Live from the Bushel

Greetings

2008-05-16T17:25:33Z

And a happy birthday to akirlu

No Soap, Radio

2008-05-16T15:08:08Z

Well, the fugghead who found my phone didn't drop it off at my offices yesterday as promised, and hasn't answered his phone since. It would be nice to get it back, since it has all my numbers and appointments stored in it, and since I want it back before I return the replacement phone I bought so I can try to get back the $225 I spent on it.

The Red Queen's Race

2008-05-15T15:30:50Z

The United States Postal Service, in its infinite wisdom and beneficence, has decided that my apartment complex needs to hop zip codes from 80906 to 80905, effective May 10, as my apartment manager only deigned to notify me yesterday. Perhaps that's why I haven't seen any of the checks yet that I've been waiting to show up in my mailbox.

Call Me

2008-05-14T15:59:48Z

Somebody found my phone! In the bushes, no less. How it managed to slip out of the snug change pocket in my jeans, I have no clue. Now all I have to do is get it back from the guy. Then, assuming less than 30 days have passed, I can return the new phone I picked up from AT&T and get my $225 back. Yippee!

I thought it was a good idea to gamble the night away at Fitzgerald's last time we were in Vegas, as they had stopped sending me offers for comped room night. Seems to have worked, as they just offered me two free nights the weekend of the 13th, when we'll have just used up the three free weekend nights we have coming at Bally's and the two-for-one Toni Braxton tickets at the Flamingo. Will someone I know get roasted at the European pool like last time? Stay tuned!

Swings

2008-05-13T16:26:10Z

Last night, I attended training for delegates to this weekend's District and State Democratic Conventions. My county captain's list shows I'm a delegate to both; I thought I was a delegate to District and an alternate to State, but we'll sort that all out when I show up, I reckon. I checked my accumulated mail and I did receive my credentials for District on Friday; the credentials for State are supposed to be mailed out today, so we'll cross our fingers that they show up before Saturday morning. The Secret Service is supposed to be sweeping the World Arena, so we're hoping for some interesting guest speakers.

Cold and rainy today, so some might think my rant yesterday against having the heat blasting me on a morning in May might have been misplaced. Not me, though. It may be that in Colorado Springs we expect snow anytime through Memorial Day, but damn it, show some flexibility.

My phone has gone missing from my pocket. If I don't find it lying on the floor somewhere once I get home, I guess I'll have to run out and get a new one. But all my numbers and appointments are in that thing. Crap.

Not Easy Being Green

2008-05-12T15:46:12Z

Here it is, mid-May, and they're still blasting heat into my office first thing in the morning. I can't sit in there after walking several blocks from my car, so I took another, slower walk down to the post office, to mail out a sympathy card and a letter to my pen pal.

The other thing that irks me about my office is the "emergency light" which stays on in my office 24/7 and which I can't shut off. When I raised this at a departmental meeting, I was informed this light stays on to indicate that my office is on UPS in the event of a power failure, so people can find the office where I can still work on my PC. Of course, the last time we had a power failure and the building went dark, the UPS failed too and my office went dark the same as everybody's, so as far as I can tell we just keep this light burning for no reason. Probably makes my office hotter in the mornings, too.

Begins Responsibility

2008-05-11T14:56:41Z

I had a dream the other night in which I had received a huge stash of fanzines in the mail, and the daunting prospect of reading and responding to them all reminded me of why I had eventually dropped out of all of my APAs, once the effort began to seem more of an obligation and a chore than a pleasure. (In truth, I have trouble staying on top of even the small trickle of 'zines that still show up in my mailbox.) While browsing through them I did encounter a review, by a fan whose opinion I greatly respect, of the issue I recently and hurriedly cobbled together after pondering it for twenty years. "One detects shards of what might have been an interesting fanzine," he wrote.

Sometime after that I woke up.

Appreciation Day

2008-05-10T17:00:27Z

I went across the street to my bank yesterday to get some laundry change, and they were handing out free peach smoothies to customers. This was, frankly, the highlight of my week.

Sometimes You Go to War With The Rules You've Agreed To

2008-05-08T20:12:37Z

In this campaign season's extensive collection of quotes-that-make-one-wonder-what-someone's-been-smoking, a nod must surely be given to Hillary Clinton's recent "If we had the same rules as the Republicans, I'd be the nominee by now."

