Okay, first off... as I sit here, I'm looking at my Spiderman Classics Spiderman action figure on top of my computer. He rocks. Never has an action figure been so acurately poseable. Hurray for Spiderman Classics Spiderman.

Disaster must lurk around the corner... Why? Because yesterday was too nice of a day.

I got up relatively early. Read a bit of REVELATION SPACE by Alastair Reynolds, excellent British hard sci-fi. The Brits have it going on in Science Fiction lately, IMO. Then I spent an hour or so rearranging and alphabetizing most of my books so that I'll be able to find them when I need to do so.

Then I went to the Westbank. Saw TOMB RAIDER at the Palace. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. A big dumb movie with lots of special effects. I can live with that. No trailer for CATS & DOGS, damn it. But, a kick ass trailer for LORD OF THE RINGS. Then a little shopping, food mainly, at the Super Walmart. Who knew you could buy Soy Milk at Walmart?

Back home for a dog-washing and apartment sweeping and general dog hair removal. Then I hiked to the neighborhood laundromat for a quick washing of a few pieces of clothing. Mainly cuz I had particular clothes I wanted to wear on my date later in the evening. I had hoped to squeeze in some bike-riding, but no dice.

So, I'm getting ready for my date, showering, shaping the goatee, etc... and my phone rings. It's my favorite new friend from Baton Rouge. I didn't get to spend a lot of time talking to him unfortunately, but the fact that he called made me happy. Of course, fate always dictates that someone you have a mild crush on will call you while you're getting ready for a date with someone else you have a crush on. Life is never simple, is it?

So, the date... went well. It's been a long time since someone else took me to dinner. And it was a lovely dinner. Way down at the end of Magazine Street lies Martinique Bistro. I discovered that I like very much the taste of sweet German wines. And the menu at this little bistro was to die for. I had a mixed greens salad with herb crusted goat cheese, oysters baked in a amazing crumbly mixture, and salmon with shitakes, cepes and another wild mushroom or two. Which was all amazing. What looked even better was my date's Mahi Mahi in a dried pear, hazelnut and blanc beurre sauce. To be treated to a meal like this is to feel appreciated, even more so when it's accompanied by great conversation for nearly two hours.

The rest of the evening went quite swimmingly as well.

Now, off for some bike riding, reading and cooking before work...

Wednesday... halfway through another week...

A crazy week at work. Introduced new scheduling. Why is it that the slightest bit of change can be so threatening to people? I'm watching competent grown adults act like helpless 5 year olds now on a daily basis. But, this shall pass...

Went to a new sushi place in Metairie, Miyako I think, for dinner last nite. Very yummy. Except I kept dropping my sushi into the ramekin with the soy sauce in it. So, the table was covered in soy sauce and my friend Jinger and I were giggling hysterically the entire time. It also didn't help that I had a terrible time getting the futomake into my small mouth. And everytime I would whine "I have a small mouth, this is big sushi", Jinger would go into hysterics. I think maybe there was a sexual connotation there...

I'm currently reading 3 different novels. Sad, huh? I have trouble keeping my focus on one story lately...

I have a date tomorrow night, which I'm quite looking forward to. But, I expect it to fall apart somehow... He's a couple years older than me. Professional. Well grounded, I think. Handsome. Nice guy. Yep... something's gonna go wrong...

UNBREAKABLE came out on DVD and video this week. I love this movie. Rent it. It's by the director of THE SIXTH SENSE and, IMO, it's a much better and more finely crafted film. Pay very close attention to the small details and dialogue throughout the film and you'll feel smart at the end of it. I did.

Today is such a grey day. Hmmm... a good day to go to work, I suppose. Better be sunny tomorrow. I wanna bike all day... before my date, that is...

Yesterday was a good shopping karma day.

I went to Baton Rouge for the day to do family stuff. But I made a few purchases while I was there.

Went to my favorite grocery store up there, Calandros, and bought a bunch of sundried tomatoes. No one in New Orleans has sundried tomatoes that are as good.

