p.s. Hey. And we're off ... ** Paul Curran, Now that is really strange, Dad. It begs for a conspiracy theory, and, if I weren't so kneejerk pragmatic ... Very, very interesting about the nature of your current and upcoming novel work. Fascinating. The 'refusing to use a map' thing is totally familiar to me too. My novel's definitely in a grinding phase. I'm at the point where I need to rewrite, revise, edit, polish, etc. the raw-ish material that I've already written into at least some semblance of the final voice/prose before I print it out and start revising, etc. it with a pen for as long as the pages stay readable. It's very tricky because the novel's 'voice' is a weird mixture of excessive poise/ pretension/ reserve and awkwardness/ rambling/ incompetence, and, while the novel addresses and explains its modus operandi at a certain point, there's a longish stretch at the beginning where that flawed voice has to work and charm and seduce the reader on its own in some way, and that's what I'm laboring over now, and it's a tough nut. ** David Ehrenstein, I figured that you and Vito Russo were loving comrades, friends. Oh, that's a really wonderful piece by you, that 'Sexual Snobbery' piece. Everyone, I urge you to read an amazing piece of journalistic (and far more) writing dated 2002 by the eminent David Ehrenstein. It's called 'Sexual Snobbery: The Texture of Joseph Epstein', and it's right here. Will it or some version of the story appear in 'Raised By Hand Puppets'? Kudos, David! ** Put The Lotion In The Basket, Oh, gosh, you bet that I know that feeling well. Imagine having to write the p.s. while feeling like that because it happens sometimes. It's a good thing that I know how to play Dennis Cooper if I need to, ha ha. Are you, dare I hope, peppy today? ** Joseph, Man, the review was a beauty. Thinking- and writing-wise. If you're really that new to the review writing biz, then you're a natural. I get pollen sick heavily in LA. Desert pollen. Nasty business. For some reason, it doesn't happen in Paris. I don't know if the city lacks pollen making foliage or if the pollen dies while trying to negotiate the city's tricky, crooked, old streets or what? Ugh, I hope the pollen where you are gets its rocks off asap, J. ** Sypha, Yes, it's 'Teatro Grottesco', leant to me by Jesse Hudson. I'm going to crack and read it on all of the long train trips I have ahead of me next week. I'll let you know. ** Alan, So trippy, no? ** Heliotrope, Sir. You seem to have survived the sister's house lay over well enough. I detect perkiness. I figured it was about 50/50 that you'd comment yesterday. I can hedge my bets when needed. I wouldn't have figured that, once you did comment, your reaction would lack the words 'Emitt Rhodes'. You got me there. I'm thinking we'll hit Parc Asterix when Joel comes over to visit me in May. You'll get a shirt at minimum, buddy, be sure of that. Oh, you should do Skype. There really is no reason on earth not to. It's such a unqualified boon that it almost doesn't make sense. And we'll leave your troubling affection for the Giants between the sheets where it belongs, yes? Ha ha, but as for that Dodger game, we're on. ** Jesse Hudson, Hey, Jesse! Thanks a lot for the good words to little foal. Incredible post, totally. Talk to you soon. ** Justin, I'm not unlike you on the money thing, the main difference being that I get the panic before I buy the thing and so I never do. Ha ha, hm, you know, that's actually kind of an interesting idea about the xtube video. Not that I'm urging you do it necessarily, more that it would be really interesting to see just how many fetishists of restless sleeping might come out of the woodwork. Some Russian porn site maker should try that fetish out. Spazzysleepingtwinks.com. God knows they've launched less seemingly lucrative sites. ** Kier, Oh shit, I must see 'The Human Centipede'. It's even Dutch, for goodness sake. Demonoid or wherever else dot com, here I come. What did you do on your birthday? Am I predictable, really? Hm, I'll have to do something drastic about that. Watch your back, ha ha. ** Chris Goode, Hello, Chris. I think I ordered 'Collected Fanzines' a while back. But then again, why hasn't it arrived? I need to go check my Paypal records. I could have sworn I did. I won't remind you how about much I enjoy having my boner inverted, but, shit, I just did. 