

All year, I’ve been studying car manufacturing processes (complicated) and the history of soda bottling (simpler but with more bullies), so it’s refreshing to come across a short film on the manufacturing of my friend Foer’s ambitious little book, TREE OF CODES.
Published last year, TREE OF CODES required a painstaking process in which chunks of Foer’s favorite novel, “The Street of Crocodiles” by Bruno Schulz, were cut and reassembled into a brand new narrative. (I woulda chosen some Yo La Tengo for the music bed, but they went with “The Last of The Melting Snow” by Leisure Society.) Here it is:
Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer: Making Of from Visual Editions on Vimeo.
God bless Walt “Clyde” Frazier for keepin’ on keepin’ it real, yo — on TV, bitches! (And thanks to Dan Beers for the photo and the heads up.) Clyde’s book, Rockin’ Steady: A Guide To Basketball & Cool, is one of my all time favorites. It’s the definitive “how to” for stylin, groomin’ and generally rockin’ steady in your all-around game with ladies. I keep it with me always.
Here’s the old school cover from 1974:
And the new cover from the reissue:
I tried to get Spike to adapt the book (and Clyde’s life story) for film or TV 10 years ago, when I worked for him. I feel like it almost coulda happened. It’s not like they don’t see each other every night at the Garden, so I’m still holding out hope.
Me: Dash?
Dash: What.
Me: I love you.
Dash: Why’d you tell me that? I’m in the middle of reading! Jesus!
Super lavish party last night for Nancy Lublin’s new book, ZILCH.
I walked in with the new Justin Bieber special issue of SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE, under my arm, which Seventeen’s Editor-In-Chief Ann Shoket had given me in the car on the way to the party. (Ann grabbed it back to give to a very cool 8 year-old girl who was at the party, so now I have to buy my own unless Ann messengers me one today, as promised.)
After my Bieber mag got stolen from me, I went looking for Nancy (hard to miss in her orange leather jacket, which matches the cover of Zilch). While I congratulated her on her very excellent book, and wondered how the F she ever had time to write it, Nancy took the opportunity to passionately admire my glow-in-the-dark Silly-band bracelet. My bracelet happens to be a great example of the power of zilch.
This book literally makes you smarter. And when Nancy Lublin gives you a chance to tap your inner Nancy Lublin, you take it. So today I am buying a shit ton of Zilch, and I will give free copies to anyone who wants one.
Gotta go, Nancy is calling and wants to know how many copies I want. I’m gonna say a hundred, for starters.