the closing of the american mind by Alan Bloom -- or -- the author's admission that he is old, useless and in the way.

Allan Bloom is a hysterical, raving, reactionary lunatic. He and his academia ilk are exactly the reason why education teaches kids nothing, because they know absolutely zero about the children they’re supposed to teach. mostly, this book is little more than a “get off my lawn” diatribe against any and all (race, sex, drugs, rock [...]

OBR #19... Finally

As some of you may know, I have a little something to do with the great mag Oyster Boy Review. Years ago, when I was struggling, trying to be a writer, churning out “BB&B” ( Blood, Babes and Booze ) stories, the editor in chief, Damon Suave, gave me encouragement, pointers and finally, a chance. [...]

my anxiety is that i get labeled

i love frequent Atlantic contributor Sandra Tsing Loh. She has the uncanny ability to nail, succinctly, the slices of the pie that make up our culture. This is from her “Classed Dismissed” [...]

Cooking Dirty

Never look at your favorite restaurant in the same way thanks to, “Cooking Dirty,” another tome in the long line of kitchen exposé books. Part memoir, part confessional, Jason Sheehan serves up the typical gross out “you won’t believe what happens before that souffle gets to your table” stories that inundate the foodie world. Sheehan, however, does it better than most, and importantly, doesn’t take himself too seriously as he chronicles his experiences during the long hours spent in commercial kitchens. [...]

what the?

ok, so we’ve officially migrated to the WordPress CMS [...]

on work as an excuse

Your job is not a woman that should come between us, friend. (quote from William of East Orange)

Let me be plain; I call bullshit on all people complacent in allowing work to seep into their nuts and begin controlling their lives. Further, I will no longer accept work as an excuse for my being stood [...]

larry walker me

I was laying on my back in the front yard resting my head on my greased up and dog-eared copy of “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive”, hoping for something to happen. The rent had run out and our landlord, an old, bow-legged Mexican with a full set of gold teeth and Brahma Bull decals [...]

doing nothing

“Doing Nothing” (Tom Lutz)
buy at Amazon

a historical review of slackers, loafers, loungers, bums, saunterers, tramps, flaneurs, communists, bohemians, beats, non-conformists, hippies and stoned out surfers. in short, the founding principles of Slouch.

well, it’s obvious that Lutz isn’t a slacker with a book that tops out at over 300 pages and a bibliography that [...]