Ben Fong-Torres's Blog
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Dec.14.2008
Annie Leibovitz, whose latest book, Annie Leibovitz At Work, just earned a positive, full-page review in the New York Times, and is already a best-seller on its hit parade of books, was our wedding photographer.
That’s right. Annie, whose subjects have ranged from John Lennon and the Rolling...
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Nov.12.2008
Here's a more fleshed-out version of a note I just sent to Leah Garchik, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist who covers miscellaneous goings-on around the old town:
Well, what a night at El Rio in the Mission District. It was Kathi Kamen Goldmark's monthly jam with her band, Los Train Wreck, but...
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2 comments
Oct.15.2008
OK, so this blog has nothing to do with books, and precious little to do with writing. But I just wrote this parody song about Gov. Sarah Palin, sang it last night (Oct. 14) at the monthly jam with the band, Los Train Wreck, here in San Francisco, and a guy asked for a copy of the lyrics so he...
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Sep.25.2008
Almost Famous must’ve played on some cable network again. How else do you explain some of these blogs that have been popping up? One blogger reveals that she now uses me as a swear word; another wonders about hooking me up with another real-life character in the movie in some kind of rock ‘n’ roll...
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Jul.20.2008
So, let’s say you’ve got an actual audience for your reading. Fantastic!
Now what?
In other words, I’m wondering if anyone in le Chambre Rouge has tackled the issue of being the best public reader one can be.
Not all writers, after all, are natural performers…or, in many cases, even adequate...
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26 comments
Jul.09.2008
I'm supposed to be writing my book on Quincy Jones. I have transcripts from four visits with the great musician to pore through, to mark up and put into potential chapters.
But I spent the other day reading a 300-page novel. It references Elvis Costello, Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons, Warren...
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2 comments
Jun.15.2008
I’m not sure I mentioned this before, but I finally caught onto “Google Alerts.” Set one up for yourself, and any time you’re mentioned online, you know about it. (Why do I have the suspicion that everyone in Redroom already uses the Alerts, and has been for years, and is smirking?)
So now I’m...
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3 comments
May.14.2008
It's been a long time since I've blogged in the Red Room -- mainly because of the Quincy Jones book I'm supposed to be writing, and because of the radio show I'm doing. So I'll blog to invite authors and photographers to be go on the air with me.
The show is "Backstage," and it's on KFRC...
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2 comments
Apr.02.2008
It’s generally understood that when you receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, it means that you don’t have much more … well, life time.
But what does it mean when you get mentioned in a novel?
Last time I blogged, it was, in part, about Steer Toward Rock, the novel by Fae Myenne Ng, due out in...
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1 comment
Feb.02.2008
I just wrote a blurb. I’ve done it before—quite a few times, actually—but this was the first since the grand opening of Redroom.com, so I thought I’d share my experience.
As a (cough)…er, person who’s been lucky enough to get a few books published, I very much appreciate blurbs—those words of...
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3 comments
Jan.21.2008
As many people who write books are wont to do, I was on Amazon.com not long ago. But I wasn’t checking on rankings or anything. In fact, I was looking to find remaindered copies of a couple of my books, to buy in volume.
There were no one-cent-plus-$3.99-shipping deals, but I happened onto a song...
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10 comments
Dec.10.2007
Well, I love the decor. About ten years ago, when it came time to paint our living room walls, Dianne, my wife, along with her decorator friends, were considering various shades of green. I looked over the several color patches on one formerly white wall and, one day, blurted, "How about...
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About Ben
Ben Fong-Torres was born in Alameda, California, in 1945, and raised in Oakland’s Chinatown, where his parents owned a restaurant. Due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, Fong-Torres’ father, Ricardo Fong-Torres (born Fong Kwok Seung), changed his surname to Torres...
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Causes Ben Fong-Torres Supports
Susan G. Komen For The Cure Rocket Dog Rescue