26 Apr 2003, 19:44 p.m.

Dying For Our Arts And Crafts

When I completely forgot two thirds of my material on Tuesday, I felt much as Skot did: "I mentally pictured the skipped-over lines dying like slugs on a salt lick, and they screamed, 'Why didn't …

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26 Apr 2003, 19:39 p.m.

"Spam Is The New Dada"

Brendan, on whom I can count for occasional odd spam subject lines, provides the title. I worry about copyright sometimes when I post excerpts from spam, but then I realize I'm being silly. And then …

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26 Apr 2003, 18:52 p.m.

Take That, J. Bradford DeLong!

I just reread Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed. Silly idea: a book entitled The Good Soldier Shevek. [The born-and-raised socialist/anarchist] tried to read an elementary economics text; it bored him past endurance, it was …

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25 Apr 2003, 9:25 a.m.

Morning Musings

"Madonna wrote a children's book? Well, why not, she's done everything else. You know, I never realized that before -- when you're Madonna, you run out of things to do on a much larger scale. …

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25 Apr 2003, 1:10 a.m.

Also at work: I recognized that a customer had just…

Also at work: I recognized that a customer had just picked up his Cal diploma, because he was carrying the no-ISBN anthology of essays that Cal hands out with diplomas. I impressed him, which is …

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25 Apr 2003, 0:42 a.m.

Just saw Better Luck Tomorrow with Hilary and Kim. …

Just saw Better Luck Tomorrow with Hilary and Kim. It's deservedly an R for violence, but recommended. Just as after watching Pleasantville I experienced colors in the real world anew, after seeing BLT I saw …

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22 Apr 2003, 22:50 p.m.

Remind Me Not To Schedule Two Back-to-Back Performances Like This Again

Salon interview went okay-to-well. I met Scott Rosenberg! I'll find out by the end of next week. I was so exhausted by the evening that I didn't practice my act nearly enough and therefore floundered …

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22 Apr 2003, 0:45 a.m.

I read FTrain regularly. Paul Ford is a writer…

I read FTrain regularly. Paul Ford is a writer in New York and his stuff really does it for me. If I recall correctly, most of the other writers on the site are his fictional …

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21 Apr 2003, 19:43 p.m.

"If you go to good films, you will become a better person"

Interview with the Ebert where he notes a pattern: When I write a political column for the Chicago Sun-Times, when liberals disagree with me, they send in long, logical e-mails explaining all my errors. I …

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21 Apr 2003, 9:25 a.m.

"If I Want a Long, Rambling Story With No Point, I Have My Life" -- Jerry Seinfeld

A dream from a week ago: I'm trying to start a restaurant. My sister is helping me cook sample food, including French fries and beets. Andy Ross, the owner of Cody's next door, is helping …

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