'Total Eclipse' is a baddie. I'm with you there. Although I think it might have been the last or, wait, second to the last film before Leo stopped trying and got all thick and weird looking. So I guess it gets a point for that. ** Steevee, Well, the Dury film actually sounds better than I had imagined. Thank you for the fine report, sir. Not sure if it'll get me into an actual movie theater though. I don't know Phantom Band. Hm, I feel like I should know about them. I'll stream something or other. It sounds curious, and of course the pedigree is interesting. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hey, Jeff! It's a very fine thing to see you. Oh, shit, about your wife's job loss. Scary. Is she on the hunt? Man, it's so bad out there these days. Really glad you liked 'Perceval'. I think that film is really, really far too little known and spoken of these days. Very good question about the romance re: and drugging of the Renaissance theme back in the early 70s. I have no clue as to why that would have happened. Did something political or social kick it off? I think I'll do a google search and see what I can find. Very interesting question. What's the deal on this upcoming art show and reading related to your novel? Tell me more, if you can and don't mind. I'm very intrigued. ** Ken Baumann, Oh, great about the Marten. I'm still moving through it, much too slowly. It's going to Brest with me, which should do the trick. Are you at AWP now? You must be. Isn't everyone there? It seems like everyone's there. What are you doing there? I'm sure you'll be getting the word around about the Higgs book, but are you doing readings of your own stuff? Now that is something I'd like to see. ** Creative Massacre, I spent four or five days in Montpellier once. I liked it. It's quietish, and parts of it look very old French-style cool, and I also think that, after Paris, it's the French city with the highest populations of gays and lesbians. Being there should be nice for you, I think. I think I'll be in Paris in early May. I'll be here apart from a week or ten days that I need to spend in Brest working on the theater piece. I'll find out, but I think that should work out well. Thanks about Chris Kanyon. I'll youtube him. Good day to you, pal. ** Misanthrope, Four different friends of mine who happen to be lesbians told me that Justin Bieber looks like a lesbian. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, That description of the opening of that song combined with the peaceful window light, sounds really nice, trust me. As nice as the real thing? I don't know. I sometimes think a picture is not in fact worth a thousand words. But I'm a writer, so I guess that comes with the job maybe. Everyone thinking my choice of that Ladytron song was predictable is making me question something about myself. I'm not sure what, though. Well, I think Justin's novel is coming out before too, too long, so at least you'll have that cushion when you finish his short story book. It's really nice of you to make your friend smile. You're a good egg. Curious about that bout of paranoia you had. What do you think made that happen? I get like that sometimes, but not very often. Your days have not sucked lately. You might be amazed by how rich they've seemed. Seriously. My day: I paid rent. Sonia, who's the big boss's assistant, was the only person in the office, so I paid her. I handed her my debit card, and she accidentally sneezed on it, wiped her nose, and told she has a really bad cold. When she handed the card back to me, I was terrified to touch it, but if I'd pulled my sleeve down over my hand or something, it would have been a faux pas, so I just took it in my hand and am 'praying' that the pores in my fingers weren't hungry yesterday. Oscar, Kiddiepunk, and I went to see the Beat Takeshi Kitano show at Fondation Cartier. It's really fun. People who live in Paris should go. It was like a cross between one of those science museums where you can touch everything and push buttons to make things shake and turn and do experiments and stuff, and, I don't know, the set of Peewee's Playhouse if Peewee was Japanese. There was a Beat Takeshi Waffle Stand that served waffles stuffed with some weird, sweet bean paste and shaped like Beat Takeshi. And, like, if your ticket has a dinosaur head on the back -- none of ours,did, grr -- they give you a paintball gun and let you turn a big wooden dinosaur cutout into an artwork that you can take home with you. And other stuff. Very fun. After that, not much occurred. I wrote or surfed the net or something. I can hardly remember anymore. Oh, Yury brought home a carton of Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream -- my favorite -- and I ate at least half of the contents while sort of watching