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Infinite Summer Tackles Infinite Jest 75 Pages at a Time

BuzzSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:58 -0700

Always wanted to read David Foster Wallace's opus, Infinite Jest, but never had the motivation to get through it? The folks at Infinite Summer say it's time to start.

Freelance writer Matthew Baldwin recently launched the group reading project, which breaks down the 1,000-page-plus novel into somewhat more manageable 75-page chunks. The rules? "Read Infinite Jest, start around June 21st (if you want), finish around September 22nd (if you want), gloat about having completed the novel afterward (required)."

OK, so if you're just picking up the book now, you've got some catching up to do on the first week's section - but taking care of those first 75 pages and moving onto the next section is better than leaving the book untouched on your shelf for another year, right?

Having read Infinite Jest during one not-so-infinite Summer past, I believe it's well worth the time. And I may just pick up the book again to keep up with all the commentary on this site, including awesome weekly summaries of plot points and new characters, reading tips, and guest posts from writers who are also first-time readers of the book.

Are any of you doing this challenge? Any other previous readers of Infinite Jest have words of encouragement for first-timers?

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BuzzSugar's Must Haves For April

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:30:08 -0700

Yippee! April is here, and that makes me happy because the weather in my part of the country is lovely right now. But this month also contains some great entertainment stuff: one of my favorite annual celebrations, a really cool live radio event, and some buzzworthy new CD and DVD releases. Ready to dive into April (without any foolin')? Just hit "start."

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Buzz News Roundup, 3/2

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:30:05 -0800

Alexis Bledel will play a new intern in the ER series finale. - TV Guide
Jason Bateman will join George Clooney in Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking). - ComingSoon
Two more Virgin Megastores are scheduled to close: The Union Square location in New York City at the end of May and the Market St. store in San Francisco at the end of April. - Billboard
Alyssa Milano has landed the lead in an ABC comedy - just months after the network scrapped her last one. - Zap2it
David Foster Wallace's unfinished third novel will be released in 2010. - New York Times
The French film industry honored Dustin Hoffman and saluted Sean Penn Friday during a ceremony that saw its coveted Cesar for best film going to Martin Provost's Seraphine. - AP
Speaking of France, MGMT are suing French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing him of using its hit "Kids" in online videos without permission. - NME
The producers of The Sarah Silverman Program (including Silverman herself) are threatening to quit over budget cuts, leaving season three up in the air. - Reuters

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Buzz News Roundup, 12/10

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:30:37 -0800

ABC will show Wipeout opposite the Super Bowl. - The Hollywood Reporter
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler are in negotiations to star together in an untitled comedic bounty hunter movie. - ComingSoon
Five people, including Martha Plimpton, have joined the cast of Matthew Perry's Showtime pilot. - Zap2it
Kiss has decided to hit the studio next year to record its first new album since 1998's Psycho Circus. - Billboard
And speaking of circuses, Britney Spears's album topped the charts this week, making it her fifth No. 1 album. - Billboard
John C. Reilly has signed on to play the love interest to Marisa Tomei's character in an untitled comedy. Jonah Hill will play Tomei's son who comes between the two lovebirds. - Variety
A commencement speech by David Foster Wallace will be turned into a book. - New York Times
Keanu Reeves will play a samurai swordsman in the epic period film 47 Ronin. - ComingSoon

Rest In Peace, David Foster Wallace

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:30:43 -0700

I'm still wrapping my head around the news that author David Foster Wallace died over the weekend of an apparent suicide. At just 46 years old, he was one of the more inventive, original, and observant writers of our time.

In his all-too-brief career, Wallace used his incisive prose in a wide variety of forms, including essays, short stories, and two novels, including the gargantuan, more-than-1,000-page (if you count the footnotes) Infinite Jest. I read Infinite Jest, footnotes and all, over one very long Summer, and I'll never forget the way its sprawling cast of characters wormed its way into my thoughts.

Infinite Jest wasn't his only memorable work, though, not by a long shot. He put a different spin on journalism in his essay collections, including his skewering of the Illinois State Fair and hilarious retelling of his experiences on a luxury cruise in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. His short stories, too, were a unique window on our popular culture and an adventure to read. The word "genius" gets thrown around a lot, but I truly believe it might be the most apt label for Wallace. His work had as many detractors as fans - but it always got people talking.

As a reader, I will miss the chance to explore his work - but of course, I just knew him as words on a page. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Photo courtesy of Steve Rhodes

They Can Run, They Can Hide, But They Can't Escape Our Love

Molly — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:30:38 -0800

A semi-bizarre smattering of celebrities attended model/actress Sarah Foster's birthday party in LA last night. Sarah Foster, daughter of music produced David Foster (not to be confused with David Foster Wallace...that would just be weird), who, among other things is credited with introducing Ashton and Demi, wasn't actually photographed at her party, but I'm sure she was there somewhere. The theme of the night may have been hide yer face, kid but it's easy to recognize the celebs, especially when Nicole is re-wearing a dress (faux pas, indeed).

And yes, though it's momentarily unnerving to see Tobey Maguire and Courtney Cox leaving a party together, methinks it was simply a case of fortuitous timing.

For more of Nicole, Ashton, Demi, Courtney, Tobey, and Joel Madden just read more

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Sugar Bits - Jolie-Pitts Donate $2 Million to Ethiopian Clinic

PopSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:30:48 -0700

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation made a $2 million donation to establish an Ethiopian health clinic that helps children with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, modeled after their center in Cambodia. Brad released a statement saying they hope Zahara will take it over when she gets older. - Us Weekly
Brad Pitt and George Clooney's Burn After Reading debuted at the top spot in this weekend's box office, earning $19.4 million. The Family That Preys came in second with Righteous Kill at third place. - BuzzSugar
George Takei married his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, on Sunday at a multicultural ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. - AP
Jennifer Hudson got engaged to I Love New York 2's David Otunga on Friday night in LA; the two have been dating for less than a year. - E! Online
Infinite Jest author David Foster Wallace committed suicide and was found dead at his house in Claremont on Friday by his wife. - AP
Oprah is dedicating her show today to a Senate bill targeting child predators, urging people to write to their senators about the bill. - The Oprah Winfrey Show

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Lovely Links, 9/20

BellaSugar — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:00:48 -0700

The New York Times' Chandler Burr reviews Flower by Kenzo and even gets in a David Foster Wallace reference (RIP).
Jezebel poses some tough questions about beauty marketing.
Having egg on your face doesn't have to be bad. Use your eggs to make a face mask, and go out for brunch.
Jessica at Allure goes through makeup artist Kristofer Buckle's makeup bag.
Missbehave magazine's blog posts a clip of Jessica Simpson discussing her new fragrance that's kind of a PR nightmare (around 1:18).
A wall made up of bricks of Neutrogena bar soap? Style.com has pictures to prove it.
Blogdorf Goodman uses a power outage as an excuse to test the Seikisho Mask. The verdict? Apparently, it hurts so good.

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