Fred Stoller

There's this stand-up comedian whose career I've been inadvertently following.

I first saw him while watching a VHS tape of a stand-up show in a friend's basement, and I loved him. That was a good 20 years ago, and I still remember a joke about using keys as a self-defence weapon, and how that doesn't work with modern hotel keys that look like credit cards.

Maybe you had to see it.

He would pop up as a guest star in random sitcoms, and every time I saw him (because, yes, I love sitcoms) I was happy to see that he was still around. But I never noted his name. Never looked him up on IMDB, once that became a thing that we did.

And then last week I was listening to my favourite CBC Radio show, Wiretap, and I heard his unmistakable voice, and I found out that his name is Fred Stoller. This, in itself, was a treat, but the story he shares is just so beautiful. I think you should check it out.

100% perfect

Haruki Murakami: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning:

"Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% perfect girl," I tell someone.

"Yeah?" he says. "Good-looking?"

"Not really."

I still haven't finished reading Murakami's latest novel, but he's a favorite author, and this is a favorite short story.

18 months

 
 
The couch is no more and the baby won't sit still anyway. 

Again with Miranda July

A Huffington Post interview with Miranda July:

I remember staring at some pointilist painting in an Impressionist exhibition when I was younger and thinking that I was being really moved by it. I felt like I was in the painting. But gradually I realized what was happening was the sound of the air conditioning and the perfume of the woman next to me were combining with the image to create this immersive experience. I remember thinking that was interesting. The whole thing is the art; the painting would be nothing without the cooling system.

The lady always manages to say something special. I'm looking forward to her new art exhibition We Think Alone.

12 months!

11 months

10 years of emailing Christmas greetings

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