Wow!

This'll be different.

Happy Birthday HPL

"P.S. Shoot Dr. Allen on sight and dissolve his body in acid. Don't burn it."Such an oh-by-the-way appeared in "The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H.P. Lovecraft. (The author, not the band.) Howard Phillips would be celebrating his 109th birthday today, the candles on his cake, no doubt, human fingers cut from the hand of a poet gone mad dreaming of great Cthulhu. For those unacquainted with his horror stories, "The Call of Cthulhu" might be a good starting - or ending - point. Lovecraft's bleak, hopeless cosmos fascinated me once. He certainly was an original. No lovestruck teenage vampires for this guy.
h/t: Moe Lane

A Rose of a Different Color

Boldly, Keeper brings to the stage the rare and difficult ragtime Fudd.

Run Down

One year ago I commenced training for the 2008 California International Marathon, a race run on a net downhill course (which usually translates into fast times) CIM was intended to be my ticket to Boston. Training lasted three weeks. Then my knee introduced other plans. Looking back in my training log, I see that Sunday, August 17 was hot and humid. I ran a very hilly 16.8 mile course with a 7x1 run/walk ratio and no run/walk for the last two miles. I finished up in 2:42:45 which is around 9:41 a mile - a bit fast for a long training run. My last two miles were 8:25 and 8:45. At physical therapy yesterday, my therapist offered to write up an evaluation of my progress before I go see the doctor again in mid-September. If all goes well, I might begin modest running in October. CIM is still on the list, but maybe for 2010 - bearing in mind that anything could happen during that time, even good things.

Thanks from Keeper

As expressed in a video where he poster models. Keeper (and takineko) received autographed Freakazoid posters from Paul Rugg, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver and myself (obtained whilst we were vulture recording). A token of appreciation for "keeping" alive the memory of animation past.

Hospice for Two

Two friends await the Reaper: Eileen in a nursing facility and Dale at home. Eileen turned 80 this year and has gone downhill fast, deep in dementia, rapidly nearing the end with orders not to revive. She was my landlady when I lived in a Glendale apartment many years ago, a real fireball with a great sense of humor. But at this point, I believe death will be a blessing.

Dale, who I've mentioned before, is a family man in his late 40s. Since January 2007, he's battled cancer and its complications. Doctors have finally announced his system can't handle any more "cure." Treatment has ceased and Dale's been sent home to wait for the end. I saw him yesterday and he's taking this a lot better than I would. There's anger at the unfairness, but he seems to be accepting the impending arrival of the big sleep. I remember times when Dale would bitch and complain about his job and the customers and the economy. (He was a salesman.) Now he's revealing a courage and grace I admire and hope to one day emulate - though not too soon.

May God welcome them both.

Congrats to 50K Finishers

A fine cool day with a heavy marine layer that muffles the street noise so that I can barely hear horns honking and the deafening thump of over-bassed auto music.

Congratulations to the indomitable Coach Kiley for completing a 50K run last week. That's around 31 miles, undulating across San Gabriel Mountain trails. Also congrats to Jimmy and Kate Freeman for finishing the same race only faster. More importantly, they've completed a year of marriage which is the longest ultramarathon anyone will ever attempt.