Prizes

I’m going to keep this one short, because you really ought to be phoning your mothers right about now. And tidying your rooms. And standing up straight. And not talking with your mouths full. And not wasting your money on chewing gum and nosejobs. And not making that face, unless you want it to get stuck that way. So go and give her a ring, unless your face is stuck that way and your mouth is full, in which case, send her an ostentatious blinky e-card and call it a day.

But! There will be NO phoning your mother until you’ve cleaned your plate and listened to this:

2 thoughts on “Prizes”

  1. I haven’t listened to this one yet – I’m still wading through your archives – but I can’t remember what I was listening to today when you said something about wanting to know what your listeners were doing when they listened to your podcasts.

    I live in Japan, and I listen when I am:

    (a) on the train, commuting. My long commutes (Thursdays and Fridays) HAVE BECOME BEARABLE. Thankyouthankyouthankyou. The only annoying thing is when the train conductor gets hysterically loud and drowns out your voice. This makes me want to gallop to the end of the train to find him and stuff a sock in his mouth. So far I have resisted. I mumble curses and use the pause button instead.

    (b) on my bicycle, on Mondays and Wednesdays. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. And anyway, eventually I’ll catch up with the backlog and you won’t be recording them fast enough for me. At that point I’ll only be listening on the train, and my bicycle rides will become safe again, but less interesting.

    Oh, and something else I meant to say: when I was listening to “The Chaser” a couple of weeks ago I was on my bicycle, and JUST as you got to the bit where the old man called the vial of liquid ‘Life Cleaner’ I went past a shop with a sign saying, ‘Life Cleaner.’ This was MOST DISCONCERTING. And funny. Now I can’t remember exactly where it was (I like to take different routes), but when I find it again I will take a picture. It was a dry cleaning shop. “Must tell her!” I thought, and now, finally, I have.

    AND ALSO. Thank you for being a good reader. I am learning a lot from you about how to read aloud. I read to some of my classes, and I think they are getting more out of it these days. Of course, the gobsmacked silence COULD mean they are totally lost, but I prefer to imagine otherwise.

  2. At risk of angering the purists, anyone interested in learning more about Janet Frame can check out “An Angel at my Table,” Jane Campion’s gentle biopic on the author. The Criterion Collection just released a terrific print.
    Film suggestion for Miette:
    “Spirit of the Beehive.”

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