SF 1
Damn, but I love the Bay Area. Coming from all too frequently mindless LA, it feels so good to be back in a place where life exists right out on the street, and to be unorthodox -- and not consumer rich -- does not appear to be the heinous crime that it is a few hundred miles to the south. The wind blows, clouds scud across the sky, rain falls, cabs ply for hire, and I start to feel a sense of unaccustomed normality.

SF2
And speaking of normality, while driving out to Berkeley with the redoubtable Jude from Borderlands, we waited in traffic in the Castro for a parade to go past. It appeared to be Leather Boys for Democracy, showing their black and blue striped bondage flag with the blood red circular spot. I never did find out the reason for the march, but it appeared highly serious with only strapping men in vests and cut-off chaps; no drag queens, sissies, or lesbians among their number.

SF3
The great fear for the performer is, of course, that no one will show up, and, needless to say, I went into the usual, well concealed, private funk for the hour or so before the event at Borderlands, but managed to cover it well be allowing myself to be taken to taken to a very unusual Irish pub where I drank beer and ate black pudding and boxty (and if you need that explained, you probably don’t want to hear the explanation) and then went on to read, sign, discuss, and debate topics that ranged from global warming the movie Abbott and Costello Go To Mars for a happily full house. And also ran into Jess Cox who I hadn’t seen in a million years.

WELL, BLOG HER
Deborah Norville – along with other dopey and dubious TV newspersons – has discovered the blogosphere and wonders how we seem to know shit before she does. The answer is that we ignore Karl Rove, use out brains, can add 2 + 2, and generally reach some approximation of 4. Debs is also worried that we are "unaccountable" and concerned that maybe something should be done about us. Tough shit, Debs; unaccountable, and unpaid, and mad as hell, and without 200 grams of makeup to aide our plausibility. We don’t need no stinking accountability.

GRIM FROM KAYMO
On 15 July 2004 William S. Lind suggested that "an American-Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Such an attack may very well be on the agenda as the "October Surprise," the distraction President George W. Bush desperately needs if the debacle in Iraq is not to lead to his defeat in November." (Global Security. Org)

CRYPTIQUE – What’s keeping the giant killer robots?