Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Worlds Collide!

That title is very dramatic, but my story is not that dramatic. Nevertheless, I thought it was worth posting on the blog. So.

I have been reading David Foster Wallace's massive novella, Infinite Jest, for a little over a month now. It was really hard to get into at first, but now that I've made it through a staggering 33% of the book (NOT including endnotes), I'm starting to actually enjoy it. And as books do, when you read them for a long period of time, it has started to kind of take over my life. I think a lot more about what it must be like to be seriously addicted to heroin or alcohol, and I read about the U.S. Open with a new interest (drug addiction and tennis academies are major themes in the book, in case you didn't know).

Anyway, tonight I was catching up on season 5 of Parks and Recreation, one of my favorite shows on TV right now (tied with Mad Men, basically), and it was the episode where Ben goes back to his hometown of Partridge, Minnesota. One of the minor characters in Infinite Jest is from Partridge, Kansas, and apparently this was all the creator of the show, Michael Schur (aka Mose from The Office), needed to throw in a TON of book references. I noticed it right off the bat, when they go to a law firm named:


All of those names are characters from the book. Then Anne and Chris take an online test called the "Incandenza Pemulis" test. More character references. 

And...I'm starting to realize that this whole post might not be interesting to anyone who hasn't read Infinite Jest. So I think I'll stop there. And just say that I was really excited and proud of myself for catching the references. And so well-timed in my life! 

P.S. Regarding the housing situation, Ari and I have not moved in yet. Hoping to do it this coming weekend, if the place is actually done being renovated. 

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