My default position was sprawled across the bed staring at the ceiling or cataloging an extensive collection of X-Factor comic books. This never cut it for Dad, who insisted I learn the wavelengths of my world. In the quiet chaos of my room, everything was certain. I’d be thumbing through the origin of Beast’s feral [...]
There’s been some coverage in the New York Times of the recent e-book pricing dispute between Amazon and Macmillan focusing on the potential for consumer backlash over e-book prices. The coverage includes the following quote: “The sense of entitlement of the American consumer is absolutely astonishing,” said Douglas Preston, whose novel “Impact” reached as high as [...]
I think creative people ought to avoid getting bent out of shape the second the sturm und drang of capitalism interferes with their cash flow. In many ways, the attacks on Amazon are getting so much purchase because many authors have sandboxes and and are not afraid of using them. But here is another view. Amazon [...]
Women complain that instead of calling to ask them out, or even make plans for a date, men simply text, “Heading downtown. Where r u?” as they walk to the subway. That may be deliberate. “There is no longer any reason to answer the phone when a woman calls you or return her call when [...]
But the more you read his other works, the more it becomes obvious that Wallace couldn’t even sign a credit card slip without bolting on an addendum. The dude loved endnotes–I’m pretty sure that’s the only real reason they are there. A Bonus Second QOTD: I guess what I would ask is what happens when [...]
My VERY SPOILERY thoughts after finishing Infinite Jest below the fold.
I’ve been really enjoying reading Infinite Jest over the summer, as one small participant in a somewhat larger coalition. I must admit that one of the side effects of reading this book is a renewed interest in vocabulary. Another is that, after lugging around this brick of a novel, I have a keen interest in [...]
And that if what we wanted a broom for was to break windows, then the handle was clearly the fundamental essence of the broom, and she illustrated with the kitchen window, and a crowd of domestics gathered; but that if we wanted the broom to sweep with, see for example the broken glass, sweep, sweep, [...]
I just read that Hollywood is making a movie based on the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is my second favorite novel of all time, second only to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I haven’t read either again, for fear of stomping over the memory of reading [...]
My wife and I dressed up as undecided Ohio voters for a party on Friday. Vote Obama, wait no, vote McCain, wait, ugh, I can’t decide. I wasn’t involved, but others at the party played what I thought was a clever prank. They stole borrowed a neighbor’s pumpkin, carved it into a Jack-o-Lantern, then put [...]