Category:

Literature

Sat 1 Mar 2008

The evolution of trickster stories among the dogs of North Park after the Change

Saturday, Mar 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Categories: Death; Dogs; Literature; Anthropology; Johnson, Kij; Tricksters
Posted by Administrator
No Comments 

Kij Johnson: The evolution of trickster stories among the dogs of North Park after the ChangeThe evolution of trickster stories among the dogs of North Park after the Change

Short fiction by Kij Johnson. Excerpt:

6. One Dog Invents Death.

This is the same dog. She lives in a nice house with people. They do not let her run outside a fence and they did things to her so that she can’t have puppies, but they feed her well and are kind, and they rub places on her back that she can’t reach.

At this time, there is no death for dogs, they live forever. After a while, One Dog becomes bored with her fence and her food and even the people’s pats. But she can’t convince the people to allow her outside the fence.

“There should be death,” she decides. “Then there will be no need for boredom.”

- Kij Johnson: Link.

Via Futurismic.

Interesting idea, nicely realized. The story is a finalist for the 2007 Nebula Award — best wishes Kij!

Reminiscent of The Author of the Acacia Seeds
And Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics by Ursula LeGuin, as well as Our Neural Chernobyl by Bruce Sterling.



Thu 20 Sep 2007

Batman by Dostoyevsky

Thursday, Sep 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Categories: Literature; Russia; Comics; Batman; Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Posted by Administrator
No Comments 

“This marriage of Classic Russian Literature and the Caped Crusader of Gotham … serves as further proof, if any were needed, that everything is better with Batman.”
Batman by Dostoyevsky

Time for another forgotten classic from the vast Again With the Comics archives. Here we present Dostoyevsky Comics, originally printed in Drawn and Quarterly #3 (2000), and currently out-of-print, as far as I know. Crime and Punishment, originally written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was brilliantly adapted here by R. Sikoryak, as seen through a Dick Sprang Batman filter. This marriage of Classic Russian Literature and the Caped Crusader of Gotham also serves as further proof, if any were needed, that everything is better with Batman.

Brian Hughes @ Again With the Comics.
Link .

Via Boing Boing.



Mon 3 Jul 2006

Chewing Gum Causes Body to Emit Rose Fragrance

Monday, Jul 3rd, 2006 at 5:44 am
Categories: Flowers; Hygiene; Literature; Candy
Posted by Administrator
No Comments 

A new chewing gum “causes a rose fragrance to be emitted from the body one to two hours after it is chewed” –

The gum, called “Otoko Kaoru” (male scent) Rose Menthol, contains the fragrant component geraniol, which is found in roses. According to Kanebo’s food research laboratory, Otoko Kaoru Rose Menthol Gum from Kanebothe component is emitted from sweat glands easily, in much the same way as garlic and alcohol. Maca, a plant that is rich in nutrition, was added, creating a mint-flavored, sugarless gum.

The gum is aimed at men between their 20s and 50s who are worried about body odors and scents. Each packet, which costs 126 yen, contains nine pieces of gum. The product will be sold at station kiosks and convenience stores.
[Mainichi Daily News: Link]

Via Fark

See Also: Hygiene @ Wikipedia

Which reminds me. Commercially bred flowers are losing their scent — flower breeders have selected for bloom size and color, at the expense of scent. See Diminishing Nutrition.

Ascendancies, by D.G. ComptonI’m also reminded, obliquely, of the novel Ascendancies [1980] by David G. Compton … mysterious substance falls from the sky, people start to disappear into thin air, leaving behind the smell of roses ….