(In Progress) My Published Work So Far, Regularly Updated:

As noted last month, I'm collecting my published work for one massive entry here. I'll update it as new work comes out, but won't write new posts for The Slippery Fish.

Archived work in reverse chronological order, mostly.

If you'd like to reach me, please contact me at ldremousis at yahoo dot com. My Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/litsa.dremousis and I frolic on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/LitsaDremousis (@LitsaDremousis).

Diving in:



Litsa Dremousis at Back Fence PDX from Back Fence PDX on Vimeo.
Back Fence PDX! Sold-out show, Mission Theater, Portland, Oregon, February 1, 2014! On sex and death and make-out and the road from the worst pain to the greatest pleasure.


Smith Magazine HarperCollins anthology, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-word Memoirs, video via Smith Magazine, reading my accompanying essay at Seattle's University Bookstore, January 14, 2010


My Pop Con 2013 presentation "Yoko Ono Can Stomp Your Ass" at Experience Music Project, April 20, 2013; EMP posted the video today, May 15, 2013


 For Seattle Public Theater's "An Evening of Inappropriate Poetry and Prose", I read my pieces "If Charles Bukowski Had Written Children's Books" from McSweeney's and "Naked Rebellion and Soggy, Hot Tub Nachos" from The Nervous Breakdown, March 21, 2014

[Upcoming Event!] Lit Crawl 2014, Thursday October 23, 2014, I'm reading from my new book "Altitude Sickness" (Future Tense Books) at 7pm at the Pine Box, 1600 Melrose. Lindy West, Sierra Golden, and Jennifer Longo are also on the bill, i.e. this will be rollicking. Honored I've been asked to read or emcee all three years! Hope to see you there! Details: http://litcrawl.org/seattle/2014-schedule


Best American Essays, My essay "After the Fire" was chosen for "Notable Essays of 2011", alongside essays from Joan Didion, Christopher Hitchens, Junot Diaz and other writers whose work I always admire. I just discovered this honor now because there was an editorial shuffle at Nerve, where "After the Fire" ran, and things fell through the cracks.
"Best American Essays 2012": http://books.google.com/books?id=uAI-t9Ot3vcC&lpg=PA303&dq=litsa%20dremousis&pg=PA303#v=onepage&q=litsa%20dremousis&f=false

And "After the Fire" again: http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-after-the-fire

McSweeney's, To celebrate Charles Bukowski's birthday, McSweeney's posted to Facebook and Tweeted my 2004 piece, "If Charles Bukowski Had Written Children's Books". In the course of the weekend, it garnered 3.1 k Facebook "likes", August 16, 2014:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/if-charles-bukowski-had-written-childrens-books

The Washington Post, I just discovered my Jezebel essay "I'm Mad at You Because You're an Idiot, Not Because I'm a Woman", was quoted and lauded in this fine 2012 Washington Post editorial by Anna Holmes, "Even Today An Angry Female Arouses Fear and Is Dismissed". Particularly thrilled I'm used to praise Elizabeth Warren, January 26, 2012:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/even-today-an-angry-female-arouses-fear-and-is-dismissed/2012/01/26/gIQAStovTQ_story.html

The Weeklings, "Turn Off Your Fleshlight", in which I examine both the useful and gross properties of the world's #1 selling men's sex toy, The Fleshlight. The comment section is a kick because some of the men are outraged I'd playfully mock their preferred method of playing with themselves, July 30, 2014:
http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2014/07/30/27018/

The Weeklings, "Allied Forces: Cutting Our Allies Some Slack", my newest essay for The Weeklings!  On recognizing our allies and cutting them some slack. Also, looking at ourselves and examining whether we've been assholes. Race, gender, disability, LGBTQ, the South and the whole shebang. Plus, make-out, June 18, 2014:
http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2014/06/18/26028/

The Manifest-Station, "Sex and the Sickly Girl", my essay on degenerative illness, sex and a willful Pomeranian, June 11, 2014:
http://themanifeststation.net/2014/06/11/sex-sickly-girl/

 The Seattle Channel's "The Art Zone", multi-genre writer Chris Estey interviews me re literature, music, Pomeranians, major depression and general silliness in "An Interview with Litsa Dremousis, Prized Seattle Music Journalist, Writer-Performer and Novelist", April 4, 2014:
http://take21.seattlechannel.org/2014/04/04/an-interview-with-litsa-dremousis-prized-seattle-music-journalist-writer-performer-and-novelist/

Seattle Public Theater (upcoming event): Saturday, March 21, 2014. "Knotty Words", curated reading of "inappropriate" works by me and fellow scribes to kick off SPT's production of "Gideon's Knot". Details forthcoming!

The Weeklings, "The Light Easier to Find", my essay on midlife gratitude, on being closer to death than birth and still finding joy and mischief. Also, hippies are mocked, February 19, 2014: http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2014/02/19/the-light-easier-to-find/

The Working Project, author Sarah McCarry interviews me for The Working Project, her series on writers and depression. Honored she includes me as she helps remove depression's stigma. February 10, 2014; http://www.therejectionist.com/2014/02/working-litsa-dremousis.html

Back Fence PDX (upcoming event), thrilled to be part of the February 1, 2014 show, "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes" and to partake in Portland's venerated storytelling salon! Tickets $13 to $20 in advance, $16 the day of the show. Details: http://backfencepdx.com/upcoming-shows/ [UPDATED: We sold out! Please find video above. Or watch it here: http://vimeo.com/86028377]

Salon, "My Terrifying Chemical Storms", I'm wholly flattered Salon once again chose one of my Weeklings essays; I'm bemused by the new title, January 12, 2014: http://www.salon.com/2014/01/12/entering_a_new_year_with_my_depression_partner/

The Weeklings, "Neurological New Year's Logic", my newest essay for The Weeklings, the lit site recently hailed by the New Yorker and by Slate. On recurring bouts of major depression and, to a lesser extent, my rack, January 1, 2014: http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2014/01/01/neurological-new-years-logic/

The Rumpus, a lovely shout-out for my newest essay on The Weeklings, "What I'd Tell You If I Could", November 12, 2013:
http://therumpus.net/2013/11/what-id-tell-you-if-i-could/comment-page-1/#comment-526003

The Weeklings, "What I'd Tell You if I Could", my newest essay for the esteemed and crackling lit site. I want to talk to the dead about the living and to the living about the dead, November 6, 2013: http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2013/11/06/what-id-tell-you-if-i-could/

Lit Crawl Seattle 2013 (event), Thursday October 24, 60 authors at 19 venues throughout Capitol Hill and downtown, in my case 7pm at Babeland. Thanks so much to the Stranger, Seattle Met and most of the city's media outlets for all the support! Seattle, your writers thank you for a second consecutive sold-out year. Yea! http://litcrawl.org/seattle/schedule

Lit Fix 3 (event), 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Thursday September 26 at the Rendezvous (2322 2nd Ave, Seattle 98121), I'll be reading at Lit Fix, Seattle's raucous lit event that combines literature and music. Five bucks at the door, all proceeds benefit Literacy Source. Thrilled to be alongside Kevin Emerson, Indu Sundaresan and Jarret Middleton: http://www.litfixseattle.com/#!next-event/cjg9

Salon, my food stamps essay from The Weeklings went live on Salon this morning, replete with Salon-ified title and hearty comment section debate, "My Food Stamp Misery", August 23, 2013: http://www.salon.com/2013/08/23/my_food_stamps_misery_partner/

The Weeklings, As the House considers cutting four million Americans from food stamps, I reflect on how my second bout in the wheelchair landed me on food stamps in 2002 and why no one's safety net is all that safe. My first essay for The Weeklings, "That's Why the Lady Was on Stamps", August 22, 2013: http://www.theweeklings.com/ldremousis/2013/08/22/thats-why-the-lady-was-on-stamps/

