February 4, 2005

• News and Notes

  I just opened the window to my room, which has been shut all winter. Did that gopher see his shadow? I wasn't paying atteniton. It seems like we're getting our weather "back to normal" in old SoCal. Drove around all day long with my top down, like it's supposed to be. Temp at about 84 F or so. I like it lots better when it doesn't rain in Southern California!  I started getting the old insomnia this week, which is always bad,  so I've been "hanging out" in the living room with Joel, ex-Cancerboy, and I've been imbibing again. Nothing tragic. About four or five beers a night for the past couple of nights, enough to get a little "high", to enjoy Joel's company (instead of ragging on him) and to help me get to sleep. The only drawback, of course, is that the ol pot belly is enlarging. And since I'm going to bed at 9 or 10 instead of the usual 6:30pm, I feel like I've hardly slept at all when I get up at 4am. I'm still maintaining my daily walk (thrice around the business park in the mornings.) I feel good. I should be going in for a yearly physical. It's been over a year since the last one, but I spent so much time with doctors because of the pinched nerve that I just want to stay away from doctors for a bit.

  The Super Bowl is this Sunday, but I won't be watching. I missed the "wardrobe malfunction" last year. Paul McCartney is doing the half time show this year, and I don't think he's going to bare his chest for the world to see. If I felt like a lucky betting man, I'd put some money on the Eagles, (like THEY'RE going to win). But remember, Smarty Jones didn't get the triple crown in horseracing. Just think of the people who bet against him. (I can't remember who did win, although I saw the Kentucky Derby last year, but whoever bet on the real winner cleaned up at 60 to 1 or whatever. Everybody will have their money on the Patriots, natch. Could the Eagles win? Tune in Sunday. Our Lakers haven't been doing too well since Shaq (and coach Jackson) left, and we lost again last night. Can't even seem to "threepeat" anymore. It seems like ages since we won a championship. Of course L.A. hasn't had an NFL Football team in what does seem like ages. When I attended USC (the University of Spoiled Children) back in the early 70s, I used to attend all the home football games, and went to the Rose Bowl in 74. I followed a little USC football as an alumni until 1990, when I hooked up with Pat, and really haven't followed too much of any sport since. Living in the "frat house" with my late friend Bob was the last time I really followed the NFL. As the years pass, there are just too many players, teams seem to show up in city after city, and I cringe at the salaries these guys get. But enough about sports. (I'll probably watch some of the game. I always do. If it's good football, it's interesting to watch, even when one doesn't follow the teams. The Patriots have won two Super Bowls if memory serves. I could look it up, but I'm not going to right now.)

   I'm still working on my "Sexual History" "essay" and am podering whether or not to post "chapters" as I'm writing them, or wait until I'm through and then post a link to the completed work.

  I've met some really neat folks recently on the Xanga service. I'd like to direct any wayward readers to the sites of two Xangans I'm reading. (Sometimes I subscribe, sometimes I just bookmark the sites, but these two are somewhat interesting if you haven't seen them. Buckets of eprops go to Keeta (dragonwithinme) a rather interesting artist and sometime poet, who has a beautiful daughter, a supportive boyfriend, and some really neat thoughts about life. (And I'm not singling her out simply because she mentioned my blog on hers, but hey, that always helps, doesn't it. I feel she needs more readers. Another great site is by Paul Kyriazi, (featurefilmdirector) Paul has directed real movies, and blogs about  directing, film history, and gives screenwriting tips. He only just started his blog, and only has a few entries, but in the words of Spencer Tracy, what's there is "choice".  I live near Hollywood, where everybody has an unpublished screenplay, so meeting someone "in the biz" who blogs at Xanga was a real treat. Buckets of Props to both you guys.

  I updated the main page to the mammoth AllThingsMike website, and the last guestbook entry is still from "Justin" who derides me for being a 50 year old man who collects Betty Boop. I keep hoping someone from Xanga who reads WhenWordsCollide will stop by, and leave a more positive entry in the guestbook. Now that everybody uses blogs, those of us who still have guestbooks on our old websites like to see an entry now and then. How about it? Erase Justin from my first page, will you. Anybody? There is only one more section in the Yes, But Is It Art? Gallery to "finish" before I attempt to work on and update another section, perhaps the Betty Boop Pages themselves. I haven't done anything to that site since last summer. (So if I wait till this summer, it'll be "updated" I suppose.)

  Next week is Valentine's Day, so I really should do something about the ol'  Lovesearch section. I last updated it on Valentine's Day, 2002. My, it seems like only yesterday.

  Well, that's enough News and Notes for now. It's past 7PM, and I still haven't responded to a bunch of poetry on my ElectricPoetry Group.

  And you know, there's only so much time in a day. Cya.

  Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool

  • 9:15 pm
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