Thursday October 23, 2008

What Have We Learned?

Last week’s Adult Education event was lots of fun. From Paul Shaw, I learned that what designers call “serifs,” regular people call “feet.” From Daniel Wright, I learned that building a better mousetrap will indeed cause people to beat a path to your door—unless that mousetrap is shaped like a cat. From Alexandra (shown here in a photo by Maryanne Ventrice), I learned that the term “fashionpacer” was an acceptable substitute for “best dressed” in high school yearbooks of the 1970s. And from Francis Heaney, I learned that Francis Heaney has a lot—and I mean a lot—of ties. People actually gasped at how many.

The next event, on November 11, will take on the topic of “Lies and Liars” and will include a talk by yours truly. The line-up is as follows: (Complete details here. Speaker bios after the jump.)

“The Way We Lie”
Is a white lie a gateway drug to larger lies? Writer Jill Stoddard investigates this and other fun facts about lying, including some she made up on her own.

“On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Fraud”
D.E. Rasso examines the duplicitous and desperate world of Internet impostors.

“You Are Not Going to Be Famous”
Jim Hanas debunks America’s big lie.

All hosted by comedian Charles Star.

BIOS
Jill Stoddard is a Brooklyn-based writer and web editor who has had a few funny things published in McSweeney’s and by NPR. She is currently working on a story about two gingerbread cookies who fall in love and then eat each other. She has told many, many lies.

D.E. Rasso is a writer and editor whose work has appeared on blogs such as #1 Hit Song, Blottered, and Young Manhattanite. An essay is forthcoming in (what may or may not be called) The Book of Exes (Plume, 2009). Most recently, she argued about Jane’s Addiction with author Charles Bock on a panel at the Downtown Omaha Litfest. When not working on her imaginary novel and collection of essays, she enjoys going online and pretending to be a cancer-riddled, transgendered fighter pilot.

Jim Hanas’s writing has appeared in Radar, Slate, McSweeney’s, One Story, Print, and other publications. Lately, he’s been helping to curate and produce Adult Education. He’s as disappointed as you are that fame will ultimately elude us all.

Charles Star is a lawyer sans portfolio and a stand-up comedian sans recognition who lives in Brooklyn with his excellent wife, his awesome cat, and a newborn baby genius. He’s on the web at www.charlesstar.com.