MetaFilter posts tagged with dfw

the toy cement mixer and its “magic”

Lutoslawski — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:05:52 -0800

All That: "new" fiction from David Foster Wallace.

Infinite Summer

mattbucher — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:46:49 -0800

Infinite Summer - "The Challenge: Read Infinite Jest over the summer of 2009" "You've been meaning to do it for over a decade. Now join endurance bibliophiles from around the web as we tackle and comment upon David Foster Wallace's masterwork, June 21st to September 22nd. A thousand pages1 ÷ 93 days = 75 pages a week. No sweat." There is also a Twitter account, hashtag (#infsum), and a Facebook group.

John Ziegler vs. Nate Silver

billysumday — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:54:17 -0800

You may have heard of John Ziegler. A former right-wing talk radio host turned right-wing documentarian, he was once the subject of a well-known David Foster Wallace essay about conservative talk radio. Ziegler later gained some notoriety by slamming Wallace heartlessly after the author committed suicide, calling him an overrated writer and criticizing the press for its coverage of his death. Now, Ziegler has once again made waves by going nuclear in an interview with pollster-watcher Nate Silver over the legitimacy of a commissioned Zogby poll. Silver questions the value of the poll, which contains leading questions, and which Ziegler plans on using in his upcoming documentary to "numerically prove" that Obama supporters are grossly misinformed idiots. An excerpt from the end of the Nate Silver interview: NS: Well, since you’re running a website calling people misinformed, I’d like to see if -- there are certain things you’ve said that I would consider misinformed. JZ: Misinformed? You're a piece of work! You are never going to have the guts to post a representative transcript on your website! I thought you actually ran a legitimate website! NS: Thank you, have a good day. JZ: Go fuck yourself. And here is an excerpt from the David Foster Wallace essay (Wallace sort of hammers Ziegler in the essay over Ziegler's obsession with OJ Simpson and his determined and frequent use of the n-word on the many radio shows he's been fired from): The trouble starts when Tiger Woods wins the 1997 Masters. As part of his commentary on the tournament, Mr. Z. posits on-air that Tiger constitutes living proof of the fact that "not all white people are racists." His supporting argument is that "no white person would ever think of Tiger as a nigger," because whites draw a mental distinction "between people who just happen to be black and people who act like niggers." His reason for broadcasting the actual word "nigger"? "This all goes back to O.J. I hated the fact that the media treated viewers and listeners like children by saying 'Mark Fuhrman used the N-word.' I despised that, and I think it gives the word too much power. Plus there's the whole hypocrisy of how black people can use it and white people can't. I was young and naive and thought I could stand on principle." As part of that principled stand, Mr. Z. soon redeploys the argument and the word in a discussion of boxer Mike Tyson, whereupon he is fired, "even though there was very little listener reaction." As Mr. Z. understands it, the reason for his dismissal is that "a single black employee complained," and WWTN's parent, "a lily-white company," feared that it was "very vulnerable" to a discrimination lawsuit.

The Lost Years & Last Days of David Foster Wallace

Baldons — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:03:23 -0800

The Lost Years & Last Days of David Foster Wallace, Rolling Stone (warning: long article; could make you cry)

A tail around two cities..

drstein — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:59:57 -0800

After several disagreements between the Texas cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the Greater Fort Worth International Airport at Amon Carter Field opened on April 25th, 1953. The lavishly decorated terminals were served by several airlines, including American, Braniff, Continental Airlines, and the now defunct Eastern Airlines. Love Field in Dallas eventually won over more airlines and passengers. The construction of the Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport at its new location was the final nail in the coffin for ACF. After a mere 20 years, the Amon Carter airport was all but abandoned and eventually demolished.

Writers in Italy: Le Conversazioni

mattbucher — Thu, 31 May 2007 07:53:15 -0800

Le Conversazioni: Last summer a group of writers including David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Franzen, and Jeffrey Eugenides gathered on the Isle of Capri to discuss language and identity. This year's lineup includes Ethan Coen, Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Claire Messud, and Chuck Palahniuk.

love is nothing

The Jesse Helms — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 11:01:00 -0800

Federer as Religious Experience by David Foster Wallace.

Oblivion

painquale — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 12:28:58 -0800

The David Foster Wallace Bibliography (in BibTex format) is ridiculously complete. The site also includes a zip file of DFW's essays and m p 3 s of a round table discussion. [via]