I've got to get up really early for BioSITE, so I'll just list some books I've read and enjoyed lately:

Spirits in the Wires - Charles De Lint
Notes From the Wild - the nature recording expeditions of Bernie Krause
Weird Business - edited by Joe R. Lansdale and Richard Klaw
Coyote Cowgirl - Kim Antieau
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (unusual - a bestseller that is actually good, not lowest common denominator stuff like they usually are)
Concrete Jungle - a pop media investigation of death and survival in urban ecosystems, edited by Mark Dion & Alexis Rockman (I'm still reading this one, and it's very interesting indeed)

cds I listened to while not reading because if I was doing that too I'd crash: V/A "The Year of Silence", V/A "To Live is Ever to be in Danger", V/A "Terrastock - Ptolemaic Providence Perambulation", and Laibach "WAT"

My prayers have been answered! I found a place online that sells subscriptions for a series of cd singles, but doesn't accept cash. They barter! Even better, they barter for artwork. If you send them 6 pieces of art on 3 x 3 pieces of paper, they will, over time, send you 6 cd singles. The artwork sent in by subscribers is used as cover artwork for the cds. Pretty nifty. I guess I'll be creating artwork this week. The great thing is, I usually do that anyway. Now I'll be able to trade it in for music.

This weekend we didn't do much. We watched "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Deep Red", and a bunch of episodes of Mr. Show. Jen went out and got her nose pierced and now has a cute little stud in her nose. I vacuumed a bit, and then spent a good deal of time taking the vacuum cleaner apart and pulling all the hair out of it. There was enough in there to make several wigs. It's a wonder we're not bald. Maybe the Hair Faerie brings extra hair when we're all asleep. Of course, it's very rare that everybody is asleep at the same time. We just love being awake (well, maybe the kids don't - They tend to be quite whiny when they wake up in the middle of the night). We're still getting over this damn cold/bronchitis thing too. If a use could be found for phlegm, we'd all be rich and we could go buy a house instead of renting.

It's pleasantly cold outside. The frogs like it, judging by their singing.

cds I listened to while almost needing a jacket: all various artists - "Oktagon - the Sampler", "Festplatte" (creatively packaged in a cardboard box), "Serotonin Ronin", "Mysteria Mythrae", and "The Unaccompanied Voice - An A Capella Compilation"

They kill trees, but they're still kind of neat (albeit a little grouchy).

Jen and Willow are awake. Wait! Jen is taking Willow into the other room to sleep! No! Bring the baby back! There's not much cuter than those little baby smiles. They alone make up for all of the sleeplessness and poop.

Speaking of poop, I notice that Bush's stance against providing support for any overseas facility that supports or encourages abortion as an option (whether or not they actually provide the service themselves) is causing health care centers to close in regions where they are sorely needed. This from a man who is responsible for more deaths than any serial killer could ever aspire to. Watch this man. He doesn't have brains, but he has power. That is never a good combination.

Maybe politicians should be required to live in the poorest neighborhoods - sort of the same concept as forcing slumlords to live in their own apartment buildings. It looks and feels a lot different on the inside. And maybe George Bush should be required to go back to elementary school and start his education over. The first time around doesn't seem to have left much of an impression.

Somewhat disjointed rant over for now.

cds I listened to while still feeling sort of sick: V/A "The Beast 666 & the Archangels of Sex" (off to Hell we go...), V/A "Knights of Abyss", Magma "Floe Essi/Ektah", Sigillum S "Private8788"(this cd sounds like the soul of a worn out city, howling into the night) and V/A "Dry Lungs V"

I ache, so I'm going to go make some tea and curl up in bed with a good book. Now if I could only figure out how to turn off the snot faucet in my head...

cds I listened to while dripping: Kari "demo recordings 1995", John Hammond "Wicked Grin", V/A "X - X Section", V/A "Palace of Worms", and V/A (ha ha) "Copyright Infringement is Your Best Entertainment Value"

Yep, I definitely have that cold that Jen is just now getting over. The back of my throat hurts, and my nose is filling up. I think I'll call in sick to work tomorrow to avoid passing it on to a bunch of children.

