Doggy
Being Gary Shteyngart
Here’s the article I read. Gary Shteyngart has written three books. I read The Debutante’s Handbook, and loved it. I abandoned Absurdistan, and I have reserved Super Sad True Love Story at the library.
The stand
Cultural cringe
(That’s meant to be Katherine Mansfield, by the way)
Treasure islands
Paula Morris has a great story in her collection ‘Forbidden Cities’ about Auckland’s inorganic rubbish collection time. I was looking for it in my bookshelf, but it’s gotten out of control and I’ve started double-shelving my books. Don’t get any ideas — I’m not putting them out on the street.
The novel beast
The Novel Beast is available under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand licence.
Canapé panic
Jonathan looked at this comic and told me it was weird. ‘Weird don’t-post-it, or weird-cool?’ I said. He told me to trust my instincts. I told him my instincts weren’t trustworthy, and besides, since I was so busy with work, I didn’t have time to self-edit. I think this comic might have spawned from the book I am reading to Otto, The Key to Rondo, about a music box that sucks in two children, and possibly from the wonderful Kelly Link story I read a few years back, The Faery Handbag.
If you are in Auckland, you should check out the Writers and Readers festival; there is even a session on comics.
Apples
If you haven’t already, you can check out what I’m doing at my apple blog. I’m viewing it as an exercise in visual poetry, even if it has an ulterior motive of trying to make English people eat more braeburns.
Yoga
See, I’ve got it all wrong. Yoga is meant to be about quieting the mind and gaining body awareness, but I seem to get caught up other-people’s-bodies awareness. I noticed that lots of yoga students have very tiny little toenails. I wonder whether there will be no little toenails in a generation or two. I read a great book earlier this year, called Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, which pointed out the very useful fact that yoga was not a competitive sport. I have to remember that when I am trying to outstretch everyone, and wrenching a few muscles in the process. On the plus side, since I can’t get my inner voice to shut up in yoga, I often have lots of good ideas there. I must go more often.
Bleak house abs
By the way, I have a little side-project — a paid job, no less. It’s all about apples and simple pleasures. So if you want to read more shorter comics by me, and general ruminations on the sunny side of life, check it out.
And here is Neil Gaiman’s journal about his amazing weight-loss tips.
LET ME BE FRANK 