SHORT STORY
Nobody outright tells you to feel this way, but you do anyway — your internal voice telling you that Stephen King mass-produces pop lit, and you’re not supposed to love it. But you do anyway. I was reminded of the stupid literary phony living in my brain when I picked up the current issue of Harper’s and found a King short story, “Batman and Robin Have an Altercation.” It’s about a son and a father, and the elderly father’s grip on reality fades in and out. Then something happens. And you’re reminded that you’re stupid and Stephen King is awesome.
TV
Speaking of guilty pleasures,
Weeds — the Showtime series about the widowed suburban mom who turns to pot dealing — is wrapping up its eighth and final season this weekend (10 pm Sunday, Showtime). Years ago, the premise seemed original — a desperate mom trying to provide for her children — and the characters palatable. But even while knowing there are no heroes, I still find myself watching, because train wrecks are interesting (and because you can stream old seasons on Netflix, unlike better Showtime series).
APP
The third installment in the I-don’t-feel-guilty-but-I-probably-should category is Politifacts’s Settle It!
app. The idea is you can use the free app to settle your political arguments — I wish that were even possible in my family — but mostly you can use it to shame other people for being stupid. And wrong. And you can show them the proof with a few clicks on your phone. Besides looking up tidbits that PolitiFact has checked, you can take its weekly challenge, where you’re tested on your current political knowledge — which, for political geeks, makes for a good game.
