How Much Is Enough And How Do You Know?
Last week I had a thrilling realization while dusting my bookcase: I have enough free entertainment to last me until the end of the year. In fact, between the subscriptions to audible and HBO go I got as wedding gifts, PBS.com, and my stack of actual books I’ve collected for pleasure reading since January, I [...]
How To Get $1000 In Designer Shoes For Free. Well, Okay. $1.23 With Tax.
I was dropping off clothes today at my favorite consignment store when I noticed a rack of designer shoes that had been discounted to $2 per pair. I had $14 in trade credit, so I could potentially “buy” seven pairs of shoes for $1.23 in sales tax. All of the $2.00 shoes are either brand [...]
Hipster On Hipster Crime Is So Uncool
Yesterday I went to a breakfast meeting in Silverlake, which is like the Brooklyn of Los Angeles. When I returned to my car, that I’d parked on a busy side street, I discovered that someone had stolen the lens of one of my headlights and a piece of molding off my twenty year-old Volvo. When [...]
Black Cherry Tomatoes From The Poisoner’s (Victory) Garden
The star of my kitchen garden are the very disappointingly named Indigo Rose cherry tomatoes that look like fairy tale-worthy poisonous berries. This tomato variety was developed by researchers at Oregon State University by crossing several varieties of dark purple tomatoes. The dark skin of these tomatoes are extra high in antioxidants and vitamin C, [...]
A Book Scout’s Argument Against E-Readers
I work as a book scout. While getting the latest China Mieville a year earlier than everyone else never fails to thrill me, reading books on a computer screen every day makes me long for the printed page. Alas, 90% of the books that I read for work come in the form of emailed manuscripts. [...]
Worth It! Brodart Book Jacket Covers
My favorite cousin, who is a librarian, just sent me a 20 yard roll of Brodart as a wedding gift. This gift triggers the tweaker center of my brain in so many ways it’s not even funny. I don’t know how I’ve lived so long without owning this product. All good library patrons have an [...]
A Dinky Manor Mystery: The Case of the Missing Socks
I bought two pairs of these socks while I was in Italy last year. I bought one set for myself and a second, matching set as a Christmas gift for my best friend, so we could pretend like we are part of some sort of Secret Fraternal Order that involves sock wearing. When Christmas rolled [...]
