p.s.  Hey.  So this very interesting post comes via a heretofore silent reader of the blog.  I hope you guys will give it your attention and comments and related war stories, and perhaps he'll enter these realms to answer any questions you have or fill in any blanks you might find.  In any case, many thanks again, Rene.  Me, I've come down with something of a cold since we last spoke.  It's not too bad yet, but it might drag my energy down and batter my attention span somewhat today.  Word to the wise.  **  Porcelain Skull, Cool.  Yeah, not just Warhol's photo booth photos.  I can hardly take my eyes off any of them.  I'm good-ish today, will that do?  **  Amir, Well, I say that sounds like a plan.  Btw, your new (yes?) mysterious 'Mechanically Separated' blog is full of very interesting things.  What's the story?  Or would that spoil it?  **  Jax, I can't think of a novel equivalent.  Maybe a certain kind of poetry could do a similar job.  Poetry's so free inside, or can be.  Yeah, the single-mindedness that confidence or faith can bring.  Much more important than the vague notion of talent.  Sounds like that does need to change for you.  So, how?  Practical solution?  I've never played those brain training/gauging games.  I'm so into illusion and imagery in video games.  I don't want to be rummaged, but unless I vaporize, I guess I'm doomed to some rummaging.  How do the dead do it?  **  Tonyoneill, If memory serves, yesterday's post started as a search for stuff about boys having duels, you know, like sword fights or OK Corral kind of shoot out things, which didn't pan out, but I found a few stabbing things of interest and took a detour, and voila.  No, I don't believe I've heard that Vega/Jourgensen record unless it was unknowingly.  So it's good?  Sure, a burn would be swell, or put it on imeem or something.  Thanks.  Any progress on the Horlsey thing, either his case or your piece?  **  David Ehrenstein, The downside is that a majority of French gays voted for Sarkozy, a strange and disturbing fact.  Jonathan 'Jerk' Capdeville told me that on Presidential election night he was walking home from a Socialist rally through Le Marais, and from almost every bar there was the sound of wild celebration and gay guys yelling. 'We won!' and etc.  I would like to hope that as conventional as mainstream American gays are, they're not going to overwhelmingly support McCain.  I've heard of 'Bloody Kids', but of course I haven't seen it.  You made me miss Filmex.  Man, I loved Filmex.  It lead me to so many of my favorite films and directors.  I think that theater complex in Century City where it was held has been torn down now, hasn't it?  Strange parallel there to Will's post.  **  Will Decker, Speak of the devil.  That is a sad story.  I was just reminiscing to/with DE about a missing (I think) theater, although the theater itself wasn't loveliness incarnate or anything.  It was giant, though, in a way new theaters aren't anymore.  I miss sitting in a gigantic theater with maybe four or five other audience members watching some great art film.  It made how unpopular those kinds of films were a kind of physical presence while you were watching them, and the melancholy was kind of nice.  **  Bernard, You have two readings coming up?  That's breaking news.  What are you going to read: poetry or something else?  The guy who wrote that 'Phantom Carriage' DVD review sounds like a musty brained protectionist.  But I'm not objective.  **  Shai Hulud, Wait, now you're backtracking?  No way, man, you gotta do it.  I need it.  I'm in one of my low inspiration periods, and I need it.  Okay?  Okay.  Yeah, I'm a longtime WWE watcher.  It's not erotic for me at all.  I like the way it uses narrative mostly.  I like the way the through lines are structured, and how unpredictable and at the same time totally predictable they are.  I like how the matches themselves are like the choruses in the songs.  I like the simplistic but fluid good and evil set up.  Lots of stuff.  One of my dream interview subjects is Vince McMahon.  I think he's a total genius.  My favorite wrestlers right now are Undertaker and Rey Mysterio.  Of all time: maybe George 'the Animal' Steele, Rowdy Roddy Piper, ... others.  'Most of these stabbing videos have hot boys in them': Ha ha, made you look. You put writing by you on your blog?  Cool, off I go as soon as I get the chance.  Wait, there's gay stuff?  