JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

“We went up to the second floor where the shelves, sofas, tables and lamps are all arrayed into tasteful little room settings — rooms, but with mysterious tags hanging everywhere. Immediately I thought it was like entering a videogame world. Who lives here? What do they do? Why is that book on the table? Is that significant? Could it be some kind of clue to the occupant’s identity?

“Why does everything have weird names? Every container, shelf, cabinet or appliance had some odd name, as if people from Planet Sweden anthropomorphized these objects, naming each one they encountered as best they could. . .” Walk-in videogame in the David Byrne Journal.

“Things happen on a Werner Herzog set: mutinies break out, actors’ lives are threatened, crew members are beaten and thrown in jail in the wildest corners of the world – and all in pursuit of the ‘ecstatic truth’ about humanity. Daniel Zalewski joins the German director shooting his first Hollywood film in the Thai jungle.” Herzog shoots.

I know someone who accosted Werner Herzog in a queue at a bank and got a lecture on film. Will post the story.

From The Observer, a profile of Alexis Lemaire, possibly the world’s greatest mathlete: “On 24 July 2007, in controlled conditions at Oxford’s Museum of the History of Science, Lemaire broke the world record for finding the 13th root of a 200-digit number. This involved being presented with an enormously long random number (which, if reproduced here, would take up six lines of text) and working out in the space of 77.99 seconds that its 13th root was 2396232838850303.”

There’s a lovely piece in one of Oliver Sacks’ earlier books The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, about two brothers whose IQ scores were in the idiot range, who sat around reciting 7-digit numbers to each other. Dr. Sacks realized that the numbers they were tossing around were prime numbers.

Here’s my Robert Duvall impression.

I love the sound of Currimao at midnight. It feels like. . .the apocalypse.

Cue helicopters. Cue Ride Of The Valkyries.

Northern Exposure in Emotional Weather Report, today in the Star.

You and your pets are invited to the grand launch of Pupil’s second album Wildlife tomorrow, November 9, from 8pm onwards at Eastwood City Central Plaza. You’re encouraged to wear red, black, and white; pet outfits optional. The album is now in stores.

Watch James Gray’s terrific new film We Own The Night (motto of the New York Police Department) starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall, and discuss: Why do most of today’s good movies look like they were made thirty years ago? Did American cinema peak in the 1970s?

In totally unrelated news, a priest has been arrested for stalking and harassing Conan O’Brien, the talk show host and father of my eldest cat, Koosi O’Brien. Apparently the priest had been following Conan’s career since they were at Harvard. In his letters he made reference to the Virginia Tech shooter and to the gangster Frank Costello, who was shot in the Manhattan building where Conan lives. The priest is said to have been turned on to religion by Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. Which tells us that maybe something’s not quite right there. But I would understand people who get the calling after seeing La Strada.

Some weeks ago Tina alerted me to this classic Craigslist exchange on the economics of mating. It’s kind of like Lola Edith Wharton or Lola Henry James, minus the subtlety and layers of meaning. Marriage is an economic issue; I’ll make my own money, thanks. With the weak dollar, $500k is not what it used to be. I don’t hang out with any open gold-diggers (I knew one who married another gold-digger so imagine their great joy), but the guy who answered the post sounds like many of my friends, give or take a decimal place.

This was an actual post from the Craigslist website with an actual response from someone who seems to be an investment banker. The exchange, which has been forwarded many times through email, was written about in the New York Times. The guy was discovered to be a top manager in one of the world’s leading investment firms. The identity of the woman has not been revealed.

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THE POSTED LISTING

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy. I’m not from New York. I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 – 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level? (Continued)