Summer Block

Tiny L.A. Landmarks

2011-12-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

I just had to share these small-scale models of L.A. landmarks by artist Al Alu, including the Formosa Cafe, Griffith Park's Trails Cafe, the New Beverly Cinema, Pinks, and Tail O' the Pup. From Curbed.

Los Angeles Book Club

2011-12-09T16:37:00.001-08:00

I'm trying a new thing, a virtual book club where we read and discuss books about Los Angeles. Read my explanation here.

And if you're interested in "joining" this virtual book club in an informal, totally non-binding way, why, please do! Just leave a comment on the column so I know you're in, even though—and I cannot stress this enough—being "in" does not obligate you to do anything, ever.

Next Step, Solid Gold Rocket Car

2011-11-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

I just signed my first book contract!

Yes, it's for an anthology, not a solo endeavor (yet), but I'm still pretty excited.

More information will be coming at the end of the month . . .

Easter came early this year. Well, late, actually.

2011-09-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

Small News is Good News

2011-09-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Another nice if brief mention of my story "“The New Yorker Fiction Section Presents: Killer Robots From Space" in Monkeybicycle.

Unlikely Animal ... Something

2011-09-02T13:02:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Grant, for turning my attention to this truly wonderful thing.

No, I don't think "wonderful" is quite the right word.

"Working" From "Home"

2011-08-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

"Trying to meet a deadline while locked in a house with a two-year-old and a three-month-old is like trying to pick your handcuff lock from the inside of a submerged steamer trunk."

I'm back on The Nervous Breakdown.

Interview with Monkeybicycle

2011-05-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have a short but soul-searching interview up on the Monkeybicycle blog, chatting about my story in Monkeybicycle 8, "The New Yorker Fiction Section Presents: Killer Robots from Space."

You can read the interview here and then, duly inspired, buy a copy of the volume 8 here.

I had a baby!

2011-05-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Another one, in fact. His name is Arthur and he's pretty cute.

I am still officially "at work" in the coming weeks but probably with slower-than-average response times.

Free Books For Free!

2011-05-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

This Is Where We Live, by my very talented friend and fellow toddler-haver Janelle Brown, is now out in paperback and to celebrate Random House is giving away some free copies this week. You can enter here to get one.

Going Hollywood

2011-05-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Foghorn contributor and all-around good guy Adam Goldman is embarking on a summer road trip from the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Newton, Massachusetts (his hometown) to the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles (my hometown), hitting up 9 more Hollywoods on the way.

Follow his progress here.

And show him some support here.

"both amusing and melancholy, a mixture of silliness and sadness"

2011-05-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Check out this brief but reasonably informative interview with me up on Identity Theory in which I discuss founding and editing The Foghorn.

High Fashion

2011-04-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

My very stylish sister was featured today on street fashion blog The Styley.

You too can be featured on street fashion blogs (probably) once you shop at her online store Savage Thrift Vintage on Etsy.

Review of "Killer Robots from Space"

2011-04-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

A great review of Monkeybicycle 8 by Joe Sullivan, and I think the first to mention my story in particular.

Waiting.

2011-04-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Dev.

It's me! On a podcast!

2011-04-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here I am reading my essay "Trouble" for the latest Nervous Breakdown podcast - produced by Aaron M. Snyder and Megan DiLullo, executive produced by Brad Listi, with music by Goodbye Champion - thank you guys!

You can download the podcast here from iTunes*. I suggest you play it in a public place while laughing loudly and saying things like, "I'd sure buy a book that she wrote!"

*Despite the warning, I can assure you this podcast is not, in fact, "Explicit."

Buy It: The Case for Settling for 1214 Good Enough Road

2011-04-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

"A 40-year-old woman with an annual salary of $75,000 and a credit score of 650 is two hundred times more likely to be killed in a terrorist attack than she is to find a suitable home in Los Angeles."

I'm back on The Nervous Breakdown! Listen to me as I advise everyone to abandon their dreams and start trapping mountain lions.

For goodness' sake, buy Monkeybicycle!

2011-03-03T13:59:00.001-08:00

Now's your chance to buy a copy of Monkeybicycle 8. Inside you'll find my story "The New Yorker Fiction Section Presents: KILLER ROBOTS FROM SPACE" as well as many other awesome comedic tales.

I'll be interviewed on the Monkeybicycle website, too, and doing some podcasting and guest-blogging, so stay tuned.

How are Chinese apartments like pumpkin-shaped carriages?

2011-03-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest post, "Reduce, Reuse, Regret," on The Nervous Breakdown for the answer.

The Foghorn: now with more stories about birds!

2011-03-03T13:55:00.001-08:00

Check out our all-new March edition of The Foghorn, with stories by J. Ryan Stradal, Stacey Vanek Smith, and Megan Shank. We've got not one, but two stories about small bird resurrection - plus fake Rolexes and much more!

The Wisdom of Crowds

2011-01-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

I'd like to start a new section on this blog, The Wisdom of Crowds, for one of my favorite internet occurrences: stupid, irrational customer reviews that only serve to invalidate totally the opinions of the reviewer in question. These are most commonly found in Amazon product reviews and Yelp restaurant reviews, but today I enjoyed this comment from the site GreatSchools.org which I found while researching my daughter's potential future elementary school:

"When I think of all of the effort I put into getting my child into Edison, I only have bitter laughter . . . The parents of the kindergartners hang out at the kindergarten entrance like gangmembers [sic], blocking the entrance to the kindergartners."

So as far as I can tell, her bitter laughter is engendered by the fact that the entrance way to her child's kindergarten class is slightly too narrow.

2011-01-28T00:42:00.000-08:00

The Foghorn is finally back!

