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Here are some things I watched this weekend, or ignored, or fast-forwarded through:
( Old stuff. )
And now it's over. TV's in the closet. We'll call this a trial separation before I cancel cable, pack up the VCR and DVD, and give it all away.

Also, went through four shelves of books I once thought I would want to read, and picked out the one in four that I might make an effort to read before leaving (or, in a few cases, might take with me). And learned how to make more weird noises with the electric guitar.

Would anyone with the required hardware be willing to transfer my VHS of "Codex" to something digital? I think that's all I want to keep.

Christopher at Nomad Cafe took lots of pictures of Saturday's show. ( Here are two. )

Open mike tonight: A stripped-down electric guitar cover of Nadine's "The Lines Are Down," which was pretty spare before I got to it; a brand new song (I was still writing lyrics out on the sidewalk during the set before mine) with a two-second loop and a lot of EBow; and "Helium", for comfort. It went shockingly well, considering.

On the drive home I wished on a shooting star. Last time I trust one of them.

Two of my favorite children's books:
Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Two of my favorite science fiction books:
Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar

Two literary fiction books I liked:
Donna Tartt, The Little Friend. Just finished this one, about a girl in Mississippi who decides to avenge the dead brother she never knew. I don't finish many 555-page books; it was worth it.
Geoff Ryman, 253. Experimental fiction: 253-word depictions of 252 tube passengers (and the driver) during seven and a half minutes in London. The web version is here.

This free TiVo would be pretty tempting if I weren't in the middle of trying to escape from television.

If you're like me but in London, you should probably check out the Barbican's exhibit Colour After Klein. If you're not in London, you'll have to content yourself with Rodcorp's notes.

Back here in California, what I do for excitement: test out Pavel's t-shirt folding technique. It's pretty good, but I'd rather be in London. Or Helsinki.

Today: In the car, listening to foreign music by an unidentified choir, thinking of voices that twist around each other. To "Over Oceans", two voices alone and some snapping. To "Damn Everything but the Circus", ambivalent. To clown masses or E.E. Cummings. To chance. Don't forget this.

Update: Stupid caffeine.

Gay marriage now legal in Canada (all of Canada). Awesome.

Sent books, and bought a smaller microwave. I know people who hate Best Buy, some of them related to me by blood, but twice now I've enjoyed being advised by a salesperson to buy the cheaper of the models I'm thinking of. "Tell me why this one's more expensive," I asked. "The color," he said, "I'd get the white one." Last time it was DVD/VCRs, and the answer was "The nameplate. I'd buy the Sanyo."

Leaving the post office, I took a turn off my virtual map of the area, navigated my way home, and after seven years living in Silicon Valley, learned how two places I sometimes go connect to each other. (De Anza College and my doctor's office.) Three things I passed were:

• A previously unknown Trader Joe's location.
• A woman in a bikini waving a sign up and down that said "COMPUTER REPAIR."
• A cornfield, or at least a planted field with signs out front that said "FRESH PICKED CORN."

Surely this information will be useful.

I bought a microwave. Thanks for the advice. A "mid-size", it sort of fits on my kitchen counter, although the door swings out over the stove and into any innocently bystanding saucepans, or, if I put it on the other counter, the power cord stretches across the sink. This requires further thought.

Also, how do I know if my dishes are microwave-safe? Aside from the experimental method.