May 24, 2009. 2315 hrs. --- Today was a frenetic day at the corner cafe; if you were there this afternoon you already know that. I enjoyed the frantic pace.

Less than an hour after getting out, I played at The Mad Dog for two hours. If anyone present there is reading this now, thanks for hanging out and making it such a great time. Look for me on the streets and at the Gardiner Farmers' Market next week!

After The Mad Dog I finally managed to reach Nicole via telephone. It's always great to hear that voice. We talked for almost an hour; at one point she cheered me on for my recent vegetarianism, cardio, and lifting routines. After we said goodbye I sallied forth to hit up the grocery store for heaps of vegetables and smoked salmon, and as soon as I'm done writing this I will eat with barbaric gusto, knowing that my friend the beguiling nurse approves. I'm beginning to feel some power in my body, and I'm enjoying it very much. Can't wait to lift again.

Spinning Dinosaur Jr.'s "Without a Sound" at the moment. I've got to add some of these songs to my songbook.

Been studying Jason Martineau's The Elements of Music and taking intense notes. It's a beautifully succinct, intense little book with surprising reach; it even serves as a springboard into linguistics as they relate to songwriting and composition.

Currently reading Chambers's weird classic The King in Yellow. It is free on Project Gutenberg, so you can easily check it out if your eyeballs can handle reading on a computer screen. The stories are of mixed quality, but I found the better ones quite satisfying. You will especially enjoy them, I think, if you have read and enjoyed the 1920's American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Chambers was one of Lovecraft's inspirations and several themes common to Lovecraft are present in The King in Yellow: forbidden books that wear away the sanity of their readership, for example.

There is more to say, but I am too hungry to say it. Thanks for reading this. See you on the streets, in my e-mail, on the commons, or in my mailbox.