I Believe... [Nevada—Dumb But Fun]
...that Nevada has a worse record in education than Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi which supports the conclusion that only the dumbest people gamble on the regular. We do have lots of booze and exposed boobs, so there’s a plus side, right?
I Like to Watch | Inventing Anna (2022)
Why did any of these people believe in her bullshit?
Because she didn't care if you liked her. Unlike everyone else among our affirmation-addicted bunch of apes, the Anna Delvey of Shondaland didn't give two shits what you thought of her or even if you bought her bullshit.
The Shabbos Goy
I was a Shabbos goy.
A Jewish Shabbos goy.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of February 13, 2022
I read a comic book to my son the other night at bedtime that I wrote. I haven’t read it since it was published six years ago. It’s not very good. Too wordy. When we finished it, the kid said, “I like that story.” He has terrible taste but is very kind.
Fin-Domme Diary - A Poem
If some clean-room elevator connected floors are
Getting treated like a meat market anyhow,
Then why shouldn’t this old steam engine bellwether
Deserve to be on retainer and on premises?
When the World is On Fire, Who Can Laugh About Anything?
What I miss most is the opportunity to just throw down and fucking laugh like an idiot about, well, anything.
Thank god for Jackass. I appreciate the not-so-gentle reminder.
I Believe... [Legitimate Political Discourse, My Ass]
...that justifying disruptive protests, riots, and looting as ‘legitimate political discourse’ cuts both ways and is horseshit regardless of which side claims it.
If Trust Builds a Society, the Absence of Trust Destroys It
I’m an optimist at heart. I also believe without finding a way to trust a few more people today and a few more tomorrow, to openly seek out those we feel we can trust, we’re fucked as a nation.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of February 6, 2022
I wish I had more time to iron my clothes, write my stories, and read more books. Instead, I fart through the wrinkles reading work emails with the TV on.
RNC WORKSHOP ON LEGITIMATE POLITICAL DISCOURSE
SOVENIRS! – Some call it looting, we call it keepsakes.
I Like to Watch | Magnolia (1999)
When I went to see Magnolia I discovered a film that captured this concept more clearly, more beautifully, than I could have ever conceived of myself. I was transcendent.
I Believe... [Not Nihilism. Clarity]
I believe... that, at half a century plus, one starts to see how much of the world’s issues are bullshit. This is not nihilism. It’s clarity.
A New Not-for-Profit is In Town
So, it's official. Literate Ape is now Literate Ape Press, Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nevada Corporation.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of January 30, 2022
It’d be funny if Biden appointed Anita Hill to the Supreme Court. Of course, it won’t happen. She’d never accept. But it’d be funny in the most tone deaf, hateful way imaginable.
The 56th Year in Lessons Learned | Notes from an Old-ish Man
I was born on February 3, 1966. I have just completed my 56th stroll around the calendar and walking those dirt roads toward the inevitable. What have I gleaned from those 365 days that merit sharing here?
New Girl Scout Cookies Flavors!
It’s okay to cry while you eat these. They are also absorbent.
Love Story for Sale: Wordle and the New York Times
Part of the charm was that it was one word for all of us. You get one shot at it a day giving us all something to look forward to in moderation. Anyone with access to the internet could play. Wordle was connective tissue in an otherwise disconnected world.
The Point of Democracy is Populism
Democracy is dependent upon populism. The more of the population who casts a vote in one direction or the other determines who wins power. It's not a complicated idea. Part of the bargain requires that win your side loses, you accept the loss. We're not quite so good at that part lately.
I Believe... [Omicron is COVID on Tinder]
...that Omicron is the Tinder version of COVID—it’ll fuck anybody once, every night, and move on to the next swipe.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of January 23, 2022
There are only seven stories in the world. And the storytelling community continues to think we’re not bored with all of them.
The first chapter of an in-progress novel.
“The voice began on a Tuesday morning while Monte Walsh was standing in his kitchen, holding an unopened package of bacon over the garbage can.”