You Know You're Old When

...you take an interest and participate in the election for the board of directors of your credit union.

Well, I couldn't help it. I read the candidate bios and clearly saw that, at least on paper, one of the new candidates seemed more qualified than one of the current board members.

Jeezus, what's happened to me? I can hear the voices in my head chanting, "Grup! Grup! Grup! Grup!"

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My Neck, My Back

...are in such fucking pain right now. The sad part is that it feels about 10 times better than it did Friday when I had to call off work at the last minute. But, it's all good, now that I have a fresh supply of Vicodin and Flexiril, graciously provided by my doctor, along with an appointment for some PT tomorrow morning.

Damn, I feel like I'm on Rohypnol now, so I think I'm going to go back to sleep (which I've been doing for about 10 hours at a stretch at night, on top of having a 2-3 hour nap during the day).

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Reading: 1/15 to 1/21

Two weeks behind again. You can partially chalk it up to the pain killers I'm on. So, here it is, sans Nick Hornby-style commentary.

• Juan José Millás, "Other Persons"
• Jenny Hollowell, "A History of Everything, Including You"
• Peter Orner, "The Raft"
• Teolinda Gersão, "The Red Fox Fur Coat"
• Ronald F. Currie, Jr., "Loving the Dead"
• Tobias Wolff, "Powder"
• Susanna Clarke, "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse"

All these except for Clarke's story are in the NEW SUDDEN FICTION collection, which I highly recommed.

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They Weren't Lying About Death and Taxes

Let me get this straight...they've been doing this for two years??

Tennessee Continues to Enforce 'Crack Tax'

All Things Considered, January 15, 2007 · For a second consecutive year, Tennessee has collected more than $1.5 million in revenue from its so-called "crack tax." The state has been enforcing a tax on illegal substances that drug dealers can report without fear of prosecution.

But once arrested, dealers must prove they've paid the tax or face fines or property seizure. A local judge has called it unconstitutional but the state is appealing saying it will help deter crime and boost tax coffers.

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Last Week's Reads

Okay, the good news is that I'm more or less back on track with my reading list. The bad news is I still didn't have a lot of time to digest enough to comment on them, Hornby style. But I can at least tell you that I've read...

• David R. Bunch, "The Escaping"
• James Cross, "The Doll-House"
• Jonathan Lethem, "Planet Big Zero"
• Carol Emshwiller, "Sex and/or Mr. Morrison"
• Me, "Code of Conduct"
• Damon Knight, "Shall the Dust Praise Thee"

I will take a moment to mention that all save the third and fifth pieces were from DANGEROUS VISIONS and that Damon Knight's story, the shortest one I've read thus far (I think...I haven't counted pages) is a standard for genre flash fiction for me, as far as I'm concerned. This is of particular importance now, not just for the obvious reason, but because I'm working my way through PIECES FOR THE LEFT HAND as well as the recently released NEW SUDDEN FICTION.

PASSAGE OF THE WEEK

Were we viable? Did we have to convince others, or was it enough just to convince ourselves?

The question was made immediate by our careers as students. Did it matter that you were smarter than your English teacher if she could fail you for cutting class to smoke pot in the park?

-Jonathan Lethem, "Planet Big Zero"

Next week: A Susanna Clarke piece. In fact, I think I'll do a reversal--one genre piece, more mainstream with the rest.

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Check Out This V1agra COOL c1al!s Video

If you're one of the legion (and by legion, I mean three or four) who emails me about YouTube links that I have yet to respond to, there may be a reason.

(Sorry it too me so long to get to this. Teh interhighway has been stopped up here at the homestead for the past few days.)

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Always Stickin' It To the Man

...by any means necessary!

Your results:
You are Magneto

Magneto 77% Apocalypse 70% Mystique 68% Riddler 68% The Joker 65% Juggernaut 64% Dr. Doom 63% Lex Luthor 62% Mr. Freeze 61% Venom 61% Kingpin 61% Catwoman 61% Dark Phoenix 52% Green Goblin 48% Two-Face 40% Poison Ivy 36%

You fear the persecution of those that are different or underprivileged so much that you are willing to fight and hurt others for your cause.

Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz

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Real Fame

Who says the band Chicago is a bunch of has-beens when they (and by they, I mean some drawings and voices that weren't theirs) appeared in AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE?


(Just let it load and skip to the 3:00' mark.)

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Backlog

Sorry for the delays. The Interhighway here seems to be littered with orange barrels, just like Ohio. Anyway, two weeks ago, I read...

• Poul Anderson, "Eutopia"
• David R. Bunch, "Incident at Moderan"
• Neil Gaiman, "How to Talk to Girls at Parties"

Unfortunately, it's been too long now so I can't provide anything in the way of commentary. I liked 'em--I can definitely say that.

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Reading is Fundamental

The darn holidays finally caught up with me, so I can't offer any words of insight into what I read two weeks ago, a la Nick Hornby's playbook. Yeah, yeah, priorities and all that, but here's my token effort anyway. The least I can do is a list...

• Joe L. Hensley, "Lord Randy, My Son"
• Robert Reed, "Pills Forever"
• Raymond Carver, "After the Denim"

Next time: What I read last week...I think I've got some words set aside somewhere.

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Playlist

As far as the stuff from last time, it took awhile for The New Pornographers stuff to sink in, but I think it did. At least the ELECTRIC VERSION album did. The Yo La Tengo album didn't grab me as much, but I'll give it more of a listen. I'm surprised that I'm listening to Bill Champlin's RUNAWAY as much as I have, despite what a Champlin junkie I am. But we all know I'm a sucker for 80s AOR music, too.

Anyway, I thought I'd start out 2007 with something out of the comfort zone. Though I'll be honest, The Blue Nile isn't. I've heard them before performing with other folks. Anyway, we've got that and, while I'm on the New Pornographers kick, we've got some Neko Case as well.

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