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Everybody does it. · Sep 21, 12:37 AM

Because he has blue eyes, I walk two blocks down to the library and check out Close Range. I charge through the first stories, conscious of my the subtleties I miss and moods I smash through to get to the end; in high school I read science fiction and picked up bad habits.

The narrator and protagonist of The Mud Below says, towards the end of the story, “It isn’t X that changes everything, it’s Y.” I disagreed with the narrative voice, and then it hits me. Narrators can be wrong. Narration is non objective. The author can lie to the reader with no warning and no fessing-up.

Duh. But it never occured to me, not till now.

[POSTNOTE: I now have a reason to schedule time for Donnie Darko, also staring Jake. His blue eyes first lept out from the trailer for Brokeback Mountain, seen in preview to—and I add this note to document history, not to draw up a point—The Wedding Date. ]

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  1. Shipping News was too desciptive for my tastes when I read it as a teenager. I prefer my exacting, expansive desciptions to have a point. — Christopher Geiger    Sep 21, 04:24 PM    #

  2. If it wasn’t dialog or action, I was skimming at breakneck speed. These days I can enjoy the slower pointless distractions sometimes. — Tom    Sep 21, 08:10 PM    #

  3. Oh well. I never did get Monty Python either — ferdbirfel    Sep 22, 09:32 PM    #

  4. Donnie Darko rocks my socks right out from under my bushido pants. I think the “BEHOLD MY NIPPLE!” Gyllenhaal pic is a bit excessive – it makes me think of Derek Zoolander in much the same pose… — Katie    Sep 22, 11:59 PM    #

  5. ferdbirfel: I find myself embarrassed around Monty Python references these days, unless they are made very in-passing-ly.

    katie: ...but not Zoolander references! If you will believe it, I have a friend. For halloween he will drive around Manhattan in a Jeep with several friends, blasting Wake Me Up (Before You Go-Go), all properly costumed. — Tom    Sep 23, 09:06 AM    #

  6. I am also a HUGE zoolander fan. — Christopher Geiger    Sep 23, 10:46 AM    #

  7. The nipple picture, nothing! The one with the crashing waves actually made me laugh out loud. — Dave    Sep 26, 02:38 AM    #

  8. And so in-passing-ly I shall go! Enjoyed the photos! — ferdbirfel    Sep 26, 01:19 PM    #

  9. Check back in 52 weeks for take 2. — Tom    Sep 26, 01:22 PM    #

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