--SO, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WHEN DO YOU NEED TO KNOW IT?


...New music arrived the other day. Few things can compete with that.
In the mail there was new Dawes, Elbow, The Local Natives and Delta Spirit. New Bruce Springsteen came later. It's really good.

…I am reading Emily Petit's collection, "Goat in the Snow."
Her poems are spectacular. She's so clever. Sample:
"I look you in the face. Up on a wire it's hard to be anything other than awkward."
Just one more sample:
"It's not your birthday but I am giving you this candy bar and science. A flashlight in your mouth. You build a map in layers. Tiger stripes on your brain…"

…I'm trying Twitter. Did I tell you that?
For a while, I thought it was really silly. Some of it is, of course.
For a while, I think I was just afraid of it, not having any fun,pithy things to say.
I still don't have any of those things, but I'm sort of getting the hang of it, little by little, trying to find my Twitter voice (I think there is such a thing, just as I think there's a blogging voice.)
When I first signed up I had seven Followers and four of those were porn stars or someone posting a pretty, safe photo with a raunchy porn name and a link.
The porn industry is ubiquitious and insidious. I'm not a prude. Not hardly. But it's awfully snaky.

…Evidentially the Disney movie "John Carter" is going to lose $250 million, the worst performance in film history. "John Carter" received favorable ratings from just 51% of all critics.

On the other side, "The Hunger Games" had the third biggest opening ever--$155 M.

…I don't hate many things but I do detest the word "seemingly." It's a concotion for lazy writers. Do use that word. Together, let's abolish it.

…The new "Angry Birds Space" game was downloaded 10,000,000 times in just three days.
I was not one of those 10M.

…Yesterday a new poll was released showing a sharp rise from four months ago--53 to 68% in the percentage of people who believe we should no longer be in Afghanistan.
I am one of those 68%ers.

…I like these things today:

"You've got a special way of rising above the bullshit."

"It you don't have a dark side, it's not to late to make one."