p.s. Hey. Well, I'm hanging out with an old friend, and there's no upfront news or alerts to give you this morning that I can think of, so I guess I'll just ... ** Heliotrope, Hey, hey. My heart goes out to you guys and your sick pooch. No fun, no doubt. I head down to see Jesse tomorrow, and a hi from you both will be his. Love to you and J. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, David. That live blogging Prop 8 trial site is certainly very useful, so thanks much. Everyone, courtesy of David E., those interested in trying to follow California's obnoxiously camera-free Prop 8 trial can at least follow a live blogging account at this site. ** No more teenagekicks, Hindsight is golden, but you can see it coming in Justin's eyes. Subdivide my trembling lower lip, and know that the left half is all yours. ** Killer Luka, The 17th deadline ain't no problem. I've had that sussed, and I'll make it in time. That package is leaning against a wall back in Paris just below the hook on which I normally hang my coat where it is patiently awaiting my claws. I liked 'District 9' too. Just seeing that huge spaceship hanging in the air the whole time was enough for me. Oh, that 'Warhol marked the finish line of contemporary art' blah blah is oft repeated and yawn yawn yawn. ** Lance, Hey, Lance. Yeah, it's in the talking stage at this point, but Portland's looking pretty ripe. Nice. Yeah, that orangey blur is Joseph, and, yeah, he's awesome. I've been trying to get to Portland for any good reason at all for quite a while. In NYC, I heard hints of maybe getting there for a 'Smothered in Hugs' gig, but we will see. You and doughnuts and coffee sound splendid. Asap, I say. ** JW Veldhoen, I think you look like a golden vase. ** Stan_cz, Yeah, that's smart thinking, of course. I guess the trick is finding a place that'll let you live there month to month sans long term contract. I've had a month to month contract at my LA apartment since 1990. Yeah, let me/us know the latest, and I hope you find at least a temporary solution straight away. ** Christopher/Mark, I'm so used to occasionally getting reviews like that Times one re: my books, it doesn't phase me much. It's a crapshoot, ultimately. Gisele was a little shocked, but it really doesn't matter that much ultimately. PS122 is going to close for a couple of years next spring, I think, and they're going to gut the whole building then turn it into a more state of the art type venue, which is good for the future shows, but kind of sad to me. Before they do that, they're going to have a big festival in which 'major' works from PS122's history will be restaged, which is where the new 'Them' comes in. Should be quite amazing festival. Yeah, Ishmael is a god. Last year, Dance Theatre Workshop did a big one night celebration of Ish's work and career, which I so wish I could have seen. Oh, and yes, I would really love a post of Watts Towers pix from the 70s. Very much so! That would be really great and kind of you, Mark! Thanks a lot! ** Chris (British), I don't know Alvis Hermanis' work, but it sounds really interesting, and having a new theater work from Latvia seems like reason enough in and of itself, you know? It would be fascinating to see what kind of work is being made there. ** Ken Baumann, Hey, Ken! Yeah, it was really great to get to see you at reasonable length in NYC. A true pleasure, as always. You're back in LA, yes? I look forward to seeing you in March if you're in LA then and if not before. ** Steevee, Yeah, pretty shocking and sad about Jay Reatard. I guess they don't know why yet, as far as I can find. Very weird, very bad news. Well, jeez, I certainly hope you're post Verizon madness by now. ** Bernard Welt, You may be a bear among bears to others, but you'll always be a former dancer with the Twyla Tharp Company to me. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hey, Ben. Oh, excellent about the online archives of Yuck n' Yum. Everyone, the divine cult favorite Scotland-based international zine Yuck 'n Yum co-edited by our pal _Black_Acrylic is now online, and I encourage you wise guys to forage accordingly. ** Bollo, Yeah, nice offices. That one in the top pix belonged to the big boss, and it was even more crazily packed with stuff, but my camera was in a bad, blurring mood during my visit. Nice about that long term idea coming together for you. Please spill when the time is right. ** NB, Not to burst everyone's bubble, but it took me hours to photoshop that red into your eyes. ** Bill, Oh, I hope you're around SF in March unless you're away fruitfully. I'm not sure when I arrive and leave and all that yet. I'm pretty sure I'll arrive on the day of the reading 'cos I think the LA reading is the night before. I'll sort that quickly once I get back to Paris. I'd love to partake in that field trip for sure if we can. ** Blendin, Oh, excellent, about the newsstand post. I'm strangely or not so strangely at all excited about that baby. Jason Flores-Williams is a cool grab for an event there. Interesting guy, writer. And the Brooklyn Rail guy too. Writer suggestions ... locals, I'm guessing? Benjamin Weissman would be killer. There's the blog's (Sean) Dungan. I wish I'd thought/known about this option a while back 'cos I would have gotten Akashic to try to slot the LHotB tour's Mark, Jim, and me in there. Mm, I'll think further. I'm sure I can come up with a bunch. ** SYpHA_69, Here's hoping for another opportunity before too long. I might be back in NYC a lot more than usual and more lengthily this year assuming the 'Them' project happens. