Why Funky Little Bookstores Matter

Love (or Something Very Nearly Like It)

Faith Is An Abstract Art...

30 Things I Love Right Now
1. Tom Waits (which is not new, of course, but Jay-sis he's the stuff, man: How can I be the him of literary arts? That's the question that I, if I'm worth my salt, will spend the rest o' me days figuring out) -- 2. People I've taught reaching for the brass ring (making demo CDs or accepting awards in swanky Manhattan eateries in front of the literati, getting text messages from agents, but also just sitting at the keyboard and grinding it out [which is still and always the real work], etc) -- 3. Abraham Lincoln (again: Jay-sis) -- 4. Projects: the aforementioned Self-Helpless then this one thing in the general vicinity of Mr. Lincoln, which I'm "reading on" now a

Update Update: Radio Silence
Hey there, hi there, ho there. It's me. your Humble Beitelblogger. Here's the deal: in the last week, I've traveled, which always necessitates a get-back-into-swing-o-things recalibration, plus!Here's the other deal: all this bloggery has actually inspired me to push forward with this here nonfiction book manuscript I've got going on. And I'm using the same, I don't know, nonfiction mojo or whatever for that thing as I usually do for this here blog. And there's only been so much of me to go around -- both for the last week but also in the next few months. So this is me forewarning you that the nonfiction thingy is gonna take precedence in the next bit of time here.Al

Update Update: Meeshigan
So, FYI, I'll be out of pocket here starting on Saturday. Headed up to Michigan to see some old friends. Well, you know, they're not old. They're younger than me, actually, by a little bit. But you know what I mean. Anyhoo, don't be said if there's no posts for a few days. Be back late Tuesday night. Meantime, here's some

Quick Question: Anderson Cooper?
In a new segment on Beitel-Blog, we'll (Royal We!) ask a rhetorical question, kind of spitting into the cyberspatial wind, as it were. It'll be of some great import about how we work and live and breathe on Planet Earth in the contemporary age. Thus! Here's Quick Question #1? Is Ander

FYI/411: Really Funny People + Stable Interpersonal Relationships = Oil + Water? Yeah, Pretty Much..
Because I'm too lazy to write anything about a certain talkshow host (folks in England call it a chatshow, which is kind of cool, right?) and his erstwhile gal Friday, here's what media critic Tom Shales has to say about it.