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.

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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)

________________________ 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)

_________________ 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)