Nabakov’s private papers have been auctioned off for £500,000. Among the items sold were drawings of butterflies, various zoological papers and a crude doodle of a pearl necklace.

Saul Bellow has received an honorary degree from Boston University. Bellow, who is 88 and remarkably virile, plans to perform the macarena the night before accepting the award. Bellow’s son, Adam, has suggested to the BU faculty that, because of literary nepotism, he too has rightfully earned an honorary degree. BU informed Adam Bellow that if he’d stop writing half-engaging books, he might get his one day.

Nik Cohn picks the top ten rock ‘n roll books. While I certainly approve of X-Ray, where’s Lester Bangs?

You know that the Republican National Committee is getting desperate when it tries to use videogames as a marketing tool. One of them is a boxing game called Kerry vs. Kerry, featuring commentary from Don King. But according to Jim McClellan, “these games aren’t much fun to play, even if you are a Bush supporter.”

It suddenly occurs to the proprietor that he is allowing silly things to plague his mind and thus the blog here in question. Recent emotional currents rolling down my grand river of life have left me in states that involve (a) absent-mindedness, (b) placing priorities on things that I might otherwise never have considered, (c) operating on a tightly regimented plan in defiance of states (a) and (b), (d) divesting myself of a lot of needless muck, and (e) being far too nice and considerate to people, more so than the cheery days of March. The end result of this is something strange, productive, and otherwise unworldly. Nevertheless, it’s all true — indeed, truer than before. I’d go into more details, but the simple fact is that I’m not entirely cognizant myself and I need to memorialize much of these strange sensations privately before I can begin to be forthright about them publicly. Plus, some of the grand plans keeping the momentous rivulet gushing are still being carried out and the nautical expert’s results remain inconclusive. Plus plus, the details are bound to mesh with more details pertaining to completely unrelated things and developments rolling along (including this play). So there you are.

I’ll just momentarily state that I acknowledge your confusion, but out of this mesmerizing chaos will come, I suspect, a clarity deeper than before. For those who have waded through these waters, I admire your determination. I’ll do my best to provide life preservers and remind you to roll up your jeans before you get your feet wet. But at the present time, I cannot guarantee consistency in content, disciplined or otherwise. But I’ll do my best.