MSN, my interview with the ebullient Kelly Rowland on triumph, lust, Beyonce and the Superbowl. (Yea!) June 19, 2013: http://music.msn.com/summer-music-guide-kelly-rowland/feature/story/?ocid=muhfpS1RL3

NPR, my feature on John Vanderslice in which we discuss his magnificent new record "Dagger Beach", crushing heartbreak and the magic of wandering alone, June 14, 2013: http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/06/14/191602109/heartbreak-takes-john-vanderslice-to-dagger-beach

Thanks, Seattle Weekly, for including me among the "50 Women Who Rock Seattle"! Two percent of the city's female rocking, right here. A toast to all the fine ladies, June 12, 2013: http://www.seattleweekly.com/music/947216-129/music-seattle-business-manager-bio-sexist

MSN, my interview with Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave! The band's gorgeous new record "Nightingale Floors", George Harrison's wisdom and learning to accept death, June 6, 2013: http://music.msn.com/summer-music-guide-rogue-wave/feature/story/?ocid=muhfpS2RL3

Pop Con 2013: occurring simultaneously in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Cleveland; simulcast and filmed for posterity; Saturday April 20 at EMP in Seattle, yours truly is pleased to be part of the always kinetic and vital Pop Con. My presentation: "Yoko Ono Can Stomp Your Ass: the Artist at 80". The full line-up:
http://empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/2013/emp-pop-conference-2013-seattle.aspx 
Additional biographical details: http://www.empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/2013/emp-pop-conference-2013-seattle-bios.aspx#Dremousis 
KEXP's Pop Con preview (thanks for calling me "brilliant"!): http://blog.kexp.org/2013/04/15/scribes-sounding-off-emp-pop-conference-2013-in-seattle/
Three Imaginary Girls offer a fantastic Pop Con preview, April 19, 2013: http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/blog/2013apr/very-imaginary-weekend-popcon-record-store-day-and-more#comment-86918

MSN, my interview with Iron and Wine's Sam Beam, who happens to be as gracious as he is talented. On the new record "Ghost on Ghost", creating with five young kids and why he wants to record a seminal ballad like "Islands in the Stream", April 19, 2013: http://music.msn.com/iron-and-wine/story/interview/?ocid=muhfpS5L

MSN, Tegan and Sara! My interview with Sara Quin on the duo's righteous new pop record, why it's conducive to make-out and why they're glad they came out before many of their peers, January 30, 2013:
http://music.msn.com/tegan-and-sara/story/interview/?ocid=muhfpS1RL3

MSN, my interview with the great David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. We discuss CVB's new record, the destruction left in the wake of file-sharing and his now infamous Trichordist essay, "Letter to Emily White at NPR All Songs Considered". My respect for him has only grown, January 28, 2013:
http://music.msn.com/david-lowery/story/interview/#scptmfs

Huffington Post, my feature on Adam Kellner, who has been missing from the Los Angeles for five years now. Thanks so much to Huffington Post Los Angeles for keeping on the front page all day. Photo, video and sheriff information are included in the piece. Incredibly moving how many people want to help. The response has been incredible. Thank you. If inclined, please forward after reading, January 11, 2013:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/litsa-dremousis/adam-kellner_b_2418800.html
[An update: the private investigator who is volunteering her services to Adam's family as a result of this piece is a retired FBI agent who worked on the Joint Task Force on Terrorism. Once a year she chooses a pro bono case. This year, she chose Adam. KHTS interviews her about Adam here: http://hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/former-fbi-agent-seeks-out-missing-man-adam-kellner-33556]

Huffington Post, my somewhat tongue-in-cheek theory on Ben Affleck's wholly undeserved Oscar snub, "Ben Affleck 'Argo' Snub Explained: Jealous, Cat-fighting Directors!" This one set off a debate on Twitter, January 10, 2013:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/litsa-dremousis/ben-affleck-argo-snub_b_2450030.html

MSN, as a regular MSN contributor, I was asked to add my two cents in the Best of 2012 Albums and Best of 2012 Songs features. End of year debate ensues; so far, no fisticuffs, December 19, 2012:
"Best Albums 2012": http://music.msn.com/music/year-in-review/best-albums/
"Best Songs 2012": http://music.msn.com/music/year-in-review/best-songs/

City Arts Magazine, my essay "Ivory Christmas" about an adolescent prank involving faked onanism and kitchen fluids is featured with illustrations online and on stands, the December 2012 issue:
http://cityartsmagazine.com/issues/seattle/2012/12/ivory-christmas

KUOW, Seattle's NPR affiliate, "The Conversation", a mix of storytellers and listeners who call in, I was on again as one of the former, this time discussing the intersection of holidays, family and politics, November 21, 2012:
http://kuow.org/post/religion-politics-and-money-avoiding-conversation-explosions-thanksgiving


LitQuake's Lit Crawl "Funny Ladies" bill at Seattle's Town Hall, 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. October 18, 2012. Thrilled to be part of this line-up and we're looking at a full house. Fingers crossed, break a leg, all proper contorting of body parts!
http://townhallseattle.org/lit-crawl-seattle-funny-ladies/
http://litcrawl.org/seattle/event-2-university-book-store-presents-funny-ladies
http://litcrawl.org/
[Post script: We had a capacity house! Thanks so much, Lit Crawl and LitQuake for a supremely well-organized and ridiculously fun event and, also, to Seattle for supporting its writers.]

New York Magazine, my second piece and my first interview for NY Mag. In this one, I interview a certain Mr. Ben Gibbard on the release of his first solo record, "Former Lives". It's an entirely different interview than the one I did with him for MSN and he was suitably wonderful for each, October 18, 2012:
http://www.vulture.com/2012/10/ben-gibbard-interview.html

MSN, my interview with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie on the release of his first solo record, the amazing "Former Lives", October 16, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/ben-gibbard/story/interview/

MSN, my interview with the great Ann Wilson of Heart, who is as wondrous a storyteller as she is musician. Honored and humbled I conversed with her, and about such a wide range of topics, too. I remain perpetually bowed. Okay, that sounds unduly serious, as she is super-smart and funny. You just have to read this one, October 2, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/heart-ann-wilson/story/interview/

MSN, my interview with Dan Boeckner of the indie super-group Divine Fits and of Wolf Parade, wherein he discusses Divine Fits' new wildly acclaimed record, his songwriting process with Britt Daniel, his admiration for and friendship with Isaac Brock and why North American airline passengers seriously need to get their act together, September 10, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/divine-fits/story/interview/

MSN, my new interview with Alanis Morissette. The multi-Grammy winner who has sold 60 million records worldwide is forthright and funny regarding her new disc "Havoc and Bright Lights", evolving gender roles, why she would have dinner with John Lennon and more, August 28, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/alanis-morissette-reaps-havoc/story/interview/

MSN, my interview with the singular Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, in which she holds forth on her three decades of creation with the legendary band and, also, her solo film scores, for which she has received a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination, August 14, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/dead-can-dance/story/interview/

The Huffington Post, "Six, Please: Remembering Nora Ephron", my tribute to the writer and director and to the role she played for the women in my family. Rest and eat well, great lady, June 27, 2012:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/litsa-dremousis/remembering-nora-ephron_b_1629708.html

MSN, my interview with Billy Corgan in which he candidly holds forth on the Smashing Pumpkins' music new and old, why he admires Amanda Palmer and loathes Pitchfork, the Internet's "culture of appropriation" and much, much more, June 19, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/billy-corgan-smashing-pumpkins-return/story/interview/

The Huffington Post, my interview with the always engaging writer-director Lynn Shelton on her latest film, Your Sister's Sister, June 12, 2012:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/litsa-dremousis/your-sisters-sister_b_1589299.html

MSN, my interview with Rufus Wainwright! Brilliant, wry, self-aware, sartorially superior, June 4, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/rufus-wainwright-game-face/story/interview/