Totally and beautifully redesigned by Hollye Chapman of The Aesthetics Department (http://theaestheticsdept.com/).

And we have tons of brand new work by J. Ryan Stradal, Adam Goldman, Nelson Lloyd, Nathan Pensky, Joseph Leff, and many (several) (a few) others.

Check us out here: http://thefoghornmagazine.com/

And to celebrate our clever new design, we'll be hosting our first Foghorn reading in Los Angeles soon - stay tuned for details. (A Bay Area reading may soon follow.)

The Equalizer

2011-01-22T23:21:00.000-08:00

I'm late in posting this, but one of my poems appeared in the first series of the new journal The Equalizer.

The Pregnant Prizefighter: Hidden Benefits to Natural Childbirth

2011-01-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

I'm back on The Nervous Breakdown with this ode to natural childbirth.

After a two-month hiatus,

2011-01-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

Literary Los Angeles is back.

Splitsider: The Year's Best Humor Writing

2011-01-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted to be on this list of The Year's Best Humor Writing as both a nominator and nominatee.

Also check out work by my friends J. Ryan Stradal, Nathan Pensky, and Jennine Capo Crucet, among others.

Family Truth

2010-12-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

My new piece at The Nervous Breakdown fails to explain Judaism, UFOs, or Santa Claus.

Los Angeles with babies and toddlers

2010-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year I made a (woefully incomplete) list of some of my favorite places in Los Angeles for recent arrivals and out-of-town guests, but I wanted to post a second list for those who find themselves in Los Angeles with children.

This list is skewed towards infants and toddlers because those are the types of children with whom I associate, but most of these places would be fun for kids at least up until the age of eight if not beyond. Many of these activities are things I loved when I was a child growing up in Los Angeles.

Some of the museums, parks, etc. can be expensive, but in most cases memberships pay for themselves very quickly. We are members of the L.A. Zoo, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Descanso Gardens, LACMA, and Kidspace, and we've gotten a good value from all of these memberships.

Children's Museums (and Adult Museums, too)

1. Noah's Ark at the Skirball Cultural Center. 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90049. $10 adults/$5 children over 2.

This one you have to see--it's gorgeous but hard to explain this interactive art exhibit for kids. Beatrice liked it even as an infant and enjoys it even more as a toddler. (Despite its name, the display is not strongly religious, though it is housed in a Jewish cultural center.)

2. Kidspace. 480 N Arroyo Boulevard, Pasadena, 91103. $10 adults and children over 1. Free the first Tuesday of every month.

Much of the indoor space in this museum is geared towards older kids (except the designated Early Childhood area) but there are a lot of things for babies and toddlers to do in the garden, including sand and water tables, sand boxes, climbing equipment, a garden, and a little stream. Frequent concerts and activities.

3. Zimmer Children's Museum. 6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90048. $8.00 adults/$5.00 children over 3.

Jewish cultural museum - Beatrice particularly enjoys the water tables. They also have a miniature town with play-scale restaurants, shops, and a synagogue (yes, a miniature play synagogue), and they host regular seasonal activities. Separate toddler play area.

4. LACMA. 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90036. $15 adults/children 17 and under free. Free the second Tuesday of every month.

Art museum situated in a large park for when kids need to burn off some energy. In the summer they offer free outdoor arts and crafts for kids starting at age 2 (the youngest kids paint on the "Toddler Tarp"). On the same campus as the small but charming George C. Page Museum of Ice Age natural history that I loved as a child. A children's art museum is supposed to open on the campus in 2011; in the meantime there's the Boone Children's Gallery. Starting at 3 1/2, kids can take free art classes with NexGenKids.

Note: The Getty Museum has children's activities as well but I haven't tried them yet. The Getty is also free.

5. Natural History Museum. 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90007. $9 adults/$2 children over 4. Free the first Tuesday of every month.

Check out the impressive new Hall of Mammals and the Hall of Dinosaurs (to be completed Summer 2011). There's an interactive kids' section in the basement. In the summer, they set up a large pavillion filled with live butterflies on the front lawn. Kids over 7 can also sign up for special (expensive) A Night at the Museum sleepover parties.

6. California Science Center. 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, 90037. FREE.

On the same campus as the Natural History Museum (above). Most of the interactive displays are geared towards older kids but there are two large Discovery Rooms dedicated to infants and toddlers; at one year old, my daughter loved watching the caged mice on display in one of the baby rooms. Young children will also be impressed by the IMAX-like giant video display in the World of Life gallery.

Parks, Gardens, and Outdoor Play

1. Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. $2 adults/$1 children. 360 N. Arroyo Boulevard, Pasadena, 91103.

We take Beatrice to swimming lessons here in the summer (lessons are held year-round starting at age 6 months for $8/week) but you can also use the pool during free family swimming times. Large, heated, and immaculately clean. There is also a large playground directly in front of the center. On the same campus as Kidspace (above).

2. Griffith Park. 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, 90027. FREE - trains are $2.50 or $6 (longer track), carousel is $2, pony rides are $3.

Huge 4,200-acre park with just about everything: a carousel, two steam train lines, pony rides (and horseback riding for older kids and adults), playgrounds, an observatory, a golf course, a dog park, and more. The Ferndell area has some very gentle "hiking" paths well-suited to new walkers. The Shane's Inspiration playground is particularly well suited to very young children including crawlers. Also home to the L.A. Zoo (above).

Indoor Playgrounds (perfect for very hot summer days or our rare but fierce rains)

1. Peekaboo Playland. 2030 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock, 90041. $9 children over 1/adults free.

Free coffee and wireless for adults, outside food is welcome. Separate fenced area for children under 2. Socks required.

