| Fuck the Homeless |
[13 May 2008|12:10pm] |
My reading at Kettle of Fish, New York City, from April 30, 2008:
This was chopped from the final draft of Dumbocracy -- so if you enjoy the B-side, just imagine how good the book is! Perhaps you should pre-order your copy today!
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[23 Apr 2008|09:35am] |
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Amazon now has product information for Dumbocracy. Save big when you pre-order!
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| AIM conversation |
[17 Apr 2008|11:26am] |
Me: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513
Anti-Abortion Friend: wow
Me: the cool thing about sleeping with that chick? you don't need to use a condom or have any worries -- it's gettin' taken care of
Anti-Abortion Friend: that is gross marty
Me: you can even use the aborto-juice as lube
Anti-Abortion Friend: i hate you
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[12 Apr 2008|10:15am] |
A new one-star review of Generation S.L.U.T. at Amazon:
There is no reason this book had to be written. All you have to do is listen to a crowd of pre-teens or teenagers at a nearby mall. Or listen to the rap music that all of them worship. The sexual lives of teenagers are not distinguished by race or class; it is entirely based on gender. Girls are the born victims, desperate to be considered 'pretty', so much so that even abuse counts as positive attention to them. Given that they believe that they (and other teenage girls) are nothing except how much boys 'want' them, even rape is considered proof of how 'hot' they are. Note that they joyfully sing along to misogynist rap as much as their teenage boy counterparts do. As for the teenage boys, any kindness or respect is seen by their peers as being a 'wuss' or a 'girl'. In short, the teenage sexual environment, as detailed by this book as well as simple observation, is nothing more than girls competing for which boys 'want' them, and boys taking advantage of this desperation. When the disrespect and rough sex borders on rape, girls either console themselves that at least they were 'wanted', or turn their anger towards the system on to themselves. After all, they are encouraged by society, the music they listen to, the boys, and even their friends to find girls worthless, so they "cut", "starve", and flash their developing bodies at even older men, hoping for better treatment. Of course, they are victimized further. But in an environment where their worth is nothing more but how much boys 'want' them--and where 'wanting' often equals abuse, they are in a never-ending Catch 22. Meanwhile--in another point the book doesn't mention--boys who dislike this predatory environment have alternatives. They can become artists, musicians, or at least dabble in consciousness altering substances that at least temporarily ease their pain--while the girls meanwhile cause more pain to themselves with a razor blade or a finger down the throat. The girls have no such alternatives, as they have been taught by the world that unless they are 'hot', they are nothing. This book ignores this catch-22, choosing to pretend that both boys and girls are equally disturbed and equally hurt by the teenage sexual climate. Finally, the author also neglects to point out the fact that the teenage boys at least enjoy their sexual encounters in the biological sense. The girls do not. In other words, the victims of this system do not even feel a few seconds of pleasure. And even worse, they don't seem to even care that they don't. A depressing yet self-evident read, not worth the money.
You know, the book would be very different if I were to write it today -- I over-intellectualized the motivations for anonymous sex (news flash: young adults have genitals and hormones!), I definitely came across as too conservative, I'm long past the emotional frenzy of adolescence, and I've come to realize that good fiction rarely has overt "messages" -- but I'm not sure that there's any pleasing unhinged critics like this.....
But if this lady believes that females never "enjoy their sexual encounters in the biological sense," she has clearly never met my girlfriend, who always enjoys "a few seconds of pleasure." Ha! Ha!
(Actually that's no longer true since I've vanquished my Traumatic Masturbatory Syndrome. Now it's a few minutes!)
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[10 Apr 2008|12:54pm] |
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I have a short post at Radar.
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| AIM conversation |
[25 Mar 2008|01:35pm] |
Friend (1:32:10 PM): i'm reading dumbocracy right now
Me (1:34:32 PM): if you catch typos, let me know -- it's not an insult, it's a favor
Friend (1:34:48 PM): lol... yeah... don't worry... you know how honest i am
Me (1:34:57 PM): some people think, oh it'll hurt the writer's feelings -- you know what hurts more? having a fucking tpo in a printed book
Friend (1:35:05 PM): of course
Me (1:35:06 PM): i misspelled typo
Me (1:35:07 PM): oh my god
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| My Future Epitaph |
[17 Mar 2008|02:47pm] |
"He has offended me by his coarseness and then overwhelmed me with his delicacy."
--Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer
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| A Beautiful Sight |
[13 Mar 2008|01:38pm] |
Coming in September....
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[12 Feb 2008|01:01pm] |
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At Jewcy I interview Te'DeVan Kurzweil, the Neal Cassady of our age.
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[20 Jan 2008|01:03am] |
I have a (completely unfunny) review of a pretty fascinating book at Discover.
In the original version I discussed why Catholic officials praised Copernicus and condemned Galileo (they felt the knowledge was only fit for the scientific community, not the public), but apparently that was cut.
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[17 Nov 2007|12:09pm] |
Friend: "Thanksgiving is going to suck."
Me: "Why?"
Friend: "My parents got divorced so I'll need to go to one meal and then leave for the other meal, and it's just going to remind me that I'm not thankful for anyth--"
Me: "That's amazing, dude!"
Friend: "Huh?"
Me: "That's seriously like the best deal in the world -- two dinners! I'm so totally jealous!"
Friend [long, offended silence]: "No, I think I would rather have a family...."
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[09 Nov 2007|11:35am] |
My interview with Matt Taibbi at Reason.
[Update: Taibbi would like you to know that he favors "regulation of industry" mostly when it comes to public health concerns (the environment, restaurant kitchen codes), and while he doesn't support federal job protections for homosexuals, he doesn't favor such protections for anyone else either.]
The editors cut the interview for length. Deleted Q&As ( here )
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[08 Oct 2007|11:40am] |
My new author photo:
Yep, it's amazing what Pepperidge Farm Double Chocolate Milanos do for a man's physique.... mighty amazing....
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on Amazon.