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Posts published by “Jeff Costello”

Housesitting in the U.S.A.

There was a quote in the AVA recently about suburbs being breeding grounds for boredom and apathy, among other social ills. We might add to the list suspicion, isolation, and despair. I’m in the second…

New Age Narcissism

It won't come as news to most AVA readers, but as I was recently reminded, there's no narcissism like New Age narcissism. “New Age” ideas allow the already self-absorbed to go beyond mere egotism into…

Digital Snow Job

This morning in the supermarket parking lot, I was assaulted by a loud, unpleasant sound coming from the wide-open door of a shiny new sport utility vehicle. The sound was a commercial music recording played…

The Fabulous Cornholers

San Francisco-Maui, June 1979 — I boarded the plane carrying two guitars, a bag of clothes, and a gram or so of methamphetamine loosely wrapped in a dollar bill and spilling into my shirt pocket.…

Y2K or Not?

I don’t have the facts on this issue. A friend was just saying that I never let the facts get in the way of anything I write. This is not objective journalism or fact-based investigative…

UPS Fiasco

Internet shopping — I confess. I did it. Sort of. My old Mac Plus is still a good typewriter, but it’s not internet-capable. (In fact, until today, the spell-checker on this thing didn’t know the…

Thank God for Disorderly Behavior

Here Lies the Good Citizen. He Died Bitter and Frustrated but He Obeyed the Rules, Damn It. Even if I’m wrong in assuming that yet another out-of-town, laugh-all-the-way-to-the-bank consulting firm is involved with the currently…

National Prozac Radio

What is it about these people? I’ve been wondering and trying to figure it out for a while now. Someone told me “Saturday Night Live” was doing a bit on NPR so I watched it…

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