I plan on detailed blogs about the many great events that I saw this past weekend at the New Yorker Festival, but here are just a few of the highlights:

Stephen King, dressed down and funny, despite his dark gloomy subjects

Jonathan Franzen, reading his essay about birds, the environment and his divorce

Zadie Smith, looking gorgeous and sounding very British as she read from her new novel "On Beauty"...I never, ever "allow" myself to read fiction, but I bought her book and had her autograph it and I'm enjoying the read

Malcolm Gladwell...the guy is so interesting and smart and his talk on precociousness is hopefully going to be an article soon, as I want to hear/read it again

John Updike - ok, the guy's in his late 70s and he has a better memory than I do now or probably ever did

The New Yorker cartoonists, creating and drawing right before my very eyes, much in the style of the improv of "Whose Line is it Anyway?"

The brilliance and bravery of Jon Lee Anderson, and his "master class" on reporting

Hearing Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Brad Bird, David R. Willis and Matt Maiellaro talking about "Animation and Anarchy" with clips from their work ("The Incredibles", "South Park" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force")

The 20 or so New Yorker writers reading their funny, funny pieces ("My Dog is Tom Cruise" and Anthony Lane's "Review of Revenge of the Sith" were the greatest)

Tracy Chapman, in interview and song

Larissa MacFarquhar (so much better than when I saw her several years ago) talking about interviewing Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky

The welcoming style of Cressida Leyshon

David Remnick...I mean, he's just good to look at




Besides the events, I also:

survived a 110 mph cab ride on the NJ turnpike

enjoyed a bagel, spaghetti and meatballs, bratwurst (with a mustard bar), and of course, a Cinnabon at the airport

found my way around town on the subways without too much trouble

successfully "negotiated" the price down from one of those electronic store vendors

and much, much more...

I NY!