Mother Jones has an article on Barbour's supposed failures to reform the state's child-protection agency, which gives some insight into Barbour's priorities and has the added bonus of actually focusing on something relevant he's done, instead of painting him as a crypto-racist. (I think Barbour *is* a crypto-racist, but that's insufficient as an argument against him -- what GOP candidates are not?)
Almost but not quite 100% unrelated, this little essay on David Foster Wallace's troubles, including a look at the self-help books he seems to've carefully studied, is worth a look for DFW fans. Via 3QD, go find the link yourself, what am I, your mother?
I guess you've seen that DFW's last unfinished book has been published.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I might get it from the library, but I suspect there's a good reason he had a hard time with it.
ReplyDeleteI got bogged down with Infinite Jest because there was too much tennis. Lipsky's book, though, about the week he spent with DFW is fascinating. DFW's brain is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThen you should definitely read DFW's nonfiction, esp. the essays in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, if you haven't already.
ReplyDeleteI've read some of them. Is that the piece about the cruise? "Cause that's a great one. I want to be able to write like that. Guess it's not going to happen now.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the cruise and state-fair essays are priceless. I saw him read from the latter in NYC back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous. I just read a bio of Isabella Blow who also committed suicide but she was a total bitch. Stole her sisters' inheritance. To lose (or I think it's "loose" now based on reading blogs) DFW, though, is sad.
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