Autumn is amongst us. That big pile of yellow leaves is back in our driveway. Maybe I'll be more diligent about sweeping it up this year. The new(ish) neighbors next door seem pretty concerned about their yard, judging by the amount of time they spend manipulating it. They have managed to tear up and get rid of just about everything the last neighbor planted. The yard waste bin was full of ferns for many weeks running. I love the leaves though. It seems a pity to just throw them away. Maybe we should pull a Leo Buscaglia and bring them all inside and spread them around the living room. It would hide the stains on the carpet.

It is a bit cooler tonight, and there's some cloud cover that will, no doubt, burn off shortly after sunrise. I wish it would stick around.

cds I listened to while thinking about leaving the leaves: V/A "Closed On Account of Rabies - Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe", V/A "The Portable Altamont", V/A "A Bead to a Small Mouth", Paul Roland "Strychnine", and In Gowan Ring "Exists and Entrances Volume Four: Autumn Equinox"

They say that if you're always helping people to do things without actually teaching them how to do these things for themselves, you're not really improving their lot in life. I've heard this argument used most often in discussions about the pros and cons of international aid, but of course it applies to any situation where somebody just hands you the end product without taking you step-by-step through the process that created it.

Apparently none of this kind of thing applies to toads.

I saw the toad again - the one I always help get up over the curb - and there he was, triumphantly sitting on top of the curb. When he saw me, he did a disdainful little hop into the ivy, as if to say, "see! I don't need your help!"

I'm glad that he can manage on his own, but now I have to question my purpose in life.

cds I listened to while looking for some other animal to help: V/A "Mortar", V/A "Land of the Rising Noise", Paul Roland "Roaring Boys", and V/A "From Across This Gray Land No.2"

The dust is still settling from the weekend.

Friday, we took all four kids and drove into the hills for Lexy's school camping trip. The campground had about one fifth the number of parking places it needed, and about five times the dust it needed, but the kids had fun rushing about with wild abandon. I went home briefly, to (among other things) find the coffee pot and brew more coffee. I found it, finally, in the cupboard where the mugs are normally placed. This is the kind of thing that happens when I get up too early. I brewed new coffee and took the pot back to camp with me so Jen could benefit as well. You can't camp without coffee. Especially if you have small children.

Saturday, I went to the museum for the first BioSITE meeting of the school year. The basic sorts of things that one expects to happen at meetings did indeed happen. A few things that one doesn't expect to happen at meetings happened as well. For instance, we got to play with snails for awhile. I also almost caught a large Bullfrog, and did catch a small, rather fiesty Crayfish.
That evening I went to Santa Cruz to witness a show called "Ancestors of Siberia", which included singers from Tuva (Chirlgilchin, to be precise), a children's choir who sang old Russian songs, some Etelman dancers (very cool and funny, even if two of them did sport mullets), a shaman (complete with feathered headdress and dangling bones) and a guy who seemed to be able to imitate just about any kind of animal he pleased (he could also bark like a dog while playing the mouthharp). I went to this all by myself, but ran into a guy who volunteers at Hidden Villa, his wife, and son, so I had people to sit with.
They ended the evening with a rousing rendition of "Aa-Shuu dekei-oo", complete with interpretive dance moves provided by the Etelmen and backing vocals by the choir. It doesn't get better than that.
On the way home I saw yet another SUV on its side in the middle of the road. They sure do seem to fall over easily.

Sunday, Jen, Willow, and I went to Santa Cruz in honor of Jen's birthday. Willow got to socialize briefly with another baby, and also got attention from a lot of adults. One woman, who worked in a clothing shop, ran out the door and chased down a balloon-selling clown so she could buy a balloon for Willow. The clown, looking rather wilted by the heat of the day, came into the shop with his selection of animal balloons. I picked out a parrot for Willow, leaving the long chain of Winnie the Pooh characters ("I call it Pooh corner" said the clown) for the shop woman to buy and attempt to place on the wall behind the registers.
Then we ran away because I'm scared of clowns. ...okay, well, not any more. I was when I was little. This clown wasn't scary. He just looked hot and tired. It's probably hard work being a clown. Especially if you have to make balloon animals as well.

