  &emailalert=no&email=adgrant@indiana.edu&url=http://closeproximity.blogspot.com&name=Proximity&bgcolor=003399&fcolor=FFFFFF&link=FFFFCC&words=comments&title=Comments &width=350&height=350"> Right now I'm reading (and loving) Boy, part one of children's author urlLink Roald Dahl's autobiography (visit the website; it's really cute and fun). Dahl is one of my favorite authors of all time and is responsible for some of the best fantasy stories ever (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, the Witches, to name a few; all of these are awesome movies too). He also does great realistic stories like Danny the Champion of the World and Matilda. He truly is one of the greats when it comes to writing books for children and adolescents. Dahl's stories are magical and fantasic, but they don't talk down to kids. He has that rare combination of a beautiful imagination and the knack of remembering just how it feels to be a child. The book is a fun, quick trip through his childhood and includes crude line drawings Dahl did himself. Though he went through some grim times,(harsh English boarding school, the death of his father and younger sister) he maintains a delightful optimistic outlook on his life and it's easy to se how he created his own realistic yet somehow cartoonish characters from the population of his own childhood.
As soon as I'm done with this one, it's on to part two of the autobiography, Going Solo. On a related note, a remake of urlLink Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is coming out next summer. Tim Burton's directing it and Johnny Depp will star as Willy Wonka. I don't know if he can top urlLink Gene Wilder (who isn't dead. who knew? ) but it should be pretty great. And on to the Internet writer of the week, I offer up to you urlLink Fred Durst's blog . What a jackass. Also, so far I've gotten songs for the CD from Katie. As soon as I get the rest, I'll get it together. 