Went to Toys R Us. About the only thing I miss about living in Baton Rouge is that I could very easily find almost any action figure that I wanted on the shelves. Back around Christmas, a four pack of Batman action figures came out that had a figure of Alfred the butler in it. I was too poor to buy it for forever. So, now they've all disappeared and are selling on eBay for $35 to $50. But, the Toys R Us in Baton Rouge still had 5 on the shelf for $19.99. Yay. I got Alfred. It would be pathetic to own every single Batman animated character figure except for Alfred. They also had the big Mach 5 playset, a large plastic version of Speed Racer's car. But that wasn't in my budget.

On the way back, I stopped in Gonzales at the outlet mall. At Book Warehouse, I hit the payload. I found 5 books that I've wanted to read but that I never purchased for $6 to $8 each. All hardcover in excellent shape.

Yay.

I'm gonna go read...

Ok, so I tried to post a couple days ago, but the blog gods ate my post...

A few random mutterings today...

What the fuck ever happened to My Bloody Valentine??? They (he) were a great fucking band, damn it. And when the fuck is Mazzy Star gonna put out a new CD? Hello, Hope!!! Get off your ass and make me a new album.

Work has been nutso and life consuming this week. I've been crunching numbers and making schedules like crazy. It's a whole new world at work next week and I'm the architect. Eek. I'll prolly be hated by a few.

I currently have a bit of a mad crush on someone that I shouldn't have a crush on. Too young, too far, too etc...

Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS is the fucking bomb. Amazing amazing novel. It's so good I'm reading it really slowly. That's exceedingly rare for me. Usually I eat novels in large gulps. I consumed Clive Barker's 680 page COLDHEART CANYON recently in less than 9 hours one afternoon/evening.

Just in case you care... my favorite Batman Animated action figures are Catwoman, the Creeper, Retro Batman, Nighwing, Dick Grayson Robin and Mr Freeze. And I jones for Batmobiles. Batmobiles rock the everloving ultraUniverse.

I'm off this weekend. Whoo hoo. Gonna go to Baton Rouge for the day on Saturday. Should be a bit melancholy. Gonna do family and then visit a few old haunts. Then back to NO for the nite.

I am VERY tired of having short hair.

The Smiths are the coolest band that I didn't like in the 80s. Weird that I didn't. I think it had to do with the goofy dances I always saw the gothy people doing everytime How Soon is Now played in a club.

I still can't decide if I'm preppy or alternative. *sigh*

I need a new tattoo soon. It's decided what it is. It's the alchemical symbol for mercury. And it's gonna be on the inside of my right forearm. I need to find something mystical and symbolic and small to put on the outside of my left forearm. Suggestions anyone? I've been looking at angelic languages, cuz I think John Dee is swell, but everything I find sort of bores me.

I crave the beach.

I ate a bunch of peanuts earlier this week and now I can't stand the smell of them. Blech.

I wanted to rent a movie tonite. But I have late fees at every video store within 5 miles, I think.

Such is my life...

I was a bit bored tonight, so I rewatched the season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And cried like a baby again. That was the fucking best hour of TV that I saw this past year. And now I have to wait four months for another episode. Grrr.

I'm really quite dreadful at this so far...

Went back to work in a much peppier mood after my days off and got a lot achieved i a small amount of time. The rain I mentioned a week ago pretty much stayed around for a week. But I only got trapped in my house by flooded streets once and only for a couple of hours.

Interesting discovery, one that I hate to admit, is that Internet Explorer works a lot better with Blogger for me than Netscape does. Netscape still does Java a lot better for me though. Sigh. I wanna live in a one browser world, preferably one not connected to Bill Gates.

I'm still LOVING the new Air CD, 10000 HZ. If you don't like Air, you're boring, so there. The new Travis CD is out today which I must have as well. Must must must. I'll probably buy it at work tomorrow. I also see that there's a Belle & Sebastian CD listed as out today. Is this new also? Hmmm.

