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Now available for preorder:
The San Francisco Panorama
.

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L I K E   F L A M I N G
L O G S .


BY MIKE TOPP


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GIANT PAW

What time is it by your watch? Mine says "Giant Paw."

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SPARROW CALLS HIS OWN MASTER

Sparrow called out to himself every morning: "Master."

Then he answered himself: "Yes, boss."

And after that he added: "Don't forget the zucchini."

Again he answered, "Yes, boss."

And after that, he continued, "Don't be fooled by others."

"Yes, boss, yes, boss," he answered.

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MADAME BOVARY

The person that I am most interested in is Madame Bovary. At the same time, I'm afraid to read anything about the French lady.

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READY REFERENCE

Wayne is a Capricorn.
Steven is 5 feet 11 inches.
Michael weighs 127 pounds.
Ronald wears size 9 1/2 shoe.

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SALT & PEPPER

I'm in the salt business. We make table salt that we're very proud of — it's very salty. My brother is in the pepper business so we get along quite well. Whenever I go over to his house we show each other our products and see who comes out on top. But we're great pals.

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UNFAITHFUL

My first wife had a tawdry affair with basketball player Karl "The Mailman" Malone, which she ended when he rolled his eighteen-wheeler in our front yard. She still really loves me.

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POST OFFICE

There's this trick I do where I swallow letters, then I swallow stamps, then I pull them out and all the letters are stamped.

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Q&A WITH AUTHOR PHIL REDONDO

Q. Hi Phil. What's new?

A. Just got back from Hawaii.

Q. Hope you had fun. Surf much? What else have you been up to? How's your love life?

A. I get a lot of offers — for a wizened, balding middle-aged man. I guess it's just the unassailable aura of self-confidence I exude. I think if I have to see any woman more than once a fortnight I suffocate. What's up with that?

Q. [Science fiction writer] Scott W. got married in Australia to an Aussie, according to a mutual friend.

A. You marrying types. I can see Scott with one of those weird hats with the brim plastered to the side, his gangly, pasty legs poking out of khaki shorts, careening on a jeep in the outback, wildly waving the Foster's in his hand to emphasize his rambling, esoteric points. What woman wouldn't go for that?

Q. I heard you've been looking for regular employment. How's that going?

A. I've been asking a lot of people for jobs — I want to work in publishing but am having trouble because of my "felonies."

Q. The job market is tight right now, really tight.

A. I was recently introduced to Peter M., who apparently doesn't care about criminal records.

Q. Do you want to do something next week?

A. Sure.

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TODAY

I can't see too well in the dark. My mom says it had something to do with my diet when I was a kid.

 

 

OTHER McSWEENEY'S STORIES:
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Man-Made Rain By Gabe Hudson
The Seventy-Ounce Steak, An Interview with John Laslo, about Eating It All in an Hour, Part Two By Matthew Summers-Sparks
Have No Insurance, Will Freelance By Dan Kennedy
Signs and Wonders By Stephany Aulenback
Evidently, It Was Live Then By Dan Kennedy

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Memories of Amanda Davis




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LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S

LISTS

McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS

REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD

NEW WHOLPHIN FILM

DAN LIEBERT, VERBAL CARTOONIST

TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS

NON-ESSENTIAL MNEMONICS

BITCHSLAP: A COLUMN ABOUT WOMEN AND FIGHTING

DISPATCHES FROM A GUY TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY
TO SELL A SONG IN NASHVILLE


GLOBAL WAR ON BEDBUGS: LETTERS FROM BEDBUG CITY

THE CONFLICTED EXISTENCE OF A FEMALE PORN WRITER

OH MY GAWD: A COLUMN ABOUT A TEENAGER NAVIGATING RELIGION

DISPATCHES FROM MANILA

DISPATCHES FROM AN INDIAN CASINO

THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST

CHRIS WHITE ANSWERS PROFOUND
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS


REPORTS FROM THE PINBALL SCENE

LETTERS FROM THE HELLBOX

NOTES FROM AN AMATEUR SPECTATOR
AT AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTS


B.R. COHEN'S DAYS AT THE MUSEUM

CONVERSATIONS AT A WARTIME CAFÉ

AND HERE'S THE KICKER:
MIKE SACKS'S CONVERSATIONS WITH HUMOR WRITERS


GRANT MUNROE'S CORPORATE FOLKTALES

SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW

DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER
WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE


DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT

DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL

DISPATCHES FROM INDIA

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL

SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL

SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES

KIDS' LETTERS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE

YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN

KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE

ABOUT THE WILD THINGS

ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT

ABOUT FEVER CHART

ABOUT GOD SAYS NO

ABOUT ZEITOUN

LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL
TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY


E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM


TRAVELING EUROPE IN STYLE WITH AUCKLAND DINGIROO,
DARK-AGE TOURIST AND CRITIC OF FOOD AND DRINK


JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES

INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS

FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING

OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND

DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

MICHAEL IAN BLACK IS A VERY FAMOUS CELEBRITY

DAN KENNEDY SOLVES YOUR PROBLEMS WITH PAPER

STEPHEN ELLIOTT'S POKER REPORT

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL