Stayed indoors

None of us will ever leave a fingerprint on one of the seven copies of JK Rowling's handwritten, self-illustrated, leather-bound, silver-and-gem-encrusted fairytale collection "The Tales Of Beedle The Bard", a tome conjured straight from the Potter-verse. Thankfully, Amazon.com has set up a permanent page with photos of the copy it purchased from Sotheby's, London for nearly two million pounds, along with synopses of the fables within. Point your browser at www.amazon.com/beedlebard


Listening: "R.E.M. Live". Their firstest live album, recorded in Dublin in 2005 and released a coupla months ago. Must admit I'd lost track with the group since my uni days. Getting reacquainted has had me foot-tappin' and leg-slappin'. Michael Stipe's voice remains a wonder of the musical world.

Reading: "Rigged: The True Story Of A Wall Street Novice Who Changed The World Of Oil Forever" (2007) by Ben Mezrich. Well, y'know, I really dug his exciting 2003 account of the card-counting MIT Blackjack Team, "Bringing Down The House".

Watching: "Code Monkeys" season one. Life at fictional, dysfunctional '80s videogame company Gameavision, rendered in the style of 8-bit console graphics. That sounds dull, but it's wild. Copious background detail that demands repeat viewing and laugh-out-loud satire of a "South Park" savagery.