Month: February 2007

This is just sort of creepy:

A Dutch primary school teacher dying of cancer is overseeing one last class project: her pupils are making her coffin.

It’s one thing to be honest with the kids about death. It’s quite another for them to build your coffin. What do you tell them if she dies before they finish?

Sophie Harrison on Paul Auster’s latest:

When his novels work, it’s because he successfully persuades us of the writer’s oldest trick: that his characters have somehow broken free of their creator.

Travels in the Scriptorium, she suggests, falls short of this. I have to read the short novel myself, but I do get the sense that Auster may be going through the motions somewhat. While I enjoyed both Book of Illusions and Oracle Night, two of his most recent novels, they did read a little like imitations of his earlier work — right down to his decision to set them in the same late ’80s/early ’90s of the previous books.

How was it not Friday, I don’t know — like, three days ago? This one’s been a long time coming, is what I’m trying to say. But as it’s Friday, there’s this, the Friday Random Guess 10:

  1. Packing your bags like people in the movies do
  2. “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals, guessed by Kim
    She sewed my new bluejeans
  3. Met a girl, fell in love, glad as I can be
  4. “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash, guessed by Kim
    I find myself alone when each day is through
  5. For today, today, today is a happy day
  6. “He Went to Paris” by Jimmy Buffett, guessed by Kim
    He was impressive, young and aggressive
  7. But I think I might stay in the shade
  8. When the motion of one thousand human hearts are screaming out that it’s their turn
  9. “You’ll Accompany Me” by Bob Seger, guessed by Kim
    You start with fire but you lose the flame
  10. “Pretty in Pink” by the Dresden Dolls (orig. the Psychedelic Furs), guessed by Kim
    That’s it, that’s the end of the joke

Last week’s answers are here. As always, good luck!

In my experience, it never pays to get the faster shipping with Amazon.com. I recently made two purchases online. With the first, I went with free shipping. With the second, because I wanted to receive the package sooner, I chose next-day mail. Guess which one shipped right away? Guess which one isn’t scheduled to ship for almost another week? I think Amazon doesn’t like to be rushed. If you feign patience and say, “Send it to me whenever,” they will reward you. But they’ll punish you if you actually want next-day to mean next-day.