Monkeybicycle, part of the lit journal's ongoing "One-Sentence Stories" series, "As If I Were Prank-calling Her", May 16, 2012:
http://monkeybicycle.net/one-sentence-stories-5-16-2012/

KUOW, Seattle's NPR affiliate, I discussed live on-air how an awry prom story came to define a good chunk of my twenties, for KUOW's show "Conversations", (I come on near the 10 minute mark), May 8, 2012:
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=26704

Nerve, "Love Lessons from Rufus Wainwright", my latest Nerve column, this one on the acclaimed and spectacularly versatile singer's new album Out of the Game and its tribute to love in many forms, April 4, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-rufus-wainwright

Aol's Spinner, "Why Madonna Should Retire", wherein two Madonna fans--Huffington Post's Gay Voices editor and I--debate whether it's time for Madge to move on to other realms, March 28, 2012:
http://blog.music.aol.com/2012/03/28/madonna-retirement-MDNA

Nerve, "Love Lessons from Mad Men", my latest Nerve column, this one on Mad Men's Season Five return. Always fun when you get to write about the object of your devotion. And, of course, it's mandatory all pop culture writers contemplate some aspect of Season Five's premiere. We'll get our laptops confiscated if we don't, March 21, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-emmad-men-em

TNB (The Nervous Breakdown), "Limbaugh, the Ladies and Consumer Activism: Women are Good at Math After All", O'Reilly has unequivocally supported Limbaugh's "slut" tirade, AT&T sponsors Fox News, I'm an AT&T customer who asked upper-level AT&T media executives why I should remain their customer when they give my money to those who denigrate women, March 15, 2012:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2012/03/limbaugh-the-ladies-and-consumer-activism-women-are-good-at-math-after-all/#comment-217495

Cheap Beer and Prose, the event at Richard Hugo House, I'm headlining: the wildly popular series in which I'm lucky enough to share a stage with Peter Mountford and Harold Taw, 7pm March 8th:
http://hugohouse.org/event/2012/mar/cheap-beer-prose
[Postscript: Standing room only! Enormous thanks to Richard Hugo House, event coordinator Brian McGuigan and fellow readers/writers Harold Taw and Peter Mountford for an exceptionally fun and successful evening.]

The author site, Dear Teen Me, an essay to my teen self in which I address the hair, the rack, my propensity for dude friends and on-and-off again relationships and the fact my crush, Michael Stipe, turns out to be gay, March 6, 2012:
http://dearteenme.com/?p=3014

MSN, my interview with the Grammy-winning Estelle, who's as gracious as she is supremely talented, "Estelle: Party of One", February 28, 2012:
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=707401&icid=MUSIC1a&GT1=MUSIC1a&silentchk=1&wa=wsignin1.0

The Huffington Post, "I Knew Dating After Losing Him Would be Tough--But Sex? Even More Difficult", February 27, 2012:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/litsa-dremousis/dating-again-after-my-par_b_1299582.html?ref=women

Nerve, "Love Lessons from 'Bill Clinton: The Comeback Kid'", latest installment of my pop culture column, this one on our tenacious former President who happens to be the world's most infamous adulterer, February 22, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-bill-clinton-the-comeback-kid

New York Magazine, "The Grieving Feminist Contemplating Sex for the First Time After Her Partner's Death", Thanks to editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and New York Magazine for taking a chance on a Sex Diary that's about reclaiming your sexuality after your partner dies and that contains no sex, per se. Bold move on each of their parts. Ostensibly, the series is anonymous, hence editor RKB's name on top, but as she and I discussed yesterday, it's obviously me and I knew that when I wrote it. Unless, of course, there's another Seattle-based writer who makes peen jokes and has CFIDS and whose partner died in a climbing accident 28 months ago. At which point, I should befriend her immediately, February 21, 2012:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/02/grieving-feminist-sex-diary.html

Slate, "Love in Three Photos", mine was among the 20 photo essays selected for this moving, funny and decidedly non-cheesy Valentine's Day series, February 13, 2012:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2012/02/valentine_s_day_love_stories_slate_readers_as_told_in_three_photos_.html

Nerve, "Love Lessons from Estelle", the newest installment of my Nerve pop culture column praises Estelle's new album All of Me for being the rare collection of love songs that's smart as well as moving, February 8, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-estelle

Nerve, "Love Lessons from 'The Descendants'", the newest installment of my Nerve pop culture column, is up in conjunction with the Oscar nominations, January 24, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-emthe-descendants

Nerve, "Love Lessons from '30 Rock'", the newest installment of my Nerve pop culture column is up. Getting paid to write about Tina Fey is like my dog getting paid to eat steak, January 11, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-from-30-rock

Jezebel, Nerve, Jezebel and I worked out an agreement so Jezebel could reprint "Hell Hath No Fury" with permission. On Jezebel, it's called, "I'm Mad at You Because You're an Idiot, Not Because I'm a Woman". On Nerve, it has been ranked their #1 story since yesterday. It was Jezebel's lead story for several hours today and as I write this, it has garnered 537 Facebook "Likes", 51,069 page views and 441 comments on their site. Plus, it has received 227 "Likes" on their Facebook page. [After it had been up a week on Jezebel, it had received over 1000 Facebook "Likes", more than 94,000 page views and 727 comments.] So that's rather nice, January 10, 2012:
http://jezebel.com/5874459/im-mad-at-you-because-youre-an-idiot-not-because-im-a-woman

Nerve, my essay "Hell Hath No Fury", accompanied by the deck, "If you say something idiotic, I'm getting mad because you're an idiot, not because I'm a woman", January 5, 2012:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-hell-hath-no-fury

The Nervous Breakdown, my essay "Ivory Christmas", wherein I recall how bringing my first boyfriend home for the holidays resulted in viscous liquid, a looming background check and King Crimson riffs, January 2, 2012:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2012/01/ivory-christmas/

Nerve, debut of my new bi-monthly column on the intersection of pop culture, love and sex. We kick off with "Love Lessons from American Horror Story", December 21, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/love-lessons-of-american-horror-story

MSN, interview with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Smart, engaged, funny and grounded. One of my favorites. Among topics discusses: why the Black Keys don't take their success for granted, how licensing is the new radio and where Kurt Cobain's money actually went, December 6, 2011:
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=687814&icid=MUSIC1&GT1=MUSIC1

The Onion's A.V. Club, interview with legendary comedy writer, Merrill Markoe. The original head writer of "Late Night with David Letterman" and best-selling novelist and essayist discusses pilfering her dead mom's journals for material, her groundbreaking career and inadvertently getting dragged into a certain talk show host's sex scandal. Quite pleased with how this turned out, November 1, 2011:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/merrill-markoe,64309/

MSN feature-length review, "Feist Extracts Junk-Shop Wisdom from 'Metals', October 5, 2011.
Excerpt:"Listening to Feist's new disc, Metals (Cherrytree/Interscope), is much like wandering through a botanical garden. The dozen songs that comprise her follow-up to the 2007 smash The Reminder are both lush and impeccable. Her fourth studio outing (not including collaborations with Broken Social Scene and other contemporaries) finds her re-teaming with longtime musical allies Chilly Gonzales and Mocky to explore vast and complex emotions, but always with a seeming layer of remove, a veneer of politesse. And therein lies the problem: ideas that might have been more captivating had they been allowed to flourish often feel manicured. The blossoms are coiled around the trellis."
Link:
http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=673575&icid=MUSIC1&GT1=MUSIC1

Nerve essay addressing one of love's more complex questions, "Dating My Ex's Friend: Should I Have Expected Trouble?" (also pondered: polio-curing vaginas), August 29, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-dating-my-exs-friend

The Seattle Weekly, a short one on The Crocodile Cafe's successful music industry happy hour series, "The Croc's The Office Happy Hour Series with the Three Imaginary Girls Kids", August 22, 2011:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2011/08/the_crocs_the_office_happy_hou.php