Not Feeling Too Good Myself

2008-05-07T17:22:17Z

I'm a little queasy this morning (perhaps I shouldn't still be eating leftovers of the oatmeal cookies I baked to take along on the Vegas trip), plus I am both moving and sitting somewhat gingerly due to what I might genteelly refer to as a "flare-up." On top of everything else, I get comment spam from someone whose only LJ entries are plugging a Paris Hilton sex video. What's with that, I ask you?

Looking ahead, things are, hopefully, looking up. On the 18th, the Sci-Fi Channel is airing a program in which my friend Steph is keenly interested: Mystery of the Crystal Skulls. I have rooms booked in Deadwood for Memorial Day weekend, which is when Mt. Rushmore starts staying open after five in the afternoon. And in between, The Cure is playing Red Rocks, if only I can snag tickets in time.

Back

2008-05-04T23:38:47Z

She's stretched out in the passenger seat
sleeping away the miles she's already seen
you wonder what phantasmagoria
are even now drifting through her mind
Fu Manchu leering from a rock face
a song drifting out of the mouth of a canyon
the ram-headed god who set her loins on fire
all these things that could only have happened
in her wildest dreams

time was, your only companions
on this loneliest of roads
were your car's shadow preceding you
and the beautiful ghost in the next seat
now, when she awakens to tell you
that her dreams were in fact
of food spoiling in the refrigerator
she'll tell you that she'd travel with you anywhere

Let's Play Post Office!

2008-04-22T15:49:09Z

Which reminds me...if you happen to browse through Light in the Bushel 7 and have up-to-date contact information for any of the names you recognize there, I'd appreciate an update. Some of those addresses are twenty years old.

Long (If Not Exactly Eagerly) Awaited

2008-04-21T23:56:21Z

I have a surprise for those at Corflu this coming weekend: the seventh issue of my analog fanzine, Light in the Bushel. (Sure, nearly as many of the letterhacks have passed on as authors in The Last Dangerous Visions, but why bring that up?) If you want a preview, the web version is already posted at The Light in the Bushel Index.

(Sure, I still haven't finished posting the web version of #5 or any of #6 either, but why bring that up?)

Pre-Crunch Time Preparations

2008-04-20T14:45:34Z

Rummaged through my closetful of winnings, came up with a Cabelas collapsible duo-compartment thermal insulated cooler, complete with two insulated cup holders punched into the top, ideal for the trip to Vegas this week, especially with someone whose neck might occasionally need icing down.

Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Democrat

2008-04-19T15:41:06Z

I attended an open house Friday for Hal Bidlack, our candidate for the 5th Congressional District. There I met Betty Smith, a transplant from Georgia who regaled me with tales of walking precincts in the hot Southern sun, chock full of nougaty advice on how to handle your volunteers. Afterwards she hitched a ride home (she is, like me, a precinct captain in Colorado House District 17), telling me all about her daughter who is an Olympic medalist in wrestling. You sure do get to know people while politicking.

For that matter, after one of my lectures on the importance of politics to her daily life, one of my friends registered to vote for the first time ever. At age 33.

Beck and Call

2008-04-18T13:50:52Z

Skipped my workout this morning so I could be ready to take someone to the doctor by 7:15 a.m. "At the latest," as she put it. No answer from her door, her phone, or her text, so I suppose she'll try to inconvenience me in the middle of my workday instead. She'll no doubt want me to drive her to work in Denver again then hang around all night because she needs to be back in the Springs in the morning and won't or can't stay over. Can't really refuse because she still owes me money.

I'm almost not sorry I'm taking someone else to Vegas instead.

richardthe23rd @ 2008-04-17T15:23:00

2008-04-17T21:27:46Z

Watched the news with Brad and Crystal last night. Brad was in a particularly foul mood, with nothing nice to say about anyone, particularly including the Pope, the President, and even the kid who gunned down the students at Virginia Tech the year before.

"Why didn't he shoot someone that mattered, like the President?" he snarled. "Come on. Make a difference!"

I saved my harsh words for the residents of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' compound in Texas, who tried to put a pretty face on their community for the TV cameras.

"Forcing 14-year-old girls into a 'spiritual marriage' with some 50-year-old guy," I muttered. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," I hastened to add.

