The Cynical Idealist by Melissa Hostetler
An interview with David Grenier of Retrogression fame


Books

Chrysler Saves Ozone Layer and Other Ironies by Michael Gutierrez
Diabolically opposed world views have set environmentalists and capitalists at opposed sides throughout the 20th Century. Capitalists see a market-driven world while environmentalists dream of a sustainable existence that refuses waste. And though the two are by nature opposed, the three authors of Natural Capitalism see conservation as good economic policy. Now, to convince the rest of the world.

Book Review: After Dachau by Daniel Quinn by Brian F. Hartz
Though he has placed excellent, thought-provoking works in our hands in the past, Daniel Quinn's newest work leaves much to be desired. This attempt may have simply been too much at once and hope remains that Quinn can save us from simple story telling.

Tea, Anyone? by Hadley Scott
Tune into a conversation with Michelle Tea and who knows what dykey, convoluted, real-life story you'll end up with next.

Don't Trust Anyone Over Twelve by Hilary Jirka
Step into the mystical world of children's literature where subversion is the rule ... no matter what the grown-ups want you to think. Take a look at a tradition of independent thought and pretty pictures as our author reviews Alison Lurie's Don't Tell The Grown-Ups.

Death Dealing on its Deathbed by Daniel J. Crowley
It may be wishful thinking, but Who Own Death? author forsees the death industry losing its momentum.

Laughing at God and the Devil by Hilary Jirka
Favorite books are like an old stuffed animal, always there when you need them for inspiration or just hugs. Re-exploring an old favorite, Trickster Makes this World, philosophizes about mistakes and the process of creativity through folklore and myth.

Pinochet and Me: A Chilean Anti-Memoir by Marc Cooper by Michael Gutierrez
If any lingering post-election doubts remain that the American government believes more in peace through democracy than power through capitalism, they can be alleviated with a reading of Marc Cooper’s Pinochet and Me: A Chilean Anti-Memoir

Book Excerpt: The Isolation Generation by Dean Anderson
In his book, The Isolation Generation: the Incredible True Story of the Group Between the Boomers and the X'ers, Dean Anderson explores the dynamics of a generation without an identity. Linking the isolation generation, or the Space-Agers, with the launch of
Sputnik I, he explores their characteristics in relation to the better known Baby Boomers and Generation X'ers that preceeded and followed them.


Fanfiction


Fiction

The Light of the Body is the Eye by Gabby Hyman
The last time Carol saw him, Steven Ennex was waiting for his lover to die. Carol and Steven were standing at the pig sculpture in the Pike Place Market and Steven said when Chess went he was going to start drinking again. Tourists flooded past them with their silly grins, which made Steven's pledge worse.

Hell Is Only Temporary by Zachary Houle Illustrations by Daniel Carter
Nowadays with college degress leading to temp jobs, there is no telling where a guy could end up. Hell may be a very good option ... and at $15 dollars an hour, we're buying.

Southern California, July 28th by Johnny Gatz
I picked up the morning paper and Sam had died. At first I glanced straight past the little blurb -- I don't make a habit of reading obituaries -- but some morbid impulse drew my eyes back down to that lower left hand corner. And there was the little box with his name inscribed, blurry in ink.

How I got Educated by Mark Donahue
I think that being a janitor is noble. I also believe dishwashing, too, is a noble profession. I've done both now.

Conflicting Interpretations of a Misplaced Nickle by Brett Coker
Society is certainly nor at its best during the evening commute, especially in San Francisco where the busses are always overcrowded and running behind. All this and the warm ocean air can lead to grumpy passengers and operators.

You're not Bored, You're just a Child by Craig A. Platt
A gray day and neutral company finds Dean in search of his imagination, wondering why he has been forced to venture through his mind with the needless aid of his opinionless, pale-skinned companion.


Columns