Category Archives: Literary-type Goings-on

When ‘The Hunger Games’ was called ‘The Long Walk’

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

With The Hunger Games opening this weekend, a lot of people are pointing to Battle Royale as an obvious precursor, but I’ve been thinking of The Long Walk, a novel that Stephen King published under his pseudonym Richard Bachman in … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary-type Goings-on | 6 Comments

I don’t enjoy this war one bit

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

Today would have been David Foster Wallace’s 50th birthday. Letters of Note has history’s greatest fan letter, which Wallace wrote to the novelist Don DeLillo just before the publication of Infinite Jest. I have a hard time understanding how Fun … Continue reading →

Posted in Beautiful Writing, Literary-type Goings-on | 2 Comments

Teller’s Advice to a Young Magician

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Magician Brian Brushwood shares some advice he got when he just wee lad from Teller of Penn & Teller. It’s good advice no matter what your field. Here’s a compositional secret. It’s so obvious and simple, you’ll say to yourself, … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary-type Goings-on, Quotable Quotes of the Quoted | Leave a comment

And now you find you fit this identikit completely

Posted on February 19, 2012 by

The Composites is a website that uses law enforcement software to create composite sketches for famous literary characters based on their descriptions. Below: The Misfit from Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Description: He was an older … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Literary-type Goings-on | Leave a comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

My father always said to me, “All the things that I went through during the Holocaust are within your spectrum of emotion. You know what it is to be afraid. You know what it is to be cold. You know … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary-type Goings-on, Quotable Quotes of the Quoted | Leave a comment

The Wisdom of Stephen Maturin

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

‘People say unkind things about Lord Sandwich,’ observed Stephen as they sat down, ‘but I think mankind is very much in his debt for that genial invention . . .’ – Stephen Maturin in The Reverse of the Medal by … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Literary-type Goings-on, Quotable Quotes of the Quoted | Leave a comment

Dr. Seuss’s ‘The Call of Cthulhu’

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

What if Dr. Seuss had written H.P. Lovecraft’s classic story, ‘The Call of Cthulhu?’ Now an intrepid soul, DrFaustusAu, has answered that age-old question — you can see the results here. (Warning: clicking link will give you an insanity-inducing glimpse … Continue reading →

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What sound does a flying knife make?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by

I am late to The Hunger Games — a book I am enjoying very much — but was brought up short by this bit: “Adrenaline shoots through me and I sling the pack over one shoulder and run full-speed for … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary-type Goings-on | 1 Comment

“It has a long way to go before it can even be called simplistic.”

Posted on June 19, 2011 by

Christopher Hitchens on David Mamet’s new book, The Secret Knowledge, about how he (Mamet) used to be all liberal and pussy-whipped but now that he gets all his ideas from right wing talk radio he’s all, like, iconoclastic and shit … Continue reading →

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Outrage! Next They’ll Mix Up Glamdring and Andúril

Posted on May 9, 2011 by

Send out the Tolkien Signal! Fellow Nerds, there has been a grievous offense that must be avenged! Middle Earth hangs on a knife’s edge. From the New York Times: This post has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Literary-type Goings-on | 2 Comments