So, it has been months and months since I have uttered a word here. But I swear I have a very good reason. I have had a very bad year. Well, not the worst year ever, but losing your father pretty much overshadows everything. Luckily, our little peanut was born a month ago. My brother and belle soeur had a little baby boy, named for my Dad. He's a funny little boy, for a month-old infant. I have already planted the seeds of queer, diverse discord with some book purchases--Harold and the Purple Crayon; The My Father's Dragon trio of books; Corduroy; and the first three Oz books by L. Frank Baum.
And what else has been happening. Well, we now have either a bonefide idiot or a genius in the White House. I still cannot believe that even the majority of Republicans think W is their very best choice for President. But, America has the president it deserves. When the country starts to split up, and it should, I hope New York City becomes its own little city-state and we just try to make official our de facto policy of ignoring every 100 miles west of the Hudson.
Okay, so what have you missed, since you last read my online diary. My father died in the summer, shortly after my return from England, where I visited Bookey cousins great and small. I worked like a dog and went to Las Vegas in September, for work. Las Vegas is the sort of place where someone like me only goes when forced to--for work. It was the oddest place on Earth I have been to for a long time. Luckily, co-worker C made many fine reservations for us for dinners around town. Restaurants that didn't involve the Titanic sinking, a pirate ship battle, an exploding volcano, or a giant bust of Siegfried & Roy.
I am not sure if I mentioned it, but since November 1999, I have had a Very Demanding New Job (VDNJ), one that requires me to cook on all four burners simultaneously. Print, email, web, and diapering. Such is the life of a middle-management editor. This is what has really put a crimp in my online diary. Nothing abets an online daily diary like a boring job, which I left in 1999. Compounding the VDNJ was my father being sick, and then dying. What did I do today. Well, I slogged through the early stages of production at work, and had a lunchtime appointment with a tombstone provider. How adult. How busy. Blah. These are the joys of adulthood no one ever tells you about.
Meanwhile, I am still writing for LGNY. Unfortunately, some problems bollixed the Website for a while. All my linked articles are stranded in cyberNeverNeverLand.com. LGNY also had some public problems with A Different Light, which is now closed for good in New York City. More on that later.
I have also been reviewing movies for LGNY since October. My movie reviews in actual newsprint. Finally, one of my life's goals, solved.
Well, dear readers, there is so much more I could go on about. But I will close right now. I have also had some severely go-nowhere dating this year, and the usual ups and down of life in New York City. Oh, and I got SoapNet, a 24-hour soap-opera channel. Life is permanently altered! I am seeing the best (Ryan's Hope) and worst (The Colby's) of all soaps.
Even though it's out of chronological order, I will send you back to December, to accounts of my trip to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. From there, go to to second trip to Mexico City.