Forget it.  **  Blendin, I've never seen 'The Piano Teacher'.  Isn't that weird?  I think it's 'cos I love the novel, and I'm afraid.  Wow, the title of that MoCA show is awful, but who cares, and it won't effect attendance, I guess.  Have you been to that new building/wing or whatever at LACMA?  Is it anything?  **  SYpHA_69, That Ministry album in question is a laugh riot. Great news about the Warhol project's revival, but, yeah, I'll keep my full excitement in check for a little while.  I mean I love roller coasters, but ... But a solid hip hip hooray for the time being.  **  Bs, I made it through the existential crisis in one piece.  I see your point.  Hey, I'm digging that 'For rent: bad vibes' thing, and 'Double Carl' is nice and spooky.  Kudos.  **  A Festering Gesture, Really nice characterization of Ballard's strengths.  Shit, he has cancer?  Like bad cancer?  Ugh.  On '120 Days of Sodom': Are you having trouble with how verbose Sade is?  The first time I read that novel, I let myself skip and/or skim a lot 'cos I was most interested in his depictions of the sex and violence and the quasi-family until organization of the men and their human belongings, and then I got more into the philosophizing and long stories on subsequent readings.  'Justine' is more straightforward and narrative.  It isn't broken up so much.  I prefer 'Juliette', but I think '120 Days' is the greatest one by far.  So that's my advice: let yourself skim when necessary the first time through.  And on reading the Klossowski or Beauvoir texts, I guess you could read them first if necessary, especially if you're having a lot of trouble reading, but getting to them afterwards might be the better route, if you can manage it.  **  Scunnard, Oh, you're one of those mentally ill people magnets.  I have a friend like that.  First they tend to stare at him for a long time, and then they tend to approach very cautiously and deferentially like he's their king or something.  But I've never witnessed anything quite as intense that vagina woman episode.  Good one.  **  Blair, Paris was warmish yesterday.  Now it's dead cold and wet again.  So you remember I want to do something here to celebrate your novel, right?  Don't forget.  It's true that Scott Heim and I now share the same publisher.  And Tony O'Neill too.  And Michael Chabon too, for Christ's sake.  And I think Edmund White, for goodness sake.  **  Dungan, I was kind of thinking and hoping those Beserker pieces were collecting into a single entity 'cos they're fucking great.  I saw 'Harvest of Shame' years ago, and I still remember it well its great power.  Astonishing that CBS generated it.  It would never get vetted today.  **  Tomkendall, I guess you get confidence by taking the risk of exposing your work to others and then believing in the opinions of the people who get it and appreciate it.  And by having writer peers you respect who have the same lack of confidence issues that you do.  And I would guess this writing program you'll soon be in will help a lot.  And guaranteed that we'll do our part around here.  **  Michael_Karo, I already saw and loved that 'autographed books' vid.  Get an Apple.  Now's your chance.  **  Chris, I'll have to check out your father potential in person before I can confidently encourage or discourage you.  For now, I meekly discourage you.  Why?  I don't know.  I got really lucky with Cody.  That's for sure.  'Cum on me' day?  Fuck, no.  Anyway, I thought you guys were already cumming on me every day.  Are you saying that wasn't cum?  Then what the hell was it?  It sure tasted liked cum.  I think Atheist is in San Francisco.  (Now that was a nice segue.)  **  Steevee, Man, those lyrics you wrote are hilarious and great.  Maybe you can be the Bernie Taupin of rap, but much better of course.  I hope there'll be a couple of mp3s out there somewhere at the appropriate time so we can hear the songs.  Nice.  **  Squeaky, Yeah, but in most of the clips, it was the sound of those dramatic, cracking, giggle-stifling young killers' and victims' voices that took the edge off.  So you were super brave without knowing it.  Or something.  (My head cold might be making me confusing.)  Wow, I guessed the writer?  That's trippy.  What were the odds?  Maybe I'm psychic, or maybe you are.  I think it's probably you.  **  Matt, Rodeos are that expensive?  I thought they were 'blue collar' entertainment.  