July 10, 2004

I launched a Cafepress store for The Blog of Death a couple weeks ago. The Eternal Sleep Boutique sells promotional coffee mugs, T-shirts and postcards featuring death-related quotes and gothic imagery.

Looking for other morbid delights? Then check out Pushin Daisies, a mortuary novelty shop, and Underground Humor, a store specializing in books, videos, caskets and more!

People in Australia have placed a price on happiness: A$200. Hand over that amount to the Happiness Institute, and receive a one-hour lesson in how to feel great.

Personally, I'd rather fork over $7.95 for this book and make myself happy.

July 8, 2004

That's a major appliance, that's not a name! And yet, according to CNN, Barbie is dating him.

"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell."
--Joan Crawford

July 7, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I comment on the reading habits of American adults.

* Jean de La Fontaine - 7/8/1621
* Elizabeth Kubler-Ross - 7/8/1926
* Oliver Sacks - 7/8/1933
* Anna Quindlen - 7/8/1953
* Michael Andrew LaRocca - 7/8/63
* Barbara Cartland - 7/9/1901
* Marcel Proust - 7/10/1871
* Alice Munro - 7/10/31
* E.B. White - 7/11/1899
* Harold Bloom - 7/11/30
* Henry David Thoreau - 7/12/1817
* Oscar Hammerstein II - 7/12/1895
* Pablo Neruda - 7/12/1904
* Donald Westlake - 7/12/33
* Isaac Bashevis Singer - 7/14/1904
* Woody Guthrie - 7/14/1912

July 6, 2004

The first rule of journalism is: Get it first and get it right.

The Chicago Daily Tribune learned this lesson the hard way in 1948 when it ran the now-famous Dewey Defeats Truman banner headline above an utterly incorrect story.

The New York Post apparently missed a history lesson.

This morning, the Manhattan tab published a front page article naming Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) as Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's pick for vice president.

As the rest of the media reported today, Kerry actually selected Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as his running mate.

Ask the Editors is a useful Weblog offering a conversation between the editors of The Spokesman-Review and the reading public. Even if you don't live in Spokane, Wash., this site provides media consumers with an inside look into how editorial decisions are made at a daily newspaper.
 

July 5, 2004

Firefighters in Lancaster, Tex., recently learned a lesson in kitchen safety. While answering a fire call, the fellas accidentally left a pot of potatoes cooking on the stove. By the time they returned, the station's kitchen and living area were ablaze.

The fire caused about $125,000 in damages.

Two of my short stories, "Must Sign for Delivery" and "The Chair Affair," and two interviews with moi have been published in the book, "SmokeLong Annual: 74 Stories From The Year's Best Writers." If you have an interest in flash fiction (i.e., stories that are short enough to read while smoking a single cigarette), pick up a copy of this fantastic paperback.

Past Afterthoughts