"The only thing constantly changing is change..." -- Lou Reed

I took this mantra of sorts from "The Raven," and it is more than true. It's been a while since I have blogged, and mostly that is because I'm so busy doing other things. But anyway, I'm listening to this:

This collection is one I often meditate to. Really nice stuff. I'm using it now at the Office because who knows what is going to come up on playlist today? Not that it's all bad but I've made my pronouncements on some of the stuff.

So...change. It is inevitable, and for the past year I have contemplated the oncoming rush of change that has to happen. I have not been afraid of it, more concerned about the execution thereof.

Before I get into details, I have found a job. I accepted an offer from a certain company, and I begin training on Monday. I need to explain something to you...you have been hearing in the news (if not having experienced it yourself), how people just go on and on looking for work, and are not finding anything. How some people have given up looking for work, have lost their benefits, and so forth?

Well, it happened to me. It's no different than what anyone else has gone through, but I am fortunate that I only am responsible for myself and my cats. That made it easier, but I know how hard it's been.

With my acceptance of this offer, I should soon be moved from part-time training to full time. Do you know how long it has been since I have had a full-time job? Meaning however many hours one is supposed to work to get "full-time?"

Five years.

Yes. I was let go from XM Radio in January 2009. I have been a jobber since then. To be fair, I did have severance for a while, and I did go back to school for ten months. I did not plan to go back into broadcasting, but it kind of happened that way.

My official job search lasted 27 months. I have a 92-page document of all of my job contacts, answers, interviews, etc. Now it's not Excel, so it probably would be a whole lot smaller than that, but that's what it is.

I am not one to subscribe to conspiracy theories or wild ideas of what is coming in this country. I left junior high school, folks. I do think however that the landscape of our economy must change as well, and fairly soon or we will have a serious issue.

On the same token, we can't sit around. I have not. My job hunt was a job, as I've often said about other things. We each must make those things happen for ourselves, best we can. 

So, where am I going?

http://www.tangotraffic.com/

If there is one portion of the broadcast world that is still working, it is...traffic. What do people need? What do they have to have to get about their work, their day, their lives?

The science has come a very long way. I spent nearly five years at XM doing traffic for more than 20 cities. It is an art, to take masses of information being hurled at you and turning that into a report listeners can understand.

With Twitter and all the immediate forms of social media, it has intensified. Our thirst for information is huge, but think about what kinds we NEED?

Tango is a new player in the arena, relatively speaking. I do not know the whole deal by far, and I train with one of my old colleagues from the XM and Metro Networks days. We go back a decade or more, and I've seen inside enough to know where we are headed. 

This is pretty exciting, actually. Now, what is funny is back in '09 or '10, I briefly worked for a startup firm called Traffic Talk. Sadly they could not get the money together for this, but the guys who I was with had an interesting idea, another way to make the traffic world understandable. That could even still work, I think, one day.

It's funny: I cannot remember where I saw it, I think it was in a trade publication, around 1990 or '91. There was a joke one-page promotional ad for an LA radio station: ALL TRAFFIC, ALL THE TIME.

The idea was that you would have DJ's or hosts on the air in studio, giving you constantly updated traffic with their own twists. "The Great Pandini" was a guy who would hypnotize you while driving; another guy who's name I can't remember would play driving music to make your commute go faster, like stuff from the James Bond movies.

My favorite was the guy who would broadcast live, every day from a car. And a lucky motorist might get a huge rubber arrow stuck to their ride as they traveled about: this was the DRIVE-BY SHOOTING OF THE DAY.

Now, that probably would not fly in LA, or anyplace else for that matter. But it was funny.

Back then, we didn't have Internet, but for a very few clued in tech geeks. Cell phones were not a big thing for everyone, nor pagers. That would have been a very big challenge to do something like that.

All traffic would not work on a terrestrial radio station, but it sounds like it would be fun. I believe in Tokyo there is a low-power AM station that just does traffic, but I don't recall details. Stuff I learned while researching one of my books.

Bandwidth on satellite radio makes it easy to allocate space for Sirius/XM to do traffic channels, though the mashing of them together, post merger I wonder about.

Now how about the traffic world? Tango is out in Chester County, which is just to the west of Philadelphia. The warehouse they are in is a temporary location, and they'll move to a new place soon. Jim Battagliese, my former XM boss and one of the gurus of the changing face of traffic reporting likes to tell the story of his first company operating out of his house in Philly. The whole house, from attic to basemen was the traffic center. Think about that.

