Sunday

Not a whole lot to report. Daughter was sick on Thursday, so I stayed home Friday and took her to the doctor. Ear infection. I bought koi food and we fed them in a little pond at a shopping center near us. It was a nice day. Had both kids at night and we watched Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which I'd actually never seen. It's very good, probably the best Batman film ever, though a bit grainy in spots. I bought this dvd as a $6.99 closeout on Amazon and I'm guessing it's because now that the Batman: The Animated Series is all collected, they'll now go and remaster and rerelease the movies. If so, I hope they add some commentaries. We also watched some of the just-released Superman Adventures Vol. 2. I don't mind that they're releasing these as two-disc affairs--one one-sided, one two-sided, but the flipper is kind of flimsy. I got a crack in the center ring of the first volume, but it's still playable for now.

Finished SINATRA: THE LIFE by Anthony Summers a few days ago. It's very good, and though I haven't read any others, the amount of research and generally even-handed tone (acknowledging his talent and accomplishments, not shying away from his Mafia ties, alcoholism, philandering or violence) makes this seem like the definitive book on the man. I have just dipped into some of MCSWEENEY'S #17, which looks like a pile of mail, including fake catalogs and circulars and esoteric magazines and letters. It's a great idea and the funny stuff is hysterical. I haven't read the fiction journal UNFAMILIAR yet, nor the story that comes in an envelope like a letter, nor YETI RESEARCHER, which for all I know is the real deal. I guess #18 is already out, too, and I just ordered it. I subscribed to the new dvd quarterly magazine WHOLPHIN as well.

Finished David B's EPILEPTIC, which I had on my shelf for quite a while and finally started last week. I'll review it and don't want to spend much time talking about it here, but it's very good.

No real plans today but some exercise, watching some football and writing more Irregular Joe. I'm getting very near the end of the last issue, though as I've probably said, I can see a decent amount of rewriting required, as subplots and character arcs have changed and developed beyond what I'd originally outlined.