The other day in the subway I saw a middle-aged white guy in a Mac t-shirt walking along with his thumb stuck in a copy of Anathem. I sidled up to him and said, "Excuse me," in what I thought was a friendly manner, but the guy jumped a foot in the air and gave a little shriek. "Sorry for startling you," I said, "But I was wondering if there were any more where you got that one," indicating the book. "No! No!" he said emphatically and scrambled off double time away from me. Oh well.Comment ...

I had so much fun with the synesthesia meme, I wanted to start another interactive mix game going. I love hearing songs juxtaposed into conversations with each other, whether by taking something in the previous song and riffing on it, or commenting snarkily on it, or just picking up its mood and spinning it into something new. I've made a Muxtape called "Blogmass", (password: blogmass). As far as I'm concerned, anyone who sees this post is eligible to play -- and send your friends over too, if they're interested. I started off with a track I found a while ...

Last night I saw Thurgood. It was excellent. Today I gave Obama $100. We're about to go out into the close, overcast day and get the makings of a big old fry-up for breakfast. Happy Fourth!Comment ...

You can't have eudaimonia without good habits, man. I realize this. I've got a good life, and I'm pretty happy in a free-floating way: enough to eat, a limitless city, a place to retreat to, and a girl to curl up with at night -- but I'll never be eudaimonia happy until I'm able to control my habits. It's the hardest damn thing. Here's a list of the things I already reliably do every day: Check (and mostly answer) my email Get through my RSS reader and blog trackers Wash the dishes Clean the cat box Read printed text (most days) Feed myself Shower (most days) Here's a list ...

This is brilliant. Also gorgeous. Via Sola.Comment ...

I saw Derek today! Oh, but it was lovely. And I started ASL up again, after a week off. It's just me this time, so the class is going to be much more intense, with lots of homework. I'm excited, if a little nervous. Tomorrow we're having one of K.'s friends over, and this Saturday is Dances of Vice. I might also be previewing a play somewhere in there. It's been a marvelous summer.Comment ...

Got the CCP results back. Failed, as expected. Screw it. I just ordered RMR CDs (the better to speed-load with, even though I don't plan to take the RMR until after I've finally passed the CCP), and I'm going to get business cards. After nearly every recent gig I've done, someone's asked me for one, and I've felt like a fool having to scrawl my information on a piece of notebook paper. When I get my certification, I'll get new cards. Ex-frikkin'-celsior.Comment ...

Three views of my workspace. I don't know why, but I'm really interested in people's workspaces. This was the first print I ever bought when I was a freshman in college, and it still hangs on our bedroom door. I like seeing the systems people set up to direct their thoughts and the talismans they keep around them. Workspaces and studies are as intimate as bedrooms, but more of their nuts and bolts are on display. And, of course, I love ogling tech. It's very nice of the internet to indulge my sordid proclivities. I just joined the Lifehacker ...

Alison Bechdel does a great comic on summer reading. I've been reading a fair bit this summer, though far less than I did as a kid (or even as a pit musician in a tourist town with limited internet access), and most of it's been pure fluff. I'm looking at my last 15 books on LibraryThing, and maybe four of them (Fire Upon the Deep, Midnight's Children, the Cornish Trilogy, And Life As We Know It) have any claim at all to literary merit. The rest are just romps. I mean, those four are pretty much romps too, but ...