OK, now there's no excuse:  read this book of the meeting of the meeting of the minds; of the cross fertilization of complementary (if nevertheless antagonistic) sub-cultures; of the baby steps that lead to cultural evolution; of how the margins of the 1970s erupted into the mainstream a generation later; of Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude; of comic books and hip-hop.  A note to Pittsburghers:  Jonathan Lethem will visit Pittsburgh and give a lecture on (we believe) Thursday, October 28, 2004 at the Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland.  Don't hesitate to contact us for details.