The reading list

I have been reading myself to sleep for years and I also have books stashed all over the house and in my car for those moments that I don't have something else requiring attention. My current reading list includes the following: "The Eighth Dwarf " by the late Ross Thomas. I recently finished his "Cast a Yellow Shadow". His stuff is fun to read; interesting characters and semi-believable plots. "Pretty Boy Floyd" by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Just started it, but it already feels like McMurtry. One of my favorites by him is "Roads--Driving America's Great Highways". "Emperor Of The Air" by Ethan Canin. It's too early to say what I think about it. "Comfort Me With Apples" by Ruth Reichl. I used to read Ruth's stuff when she was at Gourmet magazine and always enjoyed it. The book is the literaru equivalent of comfort food. "Hardcore Troubador--The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle" by Lauren St. John. Talk about suffering for your art! "The China Lover" by Ian Buruma. An historical fiction about a Japanese woman's life from being born in Manchuko in the 1930's through the turbulence of WWII and the postwar period in both Japan and the U.S. There are several other books that have disappeared for the moment, buried under a pile of the detritus of construction. I'll find them when I sweep! Nothing I read is particularly literary, but then I enjoy conversation more than any other activity so conversational books are fine with me.

The world, as small as it has become, is far too big to paint.

I've been trying to keep up with things and it's a losing battle. It seems as if I can't spend enough time working, playing, drinking and blogging to get everything done. Well, the working and playing I can live withuot but the drinking and blogging are IMPORTANT. It seems that some folks (Aaron Kinney, you asshole) don't really understand that their opinions, to which they are most certainly entitled are not the great, fundamental truths that the rest of us live by. Aaron fancies himself to be some sort of rugged individualist who knows how the world should really be run. In that regard he is no different than I am. Where our paths diverge is in our method for illuminating those truths for the rest of mankind. I do so on my blog, in posts, and on other blogs in comments. In the event that the blog's author disagrees with me I will either argue with him civilly, or make fun of him. When said blogowner has made it plain that he will simply delete my comments, I stop leaving comments on that blog. Aaron, whose blog I had never visited prior to this evening, has decided that he will continue to put comments here--comments which I will delete as quickly as I see them. There are a few other folks who think like Aaron and their comments are also deleted as soon as I see them. I don't go to their blogs, though, because I have no desire to drive up their stats. I think in Aaron's case I will make an exception. Now, Aaron may actually give a fuck what his readers see on his blog--I, with my few loyal readers, don't really worry too much about that sort of thing. This isn't really what I thought my next post was going to be about, but, wtf, blogs are life in electrons.