The week took me off

I could live in that hat.

This plaza and me--we have a history.

The consolation of model railroad details.

Band: The Acrylics

Quartet: The I Feel Sorry Four


(I'd like to crunch her numbers.)

Your sphere or mine?

I'd like to bundle her software.

When the clean is worse than the dirt.

Our interplanetary reputation.

The West Side night clubs.

(I can't believe I watched the whole thing.)

Wildly educated

The greatest blank of our generation.

Portaits of museum life: Portraits

Forks as sculpture.

(I'd like to improve her business district.)

Why the beach?

Meaningful initials.

Outgrowing a brand.

Be wary of: "At least he's honest."

"This isn't a competition."
(He was out of breath when he said it.)

The Empty Restaurants

It's On Me

Bemusement park

Nickname: Old Soda

Bands: The Temporaries
White Guilt

Let's meet by the old ball bearing factory.

I'd like to tune her fork.

(It's a little late in the game for snacks.)

Unpreparedness kit

There are still catchy logos to be created.


Wave that bug away.
But also wave it hello.


You can take this half-way to the bank.

The Disposable Cups

A "party" philosophy.

Tablecloth inventions.

Holding things with your teeth.

Now with more lost episodes!

Christmas is a big thing in her family.

I'd be lying if I said...


(Who am I kidding?
Seriously, who?)

Mystery breeze

A lot to read
(But not in books)

Maybe you shouldn't be all you can be.

Our guile sucks.

It's not for everyone.


(Where were we?)

(A story of almost)

(I'd like to get back there)

(Think outside the parentheses)

(Is that even a saying?)

(I didn't think he'd actually follow-up)

International signs

The Over Its

Playoff Hopes

The Stock Photos

We had a Fun Factory?

This works better outside.

(A slow views day.)

Legible sweats

She's good at applying old phrases to new things.

Pigtail savior.

My favorite shape.

The connotations of "fellowship."

Band: The Terrible Mothers


Don't drink much, but I sure would like a photo of that liquor store.

They still smoke here.

(I told me so.)

The Glugosphere

That's a nice-looking pitcher of lemon wedges.

Should we really be listening to The Cars in this weather?

Depends on where you want music to take you.


The Banana Peel Girls.

They got there first.

The As Usuals

Typewriter on the sidewalk.

(Writer-type on the sidewalk.)


(I think I like this place better in the AM and early afternoon.)

Folk song law

Follow the laundry lines.

All we knew was what we could see from the road.

Real trees that look fake.

The Renditions.

It's against my religion.

(She blew me all out of proportion.)

Pills I've swallowed

The chill I get when people tell me they're "taking my advice."

What did I say?

Can we stop at a humble deli?

Stop denying yourself flavor.


I'd like to import her lager.

Band: Touch My Face With Interest

It would've been fun

Why doesn't he just write a memoir or screenplay?

They're still cranking out box sets?

So Coca-Cola owns summer and Xmas now.

Don't worry about it.

Keep flipping.

(I'd like to find that salesman and thank him.)

But healthy

Check the corners.

This wasn't always history.

Polaroids on the wall.

How is she?

Maybe I overreacted.

That's what hatracks are for!

These people never drank a Mountain Dew in their lives.

An intrigue I want no part of.

One game of Galaga before we go-

Parisian trinkets

That's us running.

Yer Darn Rights.

Nice wall.

(I'd like to press her pennies.)

Ordering things

Almost asleep in a strange bed, pretending to be facing the other way.

The loop around the high school.

It's okay to be the lone holdout.

Those are terrible directions!

The old "Thank-A-Tree" campaign.


I'd rather be thinking up "I'd rather be..." slogans.

This used to be all cornfield

The familiarity of unfamiliar grocery stores.

(I'd like to steam her asparagus.)


Age is wasted on the old.

A mall-chair massage.

Lying low in Koreatown...

A song that rhymes "shooting star" with "candy bar."

Makes me wish I were what again?

The Flanks:
Happiest sad music I ever heard in the subway.

Spectacular headbands

Holiday cheer.

Bless the chatter and buzz.

Cranberry juice and seltzer induced depression.

I'm always in the market for influence.


(I see what you mean.)

A labor of like

Let's keep the line moving.

(I have trouble remembering the substance of those conversations.)

Let's meet at the hot dog cart at the corner of the soccer field.

(I'd like to shroud her skyline.)

