Wes Phillips

And his elevator goes all the way up, not just to the 13^th floor.

A beginner's guide.

Michael Chabon on The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Yiddish, and being exiled from exile.

Keith "tha missile" Bailey played bass for Gong, many years ago. After that, for his sins, he served as Gong's booking agent. He tells the tale of what happened one night in Hamburg when famed drummer Pierre Moerlen went AWOL, Daevid Allen went into a wizardly rage, and Bailey went on as the band's drummer.

As much as I loved the zen of sourdough maintenance and loved the resulting loaves, I gave up my weekly baking sessions because of the "tyranny of the dough." Honest to God, it was like having another pet—worse, in some ways. Huck and Bagheera are cute enough that we can get cat-sitters when we travel. Ever tried to get anybody to feed your sourdough starter?

Huckleberry signals for more canned mice.

Daniela Edburg chronicles death by Oreos, M&Ms, and all our little binges.