The New Yorker‘s fabulous blurb about “Riverdance” on Broadway: “Not the Lord of the Dance with his shirt off and the leather truss. The other one.”
12:20 p.m.
Tag: excerpts
One of my favorite love poems:
I wish I were close
To you as the wet skirt of
A salt girl to her body.
I think of you always.
Akahito
12:22 p.m.
I’ve been doing some impromptu modeling around the office, which tends to happen when you work in a building full of trade publications. Anyway, I finally (finally!) have my very own banner ad:
It’s for the WEB2001 Conference, and as you can see, I’m totally a guru. You’ll also find an itty bitty me on the catalog cover:
And you can kind of see my butt on the June edition of Intelligent Enterprise.
11:14 a.m.
Apparently a geriatric beefcake calendar has made its subjects porn stars in their convalescent complex. The women won’t leave them alone. This quote is fabulous:
“They have gone hysterical,” she said, since the calendar was first circulated through the complex. “They don’t care if those men are 80, 90, 104 – – as long as they’re breathing. And those men are now so conceited. They press their pants, they’re putting on ties, their teeth are clean.”
4:53 p.m.
Jane Kenyon is my favorite poet. Below are two short reasons why, but you really should read Otherwise and Let Evening Come.
The Shirt
The shirt touches his neck
And smooths over his back.
It slides down his sides.
It even goes below his belt�
down into his pants.
Lucky shirt.
Biscuit
The dog has cleaned his bowl
and his reward is a biscuit,
which I put in his mouth
like a priest offering the host.
I can’t bear that trusting face!
He asks for bread, expects
bread, and I in my power
might have given him a stone.
4:31 p.m.
EMAIL MOMENT!
Subject: Affection.
Excerpt:
And Tom in love is an absolutely sickening sight. Like if you go on a double date with him, which I did once, you put your date in the car, get into the driver’s seat, and wait three and a half minutes for Tom and what’s her face to make out and debate who sits on what side in Lady and the Tramp voices. This is all very strange to a guy whose idea of romance is saying “you wanna be on top or on the bottom?”
3 p.m.
When I was in college, my geology professor told us about Lake Nyos, which had formed in a volcano crater in Cameroon, West Africa. The volcano continually released carbon dioxide into the water, and in 1986 the lake flipped over. The CO2 came to the surface, rushed down into the valley, and suffocated 1700 people.
10:13 a.m.
Neat project alert:
Q7A (One question, seven answers) is a brand new site. Each week there’s a new question this week, it’s “What are you wearing?” and readers get a chance to answer via email. Seven of the best answers appear the following week. Similar to what Sippey.com used to do with his occasional random question, but more structured. The site is just getting started, so send some answers in to help out, or check back in a few weeks to see what’s up.
9:43 a.m.
Everyone wants to know What Women Want. Sarah and Regina have some pretty clear ideas. An excerpt:
Sarah: Because the thing is, Frat Guy is often Balding And In Denial Guy.
Regina: I HATE THAT GUY!
Sarah: So do I!
Regina: And I don’t hate Regular Old Secure Balding Guy!
Sarah: Nobody hates that guy! He’s secure! He’s regular! He’s balding! We love him!
Regina: LOVE!
Sarah: He eats olives!
Regina: He wears PINK!
Sarah: Yes!
Regina: But not Balding And In Denial Guy!
Sarah: No!
Regina: Owns FIVE Frisbees!
Sarah: DOESN’T hide the porn!
Regina: WON’T go out for sushi!
(via attaboy)
1:45 a.m.
Two fabulous entries from Bucolic Front:
“can’t sleep…clowns will eat me…
can’t sleep…clowns will eat me…
can’t sleep…clowns will eat me…”
“from waitress on telephone:
me ‘hi – can i place an order for carry-out?’
her ‘okay, but you’ll have to come get it.’
me *blink* ‘okay'”
10:49 a.m.
Estivation–passing the summer in a state of torpor
1:43 p.m.
The Sacramento News and Review has a short story contest every year. I think entries have to be under 52 words. I clipped this winner from several years ago, and came across it again today:
Choosing a Mindful Mate
She wanted to see how mindless people could be at a party. So she mixed Crisco, vinegar and assorted spices in an attractive pottery bowl and set it next to a basket of chips. It went as fast as the bean dip. Except one man deposited his mouthful into a napkin. This would be the man for her.
3:32 p.m.
Mighty Girl 