ADD Test?

ADD Test?

This is one sadistic Flash game.

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The Man Who Blew It for Us

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So What Just Happened Here?

One can only assume that Franzen decided against friending me after nearly choking on his lunch.

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Shea Swaps Book Pick

Two days ago, Mr. Bryant thought to mock the good Mets fans within the litblogosphere. Oh, but what a difference a few days make! In…

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Hell Hath Frozen Over!

Hell Hath Frozen Over!

Jonathan Franzen has accepted my Facebook friend request! My work here is done. I shall now direct my attentions to Dwight Garner, who has yet…

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Who Needs an Independent Mind When There's Google?

Who Needs an Independent Mind When There’s Google?

If one must have an “opinion on Ed Champion,” a phrase that places me in an extremely bizarre position of importance, I’d hope that one…

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Is There Any Purpose?

Is There Any Purpose?

The Guardian‘s James Buchan has asked the question, in all seriousness, “Is there any purpose in translating poetry?” Which is akin to asking the following…

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I'm Too Easily Amused

I’m Too Easily Amused

Dark Shadows reenacted by dolls.

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Roundup

Roundup

Jeff VanderMeer and M. John Harrison: how can you go wrong with that conversation? I couldn’t make the Lethem-PKD event, I’m afraid, but Matt Cheney…

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Over the Hump

Over the Hump

Okay, after considerable coffee, a crazed ten-hour reading session, and several additional hours of research for one of two crazy deadlines, I’ve managed to grab…

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Well, It Certainly Cuts Down on Travel Expenses to Venice & Rome

Well, It Certainly Cuts Down on Travel Expenses to Venice & Rome

The Map of Humanity. (via MeFi)

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Wouldn't She Have Learned About Joints in the Joint?

Wouldn’t She Have Learned About Joints in the Joint?

I don’t know what’s funnier: the mad genius who teamed up Amy Sedaris with Martha Stewart in the kitchen or the fact that Stewart doesn’t…

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Roundup

Roundup

The sleeping schedule has gone to hell. So here goes. Scott McLemee and Peniel E. Joseph discussed Harold Cruse’s The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual,…

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A Most Formidable Intellectual Organization

I received a mysterious text message earlier in the week from a British phone number. I was confused. I thought they all hated me in…

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To Mr. Franzen and Others Who Have Denied Facebook Friend Requests

To Mr. Franzen and Others Who Have Denied Facebook Friend Requests

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Coming Soon to The Bat Segundo Show

Correspondent: In this title essay, you write, “Observation is my weakness.” And in the second essay, while you openly confess to stalking many of the……

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Maybe It Was the Overwhelming Red-Orange Motif That Infuriated Him More Than the Newspaper

Maybe It Was the Overwhelming Red-Orange Motif That Infuriated Him More Than the Newspaper

You know, Coach Gundy, from my angle, you look very much like a kid.

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Roundup

Roundup

I’m not dead. / ‘Ere, he says he’s not dead. / Yes, he is. / I’m not. (via Jeff, who also finds this news quite…

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But Petty Opportunism is the Bedrock of Politics!

But Petty Opportunism is the Bedrock of Politics!

BBC: “Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has been criticised over a fundraising party at which participants are being urged to donate $9.11. The International Association…

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Reason #426 Why Jonathan Franzen is No Fun

Reason #426 Why Jonathan Franzen is No Fun

Jonathan Franzen does not want to be my Facebook friend. He is, however, Howard Junker’s Facebook friend. This is understandable, because Howard Junker is Howard…

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BSS #140: Naomi Klein

PROGRAM NOTES: (1) Our Young, Roving Correspondent claimed that Milton Friedman supported the New Deal. Naomi Klein claimed that he did not. As it turns…

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BSS #139: George Saunders

Condition of Mr. Segundo: Feeling a little dead down there. Author: George Saunders Subjects Discussed: Writing fragmentary travelogue pieces, trying not to pre-process experiences, observational…

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Bobby-B In Da House!

Bobby-B In Da House!

Robert Birnbaum talks with Susanna Moore.

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Roundup (With Frequent Lyrical Interludes)

Roundup (With Frequent Lyrical Interludes)

This year’s MacArthur fellowships include Stuart Dybek. Oh, Norman Mailer, just go away. The Internet is set to overtake television as the largest medium by…

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Come Out to D-Block. We'll Get Together, Have a Few Laughs

Come Out to D-Block. We’ll Get Together, Have a Few Laughs

Associated Press: “A federal judge sentenced Hollywood director John McTiernan to four months in prison Monday after refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty…

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A Helpful Shortcut If You're Pressed for Time on a Friday Night

A Helpful Shortcut If You’re Pressed for Time on a Friday Night

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Self-Pity's a Great Justification for Passive Behavior

Self-Pity’s a Great Justification for Passive Behavior

Rachel Kramer Bussel: “Garnering publicity for your book should not be the ‘wait and see’ situation Sacks seems to paint it as. There is always…

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Roundup

Roundup

I can assure you. The J is pronounced like Alaska’s capital. Foolish thinking debunked by Weeks. First Committee Purges: “James Flint and Hari Kunzru are…

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RIP Marcel Marceau

RIP Marcel Marceau

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For Tyra Banks, "Experts" Are Plastic, Unreal & Non-Threatening People

For Tyra Banks, “Experts” Are Plastic, Unreal & Non-Threatening People

Violet Blue: “As I told the producer (who I saw quite quickly), I will not lie about my appearance or who I am, for anyone…

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