Give Me Twenty Bucks and I'll Eat a Bug

Tonight was the conclusion of Stephen's interview with Maurice Sendak. He gave us a little bit of insight into his likes in literature. He does say that he thinks the current state of children's books is abysmal.

Green Eggs and Ham - Good, everything by Seuss is Good.
Give a Mouse a Cookie - UGH
Curious George - Great

But on to the serious matters of the night. Although Stephen is a celebrity, apparently he is not enough of a celebrity to be able to whip out a children's book in such a short time. He needs suggestions from Maurice. So what's it take to make a successful book?

"You've started already by being an idiot." See, that's the neat things about literary giants. They come right out and say what they think. But Stephen did have a rough draft of a book he has written, "I Am a Pole" and he shared it with Maurice.

"The sad thing is I like it." Maurice is kinder than I expected he would be about Stephen's book.

"Can I get that as a blurb?" asks a hesitant Stephen.

"Oh absolutely."

Stephen also got drawing lessons from Maurice and it was in high style when they finished their drawings. We can look forward to the book coming out soon.

Tonight's guest was Terry Gross from Fresh Air on NPR. She interviews lots of people so it was interesting for her to be in the hot seat, so to speak. She stressed the importance of paying attention to all her guests, even when they seem to be rambling on and on. It seems once upon a time she was interviewing Grover Norquist, the man behind the no tax pledge that some Republicans sign.

He was going on and on about the Estate Tax (or Death Tax as it is sometimes called). Then she heard Grover Norquist say this, "The morality of the Death Tax was the morality of the Holocaust." When she asked if he actually compared the Holocaust to the Death Tax, he said, "No, no, I compared the MORALITY of the Death Tax to the MORALITY of the Holocaust."

Stephen doesn't understand the concept of letting the guest do a lot of talking. In a way, that was a compliment to her. He also said that after 25 years at NPR, it must be hard to keep asking for money. He suggested that eventually all that will be left will be "Give me twenty bucks and I'll eat a bug."

"I'll try that," she told him.

Note: I found this website and noticed that January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.