Black Swans: Stories

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I did have issues with some things like: “he was tan but you didn’t want to get too tan less you’re mistaken for the wrong sort in LA and beat over the head by the LAPD.” — I’m paraphrasing but: ma’am… WHAT? Anyway.. you know what.. I’m just gonna continue on.. Wright, James (December 17, 2009). "Clint Mansell interview". Independent Film Channel. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010 . Retrieved December 12, 2010. Gangahar, Anuj (16 April 2008). "Market Risk: Mispriced risk tests market faith in a prized formula". The Financial Times. New York. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008 . Retrieved 23 May 2012.

Eve Babitz began her independent career as an artist, working in the music industry for Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records, making album covers. In the late 1960s, she designed album covers for Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield. Her most famous cover was a collage for the 1967 album Buffalo Springfield Again. Thomas: Perfection is not just about control. It’s also about letting go. Surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience. Transcendence. And very few have it in them. There were moments when she was writing about something, ex. a person, and then in the next second without a real context or a link between them changed to another person or event or whatever. It was hard to keep up with anything she was writing about sometimes, add to that the boring subjects she was talking about in some stories, it was bad... The Eve Babitz phenomenon continues with this special reissue of her 1993 story collection in a beautiful new editionIf TheSocialNetwork were just called Facebook then you potentially lose that added layer of meaning a title can give. So when you look at Aronofsky’s choice to use the generic, TheWrestler, rather than the specific, Ram, it begs the question: why make that choice? The poor Baiamul brothers crouched together, almost featherless, bleeding, cold, and miserable. They felt that they were dying, far away from the tribe.

This myth of ravens as messengers is still prevelant today, most notably in Game of Thrones, where ravens are used as messenger birds, as well as guiding Bran Stark on his quest. Her articles and short stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire magazines. She is the author of several books including Eve's Hollywood; Slow Days, Fast Company; Sex and Rage; Two By Two; and L.A. Woman. Transitioning to her particular blend of fiction and memoir beginning with Eve's Hollywood, Babitz’s writing of this period is indelibly marked by the cultural scene of Los Angeles during that time, with numerous references and interactions to the artists, musicians, writers, actors, and sundry other iconic figures that made up the scene in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

I guess that if someone loves Eve Babitz right now it is a red flag for me. Her writing style was not the problem for me but what she was talking about. The subject of these nine stories by Babitz ( Sex and Rage) is Hollywood: brilliant and beautiful couples who somehow get along; charming yet moody men and their odd needs; and "Eve," the narrator, who cautiously reveals in herself the vices of a naughty but not really bad girl." — Publishers Weekly Babitz’s talent for the brilliant line, honed to a point, never interferes with her feel for languid pleasures." — The New York Times Book Review

She’s a natural. Or gives every appearance of being one, her writing elevated yet slangy, bright, bouncy, cheerfully hedonistic—L.A. in it purest, most idealized form.”— Vanity Fair What stands out about Babitz’s writing is her voice: smart, unapologetic and knowing, like Dorothy Parker magically time traveling to the modern era . . . Rereading Babitz is a delicious, guilty pleasure.”— AltaEach man found an animal, and then started. Among them they had possums, native cats, flying squirrels, various kinds of rats, and such. When they reached where the darkness was rolled up on the edge of the plain they camped. Wurrunna and his two brothers sped through the scrub, skirting the plain until they reached the far side. Then Wurrunna lit a fire, produced a large gubbera, or crystal stone, from inside himself, and, turning to his two brothers, crooned a sort of sing-song over them. It felt very Melrose Place, except with more drugs and.. as I can remember it.. and I can’t remember it too clearly because I was a youngin when that show was on but from what I remember this was giving me heavy Melrose Place vibes. You can definitely make the argument that Nina’s already started to hallucinate and that Lily was never on the train and that the 14:22 mark is her first true appearance. But it would be a bit strange for Nina to be seeing Lily before having met Lily. I’d argue, rather, that Aronofsky just wanted to create that sense of duality by having her arrive late twice and have that slight moment of doubt and deja vu. The liveliness of her portraits and plates-in-the-air precariousness of her storytelling reach through the decades to entertain a completely new audience. Now, Counterpoint Press has resurrected the deliciously titled 1979 bildungsroman Sex and Rage. (Who would have thought that pairing would still be so sharply resonant?) Babitz may be something of a recluse now . . . but the fact that her work has only recently resurfaced is still something of a literary crime . . . The ultimate effect of this Angeleno's writing is to cast her beloved, glamorous town in the main role. And what a performance it is." -- Elle Magazine (Online)