A Frolic of My Own

Jazz, Books, Food, and the Writing Life

Blogging from New Orleans, La

30 May 2003

The next-to-last day of May and summer just arrived. Welcome.

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I had lunch with a friend of a friend who works for the family foundation of the Advisory Board Company’s founder, David G. Bradley. I learned a lot about foundations, got an inside view of the Watergate, and heard about the future of the Atlantic Monthly, which Bradley owns.

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29 May 2003

Weekend to-do list:
1. Buy produce at the Eastern Market.
2. See Venus Theater’s production of “The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women.”
3. Weather permitting, explore Rock Creek Park.

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28 May 2003

Housekeeping note: I’ve added what I hope is a spam-proof email.

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So my dad called last night to tell me that ABC had a report on how bad the job market is, and they interviewed students from the University of Virginia about their lousy employment prospects, and isn’t it interesting that they chose to show students from the school where I just finished my graduate work. Yeah dad, that is real interesting. Thanks.

Housekeeping note: I’ve added stats on my job search. As you can see, I’m just getting started.

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Last night, I tagged along to the bowling night hosted by Andrea’s firm at Strike Bethesda. Strike Bethesda is one of those super-plush, retro-lanes. I had a good time, but in the end it was still just bowling and beer. The fancy decor certainly didn’t make me bowl a higher score. Of course, following that logic you could argue that any bar is just booze and a place to drink it, so one is as good as the rest.

The retro moment has passed, though, hasn’t it? What with the current craze for Pabst Blue Ribbon [unofficial] and (according to Gawker) trucker hats, the kids are probably flocking to gritter lanes that have always been out along the highways.

My favorite bowling alley is a tiny second floor place in St. Louis. Only about three lanes against the back wall, if I remember correctly. I can only imagine what it must be like for the tenant who leases the first-floor space below the lanes.

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27 May 2003

I’m happy to report that Frolic has been added to the DC Metro Blog Map.

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I had lunch with a curator at the National Gallery today, which meant that I got a glimpse of the amazing offices I.M. Pei designed for the museum staff. The offices border a multi-story atrium that looks down on the library. For those lucky enough to get a window office, an entire wall of their office is floor to ceiling glass that looks out directly on the capitol. The cafeteria has tables in Pei’s preferred pyramid shape, although these private tables have to be reserved. Those without reservations share a long center table, which means that all levels of the staff and visiting scholars mix over lunch. And lunch, I must say, was quite good. A rotating buffet prepared by a New Orleans trained chef, a daily cheese-plate, and even a dessert tray. Unfortunately, it was a dreary day, so we weren’t able to sit outside on the terrace.

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24 May 2003

Someone entered the following query into Google:

“there was no dial tone” voice messages connection.

Believe it or not, my recent complaint about Verizon was the first page Google returned. Well, I probably didn’t answer your question. Whoever you are though, I hope you stop by again.

Posted by Todd at 7:59 am | No Comments

23 May 2003

For those who earlier tried to read Frolic and were frustrated (all three of you), it seems that BlogSpot was down most of the day. Have a good weekend. Andrea and I are off to New York.

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With this shot of the Dupont Metro, Jonathan Prince demonstrates what an overpriced Russian camera can create. At the so-called Lomographic Society thousands of similar photos from around the world are archived. I admit that the Lomo looks like fun, but $160 seems like a lot to pay for a rebranded Russian spy camera. Perhaps the real Russian model can be found cheap on eBay.

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For the first time in years, my in-box is empty enough that I can read all the message titles without scrolling.

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22 May 2003

Looking for alumni connections in the DC area, I searched through the Washington University alumni database this afternoon. A pull-down menu of possible careers that graduates could be pursuing listed both “Embalmer” and “Duplicating Machine Operator.” I didn’t check to see if any DC area alumni were employed in these fields. Even more disturbing was the fact that “Eating Disorders” and “Mental Retardation” were included. Are these careers?

I also signed onto The Square, despite my better judgment. In case you’re not familiar with the site, it’s a networking tool for people who attended 25 “elite” colleges and universities. You have to verify your alumni status before you can join. Of course, Washington University in St. Louis didn’t make the cut, but I squeaked by due to my graduate work at the University of Virginia. It’s a little distasteful, but it does have job listings.

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21 May 2003

Nathaniel Burkins has posted 50 b&w photos, taken between 1975 and 1984, of the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago.

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20 May 2003

n writers and artist who exercise control over their productions. experimentation. I suppose chance always plays some role in art, but I’m much more interested grew out of this. These days, though, I don’t have much patience for this type of Probably my youthful enthusiasm for the French New Novel, which often flirted with these technique, traced back to the Surrealists’ Exquisite Corpses, really captured me in high school and college. was used to write Naked Lunch. These forms of automatic art, which I suppose can be web versions of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies and William S. Burroughs’ Cut Up Machine, which Not so long ago, Gawker went on a nostalgia trip and posted links to

[Note: The previous post sent through the Cut-up Machine. See below]

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Not so long ago, Gawker went on a nostalgia trip and posted links to web versions of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies and William S. Burroughs’ Cut Up Machine, which was used to write Naked Lunch.

These forms of automatic art, which I suppose can be traced back to the Surrealists’ Exquisite Corpses, really captured me in high school and college. Probably my youthful enthusiasm for the French New Novel, which often flirted with these technique, grew out of this.

These days, though, I don’t have much patience for this type of experimentation. I suppose chance always plays some role in art, but I’m much more interested in writers and artist who exercise control over their productions.

Posted by Todd at 5:55 pm | No Comments