This is not unusual, not at all. Now, I have to tell where I was the other day.

Without naming names, I had an interview in Maryland at a company that has been around a long while. I wasn't sure what to expect...I didn't expect this:

A fairly active city site, floors up in a big building. You'd think this is gonna be slick, right, professional, all that?

WRONG.

The only parking was in an expensive garage next door. I then had to go through levels of madness to get into the building, show my ID, jump through hoops and then take an express elevator.

I got to the big glass door. It is locked. At 11 am.

It is dark. No receptionist. No lights on, apart from a screensaver showing all the stations they do traffic and stuff for.

The man who would have become my boss arrived after me. I waited while he did whatever he had to do to get ready for me. Quiet...deathly quiet.

I was taken on a tour of a dark, poorly lit level of Hell that only Dante could imagine. There is a horror movie to be shot here.

This huge floor was a dead zone. Lights off, cubicles that looked like from a time capsule. It seemed all the occupants got up and left things as they were, like they were going to come back. And they vanished. 

Everywhere I turned, there were places where people once worked, but no more. I saw at one corner nearly three dozen computer towers stacked on the floor like coffins.

The man I spoke with was very nice. He tried to put the best spin on things, consolidation of people down here, this, that, other. 

There was one person working in a tiny studio in one corner. Another way down the hall in another studio. The traffic center looked like an air traffic control center from the 50's or 60's. Three people there. Now it was not drive time, to be fair, but this was surreal.

I have never seen anything like this in my life. If this is how it runs, then fine, I've been in crazy places too. But this...I thought of Luigi Pirandello's plays and the interplay of ongoing behavior that leads all to think the rest of the universe is insane, but you are not.

Or is it you that is mad?

Escape from the time capsule led me home, and Tango's offer was waiting. So there you have that.

Honestly...would I have worked for the other? If that was the only offer, yes. What choice have I?

Change again, this is what has come about. I will have to move, after 14 years in York, 13 in the same place. There are things I will miss, but much I cannot miss.

The sameness. I have written and spoken of the feeling that this part of the world fears change more than most, and refuses to do so. A colleague likes to say this part of the world "still thinks Kennedy is president."

They live in 1962, Camelot, JFK and Jackie, Reds under every bed, the Cubans are coming to destroy us, and what do those "Negroes" want, anyway?

They didn't know from gay people. Of course where I move, is that any different? At least I am close to Philly, so that will be a change.

I have to move, and I do not like that. Moving is a horrific prospect, and I will have a company do it while I can still afford it. Trying to find a place, going through all that again, relearning my surroundings, and navigating a big city...

...you get used to knowing where stuff is, and I imagine "here" will fade away, as it does for most people. You go somewhere, where's everyone else, right?

The 'net lets us all stay sort of in touch, so wherever I go I know I'll be sure to hear/see about what everyone else is doing. The next chapter in the great adventure, right?

So what does that mean for other things?

I do not know at this point for a lot of it. I don't have a clue.

As for the writing, it goes on. I have to do a couple of readings of "Parasite Girls" in the near future here, and I'll find other spots to do them. I know I have to do them, and yet I am rather worried about trying this method. It bothers me, but I also know (back to the changing landscape) I have to engage the public.

Got a letter today from Barnes & Noble, regarding my wish to get "Parasite Girls" on the shelves. They just don't have the space for self-published books, and I get that. Worth a try.

They said they noted that most self-published authors only sell "about 100 copies." Well, thanks for that bit of lovely news, I'm soooooo encouraged!

But they are right, I guess. So what is my writing going to do? Apart from being therapy, and a hobby? I still plan to keep on writing. I pretty much do not see myself ever getting a publishing deal, but I think a lot of that has to also do with building a body of work, and I am just getting started. I hope to live long enough to see it really happen. But again, I must engage.

"Parasite Girls," well it's too soon to tell how it is going to be received, but I've gotten some nice comments. For that I am thankful, and I'm going to keep at it.

What's next...oh...lots of things, but what will be next? I do not know for sure at this point.

www.behance.net/torygates is my online site for numerous things. There, you will find rough cuts and openers. Two or three possibilities are right there. 

So I'm probably going to give out more copies of "PG" than I sell, but that's how it goes. 

The thing that is important to impart on you: my painter friend Sunny said over 20 years ago when I expressed doubt: just do it.

Not the Nike way, but the way each of us have. There you are.

