Right now I have this file and the book file open on this laptop.  On my phone I have a third file open, a totally separate writing project.  Two sentences on this one, switch to another…a paragraph there, then two sentences here.  This is not at all unusual for me.  It’s sort of comfortable working that way…if it wasn’t, I’m guessing I wouldn’t do it.  But I have to wonder about the consistency of the final product.  The unity of voice.  I guess we’ll see.

I’ve been unusually productive the last couple of days.  It’s probably the rain.  I’ve always felt a certain comfort from the rain.  It tried to kill me once, the rain.  seriously.  When I was 12.  I haven’t told many people about that.  Remind me to tell you sometime when we’re drunk.  But yeah, despite that, I still feel somehow comforted,  Less alone.  Even a bit inspired.

Okay, that was fucking schmaltzy.  Perhaps I should just write two things simultaneously.  Right.  Back to the book.  And the other thing.

N.P.: “Eagle Birds” – The Black Keys

I was sorry to hear of the passing of Tim Conway today…hell of a comedy writer.  One of the best.

I had the displeasure of struggling to artfully cope with a goddamn roundabout today.  The sat nav seemed to panic and started talking like someone explaining how to tie one’s shoes to a particularly dim 5-year-old.  I was through the stupid thing before the sat nav could finish explaining what I was supposed to do.  A fucking roundabout.  In the United States of America.  Disgusting.

Listen, I’ve been to England.  It’s an amazing country composed of some of the best people you’ll ever meet.  I loved almost everything about it, but the one thing that absolutely sucks is their traffic laws.  First, I don’t have to tell you, they drive on the wrong side of the road.  That is not a subjective judgement: those limey gits know it’s wrong.  Every single intersection in London is garishly painted with arrows and the written-in-block-letters instructions to “Look This Way” when you step off the sidewalk into the crosswalk.  The rest of the world doesn’t have that because it’s not needed.  It stands to reason that pretty much the only countries that drive on the wrong (left side of the road) still or at one time had Her Majesty on their money.  Virtually every country who managed to repel or escape the British Empire  (Germany, France, Poland, Austria, all the Scandinavian countries) drives on the right (and hey, props to our pale Canadian brethren in the north for driving on the right side despite having the Queen on the cash).  Because that’s the way God wants it.

There are myriad other issues with driving in England, (e.g., it being illegal to pass somebody on the right if they are in the fast lane but going slower than you), but the whole driving-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road debacle should be enough to steer anyone with any common sense away from looking to Merrie Olde England for traffic innovations.

I hate roundabouts so much.  The morning after the revolution, I’m going to have them all blown up.  #FRoundabouts  #BuggerTheQueen

N.P.: “Was Ise Hier Los?” – Eisbrecher

I’m trying to do way too much, dear reader.  ::sigh::  And on some days I feel ill-equipped to do any of it.

I did get given the finger by a clown (in full makeup, avec big red nose) in an aquamarine Smart car.  That was kind of awesome.

N.P.: “Rock the Casbah” – The Clash

At dinner tonight, I gave the server a 50% tip.   Honest to god, I have no idea how people can do that job, put up a ravenous, obnoxious, and often moronic public whilst smiling, and somehow manage to not go on the occasional killing spree.

N.P.: “Mother” – Pink Floyd

“I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer…
the future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”
~ Jim Morrison

That sums up today rather aptly and succinctly, Uncle Jim.  Wrestled with the book for a while.  Started working on a review for you here.  BBQ’d both lunch and dinner.  Had a couple snorts off a new bottle of Flonase…good batch.  Now more fighting with the book.  Or books.  Whatever.  It’s just an endless sea of words waiting impatiently to be properly arranged at this point

N.P.: “Day Sixteen: Loser” – Ayreon

I need to write more letters.  Which is a ridiculous thing to say, because exactly the last thing I need is something else to write.  But I write a wicked letter, and it’s extremely therapeutic.

Okay…back to the book, that feels like it could go sailing completely off the rails and over a cliff any day now.

N.P.: “Spirits Will Collide” – Devin Townsend

I am working a lot, but it seems like not enough.  Never enough.  Must now collapse.

N.P.: “Doctorin’ the Tardis” – The Timelords

What’s crackin’, dear reader?  Sorry I missed you last night.  Had to go dark.  You know how it is…sometimes people in our lines of business have to go dark…I knew you’d understand.

Anyway, bidness handled, so now I can get back to the bidness at hand: this goddamn book.  I had a pretty intense conversation with two people with rather a lot of different letters after their last names today about the book and the content thereof.  It was…interesting.  I’m really not sure what’s going to happen with this book, but I suspect it too will be interesting.

N.P.: “Winner” – Cheeseburger

Still writing…gotta get back to it.  Just wanted to say hey.

I was mad at things all day.  First I got mad at James Hetfield of Metallica for becoming a touchy-feely hippy in his dotage.  It’s probably not actually the case, but I was listening to an interview with him this morning and he said a few things you just kind of wish the guys in Metallica wouldn’t say (except for Kirk…we expect it from him).  Then I got mad at pretty much everybody mentioned in the news as well as everybody who wrote the news.  Then I got mad at a bunch of different things in a sort of series and I don’t even remember what those things were.  But I was mad at them.

It was silly.

N.P.: “Burn” – The Cure

I use music for a lot of things every day.  Usually, it’s just mood regulation, keeping me from homicidal rage by giving me something pleasant to focus on.  But I use music a lot to sort of set the mood for working on one project or another.  This is especially helpful if I have to switch back and forth between projects and need to access different voices and attitudes quickly.  It’s kind of like getting into character for an actor.

The playlist I have for The Book presently has 71 songs in it, and I’ll usually just open the playlist and hit Shuffle when it’s time to work on this thing…that’s actually what’s going on right now.  What’s interesting is that as the shape and tone of what I’m hoping is the final version of the book has started to solidify, several of the songs have sort migrated up toward the top of the list, sort of as more important, essential music, if that makes sense.  As they become associated with certain scenes, and those scenes finally find an order that works, the songs assume their proper formation.  I guess if the movie of this book that I see in my head had a soundtrack, this would be it, and I thought it might be cool to share it with you, dear reader.  You were just bitching about not having anything good to listen to anyway.  Here’s a Spotify link if you rock, a track listing beneath if you don’t.  Enjoy.

N.P.: “Soundtrack to ** ***** ******”:

1.   “Immigrant Song” – SOAK
2.   “Run” – AWOLNATION
3.   “I’m Only Joking” – KONGOS
4.   “Dangerous (feat. Joywave)” – Big Data
5.   “Pretty When You Cry” – Vast
6.   “Nature of Inviting” – IAMX
7.   “Should I Stay or Should I Go” – Powerman 5000
8.   “I Can’t Decide” – Scissor Sisters
9.   “Requiem, Op. 48: 1. Introit” – Gabriel Faurè, Laurence Equilbey, Accentus, Orchestre National de France
10.   “Kuss” – Eisbrecher
11.   “Angel (2006 Digital Remaster)” – Massive Attack
12.   “Crazy” – Kidneythieves
13.   “Lovesong” – Snake River Conspiracy
14.   “Unglued” – Big Data
15.   “Psycho Killer” – One Bad Son
16.   “Immigrant Song” – Style Project