The Seattle Weekly, wholly invigorating interview with Jesse Sykes of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter re her masterful new record, Marble Son, "Might as Well Jump", August 3, 2011:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-08-03/music/jesse-sykes-might-as-well-jump/

The Nervous Breakdown, essay in which I explore the statute of limitations on past sexual hijinks, "Hot Tub Rebellion and Naked, Soggy Nachos", July 29, 2011:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2011/07/hot-tub-rebellion-and-naked-soggy-nachos/

Nerve essay, sex, seizure, a giant dog suit--what's it like dating with a chronic illness?, "Taking Off Our Costumes", May 26, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-taking-off-our-costumes

Nerve essay, cross-dressing, bad foreplay and a math teacher with a secret, "It's Always the Quiet Ones", April 8, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-its-always-the-quiet-ones

The Nervous Breakdown, interview with Mike Sacks, author of Your Wildest Dreams Within Reason, "Mike Sacks Really Wants a Meat Pocket", March 13, 2011
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2011/03/mike-sacks-really-wants-a-meat-pocket/

Nerve essay, "Grand Gestures Gone Wrong: A Foray into the Domestic Arts", February 14, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/grand-gestures-of-love-gone-wrong?page=4

The Seattle Weekly music feature, "An Incomplete History of Clutch Douglass' Journey Back to the '80s", January 19, 2011:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-01-19/music/an-incomplete-history-of-clutch-douglass-journey-back-to-the-80s/

Nerve essay, my partner alive and dead, "After the Fire", January 10, 2011:
http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-after-the-fire

The Huffington Post, "Six-Word Memoirs: New Year's Resolutions", January 3, 2011:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-smith/six-word-memoirs-new-year_b_803327.html?ref=fb&src=sp#s218347&title=Finish_manuscript_click

KEXP, I was interviewed along with Matthew Caws, Ken Stringfellow, Dow Constantine and others I was hugely flattered to be included among for "New Year's Resolutions from the Seattle Music Scene: Part 1" by Jon Harthun:
http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2010/12/30/seattle-music-scene%E2%80%99s-new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-389563

Paste Magazine, interview with musician John Vanderslice, "John Vanderslice Dresses As Santa, Acts a Fool for Seattle Charity Event", December 15, 2010:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/giving_back/2010/12/john-vanderslice-dresses-as-santa-for-three-imaginary-girls-fundraiser.html

The Seattle Weekly, short feature on musician John Vanderslice, indie rock enthusiasts Three Imaginary Girls and their benefit for Teen Feed, "Three Imaginary Girls Holiday Party", December 15, 2010:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-12-15/calendar/three-imaginary-girls-holiday-party/

MSNBC.com, I was interviewed in "Nation of Whiners: We Want Everyone to Feel Our Pain" by Diane Mapes. Obviously, I am assiduously anti-whining. December 7, 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40281993/ns/health-pain_center/

KUOW (Seattle's NPR affiliate), an untitled piece I delivered in front of a live audience as part of the lauded A Guide to Visitors story-telling series. My story about my late partner and I growing as Seattle did is archived in Hour 6 and it's the fourth one in. October 18, 2010:
http://www2.kuow.org/program.php?id=21278
or at http://www2.kuow.org/specials/aguidetovisitors.php

The Nervous Breakdown, interview with Mike Sacks, co-author of Sex: Our Bodies, Our Junk by the Association of the Betterment for Sex, "Mike Sacks Co-wrote 2010's Funniest Book, Earned Jon Stewart's Praise and for Now, at Least, Preserved His Infant Daughter's Mental Health", October 6, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/10/mike-sacks-co-wrote-2010s-funniest-book-earned-jon-stewarts-praise-and-for-now-at-least-preserved-his-infant-daughters-mental-health/

The Seattle Weekly, interview with musician Shelby Earl, "Donuts and Dogs with Shelby Earl", October 6, 2010:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-10-06/music/donuts-and-dogs-with-shelby-earl/

The Seattle Weekly, music feature on the Reverb Festival, "Hattie's Hat", October 6, 2010:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-10-06/music/hattie-s-hat/

The Nervous Breakdown, interview with Kurt B. Reighley, author of United States of Americana, "Kurt B. Reighley, Author of United States of Americana, Makes You Want to Make Things", October 1, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/10/kurt-b-reighley-author-of-united-states-of-americana-makes-you-want-make-things/

Emergency Press and Flickr, The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition (in the Jewelbox Theater at the Rendezvous) which I oversaw and at which I read, shot by Emergency Press photographer, the eminently talented Kymberlee della Luce, September 23, 2010:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unbridled_expression/sets/72157624914530461/

City Arts Magazine recommends The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, which I oversaw and at which I read, and says, "All these folks are funny and sharp, and it's quite a show to see them reading all in one place", "Catch This: The Nervous Breakdown Literary Series", September 23, 2010:
http://www.cityartsmagazine.com/blog/2010/09/catch-nervous-breakdown-literary-series

KOMO4.com, The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition, which I oversaw and at which I read is referred to as "a half dozen of the city's most lauded authors", "Seattle's Best Authors Come Together for Literary Event", September 21, 2010:
http://downtownseattle.komonews.com/content/seattles-best-authors-come-together-literary-event

The Stranger raves about The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, which I oversaw and at which I read, "This is a big goddamned reading of local authors that serves as a west-coast franchise of the popular online magazine for writers" in their events section, September 16, 2010:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Event?event=4882845

The Nervous Breakdown, interview with Wahajat Malik, my friend doing relief work in the aftermath of Pakistan's devastating floods, "Pakistan Drowned in the Water of the Lion River", September 13, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/09/pakistan-drowned-in-the-waters-of-the-lion-river/

The Nervous Breakdown, feature on what, exactly The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition, had up its sleeve, "Be There or We'll Talk About You", September 7, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/09/announcing-the-nervous-breakdown-literary-experience-seattle-edition/#comment-99898

Nerve, interview with my parents re their surprisingly rebellious courtship for Nerve's "Before You Were Born" series, September 1, 2010:
http://www.nerve.com//before-you-were-born/the-dremousis

The Nervous Breakdown essay, the surreality of my high school reunion as it intersects with grief, "The Mirror Maze", August 4, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/08/the-mirror-maze/

The Seattle Weekly, short feature on Justin Henderson, author of Grunge Seattle, July 27, 2010:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/07/book_signing_with_justin_hende.php

KOMO4.com, "Starbucks on Olive off Summit: Soon with Booze", July 24, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/starbucks-olive-summit-soon-booze

The Nervous Breakdown essay on Seattle's literary scene (scroll down), "The View from the West, Volume 4", July 18, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/blisti/2010/07/the-view-from-the-west-vol-4/

KOMO4.com, "Panevino: Broadway's Most Successful New Restaurant", July 13, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/panevino-broadways-most-successful-new-restaurant

The Nervous Breakdown feature, Adam Kellner has been missing from the Los Angeles area since November 2007 and his mother, Sherrill Britton, and I discuss the horrific ramifications, "Adam Kellner is Somewhere", June 29, 2010:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2010/06/adam-kellner-is-somewhere/

KOMO4.com, "Vivace al Fresco: One of Broadway's Most Resilient Establishments", June 23, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/vivace-al-fresco-one-broadways-most-resilient-establishments

The Seattle Weekly music feature on Horace Pickett, "Dabbling in Bliss", June 23, 2010:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-06-23/arts/dabbling-in-bliss-horace-pickett-s-dark-whimsical-and-hook-laden-tunes/

The Seattle Weekly music feature on the Inside Out Jazz Awards, including interviews with David Pierre-Louis and the legendary Clarence Acox, "206 Swing at Inside Out Jazz Awards Show", May 26, 2010: http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-05-26/music/206-swing-at-inside-out-jazz-awards-show/

