Michael Levine
Post #3035 – 20120627
June 27, 2012
You may enjoy this piece about a little girl who has been called "The Next Jackson Pollack".
I thoroughly enjoyed, and have been continuously been inspired by your piece "Whose Little Jackson Pollack Are You?" that I read many years ago.
When I was about 7 years old and in art class, I was asked to paint something, and being raised by parents who admired Pollack, Kandinsky, Miro, Dali, and Picasso; I began to throw and dribble paint on a big piece of paper. I was stopped by the teacher and told that that was not acceptable. When I told my parents , they came to school and gave the "art" teacher" a piece of their minds.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/aelita-andre_n_1601021.html
Daniel replies:
I dislike when adults get all adult-like excited about kids doing art instead of treating it like the perfectly natural thing it is. I used to make a special paint-throwing corner for the kids in art classes I ""taught."" My finest moment came when a kid asked me, ""Pinkwater, are you a real art teacher?"" ""What is your opinion?"" I asked the kid. ""I think you are just someone who likes paintings kids make.""
Mary Jean Mork
Post #3026 – 20120621
June 21, 2012
You once commented that you never wrote a really important book. I have to disagree with you, respectfully.
My son, Zach, now 25, 6ft 3 and studying electrical engineering was once a 2nd grader, always interested in science and how the world worked, but not so interested in sitting down to read about it. He was (and still is) very smart, but felt bad about all his classmates reading "chapter books" while he was still muddling through picture books.
And then we found Blue Moose at a little book store. Zach loved that book and read it all by himself – his first chapter book. He went on to read many of your books, appreciating the humor and nerdy point of view. They made reading fun and opened a whole world to him.
So, you see, you were wrong. That book was really important and we thank you.
Daniel replies:
There are a lot of comments ascribed to me that I never made...or made while talking through my hat, and paying no attention to what I was saying. If I actually said that, it is possible that I was falsely trying to seem modest. Maybe I meant that books are not important until someone reads them--then the sort of thing that happened to Zach can happen. It is also the reason I prefer to write books meant for children rather than other types of people...any one of them can turn out to be the book whereby someone discovers they possess the power of reading, and that's important.
Max Beasley
Post #3012 – 20120613
June 13, 2012
I am nearly finished with Lizard Music, the first book written by you that I have read, and it has struck me how fantastic the book is. On par with my favorite, Catcher In the Rye. I have heard that there is a film version in production and I was wondering if that is true and if so how the progress on it is going. Also, as we get to the real question, I am 16 years old and an aspiring director and current film fanatic (both watching and making). I am wondering, what are your top 5 favorite films and why? Thank you so much for what you do and I look forward to enjoying more of your work soon.
Yours,
Max Beasley
Denver, Colorado
Daniel replies:
Coincidentally, Lizard Music is the first book written by me that I have written. Assuming I learned and made progress, you may find that some subsequent book of mine surpasses Catcher in Rye. I do not consider myself a first-class writer, but in my opinion all of them do. Later, when you are a director, you will find out how much rumors of film production are worth.
yesenia garcia
Post #2996 – 20120608
June 8, 2012
i LOVE your books i have a question….. how did you find things to write about?
Daniel replies:
You can write about ANYTHING! That's the fun of it.
Nathaniel S. Rounds, Patron of Chickens
Post #2991 – 20120608
June 8, 2012
Ritz Bros or Marx Bros–who had the funny?
Daniel replies:
They stole everything from the Smith Brothers.
Lisa Kelley
Post #2983 – 20120606
June 6, 2012
Hi Daniel,
I just wanted you to know how much my kids, ages 6&8, love the Neddiad trilogy. We are reading it for the 2nd time to my 6 year old.
Lisa
Daniel replies:
Trilogy. Of course Bushman Lives, now being serialized on this very website, is related, so that would make it a quadrilogy, quartet, or tetrology, and Bushman Lives is related to Lizard Music, so those would constitute a duology. Or should all the books together be considered a pentolgy? And I did plan to write a continuation of Bushman Lives, but the publisher refused to commit, and I can't afford to write such a book on spec. I suggest everything be lumped under the term """"clusterbook.""""
More interesting than Greco-Roman categorizing is the fact that your kids are 6 and 8. The books are considered by the experts, to whom one should pay very little attention, as """"YA,"""" or possibly mid-grade verging on young adult. It's fairly common for kids in the single digits to enjoy novels of mine, (as it is for creaky adults to appreciate the picture books). When you run out of my stuff, you can try Dickens on your offspring...and they will probably hit Dostoevsky by age 10. When they're your age, and I'm in the county home, they'll be sending me emails about how much they like Bad Bears go Visiting.
Mark Miller
Post #2982 – 20120606
June 6, 2012
Here I am at the ripe old age (at least according to some) of 77 and just finished reading
Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy from Mars. I did this after picking up a copy at a thrift store and decided it was worth the $1.50 that it cost after having read a book of your short stories and having heard you at various times on NPR.
