For all of you who may have missed it... here it is, courtesy of A-Schwarzenegger: OSCAR has risen!

[tango-tee]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x624815

Must have been the craziest thread of all times.

[nuxvomica]

1. Best opening line in literary history

:rofl:

[Brother Buzz]

2. A-Schwarzenegger's (Richard Martin) book is out soon but Oscar's name was change to Buzz or

A.L.O.H.A., I'm not sure. :shrug:

http://www.amazon.com/Mixed-Animal-Richard-Martin/dp/1596923393



From Publishers Weekly:

In his ambitious but overreaching debut, Martin fashions a folksy small-town political parable in the fictional town of Hmmm, U.S.A. The novel focuses on the smartest man in in town, Lemuel Washington, a philosophic fix-it man. Just as his sister Shane embarks on a mayoral campaign, Lemuel inherits his Uncle's bizarre pet Buzz, a mix of many animals-badger, dog, moonbat and goat among them. Buzz is a hungry, slobbering pain, but when a sinister figure begins to stalk the creature, Lemuel realizes just how precious it is. Soon, it seems everyone wants a piece of Buzz; though its charms spur much of the action and conflict, proof of the creature's affecting qualities never goes beyond a few tricks here and an abundance of clever physical descriptions. Martin leans heavily on quirky grammar and misspelling to set his homespun tone, but comes across as forced and unfunny. With a condescending tone, the potentially fascinating inhabitants of Hmmm are reduced to ciphers in a pointless farce.


Product Description
Lemuel Washington, local fix-it man and inventor in the Village of Hmmm, is reasonably happy with his life of rigging teakettles to whistle “You Give Me Fever” and perusing his Reader’s Digest Condensed World Literature collection. And if his sister, Shane, actually wins her race for mayor, she’ll have to shut down the fortune-telling business she’s been running out of her brother’s garage and Lemuel might finally get some peace and quiet around his cottage. But then one dark and stormy night Chuck the Woodsman arrives with a gift from Lemuel’s (very) recently departed hermit uncle Leonard: a presumptuous mixed animal (part badger, part pine martin, even part moonbat) named A.L.O.H.A.. Turns out crotchety uncle Leonard was up to some amateur experimental science out there in the Unconscious Forest, and the impossible-to-pin-down creature is the result. As impossible as it may seem, there’s more to A.L.O.H.A. than meets the eye, and peaceful, philosophical Lemuel gets dragged from one mind-boggling mystery to the next.

[tango-tee]

3. Thanks!

I'll definitely get it!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

9. It is Buzz (& Buzzy), by the way...

The publisher had a book already with an animal named Oscar.
But I think he'll always be Oscar here at DU...

[A-Schwarzenegger]

4. I dunno for sure when it's going to be out.

My indie publisher is still climbing out of the recession.
The latest date is Sept 30 but that looks very doubtful.

I'm seriously thinking of offering PDF's of the book
in exchange for reviews on Amazon.

The advice is to never say anything to a negative review
except "Thanks for reading," but I offered a gentle blogging
response to that PW review anyway here:

http://mixedanimal.blogspot.com/2009/07/beyond-ouch-review-of-review.html

[rug]

7. You should stick Oscar under that reviewer's blankets.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

8. I like the way you think.

I don't think he/she got it
but with the animal under there
he/she would definitely get it. :*

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Yay! I remember Oscar.

One of my favorites of all times on DU. :bounce:

[jobycom]

6. Twas the greatest thread ever.

At least in the fictional crossbreed animal category. :) (And in every other category, IMHO)

I still laugh at the posters challenging him to produce pictures or admit it was fake. :rofl: