November 16, 2004
Been reading some impactful stuff lately, mostly out of magazines, because, hey, I'm a magazine kind of guy (I probably have 26 or 27 subscriptions). The New Yorker did a big profile on the French newspaper Le Monde. Here is a quote that really hit me where I live:

"Scoops and masterpieces are few and far between, and what keeps a reader addicted to this paper is a continuity of tone. Reading Le Monde became a daily, secular ritual of French rectitude."
—The New Yorker, November 15, 2004

And speaking of "continuity of tone," I believe the new incarnation of Esquire magazine is now the best Men's magazine bar none. The writing is quite edgy and brilliant in a smart-ass kind of way. Two examples:

"Real people's lives don't conform to narrative expectation. They tend to be random and discursive: And then this happened and then that happened and this happened and then that happened. . . Not a problem if you're telling the Joe Blow story, since only historians and the Blow family will object to the necessary omissions and distortions."
—Mike D'Angelo, Esquire

"In humans, say the experts, males suffer increased mortality because—instead of whining about historical injustice—they compete: for resources, for jobs, and for silly, shiny trophies."
—Answer Fella, Esquire

Tried to finish up the Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce story today but it just wouldn't fall. Lots of great new stuff, need to shoe horn it all in five pages. Going to be tight, but good.

At lunch I drove out to Peoria to Earl's Eating and Drinking Establishment and met Dan Harshberger for lunch (huevos rancheros and decaf coffee, Betty bought) and had a talk about redesigning their menu. We did their last one about 15 years ago and it was fun talking to Brad, Betty and Carol Radina about their ideas and what they want for the new one. We looked at old menus (steak dinner with all the fixins, $4.99). Ah, but we were so much thinner then, we’re older than that now.

"Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact."
—William S. Burroughs