It isn’t imagination, this is a record hot spell since 1952. Something like 40 days it has not gone below 90 in the daytime. My new place is comfortable only when all fans and coolers are on full blast, a better deal than the last joint. I’m finishing up another James Patterson novel, “Swimsuit”. The plot is significantly better than expected, concerning an author who is forced to write the story of a serial killer. Look for many fascinating twists in the story.
The plot is a little thin at times. Patterson describes an electronic bug that could not exist as told. The killer needlessly gives away some of his better disguises, like the time he becomes a black man in Paris just to issue a threat. And the world needs an author who isn’t sold on the police as all-gracious and self-sacrificing, that crap.
Take a look at reality. The local police nearly killed a twenty-year old kid for continuing to walk while they questioned him. They claimed his walking was violent resisting of arrest and put the dogs, boots, and tasers to him. They then fabricated a story that he had superhuman strength. Sure, the kid was an idiot, but I hope he wins his million dollar settlement. I believe the Constitution gives citizens the right to resist unlawful arrest. But if you do, make sure there are some witnesses.
I fell asleep in the armchair studying last evening. It’s a good sign for all who’ve done that lately. During this snooze, I dreamed about being back on the farm and was reminded why I left and never went back. I never could stand those pitiful excuses who need constant reminders that you are thinking of nothing but their comfort and ease. The losers who develop a paranoid interest in everything you do; every move you make becomes their business and they demand an explanation. When you finally pull down the blinds and lock your door, they call you the paranoid.
I’m fond of relating how I once worked in a department at the phone company that was full of that brand of loser. It was just that one department, called the PLB for Private Line Board. It seemed to attract uneducated losers. I was force transferred there, so you can imagine how we got along. But thanks to my family, I was well equipped to deal with that pack and it drove them crazy.
One particularly dismal prick almost got fired for pretending to be security and trying to locate my home address. Claimed he had a “right to know” where the people he worked with lived. That’s the height of paranoia, yet his defense was that I was paranoid by not supplying idiots like him with my home address .
I had dozens of ready-tested tactics to deal with such scum, the type who would snoop into your desk when you left for coffee. (Leave an army manual concerning booby-traps on your blotter.) The sort who read the union list to see who came on duty when. (Couldn’t do anything about that.) Even though it was 17 to 1 them and me, in the end it was pretty much 50:50 in terms of who got the short end. I hope they all still work there, I really do.
You should subscribe to Now You Know. . They send you an email every day with a tidbit of information. Today I learned the Mona Lisa is not painted on canvas, but rather three slabs of lumber. It was stolen back in 1911 by a workman who stuffed it under his coat. What’s with the French, not noticing somebody with lumber under his coat? Yeah, I know, they were too busy surrendering to a family of German tourists who missed their train connection.
It looks like the band will be ready for September, although we still have not decided on how to move the PA equipment. I had planned on eventually getting the Roland. JJ has mentioned he is really feeling the financial pinch over the previous year. Yeah, him and everybody else in the music business, and it will get worse as the economy pushes the fringe people into the arena. They can always undercut us.
JJ doesn’t own any recording equipment at all. He has a tape deck, but it has no microphone jack. As I suspected, he has learned the tunes off his car radio. How do I turn that into a positive without detracting from my own duties? Should I even have to make the effort? I’ll decide later. Hey, after I made it through last season with no music and no income, and it turns out with no help from my “friends” either, this year will seem like a piece of cake.
But how are we doing? It progresses far better than predicted. Differing styles can conflict but they can also complement. Neither JJ nor I seem averse to playing material not on our personal agendas. I am a firm believer in proper intros and outros, that the body of a tune is merely another component. JJ believes the lyrics and vocals are the supreme and ultimate of a song. Put together, we get a semi-tight intro that warms the audience up, a song that brings back memories, and an outro that keeps them tipping.
Trust me, unless there is an earthquake, nobody is going to quit now.