So, hopefully I will have time to blog again in the near future and tell you how this new venture goes. And how everything else goes...time to move on because I feel my years are slowly getting away from me. Every day I have is one to make something happen, something more. 

Warren Zevon had an interesting take when he faced cancer, and the final days of his life: "Enjoy Every Sandwich."

I think he found a sense of place. Lou Reed did as well...his wife Laurie Anderson wrote that right to the end, Lou's sense of wonder at the world didn't go away. He lived to the end.

We gotta just do it.

Peace, Out.

The Process

I'm still alive, but it was one more long, strange weekend.


Walkman starter, "Highways and Heartaches," by Joe Ely.  That should help wake me up, along with a large iced coffee, plus whatever medicines are working in me.


Friday went well at WITF; a good, smooth day, and I'm finally figuring a lot more out.  Turned out to be one hell of a day, and evening.


Got to see Alice again, and we are definitely something.  Well, she's something anyway!  Where the hell have we each been all our lives...I'm just happier than I've been in a long time.  Interesting what a relationship will do, isn't it?


The weekend veered off into weirdness.  I did the afternoon/evening shift for KYW, and while that was all well and good, I had no idea what was waiting for me after.


In the middle of all this, I am back home for Beltane.  The coven and friends gathered at my house, at the last minute for the weather.  Short, but very good ritual; went well, had a good time.  Of course, mindful I have to get up in the am.


I had to do the fast turnaround, which meant leave midnight Saturday and then be back there at like 10 am Sunday...easy, right.


WRONG.


The first part of the shift went pretty fast; the Phillies were playing in the evening, the Sixers are out of the playoffs, and the Flyers dropped their first game to the Bruins the night before.  The Union won, but KYW doesn't give a fuck about soccer, even though they send reporters to the home games.


"Cready Stomp," studio outtake by Pearl Jam...nice.  Perfect for what comes next:


About 2 pm, Rick, my boss calls.  Our far-flung weekender who works for ESPN is stuck in New York State with a broken down ride.  He will not make it.  I proceed to make the decision to stay, until midnight.


Double shift time...running on little sleep as it is, I figure, no big deal, right...yeah, right.  I keep going, the night drags on, and of course, the Phils and Mets go into extra innings!


14 innings.  1-1 game; at least it was interesting to some extent.  I felt so brain dead, normally I can find other things to do, multi-task, etc.  Not really.  


I didn't get out of there until 1 am, Monday.  15 hour shift.  Hey it's money, right?  As I was prepping to leave, I see my WITF boss, Tim Lambert for the second time.  He was here when I arrived, and he was back before I left.


Reason?  Heard during the game that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a firefight in Pakistan.  So he's in to do the news thing, and planned to go over to the all-night diner across the highway to get sound.


The fun of this world of radio of ours.


"Infinite Love," Nawang Khechog...very different segue, no?


I stagger over to the Sunoco station to get coffee for the ride home...gonna need it.  See some punk band rolling up for gas...can't even remember their name now, a lot of S's in the name.


Crash and burn.


Eight hours later, I'm awake.  Why, I don't know.  Monday, back to the Office, where I finally start to get to work again on "Silk Road Days."  This book is taking a long time to write; I've been rewriting, and adding scenes through the first part of it, because there's a lot missing, and I have a lot more development to do.


Oh, and the TrafficTalk gang called.  I was asked to help cut a phone promo on a new idea they have to deal with the service.  Still talking with people, still working on ideas, funding, etc.  


So now...I was up until 1:30 am, writing, and doing stuff.  The band is hopefully going to gather, at least two or three of us, but would you not know?


Darren, our fill-in drummer was to host Dan and myself; just now he calls...power's out.


Weird shit.  So waiting now to see if Dan's awake and what he'll do.


"Your Hands," John & Yoko...mostly Yoko...oh dear.  Her poetry is good, her voice is NOT.  Skip.


"I Can't Explain," studio version, the Who...now we're talking!


Back to Alice...can't stop thinking of her and talking of her.  I have been loathe to write much about her, or mention who she is online, because I don't want to jinx what we have here.  She's a professional stagehand, and knows all that behind the scenes stuff. She has an attitude, she's Pagan (slightly different than me, but who cares?), and rather uninhibited.


Think I finally found my match.  Damn.  It is a very strange situation, but I'm quite pleased, and very happy.  To have someone tell you they love you is really amazing...especially when you know they  mean it.


