Last night I went to see Sarah Vowell read at Butler University. She was great, and I wrote down a few lines that made me laugh. They make more sense if you've read her books. For those of you who read nothing but Greek and Douglas Adams, or read only as much as you absolutely have to, here is what you need to know: the author loves history and pop culture, and often relates the two.

"I learned that John Kerry is descended from John Winthrop, which I found thrilling."

Speaking about the guilt that comes from being raised to be a nice girl, the "guilt that becomes narcissistic", she thinks about Pol Pot: "Whatever I've done, are there piles of skulls lying around? Most of the time, no."

"Assassinations are my Kevin Bacon" -referring to her ability to relate anything to a presidential assassination.

Comparing working at NPR to working at Pixar:"It's like a scratchy brown sweater vs a Cosby sweater."

It was an enjoyable evening. I got a signed copy of her first book, "Radio On", and even she was incredulous when I told her my name was Loyal. I had to spell it.

Today is my birthday. It's been a good day of web design work thus far. Well, that and blogging. I alternate back and forth. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with my friend Michelle, and later I'm going out with a huge gaggle of fools. A confederacy of fools? A murder of fools? Whatever. It'll be fun. I'll report the details that are appropriate for the internet tomorrow.

Check out these articles from McSweeney's. They made me laugh.
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