You'd Know What A Drag It Is To See You

So I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm going to New York City in a little bit. It's a very strange fact to get used to, for some reason. Last night I began looking online for record stores to visit. I'll probably try to hit a couple of different ones in search of bootlegs and deleted albums that haven't trickled down South. Speaking of which, I find it odd that I suddenly can't find a copy of Elvis Costello's "Blood and Chocolate" album in a proper cd store. Since Keith is the only loyal reader that I'm sure of, and he's heard me bitch about this before I'm repeating myself, but the first ten years or so of Elvis Costello's brilliant career (those being the actually brilliant years of his career) has transfered ownership, so I'm concerned that new issues are coming of his first 11 albums, replacing the bloody brilliant Rhino 2 disc editions, with liner notes written by Declan himself. At this point, Blood and Chocolate is the only one I'm missing from that run. I did find a cheap used copy of the two disc version of his Spike album at Schoolkids today, so I'm fairly content. I'm just a touch worried that all the copies of Blood and Chocolate have joined copies of the ninth volume of Transmet in limbo....

Tomorrow night is Sage Francis and Buck 65 at the Cradle. I've decided to bring copies of cds by both artists to try and get signed. Expect a write-up a day or two after the show, you non-corpeal, fantastic bastards.

Right now I'm slowly reading Philip Roth's novel "Sabbath's Theater" for the infernal book club, having finished Nabokov's Pnin earlier this week. Pnin was very funny, and I think I worked out what it was all about, but it's on a different strata from Lolita and Pale Fire. I think I'm probably going back to Nabokov after the Roth novel, either Ada or The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. I'm not sure which. And the big re-read of the entire Harry Potter cycle still looms before book 7 comes out in July. I'll probably try and wait to start around my birthday.

Sorry this entry is so dull, but I felt obliged to post something, and I'm not pissed off at much of anything at the moment...

I just don't know what to think

So, the Braves get hammered by the Sox in the first game today- real ugly, Matsuzaka handled the team easily and Boston wins 13-4. So I'm pretty bummed. Then, in the second game, Smoltz pitches a gem, and the Braves score 14 runs while the Red Sox don't score at all. Talk about good news, bad news, yeah?


Anyway. I finished Thomas Pyncon's V. a few minutes ago. And I'm still confused. The book, as I've mentioned, is really good, and maybe one day it will all click, but I'm afraid I would have to re-read it to really begin to approach the book's mysteries, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to doing that. It's not the easiest read, and it's not the shortest book. Right now I'm torn between Nabokov's Pnin and Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth. It's pretty much a coin flip in my mind between the two, at the moment. When I have made my final decision, I will let all of you noble bastards in the infernal book club know.

And I went ahead and made a reservation for three nights in a hotel in New York City. I can still wriggle out of it, but it's begining to look a lot like Manhattan for your humble narrator. And my plans for the city are begining to take shape more clearly in my head. I think I'll probably try and see Spamalot the night I arrive, and a Yankees game my second night there. One day I'll probably devote to Central Park. And I'll definitely try and find a good cd store that sells some of the bootlegs I'm dying to own copies of (most importantly, a complete Basement Tapes compilation).

Stop the Planet of the Apes I Want to Get Off

Oh. My. Gods. I was just flipping through the chanels, and on MSNBC I was subjected to something called a "News Pop", a little infographic on the bottom of the screen, above the crawl, informing me that "Al Gore won the 2000 popular vote but lost the election. That's it. I give up. My discomfort with the news/entertainment matrix has just slid into outright disdain. I hate everything. And everything keeps begging for me to do so. You all deserve whatever is coming.

So, tonight the Braves, fresh from being embarrased by the Nationals, of all teams, have to go into Fenway park to play the sickeningly good Red Sox. I'm not particularily optimistic. However, I do have to admit that I'm intrigued if Saturday's matchup is Dice-K against John Smolz (assuming Smoltz is healthy after that tagging injury.) Granted, the Sox' huge lead in the AL East owes something to how godawful the division has suddenly become, but the Sox are probably the best team in the game right now, whatever division you might put them in. Unless they get hit with a real plague of injuries, it's hard to see them not playing in the Series (and winning, in all likelihood). Unless they remember that they are the Sox.

So I've pretty much decided to visit the Big Apple in June. Yankees v. Diamondbacks- I really hope that the Unit pitches, cause I'd love to see his return to the Bronx. Anyone reading this who wants to join me is welcome. (Yeah, like anyone is reading this...Or wants to spend that much uninterrupted time with me).

I'm into the closing stretch of Pynchon's V. I still am not entirely sure what it means, but it's an amazing achievement, particularily for a first novel. If you have the free time and an agile mind, you should probably read it soon. I'm not positive what I'll read next. I have put the Billy Martin biography on the back burner, and I'll probably get back into that, but I'm not sure what novel is next. Maybe Nabokov's Pnin.

I feel bad for the NBA. First, it fucks up the only interesting series going on due to David Stern's raging narcissism and lack of imagination, and what do we have to look forward to? Spurs/Jazz in the Western finals and Pistons/Cavs, probably, in the East. Wake me up when it's over. The best outcome in the West would have been Warriors/Suns, and the East is so bad that I doubt a really intriguing matchup was possible.

The Anatomy of Boredom

I already miss Christopher Moltisanti.

I'm half-watching 24, which I'm begining to believe might not actually be a very good show. I amused myself by reading the iTunes review of the audiobook for the new Christopher Hitchens book, God Is Not Great. I love the negative reviews that consist of nothing but poorly worded attempts to refute Hitchens' atheism. I actually still haven't read the book, but I intend to very soon. I love Hitchens, I love evangelical atheism, it's win-win, baby.

Words cannot express my loathing for this Diet Pepsi commerical that tries to be ironic/retro/cool by referencing Beverly Hills 90210. Irony -or rather, shallow irony or faux irony-is usually a poor subsitute for humor, and in this case this faux-hipsterism is unbelievably irrititating. Argh. I just want to hurt someone on Madison Avenue very badly.

I'm toying with the idea of using the money that people were far too nice in giving me for graduating only three years behind schedule and going to New York for three or four days in June. But I'm worried that the idea is appealing largely as a result of my incredible boredom. I've got to start looking for a proper job, just to save my bloody mind.

Sorry this post was so self-indulgent, but that's how boring tonight's 24 is. And this is supposed to be part of the climax for the entire season.

Update: Argh! The Braves lost again while the Mets won. This drops us into a close second place, if I'm not mistaken. Who knew that Washington had a pitcher who could take a no-hit bid this deep? And is it just me, or has there been an unsual number of near no-hitters this season? After that long stretch without one that lasted from Johnson's perfect game (5/18/04, against the Braves, which I had the misfortune of watching on television) until Anibal Sanchez's no-no last year (9/6/06), it seems like there has been a deluge of nearly no-hit games so far (along with Mark Buehrle's actual no hitter). And Smoltz had to leave the game early after hurting his hand tagging out a runner. If we lose Smoltz for a stretch of time, we're in a little trouble, especially with how well the damned Mets are playing.

Top 5 Things I would do in New York:
1. Go see a Yankees game before they build a new Yankee Stadium
2. See Spamalot on Broadway, despite the extravagant ticket cost
3. See the Brill Building
4. Pilgrimage to former site of CBGB's.
5. Central Park- the Obelisk and the reservoir and the zoo.