Oblivion: Stories + More DFW

[Pre]

I also started Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity which is a non-fiction book by him
and I'm really enjoying, but would only recommend if you either are a math nerd and/or if you love
appreciating brilliant writing as far as form/function/style/diction/everything.

I finished this up today and I loved it for the style but I don't really think I could recommend.  I've
got a solid math background for a non-math major, but the book for the most part just oscillated
between stuff I kind of remember and explanations of things too complicated to prove/go into real
detail.  I think anyone with a weak math background would be all kinds of lost, and someone with a
stronger background would be bored.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2009/12/14/091214fi_fiction_wallace

[Oleg]

OK...finished IJ just over a week ago.

Hal and Pemulis were going to take the DMZ in AZ during the Whataburger...we can assume they actually did...or not.  Either way, Hal loses it, so whatever.

Just how the hell did Hal and Gately know each other?  When would their paths have possibly crossed?

There was a point at about the 100 pages left mark where I came to the realization there was no way any plot line was going to get resolved.  I actually think I enjoyed those last pages even more knowing that.

This book is clearly all about the journey and not about the destination.

What an amazing book...

[Gilgamesh]

DFW's course syllabi from his time at ISU and Pomona College in California.

Some others are there too, like Auden.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/02/i-urge-you-to-drop-e67-02-course-syllabi-by-famous-authors/273578/

[Sterling Archer]

DFW's course syllabi from his time at ISU and Pomona College in California.

Some others are there too, like Auden.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/02/i-urge-you-to-drop-e67-02-course-syllabi-by-famous-authors/273578/

If you want to improve your academic writing and are willing to put extra time and effort into it, I am a good teacher to have.  But if you're used to whipping off papers the night before they're due, running them quickly through the computer's Spellchecker, handing them in full of high-school errors and sentences that make no sense, and having the professor accept them "because the ideas are good" or something, please be informed that I draw no distinction between the quality of one's ideas and the quality of those ideas' verbal expression, and that I will not accept sloppy, rough-draftish, or semiliterate college writing.  Again, I am absolutely not kidding.  If you won't or can't devote significant time and attention to your written work, I urge you to drop E67-02 and save us both a lot of grief.

This should be on every syllabus.

[morpheus]

DFW's course syllabi from his time at ISU and Pomona College in California.

Some others are there too, like Auden.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/02/i-urge-you-to-drop-e67-02-course-syllabi-by-famous-authors/273578/

If you want to improve your academic writing and are willing to put extra time and effort into it, I am a good teacher to have.  But if you're used to whipping off papers the night before they're due, running them quickly through the computer's Spellchecker, handing them in full of high-school errors and sentences that make no sense, and having the professor accept them "because the ideas are good" or something, please be informed that I draw no distinction between the quality of one's ideas and the quality of those ideas' verbal expression, and that I will not accept sloppy, rough-draftish, or semiliterate college writing.  Again, I am absolutely not kidding.  If you won't or can't devote significant time and attention to your written work, I urge you to drop E67-02 and save us both a lot of grief.

This should be on every syllabus.

THIS.  Love it.

[Fork]

check his signature.

[Sterling Archer]

More DFW.

[R-V]

More DFW.

That is spooky because I was just listening to this yesterday. So good. Here's a link to the unedited speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZXljbi57Hg

Just finished Girl with Curious Hair. Some of the stories are a slog but if you're a DFW fan, definitely worth your time. You can see echoes of the voice he perfected in Infinite Jest in the story about Jeopardy, and the last one about a reunion of everyone who's ever starred in a McDonald's commercial.

[PenFoe]

More DFW.

That is spooky because I was just listening to this yesterday. So good. Here's a link to the unedited speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZXljbi57Hg

Just finished Girl with Curious Hair. Some of the stories are a slog but if you're a DFW fan, definitely worth your time. You can see echoes of the voice he perfected in Infinite Jest in the story about Jeopardy, and the last one about a reunion of everyone who's ever starred in a McDonald's commercial.

It's spooky that he posted something that everyone on the internet was listening to in the last 48 hours?

(That said, it's cool as hell. Just pointing out that you're a weinis.)

[Slaky]

I recently learned of some very strongly worded criticism of Mr. Wallace post-death and they made me sad. Does he suck and we're just fake smart jags? Or are people who are overly critical of him the fake smart jags?

Better yet - we're all jags.

If I find out the #Cools out there hate Tom Pynchon I'll just throw myself into a dumpster and live out my days with Ryan Reaves.

[R-V]

More DFW.

That is spooky because I was just listening to this yesterday. So good. Here's a link to the unedited speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZXljbi57Hg

Just finished Girl with Curious Hair. Some of the stories are a slog but if you're a DFW fan, definitely worth your time. You can see echoes of the voice he perfected in Infinite Jest in the story about Jeopardy, and the last one about a reunion of everyone who's ever starred in a McDonald's commercial.

It's spooky that he posted something that everyone on the internet was listening to in the last 48 hours?

(That said, it's cool as hell. Just pointing out that you're a weinis.)

I didn't know that all the cools were listening to it, internet arbiter. I was just revisiting this old page after finishing my book.

http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/46-things-to-read-and-see-for-david-foster-wallaces-50th-birthday

[R-V]

I recently learned of some very strongly worded criticism of Mr. Wallace post-death and they made me sad. Does he suck and we're just fake smart jags? Or are people who are overly critical of him the fake smart jags?

Better yet - we're all jags.

If I find out the #Cools out there hate Tom Pynchon I'll just throw myself into a dumpster and live out my days with Ryan Reaves.

I've read more than a few things about Wallace's friendship/rivalry with Franzen and I think Franzen might be a jag, if that helps.

[Slaky]

I recently learned of some very strongly worded criticism of Mr. Wallace post-death and they made me sad. Does he suck and we're just fake smart jags? Or are people who are overly critical of him the fake smart jags?

Better yet - we're all jags.

If I find out the #Cools out there hate Tom Pynchon I'll just throw myself into a dumpster and live out my days with Ryan Reaves.

I've read more than a few things about Wallace's friendship/rivalry with Franzen and I think Franzen might be a jag, if that helps.

If you want to just hate yourself read this. Apparently #smarts really enjoyed it. It was written by someone from TonkerLand,

http://exiledonline.com/david-foster-wallace-portrait-of-an-infinitely-limited-mind/

[R-V]

I recently learned of some very strongly worded criticism of Mr. Wallace post-death and they made me sad. Does he suck and we're just fake smart jags? Or are people who are overly critical of him the fake smart jags?

Better yet - we're all jags.

If I find out the #Cools out there hate Tom Pynchon I'll just throw myself into a dumpster and live out my days with Ryan Reaves.

I've read more than a few things about Wallace's friendship/rivalry with Franzen and I think Franzen might be a jag, if that helps.

If you want to just hate yourself read this. Apparently #smarts really enjoyed it. It was written by someone from TonkerLand,

http://exiledonline.com/david-foster-wallace-portrait-of-an-infinitely-limited-mind/

Wow. I made it through the whole thing which I think means I'm a #clever. I didn't really get the guilt-by-association thing in the non-Wallace section (Eggers sucks because his brother works somewhere....uh, what?), but the Wallace criticisms (like the Nardil stuff) were more interesting. I especially enjoyed this quote:

This confirms what we’ve always known: secretly, hipsters do like all the dreck they pretend to enjoy ironically.