KOMO4.com, "Environmentalism or Laziness?", May 16, 2010: http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/environmentalism-or-laziness-0

KOMO4.com, "Broadway Market Video: Succeeding in the Netflix Era", May 3, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/broadway-market-video-succeeding-netflix-era

KOMO4.com, "The Anne Bonny: Proud Member of a Dying Breed", April 26, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/anne-bonny-proud-member-dying-breed

The Seattle Weekly, music feature on The Posies, including interviews with Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, "The Posies: Revenge of the Wimps", April 14, 2010:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-04-14/music/the-posies-revenge-of-the-wimps/

KOMO4.com, "The Baguette Box: Unique Comfort Food", April 12, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/baguette-box-unique-comfort-food

KOMO4.com, "Volunteer Park after the Hail: An Unexpected Pocket of Tranquility", April 9, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/volunteer-park-after-hail-unexpected-pocket-tranquility

KOMO4.com, "Pilot Books Successfully Champions Independent Publishers, Authors", March 28, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/pilot-books-successfully-champions-independent-publishers-authors

KOMO4.com, "It's a Whole Different World in the Sun", March 24, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/its-whole-different-world-sun

KOMO4.com, "Self-publishing Author Succeeds on Own Unusual Terms", March 20, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/self-publishing-author-succeeds-own-unusual-terms

KOMO4.com, "Burritos: A Recession-Proof Investment?", March 17, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/burritos-recession-proof-investment

KOMO4.com, "Apocalypse (Almost) Now", March 15, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/apocalypse-almost-now

KOMO4.com, "Slats, Longtime Seattle Musician and Capitol Hill Denizen, Has Died", March 14, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/slats-longtime-seattle-musician-and-capitol-hill-denizen-has-died

KOMO4.com, "Capitol Hill's Whimsy in Full Bloom", March 13, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/captiol-hills-whimsy-full-bloom

KOMO4.com, "Tashkent Park at Dusk", March 12, 2010:
http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/dusk-taskent-park-boylston-ave-east

Huffington Post, feature on Smith Magazine's HarperCollins anthology It All Changed in An Instant, in which I'm included (along with Frank McCourt, Gloria Steinem and others I revere):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/six-word-memoirs-james-fr_n_466011.html

Six Sentences, short (short) story, "Jess' Expiration Date", February 21, 2010:
http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/2010/02/jesss-expiration-date.html

Smith Magazine, editor's feature re the book tour for the HarperCollins anthology, It All Changed in an Instant, includes video of my University Bookstore reading, "Scenes from the Six-Word Book Tour", January 14, 2010:
http://www.smithmag.net/sixwordbook/2010/01/14/life-is-hard-eat-more-chocolate%E2%80%94scenes-from-the-six-word-book-tour/

The Nervous Breakdown, "Suggestions, Verities and Such", October 5, 2010:
http://archives.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2009/10/suggestions-verities-and-such/

Susie Bright (acclaimed author of bestsellers Full Exposure, The Sexual State of the Union and others), I covered Mary Kay LeTourneau and Vili Fualaau's "Hot for Teacher Night" at a downtown sports bar for Susie Bright (please note I didn't choose the feature's title), May 26, 2009:
http://susiebright.blogs.com/susie_brights_journal_/2009/05/mary-kay-letourneau-fualaau-appeared-to-be-a-sweet-happy-gregarious-vision-of-beauty-with-an-aura-of-compassionate-mother.html

Nerve, "The Nerve Interview with 'Humpday' Director Lynn Shelton", July 17, 2009:
http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/2009/07/17/the-nerve-interview-humpday-director-lynn-shelton

Hobart, short story (one of my favorites), "Defending Reggie", April 2009:
http://www.hobartpulp.com/website/april/dremousis09.html

Six Sentences, (short) short story, "No Such Luck", April 1, 2009:
http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/2009/04/no-such-luck.html

Smith Magazine, tongue-in-cheek essay on the anachronistic tossing of the bridal bouquet, "Tossers!", March 27, 2009:
http://www.smithmag.net/mylifesofar/story.php?did=58058

Three Imaginary Girls, I'm interviewed alongside other writers and musicians re which record I'd choose to write about for the legendary 33 1/3 series, "What Would Your 33 1/3 Be?" by Chris Estey, April 9, 2008:
http://threeimaginarygirls.com/features/2008apr/whatwouldyour3313be

Monkeybicycle, short story, "Pizza Day", July 2008:
http://www.monkeybicycle.net/archive/Dremousis/pizza.html

Light in the Attic Record label, I'm interviewed alongside Robert Christgau, Greg Dulli and other writers and musicians re my Top 5 records of 2007, December 27, 2007:
http://lightintheattic.net/news/?p=339#more-339

The Nervous Breakdown and The Kitchen Sink, "Fifty Questions for God", this ran online on The Nervous Breakdown in November 2007 and in a print-only version in The Kitchen Sink in June 2005:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/litsa_dremousis/2007/11/fifty-questions.html

The Nervous Breakdown, my second interview with Sherman Alexie. As I note in the introduction, this was intended for a different publication that balked at certain political statements Alexie and I made, October 28, 2007: http://archives.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2007/10/im-not-going-to-be-happy-until-every-human-being-on-the-planet-has-read-something-ive-written/

The Seattle Channel, video of me telling my story, "Chocolate Santa", in front of an audience at the Rendezvous, "A Guide to Visitors, Volume 9", broadcast October 4, 2007:
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/watchVideos.asp?program=aGuideToVisitors

The Nervous Breakdown, essay on my sadness for Nancy Reagan, who'd lost three of her closest friends the previous week, "Words I Never Thought I'd Write", August 2007:
http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/litsa_dremousis/2007/08/words-i-never-t.html

Esquire, "How About a Little Hope? 20 Scientists, Actors and Sundry Individuals Answer, 'What Gives You Hope?'" (I love that I pursued this idea nearly seven months before then-Senator Obama entered it into the vernacular), July 30, 2007:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion/hope071907

Hobart, short story (one of my favorites), "The Cousinfucker", June 2007:
http://hobartpulp.com/website/june/dremousis.html

Esquire, interview with reclusive and legendary soul singer, Betty Davis, "The Soul Singer in the Shadows", May 31, 2007:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/music/betty-davis-053107

Filter Magazine, review of Betty Davis reissues Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different, May 24, 2007:
http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=14465&c=3

Filter Magazine, interview with singer-songwriter Annie Stela, May 24, 2007 (print issue Winter '07):
http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=14508&c=2

Single State of the Union anthology from Seal Press, my essay "The Great Cookie Offering" is included alongside pieces from Margaret Cho, Chelsea Handler and others, April 12, 2007:
http://singlestatebook.com/about-the-book/

Paste Magazine, review, Annie Stela's show at Seattle's Tractor Tavern, April 9, 2007:
http://pastemagazine.com/action/article/4018/annie_stela

Hobart, short story, "Sandy Koufax 1964", April 7, 2007:
http://hobartpulp.com/website/april/dremousis.html

Cranky, short story, "A Young Irene Dunne, Maybe" [originally ran in Issue #5 of the print version, Spring 2005]:
http://failedpromise.org/Issue_Five/Dremousis.html

Esquire, feature on post-mortem legal wrangling, "Get in the Fucking Ground Already", March 8, 2007:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/death030707

Pindeldyboz, short story, "Day 341", March 8, 2007:
http://www.pindeldyboz.com/ldday341.htm

Esquire, feature on the calculated risks of mountain climbing, "When Idiots Go Climbing", March 1, 2007 [As anyone the least bit media-savvy knows, editors, not writers, craft non-fiction headlines. TJ loved this feature and sent it to everyone. After he died, I received "anonymous" emails as loathsome as they were idiotic, blaming me for the title of this piece. I didn't write it nor did I have any say in the matter, you clueless fucks.]:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/idiots022707

