bookofjoe

Sight is the Sense that Dying People Tend To Lose First — Tim Etchells

Final performance tomorrow at Théâtre de la Bastille in Paris.

Geodesic Suspended Tree House

Long story short: I want one.

It's the new new thing in L.A., reported Rena Kosnett in a story in the November 2009 issue of Wired magazine; the piece follows.

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Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes have reached new heights: as tree houses [above and below] for the rich and famous. Arboreal architect Dustin Feider is installing them all over the Los Angeles area. Producer and writer Mark Levin has two in his backyard. The LA County Museum of Art has exhibited one. And the nest shown below

belongs to Doors guitarist Robby Kreiger. “There’s way more business in California,” says 26-year-old Feider, a Wisconsin native who landed in LA last year. “There are a lot of creative people — with a lot of money.”

He chose the geodesic shape for his constructions, which average $20,000 and 1,500 pounds, because it requires minimal material for great strength; the wooden polygons distribute stress across the entire structure. And lucky for the dome’s leafy host, Feider uses a cable suspension system to hang the orbs without drilling a single hole in the trunk or branches. “The house moves with the tree,” he explains, “like a boat in water.”

Kreiger says he wanted a dome so he could sit in it at dusk and watch the wild critters scurrying through the canyon below, “to see them without being seen.” Luckily, LA’s fauna appears to be unfazed by giant floating buckyballs.

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Can Feider build one for you?

Posterous — 'Who's it for?'

No, not a high school cheer but, rather, Verlyn Klinkenborg's new virtual pied-à-terre .

Can a pied-à-terre be virtual?

Not my department.

Wrote Verlyn in an email to me last evening, "The beginning of something, I hope. A home for some late night scribblings... many more to come."

Get your own.

Above, the photo on his Posterous profile page — no, I couldn't make it any bigger, that's the way he posted it so get out of my face already... sorry) — whose caption reads, "And that, on my back, is a Major Mitchell's Cockatoo — a name I didn't make up — photographed in Darwin, Australia."

Slotless Toaster

From the website:

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Slotless Toaster

This toaster can toast any type of bread, regardless of its thickness.

Since bread is placed directly on the heated flatbed surface — not inside narrow slots — you can toast thick bagels or croissants, Texas toast, or baguettes.

The unit has a 700-watt heating element that radiates through the 10-1/4" x 7" stainless-steel surface, browning or defrosting bread quickly and evenly.

You can select your preferred level of browning with the turn of a dial and the under-mounted crumb tray slides out for fast, easy cleanup.

When not in use, the slotless toaster can be stored on its side, freeing up valuable counter space.

18"L x 11-2/3"W x 4-1/2"H.

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$89.95 (bread not included).

Helpful Hints from joeeze: Pwn Craigslist

Wrote Joe Brown in the latest issue (November 2009) of Wired magazine: "If you just search craigslist, prepare to get aced out of some great apartments, torchiere lamps, and big-boned, er, companions. Check it: Every craigslist query is XML-enabled, which means it can power an RSS feed. And if you enter search parameters for, say, a beige 1982 Camaro for less than $500 (still a rip-off), the resulting Web address will be the same every time. Use this to your junk-hunting advantage by pasting the URL into your RSS reader, so any new post that meets your criteria will show up there instantly."

I haven't the foggiest idea what all that means, but you might.

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

Experts' Expert: William Boyd Chooses 10 Truly Great Short Stories

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"In no particular order."

The superb British short story writer/novelist concluded an October 2, 2004 Guardian piece about the nature of the short story with the list above.

Mini Power Strip

From the website:

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Mini Power Strip

Hotel rooms rarely have enough electrical outlets, so bring along this compact power strip.

It takes up minimal space in your luggage and gives you three extra AC outlets and a USB port to charge all your electronic devices.

Cord wraps around unit for easy packing.

6.5" x 1.5" x 0.75".

13" cable.

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$24.85.