William Gibson: “The fear induced by terrorism mirrors the irrational psychology that makes state lotteries an utterly reliable form of stupidity tax. A huge statistical asymmetry serves as fulcrum for a spectral yet powerful lever: apprehension of the next jackpot. We’re terrorized not by the actual explosion, which statistically we’re almost never present for, but by our apprehension of the next one.” (via Powell’s Blog)

…Tayari has groupies!

My review of Haruki Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman appears in today’s Philly Inquirer.

Maud Newton: “My friend John was taking a leak in a public restroom once when a deranged woman appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his cock.”

I can certainly relate to Maud’s experience. My own skirmishes with weirdness are legendary, but then you might say I’m often the Pied Piper for weird people, attracting them like field mice. The hell of it is that not one small town has yet offered a commission.

There is a baby — a celebrity baby — that apparently nobody can refrain from talking about, speculating upon, offering conjecture, remarking on the photo’s authenticity (or lack thereof), gauging the baby’s patrilineage, the like.

This is all very nice. And it has all probably sold a good deal of magazines and provided a lot of water cooler conversation. If this gets you through a rough day, I can understand. If contemplating upon this baby’s provenance is what you need to prevent yourself from applying a mace to your boss’s skull, that’s okay. I’d rather see you engage in tawdry gossip over violence.

But I plan to boycott the baby. There are approximately six billion things in the universe that are more important.

I beseech you for the sake of humanity to do the same.