I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: My Volkwagen Jetta hates The Beatles.

Lately, I have been playing some Beatles discs in my car.  And my Jetta clearly hates them.

First it was Please Please Me, when the entire CD player shut off mid-song.  It had lost all power.  I had to bang on it for about 5 minutes before it came back on.

The player played other discs fine after that.  Then, last night I played A Hard Day’s Night and half way through the disc it shut itself off again.  This time I was able to power it back on, but it wouldn’t play the disc anymore.  I ejected it and put in a new disc which worked fine.  When I put A Hard Day’s Night back in, same spot on the disc (“Can’t Buy Me Love”), and the player was totally off: no power at all.

A bit more pounding on the face and it came back on, and today played a Rheostatics disc with no trouble.  I guess I’ll not be listening to The Beatles in the car again.  Is it because the Beatles recorded versions of their songs in German but they weren’t included on the disc?

[READ: May 8, 2010] The Clock Without a Face

This review is about my first read of this book.  When I get to the end you’ll realize why there will have to be a second read and updated review.

This is an amusing tale.  And also a confounding (and evidently very real–see the bottom paragraph!–) mystery.

The story is set in an apartment building.  Each resident has an entire floor.  The man on top, Bevel Ternky, the landlord, has been robbed.  All of the emerald numbers of the face of his clock have been stolen.  Because of the setup of the apartment, the only suspects are the residents (and the doormen).

Each page of the story shows our detective hero Roy Dodge and his confidential assistant Gus Twintig (who narrates the story) questioning the residents.  And, on the facing page it shows the makeup of each tenant’s apartment (in exacting detail!).  While Roy asks questions, Gus sketches each floor.

Each floor is more absurd than the next: P.K. Quello is an alchemist; Ida Mayfield is hoarder; General Klobberduck is a hunter in a pith helmet; Munari Bakula is a “time traveler” (a nod to Quantum Leap in the name, yes?); Amber & Jane Kaulken are home alone (another nod in the name); Jogsy Squonk is a clown; Bert D’Grnp is a mime (with a talking room, thankfully); Vera Mazel & Josie Grey are two old ladies who are reading a puzzle book (the very same puzzle book that we are reading!); Sigfried Plumpjack’s apartment is like a hamster cage; Rosa Tse-Levy is a self-obsessed artist; Krieger Manzarek is complete phobic (with a series of locks on every door) [Door fan, much?]; Travis Pupkin is an obsessed fan of Roy Dodge, whose entire apartment looks like Dodge’s own.

Roy Dodge asks a series of questions, all pointing to an obvious criminal who is revealed at the end.  But the revelation proves to be false, and this is why the book calls for a second read….

Clues abound in the drawings of the book.  And these clues will unveil where all of the emeralds are actually hidden.

And according to the McSweeney‘s website:

We’ve buried 12 emerald-studded numbers—each handmade and one of a kind—in 12 holes across the United States. These treasures will belong to whoever digs them up first. The question: Where to dig? The only path to the answer: Solve the riddles of The Clock Without a Face!

So, get the book and find those jewels!  I’ll keep tabs on the official website to see who found them.