A podcast about books, art & life — not necessarily in that order
I’m the guy who seems to hold white people to higher standards of service than non-white people. At least when it comes to coffee.
If I get shitty service from a Starbucks (generally staffed by white people), I avoid returning to it for a long time. If I get shitty service at a Dunkin Donuts (generally staffed by Indians, Pakistanis, or Latinos), I cut them some slack and figure they’ll be better next time.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything of note. Here’s a list of reasons for that, but I’m not sure which ones have the most weight:
I know that if I just get back to writing, it’ll alleviate a lot of the symptoms, but I just can’t do it. I’m afraid I sound like a DTC ad for an antipsychotic med.
Maybe I should go back to posting those What It Is updates every week, but I came to resent the imposition of those, too, just like all the other regular features I tried to write.
I often find myself singing John Entwistle’s song, 905: “All I know is what I need to know / Everything I do’s been done before / Every sentence in my head / Someone else has said / At each end of my life is an open door.”
It’s never a good sign for an adult to find life-parallels in any song by The Who. I’m gonna try and cheer myself up with some Sam Cooke.
Happy birthday, my love!
Here’s your monthly dose of Unrequired Reading, dear readers who are too lazy or otherwise uninclined to follow my twitter feed at twitter.com/groth18
My dogs would get so confused on these awesome staircases.
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Nothing about how Craigslist enables Arab protestors and revolutionaries to get laid? #noitdoesnt
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Great pix from Sept. shuttle trip in honor of my production manager, who bailed on our current ish to watch the launch.
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Simon Schama on Helen Mirren. Well, not ON Helen Mirren, but you know. #IneverdidseethatMazurskyversionoftheTempest
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Sadly, I’m sure there’s a novel/screenplay about a romance between a mope and a fluffer.
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So it’s better to shoot at civilian protestors with 7.62s, not .50s?
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“Exotic Superfluid Found in Ultra-Dense Stellar Corpse”: the title of the new Orb record? #littlefluffytweets
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Glad to find out street heroin and my G&Ts both have quinine: always important to stave off malaria. #themoreyouknow
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I’d be afraid of the NJ version of this #50moststylishnewyorkers list.
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Gator and the Berra. #NYY #louisianalightning
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Don’t bet against the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken. #starbucksduanereadeorcupcakes
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Profile of Al Goldstein: the (not-)new pornographer.
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Greatest. Memo. Ever. #weneedtosolvepakistanbeforelunch
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@simondoonan: not exactly a fan of Fashion Week (but hilarious). http://slate.me/gLK6Jz #nyfw
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There really should be a Yinka Dare award, too. #nbaantiawards
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Great Michael Caine interview. Get Carter was #badass
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“Alcoholic hospice”? I used to joke about drinking with careerist determination, but wow.
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Ahoy-ahoy! #thatisall
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If only Bill Murray had missed out on The Man Who Knew Too Little, too… http://bit.ly/fCEPi9 #billmurray #castingdirectorofbabel
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To Mr. & Mrs. Ball, a son: Curve. #intheloop #greatestmovieever
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That’s it! No Ferrari for me! #okayidriveasubaru
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KenJen on #Watson: very smart, very fast, speaks in an uneven monotone, and has never known the touch of a woman.
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Michael Lewis (satirically) on who’s to blame for the financial crisis: #blamecanada?
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It’d be funnier if the greys just took off like rockets: #judginggreyhounds
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Did NYC consult @dandrezner for the zombie invasion section? #apocalypselaw #escapefromnewyork
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West Egg. 8-Bit. Great Gatsby video game. #gatsbyfornes
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Great piece by Adam Kirsch on literary criticism. Go read it! #notbookreviews
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Sartoria Rossi: or is it Satori Rossi? #beitalian #iwishicoulddressthiswell
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@nealstephenson on the development of the Rocket #ficktnichtmitderRaketemensch! #youdroppedthebombonme
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Valentine’s Day special! Here are the best NYC restaurants in which to stage a breakup! #noromance
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Fun story of SEO abuse on Google. #jcpenney #seohack
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Not on the menu @ Veselka: Ron Rosenbaum on cannibalism in the Ukraine c.1932-3 #noendtoevil #ieatcannibals
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Schizo NYC from @jeremoss: Two-Face, Composite Superman, or Ultra The Multi-Alien? #splitcity #uglierbytheday
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“Yoga in bed” is a euphemism, right? #clydefrazier #whatrhymeswithtantric
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Ouroussoff fluffery on new Gehry bldg. Was this actually written by a computer using random samples of O’s prose?
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Important lesson – never marry a chemist: #whenxiaoyemetthallium
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I’d wear Jesse Eisenberg’s costuming from Social Network before I’d be caught dead in Sorkin’s sack suit #badfashion
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Richie Rich: explosion on the runway. http://bit.ly/gyAz2R #nyfw
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My old man swears he once reached a polar research base with his HAM setup: #wb2zvs
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Not quite as implausible as Jews In Space, but it’s close: Jews In Syria! (neat story, trust me) http://bit.ly/gkOntd
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Neat @nicknotned (Nick Denton) Atlantic Wire interview about his news consumption habits.
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Covering J.G. Ballard #jgballard
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Real question is: Can a novel be “philosophical” without being dreadfully dull? #doubtit
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Metropolitan or Gossip Girl? or … #whitstillman #gossipgirl (I’m a Metropolitan man)
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Queenstown, where I heard the voice of God (also, where I bungee-jumped) http://nyti.ms/dSZiHx
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Greatest. Band name. Ever. #drteethandtheelectricmayhem
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Clive James on roman policier: #okaytheyrecrimenovels
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The honey badger doesn’t give a shit: #randall
Honey badger remains b-a-d-a-s-s (I can’t even survive drinking half a 40 of King Cobra). #honeybadger
Look! I can hold a baby without it exploding! From last weekend’s visit to St. Louis to see my newborn niece Orli:
My Google Calendar just reminded me that today marks the 8th anniversary of Virtual Memories! For you long-time readers, many thanks for sticking around all these years!
Now congratulate me for perseverance in the face of irrelevance and/or obsolescence! Or buy me something!
(Oh, and check out my new book-oriented Tumblr blog, Montaigne’s Library, somedarntime!)
At New Year’s, I decided to call an end to the weekly Unrequired Reading posts, figuring that it was easier for people to just follow my Twitter feed (twitter.com/groth18) and/or Facebook posts. But at that party I attended a few weeks ago, two other old acquaintances told me that they enjoyed this feature and were kinda bummed that I’d decided to stop posting it.
So I’ve decided to compromise: Every month (or thereabouts), I’ll post a mega-Unrequired Reading for those of you too goshdarned lazy to just add me to their Twitter feeds! Enjoy! (yes, I left the hashtags in so you’d have some idea of what the posts are about.)
Continue reading “Unrequired Reading: The Return!”
I’m the guy who just became an uncle all over again.
Mazel tov, my family!
I’m the guy who did a little happy dance a few months ago when he found out that a new Lorenzo Mattotti book
So, I’m the guy who still does little happy dances.
Oh, wait. It’s just an ape in a UK zoo who’s decided to walk erect. My bad.