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 …
"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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Kris liked the thriller One Hour Photo. I avoided it because I heard negative reviews, and also because I indulge in the "why should Robin Williams get several chances to play serious roles?" carping. But …
While researching books for a customer, I discovered that the University of Chicago Press posts tons of fascinating excerpts. Behind the scenes at talk shows, why hundreds of Chicagoans died in the 1995 heat wave …
