(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Time to visit the Duke. The ads kick off with the network’s frequently deployed spot (the seventh time on a once-per-hour schedule) for their “Big Bang ’89” program (the New Year’s Eve live program playing a few hours later). I’ve noted previously that Robert Plant had the best […]

posted 31 July 2013 in 1988. 2 comments

You may recall an article I wrote last year for Men’s Journal about Dan McLaughlin and his “Dan Plan”: at age 30, despite never having played a round of golf in his life, he decided that he would quit his job and devote 10,000 hours to remaking himself as the best golfer possible (with the […]

posted 22 July 2013 in Articles, Outside. no comments yet

As part of my research for VJ, I rewatched Live Aid (or more precisely, the DVD box of it). A few aspects of the show that seemed notable twenty-eight years down the road: 1. The wittiest song selection of the day was Elvis Costello with his cover of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” […]

posted 13 July 2013 in Tasty Bits. 5 comments

Hey, Los Angelenos! I will be appearing at the Pop-Hop Bookshop tonight! It is in Highland Park, and it is filled with goodness (and books)! I will be talking with Jennifer Keishin Armstrong–she’ll be reading from Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, while I’ll do an  excerpt from VJ. There will be conversation about […]

posted 11 July 2013 in Buy My Stuff, News. no comments yet

(New to the countdown? Forgotten what it’s about? Catch up here.) A rock climber dangles from a steep cliff, pulling himself up with his left leg. To emphasize that this is a raw, elemental scene, the only soundtrack is a howling wind. The climber would not be identifiable as David Lee Roth without the block […]

posted 9 July 2013 in 1988. 6 comments

Photographed last night on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, watching the action at the Wilshire Country Club.

posted 5 July 2013 in Photos. no comments yet

Good people of Los Angeles and its surrounding regions: I will be at the Pop-Hop Bookshop next Thursday, July 11th. And I will not just be shopping: in the service of the bestselling VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV’s First Wave, I will be appearing with Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, author of Mary and Lou and […]

posted 2 July 2013 in Buy My Stuff, News. no comments yet

(Most of the time, anyway.) 1. The Who 2. Depeche Mode 3. Rush 4. Oasis 5. Abba Who else?

posted 1 July 2013 in Tasty Bits. 6 comments