On TDS tonight, Craig Glenday, editor Guinness book of world records.
And Colbert's guest is Alexandra Robbins author of The Overachievers (also Pledged, Quarterlife Crisis, and Secrets of the Tomb).
And the poll -- of all the descriptions of Lieberman I've come across today, which is the best?
In addition to being the editor of the Guinness Book of World Records, Craig Glenday has written two books: Vampire Watcher's Handbook: A Guide for Slayers and Ufo Investigator's Handbook: The Practical Guide To Researching, Identifying, And Documenting Unexplained Sightings. At least I assume it's the same guy, and there is a common theme of "bizarre".
There's a new edition of the GBR out. I saw it in the bookstore, and they've got multiple shiny & lenticular covers (and Amazon says it comes with trading cards!) -- remember when shiny/holographic/lenticular was the coolest thing ever? This guy's job sounds like a candidate for the coolest job ever. He travels around verifying stunts for the book. Google found me lots & lots, but a few of my favorite reports of records set are the guy who jumped on a pogostick while holding a little doggie, the largest soap bubble with people inside, and, um, this (from an interview) Since I became editor, I've abused my position by getting in touch with my childhood heroes. Recently I had lunch with Mr Mangetout, who's been eating metal and glass since 1959. Among the nine tonnes of metal he's consumed are 18 bicycles, 15 supermarket trolleys, seven TV sets, two beds and a Cessna light aircraft. He works the metal into small chunks before swallowing it, his stomach acids fizz at it, then it blasts out at high speed the other end. He's shattered a few toilet bowls over the years. We had scampi and chips when we met. I kept thinking: "At least eat the fork!" Sadly, he didn't. The GBR has been around since 1955, but apparently they now have some competition (internet-related, of course). And it seems that a majority of record-holders are American. This would be including the "Furthest eyeball popper". Um.... USA? USA? USA?
So it sounds like it could be a fun, if fluffy, interview. With the distinct possibility of stories of disgusting human tricks. |
Alexandra Robbins newest book is about how tough high school is these days. Previous books have been about how tough it is to be in your twenties these days and how tough it is to be a sororiety girl (these days). And then there's the one about the Skull & Bones society... that one clogged up my google search. She's written for an assortment of magazines (was on staff at the New Yorker) and has done the TV thing, including Oprah, although I didn't find any online interviews. Not that I looked very hard. I did find her MySpace page, though. She's got 18 schools listed (only six as alumni, though). That's got me beat.
The reviews aren't bad, and it seems she does tackle public policy issues as well as "helicopter parenting" (endlessly hovering over your kids). It fills a niche, I guess. Several sources described her writings as "anthropological studies." I suppose that's better than "30 years old and attaining fame and fortune by never leaving school and writing about it." Shorter, too. (Jealous, me? Never!) Although she did also write this, about the Washington press corps, six years ago. And really, considering these past few years, who can blame her for a little regression? |