Offmessage

So. Grey Tuesday is over. Didn’t hit the press in the UK in quite the way it did in the US and, I’m glad (I think) to say that I didn’t receive any cease and desist type communication from EMI (at least so far). If I had I’m sure my response wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good as this one. A small blow struck, anyway.

This is an intricately woven tale of a literature professor (David Zimmer) who’s life has fallen apart through the death of his wife and children in an air accident. In an attempt to heal his wounds he immerses himself in the work of Hector Mann, a silent movie star from the golden age of cinema. The story unfolds as Zimmer receives a letter out of the blue from someone purporting to be the wife of this long dead star.

Three stories unfold in intricate detail - the story of Zimmer seeking out the truth behind the letters he receives, the story of the films of Hector Mann and the story of Mann’s life after his disappearance. The invention that Auster shows in weaving together this story is impressive. Mixing together the 3 stories with fictional criticism of the films that make up the background of the story makes quite a compelling read.

If I’m to be honest I’m not sure what to think about this book. I found it easy to read and inoffensive, but… It attempts to be an intelligent novel but the metaphors are forced and the carefully formed parallels between the stories get a little wearing as the book moves on.

All in all it’s a good holiday read - I’d devour this on the beach without a second thought. What it isn’t is challenging, which I’m afraid is what I like…

NASA has just announced that the number of visits to the website hosting the Mars rover pictures exceeded the number of people on the planet. That’s quite frightening.

Please go over to Grey Tuesday and have a read.

Rather nice platform game. Good fun, but I recommend you turn the sound down…

Tired of boring old Latin text for your web site layouts? Try introductions from 80s TV shows instead. (By the way, my name is Max. I take care of both of them, which ain’t easy, ’cause when they met it was MURDER!) Nice!

It’s weird what you find in your inbox some days… Today I find both the rather beautiful (in an odd way) beautiful agony and the incredibly seedy (but funny) U R Dumped (neither are safe for work). Digital cameras have an awful lot to answer for.

…every time unsuccessfully… DARPA are (again) trying to control soldiers’ metabolisms with drugs. Haven’t they already learned with LSD, MDMA and amphetamines? Ah well. We’re in need of a new recreational drug. Perhaps the American Govt will be kind enough to provide one?

Rather unnerving news on slashdot yesterday - German IT mag c’t catches virus distributers selling the IP addresses of infected machines to spammers. Means virus writing is a career for more than just McAfee et al.

At least you can trust the big brands to commission some good stuff… Like Coca-Cola’s table football.