The vocabulary on that guy!

Makes me wish I wish I smoked.

Might as well be...

That outfit moves me.

Does the wordplay of "Japanimation" work in Japanese?

Does Crest toothpaste have a crest?

How do they keep the Lever House so clean?

What are all these bugs?

What kind of question is that?

I like people who remind me of Tim Kazurinsky.

No--but I can predict who will try and predict the future.

I'll just assume this is a prank, and treat it as such.

But this is what I came here for!

The breeze is like a time machine.

It's going to take a lot of ice cubes...

I don't even want to know how music works.

(It sounded a lot better in the store.)

Paradise bow

This gazpacho is taking a lot longer than 20 minutes.

Dig that Pin Point Carbonation.

I still say it was worth it.

She makes me want to kill myself
(but in a good way)

Summer reading: character break

A serialized novel, Happyland by J. Robert Lennon, starts in this month's Harper's. It's great. I can't wait for Part II. If you don't have a subscription to Harper's--come on, man.

Books bought or checked out of library in the last few weeks:

-The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky by Ken Dornstein. Eerie. More on this.
-Bukowski: A Life by Neelie Cherkovski. Research. Not as terrible as the reviews on Amazon would have you think, but pretty redundant.
-A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Research, I swear. Has anyone actually read it? Why doesn't he indent?
-Physical, An American Checkup by James McManus
-Eichmann and the Holocaust by Hannah Arendt. Part of Penguin's new "Great Ideas" series. I still have a crush on Hannah. And I may have to re-think some thoughts on Nazis.
-Fitzgerald and Hemingway: A Dangerous Friendship by Matthew J. Bruccoli. Nobody writes letters anymore. Is that bad? Not sure.
-A Good School by Richard Yates. Been re-reading all his books, and I'm not a re-reader.
-JPod by Douglas Coupland. Found an advance reading copy for a buck at the Strand. Have stayed away from his last five or so. Over 20 pages are occupied by the first hundred thousand digits of pi (w/ one incorrect digit). Good gag.
-Remote Feed by David Gilbert. Funny stories. Had this book before.
-Straight Man by Richard Russo. If, like me, you're a sucker for misadventures in academia novels, this looks good. Only on P. 25. Great paragraphs. "I don't see how you could not kid about love and still claim to have a sense of humor."

Kettle of Fish

Takes me back-
Though I'm not sure I was ever there.

Up in the boundary waters.

The goatees you grew up with...

So glad this place is here

Gameshow: How is this not porn?

These shorts? I've had them for years.

In ATMs I trust.

Seriously-are you kidding?

"(You do not learn about people by asking them questions.)"
-Hemingway, in a letter

Then we weren't

The kid in the bright yellow Alf shirt.

We'll let the judge be the judge of that.

You don't look like you're from around here.

Restoring my lack of faith...

(Doesn't make you any smarter)

GBV

(God Bless Veselka)

You've got to hand it to these pierogi.

What can I say?
I like my pork pulled.

Inside jokes propel this planet.

Fountain ale-

(I wonder what sort of funny nicknames they have for me...)

I should've said something

Sneak a pique.

We were all suckers.

Scalloped--

By the Swoony River.

Delectability ratings

(I'm hanging up now.)

Swallowing bugs

Not rue again!

Was he looking at or past me?

Listen, Red

Careful what you wear

Eurotrash v. Eurotreasure

Great, lonely views.

Cartoon characters (and me):
We go where we're drawn to.

You guess

Everyone's an expressionist.

Left on La Cienega.

(It still exists, barely, in snapshots.)

I think we were at that cafe...

Non-emergency use only

They're a different religion--not a different species.

"Beautiful" as a euphemism.

Hard to believe there'll be a day when these shirts don't make sense.

Menu prose.

We like the drone.

(There's nothing not to get.)

Half the country

Theoretically, we're getting a lot done.

Courses in tavern etiquette

Look--an American Shorthair.

I only sit with my back to the door.

(Like everyone around me could be a star.)

Teen geese

All-girl army.

Summer-dress induced madness.

Ads that speak with confidence on nature's intent.

Heard that song, loved it, left it.

What do you say we make these grades suffer?