Robert Reich knows the Milkman is coming

Love this post by the former US Secretary of Labor, and current Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, Robert Reich. As multinational corporations grow in scope and size, nations become more and more irrelevant. IBM is a great example. If only 20-percent of its employees are American, is it still a US company? It may want to self-identify that way, but in a functional sense - in the way that matters to most people - it's as nationless as Al-Qaeda. Or Greenpeace. The Milkman marches on.

Story About a Story

Yeah, stories about stories are a little pretzelish, but this tiny little essay is cool because it’s about one word. The word that, 30 years ago, made me think about writing The Milkman. Upcoming4.me was nice enough to post it.

Going to Detcon1

Not to be confused with Defcon1, I hope, in most ways. I want this convention to be exciting, but not THAT exciting. I will be doing several things in Detroit this weekend, the best of which are

Reading with Suzanne Church – we’re doing a joint reading 2 pm Sat. We don’t share, we read at the same time, cutting each other off. It’s fierce.

Reading for kids – 4pm Sat. I wrote a special chapbook just for the event, Max Goes to Detcon1. And I mean just. This is a one-time only deal, little ones. Grab a cookie and listen to me try not to sound like an old guy with a sinus infection.

 On Sunday, I’m on a panel about science and magic. It won’t go well. We all know those two things don’t mix.

Word Crimes

I haven't loved a Weird Al song in so, so long.  The wait is over.

Border Perspective

Since October 56,000 children have entered the country illegally. It seems like a big number.  God knows, if all of them we're buying one my books I'd be thrilled.  In that same time about 2.6 million children were born in the U.S. That's a bigger number.  Would anyone have noticed if America’s birthrate rose two-tenths of a percent in the last three quarters? Anyone?

I’m not advocating illegal immigration or law breaking. I do think people might want to try to keep the issue in perspective. Any protestor holding a sign up to a 12-year-old telling her to go home and saying to the cameras “I’m saving our country” needs to give the matter just a little more thought. Sure, tighten up the borders, tell all of Uruguay this won’t be tolerated, but please, don’t make kids your soccer ball.

Shia LaBeouf - The Real Story

Shia LaBeouf, as explained to me by a friend of a friend, got ripped after seeing Transformers, Age of Extinction.  It’s tough to admonish him for this.  I guess he said something like “They used to blame me for this crap”  and started pounding Bushmills. He escaped to the theatre, where Tony award winning actor Alan Cumming should have been able to help.  Then he realized it was the guy form Son of the Mask, lit up and got the boot.  I almost feel bad for the guy.  Almost.  I would if it weren’t for Indian Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  That remains unforgiveable.