"Fortune Teller," Who Live at Leeds...ahhh...yes, there's a lot of Who on my Walkman.


So, I now look at things a little differently.  I have a reasonable amount of work right now, and while the new guy at ITF starts later this month, I at least have some extra hours.  All good, but I do wonder about further down the road.  Just gotta keep dealing with things as best I can.  Yet I sometimes wonder about my decisions at times.


See what we can do, I suppose...we all do.


Pittsburgh in a couple of days...hope to make it there in time to have lunch with an old friend and radio colleague, then putz about until I meet Riz for the Jim Jeffries show...and of course, work all weekend right after.  This is life; this is what we insane people do.


"Trees," Paul Weller...weird fucking song on his latest album...about sex changes, I think...or something...need to skip.  I love the Jam and Weller on his own, but oh God not now...


"The Secret Agent Ending," Philip Glass, "Glass Reflections" CD...gotta get going, now.

Long Week, and Another Week from Hell is Coming...

Well, another week has passed.  It has been a strange one for me, where to begin?

First, I have been working hard on "Silk Road Days."  I'm warming to the return to the Japan/Anime/YA Fiction thing, and I think once the framework of the initial script is done, I can go further and figure out where it is all going.

15 chapters are down as of this evening; I do not know how long it will take to finish.  And then there's the gaps that need to be filled in, probably a lot of those.

TrafficTalk, which I've explained in the past, has announced a suspension of operations.  So, I will not need to be in front of a computer in the afternoons for the foreseeable future.  I had guessed we were headed there.  At the moment, talks are continuing about technical aspects of the service and how it can be used. 

This frees me up to go hustle about and add some additional radio work, hopefully.  I did train briefly last week at Clear Channel Harrisburg (WTKT-AM 1460 the Ticket) on the Senators baseball games.  Pretty easy; and I'm hoping for some more hours.

WITF is ready to start training me again this week on "Morning Edition."  I'll do three days of it, and possibly get on the air for a little...daggers.

This is gonna be tough, and I have to be ready to do it right and well.  Lot of timing issues as I've said in the past, but we'll see how it goes.  I'm optimistic.

The Dharma Fools have been quiet, as again we have become scattered.  I know we will return to form, and I must be patient.  Meant to happen when it does.

My friend Riz has finally convinced me to go to Pittsburgh in May and see Jim Jeffries at the Improv!  I'll go for a Friday nighter, because I have to be back the next day.  Also an ulterior motive of seeing an old friend who lives out that way.  Should be interesting if I can pull it all together.

Riz has lost her job; blessing or a curse, not sure.  It is time for her to consider the next move of her life and perhaps reinvent herself, but she knows what she's doing.  All good.

Urg.  Exhausted; must be up early again for the KYW thing...

A Long, Strange Week it's Been...

Forgive my paraphrasing the Grateful Dead (Bill Walton forever has the market on unnecessary and uncalled for Dead references), but it has been a long and very weird week.


I don't even know where to start.  I've finally gotten out of a cold; it went straight to my throat, and while it was not painful, it was just nagging...then it went to my sinuses.  Lovely.  But nothing too terrible.  


Walkman update..."Writing on the Wall," by Russell Smith.  Heard some good stuff leading up to this, "Hot Patootie" done by Brian May for a Rocky Horror Soundtrack of years past, some interesting Frank Zappa and Brian Eno.  All good.


Anyway, I fell into a depression of sorts this week.  Some of it was my health, then these weird changes in weather, temp. changes, warm, then incredibly cold, a day of extremely heavy rain and thunderstorms.  It always does that.


Working on a new story idea...that has some interesting elements for me, as I again dip into my past for ideas.  Not sure if I'll ever plumb the depths of my past years in order to get them away from me; but it's worth the doing.


Dharma Fools Update:  still working on it.  Johnny and I had a long talk earlier this week, about the direction the new band will take and our plans for a Japanese charity tribute EP.  Just hard as hell trying to get everyone together.  We have to be patient.


J. continues to come up with interesting songs; while he has a certain formula, he also gets to the point a lot quicker than say, I do.


I have two new songs, the first two I've written in a long time.


"I Feel So Good," by Willie Smith and Pinetop Perkins.  Pinetop just passed away, at 97!  Still smokin' right to the end.  What a guy.  Smith is now probably the last of the Muddy Waters compadres from those great years.  This CD won a Grammy, and well-deserved.  


