Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

So now that "Scooter" or "Skippy" (or whatever Cheney's former chief of staff was called) Lewis has been indicted for lying, obstructing justice and whatever, he's saying "Golly, it's not that I lied. I just couldn't remember." Sounds like that may be what Karl "the turdblossom" Rove uses as his explanation as well. Sounds like we are about to have another serious outbreak of ARFS -- Acquired Republican Forgetful Syndrome. Last time we had an epidemic this big was during Iran-Contra, one of Mr. Reagan's less-mentioned legacies. Tom "the Hammer" Delay, Dr. Bill Frist--all have run afoul of the law. You can bet your bottom dollar we'll be hearing "I forgot" a lot in the months to come. Unfortunately, we seem to be adrift in a time when the voting public seems to suffer from a related problem: ACTSTC American Citizens Too Stupid To Care.

It is Saturday night at 7:30 and I'm sitting at my office, awaiting the evening's last software build. Last night, when I got home at 8:45, I'd already put in 65 hours for the week. I got here at 7:45 this morning, and I'm about to hit 12 more hours on my day off. I've been on this project for 2 and a half years. I'm on a Death March . The people I report to have either gone home or never were here today. Two of my peers are sitting in the surrounding cubes. We are, at this point, exhausted to the point of goofiness. Bad things happen at this point. I like the intellectual challenge of my job, but not the boneheadedness that seems to be driving it. Most of the people involved I have a lot of respect for, but there are a few I'd slap stupid. I'm tired and I want to go home. I think I know what my next novel is going to be about.

Went to the Arlington Guitar Show yesterday with Ed and old buddy Dennis. It was freaking amazing. More guitars that one ever thought possible. Two whole exhibit rooms (the photo barely shows a quarter of one of the rooms) with electric, acoustic, new, vintage--you name it. Ed and I got there around 11:15 and wandered for about half an hour until we ran into Dennis. This is arguably one of the three biggest guitar shows in the US. Sellers from Texas, Oklahoma, California, New York...you get the idea. Saw a vintage Stratocaster that someone had priced at a quarter of a million dollars. Wonder if he sold it. More typical were collectibles selling for $10,000 to $25,000. Still. Also some very pretty handmade and limited edition guitars (I picked up an acoustic and tried it, then noticed it was priced at $13,000). Despite my best intentions, I did end up buying a new electric guitar--an Epiphone Dot semi-hollow body with a natural finish. It's sweet! Bought it from a dealer from Lake...

Once again, National Novel Writing Month draws near. Here's the deal: sign up and write 50,000 words during the month of November. How hard could that be? It's not about polished, perfect prose, ready for publication, it's about vomiting approximately 1,700 words a day for 30 days. 50,000 words. My current novel (ha! I like the sound of that--my current novel) got its start as a Nanowrimo effort. I managed to hit the magic number on target, then wrote another ~25,000 words before finishing. I'm now editing the rough (and it is rough) draft. I even joined a writing group, which is a big help. So I got the email notification that November was fast upon us, and I've started planning my next opus. You can, by the way, do all the planning, plotting, character outlines you want before November, but to abide by the spirit of the deal, no actual writing on the draft until November 1. Prizes, you ask? The best of all possible prizes: acknowledgement of your feat and the s...

Temperatures have now dropped into the 50's and 60's during the day. The cats sleep with us at night again. I woke this morning with Spike's tail in my face. By the way, today is my anniversary. I have been married for 22 years. Who would have thought it possible?

Went to the Symphony tonight (scored cheap season tickets) and sat in the fourth row. The thing that always strikes me about going to the symphony is really being able to hear everything, no matter how subtle, that is going on. Recorded music: everything comes from one speaker or the other, making it hard to hear the full range of what is happening musically. As is now becoming the common thing, the evening started with a drum roll. The orchestra then launches into The Star Spangled Banner, and everyone stands. First on the concert: the Sorcerer's Apprentice . Gee, what's not to like about that? I can't image anyone my age hearing that and NOT thinking of Mickey Mouse in Fantasia . An amusing moment: the visual of all the bows of the violins going frantically while the theme representing the reassembled and multiplied brooms is played. They looked just like those broomsticks carrying water en masse. Next was the Ravel Concerto for Left Hand. There is a small repertoire of m...