I’m still struggling with adapting to my time zone. This morning I woke at 1 AM. I dozed on and off thereafter, but mostly was awake. Dang.

In addition I am fasting for a blood draw this morning, so no coffee. I am planning on returning after the blood draw and then cleaning the kitchen and making myself coffee. It’s probably not necessary to avoid coffee. I have asked people at the lab this question. Unfortunately I think I received conflicting instructions. I find it easier to just skip coffee until the blood has been drawn.

I did some exploring of podcasts as i lay wakeful this morning. I found a couple that interested me.

I think “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing” is kind of a dumb name for a podcast. However, after she quoted from Charles Garner and the OED, I decided to subscribe. I also liked that she reads essays on her topics by others. For example in today’s podcast she read a  fascinating bit on all of the words that have come down to us from bookmaking. That’s bookmaking, as in actually making books, not making bets. Click on the pic to go the Grammar Girl website.

I think Garrison Keillor keeps plugging this one.  The current episode is about “The Road Not Taken” and intelligently rehearses why much of the meaning of this poem is missed by readers. Again click on the pic to go to the website.

I finished Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace last night. While I enjoyed it, I have to admit buy generic valium online it’s not as splendid as some of his other works. To me, it’s locked in a time frame that is reminiscent of Firesign  Theater,  The movie Brazil (which I’m pretty certain had a strong influence on it), and National Lampoon mag. Lots of fun puns and references, but very dated in my opinion.

I have stacked all my David Foster Wallace books next to my chair. i continue to read in D. T. Max’s bio of him, Every Love Story is a Ghost Story.

I’m learning stuff from it, but I’m finding the bio a light read for telling the story of such a complex person. I may change my mind before I’m done with it. Max edited the posthumous publishing of The Pale King. He says it’s unfinished. Intriguingly Alan Moore thinks he might be wrong.

Speaking of podcasts, there were are great A.J. Leibling quotes in today’s Writer’s Almanac.

“Cynicism is often the shamefaced product of inexperience.”

I like this. I think it means the more you know (the more “experience” you have), the less often you retreat into bitterness. Nice thought.

“The world isn’t going backward, if you can just stay young enough to remember what it was really like when you were really young.”

I generally don’t subscribe to my culture’s obsession with youth (being an old fart myself). But what I take away from this  quote is that remaining a child in world will propel you forward through your life. This has certainly worked for me.