Are you in San Francisco? Go see

Fletop

(flee-top). They’re an upstart band without a hell of a lot of material, but what they’ve got is mellow and smart. Great music and you’ll feel like an intellectual afterward, even if you’re drunk. Go catch a show now. Later, you can say you saw them on the El Rio patio and complain about how pissed you are that they sold out.

11:20 a.m.

EMAIL MOMENT!

To: Me

From: An old college friend who just got a new place.

Scenario: I just asked for his new address and phone number.

Excerpt: p.s. If you need an easy way of remembering our phone number, just remember
that it spells KGSOH XI. You’re on your own remembering the area code
though.

4:17 p.m.

“What a… stimulating exploration of ever-shifting social attitudes.” That’s probably what he said:

NEW YORK — Bryant Gumbel is back on conservatives’ hit list for what appeared to be a profane remark about a guest on his show.

The host of CBS’ “The Early Show” was interviewing Robert Knight of the Family Research Council, who backed the recent Supreme Court decision allowing the Boy Scouts to ban gays as leaders. When the interview ended Thursday, Gumbel was heard saying “What a …” before his microphone was turned off.

Knight said he thought Gumbel ended the remark with a profanity and the word “idiot,” which a videotape reportedly supports. The American Family Association wants the network to give Gumbel the boot, and Knight wants an apology.

A spokeswoman for Gumbel said he left Thursday for vacation. She didn’t know what he said.

Neither, apparently, did CBS News, which released the following statement: “He was making a casual remark of some sort, but it is unclear what the comment was and, in any case, it bears no relevance to the content of ‘The Early Show.'”

11:10 a.m.

We’re on press deadline and our Web production editor just sent this out.

Subject: What I tell people I do.

“I’m but a serf in the corporate feudal system. I toil in a cube farm, tending
to several Web sites. But my life is not without joy. During the day my fellow
cube dwellers may take a break from the glaring fluorescent lights over us and
the CRTs in front of us, and someone may pull out a tinwhistle or an MP3 player
and break into a little tune. We may smile a little and, if for a moment, forget
our carpal tunnel aches. Today is an especially busy time, so the lords may add
a handful of hay to our beds or a couple more potatoes to the Indian curry we’ve
ordered online. The weekend allows little reprieve as at the end of the day I
will strap the trusty laptop to my back and continue to wipe the sweat from my
brow tomorrow and the next day. We are but simple folk and hopefully one day I
will have accrued enough in my 401K to free myself from these chains.”

11:20 a.m.

I’ve been yawning a lot today, which probably only means I’m tired. However, I suspect that the oxygen/CO2 ratio in the office is out of whack. They’re giving us just enough air to function, but not enough to organize a revolt.

Then again, I also worry that the metal detectors at the library are slowly rearranging my intestines.

3:27 p.m.