2. The Little Barn. 130 S. Beaudry Avenue, Los Angeles 90012. $8 children/adults free.

The best feature of this playground is its huge ball pit filled with translucent balls, large enough for several adults and their kids to sit comfortably. Socks required. Snacks available for purchase, outside food is welcome.

3. The Treehouse Social Club. 426 South Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles 90048. $9 children over 9 months/adults free.

My favorite indoor playground, in part because they serve breakfast and lunch for adults and kids. The food is good and you can sit and eat while keeping an eye on your kids playing around you. Separate fenced area for children under 3.

4. Community Centers and Public Libraries. FREE.

Many community centers offer "Tot Time" once or twice a week: a large gymnasium is filled with toys for infants and toddlers and they can play freely for several hours. I go to Pacific Park Community Center in Glendale (Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-12pm) but every neighborhood has its own. Most public libraries offer free weekly children's story times, some with songs and crafts.

Animals!

1. Los Angeles Zoo. Griffith Park. $14 adults/$9 children over 2.

A nice zoo for kids, though it's arranged along a very steep hill so be prepared for a lot of walking. There is a new elephant exhibit that allows for very close-up views, ideal for little children. Young kids particularly like the petting zoo (or "contact yard," as it is amusingly dubbed). There is also a playground on site.

2. Aquarium of the Pacific. 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, 90802. $24.95 adults/$12.95 kids over 3. Save $5.00 per ticket when you buy them online in advance.

This one is a long drive (unless you live in Long Beach) but worth it. It's also a great venue for even very young infants--Beatrice enjoyed the aquarium when she was only three or four months old, long before she could appreciate children's museums or zoos. She also loves the Lorikeet Forest, an open-air enclosure filled with free-flying lorikeets that will occasionally perch on your hands.

When she's older, I'm looking forward to taking her on the whale-watching boats that leave from outside the aquarium.

(Note: There is also a smaller aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier but I have never been there--they have very irregular opening hours and I never seem to catch them at the right time.)

3. Underwood Family Farms. 3370 Sunset Valley Road, Moorpark , 93021. $3 per person weekdays, $5 per person weekends.

Another long drive, about 35 miles north of our place in Glendale, but it's a lot of fun. They have live animals, hay and tractor rides, pick-your-own produce, and many other farm-related activities.

4. Farmer's Markets. FREE.

There are dozens in L.A., but some of the ones I've enjoyed are in Santa Monica and in Hollywood, and we go to the one in Montrose every Sunday morning. My daughter loves every aspect of the market, from the live music, pony rides, and petting zoo to the excellent dog-spotting and free fruit samples.

Events

1. Hollywood Bowl Summer Sounds. 2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood 90068. $7 adults and children.

My favorite part of the summer are these Hollywood Bowl kids' world music concerts, held daily throughout July and August. Each show features skits, dancing, and music. Even at two months old, my daughter enjoyed these concerts and by the following summer at 14 months old, she loved them even more. Older kids will also enjoy the weekly craft that accompanies each music theme.

2. Descanso Garden jazz concerts. 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge, 91011. Concert is free; park admission is $8 adults/$3 children over 5.

Another one of my favorite summer activities, these weekly jazz concerts are filled with picnicking families and dancing kids. Every Thursday night May-September. Though technically concerts, these events are filled with infants and toddlers and talking, singing, and running around are perfectly fine. Outside food and alcoholic beverages are allowed; food and drinks are also sold on site. Another event Beatrice enjoyed even as a two- to four-month-old. There is also a stream train for kids 2 and up.

At eighteen months old, my daughter Beatrice is still too young for these places, but I've enjoyed them with older kids and I look forward to taking Beatrice soon:

1. Storybook Theater. 3333 Cahuenga Boulevard West, Los Angeles, 90068. $12 adults/$10 children.

Fairy tales are brought to life as live, interactive musical theater for children 3 and older.

2. Paintbox Kids. 1383 E. Washington Boulevard, Pasadena 91104. $8 children/adults free.

Open studio filled with arts and crafts supplies; your child can make whatever they wish and you don't have to clean it up! Art classes are also available at an additional cost.

If you want to write an article about a new technology,

2010-12-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

first find someone who knows nothing about it.

This seems to be the operating principle behind handing out assignments at Salon, Slate, The New Yorker, and many other respectable, high-profile media outlets.

I was just enjoying "Master of Play," a profile of video game auteur Shigeru Miyamoto, in the most recent New Yorker when I came across this authorial aside on the third page:

"I am not a gamer. I took a few whacks at Super Mario, when it came out, in the mid-eighties, but mostly my video-game experience predated the Nintendo invasion and the unabating craze for home systems. I played arcade games, and I played them poorly; my quarters never went far. I usually wound up watching friends play, muttering over their shoulders in vain attempts to persuade them to play street hockey or Nerf football instead."

Now here's a question: couldn't The New Yorker have found someone who was a gamer to write this profile instead?

Not to pick on The New Yorker, or on the author of this piece, Nick Paumgarten, who goes on to present some genuinely insightful and even poetic observations on Miyamoto's work, from the satisfying pauses Miyamoto builds into each level to the intuitive rightness of Mario's jumps.

But this is something I have noticed again and again for years--when major media outlets cover Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Chatroulette, video games, e-readers, online dating, etc., etc. they send people who, by their own admission, know nothing about the technology they are covering and have never used it before.

And this phenomenon seems to be relegated to articles about technology and social media. I have never heard a sports commentator open up his discussion by saying, "Now, I don't know the first thing about baseball, but..." Or a book reviewer who chummily confides, "You know, I can barely read."

