I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Race for the Prize (1999) & Waiting for a Superman’ (1999) singles.

When these singles were released, Zaireeka was out of print; these discs were the only way to get any of the tracks.  So, each of these singles has two track from a Zaireeka disc as a B-side: “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” & “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair.”   “Race for the Prize” (1 and 2) have the tracks from Zaireeka discs 1 and 2, and “Waitin’ for a Superman” (1 and 2) have the tracks from Zaireeka discs 3 and 4.  The singles aren’t really worth hunting down at this point since Zaireeka is now available, but at the time, they were worth it.

[READ: January 18-Feb 5, 2009] Schott’s Original Miscellany

This is the book that started the Schott empire!

Ben Schott wrote this book (the origin story will appear shortly) and it was so successful that he wrote 2 more volumes (all reviewed here).  This led to his annual almanacs/miscellanies. There are different versions of the annual almanac for England and the U.S. (and Germany too!) and I can’t help but wonder just how different they are.  So if any one has an old UK edition of a Schott’s almanac that they want to send me, let me know!

For all your miscellany needs, check out  http://www.miscellanies.info/. Lots of information here!

I mentioned this Wikipedia summary of the origin story in my 2008 review, but it bears repeating since this is the book in question:

As The Guardian wrote of Schott’s Original Miscellany…“the idea for the book came from home-made Christmas cards that Schott sent to friends. They were no ordinary cards, but consisted of little booklets containing all of the essential information he supposed that one needed to get through life, but could never find”.  Schott typeset the book himself and … after sending copies out to his friends, he sent one to the CEO of Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton. As Newton told the Boston Globe, “I was completely bowled over when it arrived on my desk. It was a work of striking originality, and it was remarkable to receive an unsolicited submission like this in the mail. I immediately passed it to one of our editors, who signed it up.”

Okay, so what is it exactly?  Schott’s Original Miscellany contains all manner of trivium.  No really, all manner.  And it’s a nicely sized book as well: tiny enough to fit in most pockets, about 150 pages.

Here’s what’s on a two page spread at random:
Murder types (homicide, etc); Classical Column Types (with pictures); How to make a Martini; Countries with Compulsory Voting; Origins of Caviar; Some Famous Horses (and their owners); Blood Type Compatibility Chart.

Another two page spread:
Twelves Days of Christmas (Gifts from my true love and the Christian Interpretation); Archaic Golf Club Nomenclature; Chronograms; Tongue Twisters; Deadman’s Hand; Yuppies and other Acronyms [my favorites: SINBAD: Single Income, No Boyfriend, Absolutely Desperate and SITCOM: Single Income, Two Children Outrageous Mortgage]; The Flag of Kiribati

You also get facts (in chart form) about the Presidents and States.  You get common German and French phrases explained; you get the playing field layout for cricket. The Constitutional Amendments, Deities from Various Cultures, Knights of the Round Table and Santa’s Reindeer.

In short, you get a whole bunch of miscellaneous information packed into one book.  It is neither comprehensive, nor is it exhaustive.  But it will also fill your head with things you never knew existed.   It’s the ultimate dip-in book, and some of the information is actually useful, making it a book you want to keep around.

I absolutely love it!

[READ: January 26, 2009] Schott’s Food & Drink Miscellany

As may be summarized by the title, this volume narrows down Schott’s obsessive information about everything to the (still broad) area of Food & Drink.  And so, you get an insane amount of information covering every single aspect of food.

Random words from the index: absinthe; breakfast quotidians; curry; curry powder; economics & coffee; favism; humble pie; pan sizes; piccalilli; salmagundi; toponyms, food and drink; and even zoo, eating.

Some of the material did appear in the original miscellany (which is understandable) but in most cases he has expanded or given different aspects of that information.

A few of my favorite items in the book were Monster Egg:

Break a dozen or two of eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Tie the yolks in a pig’s bladder, boil them hard, and remove them. In a larger pig’s bladder, place the whites. Into the midst of the whites, place the set yolks and tie the bladder tight. Boil the whole until the whites harden and then remove from the water. Serve the Monster Egg on a bed of spinach.

Another is Mr Burns’ lunch (an order given to Homer): a single pillow of Shredded Wheat, some steamed toast and a dodo egg.

You also get Imperial to Metric conversions; how to order steak in different languages; Eton Mess; Jelly Belly Flavors; how to ask for the bill in 22 languages; eating swans, and even the Bristol Stool Form Chart which I never knew existed.  (Wikipedia has a graphic, Schott’s does not (thankfully)).

As with the Original Miscellany, there is so much to enjoy, to amuse yourself, and to pass on to friends and loved ones.  My problem with this one is that given its more narrow field of information, I got a little tired of the book.  Granted, I could have put it down and picked it up later, but I didn’t.  I think there were a few too many menus and recipes and lists of things that I’m really not that interested in.  Nevertheless, the bulk of the stuff was really fun.  And if you’re at all a foodie or a gastronome, this is the book for you!

[READ: February 5, 2009] Schott’s Sporting Gaming & Idling Miscellany
I wasn’t looking forward to this one as much as the others because I’m not much of a sports guy.  I used to be, but in the last decade or two I just haven’t really cared about professional sports at all.  But imagine my surprise to find that this was probably my favorite book of the three.  And why?  Because I certainly enjoy gaming and I definitely love idling!

As with the other two volumes, the variety is what really sells this book.  But unlike a collection of sports information, you get an outrageous amount of past time and other cool things.  From the ABC of rowing to Zugzwang.

Included in the index are: Bronx cheer; caber tossing; croquet, Alice in Wonderland; Death and laughter; Dickens on idlers; Fizz Buzz; Monopoly money; navel gazing; Winnie the Pooh; yawning; and all manner of Olympic statistics.

Some of my favorite items in this book include a list of “parlor games” (fizz buzz, dumb crambo, character assassination etc.); a definition of slot machines; streaking; the first newspaper crossword; some notable sleepers; and competitive boomerang.  My least favorite is the horror that is “pulling the goose & clubbing the cat” (quite literal “games”).

I also enjoyed that for each person he thanks in the introduction, he lists whether they prefer sports (s), gaming (g) or idling (i), just proving that Schott also has a good sense of humor.

I read about sports I don’t care about, I read about sports I never heard of, and I read about excellent ways to waste time.  It’s a wonderful compendium of information.

I forgot to mention that each volume comes with a nice bookmark ribbon which is quite handy.

Oh, and the illustrations on the covers are also great (the sports one in particular).  I just received the 2009 Miscellany, and I can’t wait to dip into it!