a show that's sort of the French equivalent of 'To Catch a Predator', except in the French version they blur the men's faces and distort their voices, and, instead of having them arrested, the show's host has a philosophical discussion about pedophilia with the men and then turns them loose. That France for you! Eventually, I slept. Try me with your Thursday now, please. ** Alec Niedenthal, Hey, man. Yeah, I just got your email this morning. Thank you so much, man. Let me see if I can find or finish something short. I'll be very honored if I can and if you like it. Let me pass on your kind request. Everyone, here's Alec Niedenthal: 'everyone: i'm editing everyday genius in june, and if anyone wants to submit a piece of writing, please email it to me at alecniedenthal@ gmail.com'. Dudes, you should follow up on that. It's a very awesome offer and opportunity. Yeah, if I was in the States, I'd be wishing I was at AWP too. I hope for our sakes that it's not too fantastic. I am a billion percent in support of your writing a flash tonight, or I guess that was last night? We need it, man. My novel is in a difficult stage, but I'm working my ass off on it, so all is as well as it's going to get for the time being. Take care, Alec. ** Math, Oh, thank goodness for your surprise after clicking that song/link. All the 'duhs' around here were freaking me out a little. Just a little. Anyway, I'm still trying to get that song out my head. I like her voice. It's so weak in a cool way or something. Oh, no, about your West Coast trip. My fingers spontaneously became as crossed as they have ever been or will ever be again. Everyone, Math needs all our collective good luck to help a planned West Coast trip not fall through. Please cross your fingers or create a sigil or light a candle or something on that order for her today, okay? Together, we can save her trip. You know we can. Let's do this. ** Kevin Killian, Hi, Kevin! Oh, that Poetry Project event sounds to have been completely splendorous. (Wow, I can't believe that's an actual proper word. I was shocked when a ugly red line did not appear beneath it as soon as I hit the Space key.) I'll ask Yury about the degree of fashionability that the snuggie currently holds in Paris tonight. If you were wearing it, I'm sure it's the next big thing at the very least. Have tons of fun, K, and imagine I'm there oohing and ahhing. ** Jeff, Hey, Jeff. Oh, yeah, a proper report is asking too much. I guess, like, if something really strikes you, and if you want to note it here, that'd be cool. Or pix, if you do that. Or just have the great time there that I wish I could be there having with you. Oh, you're a Ligotti fan, right? I'm about to start reading my first Ligotti book finally. Don't know what took me so long. Take care, pal. ** Bollo, Hey, man. I really like the look of that Locky Morris show. It reminds a little of like a cross between Richard Hawkins and Steve Prina and something else. Not in a derivative way at all. I like it. I'm going to peel my eyes for his work now. Thanks a lot for the viewing. Mostly awesome about your friend getting into Chelsea. The available London pad is no small boon, obviously, and, you know, that's a cool gig to be at Chelsea. Most awesome of all: you worked so well on your art yesterday. Whoo-hoo and all that! ** JW Veldhoen, That was some conversation you had there. Even worth missing the gig for, I reckon. Zone Books still exists and puts out books? I did not know that. Weird. I used to buy every Zone book extant back in the ... early 90s? Interesting. ** L@rstonovich, Welcome back, bud. If you went to Griffith Observatory, you must have driven almost right by my apartment. I could walk to GO from my apartment if I didn't smoke. Wait, that's a podcast of the book group thing you did at the Dresden Room? Did I get that right? Well, I'll take a flying hopeful leap. Everyone, you and I should listen to this podcast because (1) the mighty L@rstonovich can be heard, and (2) because it's mysteriously called 'The Mongrel Book Club: Environmental Passion Books', and (3) a million other reasons. I'm going to listen to it just a bit later on. Join me, won't you? Anyway, very nice sounding trip. What else ... oh, are we still on for the blog Day re: your poetry book and the publishing endeavor? ** Oscar B, Dude-ette, hey. Yeah, speak soonish re: the big art opening related venture this evening, roger, over and out. ** Done. Post: I had this sudden urge to celebrate jigsaw puzzles in a certain fashion on the blog, and that explains today. Be good. See you tomorrow.