—The New York Times gives some more detail on the Goya theft (previously mentioned on pgwp here and here). Clues seem to point to it being an inside job. (Why did the truck drivers get a hotel for what should have been a single-day trip? Fishy...)
—Today's Times also has Michiko Kakutani's predictably negative review of the new Pynchon novel, Against the Day. Kakutani claims Pynchon is doing an impression of himself. Meanwhile, over at the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Sorrentino gives the book a more interesting analysis, and leads his review, coincidentally, with a rebuttal to Kakutani: "Nearly 50 years into the Thomas Pynchon era, it's our failing if we don't understand the author's manner and method, which are inseparable from the artifacts he has produced." (By the by, the Elegant Variation is dedicating the entire week to Pynchon-related posts.)
—Chromewaves has three mp3s by the Los Angeles band The Little Ones, whom I rather guiltily like. Their album cover positively screams Shins adulation, and the music doesn't dispel that assumption (they're not identical, but they do graze in the same pastures). They won't change your life, but are worth checking out if you'd like a little sunshine in your day. (Meanwhile, the Shins's "Phantom Limb" has been cropping up on the radio and I like it a lot. Looking forward to the new album in January—previously discussed/lamented at pgwp here and here.)
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