Anyway, two songs...one is the intro/prologue for this new story idea, but it will also fit well as a song.  Katie will have to sing this one, and I'm sure she'll hit it well.


The other began as an instrumental, then I added lyrics, based on a DVD my sister sent me.  Susan has been a geneology freak, and has done extensive research into the varied branches of our family.  They are amazingly long.


She sent most of us a 2000-frame disc of photos...many are very old, dating back to the 19th Century...some more contemporary shots as well, some I didn't need to see.


They stirred some real interesting thoughts and memories.  Some good, some not.  They also really did make me look into my past and I see now where I get some of my better attributes from.  Leastways, I hope they are better ones.


Very strange to look back like that.


"We're Gonna Rock," by Paul Burlison and friends...great CD called "Train Kept A-Rollin'" -- fabulous.  I think Billy Burnette is singing on this one.  Burlison was a member of the Original Rock and Roll Trio, which included Johnny Burnette.  Great stuff.


TrafficTalk soldiers on...I'm still hanging in there, and a bit more press might help us.  Got a couple of interesting calls yesterday.


WITF has called me in next week to train on the job I didn't get.  I'm to be the fill-in guy...feeling pretty good, I hope I can do well, and let 'em know they made a mistake, hahahahaha...


Either way, to be considered is good, and to get a shot at it, alright with me.


My whole week has been strange, very strange, and I'm just not together.  My sleep patterns have been wacked.  Not sure why; I feel a terribly intensity building within, and I don't know if it means another creative surge is coming, or if means something else.


Anyway...double shift tomorrow...KYW first shift, then off to the Clear Channel job for a Bears game.  They're running it on another of the cluster, because of baseball, so it's gonna be weird.  Fortunately the boss and engineer will be on hand.  Let's hope it works.


Bleargh.  Life in the breakdown lane.  Must go.

Ostara, and Other Jumbled Thoughts

Having plenty of those today.  First, a Blessed Ostara to one and all!


I cannot be with the coven today, as work is calling me out.  I have hoped this midday as I finally awakened from a looooong night at the job, and still recovering from a cold that I can get myself together.


My efforts I hope will mean something:  it is a beginning again, as we welcome back spring, the sun and some warmer temperatures.  Let's hope they stay.


My thoughts are more for others; my dear friend Anne-Marie is in her third week at Beth Israel, getting treatment for Crohn's Disease.  It is such a horrid condition, and my friend has battled it for a long time.  I have a similar affliction, but not Crohn's, and I know what it does to you.


But she is in good spirits, and her determination to live is something to respect.  I wish her well, and wish I could be there to see her.


Walkman update:  "My Father's Shoes," by Cliff Eberhardt.  I listen to this in the Office, to drown out people who are unnaturally and unnecessarily loud!  Heard some good tracks earlier as I prepared today..."Christian Island" by Gordon Lightfoot, "Tennessee" by Carl Perkins (him doing country is interesting), "The Flood" by Yusuf Islam, "Vegas" by Sara Bareilles.


The people of Japan,  again in my mind.  The nuclear problem remains, but it seems like they're working at it, the way they do with everything.  The death toll still rises, but again the Japanese people suck it up, and go on with life, even in the face of having their lives turned upside down, and wracked with the loss of friends, family, businesses and homes.  I hope for them, as well.


"Godchild," by Sonny Landreth.


Now...I have to get back to work, and soon.  Another long shift at WITF, for KYW, more than anything.


Hope does spring eternal; I may just have another chance at that job I was turned down for.  I've been asked to come in this week to do some training on that job, and become a fill-in guy once again.


Hopefully the Public Radio system will allow me to work about in different circles.  For some reason, I don't know why companies that are separate but owned by the same firm don't allow cross-work.  Well, they do, but it is weird.  All of it.  But hey, might be a 2nd chance.  Nice.  I'll go for it.


My future needs a bit of reassurance, with work, etc.  I keep working, editing "Out Among the Stars" again, it needs it.  My new idea is a slow cooker, and I'll look into it again when time allows me.


TrafficTalk's future is uncertain.  I had a talk with my boss Friday; I am not sure of their direction, but I told them I'll stay in with them long as it is doable.  I still feel it has a future, but I think the one thing missing is capital.  That drives a lot of things, unfortunately.


I got my invitation the other day from my nephew Aubrey and soon to be niece-in-law, Erica.  They are walking the aisle in August.  Very cool; can't wait to see that happen, and see what they've done to the old family home.  Did a major remodeling of it, and I don't even recognize some of it.  Interesting...wonder how my siblings will handle that?


