Greetings to our readers around the world. If you haven't yet heard, Mark's book The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is now out in audio format - and read by the author himself! More details below.
The week began with the IPA posting the video of Steyn's speech in Melbourne. There are a few local jokes in the first minute or so to warm up the Aussies, but what follows on free speech and the habits of liberty is of more general application. Click below to watch:
~Mark himself made a little bit of news this week, thanks to his performance with UKIP leader Nigel Farage against Louise Arbour and Simon Schama in the Munk Debate on the European "refugee" crisis. Here's his red-carpet pre-interview, as it were, with Rudyard Griffiths:
After the debate, Douglas Murray reviewed the event in The Spectator, as did Barbara Kay in Canada's National Post under the stirring headline "When Mark Steyn Struck Back". Here's the moment Mrs Kay writes about - first Mme Arbour, then Professor Schama, then Steyn:
Further commentary on the debate came from Virginia Hale at Breitbart, Nicholas Nazar at The Huffington Post, and Kathy Shaidle at Taki's Mag under the headline "An Evening with the 'Rape Me First, Kill Me Last' Crowd". Mark himself shared some post-debate thoughts here.
As the week went on, Steyn mused on leftist labeling, and the curious case of the New Man and his Gender Gap. By Friday, Mark was humiliatingly forced to confess that he didn't know the difference between a cardboard hashtag and a whiteboard hashtag.
~Listeners continue to enjoy Steyn's new cat album Feline Groovy: Songs for Swingin' Cats, featuring Mark and his beloved cat Marvin. It has a four-and-a-half star rating over at iTunes and a lot of five-star reviews at Amazon, including this one:
It's the only cat album you'll ever need...The roundup of songs is simply great and although I'm more the opera and classical music lover, I was surprised that each and every one of Steyn's cat songs was a joy to listen to. My true favorite is the 'bonus' song or as Steyn calls it - the Baker's dozen, track 13 : "She Only Talks That Way To The Cat", something not only cat lovers fully understand, but others who live with them also can relate to.
That track was kind of an afterthought and nearly didn't make the album, but we're glad so many listeners seem to relate to its plaintive theme. Feline Groovy: Songs for Swingin' Cats is available on CD. But, if you can't wait that long, it can be yours in seconds via digital download from Amazon or iTunes.
~If you don't like Mark's singing voice, wait till you hear his speaking voice! His book The [Un]documented Mark Steyn is out now in audio format - and narrated by Mark himself! It's a Top Five bestseller on the political humor hit parade, so, if you need some companionship for a long car journey, please check it out.
~Join Mark on Wednesday morning at 8.30am Eastern Time when he and Toronto's Number One morning man John Oakley chew over the week's news, live on AM640.