INFINITE JEST: David Foster Wallace's suicide in September of last year was a major blow to the literary world. While opinions differ on his major work (this writer didn't particularly like ), Wallace was undoubtedly one of the most influential writers of the '90s and the '00s, equally capable of creating a complex multi-layered short story as he was of delivering a deeply insightful analysis of John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. Tonight, a group of local literary somebodies are getting together to honor Wallace's life and to read from some of his work up at the Hugo House. Featuring the likes of Paul Constant, Cienna Madrid, and David Schmader. more ›

Seattle mental health blogger Philip Dawdy got some blogosphere blowback for a short piece he wrote mentioning David Foster Wallace's suicide. Dawdy's contention is that psych meds are falsely touted as failsafe lifesavers, when he estimates they work only 30 to 50 percent of the time, and of course come with substantial side effects. In response to commenters who accused him of going too far, in his criticism and in pulling in the shade of DFW, Dawdy responded with a post that sums up the mission of his site, ending with: "Besides, compared to Keith Olberman, Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs I am a goddamned Zen Buddhist." [Arrested Development Narrator VO: "And that is how you close a post!"] more ›

Kim is relieved the debate is actually going to happen. She'll be watching with friends tonight before working all weekend. Saturday, she'll take a break for a quiet night out, and then she'll close the weekend off getting funky in the balcony of Jazz Alley with Maceo.
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--Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie is reported to be set for his big screen debut in the adaptation of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Gibbard himself is not a hideous man, though. more ›

-"Runaway Train was the best song of the 90s." "You're fucking high, old man." more ›