(I'm sure popular science and medical writers don't necessarily understand everything they are covering--heck, I used to write a wine column despite knowing almost nothing about wine--but I have never seen these other journalists explicitly call attention to their lack of expertise and make that lack the hook of their piece.)

Usually these pieces follow a similar trajectory: the writer signs up for a Match account, logs into Chatroulette, or tries his hand at Guitar Hero, fumbles around badly for awhile, and then throws up his hands at the wackiness of it all. He may go gratefully back to the old pen-and-paper ways he left behind, or in extreme cases suggest that this new technology will mean the ruin of civilization (on NPR yesterday a woman was making the very weak case that digital readers will lead to mass illiteracy). More rarely, he may have a conversion experience, as when Paumgarten mentions that he has become rather attached to the Wii that he borrowed for research on this article. Presumably the point is that we, the technologically clueless readers, will bond with the hapless reporter over his attempts to understand what exactly all the fuss is about.

Perhaps it is prejudiced to suggest it, but I suspect part of the problem may be the age of the writers--and the age of the magazine's presumed readers. But as a relatively young and technologically savvy person, I consume a lot of traditional media (often in non-traditional, ie., paperless, formats) and I find this trend both annoying and alienating. How about next time you want to talk about Twitter you hire someone who actually uses Twitter every day? I'm available...

Hot Dish Holiday Edition

2010-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

Come hear me read tomorrow at the Christmas edition of Hot Dish. I'll be there discussing compulsive lying, alien abductions, and Judaism, along with J. Ryan Stradal, Jennine Capó Crucet, George Ducker, Anthony Miller, and Will Wright.

It's all happening at the Echo Park Film Center at 8pm. RSVP here.

And yes, homemade pies will be served. Also ham.

Barren Spectators

2010-11-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Decades of aversion to public spectacle have instilled in me an almost preternatural ability to suss out the wedding MC, the door prize, the strolling violinist, the birthday party clown...

I'm back on The Nervous Breakdown!

The Nervous Breakdown in Trouble

2010-11-12T20:39:00.001-08:00

I'm back on The Nervous Breakdown - and look for my upcoming TNB podcast.

Literary Los Angeles 11: The Big One

2010-11-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

After a too-long hiatus, I'm back on PANK talking about The Big One.

Halloween Otter

2010-11-09T20:49:00.001-08:00

Thank you, Grant.

The Nervous Breakdown

2010-11-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm late to post this, but I was pleased to be included last week in The Nervous Breakdown's Greatest Hits Volume 3 for my story on the "Last Apartment in Paris."

They're back!

2010-10-28T22:52:00.001-07:00

Unlikely animal friends! With thanks to Grant Munroe...

More Literary Los Angeles and The Nervous Breakdown

2010-10-20T15:31:00.001-07:00

I got to talk to one of my favorite L.A. writers about our shared hometown, up on the PANK blog.

Also I dropped by The Nervous Breakdown to discuss my long-ago nightmare sublet in Paris.

Literary Death Match

2010-10-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

A nice Los Angeles Times write-up of the most recent Literary Death Match, which I co-hosted last week. We had a huge turn-out, standing room only, and an enthusiastic audience. I'll have a hand in hosting and producing new matches in the future, stay tuned...

Literary Los Angeles 9: The Four-Season Climate, Comforting Boundaries, and Literary Lies

2010-09-15T12:45:00.001-07:00

"Until I was eighteen I had never even seen snow but I associated it with respectability and a sort of grueling adulthood..."

This week on PANK I complain about our gorgeous Southern California weather and mourn the missing autumns of my youth.

Literary Los Angeles: Superclogger

2010-09-10T14:22:00.001-07:00

I have a very short little blog post up at PANK, but it's worth reading just to find out about the awesome "Superclogger" project going on now in Los Angeles.

Innocence

2010-09-01T18:38:00.001-07:00

I have a new short story up at Emprise Review.

Death with Dignity

2010-08-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-08-31T01:16:00.000-07:00

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

Hot Dish

2010-08-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-08-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Literary Los Angeles 6: Working from Home

2010-07-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

My column is back and this time it's a toast to my local Starbucks.

Actual Mnemonics I Use In My Daily Life

2010-07-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

I am a great believer in using mnemonics as an aid to memory in my everyday life. Every time I do the following activities, I mentally recite the accompanying mnemonic as it is written here more or less verbatim.

1. While driving a car, in order to remember which pedal is the brake and which is the gas:
"So, you know how when you use your turn signal, up is right, like up, towards God and heaven, and the right hand of God, and left is down, away from God? So you'd think that with the gas and the brake, the brake would be on the right, and the gas would be on the left, since the brake is better than the gas. But it's the opposite of that, because driving is hard."

2. While entering my credit card into an online form, in order to remember whether a certain digit is a 6 or a 7:
"You know how you always want a number to be a 7 when it isn't? Except this is the one time you actually want it to be a 6, but then it's a 7. Life is like that, I guess."

3. While washing my hair, in order to remember which decorative container holds the shampoo and which the conditioner:
"Pink is for shampoo and orange is for conditioner, which just seems right, and this time it is right, because sometimes things really do work out."

4. While doing dishes or washing my hands at the kitchen sink, in order to remember which decorative container holds the hand soap and which the dish soap:
"This is really sexist and I feel bad about thinking this, but the orange one is for hand soap and the pink one is for dish soap, which, if you were really sexist, you could say is because everyone uses hand soap, but only women wash dishes. Not that I'm saying that, obviously, that's really stupid and sexist and it's not even a funny joke. But still, that's how to remember it. I'm not a bad person, though. As long as I'm just thinking this and not saying it aloud, I'm fine. Can people hear me thinking this?"

Bonus mnemonic*: In order to remember that nuper means "recently" in Latin, I think to myself, "Recently I bought a new pair of cat mittens."

*I don't use this one every day as I don't have occasion to read or recall Latin every day.

Unlikely Animal Encounters

2010-07-26T14:42:00.000-07:00

Email from Lorin Stein, The Paris Review

2010-07-26T14:38:00.001-07:00

In which I take on the Lorin Stein/Paris Review controversy in my own inimitable style. And in the process we spawn a new section on The Rumpus: Funny Women Shorts!

Literary Los Angeles 5: Choosing L.A.

2010-07-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

"It’s 105F in L.A. today as I type this. This heat, in turn, breeds a disgusting profusion of hideous insects that skulk around the sidewalks and sewers after the sun goes down. There are power outages and earthquakes and patrolling police helicopters droning all night through the febrile, filthy sky."

Still glad I chose L.A.

Oh good, just what we all needed

2010-07-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

"New York Style Chinese Cuisine"

Literary Los Angeles 4: 826LA

2010-07-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

My most recent PANK column is an ode to 826LA. Read it, then donate to my team, The Breakfast Presidents, in 826LA's upcoming Spelling Bee for Cheaters.

Time's Arrow

2010-07-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

I just have to say, I love this.

Literary Los Angeles 3: Doing Theater in a Film Town

2010-07-02T09:18:00.001-07:00

Here's another Literary Los Angeles installment, an interview with awesome playwright Ruth McKee of Chalk Rep, in which we discuss L.A. vs. New York, going to bed late vs. getting up early, and the pleasures and pains of doing theater in a film town.

Funny Women 2: An Author Answers Her Fan Mail

2010-06-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is late to post, but on Thursday I had another entry in The Rumpus' Funny Women column: "An Author Answers Her Fan Mail."

Interview with Machine Project

2010-06-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

This week's PANK column, an interview with Mark Allen of Machine Project.

FictionDaily

2010-06-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yay! My story "Address to the Greenville Senior Women’s Club 35th Annual Pedigreed Dog Show by the Mystery Writer H.L. Lemontre " is FictionDaily's short pick of the day.

Hey look!

2010-06-15T15:36:00.001-07:00

B's first birthday party is on Apartment Therapy!

Literary Los Angeles 2

2010-06-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

"Suffice it to say that one tends to watch 'Birdemic' with a slightly different mindset than 'Ran'."

I don't need to explain this.

2010-06-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

Published for a Day

2010-06-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hey look! My usually unpublished novel The Way Down is being published by Word Riot for one day only! Download it while you can!

You know what has never been sexy?

2010-06-05T20:58:00.001-07:00

A tote bag.*

*I don't dispute the fact that an attractive nude or semi-nude woman holding a tote bag is sexy. But it's not the tote bag that's doing it.

Literary Los Angeles column

2010-06-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Check out the first in my weekly "Literary Los Angeles" column for PANK.

2010 Million Writers Award

2010-06-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm very pleased to have won this year's MWA award for short fiction. Thanks to Jason Sanford, the judges, and everyone who supported me.

2010-05-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

The NYRB approves of me! At least enough to pass my most recent McSweeneys piece along on their Facebook page. I love approval.

Why, that's a nice surprise

2010-05-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

My story "Hospitality" in Wheelhouse was voted one of the top ten best online stories of 2009.

Now the public can vote for the top three! Feel free to vote for me, I won't stop you or anything.

And hey, look at that!

2010-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

I warranted a mention on Dadwagon, the awesome dad-oriented parenting site maintained by my friend Matt Gross (better known as the NYT's Frugal Traveler).

Feel the soft little bag where Dmitri hides his shameful money.

2010-05-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Check out my Baby's Touch n' Feel Guide to Russian Literature on McSweeney's Internet Tendency.

Unlikely Animal Enfranchisement

2010-04-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

I live in the wrong country.

2010-04-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Also, don't even get me started on alligators vs. crocodiles, sea lions vs. seals, or the whole monkey vs. ape vs. lemur kerfuffle. (Maybe it's really taxonomy I have a problem with. Also, all my friends.)

I can't wait until we can ruin Beatrice's trips to the zoo with our pedantic insistence on taxonomic minutiae. In the meantime at least we can decorate her room with these awesome posters.

I was reminded of this one *(above) when just now I said to Beatrice, "Oh, look, do you want to play with your toy alligator? Well, technically, it's a crocodile."

*When I was in college I hung a small sign that read "Ceci n'est pas un sofa " above our futon. SPRING BREAK!

wherein it's all explained

2010-04-30T08:32:00.001-07:00

Dev just sent me a post from one of my favorite blogs, Language Log, that deals with the aforementioned "begging the question" issue.

Also, this one.

2010-04-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

We, all of us, everyone, knows that "begging the question*" doesn't really mean what we all pretend it means.

* See footnote, though the entire post is well worth reading. Also, Alt85, you're awesome and I'm sorry to make an example out of you. It's just that I've spent more than a decade of my life saying, "...but that's begging the question. Well, not technically, but you know what I mean," and damn it, I wish I had those minutes of my life back.

Here are some things we never have to say again.

2010-04-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

It's over! We all know! Everyone knows these things! So here are a list of observations no one ever has to make again.