"Cold Chills," by Jimmy Reed...


Well, I gotta get moving.  I feel hung over, and I don't drink.  But it's what I gotta do.  My wish again is for things to turn, but not so much for me, for others.  I do I suppose have to think a little bit about myself, though...yes, I must.


Trying to not be a self-centered person...I'll sort it out.


Enjoy Ostara, and hopefully things are good where you are...

Shout...Shout...Let it All Out...

Okay...I have no fucking idea why the Tears for Fears song is now in my head.  Perhaps it's because I would like to shout extremely loudly, and yet I'm not even angry at anyone.


Yet.


It has been a long, strange weekend and beginning of the week.  It's all kind of morphed into one experience, where nothing happens.


I have heard no word on last week's interview, and I do not expect to hear anything for a while.  Not worried, nor bothered by this; I am also waiting to hear what TrafficTalk has in mind.  The bosses were in Los Angeles last week for meetings, and while they apparently did impress the people they met out there, no one's sure what will happen, or when.


So yeah...now, things are going to change weekend wise at Radio PA.  My erstwhile colleague Rob has asked to scale back his hours because he has a real job.  (Shudder)


I'm sure my intrepid boss has been slamming his head on his desk (I wondered what that divot in the table was under his keyboard) trying to figure out how to replace the guy.


We're gonna have to make arrangement changes, which is fine; this is the radio world, and the real world makes things even more fun at the last minute.


Giving Kaitryth a ride about today for errands...a nice day, warm weather, after the car-washing we got over the past couple days.  Netted me some sun, and lunch at Chipotle (all good).


To backtrack--saw Nor on Monday at the Office, had a good long chat.  We discussed a lot of stuff, especially how the Pagan community, such as it is/was around here has splintered.  Times have changed, and our lives have taken each of us different ways. You can't get that back, no matter what you might hope for.


Speaking of religion, or rather what I call "alleged" religion:  I remember now why I don't particularly like York City.  Driving down through there, I saw numerous closed-up storefronts.  York is headed straight back to Dead City status.


Doesn't help when you have a screaming skinhead standing in the center of the city with a sign proclaiming "THE RAPTURE" is near.


Yeah...right.  The Rapture...the one that William Miller proclaimed would come when the world would be destroyed by fire in the 1840's or whatever...and it didn't happen, but thousands of morons sold their property, their homes, everything, and donned white Ascencion gowns and gathered on hills to await the end of the world.


Miller, of course would be safe...really.  He reportedly built himself a fireproof safe which he'd lock himself inside of and he'd be the only one left alive to meet God.


After it didn't happen, the idiot claimed he'd miscalculated the date and named another, and the fools went through it again.


I remember the stickers, the 8-1/2 by 11 stickers put up all over Boston in the 90's that "The Rapture" was coming on a specific date.


Yeah, right.  This is what the fuck is wrong with religion; it is used for other people's purposes, for money, fame, attention, and power.  People like that thug in the street and the rest of these creatures who think that if they scream loud enough, it'll wipe out all the stupid, bad, illegal and immoral shit they did BEFORE they saw the light.


Dream on, bitches.


I don't recall Christ screaming at people to follow him, but I'm sure someone will say he did.  Yeah, right like you were there, weren't you?


To borrow from Jim Jeffries (Riz has got me into it), there's a lot of people who know that Hell if it exists is a place most people are going because they did enough fucked up shit to put themselves there.


Pennsylvania is a haven for these people who talk the talk, but can't walk the walk.  I have no time for them.  I do know that my "Born Again Pagan" sticker does put the shits up them, badly.  It certainly put that asshole in the SUV with Biblical quotes all over the vehicle in a snit.  He got behind me in traffic today, and after reading that, made sure he got ahead of me so that at the next stop light I could see the propaganda on his vehicle.


Like putting it in big fonts all over your urban assault vehicle is gonna get you to Heaven...dream on.  The louder you scream it, the more we know you're SATAN'S BITCH.


And you know it too...hee...hee...hee.


In case you wonder:  I don't believe in the concept of Hell.  Hell to me is like religion should be, a personal thing.  I think everyone has a concept of what Hell is...the worst, most horrid, pain in the ass thing you could experience, happening over and over again...there's your Hell.


