Pic (for no reason at all) # 6

The ever trusty British telephone box!

Merry Christmas!

Click the pic for the history of Christmas - "Christ, Claus and the history of our most popular holiday!"

If only - click the pic for the news. Welcome to the White House, President Obama, and perhaps you can bring to the Middle East what's been missing there for so long!

University of London - teaching postgrad class!

I'm pleased to say I'll be teaching a postgraduate workshop (for the M.A. in Creative Writing) at Royal Holloway, the University of London alongside UK Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, in Bloomsbury, Central London. I'll be teaching the workshop from January - April 2009 (the spring term in the UK).

The above pic shows the main campus, approximately 20 miles outside London in Surrey. The MA in Creative Writing will be taught in Bloomsbury, though, close to Bedford Square:

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I'm definitely looking forward to working alongside Professor Andrew Motion, the UK Poet Laureate, and poet Jo Shapcott. It's a great opportunity and I'm pleased to have it.

Below is the college coat of arms! The Latin motto "Esse quam videri" means "To be, rather than to seem." I hope to do the same!

Blighty here I come!

White House Christmas Tree!

Dear England, Last night I took this pic of the White House Christmas Tree. I am quite pleased with my skills, although the lights may have something to do with it! You can just make out the Washington Monument in the background. No sign of W. the elf though...

Click the pic to learn the history of the tree and how they get it into place! Pretty interesting actually - 'The Tree' won the National Christmas Tree Association's (NCTA) Christmas Tree contest held back in August in Des Moines, Iowa!

In case you're wondering, it's a massive fir tree.

SuperObamaWorld

Dear England, the game you've all been waiting for is here!

Yes, it's SuperObamaWorld, say no more. Click the pic to be the next US president.

You might recognize the game!

Screenplay complete!

I am pleased to say I've now completed a screenplay for my novel The Pride and the Sorrow.

To distinguish it from the novel, I've called the screenplay The Knight of New Orleans. It's currently with the Film and TV agent Meg Davis, Director of MLA Literary Agents in London.
I also took the move of registering The Knight of New Orleans with the Writer's Guild of America, East as proof of copyright. Copyright is immediately assigned to the originator at the point of writing, so registering any work (or mailing it to yourself in a sealed post-stamped envelope) has to be a wise move.

I look forward to The Knight of New Orleans being sent out in 2009!

Singapore Creative Writing interview!

The above pic shows the green roof of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. I'm pleased to receive an interview there for Assistant Professor of Creative Writing! I'll be mowing the roof garden part-time.

I'm excited about the interview, happening on a Sunday night for me and early Monday morning for the Nanyangs, given Singapore is 13 hours ahead of the US!

Here's the Division of English department. Terima kasih, NTU!

Pat's hurricane!

It's time to get festive! Here's the greatest drink in New Orleans, the Pat O'Brien's hurricane!

Click the pic to make your own...the perfect antidote to the cold.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy yourselves!

This one is for America folks - London buses are now sporting advertisements from the British atheists...and apparently people are responding positively. Click the bus above for the full story!

Why not call the campaign "enjoy yourself with no consequences"?

Ancestor of Dead Parrot Sketch found!

Looks like the Ancient Greeks were the funniest guys after all. Click here or the pic for the article.

The Monty Python crew have classic taste, even the Greeks would agree.

University of Cape Town interview!

I just experienced my first academic job interview. It was exciting to talk to to three professors who work on the slopes of Devil's Peak, with a view of Table Mountain.

It was amusing too to be on the line with the Southern hemisphere - where it is summer and the end of the academic year! - as well as the end of the day! (8:30 AM east coast is 4:30 PM South African time).

With a little luck, I'll be visiting Cape Town in early December for a campus visit - now that would be something!

Faulkner-Wisdom Competition - I am "Almost Finalist"!

I'm pleased to say The Pride and the Sorrow is an "Almost Finalist" in the 2008 Faulkner- Wisdom Competition. The competition is run by the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, and was judged by former Random House VP, Michael Murphy.

Thanks Faulkner Society!

New Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs novel!

Jack Kerouac has a new novel almost 40 years after his death! Ever the magician!

Last week I was teaching Kerouac's last novel Big Sur (1962) about his descent into alcoholism, and I had no idea he had a secret novel tucked away!

Check out this link to the story of the lost novel, and the involvement of fellow Beat writer William S. Bourroughs.

As per this previous post, I am pleased to say I'm still (I am waiting on tenterhooks!) the "alternate" to live in Jack Kerouac's old Orlando, Florida house next summer.

