James Robert Baker (1946–1997) was an American author of sharply satirical,
predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. A native Californian, his
work is set almost entirely in Southern California. After graduating from
UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and
started writing novels instead. Though he garnered fame for his books
Fuel-Injected Dreams and Boy Wonder, after the controversy surrounding
publication of his novel, Tim And Pete, he faced increasing difficulty
having his work published. According to his life partner, this was a
contributing factor in his suicide. Baker's work has achieved cult status in
the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously
published. First-edition copies of his earlier works have become collector's
items. One of his novels was filmed (though it was not a financial success)
and two others have been optioned for the movies, though they have not been
produced.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robert_Baker
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1009:
Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of
Jerusalem, was destroyed.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre)
1081:
Byzantine–Norman Wars: The Normans under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and
Calabria, defeated the Byzantines outside the city of Dyrrhachium, the
Byzantine capital of Illyria.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dyrrhachium_(1081))
1356:
An earthquake caused much destruction in a vast region extending into France
and Germany, destroying Basel, Switzerland.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1356_Basel_earthquake)
1851:
Moby-Dick, a novel by American writer Herman Melville , was first published
as The Whale.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick)
1968:
At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set a world
record of 8.90m in the long jump, a mark that eventually became the longest
unbroken track and field record in history, standing for 23 years.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
creek: (n) 1. (India, UK) A small inlet or bay, narrower and extending
further into the land than a cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a
river.
2. (Australia, Canada, US) A stream of water smaller than a river and larger
than a brook.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/creek)
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Wikiquote of the day:
There's too much of an attempt, it seems to me, to think in terms of
controlling man, rather than freeing him. Of defining him rather than
letting him go. It's part of the whole ideology of this age, which is
power-mad.
--Arthur Miller
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller)