Wednesday, June 28, 2000, 1 pm EDT

Vic Sussman By Reginald Pearman, Jr/ washingtonpost.com

What works?

What doesn't?

What stinks?

What zings?

Welcome to Love It, Hate It, Rate It! An hour or more of reader-generated rooting, ranting and raving about things, events and people--good, bad and indifferent. Whether you're a cynic or Little Mary Sunshine incarnate, this is your chance to ask questions, make rash statements, believe three impossible things before breakfast and tickle your keyboard as you pick at the social fabric.

Tell the world, such as it is, who's great or merely grating. Pin a label on it: Heaven or Hype? What's in, what's out, what's phat or just goes splat?

Your host is Live Online's Executive Producer, Vic Sussman, who emits an unearthly blue light from his forehead when annoyed.

Sussman has a long background in broadcasting and print journalism. The author of three nonfiction books, he was previously the Personal Tech columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, Book World's audio book reviewer, and a senior editor specializing in cyberspace at U.S.News & World Report. Sussman's interests veer wildly from the vagaries of computer-mediated communication to the skeptical subculture, weight lifting, and magic as a performance art. He is not a minion of Satan, but negotiations continue.

You may read past sessions of LIHIRI in Vic's archives.

Below is today's transcript.

Vic Sussman: And a good EDT afternoon to all you nicely assembled (sit up straight, please!) Muggles, Mudbloods, Morlocks (the Eloi have gone to see "Chicken Run") Mugwumps and Misbegotten. Welcome to another edition of LIHIRI, the Web show for people who proudly wear "HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE" tee shirts.

Oh, is it that bad today? Well, maybe, depending on your point of view. And that, assuming this is your first time here, is what this hour on the Web is all about. Let it out. Grouse. Bitch. Exult.

Let me start:

Hate It: That service around this area seems to be sloooooowwwwwiiiiinnnngggg down. Is it just my imagination, or are clerks in various stores moving like they are underwater? Okay, it could be my revved up metabolism, but several times in the past weeks I have stopped just shy of grabbing a clerk by the neck to inquire whether they might consider a job change, given their inability to make change faster than one coin at a time, listen to their customers requests or move faster than a sloth on downers.

Love It: Listening to my CD of B.B. King singing along with Robert Cray on one track and Koko Taylor on another. Yes, I've heard the songs a dozen times, but every time is like the first. Another self-serving love it: That I am now doing shoulder shrugs with 105 lbs in each hand, repping out on the third set, proving that as Captain Kirk (not the one you think) says, "Gravity is only a theory."

Rate It: A mega-10 for the movie "Chicken Run." See it, see it, see it! The claymation is absolute genius, the script and voices equally marvelous. It helps to be in love with British humor, but you'd have to be in a persistant vegetative state not to laugh your way through this fowl send-up of every escape-from-prison-movie you've ever seen. Any movie that can make you forget your job and your troubles for 90 minutes should be eligible for a Nobel Prize. Thank you Nick Parks & Co.

And now it's your turn, plebians, so let the games begin!

Manassas, VA: Vic why are you so rude to to your audience?

Vic Sussman:
Rude? Moi? Aha. You mistake sarcasm, bile, irony, biting wit, satire and a reckless disregard for the feelings of others as rudeness. Fool. Actually, as I have said many times, I truly love the regulars here, a faceless, voiceless mass of pixels. But LIHIRI is not, apparently, for the faint of heart or your average reader. They diss me, I diss them, and then we pick off the metaphysical weaklings. Maybe you'd be happier at, oh, I don't know, a Web site devoted to the joys of quilting?

contract girl: L/I : Brazillian music/latin music/world music
H/I : not much these days
10/10: this forum, I am addicted
Given your fondness for on-line technology, what is your take on radio over the web. Do you have a favorite station?

Sorry about the early post.

Vic Sussman: Never apologize for an early post. It's a compliment and I thank you.

On Internet radio: I love the concept but don't have much time to listen given the time I spend online at the office. Yes, I can listen here, but get too wrapped up in other things to actually relax. I have, however, spent some nice moments logged into a Canadian station playing jazz and a couple of wacky talk shows that seemed to be coming from another dimension.

For more about Internet radio, check out Frank "The Listener" Ahrens' Live Online show on Tuesday. Frank and his fans are really up to speed on Net radio. Another good source is my old pal Mike Powers' gig on about.com. Mike is the maven of Net radio on that site.

Out There: Re: "Hell is other people." Sartre, right?

Vic Sussman: Yes. Irving Sartre, who runs a small dry cleaning shop in Arlington. We dote on Irv's every word.

D of C: LI: Good barbecue. No explanation necessary.

HI: Bad barbecue. No explanation necessary.

RI: Last weekend’s National Capital Barbecue Battle:5. It seemed as if there were fewer stands selling barbecue than in previous years, and more vendors hawking hamburgers, hot dogs, crab cakes, Chinese food and those grilled chicken-on-a-stick thingies that you see at every street fair. But this is probably symptomatic of the lack of any real barbecue culture in MD-DC-VA, the way they have in the Deep South.

Vic Sussman: This is already too cerebral for me. I need to breathe into a paper bag. Back in a moment.

Boston, MA!: LI: Hot Chinese Food For Lunch and afternoons with you Vic.
HI: Level of Service at Hair Salons, they actually asked me if I wanted my hair blow dried or not? Do I want to go back to work looking like an wet animal? NO!
RI: 1, have to work the day before the 4th
any days around the fourth should be a holiday people!
Thanks for letting me Rant, You and Carolyn are the best, except she takes way too many
Vacations.

Vic Sussman: Chinese food and me? Which one are you hungry for after an hour?

WPNI has actually given us troops July 3 and 4 as holidays, so there will be no Live Online programming for two days. I know, I know, all you devoted fans will break out in hives from the withdrawl, but my staff is smiling at the idea of a break.

DC: Hate it: those people who get all angry about Live Online guests choosing the questions that they answer. Anyone who has paid any attention to the way that Live Online conducts discussions would realize that that's the way that it happens -- plus, you aren't going to get someone to agree to be a guest and then answer the hard questions. This isn't a debate!

Love it: that I'm going to a wedding this weekend and will get to see lots of people that I love.

Vic Sussman: Yes, there's been a huge amount of angst lately over the way this discussion software works. Live Online has been attacked (I chose that word carefully) by everyone from people who think we're lobbing softball questions to Media Critics With Opinions.

We're thinking of posting a disclaimer on all discussions. Something that says, in effect, "Um, duh, folks: Guests get to pick their own questions. This is not a Post interview. This is not a press conference. You have been warned."

Any suggestions for disclaimers will be cheerfully accepted from the LIHIRI audience...

Georgetown: Hate It: That customers are getting so demanding lately, and seem to be incapable of waiting their turns in lines that grow longer and longer due to some other customer's inability to form a coherent thought.

Love it: Chicken Run Chicken Run Chicken Run

Rate It: 10 x 10

Vic Sussman: Oh come on. Speaking as a customer, I don't think I'm demanding more than, say, opening up another line when one queue has more people than an emerging nation. Or maybe I'm demanding that certain chain stores hire people with more than four neurons rattling around in their skulls like marbles in a coffee can. But then, I can be so very, very demanding...

California, MD: LI: We harped on eating animals last week when, alas, our exalted host refuses to eat the wee-beasties

HI: Ate at the meal commons on a military base for the first time, yeck, pa-tooie.

RI: Water on Mars 10/10 Life on Earth 2/10

Vic Sussman: True, your host does not eat flesh foods. Long story which I won't go into. Check on Amazon for my best-selling (snort snort) but now-out-of-print book "The Vegetarian Alternative" for my take on vegetarianism.

But I'm an equal opportunity friend who has long since passed through the evangelical phase. You do your thing and I'll do mine, as Maslow said.

Just wipe the blood off your chin before you kiss me.

State of cycling: Is it true your recumbant bike is for sale?

Vic Sussman: You must be kidding. I have been concentrating more on weight lifting lately and very intense cardio sessions, so I rarely ride. But sell my Gold Rush Replica? You could wangle a kidney from me sooner.

Arlington, VA: Resounding second to slow service. I was at a certain store that shall remain nameless last weekend and the clerk needed three tries to enter $100 into the cash register (no, it's not that she was typing too fast; once she entered the 1, stared at the keypad in incomprehension for 30 seconds, then hit 2). And, when she ran out of bags, she had to go to another line to get a new bag. Singular. Then, when the next customer showed up and, my god, needed a bag, she had to to the same thing. And, of course, before scanning anything, she had to arrange everything just so on the conveyer belt. It didn't seem very convenient, though, since she still had to move things from their original positions to scan them. It was like the check out line in Hell. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. My cat could have checked me out faster. And my cat's been dead for several years.

Vic Sussman: Yes, but would your cat work for minimum wage?

NOVA: Hey, Vic,
You guys started with only one movie discussion-Rita Kempley- and added another.
Any thoughts about doing the same with food.
Kim O'Donnel's food discussion is for the upper classes, in my opinion. How about another food discussion for "real " people.

Thanks

Vic Sussman: Good idea. A food discussion for the curly fries and pork rinds crowd. We'll look into it.

We will soon, however, be producing a new restaurant review Live Online with the Post's new food critic. More about that when the wraps (bwahaha!) are off.

WDC: Hey, Vic, since you used to write about cyberspace, do you know Walter Mossburg, the Wall St. Journal tech columnist, whom Howard Kurtz profiled last week? I think he's great. Come to think of it, take away his goatee and you and he sort of look alike. I wonder why I've never seen the two of you together...

Vic Sussman: I've met Walt and once did The Diane Rehm Show with him, but we are not well acquainted. I read his column and respect his independence and sense of humor. But Walt and I don't look alike, trust me. Thanks for suggesting this, you twit.

Tysons Corner, VA: Here's a disclaimer for the Live Online files:

"Listen, you big, fat yahoo, if you think you are smart enough to be reading this discussion, please illustrate your mental acuity by refraining from asinine commentary on the guest's relative resemblance to a worm."

Vic Sussman: We'll submit this to our executive editor for review.

arlington: hey IV (ironman vic)
HI: when the strap of my headphones gets caught in the arm of my chair!

Lets get sushi and not pay!

---John Big Boutee

Vic Sussman: Whoa! The headphone thing! Yessssss. I routinely get my telephone headset coil caught in the legs of my expensive desk chair. And then I say many, many bad words in stragulated tones as my crack staff laughs and throws old copies of The Industry Standard at me. Serves me right for hiring a band of amazons.

WDC - Can you believe it? Still Not a State: Love IT: Dennis Miller on Monday night.
Hate IT: Monday Night Football - has always been a snooze
Rate IT: 6 - my chance of watching Monday Night Football to listen to Dennis' sarcastic wit.

Vic Sussman: I actually bought Miller's "Rants," the book version. He's even funny in print, though if you're a fan you can hear him spewing in your mind (not a pretty picture). Somebody should tell Dennis that he doesn't look all that good in a beard. Some guys do, some don't. Miller looks a small animal is sitting on his face.

Dulles: HI: The supreme court for permitting bigotry to continue by saying it is ok for the boy scouts to bar gays from participation.

LI: My VP asking how long my lover and I have been together... Small steps.

Vic Sussman:
Yes, the Supremes are always good for a surprise or two. Their decision will rankle many, but I'm sure it gives libertarians cheer to know that the Court is willing to draw the line about how far the government can move into the realm of private organizations. Btw, you obviously toil in an elightened workplace. Nice to know that some employers don't care what you do in your private life.

Winchester, VA: HIHIHI: My favorite TV reviewer, Tom Shales, letting his own piety stand in the way of objectively reviewing a show. His review of ABC's "Life of Jesus" almost read like a Pat Robertson polemic on the evils of critical analysis of religion. The show stated that this was to be an analysis of the -historical- life of Jesus, and would not confirm or repudiate his divinity -VERY dangerous country in this nation- and was reasonably balanced and fair from an historical perspective, especially compared to some of the stuff that's been aired. Shales' review, however, complained because it was a critical -what passes for critical on TV that is- historical look, not providing religious inspiration, which I guess is what he wanted.

Would he have had the same critique if Peter Jennings took a similar look at the life of the Buddha or of Muhammad? I sincerely doubt it. As one who spent five years studying all aspects of classical history and the veracity of contemporary historical sources, I am not confirming that what the show said is 100% true, as most TV histories are quite lacking in this department. But I do hate the hypocrisy many religious people have in that it's fine to critique other peoples' religions, as long as it is not their own. And critiquing is what Tom Shales is supposed to do. Stick to trashing inane sitcoms and Kathie Me Gifford, please. Ugh, religion is such a personal issue, but way way too many people in the US feel otherwise...

LI: Your Flowmaster exhaust. Do you have American Thunder or Force III pipes?

RI: Today, a solid 8. My tomatoes are loving it.

Vic Sussman: Ya gotta love this audience. Here's a rant that veers from Jesus to Flowmaster mufflers to tomatoes. Consistency, where is thy sting?

I didn't see the Peter Jennings/Jesus show, being these days in a most definite non-TV mode (and enjoying it), but I've read several reviews of the program and most were negative. Perhaps some other LIHIRI cronies will weigh in this hour with their views.

As for my muffler, a source of great pain to some visitors here (they actually think I'm bragging about my grumbling muffler rather than enjoying the self-referential joke), I have no idea of the exact model. When I had it installed, the custom shop owner said the resultant sound would be "assertive without being obnoxious," which is also self-referential. But it seems to tick some sensitive souls off when I make teasing references to my car, my muffler or much else they consider abnormal, so I'm going to sulk now.

charlottesville: Okay so I need a life, but the changes in some of the comic strips are unsettling!
HI: The new look of Apartment 3-G - the Professor used to look old & avuncular & now looks like he's going to start hitting on the "girls". Maybe he needed the new look to change his bachelor status. And I really dislike the new June in Rex Morgan. I liked her looking all 1950's, frumpy and practical. Now she's lost her character & become some sexy doe-eyed chick (and that after having a baby - maybe I'm just jealous?)
LI: Watching wild weather - thunder, lightning, sheets of rain - as long as we're all safe, dry & on high ground.

Have a great day!

Vic Sussman:
Jeez, I've all but given up on the comics. I read Dilbert religiously and also The Piranha Club, Zippy and Boondocks, but most else seems vapid, a notch above the nausea-inducing "Family Circus." Sue me.

Cleveland: LI: The new Ford Escape set to debut in September. I can't wait to drive one!

HI: That SUVs are gas hogs.
Oh well. I can't afford to buy a new car right now anyway.

Vic Sussman:
Found in a fortune cookie: Man who drives TransAm cannot comment on SUV gas mileage.

San Francisco: LI: Federal Court of Appeal rules against open access regulations for cable ISPs. Now they won't be forced to share their lines.
Federal Court of Appeal rules for Freedom Speech and against regulating Internet content.

HI: That local governments are trying to put their own regulations on the net.

Vic Sussman:
Oh great. Local regulations for the Internet. Don't these bureaucratic pinheads from West Boofoo have a clue? The Net, bless it, is global, bottom-up, organic, anarchic, unregulatable, more like a living organism than an electronic network. Note to pols: Make all the stupid, short-sighted rules you like. Continue your lame-ass efforts to port your tired ethics and dinosaur economics into cyberspace. But be aware that there are many, many people who are much smarter and craftier than you, people who will write code while you're snoozing, go wireless, and move their Web operations off-shore, far from your arthritic grasp.

Kevin Mitnick died for your sins....

chapel hill, nc: Amen to service slowing down. I was in the college bookstore today--mostly staffed by students--and I am always amazed at how some salespeople act. Today the cashier carried on a continuous conversation with fellow employees--only acknowledged my presence when she said, "Wait a minute" when I offered my credit card. Customer service is dead dead dead.
Re Nick Park: Have you seen the old Wallace and Gromit claymations? They are fabulous too, and every time I see them, I notice something different. "A Close Shave" is my favorite.
Have a great week, Vic! Keep your speed down, and I won't pull out the trauma shears!

Vic Sussman: Oh yikes! It's my favorite trauma nurse!

Lady, you are most cool. Any woman who can keep her sense of (dark) humor whilst pinching off an artery has my vote. Besides, my best friend is an ER doc in Northern Vermont, so I grok the black humor that sustains your crew. (And yes, I do visualize an idealized version of you holding a catheter when my cruising speed creeps up. Not that I slow down right away, however.)

As for service, we'll have more contributions on this subject coming up.

EraserheadGuy, DC: LI: The soundtrack to "Repo Man"--fourth week in a row!--which I nabbed off of E-Bay recently. A veritable K-Tel Records compilation of L.A. punk. Features such classics as Black Flag's "TV Party," Fear's "Let's Have a War," and Suicidal Tendencies "Institutionalized."

Vic Sussman: Hello E-Man. I didn't see you here and was worried maybe you slipped in the tub. I'll get to your longer post a bit later. Cool grab, getting the "Repo Man" sound track. Can you imagine that there are people who haven't seen this movie? The mind boggles.

Ashburn, VA: Okay, I've already submitted my rant about slow service in retail, but I had to submit again to leap to Kim O'Donnel's defense. Her food chat is not elitist at all, but apparently some of the audience was apalled her suggestion that (gasp!) fresh food is healthier and better-tasting than the processed, frozen junk on which so many people subsist. So, yeah, maybe there should be a food chat for those who want to discuss frozen pizza and fast food.

Vic Sussman: This is turning into class warfare.

Food fight, food fight, food fight!

Bethesda, MD: Hate it: Having a client yell at me on the phone for an hour. Yell. Literally.

Love it: Summer rain. Inner tubing in Harpers Ferry.

Rate it: 4 day weekend ahead - 10!

Vic Sussman: Is the client so important that you're forced to take this kind of abuse? May I make a suggestion? Buy Stanley Bing's book, "What Would Machiavelli Do?" (not sure of the actual title, but you'll find it). It's a funny, funny book but also very instructive. Especially about what to do with people who abuse you in the workplace. One guess what Machiavelli would suggest you do about a Screamer...

Tubing at Harpers Ferry, yes. But try taking a rubber ducky down those mild (class 2 or 3, maybe) rapids. The inflatable kayak is a ball, one of those simple things that makes life worth living.

Crystal City, Va: Visited Amazon.com per your suggestion. "Never Kiss a Goat on the Lips"? What happens if you do?

Vic Sussman: That was my second book, an account of life as a suburban homesteader. Kiss a goat on the lips and you're likely to get poison ivy on your face. Don't ask how I know this.

Rosslyn: I wanted to chime in with my HI and agree with the whole customer service thing. It happens in the Post Office as well... 12 pm, everyone's at lunch and wants to go to the Post Office...the post office has 2 people working as slow as possible. Enough to send everything FedEx!

LOVE IT: gotta agree with Chicken Run! But the guy next to me did not laugh ONCE the whole movie...must have a pitiful soul!

RATE IT: 10/10 The Best of Fania All Stars for the reader who said they LOVE Latin Music!

Vic Sussman: The Post Office is infamous for putting one clerk in place when two or three would actually provide tax payers with some semblance of service.

Guy sitting through "Chicken Run" doesn't laugh once? You should have leaned over to check his pulse. I think you were sitting next to a corpse. Or a very depressed dude.

Out there: How much for the kidney?

Vic Sussman: Leave your name with the girl out front.

contract girl: 10/10 : No T.V. Really opens up the possibilities. Go Vegan!!!!!!

Vic Sussman: It's amazing how little you miss it when you stop. Kill Your Television.

Germantown, MD: Hey Vic!

Since we're also discussing Live Online hosts, I gotta say that Warren Brown is awesome - knowledgeable, eager to help, and quite the gentleman!! He should get the credit he deserves!

Thanks!

Vic Sussman: Warren is indeed great. He really knows his stuff and is highly respected in the auto industry. I'm proud and happy to have him as a Live Online regular. And yes, he manages to be both a funny, smart guy and a gentleman.

Bend, Oregon: Master Muscles: I noted last week I would be on vacation here. This was followed up by a question from someone whom I believe had surgery impending, and would recuperate in Bend. I say "believe," because I tried to check your past sessions, and found the most recent one posted was May 3rd. ANYWAY - if this is the info that person wanted - stay at the River House or Shiloh Inn, but be sure to get a room on the river. Good restaurants are all over the place. Check the Bend Chamber of Commerce if you need more info. This is a great place to vacation - river trips, rapid running, fishing, horse back riding, golf, various national monuments - plus glorious views of snow-capped mountains in all directions. It's a month too late to ski on Mt. Bachelor, but you can ride the ski lift to the top for a fantastic view. Temps will be in the 80s or 90s, but no humidity, and down in the 50s at night. "LI" all, but my "HI" is I have to come back and join you next week in humidity land.

Vic Sussman: The news from Bend. LIHIRI trumps the competition again.

Fairfax: Hate it: All the fuss over diets x, y, and z (lkike the one going on in chat right now!). I KNOW it is annoyingly hard to accept, but lsoing weight is a basic formula: less calories, more movement. No magic formula there, no food that will make it all okay, nuthin--just biological facts!
Love it: Folkfest and fugazi's live show last night. fab as usual.
Rate it: The yuppie contingent at aformentioned show weirded me. gets a 7.

Vic Sussman: You're right. As Marty Gallagher says, it's just biology and simple arithmetic. Eat less, build muscle mass with (intense) resistance training and cardio and the weight has to come off. The hard part is saying no to eating more than you need. Like, duh.

chapel hill, nc: "Yikes"? And what is "grok"? Is this the vocabulary of a wordsmith?

Vic Sussman: You never read "Stranger in a Strange Land," huh? Check it out.

Cognitive Dissnonance Central: Ducking the Shenandoah is for WIMPS.

Real He-Men and She-Ras duck the Lower Gauley. Earning your Swimming Merit Badge on Upper and Lower Mash rapids is a real achievement. WOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Vic Sussman: Okay, okay. I did the Lower Gauley in a particularly high water year. Class 5 most of the way. We hit a rock at one point, I went airborne and almost over the side, looked back to see our guide, paddle and all, hovering about three feet above the raft, a very surprised look on his face. We both fell back into the raft, adrenaline squirting out of our eyeballs.

But give the ducky a break. It's a slow, fun ride for the whitewater challenged. I did it on one of those company (not WPNI) team-building trips. Hated the company, loved the river.

NOVA: Vic, I don't think that a person's dislike of a live online host means the host needs to be defended; it means that host is not liked by everyone.

Vic Sussman: Oh gee. Rocket science. You mean not everybody likes everybody? I gasp. Are there people who don't like LIHIRI or me, for that matter? I gotta breathe into that bag again...

Native New Jerseyan: I will second comments from the Bend OR traveler. When I was 10, we drove from NJ to Seattle World's Fair and back. Had to stop in Bend to change a flat on our '57 Plymouth, and we sat by the river that runs through town. I just remember a very lovely place.
LI - Childhood memories
HI - Hateful, racist, sexist people
RI - Good health 10/10

Vic Sussman: And how 'bout them ripe tomatoes?

Foggy Bottomer: Hi Vicki!

LI: These great sesame balls I got from a Vietnamese bakery. Nothing better in life than when food hits the perfect spot! And put me down as a supporter of Kim's chat - she rocks almost as much as you.

HI: That my better half has never heard of John Prine or John Hiatt. Oh, the humanity ....

RI: Prine and Richard Thompson at Wolf Trap in August - 10 out of 10!

Vic Sussman: Who you callin' "Vicki?"

We are sending Vito the Enforcer out to your house right now to whack you about the face and head.

The nerve.

Burke, VA: I'm going to put an end to the Is Levey Real? debate here and now. He is real. No composite "Levey" could come up with some of statements Bob has made. Here's one:
He said that you can't trade in a bunch of 30-cent Metro fare cards for the same reason that Circuit City doesn't give you change from a gift certificate. Huh? You buy a $20 item with a $25 certificate, you get $5 change. OK, he's real, but I think he at least lives on a different planet.

Vic Sussman: Well, we've fooled you again.

You actually believe that Bob Levey is a real person. You won't believe me when I tell you that "Bob Levey" is a clever construct of The Washington Post Company. "Bob Levey" is an acronym (you figure it out) for a committee of writers who create a daily column, hold fund drives for Childrens Hospital, boost Metro ridership and make terrible jokes.

I can assure you, speaking as a respected journalist and the Executive Producer of Live Online, that there is no such person as "Bob Levey." Check it out with Howard Kurtz, our media expert.

Philly PA: submissions are screwed today

Vic Sussman: Thanks for sharing.

Riverside, CA: Love It: Laying in the sun with lemonade in one hand and suntan lotion (SPF 4) in the other. I know about all the dangers, but hey, we only live once, right? and, no, californians DON'T spend all their days on the beach and the nights partying. Just some of the lucky one. Also, I LOVE your LIHIRI
Hate It: Whoever invented the terms "Rush Hour Fast Lane and Freeway." He obviously has never been in that.
Rate It: Mel Gibosn - 10

Vic Sussman: Are you drinking the lotion and rubbing on the lemonade? You Californians really set the cultural pace for us Easterners.

Falls Church, VA: I agree that the current quality of customer service is an indicator of the decline of western civilization. However, I would say that it is not so much the time that it takes
to have an order processed. In the 1950s, the sales people in department stores would treat you like visiting royalty. Now you have to beg someone to stop their conversation at the cash register in order to take your money.

Vic Sussman: I think service is better in small towns. People know you, rely on your business and good will and are more likely to pay attention. It's modern urban life that's getting harder to bear. Not that I have any desire to move back to the boonies, thank you.

College Park, Md.: Hello Vic,

Have you ever read the animal rescue reports that appear each Thursday in the Post's District weekly? They're among the best-written pieces in the entire paper!

Vic Sussman: I'll share this with Don Graham, who will be thrilled at the news.

EraserheadGuy, DC: LI: Some of the new discussions. Marc Fisher is very provocative and well-cyberspoken. And the new housing forum with Daniela Deane provides useful info on a hot topic. I am especially interested in the latter discussion because for the last few months, I had been trying to buy a condo, but was stymied by the...

HI: ...overheated housing market. I just can’t compete with some of these new economoneyed types who are bidding up prices, even making all-cash offers. But I have just put my search on hold anyway, because I have had just about enough of...

RI: ...my dull, trade association job, which rates about a 4—on good days. So, housing search is being supplanted by new job search. And I seek not just a job but...an advEnturE! Vic, a few weeks ago, someone suggested that I host a forum, an idea you pooh-poohed. While I might admit that the world is not yet ready for an “Eraserhead” discussion (I said I -might- admit it), I wonder if there is something I, a former journalist who still works with words, could contribute to Washingtonpost.com and/or Live Online. That is, contribute even more than I do now, like, you know, in a full-time paid position. What do you think, Vic? I mean, Mr. Sussman......sir?

Vic Sussman: Oh great. Now the E-man is making a public appeal on my show for a job! The dude has NERVE!

And I didn't pooh-pooh (or poo-poo) the notion of giving you your own Live Online hour. The idea is intriguing. You have endeared yourself to us.

Figure out my e-mail and write to me. I'm not going to post my e-mail address here because I'm already swamped with too much stuff.

But I'll listen to your pitch.

washingtonpost.com: Clara wants you to put up the Stephen Hunter question. -Jen

Vic Sussman: Nag, nag, nag.

I'll get to it.

Raleigh, NC: LI: Stephen Hunter's new book is out; I bought a copy yesterday and look forward to reading it. Any chance he'll be online to discuss it?

washingtonpost.com: Clara here. Funny you should ask....Stephen is booked for Thursday, July 6 at 11:00 a.m. Mark your calendars.

Vic Sussman: Clara is happy now and we can all relax.

Wheaton MD: For Riverside CA - I'll tell you the dangers of laying out and using SPF 4: A wrinkled,splotchy, saggy face that looks like 4 yards of brown corduroy by the time you're 40.
Enjoy.

Vic Sussman: As my dermatologist says, "The sun is not your friend."

Sorry to spoil your fun.

Cognitive Dissonance Central: Hint to Eraserhead Man:

Vic loves it when you go ga-ga over his hat.

Vic Sussman: Right. I'm a cheap date.

W, DC: Hey Vic - first timer here, hope I make the cut.

Is this how you do it...?

LI - Big Macs made my way. Whoudda thunk it? and for only 4 bucks. Best deal in a world fulla scams.
HI - places that dont post their prices, ie my drycleaners, and places you take your car for repairs. Isnt there a law about this stuff?
RI - 13/10 Anna Kournikova. who cares that she hasnt won yet. shes won my heart...

Enjoy your weekend; I'm outta here, how did I do?

Vic Sussman: A virtuoso performance. We are awed by your typing.

Do come back.

big building, capitol hill: Geez Vic, you're up against "The Soy Zone." Wouldn't be surprised if participation is waaay down for you today.

But my comment is this: I'm an avid cyclist and often see recumbents whizzing by. However, I have NEVER seen a woman on a recumbent bike. Is there something I need to know?

Vic Sussman: Women ride them. Check out www.recumbents.com for more info.

I don't know why more women don't ride 'bents. Most upright (traditional) bikes have frames built for the male upper torso, so female riders are likely to suffer back, neck and arm pain from being over-extended. Also, bike seats aren't exactly friendly to either the male or female anatomy.

Check out the Web site for the benefits of recumbent bikes.

Arlington, Va.: Hello Vic,
I just want to get my two cents worth in about people who bad mouth online discussions and the online hosts. I am appalled that there are so many people that don't have anything better to do than take up other peoples time with their mean spirited comments. If they don't like the content, they shouldn't bother with that discussion. I don't care how thick skinned your hosts might be, they deserve better treatment than to be insulted by some of the half wits who write in.
Thank you for letting me rant. I really do enjoy the discussions.

Vic Sussman: Thanks for your vote of confidence. I agree that many people have time on their hands and expect the sun to rise and set in the vicinity of their posteriors. But then, I guess it's a good sign when Live Online is drawing static. It means people are paying attention.

lexington, ky: Love it: my new job! getting my own apartment! feeling like all my pieces are falling together.

hate it: missing my dog who passed away 2 mos ago.

rate it: 10--tom shale's critque of the search of Jesus or somesuch. Nice to see someone pointing out the flaws in dubunking religion through history. Might not have been a necessarily pro-Christian review, but it was nice he didn't jump on the relgion is a crock bandwagon.

Vic Sussman: Thanks for an alternate view on Shales' review. Any other rants on this?

Washinton, DC: HI: coming down with a nasty stomach virus, and my doctor was too busy to see me.

LI: that my doctor had one of her collegues take me, and he was an absolute babe. I felt like I was on the set of "ER".

RI: telling said handsome doctor all about my diarrhea -100 out of 10.

Does anyone out there have a "loser" t-shirt I could borrow?

Vic Sussman: Um. As the New Yorker would say, "Quoted without comment."

Anywhere: Which Captain Kirk? Roshaan -sp?] Roland Kirk?

Vic Sussman: Nah. "Captain" Kirk Kaworski, six time world champion powerlifter.

dc: Vic--

li washingtonpost.com
hi washingotnpost.com
ri sometimes 1, sometimes 10

Vic Sussman: Love them minimalist postings.

