Dept of Amplification & Correction: “The Wave”
On further investigation, big chunks of the story about my father’s crib book and its effects were completely inaccurate. In particular, the meat of the thing is rotten: Fred’s life arc began with books and also with collecting, and he was all along a bibliophile. The original post has been edited to reflect this; please […]

The Wave, or Why to Publish (corrected and expanded)
My father was a skilled and productive writer. He published many novels, including the recently reissued National Book Award nominee The Balloonist. There were a few non-fiction books as well: some early scholarly work about Italian literature, a book about solo sailing around the world, and a series of literature study guides for students with […]

Something is afoot at the gas station.
The gas station routine has not changed in years. I put in my card, enter my zip code, choose my fuel, and pump. When I’m done I put the spout back in its bracket and the machine asks me if I want a receipt. I say yes, it spits out the receipt, and I leave. […]

A Patriot’s Day Prayer
Cut word lines — Cut music lines — Smash the control images — Smash the control machine — Burn the books — Kill the priests — Kill! Kill! Kill! Happy Patriot Day, everyone.
this is a test
this is a test of crossposting to LJ. my theme sucks, there’s dust. deal.
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Assorted premature thoughts on Breivik
I’m not sure, but this appears to be the first use of Family Circle cartoon art in a mass killer’s video manifesto. Eerie. For a guy who clearly hates both the modern and the postmodern, he sure hit the postmodern gong hard with his media technique. Breivik managed to repeat the last 15 minutes of […]
Burro Canyon KABOOM!
Had a fine time shooting at the Burro Canyon range up in San Gabriel Canyon near Azusa. Apart from screwing up and shooting a rifle on the pistol range, I did fine. I shoot high and to the right. As we were all banging away the range officer called an emergency cease fire, and everyone […]
My War with Indie Rock
I started to write this thing and did it all wrong. There was a long-winded history of how “indie rock” happened, an examination of my own part in that, and then a whole list of reasons why “indie” gives me a headache. Dumped. I know what I can’t stand “indie,” and it’s because “indie” is […]