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EGGING_ON

                                              February 10, 2007

A brief defense of Dave Eggers.

Dave Eggers is a man who hit it                I wouldn't say that
big with his book "A Heart-breaking            this is a *great*
Work of Staggering Genius" and                 book, but it's at
after selling-out, he sold-in:                 the very least an
                                               okay book.
He switched from publishing with the
big guys to running his own small                 I have a suspicion
publishing company, McSweeny's, which             that the New York
among other things produces some                  Times gang thought
mildly expensive (e.g. $20), cleverly             that the long,
packaged products (e.g. books in                  self-indulgent,
facsimiles of old cigar boxes) and he             self-referential
manages to get these things out into              introduction was
the bookstores.                                   "postmodern" or
                                                  something, but
He wanted to start a writer's workshop            it's clearly just
hangout for kids on Valencia Street,              an example of
ran afoul of zoning regs that insisted            zine writing.
on "retail", and shifted the concept
to running a "Pirate Store" that happens                This is no doubt
to do writer's workshops in the back room.              one of the things
                                                        that the punks
          WAY_OF_THE_PIRATE                             find galling,
                                                        but so what?
And also he got interested
in doing stuff to help kids                             It's not a bad
in third world countries...                             example of "zine
                                                        writing".
    So, let's say you don't
    like Dave Eggers books.

    Let's say you think McSweeny's
    products are overpriced for
    what they are.

    Let's say you doubt the sincerity
    of his efforts to help kids and        That's admittedly
    figure it's some sort of               far-fetched, but the
    image-conscious posturing.             neo-punks can't get       NEOPUNKS
                                           over the idea that
        Even granting all of               there's a world full of
        this: there are much               conviving bastards out
        bigger evils in the                there desperate to
        world than the                     seduce them away from
        dastardly Eggers.                  their punk purity.

        Find another
        target, already.

                               Punks can really
                               be puritanical jerks.

                                                 Almost as annoying
                                                 as python programmers.





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