It seems appropriate, in an area prone to brief spasms of wild, destructive weather, that the broader, decades-long patterns would mimic the day-to-day weather like some sort of meteorological fractal. The skies have decided to erase this drought we’ve been experiencing for the entire Obama administration over the course of a single Spring. We’ve had plagues of frogs, which I suspect are a normal result of abnormal rain as opposed to any sort of mystical harbinger, but I’ll leave my dreamcatchers out just in case.
(Speaking of magic, I’ve discovered that my thin mustache not only does not give me John Steinbeck powers when it comes to writing, it also draws disapproving looks from the one person whose opinion of my appearance matters to me. Back to the drawing board.)
For some reason, when there’s rain falling and the windows fog up just a little, a warm beverage tastes better than anything, regardless of the temperature. I’ve gone through more coffee today than I do on most weekdays, and that is an absurdly large amount best measured in pots rather than cups. I can just sit here, watch the rains, sip my coffee, and the world seems about as perfect as a world can be. Pro-tip: Do not open any browsers to any social media or news sites when you’re attempting to replicate this.
The novel I’m currently reading during my commutes is Thomas Pynchon’s Against The Day. Going forward, I may abstain from largish hardcover volumes for reading on the train as my arms are neither as strong nor as supple as they once were. Anyway, even though this is Pynchon at his most accessible, this is Literature-with-a-capital-“L.” I know from many, many failures how difficult it is to make writing appear this effortless and to teach so well, to embed the lesson so seamlessly into the story, that you could miss the meanings entirely and still enjoy the book.
Finally, speaking of books, dropped by my favorite bookstore yesterday and picked up a copy of John Scalzi’s Redshirts, which will be my next commuter book. I understand there was an attempt to boycott Mr. Scalzi’s publisher, Tor, yesterday. I’ve looked into the reasons behind the boycott and the imperatives issued by the parties who called the boycott and I am not impressed with either the causes nor the methods of those involved, so I made a small, symbolic purchase to counter their actions. It appears as though the boycott went beyond failure and landed well into “backfired” territory, so it seems I wasn’t the only person who chose to defy it. If you’re looking for something new to read, please consider taking a look at Tor’s lineup. They publish many excellent books by some terrific authors and, while the boycott seems to have failed to have its desired effect, they can always use the business.
-RK