Books recently... I started Clive Barker's COLDHEART CANYON at around 3 last Monday afternoon. With a two hour break, I read until 4 am and finished all nearly 700 pages of it. I quite liked it, obviously. It's sort of a Hollywood Babylon of the dead... and undead. The story of a hollywood action star who has plastic surgery which goes astray. To recover, he hides away in the long abandoned home of a forgotten silent screen star... a house where old Hollywood used to have parties of great excess. And a lot of them are still hanging around... Part Hollywood tell-all, part Wild Hunt, part haunted house, part Dorian Gray... all good read.

Now, I've started Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS. I'm only on the first chapter so it's hard to get a read on it and I avoided reading the cover blurbs on purpose. Gaiman, for those who don't know, was the author of the Sandman comic books. He's a bit of an artistic genius, I'd say. GODS seems like it's going to shape up perhaps as a bit of an exploration of what gods America may or may not have and why we do or don't have them... *shrug* New country and all that...

I keep running across mentions of Myra Breckinridge lately... interesting... a splendidly bad movie I happen to own a copy of. Vanity Fair did a great article a couple months ago about the making of it and how it destroyed a movie studio and a young director's career.

Car trauma this week... Spent $700 to get a gas leak and my AC fixed. Went out this morning and the gas is still leaking... *sigh* Back to the shop tomorrow... Just slit my wrists for me, someone... I don't have any more money, evil car people!

Wanna go to the park or the Quarter today and read somewhere under a tree or something, but I have to wait for the mail. Why does it always come early when I wanna mail something out, but late when I'm waiting for something to come??

*look around* I REALLY need to clean my apartment...

Well, back to work today after 6 much needed days off. Battteries are at least partially recharged.

The weather for my last day off was perfect. A tropical downpour that forced me to sit home and read and rest. Of course, a day of pacing nervous dog added a little tension.

Saw Moulin Rouge yesterday which I loved. Not necessarily a very meaty story, but a visual feast. And that's just fine with me. I can live with cardboard characters if my eyes are happy.

I've been corresponding with a sweet guy in Australia who seems like he'd be a great friend. The large bodies of water between us could be a slight problem in that department though. Although, there's a chance he may be in New Orleans within the year.

Also chatted with The Perfect Guy last nite. He's in Austin, natch. All my perfect guys are in Austin. But, I like living in New Orleans, damn it. This one is older than me (!), smart as a whip, literate and has excellent music tastes. And he's in Austin... bleh...

Geez, is anyone really reading this? It's not like I'm saying a damned thing of substance... *shrug*

I'm learning just how small a city New Orleans is at times. Everyone that I meet is somehow connected to other people that I already know or have just met. It's sort of irritating.

The New York Times yesterday had a high day for cool art. Charles Burns did a great drawing of Sandra Day O'Connor on the magazine section. And Chris Ware brought his usually amazing art to the Book Review. The cover and lots of groovy little interior drawings. Ware's Jimmy Corrigan was definitely one of the coolest books published last year. And absolutely the most beautifully designed, IMO.

Had fun at Swamp Club at the Country Club last nite. A fun little collective of people. A few sleazy goings on near the pool. Impromptu Patsy Cline done extremely terribly yet somehow quite pleasingly by a terrible terrible (in a good way) drag person. Discovering that Jonno's Richard is evidently obsessed with Haysi Fantaysi, or at least once was. Being sort of sad about having sold my record collection when Flynn played Romeo Void. Being happy when I got home and discovered that among the 30 or so records I kept was Romeo Void. Watching Dave reconnect with his childhood friend Gerald and act like a complete goofball.

Its sort of interesting, I really wonder if anyone else in my life will ever have the same level of familiarity that I still feel with Dave. I absolutely don't love him anymore (well, I love him, I just don't LOVE him), but there's not another person on this planet that I'm so completely and utterly comfortable to be around. And that's saying a lot. *shrug*

Oh, and even though the Simpsons was a repeat last nite... it rocked... "Shut up! That's why!" Classic line.

One of the perks of my job is that I get free advance copies of books. Right now I'm bouncing up and down with anticipation for Monday to get here b/c on Monday, I should receive a copy of COLDHEART CANYON by Clive Barker. It's his new novel that doesn't come out until October.

