Good "Subversive" fun

There exist those rare, successful bloggers that have turned their small "f" fame into book deals.  They are by far the exception to the rule.  And now, thanks to David Goodwillie, there is a novel about a blogger who achieves something else along those lines.  Don't worry - no spoilers here.  But I do need to say a few things about this very good novel - "American Subversive" - in the course of backing up my review.  First of all my rating - a very entertained B-plus.  More importantly, I want to suggest that anyone wanting to blow through an otherwise safe, secure, unaffected summer day give this entertaining read a deserved looksie.  I don't know Goodwillie.  If I did, the first thing I'd do is question him about his family name.  But aside from the easy joke, I would also love to pick his brain about writing a book that is so current, so spot on, and so damn ahead of the ever arching cultural curve.  If this book was a futures market bet, he'd have hit it right on the money.  The basic set-up can be pulled from the book jacket - blogger, domestic terrorist, intertwined destinies.  The point of my appreciation is how he pulled together such a smooth flowing thriller that feels like it was written on the fly in the past month.  But with buckets of polish.  If you go for such reads, this one's a slam dunk.  Especially if you've wasted time blogging (paid or otherwise) or planned to attack the State (you know who you are).

I saw another SIFF film last night @ the Neptune.  It's actually a collection of mini documentaries filmed by Seattle filmmaker John Jeffcoat to be included in Lynn Shelton's new season of the MTV series "$5 Cover" (this summer will focus on Seattle).  It was truly cool.  The crowd was not huge, but there were plenty of film geeks and bands scattered throughout (I saw two of the women from the Tea Cozies - one of the featured bands - sitting near the back on my way out).  I felt comfortably half my age watching all the featured bands doing what musicians do behind the scene - talking about how they work, what they love, and showing how their interactions influence their performances.  Or at least that's what I took from it all.  I wholeheartedly recommend what Jeffcoat's done.  Especially when you hear how he filmed all the HD footage with an unobtrusive Canon SLR and a kit he could fit into his backpack.  If you're a film geek, you know what I mean.  But if you're not - or even if you're not that connected to music being made and performed here in Seattle - it's a compelling mix of personalities.  My rating - a surprised high-quality B.

Hope your own snippets of life are worth some big screen time today.  Rock on.