Morning Dump, Unedited

[We do more before nine in the morning...well, 9:37...than most people do all Saturday...]

[I woke up early thanks to having gone to bed early. Contrary to one voicemail-based accusation, I didn't go drinkin' last night. While it's true that I didn't roll in until after 10:30 P.M., it wasn't due to some sordid homo pubcrawl, although I guess I have to own up to that idea not being complete outside the realm of possibility. Last week there was the video to shoot, and the onset of a strong but blessedly brief (and hopefully final for this season) cold/flu virus that kept me home from work on Tuesday. The combination of not wanting to look any puffier than I already am for the camera and not feeling up to par anyway equaled no drink drank drunk last weekend.]

[And none so far this weekend either, because last night I attended a performance of the Lines Ballet at Yerba Buena Center with Allen and BossLadyWithCats. Maybe I should call her ExBossLadyWithCats, since Allen has moved on to new pastures. Anyway, the three of us (after already getting together, along with Sean, to see that Sex movie Thursday) went to what for me has been the third local-company dance performance in about nine months: (E)BLWC is an ballet aficionado, and is not above bribing friends with less cash in order not to have to feed her need alone.]

[So now I've seen Joe Goode's troupe and the late Michael Smuin's, and while I'm not yet an aficionado (why, yes, I like typing that word, why?), I'm glad to have had a sampling of the local scene. For the record, I liked last night's show the best: the fierce, energetic Shaolin Monks combined with the near-naked, loose-limbed Western-style dancers to float whatever passes for my boat. I noticed, though, that as was the case with other two performances, I found my attention wandering, and had to make myself pay attention, to focus on the moment.]

[I was already cranky when Allen and (E)BLWC showed up at Yerba Buena. They thought it was because they were a bit late, and if you'd asked me at that moment, that might've been the easy answer I'd given. Really, though, it's this stye on my right eye, my first, that began make itself felt yesterday morning. I always knew they were unsightly (thank God the video shoot was last weekend), but I had no idea they were so irritating. Not wearing contacts is helping that as I sit here now, but...what a pain!]

[So, this morning. Woke up early, cleaned gunk out of the mutant infection on my right eye, read a chunk of the third of Kim Stanley Robinson's climate-change/edge-of-the-apocalypse novels, realized that some sort of breakfast involving coffee couldn't be put off, saw that there was no coffee, petulantly ate two pieces of sourdough toast anyway, did this and that with the site, understood now that we've got group pages on Facebook and MySpace, authors are now going to sending me friend and group requests, and realized that I really did want coffee, and that it was my turn to buy the beans.]

[Grumpy! Showered, put on the old, old glasses that are held together with Scotch tape because I can't wear contacts with this hideous ocular deformity, dressed, and stumped down the Panhandle wondering why everything bad in life has to happen to ME. (No, not that bad, but stress is the likely cause of this stye.) My, a lot of fit-looking people jog the Panhandle early-ish on Saturday. My, my.]

[My mood, while uncaffeinated, was somewhat improved by the cool, fresh air and scenic attractions of that scruffy, unkempt, dear ol' Panhandle, and I ordered my ground pound of French Roast with a lilt in my voice that those who'd seen me at home a mere half-hour before wouldn't have believed. Scored the free small cup that Peet's so kindly, so graciously gives when you buy a pound, and trotted home. I just got done reading what Andrew Sullivan calls a primer on the meaning of the California Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality; I found it a useful reminder of principles that I'm sure I learned in law school but which have become slightly hazy in the (shit) four years since graduation.]

[And here I am. Caffeinated, suppurated, unfocused, and unedited for your dubious pleasure. Click on!]

Previously Next

[Later: "Ya Think?" of the Week:]

["What does seem true to me is that really excellent journalism is probably not compatible with strict adherence to a profit-maximizing imperative." - Matt Yglesias. I see at least a couple of blindingly obvious headlines every week while reading news online. Usually it's stuff on Yahoo! like "New Scientific Study Shows Poor Nutrition Hurts Kids' Ability To Learn," and I've always thought it would be fun to start a list. Matt's is a well-written version of this, and I've always long had a bugaboo about people who talk about high levels of objectivity and thoroughness from any for-profit news source. So here you go...first in an occasional series.]