Fairfax: Explain Repo man to me! I went to Blockbuster yesterday and it wasn't there. I'm dyin' to know what it's about!

Vic Sussman: You can't "explain" Repo Man. You have to see it. Check at other video stores. It's out there.

Columbia, SC: HI: When people complain about some of the Live Online hosts (even to their faces, i.e., Sharon Waxman yesterday). Don't these people realize if they don't like one of the discussions, they can just close their browser windows? This is a great service with a lot of interesting discussions to choose from. Keep up the good work!

Vic Sussman: Yes, as I've pointed out many times, relief is just a mouse click away. The mind swims at the idea that some people actually continue to read Live Online sessions that annoy or offend them. There are nearly a billion Web pages out there, folks. If we don't ring your chimes, someone else surely will.

Mt. Rainier: Any time the owner is in the shop, service is going to get good. Either the owner is waiting on you and wants your business, or he's watching an employee do it. Any time the owner is a bunch of rich people who live a thousand miles from the business (any department store, chain store), forget service. The customer cannot possibly reach the persons making the decisions, they're up in the stratosphere. And the employee is pretty sure all those people want is warm bodies anyway.
Still - has anybody mentioned to these clerks that being friendly and efficient will make your day a lot easier to bear?

Vic Sussman: Oh great. I am going to stand in line and explain to a given clerk the dynamics of good customer service. Meanwhile, the people behind me are plotting my death.

Cognitive Dissonance Central: So, Iron Vic and Amazon Clara:

What title will you use to prmote the Stephen Hunter online? "Lock & Load"?

Vic Sussman: We have a bullet with your name on it.

Waldorf, MD: To the Californian: I have to break out one of the "deadly" sins. I am in complete envy. Unfortuately, my pasty white irish skin only turns snow white and blood red. There is no in between. I'll think of you while lathering up with my SPF 4,000,000,000 (aka sweater in a bottle).

Vic Sussman: I have one scary word for you: Melanoma.

Enjoy your day in the sun.

15th Street: LI: The internet.

HI: People who think the internet is the answer to everything. Sorry. The internet will not kill books or newspapers. You will not sell your TV or stop going to the movies because you can get programming over the internet. You will not make restaurant reservations exclusively over the internet. Everything will continue to exist: now we just have more options.

RI: July, 4.

Vic Sussman: Oh yeah?

Try sending a telegram.

chapel hill, nc: Sorry...just one more thing to say.

HI HI HI aiiiieee!: Darva Conger on the Today show today for the third time this year. So now she's posed in Playboy, after saying she wanted her privacy back. Okay, so at best, she's confused. Do we really have to have more press on this? It kills me because people still think of nurses as not-too-bright junior doctor sex kittens, and she's not helping any. Very few decent media portrayals of nurses, and Darva times three on network TV is making me crazed. I think only lawyers have a worse TV reputation than nurses. And lawyers don't get vomited on or work all night.

Vic Sussman: Darva makes life worth living. Get over it.

washingtonpost.com: LI: My boss plays his music so loud that I can hear it from across the room when he's wearing his headphones.

Vic Sussman: Snivel, snivel, snivel. And this is coming from the woman who loaned me her Enigma CD. I can't win.

PA: by the way, whats up with the hat quote?

Vic Sussman: Ah.

The hat quote today is "Nobody loves me but my mamma, and she might be jivin' too."

What's the source? That eminent philosopher, B.B. King.

rockville, md: Hey Vic,

HI: What's up with last week's digs on souped-up Honda Civics? Hot-rodding is what it's always been - affordable cars with easily swappable parts... True, they don't have the horsepower of a Trans Am, but they remain small, light, and nimble...

LI: souped up Honda Civics

RI: People who key/vandalize Hondas or any other car for that matter, and people with anti-Japanese car stickers pasted on their good ol' built-in-Mexico American car: 0

Vic Sussman: Souped up Honda Civics make me smile, which is worth everything these days. And you're right: It's pure Amerika to take any car to the next level. Them little cars with the big mufflers do remind me of something out of Mad Max, though. Which is not a bad thing.

Arlington, VA: Foolish mortal, you will not find Repo Man at Blockbuster. Video Vault in Old Town. They have every video you could ever want. Except Star Crash, damnit.

Vic Sussman: You can also find it at some Hollywood stores. While you're there, check out "Tetsuo: Iron Man."

Be brave.

Alexandria, VA: Ohh! You are so very right!! I saw "Chicken Run" on Sunday and wanted to see it again on Monday. Great movie, no matter what your age. = +100

Vic Sussman: The movie of the year. Trust me.

DC: Vic: You'll admit that the sun isn't your friend, but think that flying down a road at top speed is? What's a little cancer risk to a person wrapped around a telephone pole?

Vic Sussman: It's going to take some time for me to sort all this out. Can I get back to you? Can I drive right over your new shoes? Woo-woo.

Angry Young Librarian: Bend is absolutely one of the best places on earth. My family used to vacation out near Bend every summer; we went back last year for the first time in five years or so. It's like heaven-- the air is clean, the water is clean, there's no traffic, people are nice, and my muscles become so much more relaxed I can actually turn my head from side to side without pain.

LI- Oregon in general. Portland, Eugene, Bend, Corvallis... Someday I'll move.

HI- Not much today. It's an Oregon/ Willamette Valley kind of day-- drizzly and gray. My favorite kind.

RI- Oregon 10/10
Tomatoes 5/10 (they give us ketchup and pasta sauce, which nets them the 5.)

Vic Sussman: We seem to be in the midst of a burgeoning Bend subculture. You're from the chamber of commerce, right?

WDC: LI: I'm pregnant

HI: That whenever I walk outside, people are smoking in doorways, smoking while walking, smoking everywhere! I know it's hard to be a smoker these days, but it's also hard to try to avoid second-hand smoke. I don't mean to over-react, but I wish smokers would just keep it to themselves!

Vic Sussman: We would pat your stomach for good luck, but we are just words on a screen. Lucky for you.

paleandwan.com: Vic,

Will you be my sunshine?

Vic Sussman: Only if you wear SPF 2,000.

Rockville, MD: Love it, Washington POst Online Discussions
Hate it, wondering if the WPO is collecting information that links an individual (or their computer) to their submissions.

Do you know the answer to that?

Vic Sussman: Other than knowing your Social Security number and your cephallic index, we are clueless.

