Spam gets better and better, but there is usually one little clue that unravels the whole ploy.

http://www.mnartists.org/home.do

It’s a beautiful late Summer day here in Western Wisconsin. I have a to do list about two yards long. I have a couple of great motorcycles and live on the edge of the great driving roads around here. I have a book that needs just a few days’ work and it’s done.
However, I’m skulking [...]

I should put this on my business card (if I had one.)
Sari is a Hungarian name. There’s an accent over the a, which I use only to remind people there is a silent h.
It rhymes with “sorry,” or “calamari.”
It’s SHAR-ree. And every Hungarian word is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, so it’s [...]

“Armed with shovels, a crowbar and a box of condoms”
Yeah, it involves Wisconsin and yeah, it involves sex and corpses. How’d you like to be the one who formed that sentence?

Looks like I might actually make it to one of Marya’s readings for her latest memoir about bipolar disorder. Sure hope I’m in a good mood.
Thursday, May 29 7:30 at Common Good Bookstore

Just as there are people who arrange travel and closet space, there should be agents for job-seekers. Headhunters are probably not very popular right now since the job market is so tight. Recruiting and HR are hot right now. At my last (and first) interview last week, I met with two people and was competing [...]

Is it me or has the New Yorker changed the default spelling of “vendor” to “vender,” and “ensure” to “insure?”
And I believe it’s official: “narrative trajectory” (or “arc”) replaced “limn” and now “conceit” reigns supreme in the literati lexicon of late.
You’re more than welcome.

The Chevy ads with the corporate Pied Piper leading the children around in a field to show them a car? First of all, a white car does not mean a clean car. Secondly, using children to make your product look bigger, well, there’s a joke out there that’s just as tasteless.
And Chevy?
I’m not a child.

Why do right-wing “babes” always look so tranny?
Remember when everyone was touting “bipartisanship” a few years ago? Have you ever seen things more divided? How can bipartisanship be achieved without compromise when negotiation is considered unpatriotic? (see John McCain)
Since when do newscasters have opinions? Is MinnPost the antidote to branded news outlets? There’s a [...]

I’m not sure I’m qualified to call Max Becherer a friend anymore than I call anyone who I’ve met, admired and remembered as a friend, but today the New York Times published a fine and fitting five-year remembrance of the war and the death in Iraq. I was honored to meet Max when John and [...]

My sister-in-law Kelly made a huge mistake a while back. She posted a question on LinkedIn or Facebook.
“What did you do before it became popular?”
I’ve been plagued by this question ever since. I have been an early adopter for a long time. Growing old means seeing your adoptees grow up, make friends, earn money and [...]

Marya Hornbacher, the author of the horror story memoir, “Wasted,” will be touring for the release of her third book, “Madness: A Bipolar Life” (Houghton Mifflin). These are the tentative dates, but I’ll be there for the Minneapolis event (depending on the mood, of course.) Watch for updates, but I’ll be sending out notices to [...]

…only morons will be rich, armed and own wildcats.

Just think of all the legal hot potatoes in this guy’s stew:

Malpractice suits
Exotic pets
Gun ownership (by an ex-con)

Not to mention the style demerits:

Sharpie beard
Teadrop tattoos (double penalty for cliche + easy ID branding)

My story about big cat owners is out online today and in print on Monday.
I’m going to get eviscerated from both sides on this one. I hope my next assignment is about the deliciousness of cupcakes.

I always talk too much, write too much, and research too much. Here’s a an early draft of a piece published in The Rake, just for fun.
Super Shammy
The blonde girls handing out the plastic bags inside the door of the “25th Annual Cycle World International Motorcycle Show” are wearing tight, Star Trek-like green and black [...]

What is it about a deadline that makes me complete everything else I need to do?
Here’s a draft version of a story I wrote after visiting a motorcycle show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I was busy exploring Google Docs and Spreadsheets and apparently Google bought Writely, a site I once used for posting and [...]

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 9:03 AM
Topic: New Yorker Customer Service Questions
I’m not sure who to contact about my question, but I appreciate any guidance you can give me.
My problem is with the DVD set I ordered soon after it’s initial release.
I paid $99 for it and didn’t use it as much as I would have [...]

Never earn your own nickname?
Did you miss your chance by skipping out on the fraternity experience? Forget to pass out at a party and wake-up with a mysterious new appellation? Didn’t play sports or have parents who were fun-loving clowns?
Well, guess what.
You can have your own nickname right now. That’s right, just like buying [...]

I was reading about photo usage on Flickr and found a discussion about offensive images, specifically ones of corpses in Iraq. The blogger who’d posted the pictures had a link to this woman’s blog. It’s wonderful and sickening. I think we’re seeding a holocaust.
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Someone sent this to me. I don’t know her blog name, but if I did, I’d list it here.
As she pointed out, note the date.
Yes, I know, I KNOW, but I’m just trying to save you, dear reader, a few clicks. If I go to copyright infringement jail, please send Newports.
AND! Just one more thing… [...]

For those keeping track, the book is currently 73,066 words. Thank you.

Fucking a rock star is only fun if people know about it but the only thing skankier than fucking a rock star is talking about it.
Okay, this is a very simple question. I’ve been thinking about it for a year or so and still can’t come up with a good solution.
Is it necessary to include [...]

Oh boy, spring fever! I might have posted this before, but I was looking at Ducatis this weekend and I like torturing myself. I love this guy’s writing.
From the LA times
Ducati’s 999R, a hyper-fast race bike for the street, has designs on your soul.
By Dan Neil
If you enjoy the wide-open freedom of a motorcycle, [...]