Technology and Written American Fiction

What is the place for high technology in U.S. literature? It seems the conventional wisdom dictates a dearth of cell phones, Tweets, Facebook, and computers--unless the genre is science fiction.

I've thought for awhile along this line and I can think of no better recent depiction of the cell phone's impact on modern communication than the film The Departed. Martin Scorcese's crime tale integrates text messages, phone rings, and property ownership so well into the script that I'm left to wonder how they relate to the greater themes of loyalty, secrecy, and deceit.

Do cell phones give away secrets or help conceal them? Do cell phones--especially text messages--blur communication or clarify it?

In my book, I tried to integrate some small questions about modern communication into the chapter on Hurricane Andrew. Circa 1992, the cell phone was still a novelty in high-level state government communication.

Maybe I err in my analysis of high-tech in fiction. After all, considering older fiction, didn't Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn include the steamboat in the story? Or was that Tom Sawyer? In either case, wasn't the steamboat a brand-new technology or adolescent technology in that era?

Even if there is a consistent trend in American fiction, I think The Departed merits special recognition for its high-tech art.

Bud Drops Out of FL Governor's Race

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III has dropped out of the race for Florida governor, and endorsed Alex Sink, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

Best wishes for Sink for Governor!

Bud Chiles calls for campaign finance reform

In Tampa, Bud Chiles blasts Political Action Committees and other abuses of our campaign finance system.

School's Out

I finished All Too Human last night. For a 400 page plus book, a lightning-quick read. There's a lesson in craftsmanship here.

I guess all staff who work for important political bosses feel a desire to be needed, a yearning to be needed, to be of use. Or do they? This book is proof that the quest for those limits can make great literature.

"All Too Human"

I'm re-reading George Stephanopoulos' memoir, All Too Human: A Political Education. I guess it's the third time for me. I find myself noticing new aspects, heretofore unnoticed signs of descriptive power.

And I find myself enjoying once again his ability to step outside his personal experience and yet live it again for us page by page. It's such a vibrant tale of the life of an idealistic mind. His is also a mind tuned to every temptation of power and privilege. Perhaps not in 1991 or 1992, but certainly by 1998, the still young Stephanopoulos sensed how he had lost sight of the goalposts. He had fallen in love with the political game, the rush of adrenaline from a deal and all the rest.

I just adore his style. The recreated dialogue, with facial gestures to boot. The cursing. It's that sense of being "in the room" that he hits on the nail. He taped lots of his reminiscences of life in the White House soon after the fact. He played back the greatest hits, took notes on it, and created this memoir.

"Becoming a True Believer." That chapter heading says it all.

Bud Chiles in the News

Solid piece of reporting from the St. Petersburg Times.

It demonstrates Chiles' success in pulling support from independents, Republicans, and Democrats. Will his numbers hold? Will they build?

More Waiting

More waiting before the manuscript moves forward in the publishing process...August is traditionally a slow month in politics, until the industry picks up again in September. The sheer ugliness of the heat in August makes it idea for vacations to cooler locales like Maine or Connecticut.

Lots of Floridians go to the highlands of North Carolina to get away.

More updates as I receive new info.