14th Century

   
Artist: 14th Century

   Genre(s): 
Rap: Hip-Hop
   

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Discography:


   
 Gung Fu The First Principle (Paper Cranes)

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 15

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Dispatch From BEA: Doom-Sayers, Agents, and Jackie Collins

Clockwise from top left, Jackie Collins; an enterprising author; the crowd; Henry Holt president Dan Farley, PW's Louisa Ermelino, agent Ira Silverberg.Photos: Boris Kachka

New York's Boris Kachka reports from Book Expo America, the book industry's largest get-together, which runs this weekend in Los Angeles.

Was the first promotionally costumed character we saw an omen of the tenor of this year's book fair? Probably not, because the woman walking around in a white wig carrying a placard reading "The Rapture Is Coming" clearly had her tongue in her cheek. She was one of the co-writers of How to Profit From the Coming Rapture, a how-to book, she told us, about "where to invest, and when to invest, when the world ends." But how does she know she'll be left behind? "We have to be," she said. "We're Jews."



Considerably more popular was Jackie Collins, demurely and silently signing away in full-haired, medallioned glory. Booksellers were just getting their bearings this morning, but several favorites among the hundreds of upcoming books on display were emerging. As usual, the Philip Roth galleys went first (for Indignation, due in September) — more than 800, gone in about an hour. Kira Salak's The White Mary and Brunonia Barry's The Lace Reader were books from this year's early Buzz Panel that seemed to be pulling their weight. The latter was a favorite of both Bridget Kinsella, a Publishers Weekly contributor, and Kathleen Caldwell, owner of Oakland's A Great Good Place Books. Caldwell also talked up Seldon Edwards's The Little Book, almost apologizing for the fact that, yes, it involves time travel. "I don't usually read that stuff, but it's so good," she said.

Even more sought-out were books that, for one reason or another, you wouldn't be seeing here. New galleys by bookseller faves E.O. Wilson, Malcolm Gladwell, and Marilynne Robinson were not yet available. Are their publishers just slackers, or is the fair maybe less of a priority in buzz-building than it used to be? Agent Ira Silverberg thought so but put a positive spin on it. "It's not about that one 'buzzy' book so much," he said. "It's back to the way it was when I started working — just people meeting each other, learning and talking and going to panels." BEA continues through the weekend. —Boris Kachka

Jackie Chan, Segway dealer, says co. fears piracy

HONG KONG —

Actor Jackie Chan says his Segway dealership here is doing well, though costs are high because the manufacturer won't let him assemble the battery-powered scooters in China for fear of piracy.

"They're afraid of people stealing the technology," the 54-year-old action star said Wednesday at a security fair in Hong Kong.

China is a leading source of knockoffs ranging from movies and music to sporting goods and medication. Beijing has toughened penalties and cracked down repeatedly, but manufacturers say violations are more prevalent than enforcement.

Chan said he was confident Segway executives would change their minds as Chinese sales grow.

A basic Segway scooter costs about $10,000 in China - pricey in a country where the average worker makes less than $100 a month. The two-wheelers, which balance on their own and glide noiselessly down streets or sidewalks, cost about $5,000 in the U.S.

Chan, who is from Hong Kong, said he didn't start the business to make money but to bring the clean technology to China. He also sells the scooters in Macau, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

"This is very little money to me. I don't rely on this to make money," he said.

Chan's business partner, Matt McGuire, said they aim to sell 600 to 1,000 Segway scooters in China this year. Security and grounds staff at the Olympics will use about 100, the Beijing airport's new terminal has ordered four, and police in the eastern province of Shandong have bought 30 scooters to patrol the Olympic sailing venue, he said.

Among the Segway models on display at the security fair Wednesday were a police model and a camouflage-colored military version.

When the scooter hit the market in 2001, inventor Dean Kamen predicted it would make the car obsolete in congested cities. Segways are still a rare sight, however.

McGuire said Chan's dealership has grown "significantly" since opening in 2006, with annual revenue now in the millions of U.S. dollars.

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