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, 'Them' is the very opposite of a fun night out, true. We'll try our very best to compensate for that gloom with cute performers. I have to remember to watch Chelsea Lately and some of these other shows you keep mentioning while I'm in this close of a proximity to American TV so we can sort of banter about them. What's your friend deep seeded hatred about? Jealousy, nihilism, indigestion, ... ? Yeah, see, hearing 'Imperial Bedroom' is a short novel makes me more excited about it. You know me and my short novel boners. Ugh, about the new sickness. I hope it was just being flirty with you. No, I never get that throat hurting thing re: smoking, but I think I'm just weird or something. My day report is going to be cryptic and not much at all because the friend I'm visiting right now was like, I want you to visit me, and you can do the blog while you're here, but you can't talk about me or my house or my life or anything on the blog, so ... yeah. You see my dilemma. Hm. I ate some food with someone and walked around with someone and had lovely talks with someone. Very relaxing and nice and, well, mysterious otherwise, sorry. Oh, Gisele and I texted about that stupid NY Times review and about how the 'Jerk' NYC run is going in general, and it's going gangbusters, it seems. The festival asked us to please add some additional performances due to the huge interest vs. the completely sold out shows, but Jonathan just can't do more than one performance a day because it's so taxing for him, so she/we had to say no, which is too bad, but so it goes. I don't think there's much else that I'm allowed to decode for you. Tomorrow I'll head to see my friend and yours Jesse Hudson, and I think everything we'll be doing is fair game as blog fodder. So, forgive me the tight lips until then. Feed me. ** Justin, Hey. Well, I'd be totally happy to hear about the dilemma you're going through and give you whatever advice or wisdom or whatever I can. Seriously. Don't think twice about talking about it or seeking my ideas. The pop culture references are a tricky thing. With my stuff, I use them very carefully, more carefully than it probably appears, and always with an eye to a possible future time when people might read the book without having the things I'm referencing handy. So, for me, a pop culture reference has to work as a mystery too, as a kind of encoded clue to the novel at large that's solvable if one feels like looking at it that way, and usually the words themselves have to have a kind of literary spark in addition to their purpose as a reference. Whether that'll work if the books manage to live long enough that the references are totally obscure, we'll either see or we won't. ** Alan, It's very inspiring to be around you too, man, truly, and I really do hope you can get to Paris, and let me know if I can help facilitate that in any way. ** Kier, Thanks, pal. I'll have some tiny Southern town photos at the end of the trip, if all goes as planned. Yeah, both weird and, mm, illegal (?) that Podunk doesn't have a restroom. It's kind of a charming absence, I guess. Alan is a great one, yeah, and I second that idea of you getting yourself to Paris when he does or even when he isn't there, naturally. ** Misanthrope, You positively sizzle, my man. Oh no, the next season of 'American Idol' blog references begins again already? Excuse me if I pray there's no Adam Lambert equivalent this year. No, I'm kidding, I guess. Let the AI blab encroach. ** Alec Niedenthal, No, you don't, man. Or you don't in the real world, that's for sure. I hate being photographed, or I hate looking at photographs of me. I'm my corporeal form's worst enemy. Note my invisibility yesterday. Anyway, nah, man. ** Oscar B, 7 degrees sounds nice. I think it's about that here. Now that you and Kp are both back at the Recollets, it's in magnet mode. You gonna talk to Chrystel? ** Catachrestic, Oh, well, I'm glad things are ... re-sorted? What's life without a little complication? Not mine, for sure. I can't say as I would mind you taking the Berlin option for the obvious proximity to Paris reasons. And I'm definitely very gung ho on your taking some time off to write idea, obviously. Yeah, Cody's way into philosophy. That and writing fiction. I think he's hoping to do a combo of those things, and I think Reed gave him that particular option in an interesting form or something? I'll alert him to your comment just in case he doesn't know the score already. Yeah, really nice to have you back, J. ** Chris Goode, PS122 is such a great place. It'd be a really good venue for your work, I think. Have you fished around about a NYC gig? I would think you're already on these festival curating guys' radars, no? I had a coffee with Richard Thomas once. At his house in the Hollywood Hills. He was friendly with Kenward Elmslie at the time for some reason. I can't remember why I got invited along. Oh, I think I was trying to get him to do a reading at Beyond Baroque. I think he didn't want to. I don't remember why. He used to publish books of his poetry, which, mm, weren't very good although I remember his poetry had the right ideas or ideals or something. You ever read his poetry? ** Thomas Moronic, Hey, T. Are you still maybe heading over to Paris at some point? Sounds like your current life is pretty nice. The new Xiu Xiu is downloadable already? I'll try to resist, but ... How's writing? ** Kiddiepunk, You're safely and soundly back in the insane asylum, eh? I wish I could knock on your door. Or maybe that you could knock on my current door for reasons I'll explain later. Is your and Marcus' record out? Can I still do a Day to christen it? Enjoy Paris, buddy. Keep it either warm or snowy for me, okay? I'll accept nothing in between. ** Put The Lotion In The Basket, Oh, thanks for the birthday song. Now I can officially close the door on that troubling day in which another year is removed from my future life. I told Christopher/Mark a big old yes. And I'll give Jesse a hi for you that will rock his world. ** Paul Curran, You ain't just whistlin' Dixie. ** David, The murder hag, ha ha, okay. I'm looking forward to whatever facial expression that line will cause to surface. ** Joseph, Oh, man, that 'who the hell ... ' stuff is just Satan's ventriloquy, man. Doom that elaborated self-doubt. If you're loving the poems more, that's A-okay, obviously, but I say only abandon the longer work if it doesn't interest you enough, yeah? ** Okay, cool. Today's post is ... oh, I'll just let it stand on its own, I guess. See what's what. See you guys again tomorrow.