Los Angeles: BB King with Robert Cray? What CD? Where can I find it. Cray is amazing......good taste Vic

Vic Sussman: The CD is in my car. I'll check for the title next week (if you remind me). It's a B.B. King CD with an appearance by Cray. Or maybe it's blues compilation. But one cut does indeed feature a duet with Cray and King.

To the Guy in Bend: OH, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Hope it's gorgeous out there when I go -- can ya believe it I'm having surgery on the 15th and having my 22nd b-day two days later? What fun! At least I'll be in beautiful Bend....

Vic Sussman: People seem to be flocking to Bend to recover from surgery. Where is Art Bell when we really need him?

ARlington, VA: The animal rescue reports the paper are the best writtern pieces in the post? Is that person kidding? I never enjoy reading about animals (or some people) being tortured by gangs of teenagers, angry undisciplined chilren or malicious adults. That's what that section shows. GRRRRR to that person. There is a real LACK of empathy for the plight of animals on this discussion (not by you). I've noticed this over recent weeks. Disturbing. Ghandi once said that a nation's greatness and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Vic Sussman: I think the writer was referring to the actual journalism, not the plight of the animals. Most LIHIRI fans do not enjoy torturing small creatures. They have more fun picking on humans and those passing for same.

NYC: You're now going head-to-head with Issac Hayes... he's gonna kick your mother..

shut yo mouth!

washingtonpost.com: Actually, Isaac Hayes is delayed for a bit -- but he's on his way.

Vic Sussman: Oh please, you doofus. You can open two browser screens and toggle back and forth between two shows. Where else but Live Online would you find me and Isaac Hayes, together at last!

Annandale, don't call me Springfield: Maybe the "customer servants" we've been attacking so passionately today have already read Bing's book and are applying its tenets to the "demanding clients" in their workplaces.

Or maybe they figured out how to be passive-aggressive on their own without shelling out for the book.

There may be a thought to finish here, but I'm not equal to it.

Vic Sussman: I would respond, but you're scaring me.

Cognitive Dissonance Central: Re: In Search of Jesus:

I had hoped that either the program or Tom Shales' critique would have told me what the H. stands for.

Somewhere, someone must know......

Vic Sussman: I'm sure someone here will clue you in. This week or next.

Dulles (again): Do you think that libertarians would cheer if the Supremes struck down Civil Rights legislation? Just wondering where the line is? I can kick you out because you are gay, but not a african american female senior citizen? 'fraid that doesn't fly...

Vic Sussman: I was not applauding the decision, only commenting on the different points of view we'll be getting on the subject.

Arlington, VA: Cheer up, DC resident with the stomach virus - I'll bet your loser story is good enough to get in The Onion's Pathetic Geek Stories. Please send it in - we Onion readers would love to see it in cartoon form!!!

Speaking of which, this is LIHIRI, right?
LI: 'Pathetic Geek Stories' in 'The Onion':
http://avclub.theonion.com/pgs.html

Vic Sussman: Thanks. I love the Onion.

Germantown, MD: Hubby & I have a recumbent tandem - so there you go - a female bent rider!

Vic Sussman: See? Nyah! Nyah!

Dulles, VA: Re: Tom Shales-

I don't understand...some 95 percent of Americans are religious, the VAST majority being Christian, so, where's this "religion is a crock" bandwagon that the one poster said? I'm afraid it's the other way 'round.

Vic Sussman: According to polls, 95 per cent of Americans may say they are religious. But what does this actually mean? People lie to pollsters all the time, especially about personal hot button views like religion. We really don't have much reliable evidence about what Americans really think and do about religion. Nor is attendance at religious services much of a clue. Religion makes people do, ah, interesting things.

DC: Please, let's reveal that the "guy in Bend" is none other than Live Online regular, Steve. Hiya Steve!

Vic Sussman: Steve, you've been outed in Bend.

curious...: OK, if you won't ask I will, what is making that person (another one about Bend) an Angry Young Librarian? (if they're a regular and I should know, please bear with me, I'm new!)

Vic Sussman: Ya had to be here. Angry Librarian logged in some weeks ago to rant about a nasty co-worker she (?) once trusted. At least, that's the way I remember the story. The real question is why I remember the story. Have you people invaded my consciousness? Yikes.

Alexandria, VA: LI: My time in the Boy Scouts of America, which I took all the way to the rank of Eagle Scout.

HI: That the Boy Scouts of America has become a narrow-minded exclusionary us-against-them anti-gay, anti-freethought bunch of fascists. It makes me ashamed of what I as once proud.

RI: The Supreme Court's decision to allow the BSA to exclude gays - 1/10. As Richard Fish said on Ally McBeal - "Bad decision!"

Vic Sussman: The question is what the BSA thinks gays will do once they are in the Boy Scouts? Oh, wait. I get it. They will push for Judy Garland merit badges.

Native New Jerseyan, again: Vic, I shouldn't reveal this, but according my very crunchy OSU grad cousin from Portland, Bend is THE happening place! Very hip, very now... just don't let anyone else know, OK?

Vic Sussman: Welcome to Oxymoron Central.

Vic Sussman: Okay. Before I start getting angry e-mails and the like, my Judy Garland/BSA comment was A JOKE! A joke, folks. It was not a slur on gays. It was satire and irony and just messin' around. I know these are hard concepts, but there it is. Relax. Take a breath.

Inwood, WV: 'Splain me something - if you have a friend who watches over you and you believe in and talk to all the time - call him 'Fred', you go to the nuthouse. Call him 'God', you're a sane, good person. Imaginary, either way. Jesus was a con man.

Vic Sussman: Room for all kinds of opinions on LIHIRI. Once again, quoted without comment. (Stupid I am not.)

McLean, VA: Oo, oo, I know the answer to the Jesus H. Christ question! Go to http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_033

The Straight Dope is a column that runs weekly in the City Paper. Cecil Adams, who writes the column, answers all sorts of questions like this. He would make a guest Live Online guest, by the way...

Vic Sussman: Ah, but maybe Cecil (who is actually syndicated, I believe, and not a City Paper writer) is a committee?

Read "Stranger" for the sole purpose of understanding the word "grok": LI LI LI: Has anyone noticed that the Elian saga is finally over?

HI: My perpetually crashing computer

RI: The likelihood of the new system I'm getting next week solving the problem: 2/10.

