When I first moved to NYC after college, I sought out friendships with goths and relationships with tortured artists. I figured that if they looked interesting, they must be interesting. Turned out that the vintage dressed people were actually boring and dumb. And the tortured artists were just big drunks. It took me a distressingly long time to learn that lesson.

Ross Douthat covers most of the articles and issues that we discussed last week. I'm not sure what Douthat's point is, but he does match up Kate Gosselin with Sandra Tsing Loh's husband. A thoughtful combo.

Last week's chatterers wondered if we are thirsting for something more exciting than middle American conformity. I was at a suburban swim club yesterday, so I get this. But the very public affairs of last week don't seem to be the way to go. There's nothing more predictable than an affair. It's been done so many times. Sanford's love letters are cliche ridden and pathetic. 

So, what are thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies, and those with a very short attention span to do?