No One Wants to Be Defeated
August 30, 2002

I am howling. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-MTV-Awards-Jackson.html I wondered why nobody mentioned the whole "Artist of the Millennium" thing.... more

Declares Guerre Nucleaire
August 30, 2002

Okay so I cheated. I couldn't bear spending the night in my car, so I borrowed some money from my folks and booked a room at the Travelodge on West Broad Street. I needed a plug and a coffee machine... more

You Got a Purty Mouth (Appalachians)
August 29, 2002

It's hard to spend time in Appalachia without thinking of Ned Beatty. Poor Ned Beatty, who in his career and (according to Burt Reynolds, who seemed genuinely choked up about it when he was interviewed by E!) in his life,... more

Happy Birthday to Me (Appalachians)
August 27, 2002

I like traveling on my birthday. It keeps the blues away; it makes me feel as though I'm accomplishing something. Last year I was in Cusco, Peru; the year before that, I flew with my family to Ireland. This year... more

Goodbye New York
August 26, 2002

in which I bid goodbye to, among other things, New York Goodbye New York. We had a good run. Goodbye Ada and Neal. Goodbye Stephanie. Goodbye Lisa and Craig and the Tozzi family. Goodbye Bryan and Jolene. I slept on... more

Every Step You Take (New York City)
August 23, 2002

I spent yesterday following people around New York. It's for a story, but like so many of my story ideas, it's just an excuse to be weird. The concept was this: One morning, track someone to their destination. At that... more

All That I Have Left Behind
August 16, 2002

Toothbrush and toothpaste (Davis Mountains) Razor (Santa Fe, New Mexico) Blue windbreaker (Los Angeles, California) Lonely Planet Guide to the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Oregon) Infusium Deep Conditioning for Damaged or Color-Treated Hair (Kalamazoo, Michigan) Fujitsu laptop computer (Ottawa, Canada) Address... more

Dark. Darkest. Darko!
August 15, 2002

Like me, most of my girlfriends spent a lot of their childhood reading. We spent hours in the library or sprawled on our beds, not watching the hours slip past. My girlfriends read books like the Narnia Chronicles and A... more

Brought to You by Mike Gentry
August 14, 2002

Last summer, before I left for South America, I visited some college friends in Washington DC. There's Tara, my old roommate, the Texas correspondent for Scripps-Howard newspapers. There's David, my smoking-till-sunrise buddy, at The Washington Post. And there is Mike... more

Memories of 34 Postcards
August 13, 2002

I like experiments. Like when that New York Times Magazine article ran about how everyone could lose a zillion pounds if they just ate fat and gristle, I spent a week eating eggs and bacon and cheese. I'd been badmouthing... more

It's 3:30am. Do You Know Where Your Car Is? (New York City)
August 09, 2002

My car is in Brooklyn. It has been hovering around the Ninth and Berry intersection of Williamsburg for almost three weeks now. When I left Ada and Neal's to move to the Upper West Side, it seemed like the easiest... more

Long-Distance Dedication (New York City)
August 08, 2002

Dear Kasey, I was in a bar on the lower East side with my friends. We were having a blast, and that's when it happened. I fell in love. It was the man singing on the jukebox; I don't think... more

Has It Been That Long?
August 07, 2002

Dear Classmates.com, So my high school reunion is this fall. Can you believe it's been 10 years? I know I can't, Classmates.com. But so anyway, here is the deal. My friend Stephanie and I were on your flagship reunion website... more

Hi, I'm Nervous, But You Can Call Me Rusty (New York City)
August 06, 2002

1. I have a story today on The Morning News. It's about postcards, and it's silly. Please read. 2. For those of you in the New York area: I will be reading Wednesday night at KGB bar as part of... more

A Total Pizza Knockout (New York City)
August 05, 2002

Setting: Nick's Pizza Joint, 77th and Broadway. This is yesterday. "Umm. I'll have a slice of pepperoni." "$3.20," says the guy behind the counter. I like to think he's Nick. Damn. "I've only got three bucks," I tell Nick, laying... more

Also, She Works With Ice-T (New York City)
August 02, 2002

My friend Stephanie has a regular role on the television show Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit. It's called "SVU" only we call it "SUV" because it seemed funny at the time and I don't know about her, but now... more

The List, Part 1. New York City.
August 01, 2002

Favorite Store Name That Could Also Be the Title of My Autobiography Funny Cry Happy Strangest Casting in a Broadway Musical John Stamos in Cabaret (Guess that will be a FULL HOUSE. Ba-da-BOOM!) Free Shows in Central Park This Week... more