Exhibit 21.27

Miscellany

* The siblings of our blackjack dealer from Thursday: Jim, Carol, Stacy, Tom, Ed, Phil

* Our dealer's name: Thaddeus

* Things I would say if I were a mid-90s comedian - Something about how in a set of silverware no one uses the big spoons or the small forks unless all of the normal-sized utensils are dirty

* Things seen in Nebraska that I will never see again: Snow, Justin Hickman

* Today's temperature in Houston: 85

* CD that has been in my car for days:

* Unanswered questions from Thursday: So did anyone get fired?

* Things implied by an email I just received about an upcoming reading: the elderly author is going to be dead soon.

* Things I would say if I were a mid-90s Canadian - So you guys want to go see The Tragically Hip or should we stay home and watch Life With Mikey?

* Eating scorecard: 1/2

Exhibit 14.11

Dusty writes about Atwood's The Blind Assassin here. This is a book I read and even think I enjoyed quite a bit, but when I was reading his much-spoiler-protected review, it occurred to me that I remember absolutely nothing about it.

Honestly, I'd forgotten there were actual assassins (even blind ones). For some reason I'd come to believe that was a metaphor for something (Love? Canadians? Hockey? The CN Tower? Labatt Blue? Neil Young? More Love?).

If you were to have asked me yesterday what The Blind Assassin was about I would have said, "There are sisters and it's like, in the 1800s or something. Then there's a fire and somebody's husband is burned. No, wait, that's Wuthering Heights. I was reading that at the same time. Okay, but there are sisters. Sisters and, um, money. Yeah, they're rich sisters. I think one is pretty and one is plain. I think the pretty one dies. Oh, and there are different parts. It's like Dune that way. Really? Well, I've never read Dune but that was my impression of its structure. Anyway, there's other stuff, too. Mostly about Canada. I enjoyed it quite a bit, I think."

So I need to do better. Also, from this point forward, I'm accepting all implied titular characters as being present in the book unless I hear differently. This will lead to many great conversations wherein you listen to me pontificate on just how damn lonely those hunters really were.

"And to think," I'll end with, "the heart they were hunting was inside each of them all along."

And then it will begin to rain and a passing child will say, "Look, Oprah's crying."

(While I don't know why I represent myself like this on the blog, I do know this is hilarious. I can't wait to answer the question, "So, what's your writing like?" with, "Well, you are of course familiar with the Southern Ontario Gothic tradition. I'm like that only much more Southern, much more Ontarian, way less Gothic, and a little bit more Country."

And then it will begin to rain and a passing child will say, "Look, Oprah's crying."

etc.)