cds I listened to while driving back and forth over the coastal range and then going to work because I always have to go to work: V/A "Voices", V/A "Land of the Rising Noise vol.2", V/A "King of the Witches - Black Widow tribute", V/A "Funeral Songs", V/A "Winged We Were - A tribute to The Incredible String Band", and Paul Roland "Masque"

I watched BBC documentary on cavemen with the kids last weekend, and I keep thinking about their theory about why the Neandarthals died out. It's because they were specialists. They were very well adapted to a specific environment (think Europe during the ice age), and when it started to change, they couldn't hack it. So, before they could take off their winter coats, they were extinct. Meanwhile, our ancestors, who had all sorts of struggling and brainstorming to do in order to survive, became very good at adapting quickly, so could roll with the changes. It was the fact that they were generalists, not specialists, that enabled them to continue as a species.

My job title at the museum is Program Specialist. I want it changed to Program Generalist.

All kidding aside though, it is very easy to see how this theory can be applied to the life of an individual. If a person is only good at doing one thing, it's hard to find alternate employment. Problems could ensue. It's nice to be able to do a broad range of things regardless of their useful applications. We should all strive to gain extra skills. If only we had the time...

Speaking of time, the kids will all be grown up before we know it, so here's what's new:

Lexy is afraid of Nosferatu.

The Dickens has started demanding that people kiss her feet.

Willow smiles all of the time and likes chewing on little, toy musical instruments.

Nate... well, I'm not even going to get into what he did with the plastic vampire fangs.

Cds I listened to while realizing that I need more transferable skills: V/A "Must be Musique 1", V/A "MM" - World Serpent compilation, V/A "The Pot Machine Turns You On" - Ptolemaic Terrascope 29 compilation, Paul Roland with the Windham Hill Wind & String Ensemble "Happy Families", and V/A "What is Eternal"

Fixer-upper:

The Mormons brought in our groceries for us today. And they gave us a small cupcake! We're thinking about inviting them back every time we go grocery shopping. Come to think of it, maybe we'll invite them over when we move, too. Or when the toilet backs up. I wonder if they would babysit sometimes? The yard needs raking every day too. And the watering... Oh, and the grout around the shower needs scrubbing. I'll bet they could figure out what's wrong with the wiring in the outside lights, and the one in the kitchen. Maybe we could get them to plant some new trees too. I know! They could fix the van for us! This is exciting!

I got pulled over again tonight too. The cop looked in at all of the newspapers and said, "now it makes sense."

cds I listened to while getting pulled over and making sense: V/A "Sacred War" (is it just coincidence that the last three digits on my odometer were stuck on "666" while I was listening to this cd, which features a track by Anton Lavey?), V/A "The Elements Series, volume 1: Water", Paul Roland "Waxworks", V/A "Pathological Compilation", and The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band with Choir "This is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather & Sing"

What does a paper delivery person look like? Apparently not like me. A guy standing outside of his apartment and talking on a cell phone, looked up as I threw a paper, and asked if I had, "borrowed that dude's paper." I took me a moment to figure out what the hell he meant. This guy actually thought that I had taken the paper, furtively read it, and tossed it back on the mat. Maybe he thought that I had a burning desire to check up on how my investments were doing but was too cheap to plunk down the 75 cents for a copy of my own. Go figure...

cds I listened to while not looking like myself: June Tabor "An Echo of Hooves", V/A "Hypermuseum", Paul Roland "Duel", V/A "A Cat-shaped Hole in My Heart", and The Bevis Frond "New River Head" reissue

Another slow day... What if the mid-Atlantic currents changed?

For the third time, I've had to move the toad. The last two times I saw him, he was struggling to get up over the curb in a parking lot on my route. This time, he was hopping merrily around in the middle of the parking lot. I almost ran him over, but since I knew that he might be nearby, I was being extra vigilant and thus avoided turning him into one of those sad, flat toads that are sometimes seen along the sides of roads. He was a bit indignant when I picked him up, and peed on me as I walked him over to the ivy. This is the thanks I get.