The book and its characters were real grabbers and was difficult to stop reading, but necessary for the purposes of eating and sleeping.
In any event, it's on to more Pinkwater Phables and many thanks for your humor.
Daniel replies:
Another young adult reader! Welcome!
Glauber
Post #2975 – 20120602
June 2, 2012
Congratulations to Webmaster Ed on the completion of his studies. We're grateful for the many ways he has enriched our life: his work on the podcast, the web sites, the serializations. Surely, even his Hippocratic pursuits must pale when confronted with all this Pinkaquatic awesomeness. Thank you, Webmaster Ed, for keeping the eggplants at bay!
What color IS blue red, anyway? amaranthine? heliotrope? mulberry? plum?
Daniel replies:
I too, of course, wish to add my congratulations! We can look forward to news that the great Doctor Ed, has done important work, perhaps in the treatment of Eggplant Fever, or Novshmozkapopism. Bravo, Dr. Ed, gentleman, genius, polymath and physician!
Jim Deutch
Post #2973 – 20120526
May 26, 2012
I listened to a couple of the podcasts and found that you had left me no choice: plowing through the entire archive was the only possible option.
I'm pretty far past the Blue Moose sequence now, but I've come up with a Moose Joke that only Webmaster Ed and you, sir, yourself, are worthy of reading.
Too bad that this comment site is public, but what can you do?
Not only is this a moose joke, but it is cleverly combined with another genre of supreme pinkwatery goodness: the chicken joke. Well, anyway, here it goes:
[redacted]
There it is. You may have it: gratis. I certainly don't expect a magic decoder ring at this late date. I do hope you liked it, though.
Daniel replies:
We regret that only a public forum is offered, but we will make an exception and suppress your moose joke--too advanced for a general audience. Thank you.
Sandra Little
Post #2971 – 20120525
May 25, 2012
When my son can't sleep he has to listen to The Blue Moose. Not necessarily saying it's boring, or comforting. It is, however, most definitely something.
Daniel replies:
I bet you know it pretty well by now.
Mrs. Gray
Post #2970 – 20120525
May 25, 2012
Dear Mr. Pinkwater,
We are reading the book “Lizard Music,” and we think it is fantastic so far! We havea couple of questions for you.
Noah: Do you like lizards?
Zac: Which of your books so far do you think is the funniest?
Trent: Do you like the zoo?
Mrs. Gray: Why did you choose those particular artists as aliases for the Chicken Man?
Thank you very much,
Noah, Zac, Trent, and Mrs. Gray
Daniel replies:
Noah: Like lizards how? As pets? As snacks? As friends to accompany to the movies?
Zac: You think my books are meant to be funny? That's interesting. I never thought of them as funny. Hm.
Trent: I like the zoo. Where I live is almost a zoo.
Mrs. Gray: Because they are neat artists. Those guys really knew how to paint.
Amy Meadows
Post #2967 – 20120521
May 21, 2012
My daughter is graduating from the Johnston Center at Redlands next week. She will be one of about 40 graduates who will hear special remarks by those family and friends hand picked. In reviewing her path to adulthood, I realize that she has selected Mr. Plumbean has her guiding force. It has not been easy being your own counsel, but in the end worthwhile. So I am writing to say thank you.
Daniel replies:
I will pass your remarks along to Mr. Plumbean, who has always had a life of his own. You cannot go wrong selecting a guiding force with a big mustache like his. Thanks for the thanks.
Glauber
Post #2963 – 20120520
May 20, 2012
Captain, my daughter just finished reading Mrs NoodleKugel to me and her sister, and we enjoyed it.
I enjoy your writing, but i miss your illustrations. Any chance we will see any more of them?
Daniel replies:
You never know...but I so much enjoy seeing the work of the great Jill, the great Calef Brown, Adam Stower, Will Hillenbrand. And I don't know that I am such an illustrator, certainly not in their league.
Yehoshua Parker
Post #2938 – 20120517
May 17, 2012
Mr. Pinkwater,
I run an academic and creative quarterly, based out of Brooklyn, that targets the institutional service gaps of the Jewish outreach industry through trenchant wit and bohemian style. I feel that “The Big Orange Splot” holds prophetic advice for an article we will be featuring for this coming fall. My hope in emailing is to start a dialogue and to hear insights on how it might be possible to incorporate some of the themes you presented. Your book came highly recommended by my friend in Chicago, Dr. Julian Ungar, whose daughter might have worked for you in the past.
I can be reached at [redacted] or I can call you at a time of your best convenience.
Best,
Yehoshua
Daniel replies:
Signs of danger...run away: academic, creative, outreach, trenchant, dialogue, insights.
Favorable signs: Brooklyn.
I went to grade school in Chicago with an Ungar...I think his name may have been Jay.
