Jonathan Franzen rips Amazon, praises obscure Austrian satirist

Jonathan Franzen spent 50 minutes discussing the work of Austrian satirist Karl Kraus and slamming social media and modern technology, particularly Amazon, at his Portland Arts & Lectures appearance Thursday night. The author of "Freedom" and "The Corrections" seemed a little apprehensive and defensive about the content of his lecture, but he needn't have worried. You might not agree with all of Franzen's arguments, and he sometimes came across as out-of-touch and a scold…