The Believer Magazine, interview with Demetri Martin, February, 2006:
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200602/?read=interview_martin

The Seattle Weekly, interview with Colin Meloy and feature on the Decemberists, "Simple Key", November 16, 2006:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2006-11-15/music/simple-key/

Seattle Sound Magazine (now City Arts Magazine), essay, "New York Will Have to Wait", about having CFIDS while being part of Seattle's music community, print-only, featuring a full-page color portrait shot by the enormously talented Laura Musselman, September 8, 2006

The Believer Magazine, interview with Wanda Sykes (one of my favorite pieces so far), September 2006:
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200609/?read=interview_sykes

The Stranger, reaction to my print-only Seattle Sound Magazine interview with Harvey Danger's Sean Nelson, August 7, 2006:
http://lineout.thestranger.com/2006/08/harvey_danger_you_kn.php

McSweeney's, Reviews of New Food, "Dagoba's New Moon Organic Chocolate Bar with 74% Chocolate" (scroll halfway down the page; McSweeney's doesn't hyperlink or date these):
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-fourth-batch-2006

Paste Magazine, review of Nada Surf's Seattle show, October 19, 2005:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/2425/review/concert/nada_surf_say_hi_to_your_mom

Paste Magazine, Death Cab for Cutie cover story (the band's first), July 25, 2005:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2005/08/death-cab-for-cutie.html

The Believer Magazine, interview with the Long Winters' John Roderick, June/July 2005:
http://www.believermag.com/issues/200506/?read=interview_roderick

Paste Magazine, feature on the Long Winters' John Roderick, June 2005:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/1912/feature/music/the_long_winters

Paste Magazine, Nirvana Nevermind DVD review, June 2005:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/1887/review/music/classic_albums_nirvana_nevermind_dvd

NPR and McSweeney's, "An Open Letter to Keith Richards' Immune System", I recorded the piece for NPR's Weekend America and it ran in May 2005; the print version ran on McSweeney's in December 2004:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-open-letter-to-keith-richards-immune-system

McSweeney's, "The Five People You Meet in Hell", January 2005:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-five-people-you-meet-in-hell

Poets & Writers, interview with author Augusten Burroughs, December, 2004:
http://www.pw.org/content/interview_creative_nonfiction_writer_augusten_burroughs?cmnt_all=1

Poets & Writers, interview with author JT LeRoy, December 2004:
http://www.pw.org/content/interview_fiction_writer_jt_leroy

The Black Table, interview with author Augusten Burroughs, August 24, 2004:
http://blacktable.com/dremousis040823.htm

McSweeney's, "If Charles Bukowski Had Written Children's Books", May 2004:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/if-charles-bukowski-had-written-childrens-books

Coming soon!

For the past month, I've been gathering all links to my work so that I can archive them here in one comprehensive entry. If I get super-ambitious, I'll scan my print-only features to my Flickr account and toss those links into the mix, too. I hope to complete said project soon, then I'll update The Slippery Fish only when I have a new piece go online or hit the stands.

'Tis best for two reasons: I have many features and larger projects in the pipeline and those are absorbing my attention. Also, Facebook and Twitter, combined with said work, have made The Slippery Fish superfluous.

I'd ruminate on where I was when I started this blog in 2003 and all that's changed for good and bad in the interim, but you know what? I don't have the time.

And that might be the perfect note on which to end things.

Cross-dressing, bad foreplay, a math teacher gone wrong: my new essay for Nerve is here:

I love the title my editor chose, "It's Always the Quiet Ones", and that the guy in the accompanying photo looks like Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

Enjoying the responses this piece is garnering, even the one from a crazy dude.

Can any amount of vertical compatibility make up for incompatibility in the sack? Let's see:

http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-its-always-the-quiet-ones

Also, Nerve doesn't require you to give your email address or any info when you comment, so if you want, feel free to join the discussion. XO.

On Geraldine Ferraro:

I remember being so excited when Walter Mondale added Geraldine Ferraro to the Democratic Presidential ticket in 1984. With three terms in House of Representatives, she didn't strike me as the most qualified to be VP, but neither was she the least. And she reinvigorated the Democrats in a way Mondale couldn't. (Mondale couldn't invigorate a birthday party. As Dennis Miller, back when he was funny, said after the election, "Mondale got stomped like a narc at a biker rally.")

Ferraro endured the inane and persistent "Wally and the Beaver" and "each side has a Bush for VP" jokes like a pro. Being first makes history, but not necessarily for a lot of personal happiness. I remember being particularly impressed she didn't shiv the reporter who asked her about her dress size. I was on our school paper at the time and knew any of us would have been drop-kicked for asking anything so goddamned dumb. It embarrassed me this reporter was ostensibly a pro.

I didn't think about Ferraro a lot until the 2008 election, in which she supported Hillary Clinton. I understood her support for Clinton and if Barack Obama hadn't run, I would have backed Clinton, too. But Ferraro went further than attacking Obama's policies, which would have been fair game. She started making racist statements. Like, unambiguously racist. And she kept repeating them. She was positively and baffling irate at the way Obama carried the mic when onstage and spat out, "He acted like a stand-up comedian! Like a stand-up comedian!" (Um, what?)

Then she referred to the venerable Bob Herbert, longtime New York Times editorial writer, as "one of Obama's Black surrogates in the media". As if all Blacks know each other and were sitting around a table somewhere, thinking of ways to insult the Clintons. She played into the worst kind of White fear and it disgusted me. (Herbert didn't insult Hillary; he disagreed with her. Ferraro couldn't make the distinction.)

Ferraro was no longer the person who had inspired millions of girls and women in 1984. I never respected her again.

Still, when Mondale asked her, she accepted a slot on what everyone knew was a losing ticket and gave it her all.

Peace to her friends and family.

Whatever gets you through the night:

In the West, we never embraced funeral pyres and the cultures that did have largely done away with them.

Tonight, I would have to say this was a mistake. Count me as resolutely pro-funeral pyre.

Also, pro-Nutella and Valium.

Elizabeth Taylor RIP

In college, the above photo was among those I tacked on the bulletin board near my bed. A film buff, I was enamored of Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Father of the Bride, Little Women and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I was captivated by Elizabeth Taylor's talent and found her personal life eminently readable. No one who seemed both etched in marble and gloriously flesh and blood at sixteen, when this photo was taken, was going to lead an uncomplicated life. "Iconic" is overused, but regarding Elizabeth Taylor, no other word is apt.

Like all of us, she had her flaws. The excess of the Cleopatra era was ridiculous. Set aside the Krupp diamond, which I would have readily accepted, too. Nobody needs Chasen's chili flown halfway around the world just to have one's preferred nosh on set. And sometimes, these adolescent whims overshadowed what allowed Taylor such privilege in the first place: her extraordinary artistic gifts.

That Taylor was one of our preeminent beauties is beside the point. Her body of work, coupled with her bold and pioneering AIDS fundraising, will remain a fine legacy. I remember being moved by her love for Rock Hudson and how she resolutely stood by him when he announced he had AIDS. At this point, few public figures had spoken out in support of those with AIDS. Half the country still thought it was casually communicable and, of course, homophobia was rampant. Taylor's voice and her tireless fundraising helped change the national discussion and millions benefited as a result.

In recent years, like many near the end of life, Taylor had become somewhat of a caricature of herself and, clearly, the pills took their toll. But for decades, her work and bearing were majestic.

Sleep well, Ms. Taylor. There will never be another like you.

He's here!

As of last night, I was authorized to reveal the great news!

Please join me in welcoming George and Jennifer's new son, Mom and Dad's first grandchild and the beautiful little boy who has made me a Thia: Nixon Henri Dremousis! (I know, my dear lefty compadres, his first name won't thrill you, but our family is delighted, so try and focus on that.) He's seven pounds, 14 ounces, 21 inches and sports a lovely full head of brown hair. Maybe the handsomest newborn ever!