Shows you what I know.  Or maybe it's the champagne of 'blue collar' entertainment.  Was it a gay rodeo?  Because I bet gay rodeos are expensive 'cos gay = expensive.  I saw a pig race at a county fair once,  I bet that doesn't count. On the song, yep, I listened to it.  I have to admit it's pretty awesome.  And I thought your analysis was fascinating in relationship to it.  I don't think it's changed my life yet.  Well, I have a cold now.  Maybe it gave me a cold.  Anyway, I'm gonna spin it again.  You rule.  **  5stringsA, You're so complicated.  Me too.   High five.  There's a new video on xtube of a guy fucking another guy with a power drill.  It's not as exciting as it sounds.  You know I got hit on the head with an axe.  I can't recommend it.  I wonder if it was sexy.  It wasn't to me.  **  Stan_cz, 'Marienbad', yum.  And of course the late, great Robbe-Grillet had no small part in its greatness.  There's a big event being planned here in Paris to honor Robbe-Grillet.  They're gonna show lots of rare things by him.  And younger artists and writers are going to do things to pay tribute to him.  I think I'm one of them even though I'm not young, just younger than R-G.  But I'm excited.  And I'm always excited to feel your excitement.  **  Craig, Well, that's fantastic about the summer camp gig for you.  I think it sounds perfect, and I just know you'll do really well and that it'll be a great thing for you too.  Very nice news.  Listen, there are few things more boring than watching friends play videogames.  And being a gamer myself, the way playing consumes one can turn one inadvertently rude and distant to others in the vicinity.  I'm really glad you like the poems, obviously.  That's very kind.  **  Misanthrope, More like Boy Stabs (Hot) World.  Your mom is such a trip.  I have to meet her one of these days.  She and I can light each other's cigarettes.  **  Alistair McCartney, Good, good, do get that stuff to me when you can.  I used to be all about white chocolate, but now I'm all about the darkest chocolate possible.  In fact, I just a few moments ago bit off the head of a very dark chocolate squirrel I bought at a post-Easter fire sale.  He's holding a big chunk of cheese that's made out of ... you guessed it ... white chocolate that I will chew and swallow in your honor just a little later on today.  **  JW Veldhoen, Is that true about the replica Lascaux cave?  I didn't know that.  Now I'm dying to go.  It has entered my Disney-poisoned sense of fun and, simultaneously, my French literature-poisoned sense of style.  Revolution begins at home?  Remember when they used to say it wouldn't be televised?    **  D. Walls, Yeah, Cody is the fucking best.  **  Winter Rates, Nice about your nephew.  I think the uncle-nephew relationship is really important.  Or I mean it can be.  My uncle was a painter -- a really bad one, but I didn't know that until I was older -- and he couldn't stand me, but I got changed by him anyway.  New show already in the cue for us time difference-challenged types?  Dude!  Oh, how's the new job treating you, btw?  You haven't said much about it.  **  Jeff, Condolences on the job hunting thing.  I'll hope for a miracle.  Oh, that poem inspired by the Lecomte thing, interesting, yes, it's still in progress.  I'm really, really slow with poems.  I'm hoping it'll work and that I can put it in the expanded version of 'The Weaklings'.  Cool of you to remember that.  **  Slatted Light, Hey, man, I've missed you a lot, you know.  Emphysema, yikes.  But you said you only have a touch of it, yeah?  Won't antibiotics zap it away?  Maybe I don't know much about it.  I do have friends who've had or maybe always have it lurking in them, and one of them plays tennis all the time and stuff.  Is it a permanent condition?  Man. I'm sorry, no matter what.  That is a really nice line/idea from that horror story.  Hm, interesting.  Reading some horror like a thing I should do too.  Yeah, Cody's thing was beautiful.  I hope you get to read his fiction sometime.  He's super good.  Okay, man, so glad to see you.  **  So please give your attention to the post of our previously invisible friend.  I'm going to take a chance that my cold won't worsen and meet up with a friend now to see the Louise Bourgeois retrospective at the Pompidou and maybe the Gregor Schneider installation at Maison Rouge and maybe whatever else.  I'll count on seeing you tomorrow.