Under the Hell's Gate Bridge, Randall's Island

"The question is to slip through and, above all - yes, above all, the question is to elude judgment. I'm not saying to avoid punishment, for punishment without judgment is bearable. It has a name, besides, that guarantees our innocence: it is called misfortune. No, on the contrary, it's a matter of dodging judgment, of avoiding being forever judged without ever having a sentence pronounced."
-- Albert Camus, The Fall

I wish when reading this I did not have a flash of recognition, the shocking clarity of revealed truth - yes, dear reader, I'm afraid this is a pretty good articulation of my attitude towards work.

from Hot Rod


Because this is a hilarious scene in one of the most woefully underrated comedies of, oh, the last half century. If you haven't seen it, rent it. It is reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite, and what it shares with that movie is a sweetness and, as Roger Ebert pointed out, a sincerity, one that shares the jokes with its audience. It's funny to think it was originally a Will Ferrell vehicle - it would have been very different if it had been, more absurd, more manaical. Though it's basically a series of skits, it adds up to a kind of riff on the virtues of hairbrained schemes. Some people initially think it is stupid (though eventually they are won over); others find it hilarious from the start; and Roger Ebert always thinks.

Vancouver, B.C.



Vancouver, B.C.

When I was a young lad, I dabbled in the black art of graffiti. Older now, I have abjured this rough magic. The days of "SDP Aqui", my preferred tag, done with an arrow on the 's' and another on the 'p', are long since over. It has been years since I've put spray can to brick and I can look back on that period, if at all, with distanced nostalgia and regret. Imagine then my surprise at this photo, of our president in the hall of my former high school:





It was a shocking reminder of a period in my life that I thought was long over, and of the lingering inescapable reminders of our decisions and acts. As Joan Didion put it, 'some things are in fact irrevocable, and it had counted after all, every evasion and every procrastination, every mistake, every word, all of it.'

Brrrring! I've always really liked this song and video. They're having so much inter-generational fun! Watch for Kanye West, in white, to Freeway's right, from about 1:58to 2:00 and then again from about 2:03 to 2:06. I like the woman in the heart cut off halter top who dances vigorously. Some of the old folks remind me of my parents. I feel like I could almost be in this video.

It occurs to me that "Mack Mittens" is a pretty lame rap moniker. Mittens? For real? When I think of accessories that could be used in a rapper's name, 'mittens' ranks somewhere in between, say, 'flip-flops' and 'waistcoat' in the unlikely category.

Birthday on Cannery Row

An Embarrassment of Riches

Moon over Wilmington

Wilmington, DE

Update No. 162

Hey! Internet! No one gives a shit!

I've been without a computer for the past fortnight or so, which has limited postings. But I'm back like a heart attack!

Just watched Dick Cavett interview Jonathan Miller from 1981. It is great on the subject of Shakespeare and stammering. However, most important is this line from Miller, which we all should use in situations in which someone tries to make a joke and fails, when someone attempts levity when only gravity will do, or as a causal aside at a ballgame, or at a barbecue, or at a dive bar when something goes ever so slightly awry:

"My face is a mask of unamusement."