Mad Magazine

I am sitting at a branch of the Tucson public library, moderately hung over from what has become my routine of a late night indulgence in the better part of a bottle of wine. In truth, it is the only time I can get any peace and quiet. God knows it's not to be found in the public library, or in the Barnes and Nobles or Starbucks I frequent. Anyway, it is Mad Magazine that has prompted this latest entry. I went to the library to get some serious work done. In preparation for the publication of my book, I am trying to establish a web presence. In addition to my China website (www.chinafromafar.com) I have decided to begin posting interviews on amazon.com. So having just finished Mark Leonard's "What China Thinks," I was planning on writing up a review and publishing it at amazon, referenciny my website and maybe even getting noticed by the author. That was the plan this morning. But then I came across Mad Magazine on the shelfs. And that pretty much sunk my productive mode. Anyway, it got me thinking that a radical change is called for, or at least a different direction on a variety of fronts. I had this same feeling running in the desert the other day. There was the same music on my ipod, I was thinking, and it is just time to clear the decks there and start anew. So with Mad Magazine, I think the idea was tha a new intellectual direction is called for (recall the earlier talk of a true sabbatical) and one way to lay the groundwork for that new direction is by goofing off, or at least taking time off from any intellectual pursuits