1. The song "Isn't It Ironic?" by Alanis Morisette consistently misuses the word ironic.

2. The word homosexual is a lexicographic heteromorph.

3. Peanuts are not nuts.

4. Tomatoes are not vegetables.

5. Whales are not fish. Neither are starfish or jellyfish.

6. Pandas are not bears.

7. Spiders are not insects.

8. The plural of octopus is not octopuses; it's octopi.

9. The plural of octopus is not really octopi; it's octopuses.

10. The plural of octopus is not really octopuses; it's octopodes.

11. But really, it's octopuses.

12. The word data is plural; the singular is datum.

13. The North American buffalo is actually a bison.

14. Dolphins are not fish; they're legumes.

Address to the GWC

2010-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

My very short story "Address to the Greenville Senior Women's Club 35th Annual Pedigreed Dog Show by the Mystery Writer H.L. Lemontre" is up on Improbable Object.

2010-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

From the files...

2010-04-13T14:43:00.001-07:00

And speaking of crafts - these are a few years old now but I was looking through my old craft photos while working on a new set of party invitations and I found these "welcome baby" cards I made for Mina and Sandy when I was living in China (with limited crafting resources) and I really like them, so there you go. This is me feeling self-satisfied.

CRAFT jumps the amigurumi shark?*

2010-04-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

As Dev said when he sent this to me, "When will it stop?"

You can find out how to grow your own radishes in old manga here.

*Just kidding, CRAFT, I love you - and thank you for publishing me!

Thank you, Costco

2010-04-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Let's not oversell it.

2010-04-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

When you are selling a modestly desirable product or service, the best thing to do is to list that product's advantages and then maybe make it look 10-20% more exciting than it really is. What you do not want to do is try to make it look 300-400% more exciting than it really is. A little more sexiness, a little more oomph sells your product - a lot more sexiness, a lot more oomph makes your ad seem mocking and sarcastic.

Exhbit A: "When I grow up I want to be a CERTIFIED MEDICAL CODER!"

There is nothing wrong with being a certified medical coder. It's a useful job with flexible hours and generous pay. Studying to be a certified medical coder is a reasonable professional decision for many people. But here's the thing: no child has ever said "I want to be a certified medical coder when I grow up!"

Most people have ordinary jobs that pay the bills and hopefully provide them some degree of daily satisfaction. Most people do not have dream jobs and that's fine. Certified medical coder is no one's dream job. But by mentioning that fact in your ad, you're basically reminding potential students of all the better things they once longed to do and that hardly seems like the best way to drum up enthusiasm for your school.

Exhibit B: Awesometown*.

(Thanks to Daily Billboard for this photo.)

Valencia is a planned community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, most notably home to the Six Flags Magic Mountain** amusement park. And doubtless there are some nice things about living in Valencia: low crime, good schools, affordable housing, plenty of parking.

What Valencia is not, however, is awesome. No one thinks Valencia is awesome. And so by calling Valencia "AWESOMETOWN" all you are doing is reminding people how utterly ordinary Valencia really is.

*Also should be "Awesometowne."

**No connection to Thomas Mann.

This blog has moved

2010-04-05T20:29:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://summerbk.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://summerbk.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

2010-04-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

No, thank you.

storySouth Million Writers Award

2010-04-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Two of my short stories were included on this year's MWA notable list !

"Hospitality" and "Third Lesson" were both on the list for best short stories published online in 2009.

And thanks to Identity Theory and Wheelhouse for publishing them.

Seriously?

2010-03-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm all for creative reuse but these curtains featured in Craft seem to have gone a bit too far. Hanging two children's smock dresses from a curtain rod is not "upcycling," it's set dressing for a reunion of "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Unlikely Animal Adoptions

2010-03-05T16:34:00.001-08:00

Thank you, Dev.

Dante and Botticelli

2010-03-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

"So just what Dante scorns as unworthy alike of heaven and hell, Botticelli accepts, that middle world in which men take no side in great conflicts, and decide no great causes, and make great refusals . . . man and women, in their mixed and uncertain condition, always attractive, clothed sometimes by passion with a character of loveliness and energy, but saddened perpetually by the shadow upon them of the great things from which they shrink."

- Walter Pater, The Renaissance

While in Los Angeles

2010-03-02T23:42:00.001-08:00

In honor of a friend's arrival in Los Angeles, I have undertaken to list of a few of my favorite L.A. places.

This list is by no means exhaustive or definitive but it can be a nice start for new arrivals. I've skipped those places that, while excellent, are also so well-known as not to bear repeating (places like LACMA, MOCA, and the Getty) except where I wanted to point out specific events hosted at those institutions. I've also largely skipped writing reviews ("excellent coffee," "delicious pizza," and all that). Two years as a food critic was long enough. Suffice it to say: these are all great places, just go try them and see.

I am also compiling a separate list of things to do in Los Angeles with babies and young children – coming soon.

SANTA MONICA
Glow. An annual summer arts festival. For twenty four hours, the pier and surrounding beaches are given over to art installations and performance pieces.
Santa Monica Pier, www.glowsantamonica.org.

Literati Café. Coffee and free wireless, a nice place to work.
12081 Wilshire Boulevard, www.literaticafe.com.

Musha. Japanese fusion.
424 Wilshire Boulevard, http://musha.us/.

Snug Harbor. Brunch, excellent biscuits. Another good brunch place, Bread and Porridge, is next door.
2323 Wilshire Boulevard and 2315 Wilshire Boulevard

Warszawa. Polish food.
1414 Lincoln Boulevard, www.warszawarestaurant.com.

MALIBU
Getty Villa. Regular staged readings and full performances of classical Greek plays in the summer.
17985 Pacific Coast Highway, www.getty.edu.

WEST L.A.
Guelaguetza. Oaxacan food.
3014 West Olympic Boulevard, www.guelaguetzarestaurante.com.

Mr. Cecil's. Barbecue ribs with assorted sides and cakes.
12244 West Pico Boulevard, www.mrcecilscaliforniaribs.com.

