DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Three unrelated bits of music trivia that combine to make me irrationally happy:

• Dream Theater is in the studio, recording a new album
• RUSH is in the studio, recording a new album
• Tim Alexander (Primus, Attention Deficit) has joined the Blue Man Group

Now, if only pasta grew on trees…

A feel-good fable for everyone stuck in a dead-end job, relationship, or life, Tarloff’s book is brilliant, hilarious, and wholly satisfying.

Ezra Gordon’s academic career is in the toilet; to break out of his funk he visits an old college friend on a whim. The friend, it turns out, is a wealthy publisher of pornography, living a life that’s a bachelor’s dream. To help his old pal break out of his writer’s block, Isaac offers Ezra a cash advance toward a “dirty book” manuscript. Ezra accepts the offer, pens a bestseller under a psuedonym, and then his life really begins to twist.

I had a hard time putting this book down. After a number of dime-a-dozen thrillers I found this to be a refreshing blast of intelligent prose, with insightful characters and painfully funny situations.

Also: sex scenes!

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (hardback)

The New New Thing is one dozens of books that tell the story of Silicon Valley, the Web, and the rise of the dot-coms — but it’s one of the two or three that are worth reading. (Another is Po Bronson’s Nudist on the Late Shift.)

Michael Lewis spent months with Jim Clark (founder of SGI, Netscape, Healtheon, myCFO) and was treated to a view of Silicon Valley business that few people get to see. Lewis tells Clark’s story, and it is surreal.

Clark may not be entirely human. It’s not just that he’s smarter or more driven than the next guy… he is that, but more importantly, he is simply different. Lewis reveals that Clark has, effectively, no past, and possibly no present, for his interest and attention are always on the future — the next thing out there, the “new new” thing. He lives in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction, always wanting, and doing whatever it takes to get, something better. It’s fascinating, and Lewis’ storytelling makes it a joy to read.

This book is great. Even if you’re totally burned out on dot-com/dot-bomb news, if you have any interest in the Gold Rush days of the Internet, you should read this book.

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (hardback)
• Amazon (paperback)

Jamie Zawinski reveals one of the unforseen risks of running a nightclub in San Francisco.