“Let us be crooked, but never common.”

Isn’t March supposed to be “in like a lion, out like a lamb”? It was nasty and cold today, colder than I think it was a month ago, and definitely not very lamb-like.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon attending an Eagle Scout court of honor with my father. These are always a little awkward for me, since I don’t really know anybody there — my father’s been involved in the troop and local district considerably longer than I ever was — but I go to show support and because I think my father appreciates it. And this one was actually pretty nice, and nowhere near as awkward as the first one I went to, when I wound up feeling like an interloper up on stage. And they had a really nice spread of food afterward, so it really wasn’t so bad.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the Spring 2012 issue of Kaleidotrope, which is now live. It’s another interesting mix, and I hope some of you will take the time to read some of the stories and maybe even comment with your thoughts.

And then I rounded out the evening by watching The Lady Eve, a screwball comedy from Preston Sturges starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. It was a little silly and convoluted even by those standards, but good fun nevertheless.

And that was my cold and nasty, but not too shabby, Saturday.

Friday

Today was a pretty typical Friday, if you discount the part where I moved everything but my computer from one cubicle to another on the other side of the office. I officially start in the new work space on Monday, with lots to keep me occupied.

On the train home, I finished reading Georges Simenon’s The President, which I really liked quite a lot. It’s the third of the books in the Neversink Library (a gift from Heather) that I’ve read, and the second by Simenon. When I was done, I thought: well, I may just have to read more by him. Turns out, he’s one of the twentieth century’s most prolific writers, having written some 200 novels.

So, you know, there should be plenty more to choose from. Maybe one of the Maigret mysteries.

But first, I think, I’m going to re-read Watership Down, as part of my “re-read some books this year” project.

That was Friday.

Random 10 3-30-12

Last week. This week:

  1. “Yakety Yak” by the Coasters, guessed by Clayton
    Take out the papers and the trash
  2. “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease, guessed by Clayton
    I got chills, they’re multiplyin’
  3. “Zombie” by the Cranberries
    We must be mistaken
  4. “Wild Mountain Honey” by the Steve Miller Band, guessed by Kim
    Don’t trade your love and goodness for the golden machine
  5. “Push” by Pharoahs Monch
    Your weak ass compubot’s power shots mix fly over me
  6. “Elvis Costello Is Dead” by Friends of Mary Anning
    His real name was Declan MacManus
  7. “The Lumberjack Song” by Monty Python, guessed by Clayton
    On Wednesdays I go shopping
  8. “Mystery Dance” by Elvis Costello
    Juliet was waiting with a safety net
  9. “Union Song” by the Nightwatchman
    For Joe Hill and Caesar Chavez, who fought in their own time
  10. “John the Determinist” by Jeremy Messersmith
    Hoping for a ghost inside the shell

Good luck!