The Joy of Stats – Tablet Magazine

Where before we silently cursed the dumb coach in our living room while remaining unsure whether we were pissed because we were right or because we had had four beers, today we take to the Internet and find thousands of people who also think we are right, and some more who have done the math that demonstrates that we are right, and therefore we know.

The Joy of Stats – Tablet Magazine

School buses lined his block every morning, like vast tipped orange-juice cartons spilling out the human vitamin of youthful lunacy.

An excerpt from the story “The Dystopianist” in Jonathan Lethem’s very good book, Men and Cartoons. It’s worth seeking out even if you only read “The Spray”–amazing story.

Puberty was a bag of cement lashed to my ankle. At least conversationally. Everything I thought and said now had this burning undercurrent of “How’s this going to get me laid?” And wit can’t have an agenda.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly. Not recommended. But I have to say (spoiler coming), the final scene–where the lady opens the mystery box and accidentally self-immolates with nuclear material–was quite a shock, to say the least.