{"id":2829,"date":"2008-11-03T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2008-11-03T09:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=2829"},"modified":"2008-11-03T08:23:04","modified_gmt":"2008-11-03T12:23:04","slug":"what-it-is-11308","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/what-it-is-11308","title":{"rendered":"What It Is: 11\/3\/08"},"content":{"rendered":"

What I’m reading:<\/em> The Spy in the Ointment<\/em>, by Donald Westlake<\/a>. I checked this book out of my local library<\/a> around 25 years ago, and I decided to go back and check to see if it’s still there. After they computerized the system, they threw out the old sign-out cards, so there’s no sign of when I actually took this one out. But I think I was around 11 or 12 years old. It’s a hoot of a caper novel, so I’ll probably return to some of those Dortmunder novels that I was too young to understand.<\/p>\n

What I’m listening to:<\/em> Mind How You Go<\/a>\"\", by Skye.<\/p>\n

What I’m watching:<\/em> Not much. Watched the third episode of Mad Men<\/em> (season 1), and am still sorta eh about it. I guess the aspect I find the most interesting is the way the female characters are all portrayed as stunted, crippled personae. But maybe I’m more fascinated by the way that, at certain angles, Jon Hamm resembles Steve Carrell with a much smaller nose.<\/p>\n

What I’m drinking:<\/em> I’m out of Plymouth gin, so it’s back to Wet by Beefeater.<\/p>\n

What Rufus is up to:<\/em> Having his Saturday night bath and smelling nice and fresh. Oh, and playing with his new hedgehog toy, which I’ve alternately named Hedge Fun and Hedgie Murat.<\/p>\n

Where I’m going:<\/em> Atlanta in a couple of weeks, but nowhere this week.<\/p>\n

What I’m happy about:<\/em> Getting out to the Giants game on Sunday!<\/p>\n

What I’m sad about:<\/em> The realization that I’m likely never going to see my copies of Grant Morrison’s Bible John<\/a> comic, having lent them to Chip Delany a number of years ago.<\/p>\n

What I’m pondering:<\/em> Lydia Hearst: Hot<\/a> or not? Broken reflection of Heather Graham<\/a> or not?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I’m reading: The Spy in the Ointment, by Donald Westlake. I checked this book out of my local library around 25 years ago, and I decided to go back and check to see if it’s still there. After they computerized the system, they threw out the old sign-out cards, so there’s no sign of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “What It Is: 11\/3\/08”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[338,224,419,65],"class_list":["post-2829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","tag-donald-westlake","tag-grant-morrison","tag-lydia-hearst","tag-samuel-r-delany"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4C7K-JD","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3163,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/rip-donald-westlake","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":0},"title":"R.I.P., Donald Westlake","author":"Gil","date":"January 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Donald Westlake died on New Year's Eve at the age of 75. My condolences to his wife and family. I read a bunch of Westlake's caper novels when I was a kid, and recently returned to the first one (which I took out of my local library, 25 years ago).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "literature"","block_context":{"text":"literature","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/literature"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8491,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/podcast-simple-tricks-and-nonsense-ep-101","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":1},"title":"Podcast – Simple Tricks and Nonsense (ep. 101)","author":"Gil","date":"January 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show: Levi Stahl - Simple Tricks and Nonsense \"The biggest thing I learned editing The Getaway Car is that a working writer's work is never done.\" Let's kick off 2015 with a podcast about one of the 20th century's great America writers, Donald Westlake! Our guest, Levi Stahl,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "baseball"","block_context":{"text":"baseball","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/sports\/baseball"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=voyantpublishing&l=as2&o=1&a=022612181X","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2483,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/unrequired-reading-sept-19-2008","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":2},"title":"Unrequired Reading: Sept. 19, 2008","author":"Gil","date":"September 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Get yo' links on. Just click mo'. Meet me at the corner of Art and Commerce, Mr. Hirst. * * * Now that we're done watching The Wire, I can finally start reading interviews and articles about it! Here's Nick Hornby interviewing co-creator David Simon. * * * But enough\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3313,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/what-it-is-12609","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":3},"title":"What It Is: 1\/26\/09","author":"Gil","date":"January 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"What I'm reading: The Alcoholic, a boring comic book by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel, and The Hot Rock, by the late, lamented Donald Westlake. Otherwise, same as last week: Montaigne and Clive James. What I'm listening to: Bebel Gilberto records What I'm watching: The last episodes of Arrested Development.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"andrew sullivan\"","block_context":{"text":"andrew sullivan","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/tag\/andrew-sullivan"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=virtualmemories-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1401210562","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12757,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/my-books-of-the-decade-2010-2019","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":4},"title":"My Books of the Decade: 2010-2019","author":"Gil","date":"December 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Alphabetical by author: I Will Be Complete: A Memoir - Glen David Gold (podcast) Essays After Eighty - Donald Hall A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety - Donald Hall James Merrill: Life and Art - Langdon Hammer (podcast) The Witch of Lime Street: S\u00e9ance, Seduction, and Houdini in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "literature"","block_context":{"text":"literature","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/literature"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_1567.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_1567.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_1567.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_1567.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4129,"url":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/what-it-is-62909","url_meta":{"origin":2829,"position":5},"title":"What It Is: 6\/29\/09","author":"Gil","date":"June 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"What I'm reading: Plutarch's life of Aemilius Paulus, and a little of The Hunter, a Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) book. But I'm in the home-stretch for my Top Companies ish, so I've just been reading a lot of SEC filings, analyst reports and various pharma-bloggers. What I'm listening to: A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Aemilius Paulus\"","block_context":{"text":"Aemilius Paulus","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/tag\/aemilius-paulus"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=virtualmemories-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0226770990","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2829"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2829\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}