That said...at the Office this evening...it seems like a group of 12 loud, middle aged people are holding a meeting here.  And every other table is filled with people who know someone at the big table, and everyone is getting caught up and talking LOUDLY ACROSS THE CAFE AT ONE ANOTHER.


How loud is too loud in a public place?  I must put this question up on F-Book and see what kind of responses I get.


I have been going, haven't I?  Let's see...I did finish another edit of "Parasite Girls," a novel I've really gotten into over the past few months.  It's...to quote Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel:  "Good...real good."


That's every answer Charlie gives to questions about his team.  "Joe Blanton pitched good...real good!"


I love Charlie; he's actually a very intelligent, engaging dude.


Okay...getting inspired to paint.  Kaitryth bought a bunch of paint to do a room at her house today, and one of the colors is Very Berry.  A little darker than this color; I liked it, and I wonder if I can get up the urge to actually paint one of the rooms in the house again.


The closet needs it; another layer of paint will ensure the walls stay up a little longer.


Best quote about my bathroom comes from Johnny:  "Your bathroom looks like you killed a Smurf in it!"


That one could use it, but I have no idea...creative weirdness, you know.  Anyway, I do aim to return to editing "Out Among the Stars," and I have to hear from the gang in Boston about what is up.


Oh...those wankers at the big table brought up a certain two-bit TV actor's name...who cares?


BY THE WAY, WHO GIVES A RAT'S FUCK ABOUT THE OSCARS? I DON'T!


Nuf said.


Ok, old guy's ranting too much, need to get on with life.

A New Week...HERE COMES THE PAIN!

Well, it's a joke really...other than waking up the past two mornings feeling like someone kicked me in the temple with the heel of a boot, it's not been so bad.


The weekend...Saturday off, concept.  B/C's wedding was a great success, a wonderful ceremony, and got to see a whole lot of old friends.  


More questions about the Dharma Fools.  I'm taking steps to deal with the matter of Sunday nights...more on that later.


I spent a lot of Saturday listing to my German Import, 40th Anniversary Box Set of the Who:  Live at Leeds.  Blisteringly loud fucking rock and roll!  The whole thing, lovely; have yet to get to "Live at Hull," the concert from the next night, both CDs of that.


The 60-page monster book that accompanies the box is awesome; it also includes a poster I must get framed, and vinyl.


Yes, records, remember those things?  A re-release of the original 6-track album, and a re-release of the single of "Summertime Blues" and "Heaven and Hell."  Nice...


Sunday...extra hours at work, and the Super Bowl...okay, SB 45 was an excellent game, one of the better ones.  Congrats to the Pack, they were the better team and peaked at the right moment.  I really had no horse in the race, and just hoped the game was good.


The Commercials:  the Audi one, "Hit 'em with the Kenny G" was brilliant and the best.  The Eminem commercial on Detroit was good; didn't know it was him until he got out of the car.


The Worst:  the Pepsi and Doritos commercials SUCKED!  The Pepsi one with the pug was cute, but you knew what would happen.


Movie promos, pretty good.


The Halftime Show:  yeah, I watched it.


The Good:  Slash!  I disagree with my friend Becky on Fergie doing "Sweet Child O' Mine."  She did it well.  The group itself was pretty tight.


The Bad:  USHER!  Who the FUCK brought that loser in?


The Worst:  THE IDIOTS IN THE LIGHT-UP COSTUMES!  I THOUGHT IT WAS A LITE-BRITE ON ACID!  BORING!


This is why I don't go to concerts anymore:  if I want to see lights, dancers, jumping around and NO BAND, I'll go to a Broadway show.


But the game was great.


Okay...back to the Office.  Saw two old friends, Tina and Lynne; got to chat with them a bit.  The Coffeehouse Preacher and Loudmouth were here to fill up the Wardroom early, and of course going on about the SB, the commercials...the Preacher's self-righteously offended about the Tibet commercial.  It wasn't exactly quite a good idea, but be real.  He's just showing off.


Now...I've finished my edit on "Out Among the Stars."  I'm thinking after talking with Lynne, I need to consider getting out of the adult novel thing.  I've now written three with adults in it, and there's been some serious self-examination.  Maybe not enough; need to dig deeper, but I'm not sure if that will work.  Yet.


I've talked to the boss at WITF about doing just the early shift on Sundays, most of the time so the DF's can play again.  See what goes on there.


Back to TrafficTalk; see how the buzz is going with that, and see if we get a few more calls...