I don't even know what that would be.
Never mind all that—this is the best, albeit NSFW, kids' book ever. "Das kann toll sein"—damn straight.
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Oulipogram: The passage in Life a User's Manual where Perec embeds the names of the Oulipo homonymically in descriptions of elaborately painted plates.
Posted by: Matt Weiner | October 23, 2005 at 07:35 PM
That is all well and good, but why is the obstetrician standing uselessly to the side with a hammer and a stethescope dangling uselessly from his hands? Shouldn't he be taking a bit of a more active role?
Posted by: Jacob Haller | October 23, 2005 at 07:46 PM
Weiner: did he actually do that? I've only read A Void.
As for the obstetrician, it looks like the baby came out ok in the end, doesn't it? And the text states that he cut the umbilical chord; it's just not depicted.
Posted by: ben wolfson | October 23, 2005 at 07:55 PM
he cut the umbilical chord
The lost chord?
Posted by: Standpipe Bridgeplate | October 23, 2005 at 08:10 PM
Listen, I'm really tired.
Posted by: ben wolfson | October 23, 2005 at 08:13 PM
I wasn't teasing you. I was just interested in the intertextual possibilities your typo presented. Umbilical chord? "Which came from the soul of the organ"? Tell me this juxtaposition isn't pregnant with meaning.
Posted by: Standpipe Bridgeplate | October 23, 2005 at 08:23 PM
No no—you're right. I was being too sensitive. I'd have done the same in your position, if, of course, I had your stupendous erudition.
Posted by: ben wolfson | October 23, 2005 at 08:27 PM
I would venture that your erudition is at least as stupendous as mine. Not that I've peeked.
Posted by: Standpipe Bridgeplate | October 23, 2005 at 08:38 PM
3: He did do that. It's in chapter 59. Much easier to work out what's going on if you have both French and English, because you can figure out what hoops the translator is jumping through.
ex: no. 19 concealing "Harry Mathews":
L'acteur Archibald Moon hésite pour son prochain spectacle entre Joseph d'Arimathie ou Zarathoustra
The actor Archibald Moon dithers for his next show between the roles of Mata Hari, Methuselah, and Joseph of Arimathea
(Joseph has to stay in, being critical to the plot.)
Posted by: Matt Weiner | October 24, 2005 at 06:05 PM
3: He did do that. It's in chapter 59. Much easier to work out what's going on if you have both French and English, because you can figure out what hoops the translator is jumping through.
ex: no. 19 concealing "Harry Mathews":
L'acteur Archibald Moon hésite pour son prochain spectacle entre Joseph d'Arimathie ou Zarathoustra
The actor Archibald Moon dithers for his next show between the roles of Mata Hari, Methuselah, and Joseph of Arimathea
(Joseph has to stay in, being critical to the plot.)
Posted by: Matt Weiner | October 24, 2005 at 06:07 PM
I don't know how I managed to do that. I blame the preview button.
Posted by: Matt Weiner | October 24, 2005 at 06:13 PM
That's awesome.
Posted by: ben wolfson | October 24, 2005 at 06:23 PM
(They're actually plain old paintings—or "imaginary portraits"—not plates.)
Posted by: Matt Weiner | October 25, 2005 at 06:37 AM
They say that there's a secret cord
The ob/gyn cut and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for Slim Jims, do ya
Posted by: ben wolfson | October 27, 2005 at 11:25 PM