He was born yesterday at 9:35 a.m. and both families spent a large swath of yesterday encamped at the hospital. I got to hold him for quite some time and he's enchanting.

Out the door to see our lad again. And while I don't believe in omens, Seattle's fiercer-than-usual rain has ceased for the past two days. Most obvious metaphor ever, but we have, in fact, had sun.

We need a new word for "disaster":

I wish "hell" were divorced from religious connotations because it more aptly describes what has transpired in Japan since Thursday.

Everyone already knows where to donate by now and I have no idea if thoughts and prayers work, but I'll keep sending mine, just in case, to the victims, their loved ones and the first responders.

Of equal personal importance, a close loved one is back in the hospital for the second time in three weeks. Again, I send thoughts and prayers, hoping they help, unsure of their impact.

Life continues reminding us it is beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

My newest piece for TNB, "Mike Sacks Really Wants a Meat-pocket", is up now:

I interview Mike Sacks' about his new, wickedly droll and superbly reviewed essay collection, Your Wildest Dreams within Reason.

As I state in the intro after alluding to the horror unfolding in Japan, "In a world that will never make sense, we need smart people who make us laugh. So, thank you, Mike Sacks, for helping us keep the lids on our pill jars.":

http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/ldremousis/2011/03/mike-sacks-really-wants-a-meat-pocket/

Because we're just a font of good news around here:

The Wall Street Journal's newest CFIDS piece, on whether it's safe for those of us with CFIDS to donate blood and the role the XMRV retrovirus might play in determining the answer:

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/03/07/xmrv-and-the-blood-supply-more-study-needed/

As I noted the other day, the Wall Street Journal's CFIDS reporting has been exemplary. If you have CFIDS, particularly an acute presentation in an advanced state like I do, even the thought of donating blood is criminally negligent. I would never risk inflicting this upon anyone, much less some poor bastard who needed a blood transfusion. Within the past year, the governments of the U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Australia have issued edicts legally prohibiting those of us with CFIDS from donating blood. In this country, the Red Cross announced last year, thanks, but no thanks. The FDA has been advised to do the same and we're waiting for their conclusion.

One of the things that fascinates me about this discussion is that it's finally being taken seriously. One of the first questions I asked after being diagnosed early in 1992 (I was egregiously ill nine months before I had a diagnosis) was, "Can I donate blood?" I followed these with, "Could I transmit this sexually?" and "If I were to get pregnant, could I give this to the fetus?" The answer I received from dozens of doctors was, basically, "Hell if I know." And they honestly didn't. But really, how fucking obvious was it that these were pertinent questions?

Twenty years later, with over a million Americans diagnosed with CFIDS and credible estimates running much higher, it's gratifying and vindicating the illness is increasingly treated with the seriousness it always deserved.

I can't help but ask, though, "What the hell took so long?"

From the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Elle Magazine, four new CFIDS features outstanding as they are pertinent:

1) Elle Magazine's gorgeously etched profile on Laura Hillenbrand, author of the acclaimed bestsellers Seabiscuit and Unbroken. A searingly honest and often funny look at what it's like to write each day while your body slowly unravels:

http://www.elle.com/Beauty/Health-Fitness/Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome-A-Celebrated-Author-s-Untold-Tale

2) The New York Times continues its superb CFIDS coverage with this dismantling of the recent Lancet study in Britain and explanation why a reliable diagnostic test is crucial:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/health/research/08fatigue.html

3) The Wall Street Journal continues its superb CFIDS coverage with an examination of how the illness has continued to spread over the past 25 years, and again, why a reliable diagnostic test is of utmost importance. Written by a DePaul psychology professor who has had CFIDS for 21 years:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704507404576179031979295592.html

4) And the most buoying of all, the new study, lauded by Dr. Nancy Klimas, the nation's foremost CFIDS researcher, that has discovered 700 spinal fluid proteins unique only to those with CFIDS. This is the news that finally brings the diagnostic test within reach. Its importance can't be overestimated:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/23/eveningnews/main20035610.shtml?tag=stack

Again, profound thanks to my loved ones who always believed me and to those who met me later and stood by me. To those who doubted me, well, beware of Greeks with long memories.

"Time travel is lonely..."--John Vanderslice

Because it's an effective writing warm-up but mostly because it's fun, I post six-word stories on Smith Magazine nearly each day. (As noted last year, I had a piece included in Smith's latest HarperCollins anthology, It All Changed in an Instant and read at the University Bookstore stop of their tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV8VpKj50Ds)

Went to post this morning and discovered one of mine is Story of the Day again, which is always pleasing, only it's the one I wrote about last year's Oscars: "Will miss watching Oscars with him.":

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/story.php?did=103474

That held equally true last night, of course, but I'd spent the afternoon w/ two of my oldest and dearest friends and had run into a pair of my favorite colleagues and was putting a better face on things this year, because I can. I still hurt unremittingly but the shock has dissipated and I'm not shattered in the way I was at first. (I still hate the outcome and will hate it until I'm dead. But that's gotta be self-evident to anyone with a functioning brain stem.)

So it's strange how time has again folded in on itself, which it does all the time with grief and, also, if you're a writer.

So much for this year's half-dozen words on Aaron Sorkin.

And the laurel-resting continues:

One of my dear lefty colleagues recently chided me for being too hard on Greece and its ongoing economic debacle. I explained to him nearly each Greek-American I know had predicted the motherland's implosion and while creating the building blocks for contemporary democracy, math, theater and Western philosophy remains equally inspiring and astounding, toppling the EU is kind of a huge fucking deal.

Today, the latest from Forbes on Greece's new "I Won't Pay" movement:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/02/22/general-eu-greece-i-won-apos-t-pay_8319311.html

Magic:

The Washington Square Hotel posted this photo on its Twitter feed today:

http://twitpic.com/42a0vu

Yes, I know New York winters permeate one's bone marrow and they're damned near impossible to navigate with a cane, but dear god, I remain entranced. (The last time I was in New York, it was 10 degrees F with wind chill, I had a 100 degree fever and needed the cane the entire trip and it was still completely fucking worth it. But did you expect me to reach any other conclusion?)

My new essay for Nerve, "A Foray into the Domestic Arts", is up now! Cookies, sex and the intersection of the two!

First off, thanks so much to everyone for your delightful birthday wishes yesterday. Imbibed the leftover cake from Kingfish this morning and am experiencing a sugar crash not unlike the opium madness Burroughs wrote of in Naked Lunch. ("I've got the fear!")

If we've known each other awhile, you know this is the fourth version of this essay that has run in the past ten years. And if we know each other well, you know the full story behind it, which is even funnier, though I'll omit select details here. Let's just say a certain someone used to repeatedly mention I left out the part how we'd already dated on-and-off before this story begins and that I'd broken up with him the previous time. I'd playfully retort, "Maybe you should write your own essay then."

When a longer version of this piece was published in the Seal Press anthology, Single State of the Union, alongside essays from Margaret Cho, Chelsea Handler and some fine writers who happen to be dear friends of mine, the latter group of us were asked to do readings at Elliott Bay Book Company, the University Bookstore and at Queen Anne Books. He attended the Queen Anne Books event with my folks, clapped louder than anyone, then Mom and Dad took us to dinner afterward.

Obviously, we did get back together again, but I never did bake cookies again:

http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/grand-gestures-of-love-gone-wrong?page=4

Prompting nacho comsumption to fall drastically:

Hey, straight guys!

If you'd admit you're a wee curious about fucking each other, the NFL would become superfluous.

As would bar fights and any film in which Hugh Jackman transmogrifies.

Think it over and get back to me.

