Rob Walker's Blog, page 53

Crumb Sweeper

Object No. 71 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Shelley Jackson, here.]

When I first met him, the moon — a chip of bone in the pale blue of morning — was just past full. I can be sure of that, though it was only later that the phases of the moon became as familiar to me as the seasons or as my breath coming and going. He was crouching against a tree in Prospect Park, nearly naked despite the autumn chill, the pale skin stretched over his shuddering ribs disfigured with a...

Ornamental sphere

Object No. 70 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Charles Ardai , here. ]

The telegram arrived too late. The morning mail had brought the box, wrapped in a double thickness of brown paper and covered with fibrous packing tape I'd had to dig out the heavy Wüsthof cook's knife to slice through. Inside, upon a bed of cotton batting, lay a ceramic ball painted with images of flowers in a wicker basket and tiny, gold-bellied birds. There was a plastic stopper in the base, a loop...

Ocean Scene Globe

Object No. 69 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Stephanie Reents, here. ]

1.

The transparency of glass is cruel.

2.

When the beige palm of the sky descends, there is no warning, no chicken calling, "The sky is falling.  The sky is falling."

3.

A sphere has no beginning or end, and thus my story does not start, "Once upon a time, long, long ago – "  But rather, "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow,"  or "Today, tomorrow, and yesterday."  I was and am and will be.

4.

Desire: I am always s...

Maine Statutes Dish

Object No. 68 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Ben Katchor, here.]

This beautiful, but slightly worn, example of early 20th century porcelain "bookware" was manufactured and distributed free-of-charge along with newly printed copies of the "Maine Revised Statutes Annotated" — a dreary compendium of state laws.

This example, formed in the style  of small, shalow aperitif, or snack, dish, holds 50 salted peanuts. It was meant to encourage lawyers and public advocates to...

Weekly Project Update

Outtake from Military Figure (story by David Shields) photo shoot.

Aggregate cost of objects, sold so far: $82.39

Aggregate sales, post-Significance: $1,968.69.

Coming up this week: Object Nos. 68 through 72 (of 100), with Significance added by Stephanie Reents, William Gibson, and others. Posting soon: Ben Katchor.

Still on auction: Objects with Significance added by Matthew Klam, Cintra Wilson, J. Robert Lennon, and others, in our eBay shop.

Recent reactions from elsewhere: Shout-out from The...

Significant Dishware

It occurs to me that you could set a table with the 16-odd items of dishware that our participating authors have so brilliantly and entertainingly significated. Here's what such a table might look like.

PLATES & SAUCERS

The narrator of Sarah Rainone's first-person story picked the Ireland Cow Plate up at a mysterious general store because "there was something about it that was both Indian and Irish, something that transcended the religions that divide nations and men."

James Parker's hardboiled ...

Duck Vase

Object No. 67 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Matthew Klam, here. ]

I acquired this object at a flea market in the parking lot of a bilingual high school. Its little hands are smooth flippers. I believe it to be quite valuable, possibly antique, based on dates of patents listed on the ornate bronze panel on the inside door. Chinese in origin. Solid cast iron. Quite heavy. Designed to resemble the lead character of the short lived American cartoon, "Chucky the Chicken." I n...

Basketball Trophy

Object No. 66 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Cintra Wilson, here.]

Dearest Friend in Christ,

As only you know, this is the trophy treasure I have won in great personal championship at ladies intramural sport. I am in daily prayer that in Christian spirit only you will see this appeal, and know of our plan to transfer the ownership of this darling golden statuette of high monetary value into your home. It is as you remember the key to our future plan of my safety rescue...

Project Update: STORY CONTEST

Think you can write a great 500-word story in which the item pictured above (a BBQ Sauce Jar) features significantly? You'll get an opportunity to do so, soon. A well-known online magazine is going to judge a Significant Objects fiction contest — the winning story will be published by the magazine, and also on this site, and (naturally) on eBay when we auction off the BBQ Sauce Jar. Stay tuned for more details about the contest!

Motel Room Key

Object No. 65 of 100

[Bid on this Significant Object, with story by Laura Lippman, here.]

Her husband saved everything. He had a box, for example, of cigarette lighters, useless plugs taken from every car he had ever owned. He saved ticket stubs and playbills. He had three hand-knit sweaters from an elderly aunt, long deceased. The sweaters were scratchy and unattractive; he had never worn them and never would.

So a motel key, here in his cufflink drawer, didn't necessarily mean anything. Yet...