links for 2009-11-02
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information about the Indianapolis written novel.
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Synopsis of the movie, which seems much different to me than the book I read, although they credit Indianapolis author Meredith Nicholson.
David Foster Wallace Dead at 46
Writer David Foster Wallace hung himself on Friday at the age of 46. That’s really awful. My heart goes out to his family.
Would it be completely inappropriate to point out that he’s wearing my wool coat in this photo? I’m just saying.
2022-03-17 Update:
The only book I read of his was Broom of the System. I actually read the whole thing. And hated it. And book club hated me for making them read it. They were seriously pissed. I had a copy of Infinite Jest, and ever so often I’d pop it open and try to get something read in in. Then I read that he had abused Mary Karr when they were a couple, so I threw it out. (I generally throw out books, but in this case, why bother donating it?)
The only book I read of his was Broom of the System. I actually read the whole thing. And hated it. And book club hated me for making them read it. They were seriously pissed. I had a copy of Infinite Jest, and ever so often I’d pop it open and try to get something read in in. Then I read that he had abused Mary Karr when they were a couple, so I threw it out. (I generally throw out books, but in this case, why bother donating it?)
The Laws of Physics Don’t Apply to Me
College Application essay by Hugh Gallagher, author of Teeth:
3A. ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
But I have not yet gone to college.