Once again proving that his life is infinitely more interesting than any of ours, Holmes Friendly sends a gallery of photos from Hanoi, his new stomping ground (see the entry immediately below), as well as a long description of his first days in the capitol of Vietnam. It's pleasant to see how well his kids are coming along, and we note with amusement the sensation they seem to cause among the Vietnamese. We presume they will soon start their own Shpotzir, complete with the appropriate regional cuisine.

Chairman Wilcha sent this candid shot of a recent Shpotzir, by all appearances one that took place at the Cosmic. Our only regret is that our irascible waiter John is no where in sight. In other Wilchatistical news, the Chairman made a splash last week with what we hope will be the first of many episodes of “Second Hand Stories.” The show, which follows Wilcha’s adventures driving across country in a used ambulance, was largely inspired by the garage sale obsession of Original Shpotzirist M. Ehrlich. Said Grand Master was recently mentioned in a New York Times profile of Wilcha. Ehrlich followed up this bit of cutting edge recognition by submitting one of his poems to the Times (a publication not renowned for its championship of verse). To the surprise of many, the Times published the piece, thereby rendering Ehrlich the only Shpotzirist to have lines published in two of the most respected newspapers in the world (the other being the Christian Science Monitor, who several months ago published his ode to a spring morning).

In further Ehrlich news, D. Ehrlich recently broke his ankle while jogging, a bit-of-the-not-alright which will render him debilitated for the next six weeks. All of us who know of his overwhelming need to squat, thrust, parry and kick for three hours a day will doubtlessly feel sympathy for his plight. If you want to hear an extensive essay on his feelings about the subject, you should trek down to the Happy Ending bar on 302 Broome Street this Wednesday night. Large Charles will be reading, along with fellow Shpotzirist Bones Moskowitz, as part of an evening of literature and music. See the entry below for a link to more info.