So, you’re working at your computer, and you notice a speck of dust or something on your screen. You reach up to wipe it away, and now you’ve replaced the speck with something even worse — a smeary fingerprint.

Or, you’re working at our computer, and you look down at the keyboard and notice a crumb about to slip into the depths of your computer. If you’re using a notebook computer, you can pick it up and turn upside down, hoping to dislodge the crumb (and hope the power cord doesn’t knock over your cup of coffee). Or, you can use your blunt finger to try to remove the crumb, but that will most likely force it inside while adding a few letters of gibberish to whatever it is you’re working on.

The better answer in both scenarios? Use a large foundation makeup brush. The biggest, softest one you can find. (Check the local Five Below, or the teen aisle at Target. Here’s one at Amazon.) A soft brush is an unsung hero of computer cleanliness. Seriously.

I’m jealous of Davidt Dunlop. Not only did he write this charming tale, but he also created the remarkable illustrations that accompany it. That’s more than his share of talent, in my opinion. (He also has the most autocorrect unfriendly first name that I have ever encountered. Yes, goddmanit, I meant to type that “t” at the end!)

Like all good ghost stories, this one is short, poignant, and haunting. I mean that literally, it raises questions that stick with you. Questions about the nature and assumptions behind ghost stories.

One tradition not questioned, thankfully, is the depiction of ghosts wearing bedsheets. I truly love a good sheet ghost (I blame Gilligan’s Island) and this book is chock-full of them. I’ve read it over and over for this reason, sometimes not noticing even a single word.

You can get a copy at Quimby’s.

The first to disappear was my next door neighbor. My wife laughed when I told her, pointing out it was Black Friday, and that she was probably just out shopping. But by Sunday evening, the nosey old lady and her yappy little dog were both still gone.

On Monday, at work, my boss wasn’t there. Had the dumb bastard been promoted and sent to another office? No, there wasn’t an announcement. He was simply gone.

After work, I rushed home to tell my wife the good news about my boss. Our house was oddly quiet. She, and all her belongings; utterly gone.
Never doubt the power of a wish.

This is a Keyboard Maestro macro that prompts for a search string, then sends it as a query to amazon.com via Safari. I trigger it using Stream Deck. To download the macro file, see this gist.

Author: Nina Antonia

Subtitle: The Supernatural Doom of Oscar Wilde

This booklet, published by “The Peculiar Parish of Fiddler’s Green” is utterly charming in both content and design. Just holding it and paging through is a pleasurable experience, and then when you begin reading, a whole new world (to me, anyway) unfolds with each page. As soon as I finished it, I went back to the start again, as if riding a soothing, lovely amusement park ride.

If you’re a regular reader of mine, (thank you) you might recall that just over a year ago I was reading my first Oscar Wilde story. So, I can hardly be considered knowledgable about the man, but nonetheless I enjoyed this author’s exploration of occult and esoteric connections across his life and publications. I definitely have a new appreciation forming, and I look forward to exploring more of his works and legacy.

I got my copy of this book from Quimby’s in Chicago, and I encourage you to do the same, but you must also do yourself the favor of browsing the publisher’s website.