Comments on: The Farther We Go The Rounder We Get – Part 2

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:06:50 +0000

Madam’s Organ will be open for a long time. More importantly, “Dan’s” in AdMo is still open.
Where else can you get shots in a ketchup bottle?
PL: Is The Round Table still open as well? It’s a hole in the wall where they serve bourbon and cokes by giving you a ten ounce glass nearly filled with bourbon and a Coke on the side.

By: That Guy

That Guy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:55:09 +0000

Thank you for being an inspiration, I look forward to seeing you in d.c. I still want that autograph, and offer still stands about that beer.
PL: Madam’s Organ and the Big Hunt still open?

By: That Guy

That Guy — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:45:44 +0000

You said you were thinking about doing a “reader’s suggestion”. This is a topic I was thinking about for a while, it’s rather deep, but if there’s anyone that can tackle it, I think it’s you. I find that no matter what you do in life and where you go, as far as friends are concerned, there’s times when you become MIA and start anew. Somewhere down the line you get flashbacks and you think about how far you’ve actually gone from where you were and how different or same the people are where you’ve ended up. It seems that no matter what we all walk the journey of life as alone as the day we were born. How do we(you) deal with the fleetingness(for lack of a better word) of it all? Do you ever think back or do you ignore it?
PL: I think it’s a worthwhile subject and actually will be addressed in a later piece a month or so from now. From a positive perspective. I think the idea you’re referencing dovetails into the idea of not giving away your only irreplaceable resource.

By: Aldo Barbagiovanni

Aldo Barbagiovanni — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:13:54 +0000

it’s funny reading that one comment about gonzo journalism. i’ve described you as a yuppie hunter s. thompson to friends. i’m more reminded of thompson than carlin when i read your stories. i’ve never commented before, so i just want to take this time to tell you that i love your work and look forward to reading your book as soon as i spend my money on something other than pot. college.
PL: Thank you. Very kind. I think the reason writing doesn’t or can’t sound like Carlin is because everybody recalls Carlin for his unique delivery, with so many asides and pauses. Hard to recall anything he said as prose. And as good as he was with language, he wasn’t poetic. In his best works, Thompson was basically a poet pretending to be a writer. The “Gonzo” angle was as much about the way his words flowed as anything else. The “rip” of the language created a unique sense of, pardon my use of a word currently bastardized to a silly political definition, “urgency.”

By: kakutogi

kakutogi — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:04:03 +0000

“pissed at the strength of the argument”
Yeah, definitely gotta agree with that one. It’s one of the foulest catch-22s I know. Damn
by the way, what does Ne mangez pas l’acide marron- (i guess it translates to dont eat the acid chestnut?) have to do with your book?
PL: That’s close, but not the exact translation (or we have it wrong, or it’s one of those phrases that never translates 1:1 to English, either of which is entirely possible). It’s a famous quote.

By: JuXtaposed

JuXtaposed — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:25:32 +0000

The beginning installments of your stories always leave me wanting more, and the end of your stories always leave me extremely satisfied. It’s like being blue balled one minute, then having a twenty pornstar gangbang the next.
I can’t wait to see where this story is going. You’ve set up a perfect storm of trouble, much like you did with Ten Percenter (are you sick of people referencing that story yet?), and I’m looking forward to the inevitable shit-storm.
Similarly, I’d like to thank you for the semi-regular updates, even though you’re working on a book. My biggest pet peeve with internet writers who land book deals is that they forgo updating their sites so they can work on their books. You manage to work on the book while simultaneously updating frequently enough to keep my interest piqued. Keep up the good work.
PL: Thank you. I think I can address the reason internet writers with book deals don’t continually write when they’re working on their books.
Writing a book is insane. To do it well, you must be immersed in it almost every spare moment you aren’t working. To try to update a site at the same time with quality material while dealing with the book’s marketing and editing is almost impossible. The best analogy I can offer would be an Op-Ed writer who goes on sabbatical to write a book. They do that because there is no way for them to pump out columns and write a book at once. In my case, there is bleed-over between the site and the book, but even in that scenario, I had to walk away from the site for several months.
But again, thanks for your patience and compliments.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:48:44 +0000

Fantastic. Just brilliant, fluid prose. I’m still young, gradtuated last year – and if I experience a life half as interesting and complete as yours I’ll consider it well lived.
Your stories are at once identifiable with and awe-inspiring. I’m trying to start writing now.
PS Us Brits get a blurb on the book description!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Hour-Amateurs-Decade-Profession/dp/0061349496/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215787033&sr=8-1
PL: Thanks. But I’m just a guy writing the fucking and drunk stories we all have, with a few important points in the mix.
If I might offer some advice since you raise the issue of how to live, live your life, and yours alone. Take advice and pay attention to people with years on you, but never follow a form. And never do something you loath or bores you just for money. In the end, the only currency that matters is on your wristwatch.

By: estar gwars

estar gwars — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:39:58 +0000

3 things…
1) God damn I love your writing! I can’t wait to get the book, pre-ordered a couple days ago.
2) How can I get an autographed copy?
3) Where’s the love from Rudius? No pre-sale announcement over on RMMB? Too early?
PL: Don’t want to shoot my wad prematurely. We’re working on all those things and will have answers shortly.

By: Nate

Nate — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:04:28 +0000

PL: I looked on amazon a few days ago and there was only barebones info up, now it looks good with all the details. Tell your publisher to throw up some excerpts though.
ps- snazzy cover
PL: Thanks. But credit for the cover idea goes to Donika and the Bunny. http://donika.rudiusmedia.com; http://www.thebunnyblog.com

By: Blank

Blank — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:36:45 +0000

The only thing that I can think of right now is, “Holy shit.” Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always thought that you were a good writer, but this post has just reached another level, one that I aspire to reach. You’ve just set a bar for me that I want to understand and surpass.
Do you have a must-read, or books I like list somewhere you could share like Ryan does? I’d be much obliged.
PL: I’ll do that with the forthcoming music list. That’s long and requires me to think a lot. I’m the kind of person who gives away or loans out books with no intention of reclaiming them once read. Right now I can say I am reading “The Myth of Sisyphus,” the end of “Fargo Rock City” I forgot to finish years ago and bits of a biography of Gram Parsons. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot more periodicals and newspapers than anything else. When you write, you tend to copy the style of what you’re reading, so you have to consciously avoid reading anything by anyone with any unique or dated prose.