Awesome news: author Sam Lipsyte, with whom I briefly shared the bare-knuckled, two-hand touch gridiron of Astoria Park (until a windowshade tear of my left hamstring forced me into early retirement), is developing a comedy for HBO. If you haven’t read The Ask, or any of his earlier books: Home Land, Venus Drive or The Subject Steve, you are missing out on some bleakly funny, satirically dense comic gold. Set your TiVos now!