Electronically secure

I can't remember the last time I used the phrase, "I can't remember the last time I...."


"That balance is outstanding!"
(Said at circus and bank)

Can I get a drag of that?

Me and the briefcase boys.

I like these plaid pants, but what would I wear them with?

Band: The Like Wows

(I see you took my advice.)

The Kitchen You Grew Up In


(I thought it was common knowledge...)

Dial-a-day

It's just a matter of sitting down.

Look--the wist king.

Left in a bike basket.

The thinker--in a souvenir seat from an old stadium.


Facial heir

(Doesn't necessarily mean anything.)


I like to sit across from that religious dome.

Such as...

Oh, like they know what they're talking about.

Band: The Who Knews

A lost clause.

Corny weather.

(I applied for that job.)

(I think we both know the answer to that.)

Everything you know about being wrong is wrong

What does that remind you of?

The All My Faults

...with her carton of apple juice and gourmet potato chips.

You deserve better.

A novel in text messages.

He recognizes things for what they are,
and he's teaching creative writing next semester!

Soft sun around here.

Printer ink and guitar strings...

Hiawatha-style yoga

I've programmed a computer or two in my day.

Can we drop this stuff off at the car?


(I'd like to soleil her moon fries.)

Dude, you're rich!

Thoughtful followers

Pinball at that Pizza Pit at the edge of nowhere.

We would meet at Hamburger Heaven and take a train to the stadium.


A plain-clothes fop.

(That wasn't me.)

(Sweet face, though.)

Where do you get my ideas?

Trudging down that gourmet tea road.

I'd like to roast her pumpkin seeds.

Band: The Great Investments

(Sometimes I miss Thrift Drug so much it hurts.)

I'm on her way

Twine wrapped around a hot pipe.

I had a blanket just like that.

Can you tell?

(We sang it in elementary school.)

Triptych

Band:
Western Medicine

Bumper sticker:
I'd rather be leafing through a magazine

Poem:
I'll see ya
At the pizzeria

Oh, Whitney

Rung out on old cash registers.

Those pants are a stretch.

So you're the most beautiful girl in the world.
So what.

Tender moment in college football:
player removes clump of dirt from teammate's helmet.


(Not that funky of a funk...)

The Sofa City Sweethearts

Tsintao: China
Singha: Thailand
(I'll never make that mistake again!)


(You've just made a powerless enemy.)

I'd like to shred her sensitive documents

Library fine pride.

Cherry Street.

Mini-kites (about as big as your hand) being flown along the river in Chinatown.

It's loud and peaceful here.

Name that gesture: exercise or disorder?

Secret skatepark.

Flags with bank symobls.

Try the rice noodles.

The New Brewing Methods

Pill shudder.

The Skin Tones.

Cement mixer painted like Captain America.

(I'd like to manage her hedge fund.)

No flashy photography.

Out of our white cups...

I blew an opportunity to blow an opportunity.

The responsibility that comes with having an apartment people can see into from the train--

(It's hillier up here, and the small flowers on your shirt need water.)

The No Duhs

Check that family out.

I think I owned that sweatshirt.

How bench-sleepers tweak a space-

I can see at least 15 squirrels right now.

(I'd like to split her infinitives.)

What do you want from Mee?
(Mee being a noodle shop.)

Is that really "news"?

I keep meaning to get to the transit museum.

What're you not looking at?

Buzz-cut beauty.

Fishnetted and dangling.


Bands:

The Uneducated Guesses

The Technicalities

The Screaming Footnotes


(I'd like to sun-dry her tomatoes.)

The "meh" generation

Kid in stroller drops slice of pizza and weeps.

Eternal flame outside the Hudson Hotel.

Woman trying to shove pug into water fountain.


Old timey detective: Step Tracer

(Nice nachos.)

I like my apples waxed

The chubbification of cheeks.

A rice knack-

The You Wishes.

(Taking off your shoes in places where shoes aren't normally removed.)

Legs in winter.

A deeply areligious man.

(Reading a book on the history of aspirin would give me a headache.)

By the time you read this

Tree leaners,
Point gleaners.

We'd grown close over the minutes.

And to think that dress could fit in my pocket.

I keep forgetting what I learned in my 15 minutes of yoga.

Pastry on the wind

The squeak of beans.

Does anyone ever use those balconies?

I'll never forget that joke.

