I’m happy to say that I’ve joined the crew at St. Louis Magazine’s Look/Listen blog. I’ll be writing book things, reviews and thoughts and who knows what else. My first bit is a review of Gary Shteyngart’s third novel, Super Sad True Love Story.

Satire as a literary mode of expression is problematic. Speaking of humor generally, I once attempted to suss out the issue with Jensen Whelan by calling it (satire) a drunk who requires something sturdy nearby, lest it falls into a puddle of its own sick. The Shteyngart review is a chance to address the issue a bit more thoroughly.

I’m fortunate enough to be part of a truly impressive collective of like-minded artists who value blank over this other…

Actually, no, but I hang out with a cadre of assholes who have a blog and a thick, serious rep around town called Dude Life. Tonight I posted my first piece of writing there, about the Shane Oneill debacle (tiny inside joke). It’s about skateboarding specifically, but generally about payment for digital content, and shifting paradigms of consumption and a certain Scientologist’s fingers playing through the hair of the industry. It’s called “Three Dollars.”

I’m just back from the Banksy movie, too, after which it occurred to me: here’s an alternative to Dave Wallace’s famous suggestion about sincere, artistic anti-rebels freeing us all from irony’s tyrannical grasp. Which is tossing a grenade into the whole sincere-ironic discussion, obliterating the distinction completely. The result, for me anyway, was a stange floaty headache and desire to lean over the mall atrium’s railing and spit.

More soon. If you want a rundown on the Shane Oneill thing just ask.

About a year ago I pitched the idea for an essay to St. Louis Magazine. The thought was to look at the baseball rivalry between St. Louis and Chicago, addressing it as a lifelong Cardinals fan living among Cubs faithful. There was a bit of back and forth and a long stretch of time between when we agreed on the fact of essay and the time when the essay would eventually come out, which was in time for Opening Day of the 2010 season. During that time I read a bunch of baseball materials, took silly-copious (I realize now) notes about the Cubs 2009 season, failure, the comedy of Milton Bradley, the fact of the Cardinals acquisition of Matt Holliday, and so damn much more. I’ve written about baseball before, both in The Slide and elsewhere (0ne or two of you might recall my previous stint as a baseball blogger along with the unfortunate end to that career), but addressing the Cubs / Cards rivalry was about as fun as I’ve ever had with a writing project. And so it makes me immensely happy to share it now.

Subtitled, “Contemplating rivalry — and envy and schadenfreude and life itself — amid the world’s worst singalong,” the essay is available in St. Louis Magazine’s April 2010 issue. Please enjoy: A Cardinals Fan in Cub Land.

I was asked nicely to contribute to the Three Guys One Book blog’s “When We Fell in Love” series, in which authors talk about a book or books that that made readers or writers out of them. Today, my three-book answer has become internetty, right here.