I watch, and I watch, and they never read my name. It’s all starting to get a little disappointing.
I thought Jon Stewart did a decent job hosting. I laughed more than I usually do. Some of his bits fell a little flat, but that’s bound to happen. We found it interesting that all of the acting awards went to non-Americans. Tilda Swinton managed to justify the program’s PG rating in one fell swoop, bringing in both buttocks and nipples.
I’d planned to do some more work on my novel on Saturday, but didn’t touch it until this morning. Instead, I managed to clean up my todo list, which is a major accomplishment in and of itself. Got our taxes finished and e-filed. Updated the first edition guide I maintain for King’s web site. Finished and submitted the 700-word essay I was asked to do recently—nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. Found markets for the two short stories that were rejected last week. One submission by e-mail, one by postal mail. I also finished my review of John Grisham’s The Appeal and got it up at Onyx Reviews. So, all in all, a productive weekend, and my plate is now clear of pending obligations so I can concentrate on the novel.
I wrote about 1500 words this morning, and finished Chapter 19 with a bang. There’s one section very early on that I need to go back and rewrite completely. I’m tempted to do that next, but I don’t want to impede this wonderful forward momentum I’ve been riding. We’ll see.
Over the weekend I also caught up on taped shows: Survivor, Eli Stone and Boston Legal—and then ended up adding to the tape backlog again with Big Brother and Dexter from last night. I also have three episodes of Torchwood to watch. Good thing there’s still fairly slim pickings. I see that Back to You (Kelsey Grammar/Patricia Heaton) is back from hiatus on Tuesday night, the first recovery from the strike.
I’m reading Comfortably Numb by Mark Blake, a bandography of Pink Floyd. It’s an interesting contrast to Nick Mason’s book. More thoroughly researched and less driven by personal memories. Floyd is one of those bands that managed to stay out of the limelight except for the music and the shows, except for the occasional reports of squabbles. They avoided interviews like the plague. As a result, I was a fan for many years without knowing much about them at all. It’s interesting stuff if you’re a fan. Blake keeps up with Syd Barrett in parallel with the adventures and misadventures of the rest of the band. I’m halfway through, just after the release of DSOTM.
