MONDAY, AUG 23, 2002 - Small Hands

We met six friends in a small town outside of UCONN--fellow Midwesterners living on the East Coast.

One reason for the visit was to meet Sonja, our friends' four month old daughter. Such a child could bring the mightest man to his knees, cooing to entice her disarming smiles. Her hands are impossibly small when wrapped around my index finger, which appear as thick as a branch to her.

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At last! The premiere issue of Sweet Fancy Moses arrived by mail last Friday. If you need me, I'll be in my office.

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TUESDAY, AUG 20, 2002 - Days of Blunder

Five weeks ago I suffered a grade 2 tendon rupture in my left arm, and haven't been able to climb since. I was sure that the season was over for me.

Back on that afternoon some friends and I took a day trip up to Gloucester and Rockport in Cape Ann, MA. It's become somwhat of an annual tradition for us in which we walk the kitchy strip in Rockport, eat steamed lobsters from paper boats, and monkey around the rock beach in Gloucester.

On the beach, large textured boulders stand majestically, their final resting place, before Gloucester's relentless surf pounds them back into the sea.

I walked by several feeling the grip that salty years had left behind. Jen eye-ed me as I fell further behind the group. Slipping behind the perfect egg, I took hold of the granite. With only a moment's hesitation I did three moves to the top. Pop, pop, pop. What fun! I increased the difficulty and tried it again.

It was then that I felt something like a rubber band being snapped on my forearm. There was that moment between the twing and the pain which elicited the "Oh, fuck!" response. The anticipation.

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My physical therapist cleared me today for light climbing. But I feel like I've lost my mojo. Am I doomed like Tom Cruise, in his early movies, to be haunted by my cocky mistake until the leggy love interest shows me the true nature of my character?

Did I just say that outloud?

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MONDAY, AUG 19, 2002 - 10 Second Catch-up

Last Friday marked one year since I started Choizilla. Do my boobs look any bigger? Why don't you email me your thoughts on the subject, and whatever else comes to mind.

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TUESDAY, AUG 13, 2002 - Boston in Summer

Some pictures from when I showed Dustin around town.

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MONDAY, AUG 12, 2002 - XXX: Stunt Porn

Vin Diesel picks up the action hero baton from geezers Stallone and Schwarzenegger. The stunts are laughably ridiculous, set to the audio backdrop of today's distortion-driven cock rock.

The checklist of requisite elements:

• The Tough Guy Name: Xander Cage aka"X"

• The One-liners - Plenty and God awful.

• The Chase - His motorcycle is persued by a helicopter as he performs jumps off of rooftops and through razor wire.

• The Close Call - Hopelessly outnumbered by snowmobiling villains, he detonates two bombs. He then outruns the avalanche, by snowboard, which swallows the bad guys, and, conveniently, the communications tower.

• The Foxy Chick - She's a Russian secret agent who's deep undercover. Ooo la la... how retro!

All good stuff. This is the perfect movie to see when the window air conditioning unit just won't do. May I also suggest the blue raspberry Icee and a box of Dots.

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SATURDAY, AUG 10, 2002 - Home Grown

As I nurture the basil plants growing on my window sill, I find my willingness to use them for marinades and pestos diminishing with each new bud. Lushly green with firm stems, it would be a shame to pluck such wonderful bounty.

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Pictures from the Delaware River canoe trip, July 27.

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WEDNESDAY, AUG 7, 2002 - Your [little] Weblog thing is starting to scare me

That's a quote from Jen referring to my meeting with a few bloggers at Boston Beer Works this evening. In attendance were:

• Dick (simmerstock.com)

• Jish (jish.nu)

• Christine (christine-murphy.net)

• Rick (smartgenes.com)

• Cameron (overstated.net)

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FRIDAY, AUG 2, 2002 - They Might Be Giants

Gigantic: Tale of Two Johns, a documentary about TMBG, is playing at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from Aug 2 through Sept 14. Tickets are 9 clams.

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