i am doing two readings in the next seven days (and going to paris in between) and was blogged about in a "fantasy" conversation on htmlgiant

---

reading #1

wed 5.20.09 "i had it bad" reading series

featuring my roommate ben blum, lisa locascio, lucrecia zappi, and me

8pm, happy ending, nyc

---

reading #2

tue 5.26.09 elimae: a reading

featuring Shya Scanlon; my Gigantic co-editors Lincoln Michel and Rozalia Jovanovic; my friends Kimberly King Parsons, Justin Taylor, Nicolle Elizabeth, Tao Lin, Todd Zuniga, Sasha Graybosch and Dennis DiClaudio; other great writers Nick Antosca, John Madera, Timmy Waldron, Forrest Roth, Terese Svoboda, Barry Graham, Dawn Raffel, Eric Nusbaum; me, and possibly

7pm, kgb bar, nyc

---

also, i ate at peter luger's last night and am playing on the new yorker softball team this summer.

---

UPDATE #1 (5/19/09, a little later):

make that two readings, one steak, softball, and ONE COMPED ROUND-TRIP TICKET TO PARIS, MAKING A DELIVERY OF INTERNATIONAL PROPORTIONS FOR WORK.

if you know any awesome paris friends you think i should meet, please let me know, as i would love to meet them.

---

UPDATE #2 (5/19/09, a little later than later):

jimmy chen blogged about me, tao lin, and ha jin in a "fantasy" gchat situation on htmlgiant.

An excerpt:

Jimmy: ha jin's in the background rubbing one out
me: had bacon, nachos, elk or something, iced tea, and breast milk for dinner
am i going to die
6:32 PM Jimmy: that's not vegan, and yes we all eventually die

me in elimae, part 2

i am in the january issue of the great and powerful electronic literary magazine elimae. the title of the story they published is "untitled". it is short.

full table of contents for the jaunary issue here. also published among others in this issue is rick moody. i can now say, at parties, "i have been published among others with rick moody."

UPDATE (1/30/09): this post reminded of this great story by rick moody, entitled "boys".

Synecdoche New York, Down By Law, Lincoln Michel, me in elimae

Been watching movies, which is unusual for me. Some of my viewings this week:

-Synecdoche, New York by Charlie Kaufman. Was moved to tears despite knowing it was a flawed movie. Philip Seymour Hoffman blubbering and general sadsackness is amazing to behold -- there came a certain point that I wanted to cry every time he said anything. I felt a little stupid for this. I don't know what came over me. I blame him for it. It's your fault, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Thank you, Philip Seymour Hoffman. He should win something. I would award him something had I something with which to award. Here is a link to a really good profile I read on Philip Seymour Hoffman. My favorite part is when he says he has "a hard time having fun."

-Down By Law by Jim Jarmusch. Roberto Begnini is fucking genius. Waits and Lurie are amazing too, but it's Begnini who sort of steals the show. The dancing scene at the end is on par with the singing scene in Annie Hall. Beautiful, human, and perfect. I want to fucking live in that scene, to hold them in my arms, to cook them something on the stove and serve it to them and watch them eat until everyone is sleepy and full.

-Speaking of movies, my good friend Lincoln Michel has a funny piece up at Yankee Pot Roast. He has a warped and wonderful mind, that Lincoln does.



-On a personal note, I received word that an untitled piece of mine has been accepted for publication in the next issue of elimae, due up January 15. I don't want to make a big deal of it, but it's sort of the first piece of fiction I've ever had published (save for the undergraduate lit journal I had a story in forever ago and even then I knew the people doing it). Anyways, check it out when it's there. I'll post something on it again, I'm sure.


Since 2007. 13 rejections*. 6 pending responses. 1 acceptance.

*This is excluding ones I don't remember the dates for or ones I don't remember the pieces for. 7-10 more rejections at least.

Mad Rad, Caribou, elimae, Sebadoh

Stuff I like:

-Seattle hip-hoppers Mad Rad are sick, as is their 2008 debut White Gold. Sick beats, sick flows -- they're even sick at house-guesting (they crashed on my roommate's and my couch and floor when they were in town and were very gracious). The Mad Rad crew manage to fuse old-school Dre, Gnarls Barkley, and skinny jeans into an unironic and original sound that never slips into "white people rapping".

-Canadian psych-rockers Caribou. Both their most recent album 2007's Andorra and 2006's Up in Flames are full of driving, luscious, beautiful, beautiful music.



-online lit journal, elimae. Clean, gorgeous writing and prose. And they actually respond to your submissions within a reasonable amount of time ("within 72 hours"). The name comes from "electronic literary magazine".

-Sebadoh III. Lo-fi, seminal indie rock. And authors of these lines of genius:

No more homosexual hassles
Life among the grown-ups is in full swing