Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant

Kids, Kids, Pugilism Isn't the Answer

During the hours of 4PM-5PM Pacific Standard Time, we'll be stuck in a windowless room with a speakerless computer and a rat scurrying about on the asbestos-ridden tile that we've nicknamed "Pinky" for company. (I named him "Pinky" because when I first said hello, he decided to bite my pinky and I spent several hours in the hospital getting a tetanus shot.)

But if you're more fortunate than us and you're free during that time, you can do no wrong by checking out this afternoon's broadcast of Radio Open Source, which can be heard online. Mark Sarvas plans to oil up his chest and take LA Times Book Review editor Steve Wasserman into a five-match round that will involve lots of blood being strewn onto blank pages and perhaps more than a few angry tears. Kevin Smokler will also be there, presumably as the voice of reason.

As for us, like the Hag, we've been typecast as Lydon's pariahs.