Note to the nurse: I feel your pain -- mom is a nurse -- but lawyers do too work all night. Will admit I haven't been vomited on yet, though, at least not at work.

Vic Sussman: Have you ever been vomited on by a lawyer? And been billed for it? I'll tell you the story some time....

Arlington, VA: Call me crazy (or call me sane but, please, not to my face), but I will agree with Media Critics With Opinions that a disclaimer about guests choosing their questions is a good idea (and, just FYI, I'm the person who wrote the excessively long defense of Live Online's policy on said Critic's forum yesterday). Certainly it's clear to everyone who's enough of a groupie to read LIHIRI how the system works and it's obviously intuitively obvious to you guys. But, to someone logging on for the first time, who is unfamiliar with web discussions, it's not obvious at all. Clearly, given the complaints. People who have not have had you explain to them, in this forum, how the system works, have no real way of knowing that guests pick their own question.

So, I really think it's a stupid idea only in the sense that nobody ever reads stuff like that, anyway. If they did, I wouldn't keep getting emails from people asking me to take them off the mailing list I run even though the unsubscribe instructions are clearly printed at the bottom of every message.

Vic Sussman: Point taken. And you're not crazy as far as I can tell.

Alexandria, VA: 105 lbs? Are You serious?

btw, your picture makes you look a bit old to be having a midlife crisis.

Vic Sussman: 105 in each hand. Eat your heart out, pencil neck.

And I've had a midlife crisis since I was 15. Still working on it.

Wisconsin: So Vic, have you seen any of Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit series? If not, I would HIGHLY recommend them. I am a devoted fan of his and have watched these wonderful morsels over and over. They always crack me up. But , they ruined me for anything less and as such, I was (disappointingly) disappointed with Chicken Run. Yes, yes, I know... But Chicken Run was just a toe dip in the pool while Wallace and Gromit is a full-blown cannon ball off the diving board (the really high one).

Vic Sussman: I own all the Wallace & Gromit movies. I recommend them over Prozac.

Vienna, VA: Hey Vic,
I have some interesting news for the Post in general. I was surfing the net and found a countdown clock for Supreme Court to act on the Elian case. Now maybe I am the only one that finds this remotely funny, but COME ON!!! When has the Court ever been known to act in a timely manner? (Please disregard the Bill of Rights part about courts acting in a timely manner) I just thought it was ironic and funny that someone thought of puting a countdown on Elian.
But in other important stuff,
LI: That I am going on Vacation to Florida. Look out elderly retired people!
HI: Forgetting when people's birhtdays are. Oh and sending them belated birthday presents before their birthday. And not having spell check on Live Online, but iff ewe canne life wit it sso kan eye.
RI: New website that I found searching the net www.geocities.com/unwanted_statesman : 8. It is a funny look at the week in news.
2 hours left for Elian!!!

Vic Sussman:

So don't keep us hanging: Give us the url for the Elian countdown clock. Actually, the kid may be flying out as I type this. Or may be airborne by now. Farewell, Little Elian, we hardly knew ya. The child has been great for Live Online and newsies in general, having boosted our circulation (both heme and otherwise) and Web page views. But as I've said several times on this Web show and elsewhere, the boy belongs with his dad. Damn the politics.

Now, the real question is how many of you news junkies (and Miami Cubans) out there in cyberlalaland are going to have the post-Elian blues and long for more exciting times?

Raleigh, NC: Quick follow-up from last week (you don't have to respond online) Thanks for the skull ring explanation. Given your hat and hat quotes, I was led to think that you literally had a pierced skull, that perhaps the hat would one day come off to reveal a small hoop earing, well, skullring, adorning your, you know.

Vic Sussman:
Too funny. There are people here at work who believe I have a pierced skull. But it's only a ring. Not in my nose or ear, but on my finger. It's silver, with big eye holes and bare teeth and I have loved it since the day I found it in the late lamented "Necromance" in SoHo. I'm twirling on my finger as I type this. Feel the vibes!

Angry Young Librarian: Actually, it goes back a bit further, to my Angry Librarian rant on how librarians get no respect. I felt so empowered by the outpouring of support that I decided to keep being an Angry Young Librarian. (It's better than being a Depressed Young Librarian.)

Vic Sussman: Now we know the rest of the story....

Arlingtron: HI: Well-to-do people who think slow service always reflects on the intelligence of their cashiers and not on some corporate policy that dictates how much money a store is allowed to spend on staff. Got a problem with a store? Don't patronize it and write a letter to management explaining that the level of service is not up to your standards. If more people did that instead of berating some kid/immigrant making minimum wage, then you might see a change. Of course, it's easier to be a jerk. Especially when the Post gives you a nice forum to do it in.

RI: Vic's Classism-- 1 out of 10

LI: I got our office off on Monday thanks to my smoothtalking the boss. "All the other offices are going to be closed!"

Vic Sussman: Classism? Please. I dislike the entire human race. I'm an equal opportunity curmudgeon.

Arlington, VA: "Con man"? Yikes! Methinks Inwood is being a little harsh. Philosopher, religous reformer, perhaps? I'll give you deluded, even. But it's not like he was going around with 30 wives telling his followers to give him all their money.

Every religion has its nutty fundimentalists, even athiesm, as some people seem ever so quick to demonstrate.

RI: Fundimentalism: 1, even when it comes from my own religion.

How about a little tolerance, people?

Vic Sussman: The other side speaks.

And with that...

Alex: Dear Mr. Sussman (aka Iron Man)

RE: service. one of the problems is not enough people to work, esp. since many high school and college kids aren't working this year becuase M and D have enough bucks because of the economy to support them (see, Post article a few days ago).

LI: BOOKS!!!!! yeehhaaa to the best form of brain-stretching escapism around

HI: that people watch 5 hours of TV a day and wonder why our kids aren't doing well in school

RI: washpost on line and in print: 10. long live lots of sources of information!

RI: Vic Sussman and Marty his body builder buddy: 10. long live individualists!!!

Vic Sussman:
Marty is not a bodybuilder. He's a powerlifter. Big, big difference.

Well, what the hell. Who cares? We've reached the end of another hour disguised as 90 minutes. We were swamped with comments and questions today, so again I apologize for not getting to everything. And I thank all of you who have made this Web anomaly a regular part of your tattered little lives.

Me? I'm hungry, about to quaff a high protein drink and contemplate the meaning of existence, though maybe not in that order.

Until next week, friends (and enemies).

Love you madly.