Disaster, Check; Recovery?

2008-04-16T16:43:32Z

We allocated two days for disaster recovery testing, that being yesterday and today, although since we were only given the server for testing this morning, that means pretty much today. The other party who would have been assisting me was here yesterday, I'm pretty sure, but seems to be out of pocket today. In any case, any testing I do will have to be complete by the end of the day, since first thing tomorrow morning I need to be in Denver for a seminar on application modernization. Then back to the Springs by 1:00 p.m. for an appointment with my dentist. Whee!

If I'd Known You Were Comin' I'd a Baked a Cake

2008-04-15T16:03:45Z

Happy birthday, shikzoid!

Doing My Bit as a Political Hack

2008-04-15T15:58:38Z

Went to a phone bank yesterday to call Democratic precinct chairs and invite them to an open house Friday to meet their candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Hal Bidlack. (Hal's aiming to replace Doug Lamborn, who has almost managed to spend more of the taxpayers' money on constituent mailings than the other six members of our delegation put together.) I did feel a lot better about inviting precinct chairs to a party than I would have hassling random members of the public for money or votes. And there's a special thrill in punching a key to bypass the message that a number does not accept solicitations; thank you, Congress!

After the Dance Is Over

2008-04-14T18:15:12Z

We stopped off at Boomer's on our way back from the carnival. While I was in the men's room trying to steady my gut, Steph was (first) bought a free drink and (next) paid twenty dollars by some guy to help carry some drunken woman out of the front seat of his truck. Arguably she had the better day. She even left with a free hat.

The Three P's

2008-04-13T17:01:26Z

Where was I yesterday? Oh yes, indulging at least three of my "P" passions: Politics, poetry and poker. After driving my friend back from Denver, I dashed to the kickoff of Dennis Apuan's campaign for House District 17; then off to the wine-and-cheese-and-jazz-duo reception for our new poet laureate, Aaron Alstedt; and finally off to the last semifinals game for the Flying Aces Free Poker game, which I left after discovering I was letting too many people bet me off the winning hand.

Much more rewarding was the poetry reception, where our poet laureate introduced me to an editor who thought mine was the highlight of Tuesday's open readings. You can keep you poet laureate for another two years; my poetry lived in the public memory for almost half a week!

Ice-Breaker

2008-04-11T15:46:35Z

"She was going to move to Chicago and get a new boyfriend. Instead she's staying here and getting a kitten."

It's Good to See the King

2008-04-10T14:35:45Z

Crystal came back from Denver with a nasty sinus headache, and now I'm feeling pretty damn sniffly myself. What better prescription than a dose of Vitamin Blues?

So first we took Crystal to Benny's for a couple of amaretto sours, which she had to patiently explain to the bartender, and some greasy bar food ("There goes my diet"). I hadn't realized, since I knew I couldn't make it to any of the semifinals until Saturday, that my poker buddies would all be there. I can only imagine how my legend has grown since they saw me walking in with their favorite supermodel on my arm.

Crystal was hoping the show would relax her, and while the trumpeter was playing an extended solo, leaned over and said, "This is nice." A while later she said, "This is so relaxing I wish I could fall asleep."

But I'm pretty sure she stayed awake. When B.B. King bellowed out, "Just Because I'm Over Fifty, It Doesn't Mean I'm A Dirty Old Man," she leaned over and patted my arm.

The poet cries out to the god in the wings: "LINE!!!!"

2008-04-09T15:53:49Z

Hey, I read at an All-City Open Poetry Reading at the library last night! Hosted by our new Poet Laureate, Aaron Anstedt, who was intrigued that my poem "Oh My God! I Smoked Billy Collins!: seems to reference Billy’s audiobook, The Last Cigarette.

The best I can say about the first four I read – like "Elegy for a Chardonnay" – is that the audience mostly laughed in the right places. But I knew which one to save for last, and you could literally hear it take their breath away. As I told them, I’d been listening to some domestic horror stories recently, then the day after Valentine’s Day, I was pawing through the half-price candy and found myself holding in my hands a particular piece of damaged chocolate goods, and suddenly I had this:

break out the dustpans
break out the brooms
seven broken mirrors
in seven empty rooms

a hole through a wall
a door kicked apart
a broken key
to a broken heart