a hearty vegan breakfast

OMG Caleb has a blog! Not only is he one of the most intelligent critics out in the world, and not only is his blog (which I discovered last night because I found people coming here from his link to me) one of the most tasteful and learned things around there, but I've seen him drunk and hungover and underdressed. We were friends in college (where I once bitched out one of his old girlfriends for casting aspersions on his sexual preference, only to find out that it was true), and then he let me crash at a flophouse Somerville Mass apartment with like six other guys. It was the closest thing to frat living for any of us ever, although we didn't really do anything all that crazy.

Anyway, check out his blog, it's good, he's one of the great ones. And he gave me the greatest compliment ever at the wedding of our friend and former flophouse roommate Craig, after white-knuckling the Taconic State Parkway in major fog from Queens up to Boston: "You know, for a straight guy, you have great shoes."

WHICH LEADS TO...the first ever Haibun Contest!
I've realized that I have only about three friends in real life, and no longer really have "a best friend." So nominations are open. In 100 words or less, compose a poem about why you'd like to be Official Best Friend of Haibun. All good entries will be posted here, and I will select my new Official Best Friend on May 1. If no one applies, I wouldn't expect a huge spike in my self-esteem level.

Send your entries here. Extra points for not sucking. All entries will win something intangible, like Truth or Beauty or some shit like that. Deadline is April 30 at midnight CST. Get started, y'all.