i was sitting at friday's tonight with the fellow work folks who occasion that place every friday. and in the midsts of a conversation regarding politics..i became a bit overwhelmed by how terrible i feel about what's going on in iraq right now. how bad i feel for the soldiers forced to be there..and for the iraqi people, many of whom are bearing the summer with no electricity or water. and when it overtook me, it didn't leave.
i had planned to make this a rather festive post about how the book i'm currently reading, carter beats the devil, is really good. j. ball will be pleased to note that both steamer trunks and sedan chairs have been mentioned. it is a marvelous book that i would highly recommend to everyone.
with its main character being a magician in the 1920s, he has met and cavorted with harry houdini. and it brings back wonderful memories of the times when, as a young boy, i read and re-read my young adult's biography of houdini. i was fascinated by his life. and his work. and this novel brings back lovely memories of that book for me.
i wonder what it was to be alive, and old enough to appreciate x's los angeles when it was released in 1980. listening to "the world's a mess; it's in my kiss" tonight i was just blown away by what a stellar band they were. and how great and chaotic and invigorating music can be sometimes. and that brought me back home. and i felt a little bit better about it..even if it is a terribly western idea. that wouldn't mean the same to everyone. but it's a start.
