Random Thoughts

As I mentioned I might, I stopped by the Hopleaf for the Bookslut joint reading with Eddie Campbell and David J. Schwartz. The crowd was four or five times the size of that at Quimby's and, not surprisingly, had four or five times the hipster quotient, as well. Not to mention, there was more than one woman there, too. I was late getting there, and the room on the second floor was already overflowing. I could've stood in an entryway with others who were already there, where we could hear the speakers (or readers, as the case may be) but couldn't actually see them. I squeezed further into the room to see if I saw any familiar faces, but when I didn't see anyone I knew, I figured that I'd give the event a pass and live off the memories of the previous evening.

Uh, oh. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was indicted today on seven counts of receiving unreported gifts of more than $250,000. Stevens famously wore his Hulk tie (here's a photo thoughtfully provided in a post from Gen. JC Christian) whenever he wanted to SMASH on the Senate floor. Unfortunately, the Hulk may not have been the best role model for Stevens, as he's frequently on the run from the authorities. But would Stevens be experiencing the trouble he is if the Hulk movie had been more of a blockbuster this summer? Maybe, maybe not, since he couldn't even parley his tie to the Hulk into a cameo role, unlike some other Senate comics fans we know.

Bye-bye, Bennigan's. The nationwide chain is going down, unable to restructure its debt in today's whiny, psychological marketplace. Unfortunately, the whole company isn't yet on board with the new reality. As I post this, the Bennigan's Web site is still pushing their new Jameson BBQ Grilled menu, although it does admit that it's available for a limited time only. Yeah, I guess. Maybe they'd be better off taking the Jameson straight.