CULVER CITY
The Actor's Gang. Affordable, innovative theater specializing in classics. (Also, the Summer Family Theater Program is great for kids – see my other list.)
9070 Venice Boulevard, www.theactorsgang.com.

Art Walk. There's a large concentration of art galleries along Washington and La Cienega streets in Culver City. Once a year (usually in May or June) they do an Art Walk, a free open house for all the area galleries and museums. (Dozens of other L.A. neighborhoods also have art walks throughout the year.)

Bottle Rock. Wine bar. (A second location is in downtown L.A.)
3847 Main Street, www.bottlerock.net.

Center for Land Use Interpretation. Small, quirky museum.
9331 Venice Boulevard, www.clui.org.

Father's Office. In the old Helm's Bakery building. One of the best burgers in L.A. Across the street is Let's Be Frank, hot dogs– they also have a mobile truck.
3229 Helms Avenue, www.fathersoffice.com and www.letsbefrankdogs.com.

La Dijonaise. Café. Also in the old Helm's Bakery building. French café food, excellent lemon bars. 8703 Washington Boulevard, www.ladijonaise.com.

Museum of Jurassic Technology. The best place in L.A. Don't read about it, just go there. It's best to go when it's very uncrowded, maybe a weekday afternoon. (They also have shows, concerts, and films; pick up an event schedule.)
9341 Venice Boulevard, http://mjt.org/.

WEST HOLLYWOOD
Canter's. 24-hour deli. Lousy food and ill-tempered service, but still an L.A. institution.
419 North Fairfax Avenue, www.cantersdeli.com.

New Beverly Cinema. Excellent revival theater with $7 double features every night.
7165 W. Beverly Boulevard, www.newbevcinema.com.

Pacific Design Center. Art and design events on the third Thursday of every month. Also see the website for their lecture series.
8687 Melrose Avenue, www.pacificdesigncenter.com.

Silent Theater. Eclectic, eccentric movie theater with nightly programming including the Five-Minute Game (wherein the audience is shown the first five minutes of 15 different obscure movies and then votes on the one they want to see in its entirety). Also runs original silent pictures with organ accompaniment. Down the street from Canter's.
611 North Fairfax Avenue, cinefamily.org.

MID-WILSHIRE
Campanile. Try their Thursday night grilled cheese specials or their Wednesday night soup kitchen.
624 South La Brea Avenue, www.campanilerestaurant.com.

Csardas. Excellent Hungarian food – heavy but perfect for our few cold days a year.
5820 Melrose Avenue.

Lou. Wine bar and restaurant, try the "pig candy."
724 Vine Street, www.louonvine.com.

Village Pizzeria. Started by transplanted Brooklynites, maybe the closest thing to real New York-style pizza in L.A. A good newsstand is across the street.
131 N Larchmont Boulevard, www.villagepizzeria.net.

HOLLYWOOD
Bourgeois Pig. Comfortable coffee place next door to a good newsstand.
5931 Franklin Avenue.

The Hollywood Farmer's Market. Every neighborhood has their own farmer's market, but one of the best is in Hollywood on Sunday mornings.
1600 Ivar Avenue, http://farmernet.com/.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Classic movie screenings in the cemetery all summer long. Bring a picnic and folding chairs and be sure to arrive early.
6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, http://cinespia.org/.

Palms Thai. Los Angeles has the nation's best Thai food and Palms a good representative of it.
5900 Hollywood Boulevard.

Sacred Fools. Independent theater, featuring the comedy series Magnum Opus on Friday nights – staged readings of some of the city's worst screenplays. In a district filled with other small theaters. (See also the North Hollywood theater district.)
660 North Heliotrope Drive, www.sacredfools.org.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Improv comedy with free shows on Sunday evening. Next door is the Bourgeouis Pig.
5919 Franklin Avenue, www.ucbtheatre.com.

Yai. More great Thai.
5757 Hollywood Boulevard.

Arclight. First-run, independent, and classic movies, film festivals.
Several locations, the nicest at 6360 W. Sunset Boulevard, www.arclightcinemas.com/.

DOWNTOWN
The Brewery. Artists' residence in the converted Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery. With a theater, galleries, cooking classes, and a bar and restaurant. They also host open-house art walks twice a year.
600 Moulton Avenue, www.thebrewery.net/.

The Edison. Maybe the most beautiful bar in L.A. 35 cent cocktails and burlesque shows on Thursdays, grilled cheese and tomato soup on Fridays.
108 W. 2nd Street #101, www.edisondowntown.com/.

Grand Central Market. Fresh chiles, spices, tamales, pupusas, Central and South American foods, and much more.
317 South Broadway.

Grand Performances. Free summer concert, film, and performance series. Bring wine and a picnic – there's also a nice grocery store onsite. (With some child-specific shows, see other list.)
California Plaza, 300-350 S. Grand Avenue, http://grandperformances.org/.

Langer's. Widely considered by critics to be the best pastrami in the country.
704 South Alvarado Street, www.langersdeli.com/.

Mama's Hot Tamales. Tamales with recipes from Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Peru.
2124 West 7th Street.

Mindshare. The third Thursday of every month, a party featuring art installations and guest lectures by local academics, artists, and various experts. Held in various locations downtown.
www.mindshare.la/.

Museum of Natural History, First Fridays. The first Friday of every month local university professors give scientific lectures and lead tours followed by cocktails and live music.
900 Exposition Boulevard, www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/first-fridays.

The Redwood Room. Kitschy but charming pirate-themed bar.
316 W. 2nd Street, www.theredwoodbar.com/.

Seven Grand. A menu of 271 whiskeys and whiskey-based cocktails.
515 West 7th Street, www.sevengrand.la/.