And I get to read it now!!! Life is sweet.

Saw Kiki LeBonBon's Cabaret show at Le Chat Noir last nite. A toast to it!

I highly recommend that anyone and everyone should go be entertained. Quite a fun show in the perfect setting.

Tonight's goal is to go out for the evening, dance... and not get blotto. Must resist generous friends. Must avoid free drink tickets. M ust avoid bartenders who comp me.

Dance dance dance.

Today was a good day. A very good day. The first of six days off of work in a row.

Slept late. Went to the Westbank SuperWalmart in a slightly hungover fog and bought $100 worth of crap for my house. Stuff I've put off buying for months, like a garbage can for my kitchen. Also bought the dog new food and Rawhide chews. She was most appreciative.

Came home and cleaned house. Much needed cleaning. I've been living in squalor. No more. Clean house seems to equal a cleaner state of mind.

Went to the comic shop in the afternoon. A decent week of comics... Avengers (excellent issue), Flash (a book I'm surprised I like so much of late), a Thunderbolts special drawn by Charles Adlard whose art I find quite sexy for some reason, and an amazing issue of Wonder Woman. Geez, these are comics I'm not supposed to like... Go figure.

Home again and I cooked a balanced meal for dinner for the first time in months. Baked chicken breasts in a sundried tomato marinade with yellow peppers, tomatoes and zucchini. Dubon peas (yum!). A nice mixed green and spinach salad. And blueberries and strawberries for dessert. And I drank a Sobe Lean drink, which I had to buy when I saw it in the store as a sort of little personal joke to myself. It was amazingly bland. Should've stuck to my Arizona RX green tea and citrus drink I adore so much.

A sore point was trying to watch The Klumps on DVD during dinner. An amazing unfunny movie. And I actually liked The Nutty Professor, which I never expected to like. Hopefully my other rental, Shadow of the Vampire, will prove to be much better.

Piddled about for a while and then decided to rearrange my bedroom. I moved all the furniture around and then pulled down my boxes of action figures. I created a little shrine to Robin. I do love me some Robin.

Then I took the dog out for a walk. Remembering that I saw an ad for a gay night at the Red Room, I made sure to walk by there to scope it out. On the way back, I saw what I initially thought to be a drag queen walking down my street. Turned out to be a nice girl who my dog liked quite a bit. One of the promoters of the party who was walking to Jackson and Magazine to try to borrow shoes. In a fit of gallantness, I gave her a ride in my car. Can't have people getting mugged in my neighborhood. And in return, she put me on the guest list. So I went.

A sparse but very groovy crowd. I, of course, stood around and mostly glared at people. I'm quite adept at that. But, I was surprised to find that I knew more than a few people. Saw my friend Trent who I haven't seen in months. Ran into, um.... oh lord the guy whose name I forget all the time. Saw an extremely inebriated Michael the Stripper, who I'm quite amazed I ever had a crush on. He's just... tragic lately. Ran into the everpresent Jonno. And met his incredibly cute other half, Richard aka Sturtle.

JONNO>>> if you're reading this... BURN me a copy of MISADVENTURES OF MARGARET!!!

Had a nice overpriced Stoli Cosmopolitan. Watched the firedancer and trapeze artist that seem to be at every club or performance I go to lately...

Saw my latest crush. An incredibly odd and quite showy guy who seemed to flirt with me this past Saturday at 735 and smiled briefly at me tonight. Evil Knievel drag works for me...

Now.. home... Bowie on the CD player... Blogging away... Bed soon... Sleepy dog on futon... Life good... Me happy...

I mentioned Catwoman in my last blog.

When I was very young, I loved to watch the Batman TV show. The one with Adam West. I loved Catwoman the best.

You may or may not remember the board game TROUBLE. It had a plastic dome in the middle with dice in it that you pushed down to make the dice (die?) roll. The gamepieces were little plastic cones.

I used to put the cones on the ends of my fingers. Why? Well, to my young mind it seemed quite logical that if Batman had Robin, then Catwoman should have Kitten. I *was* Kitten.