Just discovered the wonderful things magazine blog. They seem to have a print mag also and I'm wondering if I should order it. They have articles on silverware in the 18th century, a comparative typology of haystacks in Poland, short stories and the allure of pebbles. I think I'm in love.

I'm not a fan of Morrissey but I really like Coupland so this interview the latter tried to do with the former was an interesting read.

Sunday, November 02, 2003 The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley. From the introduction of the New York Review of Books Edition by Colm Toibin: 'In his book The Novelist's Responsibility (1967), Hartley mused on the relationship between fiction and autobiography. He wrote that the novelist's world "must, in some degree, be an extension of his own life; its fundamental problems must be his problems, its preoccupations his preoccupations - or something allied to them." He also warned that while it is "unsafe to assume that a novelist's work is autobiographical in any direct sense," it is nonetheless "plausible to assume that his work is a transcription, an anagram of his own experience, reflecting its shape and tone and tempo."' 10:10 PM

Main reason: it's neutral. That may sound a bit strange as we are talking about the language of the imperialist power no. 1 these days but emotionally for me it is neutral. One can communicate with all kinds of people in English - definitely more than with German. Also for me as somebody coming from an immigrant background - I moved to Germany with my parents when I was three years old beginning of the 70s - German carries a certain baggage concerning identity, nationality and belonging. It's not that I don't like German, I guess it's what I think in, breathe, for me probably as transparent as a language can be (certain murkiness notwithstanding & it isn't even avoidable in any language) - it's just that sometimes I feel that I'm not allowed into the inner sanctum of it or maybe more precise I would have to claim it for me and that is scary and presumptious. With English there is already a tradition of claiming it against all its history of colonialism and repression. That I can identify with. And there is the question who am I writing for? For German speakers? I don't think so. So, yeah, it's difficult.