there's been a recurring theme here since I reviewed the Watchmen movie on 30 July. The jist of my argument is that a good book is not just 'about' the contents of its plot. Andrew Rilstone has written the finest analysis of Watchmen that i have so far read.

In our world, kids read comics about superheroes and wish that they were real. In the world of the watchmen, supeheroes are real, so kids read about pirates instead. Hollis Mason described the emergence of superheroes as being like characters escaping from comics and coming to life. The idea of superman was so powerful that it caused real superheroes to come into being. In order to create his squid monster, Ozymandias kidnaps the man who wrote the most frightening comic of all time, gets him to imagine the most frightening monster possible, and persuades everyone on earth to believe it is real. Like Hooded Justice, the squid has escaped from comics- from the realm of ideas- into the black and white factual world of newspaper headlines
Watchmen is about the power of stories, of ideas, of comic books. Bernard, the comic book reader is its hero. He has in his hands the grand key to the whole story, and he couldn't care less. in the middle of this great insane complicated game the comic book fan is the voice which debunks the whole exercise.
"Lotta people called Bernard, man. Don't signify nothing."

(thanks to Greg Gerrand for sending the link)

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In other news:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An American widow is selling her husband's burial spot directly above film legend Marilyn Monroe so that she can pay off her mortgage.
Elsie Poncher has put an advert on eBay to auction off the tomb in Westwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles.
"Here is a once in a lifetime and into eternity opportunity to spend your eternal days directly above Marilyn Monroe," says the advertisement.
"In fact the person occupying the address right now is looking face down on her."