OUT & ABOUT–was at the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual dinner last night. Julian Simon Award was given; many familiar faces, including Jeremy Lott and Julian Sanchez; I am still wearing the complimentary Mardi Gras beads; Billy Tauzin told us not to beat up on the companies that develop medical innovations, and plugged the Partnership for Prescription Assistance; and, sadly, I failed to get a hold of Iain “Edge of England’s Sword” Murray. if I can think of anything else sufficiently exciting, I will let you know….

Oh, almost forgot the very fun comics blogosphere gathering! Julian again, plus Will Wilkinson (who sent me the links to his series of Letters to a Young Objectivist: one, two, three–I know several people read this site who might be interested in those), plus Jim Henley, Dave Intermittent, and Marc Singer (whom I initially confused with John at Commonplace Book, because I’m an idiot). Topics under discussion included: James Wood (I love his writing, but unfortunately so does he); my desire to find more blogs that will point me toward comics that sound like things I’d want to read (every month, Johnny Bacardi almost sells me on The Losers–but so far the sale hasn’t gone through… should maybe also check out Hawaiian Dick); was Heloise just another woman deluding herself that she was Being An Individual when really she was throwing herself at the feet of a man? (…yes); does this whole “meme” theory add anything that Nietzsche couldn’t teach ya? (I’m undecided); and who would buy a comic that revealed Bucky’s hidden liaison with the Green Goblin (me, apparently). I talked way too much for the first half, then subsided into near-silence for the second half, because apparently I am incompetent at a) social interaction and b) the Golden Mean. (Which came as no surprise.) But a good time was had, I hope, by all.