SOUTH LOS ANGELES
The Velaslavasay Panorama. A magical little gallery featuring a 360-degree panorama painting. Frequent live performances and events.
1122 W 24th Street, www.panoramaonview.org.

LOS FELIZ
The Alcove. Comfortable, relaxing lunch and brunch spot.
1929 Hillhurst Avenue, www.alcovecafe.com/.

Fred 62. Diner with excellent French toast.
1850 N. Vermont Avenue, www.fred62.com/.

Home. Another diner with a wonderfully comfortable outdoor patio. Half-off specials on rainy days.
1760 Hillhurst Avenue, www.homelosfeliz.com/.

Psychobabble. Coffee place and local watering hole.
1866 N Vermont Avenue, www.psychobabblecafe.com/.

Skylight Books. Independent book store, frequent readings.
1818 N Vermont Avenue, www.skylightbooks.com/.

Steve Allen Theater. Live theater, film, lectures, and much more. Drive-in horror movies during the month or two before Halloween.
4773 Hollywood Boulevard, www.steveallentheater.com/.

ECHO PARK/SILVERLAKE
Forage. Creative, healthy food.
3823 W Sunset Boulevard, www.foragela.com.

The Thirsty Crow. Cozy little "bourbon bar" - order the Black Manhattan.
2939 W Sunset Boulevard, www.thirstycrowbar.com.

826 Los Angeles (The Echo Park Time Travel Mart). Los Angeles installment of 826 Valencia's non-profit. Offers readings, classes, and volunteer opportunities for writers.
1714 W Sunset Boulevard, www.826la.org.

Intelligentsia. Coffee.
3922 W Sunset Boulevard.

Machine Project. One of L.A.'s best arts and science venues. Weird, wonderful performance art and classes.
1200 N Alvarado St., www.machineproject.com/.

Sew L.A. Fabric store and sewing classes for all levels.
1637-1/2 Silver Lake Boulevard, 2nd floor, www.sew-la.com/.

Taco Zone. One of the best taco trucks in L.A. parks at night next to the Vons at 1342 North Alvarado Street, near Sunset. Ask for the suadero.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD
A large and growing live theater district.

EAT. Brunch; try the huevos del sur.
11108 Magnolia Boulevard, www.eatnoho.com/.

Pitfire Pizza. Pizza, wine by the glass, and an outdoor eating area with a fire pit. (A few other locations throughout the city.)
5211 Lankershim Boulevard, www.pitfirepizza.com/.

BURBANK
Thrift Stores. There is a great run of thrift and antique stores down Magnolia Avenue roughly between Burbank Boulevard and Verdugo Avenue. Many sell old studio props and costumes. Particularly good for Halloween. Also a good place for vintage and reproduction clothing and furniture.

Urban Eats. Stop in while shopping.
3501 W. Magnolia Boulevard, www.urban-eats.com/.

EAGLE ROCK
Casa Bianca. Classic family red-sauce Italian.
1650 Colorado Boulevard, www.casabiancapizza.com/.

The Coffee Table. Free wireless, a nice place to work.
1958 Colorado Boulevard, www.coffeetablebistro.com/.

Oinksters. Barbecue specializing in pulled pork sandwiches.
2005 Colorado Boulevard, www.theoinkster.com/.

Senor Fish No.2. Mexican seafood; try the scallop tacos. (A second location is downtown.)
4803 Eagle Rock Boulevard, www.senorfishonline.com/.

Swork. Coffee, free wireless, a great place to work. (Also features a kids' play area, see other list.) 2160 Colorado Boulevard, www.swork.com/.

ON THE ROAD
Follow Kogi, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Coolhaus, Sweets Truck, Buttermilk, and other Twittering mobile food trucks. See LAist for a complete list.

ON THE INTERNET
Some good sites to keep up with what's happening in L.A. (and there are a few more specifically tailored to those with young children):

LAist
Culture Monster at L.A. Times
Eater L.A.
Jonathan Gold at L.A. Weekly
Art Slant L.A.
L.A. Observed

And now I realize I forgot about tiki bars, not to mention all the food in the San Gabriel Valley - well, more soon...

New poems in PANK

2010-03-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

This is rather late to post, but last month three of my poems appeared in PANK 4.

Read them here: 1, 2, 3.

Or buy your own copy here.

2010-02-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

More unlikely animal friends, thanks to Grant!

Third Lesson

2009-12-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

A new short story is up today at Identity Theory (based on a monologue from "Impulse").

A good weekend

2009-11-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

started with receiving my PANK galleys and ended with getting a piece of short fiction accepted by Identity Theory. Not bad.

2009-11-09T10:59:00.001-08:00

I'm pleased to have had a new story accepted in Improbable Object - it should be posted soon.

Pretty great stuff.

2009-10-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

And a Happy Halloween to you all, the Anatomical Machines of Cappella Sansevero courtesy of the Atlas Obscura.

"For an enormous number of incidences, yes."

2009-10-21T00:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Grant, for sending this.

Interviewer: You are in favor of capital punishment?
Waugh: For an enormous number of incidences, yes.
Interviewer: And you yourself would be prepared to carry it out?
Waugh: Doing -- actually doing the hanging as well?
Interviewer: Yes.
Waugh: I think it odd for them to choose a novelist for such a task.

For some musings on Waugh, see Grant's blog.

What to Expect: The Third Decade

2009-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have a short list up this morning at McSweeneys.

More unlikely animal friends

2009-10-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

courtesy of The Daily Coyote.

The Importance of Attitude

2009-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Another rant about scuba diving, this time up at The Rumpus.

Our Bodies, Our Shelves

2009-09-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

My (newly edited, slightly funnier than ever) IKEA piece is up on The Big Jewel this week.