The story of Keoki Selznick, my dog.

Ray Bradbury was a more profound influence in my life than either of the men I could call "father." Today, after more than ninety one years on the planet (seventy eight of them spent at the age of thirteen), my story-father has died.

I know this isn't a new subject, but I've been thinking about it lately. Social media and social networks like Twitter, Facebook and the like are great for keeping in touch at a distance, bringing people together for causes and crises, and maintaining a kind of loose thread between friends and acquaintances. I'm wondering if the ease of communication social networks allow has made people less likely to connect with one another in more direct ways when possible, like over the telephone or in person. It's convenient, after all, to reply to a tweet or a Facebook status or note... but I wonder if it makes us less likely to make the effort when it comes to less convenient but more personal contact? I know I've been guilty of responding to an e-mail instead of making a phone call, or being satisfied with trading comments on Facebook instead of driving to actually see someone. And I readily admit that my recent desire to reach out to people (and, ideally, have them reach out to me) has probably colored my perception on this... but it's made me wonder: does social media make us lazy social creatures? What do you think?

Matthew Wayne Selznick waxes nostalgic about his days as a baby rockstar and lovesick fool in San Clemente, California in the mid-1980s.

Eulogizing Tower Records a little... by which I mean, "use the demise of the record store chain to reflect on my own formative years..."

I drove down to my mother's today to help her with some computer stuff and some errands. It's a hundred mile trip, so I stopped about three quarters of the way in San Clemente.

That's my state of mind right now, and it's reallly, seriously, pardon the f-bomb, fucking frustrating to the point of rage.

Okay! For the first time since we moved into this house, four years ago, I feel like my office is someplace that says something about me.

I'm in a yucky place right now. Don't know why, exactly... except that I do know that my moods are like this. Creative highs are rapidly followed by lows.