You name this one

I took a longish walk earlier this evening about 8; the worst of the heat had gone and a wind had kicked up. With all the humidity behind it I could kid myself that it was a sea breeze. I miss that, a sea breeze. Back when I was living in Cambridge/Somerville, MA, if the wind was right you could smell the ocean. When you've been born and raised on a coast you come to think of that as the most natural scent in the world. Anyway, tonight I had it back for a moment or two.

It felt good to walk. I've been trying to get out more often once the day settles down. I've never been a great fan of summer, but I love summer nights. They conjure up all the "s" adjectives for me: sultry, soft, simmering, slow. Everything seems to be in soft focus out there once the sun starts to disappear.

I wish someone would invent a machine that would transcribe thoughts. I'd have a warehouse filled with essays and stories that I've thought up as I walked; by the time I get home - they're gone. There must be some connection between the rhythmic motion of walking and the conjuring of words, because when I'm out there pulling the pavement under me, the words flow; I sit down in front of the computer, they flee like cats from water.

I was still restless when I got back home, so I took off for a drive around the city. A moonroof is god's gift to summer night driving - take that as a truth. I had the roof open and the radio playing and for a while I was seventeen again and off to pick up my girlfriends for a night of rowdy fun out on the Berlin Turnpike. I'm a hopeless gearhead; my best memories have to do with traveling in cars. Have you ever seen American Graffiti? That was pretty much a biography of my teen years. I had the coolest car of any girl out there: a '52 Pontiac with a straight eight. My girlfriends all loved my car because it was a guy magnet. Drive it into the MacDonald's parking lot on a Saturday night, pop the hood, and wham - surrounded by guys checking out the engine. My friends were interested in flirting with the guys; I was just interested in racing them. It all balanced out.

Nostalgia seems to be in the cards this evening. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's the night, maybe it's the scent in the air.

Bittersweet. That's what it smells like.

Just another brick in the wall

By way of my friend, malterre, I found this MIT research study on weblog use and users. The more volunteers, the more trustworthy the data, so give it a go.

Toronto Serenity pics

I'm not posting the general crowd shots, just the folks that y'all know. And one pretty man that you don't.

( I'll never get over those blue eyes )

When Sean first stood up with the spotlight on him, one of his comments was to squee over the Fully Erect Cast Members; he thought they were the coolest things ever. Yay, browncoat! You'd have been all blushy faced :)