Mike Prask

Is Pitching a Novel All That Different From “Shark Tank”? Alex Higley’s True Failure, which dramatizes one man’s dream to pitch his business idea on reality TV, slyly compares this bathetic task to publishing literary fiction.

True Failure reviewed in The Nation: www.thenation.com/article/cult...

My wife and I had the apparent foresight to give our kids only "house-league" level natural abilities where we're all content to not mess around with travel teams

I met him at a reading back in 2000 or so. He definitely seemed like a guy who knew his way around a sump pump.

I was that age when I saw it and absolutely loved it (four times in the theater's worth)

Watching RAISING ARIZONA with our son the same age we were when it came out (12) and thrilled to see him laughing at all the right spots -- "Yodas and shit", FART/"Hit the deck boy", the post-stick-up car chase, the trailer fight scene with Goodman. Still amazing.

I'm just assuming the dog is a 5-star, Air-Bud-esque, wideout recruit they need to rescue. Godspeed.

I don't know if I ever thought Big 5 success was in the cards, but at this point, small press will be just fine, especially for MY hoops novel-in-progress

fish mouth, freshwater fishing hall of fame, hayward, wisconsin, hayward, wisconsin, 1988

fish mouth, freshwater fishing hall of fame, hayward, wisconsin, hayward, wisconsin, 1988

Cover art for The Natural by Malamud showing Bump Bailey crashing thru the outfield wall

I see you went with a normal cover for The Natural...

Great choices. I did Stephen Florida for a book club with some college friends and they didn't know what the hell to make of it

What books do you have on the syllabus?

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen - Topic 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

“4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”, Bruce Springsteen. Never gets old. #4thofJuly youtu.be/EiGfB0QBTV4?si… via @YouTube

I heard he almost went with a much shorter set of Notes that read "I want to rock right now. I'm Rock Bass and I came to get down"

Call these U.S. Representatives and tell them to vote NO on the “Big Beautiful Bill”: AZ-06, Juan Ciscomani CA-22, David Valadao CA-40, Young Kim CA-41, Ken Calvert CO-08, Gabe Evans FL-07, Cory Mills FL-13, Anna Paulina Luna FL-27, Maria Elvira Salazar IA-01, Mariannette Miller-Meeks IA-02, Ashley Hinson IA-03, Zach Nunn MI-07, Tom Barrett MO-02, Ann Wagner NJ-07, Tom Kean Jr. NY-17, Mike Lawler OH-07, Max Miller OH-10, Mike Turner OH-15, Mike Carey PA-01, Brian Fitzpatrick PA-07, Ryan Mackenzie PA-08, Rob Bresnahan PA-10, Scott Perry TN-05, Andy Ogles TX-15, Monica De La Cruz VA-01, Rob Wittman VA-02, Jen Kiggans WI-01, Bryan Steil WI-03, Derrick Van Orden

These are the weak points. You know what to do. First thing tomorrow, use 5calls.org and raise hell.

(1/2) have on good authority that some of the GOP reps most likely to vote no are in blue + purple states. If you’re in one of the following districts, send your rep a nasty email tonight or early tomorrow:
-AZ: 6
-CA: 22, 23, 40, 41
-CO: 3
-MD: 1
-NC: 3, 11
-NJ: 2, 4
-NY: 1, 2, 11, 17

The last page of Winters Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Finishing a re-read of Winter's Bone while the sun sets and the birds won't shut up and loving when a perfect book gets more perfect

"Sullivan Street" by Counting Crows

I have a pair of slightly-wide-pocketed jeans I had custom-made to carry around "So Long, See You Tomorrow". Sometimes I throw "Bob the Gambler" back there.

Mike Prask's list of 10 best movies of the 21st century -- Hot Fuzz, In Bruges, Rogue One, first Spidervetse, Children of Men, Tenenbaums, Almost Famous, Ratatouille, Superbad, and Eternal Sunshine

I somehow forgot Michael Clayton and The Nice Guys but otherwise this works for me

Nope, I'm a Notre Dame grad, so a couple decades of de facto Big 10 rivalries has stuck with me. I was able to set all that aside when my daughter decided to apply to all Big 10 schools.

This was a hell of a way to learn my old roommate was the head of the Chicago Dept. of Transportation for the last few years

As a grad of a school that wasn't a rival but at least played them every year, I don't think I can fully embrace the Go Green/White thing either. Go Sparties!

I think the Catholic Church should do this every day in every city

Might have liked this regardless but definitely liked it since my oldest is headed there in the fall...

Hey folks. I know there's a lot going on right now, but I'd really appreciate it if you read this piece I wrote on the perils of raising an autistic child during the era of RFK Jr. and his campaign of insane conspiracies and cruel scare tactics geared toward people on the spectrum.

Not sure if they count as speculative, and one is just over 300p, but the two best horror-adjacent books I've recently read were Extended Stay by Juan Martinez and The Militia House by John Milas

A photo of a protest in Chicago

Chicago's No Kings march is so large the front is headed down Michigan Ave but folks are marching towards Wacker on every north/south street until at least Dearborn

Engraved on City Hall: “THE SALVATION OF THE COMMUNITY IS WATCHFULNESS OF THE CITIZEN”

Rode a hotel elevator in Alexandria, VA with Kevin Bacon. We nodded politely to each other. I'm not sure what he recognized me from.