d ever known, so our family didn’t seem strange or wrong to them. I had two fathers and then lost them. My kids never had a father who they lost. That’s a big difference. My youngest son, now 15, identifies as straight, but he sometimes wears pink fuzzy socks to his urban high school, and he started a Facebook page called “Hugging People of the Same Sex.” He tells his buddies he loves them.

Why Pink Magazine readers should read your book?

They should read it if they want to find a piece of themselves in the story,  for the suspenseful, true, mystery story about a woman’s quest to uncover family secrets of an alternative family that is touching and funny. They should read it if they appreciate strong, literary writing and a reliable narrator who takes them on a journey and gives them a page-turner of a read.  Finally, they should read it, whether or not they want to be parents, because it’s a much bigger story; it’s a story about humanity and acceptance. When I wrote an opinion piece for the L. A. Times a few months ago, I was shocked at some of the responses I got. Some people, usually because they simply don’t know any gay people, or because they have been raised to fear or disdain gays, are unable to accept people who are different from them. I hope it gives a realistic view of what it’s been like for our kids to be raised by two moms.

Any advice for those readers who are also looking to start their own family?

Read books like BLOOD STRANGERS and find support in other ways by hooking up with other alternative families, but don’t assume that all straight families will shun your family. Once they know an alternative family, most understand we are not so different from their own family, and that we all have more in common as parents than not. Many are proud to know alternative families and are proud to be raising their kids without a fear of differences and without the bigotry that is often passed down from generations. It’s the next generation that will turn things around for alternative families. The teens and young adults of today have a wonderful “so what?” attitude about all of this. We’re waiting for them to grow up and rule the world.

If people could get only one thing from your book, what would it be?

Many readers of BLOOD STRANGERS have told me they have connected in some way to my story. Gay and straight readers all seem to find some theme in the book that resonates strongly with them. The adoption theme, searching for missing family, making a family with the ones we love, the lifelong struggle for our identity, and other subtle themes seem to appeal to readers. I’ve heard from strangers who laughed and cried while reading the book. Gay readers have thanked me for being brave and writing a story that might help change minds, shape a more tolerant future.

What are you working on now?

My second memoir manuscript was recently selected as a finalist in the New Rivers Press Many Voices Project contest. It’s called “A Buswoman’s Holiday” and it’s about working as a school psychologist with children on the autism spectrum while raising a son with Asperger’s Syndrome. I’m currently working on a novel based on a tragedy that occurred in South Dakota in 1968. My website is www.kathybriccetti.com.

]]> http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/18/katherine-a-briccetti-my-kids-are-straight-and-tolerant/feed/ 0 http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/10/lady-gaga-and-robert-pattinson-comic-books/ http://pinkmag.com/blog/2010/06/10/lady-gaga-and-robert-pattinson-comic-books/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:01:50 +0000 DavidCohen http://pinkmag.com/blog/?p=1686

To win Lady Gaga and Robert Pattinson comic books, please e-mail your name, phone/cell, city to:  giveaways[at]pinkmag.com

They are two of the most recognizable celebrities today, Twilight actor Robert Pattinson and music sensation Lady Gaga. And now the latest biography comic Fame: Lady Gaga and Fame: Robert Pattinson. The comic gives fans a chance to trace their favorite stars’ rise from obscurity to fame.

Writer Kimberly Sherman and artist Nathaniel Ooten brought Pattinson’s story to life. “I love having the ability to introduce high-profile people to readers through an unexpected medium that is both written and visual,” Sherman said. “These biography comics are designed to illustrate interesting tidbits to fans about their favorite figureheads, and inspire them to learn more. I chose to conceptualize A-lister Robert Pattinson from a unique perspective, immersing the reader into the life of the talented actor beyond his most famous role.”

Writer Dan Rafter and artist Kristoffer Smith tackled the Lady Gaga comic. “Lady Gaga is a different sort of celebrity. So when writing a biography of her, I didn’t want to resort to putting out a straight celebrity biography,” said writer Dan Rafter. “Instead, I wanted to take a look at how Lady Gaga’s fame could impact even the most unlikeliest of individuals. I figured this approach will be different from people looking for a straight biography, but I just couldn’t bring myself to not try something a little different with Gaga.”

“Even if you don’t particularly like her music, you have to admit that there’s something special about Lady Gaga,” Rafter said. “She’s a master of attracting attention. Is she just a ‘flash in the pan’ or a singer who’ll be around for the long haul? I have no idea. But she’s certainly making an impact while she has the chance.”

Released by publisher Bluewater Productions. Retailing each for $3.99. Available  at your local comic book store by going to www.comicshoplocator.com or go to Amazon.com.

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