And why... random thought here... do people who graffiti bathrooms usually stick to obscene, one syllable words? Think about it. You can write anything you want to. That bathroom wall is a blank slate (unless somebody has beaten you to it, of course) just waiting for you to write something for the world to see (because, after all, everybody has to use the bathroom). hmmm... let's see. I could write something profound, or I could write "fuck" in really big, sloppy letters. I might even spell it "fuk". It's a statement about my brain. My brain hurts. Big words make it hurt. Most other things make it hurt too...

cds I listened to while wishing there were better things to read in the bathroom: all Various Artists - "Karmokosmetix promosampler", "Seireenia", "Great Punk Hits", and "emre (dark matter)"

The clouds crept in tonight, stealing softly over the valley. May they become fat with moisture and piddle upon us! Okay, I know it's not supposed to rain this week - in fact, it's supposed to heat up again in a few days - but I can dream. I love watching the clouds, even when they're just a nocturnal covering that will burn off shortly after sunrise.

We went and saw Dirty Pretty Things today. Just in time too, since this is the last week it's playing locally. It made we want to say, in my best Monty Python voice, "but I'm still using it!!" Actually, it was quite touching, and I really liked the main characters. Go see it if you get the chance. Willow started talking towards the end, so it looks like our days of sneaking a quiet baby into the movies are at an end. Oh well. On the way home we talked about how it would be neat if, instead of making sequels in the usual way, people (or film studios) would just do a series of movies about the continuing lives of particular characters (such as the ones in this film) without necessarily having any story/plot carryover from the previous movie. We're talking real life here, not some hapless action hero who gets trapped on a speeding vehicle or in a burning building or in a collapsing space station every couple of years. Let the characters move on and experience something completely different. Surprise us! Oh yeah, I forgot, surprises don't make money for the studio executives. It's good that there are still some people out there making films for reasons other than purely financial ones. Let's hear it for artists who take risks! Maybe if we all stayed away from Big Studio Action Movies, the stars wouldn't get it into their thick heads that they can enter politics. Okay, I'm starting to ramble. Goodnight.

cds I listened to while continuing on from the day before: V/A "Eisteddfod", V/A "Lucifer Rising", Uz Jsme Doma "Autumn, Spring, Winter, Hell", Paul Roland & the Hellfire Club "A Cabinet of Curiosities", and In the Woods... "liveatthecaledonienhall"

There's a riot of frogs in the nearby creek. They're singing up a storm. I only wish I meant that literally. It's been brutishly hot the last couple of days - the kind of dull heat that makes me want to go someplace air conditioned and steal their air conditioner and bring it home. Unfortunately, the heat makes me too lethargic to plan any robberies that would stand a chance of success, so we're stuck with the discomfort.

Oh well, another work week fades into the past. I found out that I'm getting paid marginally better than my usual museum wage for my upcoming stint as a BioSITE instructor. I'll be earning what amounts to a whole extra dollar a week! Yay! Of course, I didn't decide to do BioSITE (that's Students Investigating Their Environment) again for the financial wealth it would bring me. I decided to do it because after a summer of teaching science camp, being back at the museum seems like a step backwards. BioSITE gives me the opportunity to keep teaching kids about the environment. It's more active than my usual museum job of facilitating activities for visitors. Some days there just aren't a lot of visitors. Today there were hardly any. On days like today, I end up sitting around and drawing, or playing music, or, if I don't feel like doing either of those things (which is rare), being bored. Boredom is the enemy.

cds I listened to because if I wasn't listening to them I would have been bored: Paul Roland "Sarabande" and "Gargoyles", Pentagram "Bir", Negativland "s/t", COH "Vox Tinnitus", Nekromantik/Der Todesking soundtrack (nice, family oriented films, of course), and Endura "Dreams of Dark Waters"

This drawing, done to kill time during a slow day at work, was inspired by William Hope Hodgson's "The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig'". Hodgson was killed in the War to End All Wars. Too bad he died. To bad it didn't.

People used to greet each other with such niceties as "how are you?" or "whats up?". Now it's usually something like, "this country's going to hell." That is just what the guy who lives on the street where I park my car on the way to work said to me as I walked by. He then expressed some concern about our decreasing freedoms, specifically the increasingly stringent airport restrictions. I hadn't heard that they are now bringing up the police records of all people expecting to board planes. Is this true?

