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Thom Dunn is a Boston-based writer, musician, and utterly terrible dancer. He is the singer/guitarist for the indie rock/power-pop the Roland High Life, as well as a staff writer for the New York Times’ Wirecutter and a regular contributor at BoingBoing.net. Thom enjoys Oxford commas, metaphysics, and romantic clichés (especially when they involve whiskey), and he firmly believes that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is the single greatest atrocity committed against mankind. He is a graduate of Clarion Writer's Workshop at UCSD ('13) & Emerson College ('08).

The 5 Stages of Inebriation (circa 1868)

More proof that Australians are crazy. From the State Library of New South Wales:

The photographs illustrate drunkenness in five stages, played by a male subject in a studio. Possibly commissioned by a local temperance group for educative purposes, the photographs may also have been used by an engraver for illustrations. The penultimate frame of the drunk in a wheelbarrow resembles S.T. Gill's watercolour 'Ease without Opulence', 1863 (PXC 284/30). The printed studio mark on reverse reads "Photographic Artist. C. Pickering, 612 George Street, near Wilshire's Buildings, Sydney"

It's also possible that these images were commissioned in response or relation to the Drunkard's Punishment Bill, introduced by New South Wales Premier James Martin in 1866.

Now that all that history's out of the way...I don't know, I think it's pretty accurate.

Boozin' & Writin'

Here's a new post I did for the fine folks at Quirk Books, about two of mankind's greatest creations: alcohol, and literature.

"How To Drink Like Your Favorite Writer: From Hemingway to Bukowski" at Quirk Books

Song of the (Bi-)Week, Week 7: "I Gotta Feeling"

I'm going to be completely honest right now: I think "I Gotta a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas is one of the most trite, mundane, and obnoxious songs ever written. And the fact that anyway — including but not limited to my left ass-cheek — could have written something so asinine makes even angrier, because neither me nor left ass-cheek did write it, and neither one of us is famous. The song came on while I was driving the other day, and I started thinking of ways to make it better (and by better, I mean worse, which means better, because it's already the worst. Get it?). So I grabbed my acoustic guitar, dropped it into a minor key, and suddenly America's moronic party anthem sounds...well, it sounds like a struggle with addiction, really. Not to make light of that issue, I do find it interesting how fine the line is between fun and self-destruction, as this musical, but not lyrical*, shift demonstrates.

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/13193367"]

*Okay, there's a slight lyrical shift. I know, it's slow, it's sad, but keep listening towards the end of the 2nd verse, and there might be a little surprise waiting for you....