Justine Called on Christmas Day to Say She Was Thinking of Killing Herself. I said, "We're in the Middle of Opening Presents, Justine. Could You Possibly Call Back Later, That Is, If You're Still Alive."

If you know me you know how hard it's been for me to wait until today to post that.

I've bet myself a pint I can go to Monday without posting, so this is the first post since the last post and the last post until the next post, which I'm betting will be Monday and betting will be Saturday, probably Sunday. I'm hoping to collect Monday, I'm guessing I'll collect Sunday. NO POSTING UPDATES ALLOWED! I am allowed to post comments. Please, bet amongst yourselves.

• In praise of baby steps.
• Mobamafucker's second act? 
• Expanding the security state. Quite astonishing, isn't it, the utter lack of buzz over that article. 
• A feature, not a bug.
• Capitalism.
• Assange.
• A monument to Polish television.
• Deep shame.
• Maryland: better than Virginia.
• Not by much.
• Olde Towne!
• I would have guessed Potomac.
• Where I won't be July 30, 2011. 
• Baltimore United:  Relocating the D.C. United soccer team to the Baltimore area would create between 780 and 940 jobs and up to $6.4 million in annual state and local tax revenues, according to a study issued Dec. 22 by the Maryland Stadium Authority and a Florida consulting firm. Researchers from Crossroads Consulting Services of Tampa considered the possibility of building a 25,000-seat stadium for D.C. United as part of a $1.1 billion mixed-use waterfront development planned for Westport, south of Baltimore. They said a stadium on that site would create up to $30.3 million in direct spending and $78.5 million in indirect spending annually, leading to jobs and tax revenue for the area.
 

• I made it halfway through The Kindly Ones right after it was published before quitting. I vowed to try again and started again last night. (Again w/the serendipity - I ordered a paperback three weeks ago since I loaned my hardback to some fuck who left the university and took it with him.)
• Bellow.
• Procrastinator's guide to lit gift-giving.
• Slipping (into something).
• Changes are no good.
• The wait. 
• My favorite album (and Planet's) of the year.
• Gotta cheer up.

MAKING THE BEST OF THE HOLIDAYS

James Tate

Justine called on Christmas day to say she
was thinking of killing herself. I said, "We're
in the middle of opening presents, Justine. Could
you possibly call back later, that is, if you're
still alive." She was furious with me and called
me all sorts of names which I refuse to dignify
by repeating them. I hung up on her and returned
to the joyful task of opening presents. Everyone
seemed delighted with what they got, and that
definitely included me. I placed a few more logs
on the fire, and then the phone rang again. This
time it was Hugh and he had just taken all of his
pills and washed them down with a quart of gin.
"Sleep it off, Hugh," I said, "I can barely under-
stand you, you're slurring so badly. Call me
tomorrow, Hugh, and Merry Christmas." The roast
in the oven smelled delicious. The kids were playing
with their new toys. Loni was giving me a big
Christmas kiss when the phone rang again. It was
Debbie. "I hate you," she said. "You're the most
disgusting human being on the planet." "You're
absolutely right," I said, "and I've always been
aware of this. Nonetheless, Merry Christmas, Debbie."
Halfway through dinner the phone rang again, but
this time Loni answered it. When she came back
to the table she looked pale. "Who was it?" I
asked. "It was my mother," she said. "And what
did she say?" I asked. "She said she wasn't my
mother," she said.