R.I.P New Economy:

As if we need any more indications that the "New Economy" is dead, it seems that sales of business books are way down and that anything having to do with dot com failure is "essentially unsellable."

R.I.P George Harrison:

Good night George Harrison. I'll miss you.

To be 'Found'...

Just got off the phone with Davy Rothbart, the impressario behind Found Magazine, a independently produced journal of "Found Stuff." My friend Rodes put us in touch. Davy has done stories for "This American Life" and his mag has been featured in lots of national publications. While in a week moment I'm probably envious of his press coverage, he's a really nice guy who grew up in Ann Arbor like me. We had lots to discuss and I'm going to try to help him out where I can.

Odd Todd:

Jeez, if only I had handled unemployment this way, I would have saved myself 6 months of temp agencies and working at the neighborhood video store!

AL Daily back!

I was wrong. ALDaily is back. Whooppeee!

The Business of Business Plans:

So I'm over at Quicken.com, trying to learn something about writing a business plan since Central Booking's is in desperate need of an overhaul. I'm marching through the Biz Plan Wizard, which will apparently send me appropriate resources and sample plans based on my type of business. When I indicated that CB is an "Internet Only" business and click "Continue", I get this...

We are experiencing technical difficulties with our Web site. Please try back later.

A warning, perhaps?

R.I.P Lingua Franca...

Lingua Franca magazine closed after losing its biggest funder last month. Looks like it took Arts & Letters Daily with it. *Sigh*

Why Hall and Oates are really black...

From my friend Jenn on evidence that Hall and Oates were trying hard to be black: "That's why Oates had that Lionel Richie hair."

Pogo Sticking:

There's precious little on the web about the joys of pogo-sticking and I for one think that's a shame. I recently purchased a pogo stick because...well...I don't know why. But $70 later it arrived and after work, I've been taking to the sidewalk in front of my building and trying to bounce in succession. I'm up to 11 bounces, which kinda sucks. But I'm working on it.

Lessons of New York City:

A Few Things I Learned in New York City

• Nan Talese and Sean McDonald are both excellent publishers and very nice people.


• Lower Manhattan feels like Europe. The Upper East Side feels like downtown Dallas.


• Geoaching is alive and well in Manhattan. And not just in Central Park.


• Drip is still the coolest coffee shop in the whole wide universe.


• I didn't feel right visiting Ground Zero.


• Central Booking will survive in my absence.


• This year is almost over.


• Old friends are the best kind.


• A successful trip means you were ready to leave but are really happy to come home.