Saturday, February 25, 2012

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • ISBN13: 9780316925198
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
David Foster Wallace made an art of taking readers into places no other writer even gets near. The series of stories from which this exuberantly acclaimed book takes its title is a sequence of imagined interviews with men on the subject of their relations with women. These portraits of men at their most self-justifying, loquacious, and benighted explore poignantly and hilariously the agonies of sexual connections.Amid the screams of adulation for bandanna-clad wunderkind David Foster Wallace, you might hear a small peep. It is the cry for some restraint. On occasion the reader is left in the dust wondering where the story went, as the author, literary turbochargers on full-blast, suddenly accelerates i! nto the wild-blue-footnoted yonder in pursuit of some obscure metafictional fancy. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Wallace's latest collection, is at least in part a response to the distress signal put out by the many readers who want to ride along with him, if he'd only slow down for a second.

The intellectual gymnastics and ceaseless rumination endure (if you don't have a tolerance for that kind of thing, your nose doesn't belong in this book), but they are for the most part couched in simpler, less frenzied narratives. The book's four-piece namesake takes the form of interview transcripts, in which the conniving horror that is the male gender is revealed in all of its licentious glory. In the short, two-part "The Devil Is a Busy Man," Wallace strolls through the Hall of Mirrors that is human motivation. (Is it possible to completely rid an act of generosity of any self-serving benefits? And why is it easier to sell a couch for five dollars than it is ! to give it away for free?) The even shorter glimpse into moder! n-day so cial ritual, "A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life," stretches the seams of its total of seven lines with scathing economy: "She laughed extremely hard, hoping to be liked. Then each drove home alone, staring straight ahead, with the very same twist to their faces." Wallace also imbues his extreme observational skills with a haunting poetic sensibility. Witness what he does to a diving board and the two darkened patches at the end of it in "Forever Overhead":

It's going to send you someplace which its own length keeps you from seeing, which seems wrong to submit to without even thinking.... They are skin abraded from feet by the violence of the disappearance of people with real weight.
Of course, not every piece is an absolute winner. "The Depressed Person" slips from purposefully clinical to unintentionally boring. "Tri-Stan: I Sold Sissee Nar to Ecko" reimagines an Arthurian tale in MTV terms and holds your attention for about as ! long as you'd imagine from such a description. Ultimately, however, even these failed experiments are a testament to Mr. Wallace's endless if unbridled talent. Once he gets the reins completely around that sucker, it's going to be quite a ride. --Bob Michaels

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

An Affair Without End

Friday, February 3, 2012

Cricut Expression 290300 Personal Electronic Cutter

  • Electronic cutting machine for scrapbooks, classroom decor, signage, and more
  • Cartridge system requires no computer; cuts from 1/4 inch to 23-1/2 inches
  • Easy-to-read LCD screen; 6 modes; 4 functions; portrait or landscape orientation
  • Comes with Plantin SchoolBook font and shape cartridge, and Accent Essentials mini shape cartridge
  • 21-1/2 by 7 by 7-3/4 inches; instructional DVD and 12 by 12 inches cutting mat included
When fallen pop diva angelas husband sol discovers that shes having an affair with failed actor tony angela calculatedly offs him with a poisoned suppository or does she? what follows is a hilarious mix of whodunits & double crossings involving the maid the vampy daughter & the boy toy son. Studio: Arts Alliance America Release Date: 02/26/2008 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: RFirst, he bound and beat his girlfriend, a 43-year-old librarian. Then ! he went after her teenaged daughter - warning her, 'Scream and I will kill you both' - before knocking her unconscious. When the teenager awoke, he proceeded to rape her. And in a final horrifying act of depravity, he forced the girl to watch as he slit her mother's throat. But the killing didn't stop there...Stephen Stanko was described as 'a perfect gentleman' who 'seemed so pleasant...and so normal.' But behind Stanko's mild-mannered appearance, round spectacles, and quiet intelligence was a coldblooded ex-convict who kept a grisly scrapbook on serial killers - and convinced everyone he was a nice guy - until he killed and killed again. A well-orchestrated manhunt caught up with Stanko, who tried to get away with his crimes by pleading insanity. But the jury saw through his ruse and the ruthless killer was sentenced to death.In The Hands Of A Sadist. . .