The experience of three months with the ghost of Kerouac is sure to either improve my writing or drinking (yes to both)!

Biggest book deal ever!

Who could it be? Danielle Steele? Stephen King? Oprah?

Click here to find out!

British muppet speeding on German autobahn!

The title post says it all... a British muppet has been speeding on the German motorway/freeway/autobahn, and has yet to be caught! Skills!

Click this link for the full story, kids. Rated PG-13.

"Yes We Can!"

The Obama Plan:

1

Stop 4 million Americans losing their homes (possible?)

2

Continue to make international allies (including Russia!)

3

Close Guantanamo Bay (where will the prisoners go?)

4

Move into the White House - and move the housesitter out!

Happy Bonfire Night!

Guy Fawkes is back - again!

Obama's America - but no electioneering!

Election Day is here at last. But apparently, according to T-shirt seller cafepress.com (who are worried about inciting riots), in some states it’s "prohibited to wear political gear at the voting booths. In fact, donning political attire may result in your being turned away - and in some cases, your arrest.

By definition, displaying political messages on T-Shirts, buttons and such is considered “Electioneering” (defined as, to work actively for a political party). To prevent voter intimidation, electioneering is not allowed near some state’s voting booths. Be sure to look into restrictions in your neck of the woods. To get you started here are a few recent articles discussing electioneering":

Issue of what not to wear emerges as voters go to polls: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=20789

County won’t allow “passive electioneering”: http://www.ncnewsonline.com/local/local_story_261100909.html

I am a fan of cafepress.com since I have my own shop here selling everything from sweatshirts to postcards! Cafepress lets you easily become a business partner, so I set up www.cafepress.com/mattfullerty a few weeks ago, and I've already sold a mug!

This time next year, I'll be a millionaire (Rodney)!

Happy Halloween!

Yes, that's a pumpkin, not my face!

Keep your friends close...

The Italian jury is still out on the murder of English student Meredith Kercher...

Rudy Guede has now been found guilty and sentenced to 30 years, while American student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, also accused of the murder, are still awaiting trial. In two days they will have been incarcerated by Italian authorities for a whole year.

This trial gets stranger and stranger...it seems the Italians believe three people committed this murder, and there is sufficient evidence to convict. I happen to think they arrested the wrong people in the intial investigation, but that a trial needs to take place to save face, but then again, I just re-watched the Godfather films. Am I wrong?

"It was you Fredo, it was you...You broke my heart."

The Prayer for the Current Financial Situation

The Prayer for the Current Financial Situation is a prayer launched in September 2008 by the Church of England to offer the opportunity for prayer and reflection during the credit crisis.

As noted by our friends at wikipedia and my good friend Valentin Katz, the prayer notes that "we live in disturbing days", with rising prices, increasing debts, job losses and collapsing banks, and calls God to be a "a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands" of the economic turmoil. Since the prayer was published by the Church of England on its official website, it pushed up traffic to the website by more than 25 percent.

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Chess Gladiator - those who are about to die, salute you!

Dear England, after a long wait the World Chess Championship began on October 14th between chess titans Viswanathan Anand of India and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. Even to non-believers, chess never got so exciting! And that's saying something. The website is http://www.uep-chess.com/cms_english where previously played games are free to watch, and you can pay to watch the games live - if you have time!

In the meantime, check out the above image which allows you to play chess for real money against other competitors, and you can decide your own level of ability and risk. See http://www.chessgladiator.com/ or click on the above gladiator pic!

Let the best Paul Morphy win!

F. Scott Fitzgerald's briefcase!

Dear England, I'm a big F. Scott Fitzgerald fan, and here is...his briefcase! Funny the things you can find on the internet (internetS - ed). The monogram reads: "Scott Fitzgerald 597 - 5th Ave.New York" and the address is of Fitzgerald's publisher, Charles Scribner's Sons.

I'm amazed that Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe all had the same editor - Maxwell Perkins. A great biography of how Perkins juggled, guided and encouraged these three temperamental writers is A. Scott Berg's Max Perkins: Editor of Genius. While Fitzgerald was always broke and Hemingway always getting into scrapes, Wolfe quietly wrote one endless manuscript (on the top of the fridge, standing up!) that Perkins would have to cut down into publishable novels!

Who was the most troublesome, it's hard to say?

Check it out!

Picture (for no reason at all) #5

Sushi - like it should be! Fresh from the biggest fresh fish market in the world, Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, Japan. Check it out here!

Kerouac House - I am Alternate!

I am pleased to say I am the alternate choice to live in Jack Kerouac's old house for 3 months! The Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida, is the house Kerouac lived in with his mother when On The Road was published, made him famous, and where he subsequently wrote The Dharma Bums!

