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The Log
2/20/03 White Snake tributes on the radio.
I'm a little tired of the hysteria-mongering going on. High
alert in every corner of every news channel.
The Salt Hill issue with my story "Twins" just
arrived. You can see the contents of the issue here.
1/26/03 Tonight we attended an Intersection
for Arts/Campo Santo benefit featuring Denis Johnson
and Dave Eggers. Denis Johnson actually sang! Apart from
the music and a rather tepid attempt at an interview of
Johnson by Eggers, Campo Santo staged readings from Denis
Johnson's new play. Great night.
On the reading front, just finished George Saunder's new
story in the New Yorker. It puts focus groups in a whole
new light as the main character describes his life as a
celebrity TasteMaker, raised from birth as a superior breed
of consumer taster. These characters don't have their own
thoughts; rather they are fed a continous loop of content,
either advertising or tastes or images, which they must
rate. It's all typical, great Saunders stuff I don't seem
to tire of, even if some of my friends do.
Movie-wise I saw the excellent Morvern Caller on Thursday.
It's visually stunning and should be seen by anyone who
fantasizes about loved ones finding their brilliant manuscripts
stashed away after their gone . . .
1/09/03 I recently finsihed two great books
in a row. Like Being Killed and Charles Baxter's
A Feast of Love. The big news is the Photos
section on the site. I have this idea that I'll keep up
a semi-regular photo diary.
12/23/02 Saw Adaptation yesterday.
Excellent and highly recommended. Not so highly recommended:
Personal Velocity. I really wanted to like it, but
I just couldn't.
12/20/02 Winner of the bumper sticker of the
year contest: Animals are just little people in fur coats.
So, so true. And so wise.
Playing on the stereo, Spoon's "Girls Can Tell."
Thanks to Jackie for the tip!
Now, I'm finishing reading Moral Hazard by Kate
Jennings. It's a slim novel about a political progressive
who goes to work on Wall Street while she cares for her
aged husband. Not sure what I think about it yet. I really
need to get back to writing my slim novel.
12/09/02 Ok, Janet made some crack about me
updating this page "hourly" so I had to just go
in and add something. I finished The Tipping Point and
am now reading Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. Yes,
I enjoy reading about stress hormones and what they do to
your internal systems (for obvious reasons.) I'm also reading
Faithless by ever-prolific Joyce
Carol Oates.
Just bought the new David
Gray because of "The Other Side." Now I'm
trying to learn a little piano. Just a little.
12/1/02 The site is finally up. I've
been working on it for a few days and have finally figured
out a few of the technical details.
Currently, I'm reading, The Tipping Point by Malcolm
Gladwell. I thought it would be a bit more cohesive, but
I enjoy the loose association of much of the material. I'm
not sure of his thesis, exactly, apart from making a few
points that I associate with sociology (memes) or marketing
theory (viral marketing, early adopters, influencers, etc.)
The book is interesting, though, and I recommend it for
those interested in social history, sociology, social psychology,
contagion and the like.
The idea of contagion and "copy-cat" culture
scares me though, if you think about our television news
and the cult of personality of television which glorifies
bad behavior (Columbine, 9-11) much more than good.
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