I'm still here....

...but I've bn cut off!
Whoever's Internet signals the World's Smallest Laptop has been sucking up over the last few months has cut me off or blocked me out or moved ... or something.
So I'm typing this in my car, in the parking lot of the Port Orchard Safeway, the nearest wi-fi hotspot 2 my house. Pretty pathetic. Great signal, but I can't see a thing Bcos of the glare offa my shirt from the sunshine. Complain, complain....
Wish I could say I've bn doing something Important. Had a VERY stressful past month at work, only partly caused by hassles over the outrageous price of gasoline (currently $4.05 for a gallon of Regular). This on top of losing my Internet access.... Well, mosta the time lately I've bn 2 tired & stressed-out 2 care much about posting NEthing....
Wish I could say I've bn listening 2 tons of new music, but lately it's mostly bn Olde Favorites in an attempt 2 boost my mood. Have a stack of new-2-me stuff piled-up by the CD player but have been 2 tired & stressed-out 2 mess with it.
Have bn reading, of course. John Williams's INTO THE BADLANDS is pretty good -- a British journalist tracks down crime-fiction writers across America 4 interviews, then compares the cities & surroundings they write about 2 what these places R like in Reality. Williams tracks down Elmore Leonard in Detroit, James Ellroy in LA, Sara Paretsky in Chicago, Tony Hillerman in New Mexico, Carl Hiassen in Miami, Joe Gores in San Francisco & a dozen more. The interviews R great, & the contrasts Btween the towns these folks write about & the reality is pretty cool. Why is it always Brits that come up with these ideas? I'm reminded of Charles Platt's DREAM MAKERS books of interviews with science-fiction writers in the early '80s, tho Williams goes in2 more depth. Worth tracking down if you're a crime fiction fan....
This led me 2 Elmore Leonard after Williams & some other folks raved about him. Leonard's BANDITS is pretty good, fast & funny, tho it was written back around the time of the Contras' Central American conflict in the mid-'80s, so that may date it a bit 4 you. The ending is maybe a touch disappointing, but the book's instantly involving & a lot of fun up 2 the end. I was impressed. Then I bogged down 5 chapters in2 Leonard's MAXIMUM BOB, so I set it aside. Don't wanna overdose on Leonard like I have on others in the past -- James Ellroy, Jack Ketchum, etc. Besides, I'm wondering if I really have the attn span 4 most novels, these days.
Speaking of Ellroy, I then turned 2 his MY DARK PLACES, in which he tries 2 solve the case of his mother's murder. She was killed when he was 10 years old & the killer was never caught -- an event that pretty much shaped the rest of Ellroy's life. The book is dark & compelling, & I enjoyed (if that's the right word) Ellroy's autobiography about what his life was like B4 he Bcame a successful novelist....
Not much since then. Scheduled 4 release in June is Mark Powell's PROPHETS AND SAGES: 100 OVERLOOKED PROGRESSIVE AND UNDERGROUND ALBUMS. I've already reserved a copy. Powell is the guy who researched & helped assemble the recent Caravan & Camel best-of's I wrote about here, & oversaw the CD reissue of Hatfield and the North's 1st album a few years back, among other recent archive releases. Powell knows his stuff. I can't wait 4 the book. Maybe Providence'll B in it. Or Gryphon. Group 87. Happy the Man....
...I'll be looking in2 getting a full-time Internet connection at home, tho on my budget it'll B tight. Since I'm apparently going 2 a 5-day work-week, mayB I'll just drop by here 1nce a wk. Or some other local hot spot.
Just wanted y'all 2 know I haven't died or hadda heart attack -- tho the stress has gotten pretty thick the last month or so. The only things that make me feel relaxed or "normal" R mowing the lawn & playing some Olde Favorites on the stereo. Everything else just seems like TOO MUCH STRESS.
I also recommend that you look into summa the music Rastro has written about over at LA HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA ROCK. I heard some of it recently, & some of it has brightened up my life quite a bit over the last month+. Rastro has really good taste. I hope you all R checking him out.
I also hope y'all R living a less stressful life than me, these days.
I have missed this. Without being able 2 "broadcast" now & then I feel like both my arms have been cut off. More soon, I hope....