It wasn't lost on me that this was the day before a particularly grim anniversary.

The first person I talked to on the 11th was a woman on a bike, and she was crying. She had flagged me down to ask directions because she was lost. I reeled myself back in from the place that music takes me, and gave her directions. It turns out she was actually on the road she was looking for, but since some cities have the annoying habit of renaming roads every couple of miles, she didn't realize it. I'm not sure if this is worth crying over, but then again who knows what the rest of her story is? It got me to thinking that a lot of people would probably be crying today, or at least thinking very sober thoughts. And not because they are lost at 12:30 in the morning either. It's too bad that the aftermath of those planes hitting the World Trade Center had to include so much more death around the world. Yes, the ripples from that big ugly rock hitting our pond have spread out to form a tidal wave. We are less free. The world is less safe, both for Americans and for whoever is currently on our "to bomb" list. Can anybody tell me what any of this is going to solve? You can take those goddamn tattered flags off of your antennas now - the things they represent have been mixed up and muddied, just like many of the flags themselves. You would probably be pretty embarassed if somebody like me had to explain flag etiquette to you.

Also, how can one not notice that religions, which almost universally contain the concepts of peace and brotherhood, seem to create nothing but factions? We're all being pushed apart by our myths, which were initially created to help us interpret things we didn't understand, and are now simply being used in ways that I can't understand.

Exactly two years ago, a large number of people where on their way to their last day at work. It's the obliviousness that really gets me. I still sometimes think of the people who got pancaked during the '89 earthquake too, about how they were sitting in traffic on the way home... It just goes to show that anything can happen.

Don't put off doing the things you really want to do. Don't wait until later. Time is precious. Life is precious. Use what you've got before it's gone.

cds I listened to while remembering: V/A "Storm the Palace: Worms A.D. MCXVII", V/A "The Myths Collection Part One", V/A "The Myths Collection Part Two", Epizod "The Time Has Come", Yma Sumac "The Spell of Yma Sumac", and Paul Roland "Live in Germany 1995"

We've got this outdoor fireplace thing that UnkaJay and Stacy gave us last year. It is sort of faux adobe in appearance, meaning that it is pleasantly round and rustic looking, with a bulbous base and a pleasant, cylindrical chimney. It's been sitting in our backyard, quietly adding a touch of class to an otherwise trashy looking yard. The grass is only just starting to show signs of life after some vigorous watering, and the toys tend to migrate outwards, away from the house, as if they secretly entertain thoughts of leaping the fence. Sometimes the actually do leap the fence, usually with a little help from one of the boys. Sometimes they leap back into our yard too, with a little help from the neighbors. But I digress...
Today I decided to finally have a fire in our fireplace thing. It was pretty cool. I mean hot. You know what mean. I does, however, tend to spit sparks towards the overhanging branches of our resident trees. It's a good thing it started to rain as I was lighting the fire. The storm clouds had been hanging over the city all afternoon, and were looking impressively ominous. I absolutely love watching the clouds build up in preparation for some good, solid drenching. Unfortunately, this wasn't really a drenching. More like a bit of spittle. It did end up providing a good contrast to the orange glow of the fire. I sat outside in the gathering darkness and enjoyed the smell of smoke, only slightly marred by the smell of barbeque from over the fence. The kids sat inside and watched Snow White.

Oh yeah, We keep forgetting to mention that Willow now has a couple of teeth, and knows how to use them.

cds I listened to while wishing it would rain some more: Tom Waits "Blood Money" and "Alice", Tyr "Eric the Red", Yma Sumac "Sampler Exotica" and "Legend of the Jivaro", V/A "These Wings Without Feathers", V/A "Mask of the People", and John Arch "A Twist of Fate"

Oh, the stench!

