Beetle on vines.

This Is Water by David Foster Wallace

A while back I read this post about David Foster Wallace's Kenyon College commencement speech. Seemed fascinating, though I can't stand Infinite Jest. Looked around, but couldn't find the text of the speech.

So yesterday I found the book version. And while it has plenty to think over, the presentation is iffy. Long before xkcd I'd decided that sciences/computers > liberal arts. The ideal Maslow-actualized techie would be baffled by This Is Water. Imagine how Spock or Sherlock or Sheldon Cooper would react to this.

I get what Wallace is saying, and he says it well. But I learned this existential stuff from Greg Egan, Bertrand Russell, Sagan, Heinlein, Asimov. You know, real nerds. Yes, I'm a science fiction snob too.

Pirated Game of Thrones spotted at St Francis Square. I had to get my copy from a friend.

Happy birthday, me. D12 and D20 dice, Greg Egan's Teranesia, and David Foster Wallace's This Is Water.

Last night, my taxi had a model of the Burj Al Arab on the dashboard.