August 3, 2004

I dreamt of a house haunted by all you tweakers with your hands out

* Not at all like watching paint dry: Watch this women fold a shirt. It begs to be watched twice. [via travelers diagram]

* Ten games that changed the way football is played. excerpt:

"3. Baltimore Colts 23 New York Giants 17 OT, December 28, 1958
The Greatest Game Ever Played

"Many simply call this the greatest game ever played. It was the first NFL title game to be decided in overtime and the extra session caused a change in the way the game is played. The lure surrounding this game grows more and more every year and it is still talked about nearly 50 years later.

"It was a game that was very sloppy at times but there were a lot of big plays as well. After holding a 14-3 halftime lead, Baltimore found themselves trailing 17-14 with 2 minutes remaining. Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas lead the Colts down the field on a drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal to tie the score at 17-17 with just :07 seconds left in regulation. After the Giants punted in overtime, Unitas lead another long Colts drive that ended in Alan Ameche scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Colts the title. If you are a football fan you have probably seen the image of Ameche scoring from 1-yard out, it is thought to be the most recognizable image in NFL history and is one of the most popular sports photographs of all-time.

"The drama of overtime really helped the NFL and ratings for the 1959 season went through the roof. Many sports historians actually debate as to whether this was the greatest game ever played, but it was one of the most important for the league and in came in what many refer to as the Golden Era of Sports (late 50’s to mid 60’s)."

* 1997 Barcelona Review interview of A.M. Homes. [at the link is a link to her short story, A Good Doll] excerpt:

"BR: Are you working on any projects now?
AMH: Of course.

BR: Anything about it you want to share?
AMH: No.

BR: What are you reading now? What are some works that have affected you remarkably?
AMH: I am reading non-fiction on the subject of marriage. I am reading the novels of Richard Yates, of John Cheever and others and studying up on the progress of suburban life. I am also very interested in Russian Literature and read a lot of non-fiction. I love biographies.

BR: What are your interests musically?
AMH: I listen to a lot of classical music when I am writing--Bach, Chopin,Glen Gould playing the piano.

BR: All right. Now it's my turn: What does your mother think of your work? Have you had the opportunity to discuss it with her? Have you sat down over coffee and chatted about Barbie and Ken from the final story of The Safety of Objects? I guess my real question is, again, how do you take this stuff--these stories--and assimilate them into your everyday life? I don't mean this to be spiteful, but I'm fascinated in what one might do to approach such topics and leave them relatively clear-headed.
AMH: It seems off the point to talk about what my mother thinks of my work--suffice to say that I once did a reading of the Barbie story in a bookstore with my whole family there, including my grandmother who is in her 90s. What's a Barbie? She asked me later and I showed her one. Why is it called The Safety of Objects, she asked, and I explained.

You seem to have a recurring question or concern about how I assimilate what goes on in my stories into everyday life. I am a fiction writer, I work from my imagination, in response to things going on in the culture. Your morning newspaper is filled with things far more frightening than my stories. What I find difficult, if anything, is that in order to write, one must spend a lot of time alone, one is somewhat separated from other people who get up in the morning and go to the office--I dream of going to an office.

BR: What is your one guilty pleasure in life? Or if you don't feel particularly guilty about it, what's the one thing you'd least like people to know you do or enjoy?
AMH: Oh please. I should be writing a novel right now . . ."

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