It doesn't translate into nothing.


The world through Advil Liqui-Gel colored glasses--

Twiggishness

You and your leafy greens.

The kids are hanging upside-down by their knees.

Autumn screen.


I'll do some detective work.

And maybe Wild Cherry LifeSavers will be my new thing.

(This is not what we trained for...)

Repeat after me

We were out smarting.

More sad banjo

What's so wrong with being a zombie?

I'm jealous of this cheerily mournful music--
Perfect for chopping vegetables.

Bring on the translucent bowls!

(He and I share a plaid.)


(I'd like to mix her metaphors.)

Mutter museum

Band: The Oh No He Didn'ts

There's ink on my pants.

This is quite a romantic train.

Sheconomist

Furriness-lined boots

They met during freshman orientation.

Everything's a hate crime, nowadays.

Late for ninjitsu class-


(Reincarnated as a celebrity jogbra.)

Pigtail vengeance

Career woman power-smoking. Takes me back.

Do I look as crazy as that?

I've been meaning to buy a Chip Clip for the last seven years.

Small market stuff

I've wondered about that bowling alley.

(A lot of ads on this station.)

When the light in her bedroom window really meant something...

That high tech bull

My mantra was there all along.

I need some start-up cash.
And something to start.

Enough of your Brooklyn Bridgery.

Some competitive leisure-

Hey--they're serving our seasoning!

Those dreamy side streets...

Looked up

These pointless errands have a point.

Over caste

Be careful of the insults you use.

(I don't know how to act.)

Be more present...

I don't deserve you

That familiar stretch.

A woman's sense of shoes--

You don't have to come up with universal maxims.

(I'd arrange those freckles to spell something special...)

That can't be right

Death is as afraid of you as you are of it.

That guy rules

Sit across from me.

My stomach hurts.

If I open a pants store, it'll be called Trouser Town.

Is that a phrase?

Am I the only one who still calls them freedom fries?

The hoboes took that over a long time ago.

Ziggy would be a great name if not for "Ziggy."

Or might not miss

The old guy.

You can no longer call someone and let the phone ring 50 times. Technology always picks up. But there was poignancy to eliciting that mechanical ringing in an empty house. Or, even more fraught, in a house where someone was avoiding the phone. It was a statement with echo.

This we'll miss

Churchless grandeur

Or the breeze is the truth.

Get a load of that definition!
(Said at gym or library)

Where my frisbee friends at?

It's like my dad always said,
(Well, not exactly like it.)

They've been working on that building awhile now.

Compiling evidence against what I'm not sure.

But the past is one thing that gets less real by the minute.

Tattoo ruins

Somebody like that walking towards me-

There are better things to be obsessed with.

Nice Kikkoman bag.

They'd better have bad aim.

(It was a lot of money back then.)

Hey-I was drinking that

Is it fresh?
I want to see the lemons.

Some of that old-fangled sincerity.

And no muck to muck things up.

What kind of monster do you think I am?
Seriously, what kind?

Under the overpass

What's your deal?

We're so stupid.

What am I looking at?

Crushed cars on a truck.

How "radioactive" sounds quaint.

Her diaphanous plan-

(I'd like to stuff her animal.)

(Hey-I know him.)

Small fries

That sweet, sweet bitterness.

Those legs should be the new symbol for eternity.

I miss the life of the mind.

Counter offer at the Waffle Hut

I fell in something.

Not sure I trust those scale models of the universe.

We're necessarily kidding ourselves.

The interchangeability of baby pictures-

(And me a member of the incompetentsia.)

I'll be at the Lake Forest Oasis, watching cars.

Fly season

I bought myself out.

I'll be at the sushi counter.

To them, we're the oddballs.

What about if tragedy goes on strike?

Burger momentum

Need to get away and lose some perspective.

A time machine that transports us to right now.

You're welcome to come to dinner with us.

Those little earrings...

Eternity is a temporary concept.

Still

Blame the cable company,
But also praise the cable company.

The new disconnectivity.

Smells like farmer's market.

Battle of the ice cream bells and rock and roll.

My new cliche:
That's pepper through the grinder.

But I really would like to buy the world a Coke.

Hey there young sport

All these philosophies cancel each other out. Or in.

A song to protest protest songs.

That ending was a cop out.

What's the big idea?

Don't spit that back!

Business, lady.

Aspire to amateur.

(I thought those were extinct.)

