Guess who that is on the ladder…
Monthly Archive for November, 2003
It’s Thanksgiving weekend, a day and a half after two and a half heaping plates of turkey dinner, festive air, old friends, a few days off, and I’m as drunk now as I was twenty four hours ago (at which time I was fast asleep). I used to party like it was 1999. But ever since 1999, I’ve begun to party like it’s 2012. Usual sobriety with occasional bouts of extreme drunkeness. Only occasionally to become the uncaged animal that I am capable of becoming. But that is not now. Now is the loving looks I glance towards the sweet embrace of my soft flannel sheets. Now is the utopian knowledge of not having to wake up until around three thirty tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, I will wake much sooner, just after the sun, and try to stay in bed, but opt for coffee and a day instead. Sometimes I think I should paint my windows black and put my clock outside on the window ledge. Sometimes I think I should rob a bank, and hire a butler to wake me up if there’s a good meal getting cold. I think I’d like to build a log cabin on the roof of this building in Queens. But I don’t think it would be quite as romantic as I imagine. Is satisfaction ever guaranteed?
I guess what I’m trying to say is, Diamond Jim, it was great to see you, and all the brothers, and all the Willis family and friends. Holidays are a wonderful excuse to live old traditions, and see all the people you rarely get to see in the middle of March.
Wasn’t it bed time twenty minutes ago?
Good night.
… nothing but love.
Just in time for Black Friday, I thought I might share with you a few non-fiction books that have made an impression on me this year. I’ll keep this short, I promise.
A Million Little Pieces – James Frey
This book came out right around the time that I got sober, and it both scared and inspired me. It is one young man’s account of his addictions and his reluctant treatment at the Hazelden clinic in the early 90’s. Recommended for anyone who knows someone who has struggled, but not for the faint of heart. Impossible to put down – in a good way!
Fast Food Nation – Eric Schlosser
An unblinking indictment of the unsanitary and exploitative practices of the fast food industry, told with surprising empathy for all of the participants. It also provides an interesting history of the business, from its post-war beginnings to the development of the modern-day franchise system.
The Best Democracy That Money Can Buy – Greg Pallast
From the Florida debacle to the real results of World Bank / IMF globalization, these are the stories that the U.S. media will not publish, as written by an American-born investigative reporter for the U.K. Guardian. Whatever your political leanings, you will be certainly become polarized after addressing these issues.
A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
Last but not least, another great read from the lovable travel writer and sage, Bill Bryson. If you haven’t read A Walk In The Woods, his humorous account of hiking the Appalachian Trail with another 40-something friend, you should. But I digress. Here, Bryson takes on the Natural Sciences, and delivers a well-paced, readable volume of all the stuff you forgot from high school. After spending three years researching and interviewing academics from around the world, he somehow manages to fit in literally everything - from atomic structure to weather patterns, biology to plate tectonics, it’s all covered with his trademark wry humor in this relatively small volume.
So there it is. Maybe not the cheeriest stuff, but I liked them. And remember, if you’re shopping for me I would like a Red Rider BB gun…
Made some HUGE progress this weekend thanks to kel’s dad. We even had the foresight to run speaker cable and jacks through the walls for rear surround speakers. sweet. more pictures in the gallery
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