“Is it true firemen used to put out fires?”

There is a scene in Farenheit 451 (that’s Truffaut, 1966, not Moore) where Linda, wife of disillusioned book-burner Montag, greets his return home with great enthusiasm about her role in the evening’s television program. She sits on the living room floor in front of the screen, as a bland scripted conversation unfolds between two actors, [...]

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Bringing up pacifists

“Do you think Hulk and Spider-man would like to drive your tractors?”

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Tag in the Dark

I figure a hat tip is in order once somebody’s directed me to more than one book I can’t wait to read. As with most living breathing folks, Kester’s not someone I know personally, but I’m really digging his stuff. Surely one of you knows him: The Dope Is That There’s Still Hope.

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Legislating morality

Today we saw a guy in a Prius smoking a cigarette, and it gave us a great idea for a new LA city ordinance.
On a related note, we were in IKEA the other day, and they are now selling their merch lugging bags for 49 cents or something, with the warning that they will soon [...]

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Things I Don’t Have Time to Write About: The Reckoning

1) I’ve got a lot of music in the just-what-I’ve-always-wanted new release pile this summer, but somehow Ryan Adams‘ Easy Tiger is tickling me just right. It’s got this wonderful, easy, meandering Emmylou Harissness to it. Adams was an alt-country darling who never captured my heart, but I’m into this album. Guitar solo.
2) We saw [...]

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Weeping and gnashing

I wonder where that sheet of paper is
with the instructions
and warnings
about how to care for my wounded mouth
after my wisdom teeth were removed.
I hope it didn’t say
that chicken curry
is not a good choice,
or that exact measurements are critical
when mixing the saltwater rinse.
How long after anesthesia should I have avoided
important decisions
(“because the next day you might [...]

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A rope let down from heaven

At the behest of my two favorite podcasts, WBEZ’s This American Life and WNYC’s On the Media, I tried out WNYC’s Radio Lab this week, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It sounds like what the Sesame Street/MTV generation did to visual culture happening in your ears. The two shows I’ve listened to have focused on [...]

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A Good Wine

This is absolutely one of my favorite stories this year. There’s a lot of roughage in that last line: “The only good thing is they would be able to identify him because they hugged him.”
(HT GKB)

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Lived Earth

When I was in elementary school, I had a sticker on my door that I got in one of those gumball-toy machines for a quarter: “Ev’ry Litter Bit Hurts.” So began my conservationist quest. That’s right. I subscribed to Ranger Rick. Since then, I have twice collected aluminum cans. Once, I turned them in for [...]

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Stick it in your ear

If you’re like me, and, chances are, if you’re reading this you are me, then you saw Tank Girl twice in theaters, on purpose. Man, me and you are a lot alike. You might also carry the ongoing, insatiable pain of disappointment over every pair of headphones you’ve ever owned. Which is why I want [...]

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