Death with Dignity

"I was strolling down the street with my sister, tossing mini gummy bears into my laughing throat, when death paid me a brief visit."

I ponder death and the afterlife on The Nervous Breakdown.

Literary Los Angeles 9: The Unusual Suspects

I'm back on PANK chatting with Amy Ellenberger of Chalk Rep about The Unusual Suspects.

Hot Dish

On Wednesday night I did a reading at the Echo Park Film Center with fellow writers and friends J. Ryan Stradal, Stacey Vanek Smith, Jonas Oppenheim, Margaret Wappler, and John Salcido.

"Hot Dish" was the first in a series of readings hatched up by J. Ryan and me. In keeping with the title, we served 4 different casseroles. Yes, casseroles, on the hottest night of the year.

Here's the story I read.

Here's the adorable program I designed (with Dev's help).

Our illustrious readers were L.A. Times contributors, NPR reporters, television producers, and award-winning playwrights! Also, me.

Together we learned about misanthropic cuddling, doggy detectives, curated grocery lists, mind-expanding Craigslist ads, self-help seminars, and parakeet reincarnation.

I didn't bring a camera but videos and photos are floating around online, I'll post one soon.

And if you missed it, fear not! I'll be reading again next month.

I also have two new columns next week and a new short story being published September 1 by Emprise Review.

The Nervous Breakdown: Keeping Track

"Counting calories is the perfect hobby for me, combining as it does my love of simple accounting with my natural tendencies towards obsessive self-scrutiny and needless unhappiness."

Hey look! It's the first of my more-or-less weekly contributions to The Nervous Breakdown.

Hot Dish

This month, come to the first in a new series of readings, Hot Dish. There will be quality readings by J. Ryan Stradal, Margaret Wappler, John Salcido, Stacey Vanek Smith, and Jonas Oppenheim. And I'll be reading the sort of mildly amusing personal essays for which I am certainly not famous.

Plus FREE CASSEROLE FOR EVERYONE.

At the Echo Park Film Center on Wednesday, August 25 at 8pm.

If you're in the L.A. area, go here for details and to RSVP.

Literary Los Angeles 8: The New Normal

Here I am interviewing my friend Diane Meyer on being a "normal" person who lives in L.A. without a car. Yes, it is possible!

Literary Los Angeles 7: Jonathan Gold and Culinary Citizenship

I'm back at PANK, this time with an ode to Jonathan Gold and L.A.'s food culture.

I'll also be firing up a new column at The Nervous Breakdown starting next week.