The English Muffin truck

I love that she made fun of me for that.

Turf has its own beauty--
Check out the pick-up soccer games in Sara D Roosevelt park between Broome and Grand.

Now that's the Harley I'd ride if I rode a Harley.

(I said she could Hoyt my Schermerhorn any day.)

You should go

With this in mind.

The Lyric Diner

(I'd like to post a menu in her window.)

That is some sexy gray hair.

I have those shoes!

The comfort of an old church gym-


(There are plenty of men in shirtsleeves leaning out of windows, but they're not necessarily lonely.)

I was talking to the fries

Gentlemen of the evening-

No bad clam jokes.

Let's run off to small town USA.

Deep breaths might work,
but they'll have to be pretty deep.


(Just some basic lesson I never picked up.)

Helicopters for peace

More essays on the eroticization of childhood.

Downloading old Loudness.
(Thunder in the East)

These storms aren't symbolic.

(I wouldn't mind icing her coffee.)

Temporary fencing

That accent will kill us all!

Beauty needs distance.

(I'd like to picnic on her Great Lawn.)

Forgetting the setting

Those daytime moons...

Keep me downdated.

Salad compliment: "Nice toss."

Everything must glow!

Are you sure about that dog?

(My two favorite spots in the park are: here, here, and here.)

Countless essences

Even when I know it isn't her...

The long legs of the law.

The decline of the internet: e-rosion

(Where did that building come from?)

I was reading immortal poems on the beach

The right to pursue interpretations of the pursuit of happiness.

The mournful joy of listening to The Replacements while driving.

Whether it's relevant or not is irrelevant.

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?

Winning ambivalence

(Watching her read closely.)

I can be very righteous about decrying righteousness.

No monopoly on blue sky...

But my plan!

Lugging around grudges against airlines...

(Remind me not to be a kid again.)

What's the connection?



-Dedicated to the stray cats of Tellaro.

You get the idea

Testosteroni

The Inconclusives

Combobulating

Geeky sheen

To whom are you speaking?

I'm thinking of having my memories animated.

Let's give it up for the design of Burger King's mod black coffee lids.

Pining for the dial tone.

It smells like Six Flags, somehow.

When did we start worrying?

The comfort of stall graffiti...

Nothing is something, no?

Hey, day

Gee...force

If only Emily Dickinson were around and firing up a web log...

Is there any benefit to hiding anxieties?

Well-woven into pop songs...

I pine for college far less than I figured.

Had to be taught that.

And here I'm dreaming about Cozzi Pizza and grape soda...

Lacquered up

Untethered ball.

Mounted bottle openers.

Dude, I still have nightmares about that.

Damn straits...

Fountain water

The work of posture/
The posture of work

Huffing that freshly cut grass.

...really more of a mourning person...

(On the other hand, I'm like, bring it on.)

That's no picture

History is filled with examples.

The messenger bag capital of the world.

Fonz: exhibit ayyy.

Catch-all survey:
Was it worth it?

T-shirts in translation

Summer retort:
So's your old fan.

Selective embrace

Band:
Wow, Really?

Hitler Trivia

An add-junk lecturer.

Those really skinny buildings...

(Let me get back to you when this pill kicks in.)

Holding patterns

Promo: essay about 80s teen sex comedies here.

How is that guy?

(Back then, I'd smoke anything.)

My phone rings hollow.

Search without seizure

Like I'm going to sit around reading Boethius.

(Though I wouldn't mind tossing "Boethian" around now and again.)


I dishonestly don't remember.


Do you mind if I ask how much those were?

How much were those?

Assignment:

Invent a joke with the punchline, "He's taking up for lost mime."

She made a career of it

I'd like to be a beer vendor at Wrigley Field for a summer, then write a folksy memoir about the experience.

Is there a show that can make it a reality?


President: Forlorn soda machine fan club, 7-Up division


Is that feather floating or flying?

Franchise opportunity

Let's send up their conventions.

At a convention.

The huevos of the future--

(I'd like to McVeggie her burger.)

Thought I'd find you here

The name "Kidman" as a condensed biography.

Could you please not wipe that stupid grin off my face?

Shoevenile

On this spot in...

We were leading questions.

Ice T was singing about Evil E...

Where were you?/Where was I?

Sanbitter: like siphoning grapefruit juice from a Vespa.

Please the day

On the beach we ran unopposed.