reach, grasp, taste

“Then an evil supervillain in a chef’s costume invades their space wielding a deadly blender and subjects them to PG-13-rated terror until the boy half of the equation gets himself shot while warning the Judges about the threat, after which Dredd kills the bad people and the boy dies clutching a rose — HIS LOVER IS NAMED “ROSIE” YOU SEE — having cleared villainous landmines from the beloved garden that symbolizes the promise of life and peace and love and etc.” (via Dredd Reckoning: The Complete Case Files 17) —Joe McCulloch and I discuss Garth Ennis’s Judge Dredd, as well as the Punisher, Chris Cunningham, “Before Watchmen,” etc.

The conventions of the form—the dimly lit stacks, the librarian’s mask of thick glasses and hair tied into a bun, et cetera—are, of course, well known. Unlike video porn, where these conventions are typically used as a wholesale substitute for narrative, porn books still feel the compulsion to tell a story, to make the glasses and bun mean something. I was curious just what story these new books were telling. What does our most current version of the librarian fantasy say about us? To answer this question, I visited the library. (via Paris Review – Checking Out, Avi Steinberg) —thanks to RKB for the tip

(via Pictures of sand: Close up photographs reveal its incredible beauty | Mail Online)