1. Wow! Do you remember when I told you about my impromptu train buddy Jay Dixit, blogger for PsychologyToday.com, who inspired me to read (and then, unfortunately, hate) Jennifer 8. Lee’s book The Fortune-Cookie Chronicles? Well, Dixit now finds he has a rather monumental honor; on June 13 he conducted what appears to be the final interview by America’s favorite iconoclast George Carlin. Really good stuff.

2. I wrote a few days ago that “language was George Carlin’s playpen”, and the quotes I’ve heard and videos I’ve watched since then have reinforced this idea for me. Here’s a line from the characteristically good New York Times obituary:

“By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth”

That’s William S. Burroughs territory right there.

3. Young transgressive author Tony O’Neill met guitarist Slash and comedy director John Landis at Book Expo LA. That’s even better than a tote bag full of foam animals, pens, buttons and frisbees.

4. Congratulations to blogger Lizzie Skurnick on a book deal! And if From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is involved, all the better.

5. Via Elegant, Prufrock meets Portishead.