The Checkout Counter #40
February 2026
The Fire Concerto

The Ugly Stepsister

Nothing's About to Happen to Me

where i am it's light at 5pm again :) take care, and thanks for reading π€
Books
- The Fire Concerto, Sarah Landenwichreally enjoyed this! always a fan of stories that explore what "history" actually means and how it's deliberately shaped to fit concise narratives (much like mysteries...!).i was charmed by the romances, both in the present and pastβthat final reveal in the last few paragraphs was very sweet. wish i could listen to the fictional music that's described here, though in these cases it's probably best left to the imagination.
Mystery. A former child prodigy inherits a metronome from her estranged piano teacher, drawing her into a mystery of centuries past.
Film
- The Ugly Stepsister (Den stygge stesΓΈsteren), 2025lol this was stylish and fun. cinderella and her two stepsisters are all sympathetic here. the silkworms bit was inspired!
Fantasy, horror, comedy. In a fairytale kingdom where beauty and pain go hand in hand, Elvira goes to extreme lengths to catch the eye of the prince. - Best in Show, 2000
Comedy, mockumentary. Contestants from across the United States prepare for the annual Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. - Wendy and Lucy, 2008all the mundane and bland shots of oregon made me a little homesick to be honest! lot of gut wrenching stuff here (the crumpled-up bills she's handed...!)
Drama. On her crosscountry journey to seek out work in Alaska, Wendy's car breaks down in Oregon.
Music
- Compendium V, DIM
Dark folk, dungeon synth - Illinois, Sufjan Stevensfunny to listen to a universally acclaimed, two decade-old album all the way through for the first time and think, "yeah this is pretty nice". i've always been familiar with the more well-known songs on this album, but i thought i should give this a real listen after seeing the lyrics of chicago written on a public feedback wall at an art exhibit. this track is my personal favorite.
Folk, Americana - Warm Welcome, Griddlekeep
Ambient, synth - Nothing's About to Happen to Me, Mitskigorgeous instrumentation! love how americana/folksy this is (are those even the right wordsβ¦). very drawn to this title/cover/art direction overallβfeels the most narratively and sonically cohesive of her albums.
Alternative
Games
- list animals until failure, Vivian Rose266 animals listed π»ββοΈπ»π»πΌπ»π¦π¦π¦πΊππ¦π¦π©βπ»π¦§π¦ππ¦πππππͺΈπΌπππππππππππ³π«ππ¦ββ¬π¦ββ¬π¦ββ¬π¦π¦π¦π¦π ͺπ¦π§π§π§π§π§π§π¦π¦π¦π¦π§π¦π¦π¦π΄π¦π¦π―π ππ°β₯πππππͺ³πππ¦π« ππππ¦ π¦ π¦ π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π π¦π¦ππββ¬π¦π¦π ³π£πͺΏπ¦’ππ«π¦π·ππ¦πΈοΈππποΈποΈπππ¦π ¦π¦π¦©π¦π¦π¦π £π £π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦ππππ πππ¦π¦π¦π¦π¦ππππͺ°πͺ°πͺ²πͺ°πͺ±πͺ±ππΈππ¦π¦₯π¦£ππ¦π π¦πππ’πππππ¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦π¦πππππͺ°ι―ππ¦¬π¦πΏππππππ¦π §π¦π¦π ¨π¦π¦π¨π¦π§π
- Saltwrack, Antemaionyes!!! incredible atmosphere and use of minimalist styling. what a strange and terrifying world.
Interative fiction, horror, post-apocalyptic. A scientific expedition heads north, across a thousand miles of toxic ice. - Out, crotovane
Interative fiction, romance. Step into the fighting ring.
Articles & essays
- The Mysterious Eugenics of Aesthetic Taste, Michael Rossi
- Morally Erect, Carta Monir
- The hidden threat eating away at museum treasures, Elizabeth Anne Brown
Blogs
- Three feet of snow, man, MSD
- LLM Slop Will Make Us Antisocial, Mimidoshima
- i can't stop thinking about goodreads' top 100, woolgathering
- Link, Please!, Mike Egan
- reclaiming my writing, Doruk BalcΔ±
- ASCII characters are not pixels, Alex Harri
Around the web
- HTML colors sorted by edibility
- Desire Paths for Wikipedia
Browser userscript - Lisbon Metro Tumblr
- Design tenets of my website
- OpenBenches
Mapping memorial benches - The Wikipedia article for the pasilalinic-sympathetic compass
- WalkmanLand
Walkman database - Halt and Catch Fire Syllabustruly know nothing about halt and catch fire other than the fact that lee pace is there. a book club-syllabus-website for favorite shows/movies/etc. is such a fun idea and alternate way of thinking of fan shrines.
- Whole Earth Indexand now there's a search engine for the archive!
Archive of Whole Earth publications
March 2026 β
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