THOUGHTS ON ART AND LIFE, from Megan McArdle: “Back when I wanted to be a fiction writer, I wanted to be the kind of fiction writer who has a dramatic slide into the abyss. It wasn’t long after I stopped writing short stories that it occurred to me that dying old, desperate and alone probably wasn’t nearly as inspiring for the people it happened to as it was for twenty-year olds looking for an excuse to smoke too much.”

UPDATE: From the comments: “Even goth chicks prefer guys who make them laugh.”