First, he bound and beat his girlfriend, a 43-year-old librarian. Then he went after her teenaged daughter--w! arning her, "Scream and I will kill you both"--before knocking! her unc onscious. When the teenager awoke, he proceded to rape her. And in a final horrifying act of depravity, he forced the girl to watch as he slit her mother's throat. But the killing didn't stop there. . .

In The Crosshairs Of A Killer. . .

Stephen Stanko was described as "a perfect gentleman" who "seemed so pleasant. . .and so normal." But behind Stanko's mild-mannered appearance, round spectacles, and quiet intelligence was a coldblooded ex-convict who kept a grisly scrapbook on serial killers--and convinced everyone he was a nice guy--until he killed and killed again.

On The Trail Of A Psycho. . .

A well-orchestrated manhunt caught up with Stanko, who tried to get away with his crimes by pleading insanity. But the jury saw through his ruse and the ruthless killer was sentenced to death.

Case Seen On 48 Hours

Includes 16 Pages of Shocking PhotosIn The Hands Of A Sadist. . .

First, he bound and beat his girlfriend, a 43-year-! old librarian. Then he went after her teenaged daughter--warning her, "Scream and I will kill you both"--before knocking her unconscious. When the teenager awoke, he proceded to rape her. And in a final horrifying act of depravity, he forced the girl to watch as he slit her mother's throat. But the killing didn't stop there. . .

In The Crosshairs Of A Killer. . .

Stephen Stanko was described as "a perfect gentleman" who "seemed so pleasant. . .and so normal." But behind Stanko's mild-mannered appearance, round spectacles, and quiet intelligence was a coldblooded ex-convict who kept a grisly scrapbook on serial killers--and convinced everyone he was a nice guy--until he killed and killed again.

On The Trail Of A Psycho. . .

A well-orchestrated manhunt caught up with Stanko, who tried to get away with his crimes by pleading insanity. But the jury saw through his ruse and the ruthless killer was sentenced to death.

Case Seen On 48 Hours

I! ncludes 16 Pages of Shocking PhotosYou slipped into my lif! e as eas ily as vermouth into a glass of gin, purrs reclusive singing star Angela Arden, as played by camp icon Charles Busch ("Psycho Beach Party"). Arden is not only haunted by a secret, she's treated like dirt by her louse of a husband (Phillip Baker Hall, "Boogie Nights"), her snoopy maid (Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under"), and her petulant daughter (Natasha Lyonne, "Slums of Beverly Hills"). Only her mentally defective son (Stark Sands) and a well-endowed gigolo (Jason Priestley, "Beverly Hills 90210") treat her with love and affection. Is it any wonder she takes drastic action to improve her life? Replete with lurid sex, incestuous overtones, a poisoned suppository, musical numbers, an acid freakout, and black-and-white flashbacks, "Die Mommie Die!" lovingly sends up movie soap operas. The tone is uneven, but Busch skillfully walks a razor-sharp line throughout. "--Bret Fetzer"The Cricut Expression Personal Electronic Cutter is an innovative die-cutting machine from! Provo Craft. As the largest of the Cricut machines, the Cricut Expression allows cuts from a tiny 1/4 inch up to an impressive 23 1/2 inch tall. Its 6 modes and 4 functions offer greater customization of cuts, and new settings and menus add functionality to the machine. Unlike traditional die-cutting machines, the Cricut Expression is portable and cuts quickly and easily. Just select the image you want and press cut. You won’t have to worry about storing expensive and bulky dies. A single cartridge for the Cricut Expression is the equivalent of hundreds of dies from a traditional die-cutting system, but Cricut cartridges can fit in the palm of your hand. You’ll be amazed at everything the Cricut Expression machine has to offer. Includes instructional DVD and 12 by 12 inch cutting mat. Measures 21-1/2 by 7 by 7-3/4 inches.