The Checkout Counter #40

February 2026

The Fire Concerto

where i am it's light at 5pm again :) take care, and thanks for reading 🤍

The Fire Concerto, Sarah Landenwich1really 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 past—that 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.

The Ugly Stepsister (Den stygge stesøsteren), 20252lol 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, 20083all 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.

Compendium V, DIM
Dark folk, dungeon synth
Illinois, Sufjan Stevens4funny 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, Mitski5gorgeous instrumentation! love how americana/folksy this is (are those even the right words…). very drawn to this title/cover/art direction overall—feels the most narratively and sonically cohesive of her albums.
Alternative

list animals until failure, Vivian Rose6266 animals listed 🐻‍❄️🐻🐻🐼🐻🦝🦊🦊🐺🐀🦘🐦👩‍💻🦧🦍𓆈🦎🐍🐍🐍🐍🪸𓇼🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🌈🐟🐙🐋🐳🫍🐊🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦🐦🐦🐦𓅪🐦🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🦭🦭🐦🐦🐧🦒🦏🦓𓃴🦛🦁🐯🐅🐘𓃰℥🐆🐞🐜🐜🪳🐛🐛🦋🫅🐛🐍🐛🦅🦅🦅🐦🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉𓅃🐦🐦🐕🐈‍⬛🐦🐦𓅳🐣🪿🦢🐎🫏🦄🕷🐄🦙🕸️🐛🐛🕊️🕊️🕊🕊🐦𓅦🦚🦩🐦🐦🐦𓅣𓅣🦌🦌🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🐟🐟🐟🐠🐟🐟🦕🦖🦕🐦🦆🐟🐍🐟🪰🪰🪲🪰🪱🪱𓆏🐸𓆏🐦🦥🦣🐟🐦𓅃🦉🐟🐟🐢𓆉🐟🐛🐛🦭🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦐🦀🐛🐝🐛🐛🪰鯉🐟🦬🦎🐿🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛🐦𓅧🐦🦋𓅨🐦🐦🐨🦌🧝🐖
Saltwrack, Antemaion7yes!!! 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.

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 Syllabus8truly 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 Index9and now there's a search engine for the archive!
Archive of Whole Earth publications