Marissa Mika has written the equivalent of a Column about writing a Column. All the aspects are there. The humiliating admission that she has no more ideas that can work out to 700 words. The sad attempts to cover this up with humor. Then 500 filler words. Even worse this time, since the filler is a series of semi-stream-of-consciousness 'bits-o-life' that would make James Joyce cringe, along with a reference to 'Choose your own Adventure.'

This week, I have a lot of great moments incubating that could easily be extended into something mordantly offensive, funny or poignant.

I'm not sure how poignant a gripping tale of driving to San Jose can be.

Resource extraction: My parents only live an hour away from Berkeley, but it might as well be 10 hours, given how different the South and East bays are. Still, I try to get home every month or so to remind me just how strange Berkeley is. Not only have I perfected the art of looking up BART schedules and hopping on the Caltrain, but I've also perfected the art of the weekend trip home. The critical factor? The free food, of course.

No disrespect to Ms. Mika, who did a fine job during the year, but it's hard to escape the Curse of Summer Mediocrity.
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