The sink and shower drains in our bedroom have been refusing to drain properly for some time now. We have to wash our hands fast in order to beat the rising pool of water in the sink, and our showers are likewise races against time. I figured today that I'd put a stop to that, so I got the bottle of something called "Rooto" out of the garage (I'm not sure where it came from - it may have been there when we moved in). "Rooto" is pretty serious stuff. The bottle is plastered with dire warnings about the effects it will have if you get in on your skin, let alone ingest it. I gingerly brought the bottle in and dribbled a bit of liquid down the problem drains, placing an upside down wastebasket over the sink in case of "acid explosions" (it's what the directions said to do). That's right, "Rooto" is basically sulfuric acid.

The one thing the directions and warnings didn't mention was the stench. In no time, the whole house was enveloped in the rotting egg smell of sulfur. Lexy maintained it smelled like egg salad. He must really hate egg salad. The boys dramatically pulled dish cloths over their noses and we all piled outside and sat on the porch for awhile. I flushed the drains with water. I lit incense. I lit sage leaves. I went back outside. One of the neighbors came over to ask if our house smelled like theirs suddenly did. I grinned sheepishly and we apologized. Apparently she had been worried that their toilet was backing up.

The "Rooto" is now back in the garage where it will no doubt remain to greet the next tenants.

cds I listened to while enjoying the fresh, night air: V/A "Discharged - from the home front to the war front" (a tribute to Discharge), Jaguar "Run Ragged", V/A "The Answering Machine Solution" (ever wonder what to leave on the answering machine? Look no further...), Tom Waits "Blue Valentine", V/A "Must be Musique", Ilgi "Kaza Kapa Debesis", and V/A "Presumed Guilty

The hills are nearby. Sunday, Jen and I took Willow and hiked into them. It seems that this is a popular passtime, judging by the number of people who were also on the trails, and by the even higher number of piles of dog shit. There was even one couple with a triple stoller, containing, of course, triplets. Despite all of this activity around us, we had a nice, peaceful walk. I was looking for Tarantulas, but didn't see any. We did see an inordinate number of baby Fence Lizards, and a bunch of circling vultures. We also saw Mountain Lion and Deer tracks. The lovely smell of sage surrounded us as we walked. We have to do this sort of thing more regularly. Last year, we managed to go up into these particular hills a total of two times. That just isn't enough.

Outside, as I type, the clouds are moving in over the valley, wreathing the moon in gauze. I love this time of year.

cds I listened to while watching the moon: Tom Waits "Hold On", "Bone Machine", and "Nighthawks at the Diner", Gavin Bryars "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet", and Nurse With Wound/Current 93/Coil - cd that came with "England's Hidden Reverse"

When I held Willow in a standing position today she moved her feet forward in a first, tentative attempt at walking. Little does she know that first she has to master sitting up and crawling. But why do things in the obvious order? The Dickens could climb way before she could do anything else. I think that probably applies to a lot of babies. They're natural anarchists. You can't tell them what to do.

I finally transferred another one of our unfortunate lavender plants from its pot to the ground. We had been hesitating to do this because the ones we have already planted are looking pretty sickly. I wonder what it is about our yard that kills plants. There's a couple of dead trees outside, and I think the pine tree next door is dead as well. In fact, a lot of the landscaping looks like somebody dumped agent orange on it. Well, at least one more lavender plant will briefly know what life is like outside of the plastic pot before succumbing to whatever it is that ails the others. Yard of death. That's not the kind of thing that landlords ever tell prospective renters about.

Or maybe our thumbs aren't green. Maybe they're a bilious shade of yellow, with brownish spots. With crusty black nails.

Cds I listened to while inspecting my thumbs: V/A "KFJC 89.7 FM - Live from the Devil's Triangle", Tom Waits "Paris at Midnight", V/A "Vhutemas Archetypi", V/A "The Nitha Fields", and T.A.C. "Apotropaismo"

