MetaChat - Of authors and supermarkets.

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31 January 2008

Of authors and supermarkets. →[More:]

So I'm unloading this dude's books at the counter today and I notice that one of the ones he's elling is by Goerge Pelecanos. To pass the time, I say 'Ah, the man behind most of The Wire." "Yeah, he's great,' the guy says. "Well, him and..." "Richard Price" we wind up saying in unison. "That's my favorite author. I've pimped his books to so many people, especially Ladies Man..." "Well, I'm Richard's editor," he says. My mouth momentarily agape, I think for a minute as the buyer finishes his batch of books and say "Um,...say hi to him for me." *slaps forehead*

Later that day a co-worker tells me that he's reading an advance readers copy of a new Price book coming out in just over a month. I have the entire staff keeping their eyes peeled.

Also, i think my supermarket is fucking with my head. Out of the blue they keep getting in new (to me anyway) products that I fall in love with, which then disappear from their shelves forever. First Nance's Mustard, now Stuckey's Pecans (I have no idea what a product from a southeastern US based roadside gift shop chain is doing in Northwest Queens). You figure that all my purchasing of these products would make them buy more, but noooo. Luckily I found another supermarket for the mustard but I doubt I'll have the same luck with the pecans.

post by: jonmc at: 19:55 | 7 comments

Jon, so glad you are watching The Wire. I love it to death ;) how far are you in it?

posted by By the Grace of God 31 January | 20:34

I just finished the season previous to the one currently airing. (we don't have HBO).

I'm also feeling a mite DOH!ish for having met someone who works in direct proximity with my biggest influence as a writer and not coming up with something intelligent to say. But I got my pecans.

posted by jonmc 31 January | 20:42

I think you did pretty well. You did better than I did when I met William Gibson. And when I met Ray Bradbury I mumbled, so, being old and all, he didn't hear me or realize that I'd said anything. Hee hee.

posted by halonine 31 January | 23:23

I've always appreciated the rewrites that Price did for Shaft. There's a scene when Shaft discovers he's been followed by several other cops, and he goes to confront them. "How did you know I would be here he," he asks one, played by Dan Hedaya.

"Uh, you know .." Hedaya stammers. "The drum!"

The drum. I assume this is in reference to a scene from the underground film Putney Snope, where the African-American ad exec Putnety confronts another black man man who has been gossiping, asking where he gets his information. "You know," the man says "the drum! The drum!"

Putney fires him, and, an instant later, another man pokes his head in the door. "Why'd you fire him," the man asks.

"How did you know I fired him?" Putney asks.

"The drum!"

posted by Astro Zombie 4 31 January | 23:48

Here, groceries will stock things that we ask for. Have you tried that?

posted by bunnyfire 01 February | 07:53

An excerpt from Lush Life.

posted by Hellbient 01 February | 11:29

Supermarkets try products all the time to try to sell them. But if they don't sell enough (even if you buy all of them, jon) then they're not considered "cost effective". Believe me, it happens to stuff I like all the time, too. We'll try to bring back things if possible, but if the buyers remove the items from the order book, then we're out of luck.

posted by redvixen 01 February | 19:41

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