gibson blog

 At the William Gibson reading tonight, someone in the crowd asked about his blog. He said he would probably continue updating it for the near-term, but when it comes time to write a new novel again, he'll have to give it up. Not because of the work, but because it's a different "ecology" (his word). He said the blog ecology -- with its easily-pleased masses -- would hinder the hellish process of writing a novel. I think there's something to this differntiation of faculties (my word). Anyway, if you're reading Pattern Recognition, you'll want to check out this attempt to annotate the book.

 The Slate 60 is out. It's a collection of the 60 biggest charitable contributions in 2002. Some possible surprises: David Geffen, #4; Ted Turner, #12; Steven Spielberg, #51.

 Times piece on Arab-American writers.

 Slate.com's war survey includes Nicholson Baker, Arianna Huffington, Spike Lee, and Sarah Vowell.

 Tyson has a new face tattoo!