Charles De Lint writes wonderful stories featuring characters I'd like to meet. Unfortunately this is not possible, so I have to settle for meeting Charles De Lint himself. Today was actually the second time I've "met" him, if you can call getting autographs and chatting a bit "meeting" somebody. The good thing about him is that he actually seems to be a bit like his characters. One of the other people at the book signing party, which took place at Dark Carnival (where you can get the oddest toys. Take for instance "Pee Guy", a little plastic man with a little bit of what looks like fishing line dangling between his legs - the "pee") seemed to be trying to make a business proposition by mentioning that he was really good at reading De Lint's books aloud (to his children, apparently) and would consider it an honour to perhaps maybe read one for an audio release. De Lint told him that he might consider finding a charity for the blind and offering his services as a reader. He could then record, without having to ask permission, all of the books he pleased. Hell, I might enjoy doing that myself, if I could ever find the time. Maybe if I didn't spend so much time hanging around in bookstores. G. showed up as well, and we hung around for a bit, bought some books, talked about this and that, and left. I discovered that the market next door had cool drinks. I've never seen "Leninade" before (get hammered and sickled), so I bought one. I also bought a couple bottles of green tea soda, a Kombucha Wonder Drink (which I'm currently drinking) and a ginger beer. I was thirsty, I guess.

I saw a pretty nasty accident on the way home tonight. Near the off-ramp leading to our house, the freeway was nearly completely blocked by emergency vehicles. The one lane that remained open was littered with broken glass. As I slowly passed, I could see three or four crumpled vehicles in amongst the flashing lights. How could that many cars be in the same place at the same time at nearly three in the morning? Usually at this time of night the freeway is virtually deserted. These people must have been accident prone indeed to all collide like that. I wonder how many pieces of their windows are stuck in my tires now.

All kidding aside now, I hope nobody was too badly hurt. At least they're near a hospital.

cds I listened to while trying to avoid the glass: Naked City "Torture Garden", Scott Walker "Climate of Hunter", Mark Growden "Live at the Odeon", Painkiller "Execution Ground", V/A "fRoots no. 21", V/A "Dead Tech 3", V/A "Balkans Without Borders"

I stopped by Hidden Villa today for the official "return guide" meeting. I've been returning now for five or six years, which is still less than some of the old timers. It's one of those volunteer jobs that gets its hooks in you and doesn't let go. And we like the hooks. One of the longtime volunteers regretted that he won't be able to lead tours this year because he can't really hike anymore due to the three different types of cancer wreaking havoc with his system. So what is he going to do? He's going to volunteer in the garden. The human spirit is an amazing thing. I think most of the people who work at Hidden Villa would do the same - keep on showing up in spite of cancers and injuries and debt. Tours start later this month.
There was a King Snake lurking around the garden too. That's always a good way to start the season - seeing snakes.

Earlier, after getting dressed, I wandered out into the front room to discover The Dickens covered in a brown substance. It was smeared all over her legs and hands. There was even a little bit of it on her nose. As I scanned the floor around her, spotting brownish lumps and smears, I muttered to myself, "please let that be chocolate."

It wasn't chocolate.

Oh, and we got the van back. They couldn't find anything wrong with it. I could cry. Maybe we really should take it to an exorcist instead of just joking about it. As it is, we can't take it anywhere outside of the area for fear that it will shut itself off at an inopportune moment. Sort of like George Bush's brain. Oh wait, I guess that would be more like a van that doesn't start at all and has to be towed everywhere by a tow truck driven by a homicidal drunk.

cds I listened to while wishing it would cool down already: The Tiger Lillies "Two Penny Opera" and "The Sea", John Zorn "Music for Children", The Third and the Mortal "Tears Laid in Earth" and "Stream/Horizons", Scott Walker "Tilt", and Naked City "Grand Guignol"

The long weekend wasn't really so long after all. I worked at the museum saturday and monday, which really broke time up into little chunks, making the whole thing seem much shorter somehow.

An odd thing happened too. I discovered that the author of one of the blogs Jen reads is somebody I once briefly dated (for a few weeks, and five years ago). That has to be one of the strangest coincidences yet.

Time for bed, I think. I'm just sitting here trying to figure what to add to this, but not having any luck. Maybe some other time. The wee hours have a way of leaching away any profundity that may be pooling within.

cds I listened to while finally driving my own car again: Kari Rueslatten "Spindelsinn", John Zorn "Kristallnacht", Holocaust "Primal", The Third and the Mortal "Sorrow", and Etant Donnes "L'autre Rive/Le Sens Positif" (oddest packaging - the cds were sealed within the front and back covers of a small hardback book, so the only way to extract them was to cut them out, thereby damaging the book)