If Brian Turner, the soldier-poet known for his 2005 poetry volume Here, Bullet decides not to live in the house (from June-August 2009), I am first alternate choice!

Voila the house!

The Kerouac House is now run by the Kerouac Project of Orlando at http://www.kerouacproject.org/ Plus you can tour the Kerouac House here.

I recommend the Jack Kerouac biography called Memory Babe (his childhood nickname)- the most readable and detailed biography in my view. More about Jack can be found here.

Matt wins Unpublished Novel Competition!

Bookhabit.com is pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural Bookhabit Unpublished Competition is Matt Fullerty's The Pride and the Sorrow. Matt receives a US$5000 prize and is "thrilled" about winning the first Bookhabit competition. We will be posting an interview with Matt on Bookhabit.com shortly. Congratulations from Bookhabit! You can see full details with an endorsement of the novel at http://www.bookhabit.com/newsdetail.php?nid=48

The Pride and the Sorrow is the story of Paul Morphy (1837-1884), born in New Orleans as a chess prodigy, his famous journey through Europe and his ultimate downfall on and off the chessboard. He is celebrated in fashionable European society, honored by Napoleon III of France and Queen Victoria of England and returns to New Orleans a local celebrity, only to find Civil War looming, a storm brewing in his family and his own mind coming apart ...

The novel itself is available at http://bookhabit.com/book_details.php?book_id=459

Novel's first interview - thanks Clare!

A 23-minute interview with Matt is now available through http://www.reviewyak.com/ with Clare Tanner of the Bookhabit Show. "Every month over 20,000 listeners download our podcasts for The Bookhabit Show where we tell the author's story behind the story."

American Wedding Trip!

Chess nut?

Click on the chessboard to discover my chess novel set in New Orleans, about lost American chess world champion, Paul Morphy!

You can also check out Paul's family and chess competitors at my website.

Thanks!

I love your accent, England

This one's for you, Ashley.

"D-V-D"!

Faith Will Be Rewarded!

The Boss, back in the early days!

Looks like he strayed out of Asbury Park into the Big Apple. Hope he finds his way home!

Austin, Texas Wedding! (American Wedding 2008)

Last weekend I did my job as Best Man at my buddy's (US) / mate's (UK) John (Boy) Shaw's wedding, which he had in Austin, Texas baby!

It was a beautiful, lavish and memorable weekend. The boy Shaw, the dreamer-schemer romanic-believer, stepped up and characterisitically lacking in nerves, hitched his wagon to the girl from Richmond, Texas. I made sure the ring was there.

Good luck to Malcolm and Alana who got married the very next day in a helicopter flying over the Las Vegas Strip. We wish we could have kept the party going in Vegas (baby)!

Austin, though, proved to be a fun town - if you're not in the bars on 6th street, the mad ones, you're in the cool open-air ranch bars of 4th street with the slightly older crowd. It was the first day of class and suddenly there were 8-9000 students on these streets. We naturally wore our Road Trip (American Wedding 2008) T-shirts and cowboy hats. Is there such a thing as a British Urban cowboy?

Congrats to the Nunans-Shaws and the Duncansons!

Picture (for no reason at all) #3

The future!

Name the writers!

He wrote about a Don, and I'm not talking about the University Novel!
Don't be fooled by the costume - some say he was a legend, others that he had a clubbed foot. Everyone seems to agree that he awoke one day and "found myself famous."
Looks a bit Russian? That's because he is.

And finally, a tricky one. The clue is in the picture!

Your local needs you!

Dear England, I am just about getting used to the grand ol' American tradition of...beer pong! Why did it take so long? I think it's because beer pong is only really available in a few DC bars, the ones scattered to the edge of town. But when you find them, boy, do they go all out!

For those uninitiated into the delights of beer pong, you arrange 10 cups in a triangle (as in the picture) then each team take turns to throw a ping pong ball - not leaning too far over the table! - into your opponent's cup. Like all drinking games, the harder you play, the harder you fall.

A similar game is called flip cup, where you stand in a line on opposite sides of the table, and have to flip your cup upright using the edge of the table, after you've drunk it of course! Take too long to drink (the flipping is usually the problem) and you'll slow the team down.

This one kind of reminds me of college "Rowing Eights" where we'd stand our 8-man crew, pints in hand, to take on another 8. One pint each round. If you're losing, you could sacrifice the drink by pouring it over your head to win some speed!

Tipping up your beer? A cardinal sin on both sides of the Atlantic!