I set this up ages ago but somehow was too busy, too nervous or just too concerned my ADHD brain would make this scattershot.

So, despite all of that I am here in the trenches writing stuff. It will be a good exercise for me, since I am someone who generally dislikes annoying people and is not the best person to be cooped up for long periods of time but also feels the need to vent every so often.

So, despite all of that, here I sit at a keyboard with the sun coming into the room and the great sounds of chirping birds to keep me company. After all, there is something nice about hearing them sing first thing in the morning.

I was reminded last night aboutt one of my juvenile pet peeves. It’s people who put their newspapers in plastic bags. I mean why? For decades people have put them folded under their arms and it has worked perfectly.

Now we have to have a plastic bag loose in the environment because someone wanted a handle. I wouldn’t even complain about it except it has been a thing since, I don’t know before WW2. This really bugs me. The next ting you know briefcases will be out of style.

If you think Humphrey Bogart would put his newspapers in a plastic bag than you are nuts. 

The girl upstairs is incredible irritating. Stop using the speaker on your phone. No one cares about hearing every stupid thing you are doing.  She is young and naive and doesn’t know who Prince is so there’s that too.

I am taking time to seriously declutter. I have more music than I can store. It is bloody everywhere. Some of it I don’t even remember having. So a massive purge is afoot. For now, I am not cleaning out the books or graphic novels.

But looking at a long pathway of indoor time, I decided to make lists of movies and TV I want to see and books, some long overdue for perusal, to read. 

Staying inside means I get to make lists. I kind of like making lists. Thus, I have made lists of stuff to see, read and hear. It’ll help me sort it out and not watch the infantile politicians on TV.

Interestingly enough, I have two Farley Granger movies on DVD, Strangers On A Train from 1951 and They Live By Night, a nifty film from 1949.

I am not even that big of a fan of his,  but I had both movies next to each other totally by happenstance. I noticed this while trying to sort out what to watch.

I am planning on watching Chinatown again soon. The plot kinds of falls apart but it is still excellent.  I also am planning watching some Godzilla movies and Ice Station Zebra again. Incidentally, Stan Ridgway name checked that movie in a 1992 song called I Wanna Be A Boss.Stan Ridgway is grossly underrated.

One of the things I am hoping to do in the coming days is clear out the guest room and really toss out some things I do not need.  The upside of this is that every day when I work on this I have decided to listen to an new artist so that there is a balance of work and play involved.

Top Chef is back on. I could be wrong but. bet Padma and Gail are terribly high maintenance and would probably get on my nerves. I love the show but wonder how folks can eat such tiny plates of food. Also, no one uses bacon.

I watched something called Aerial America yesterday. They profiled a state for each episode. I watched the ones on  Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin. I learned a lot and they gave a nice survey of each state and their history without glossing over any of the bad bits.

I am looking forward to getting out and taking  walks. I hate being around lots of people and there is something great in the solitude of walking, I am looking forward to not hearing a lot of extraneous noise made by bad drivers and ass clowns and hope to make new discoveries. For instance, I was on my back porch yesterday and noticed that the apartment building across the way has a cool little sculpture thing attached to its roof. It is no great shakes but it was nice to notice it.

A wise friend of mine told me to write two pages a day. So I am adding that to my list of stuff to do along with word searches, freelance projects, cleaning and walking. 

I would like to think that times like this bring out the best in people and build community. but I have little faith in people since most of my life I’ve hidden from people trying to kick my ass or worked form some terrible people professionally. 

I cleared out my wallet. I had a lot of crazy crap in my wallet.

Stuff I am listening to…..The labels are cutting back on sending me digital product so there’s way more digital stuff to check out which is kind of nice.  But generally, lots of classical music and some jazz. I like the new Moaning and Stephen Malkmus record a lot. I am trying to avoid sad things for the moment. 

Having said that, I totally blew it because I am reading a book about Joy Division. I got it at Tattered Cover in Denver awhile back. Jon Savage is a great author.

Ironically, the paperback for this will be available at Target. Target. Really.

Savage is a compelling writer and he brings the band’s dynamics as a unit into focus. He also manages to give readers a broader picture of what they were all about than other books had. I had read Deborah Curtis’ book Touching From A Distance before and really enjoyed that.

This would be a good time to mention that if you get any books during all of this do it for your local bookshop. They need the money. I am fortunate that St. Louis has some really incredible indie bookshops, all of which should be supported.

My hands are a mess because of all the washing. Been using Bag Balm on it. It reminded me of how rough my mom’s hand were late in life and how I often had to moisture them for her.

Ok, off to recycle stuff and take out trash and get going with the day.