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

As usual, the inability to empathize has disheartening consequences:

Everything about this bill is revoltingly sexist, out-of-touch and cruel. I'm not a fan of Speaker Boehner (obviously) but I praised his eloquence when Congresswoman Giffords was shot. I don't foresee praising him again.

From New York Magazine, "New Bill Reportedly Proposes Restrictions on Federal Funding for Abortions":

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/01/abortion.html

Contained: a radical redefining of rape and incest.

A thousand times no.

Egypt's brave writers risk imprisonment, torture and death:

Well-researched and detailed new piece on the pernicious forces battling Egyptian writers who are calling for democracy:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41285248/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

All power to them. And goddamnit, we are so lucky to live here.

The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition #2!

The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience, Seattle Edition #2 is Friday, April 8, 7 p.m. in the Jewelbox Theater at the Rendezvous!

Last time, the Stranger called us "a big goddamned deal"; KOMO4.com deemed us "the six best authors in town" (a wee hyperbolic but a lovely compliment nonetheless); and City Arts said we were "funny and sharp".

Best not fuck this one up.

The brilliant Jonathan Evison whose latest novel, West of Here, just received a starred review from Booklist and--hold on to your hat!--Vanity Fair christened "a booming, big-hearted epic" is on board and I'll reveal the rest soon.

Five bucks at the door. We had a sold-out house at the premiere in September--hope to see you on April 8!

Seriously, it's got the makings of a Discovery Channel documentary:

I'm fairly certain the emails in all three inboxes are now asexually reproducing. While it's objectively fascinating and, more importantly, the content contained therein is humbling, moving and gratifying, despite returning scads each day, I'm still not caught up. "After the Fire" has, in fact, caught fire and I'm really kind of speechless at the response it has engendered even if--and this goes without saying--I'd much rather write of him alive.

Again, if you haven't heard back from me--and I'm positive your life continues unabated in the meantime--you will very soon.

Happy Sunday, all.

My new Seattle Weekly feature is online and on stands now!

My new Seattle Weekly feature, "An Incomplete History of Clutch Douglass' Journey to the '80s" is out now:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-01-19/music/an-incomplete-history-of-clutch-douglass-journey-back-to-the-80s/

Fun being funny again!

A brief catch-up while dinner is in the oven:

• The Nerve essay (see previous post) generated a volume of letters as large as it was unforeseen. Completely bittersweet, given the piece's topic, and deeply humbling that people have chosen to share their own stories of loss. Each missive deserves a thoughtful response and all three of my inboxes have been overflowing for the past 10 days. I'm nearly caught up, but if you haven't heard from me yet, you will soon.
• Re Dr. King's birthday on Monday, those who think we live in "post-racial" nation now that we have an African-American President should read the comments on any well-trafficked site whenever said President is mentioned. As one of my friends says, "The only people who think this is a 'post-racial' society are always white."
• I'm going to concentrate on the astoundingly good news Congresswoman Giffords stood up today and momentarily ignore the House repeal of health care reform, which the Senate, of course, has no intent to take up. The only thing the House GOP understands less than health care reform, apparently, is health.
  

My new essay for Nerve, "After the Fire", is up:

Hard to write; much harder not to. Deeply touched by the insightful comments:

http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/true-stories/true-stories-after-the-fire

Hard to know where to begin:

Since first watching CNN's "Breaking News" report yesterday while nestling with the puppy and returning emails, i.e. engaging in unremarkable Saturday morning behavior, I've been incredibly saddened and upset by the horror that unfolded in Tuscon.

I feel awful for the victims and for their loved ones. I send Congresswoman Giffords and each survivor prayers and healing thoughts and wish them recovery with minimum trauma and maximum resiliency. The families of the deceased will always bear the scars and I hope they are able to find as much peace as they can. Found out today Judge John Roll was a longtime friend of a family friend and if we gauge others by the company they keep, Roll was a very good man indeed. And while it's hardly without precedent, I still can't wrap my mind around someone shooting a nine year-old girl. Or the level of hate required to shoot Giffords point-blank in the head.

Much discussion has resulted about the increased political vitriol of recent years and whether the gun cross-hairs Sarah Palin placed on 20 "targeted" opponents, among them Giffords, was a contributing factor to the actions of the deranged Jared Loughner. I'm 43 and those my age who are politically active have frequently commented in recent times we have never seen this kind of hate in U.S. politics. We feared someone would get killed or severely wounded. (For the record, and this should be obvious, but I would be equally horrified had a Republican congressperson been shot. Our elected officials shouldn't have to risk their lives.) Loughner bears the ultimate responsibility but I do think Palin and those who engage in sustained and pernicious "targeting" of their political opponents shoulder some of the blame. A sane person could view Palin's cross-hairs all day everyday and be unmoved to shoot one of the listed. But it's kind of fucking obvious not everyone is sane. And when you have roughly two and a half million Facebook supporters, as does Palin, keeping such a graphic on your page is spectacularly unwise. Whether Loughner was influenced by it remains to be seen; even if he wasn't, well, so what? Said graphic accomplished nothing except the notion it's valiant to dehumanize your opponents. And if history teaches us anything, it's that it's easy to harm those you dehumanize.

Speaking of Facebook, one of its most disheartening elements is the way in which some almost reflexively lunge for the jugular in political discussions. I'm openly, unabashedly lefty on most issues but quite vocal when I think Republicans have a good point (for instance, I'm not a fan of Boehner's and have made several jokes at his expense, but he has handled this tragedy with leadership and compassion). I have Republican loved ones, each of whom is well-informed and carefully considers the issues. On the left, we frequently accuse the right of lockstep thinking and it's often an accurate portrayal, but there's a whole lotta group think on the left, too, and in some ways it's even sadder because we insist we're the intellectuals. I enjoy healthy debate and most of the discussions on my page are just that. But it's assinine how many times in the two plus years I've been on Facebook I've had to chide someone for writing on my page they want to kill Sarah Palin. As I noted three months ago during the '10 camgaign when a colleague said his hypothetical slogan would be, "Kill Dino Rossi", this is the kind of thing that (rightfully) outrages us when some dipshit posts it about President Obama in comment sections everywhere; we can't do the inverse but somehow think it's okay because we have a million reasons we loathe Rossi because the comment section dipshits feel the same about Obama. None of us should advocate killing our opponents. Period. Why isn't this self-evident?

The fact Loughner was turned away from the military but still able to legally purchase a gun will forever baffle me and all sentient beings. This wasn't a question of the Second Amendment but of common sense: if your mental health problems preclude you from carrying a weapon overseas, they preclude you from carrying one to a Safeway parking lot.

We can do better than this. We'll have to.

All thoughts and prayers to those whose lives were ruptured yesterday.

The world grows increasingly interconnected with each passing year and...

...this would be horrible news under any circumstances, but one of my best friends for the past 23 years just moved to London yesterday, so I find this particularly disturbing.

Wishing the Brits best of luck and very much hope this is a false alarm. In particular, I want my friend and his wife to be safe. And holy hell, what fucked up news to receive the first day in your new city:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/01/06/london.terrorist.attacks/index.html

And now, thanks, Huffington Post and once again, Smith Magazine!

Fun piece in which to be included and a rollicking good way to launch 2011:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-smith/six-word-memoirs-new-year_b_803327.html?ref=fb&src=sp#s218347&title=Finish%20manuscript%3B%20click%20heels%3B%20drink%20heavily.

Thanks, KEXP!

KEXP interviewed a bunch of us re our 2011 resolutions. Fun being included with Ken Stringfellow, Matthew Caws, King County Executive, Dow Constantine and others whose work I admire and/or with whom I'm friends. Plus, an added bonus: my younger brother is actually impressed:

http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2010/12/30/seattle-music-scene%E2%80%99s-new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-389563

Special thanks to KEXP writer Jon Harthun for eliciting my answers.

May 2011 kiss all of us on the cheek. Best to you and yours!