Pretty excited about Bob Dylan’s new autobiography that comes out in a few weeks. For those of you trying to come up with Christmas and birthday ideas (because it’s never too early to start) this item has a place on that list. Not like I need another book on my reading list, but whatever.

Trying to polish up some stories and get them out this week. Dusted off “Now and Forever,” a 1200-word ditty, and “A Change of Seasons,” a Clarion story previously named “Kalata, Boy Killer.” Nancy Kress taught week three and gave me very positive feedback on it. Contrary to the feelings of some of my Clarion classmates, I’m going to try sending it to Cicada, a magazine for older teens. Nancy strongly suggested I send it to Gordon van Gelder at “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction” but he read it over and it didn’t grip him, and he somewhat objected to the “twist” at the end. Kelly Link also liked the story but said she felt we got more intolerant of somewhat “trick endings” at a certain age - so why not pitch it to a demographic that may still appreciate it. Or maybe I should just change the ending. But there’s plenty of time to do that after it gets shot down. I plan on trying SciFi.com next. Six-to-eight week response time so it’ll already be mid-February before I would revise the ending. Not used to “shelfing” a story for that long.

I have no idea where to send “Now and Forever” and I’m also reworking “Of Silver Bullets and Golden Teeth.” I gotta admit, I think it’s a pretty compelling story after having not read it for awhile but it just needs more dressing up. I think I used to be so focused on word count I forgot that stories need a great amount of detail to really stand out. Very few stories I really like are in the 5,000 or less word range. Like Andy Duncan said, “It’s hard to kick a dog around in less than 3,000 words.”

Story ideas bubbling under, pressurizing. Some night they’re going to explode and I’ll stay up until 3:00 am cranking ‘em out. “The Wendigo Killers” has almost reached critical mass in my mind and now I’m not sure it’s going to be the 15,000-word tome I feared. I’ve settled into the job now and that makes coming home and forgetting about it somehow easier. Even though I wasn’t worried about it (it’s a pretty simple job) there still must have been something unsettled in my mind by the newness of it all, or something like that. Apparently that feeling has shriveled up in a dark corner of my mind and died, because I’ve been red-lining my stories at lunch and can’t wait to get home and write. This is a good thing.

The title of this blog is a line from Bob Dylan’s “Sugar Baby,” and allow me the opportunity to say how much it pisses me off when people say Bob Dylan has lost it and should stop recording. Dozens, yes dozens, of his albums flat out suck. 1990’s “Under the Red Sky” comes to mind as an album I’ve listened to perhaps twice and hope never to cross again. But I am here to tell you that “Time Out of Mind” is one of his best albums, and “Love and Theft” ain’t nothin’ to sniff at either. So those people dissin’ Bob should shut up and flap their gums about things they know something about.

Ugh. Who knew downloading free software and using it to blog would be such a pain? The WordPress software I’m using routinely manages to “lose” the admin password making it impossible to log in. I need to go into MySQL using phpManager and set up a new password. While not that difficult, it’s highly annoying.

Pictures of our trip to the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness Area are now up and viewable. Athena has officially sworn off civilization in favor of living in the wild. We heard coyotes howl one night in Minocqua and were afraid that Athena was going off to run with them and leave us forever. Instead, she just flopped down between us and fell back asleep.

Mixed reviews in Amazon for the re-release of London Calling in the “Legacy Edition.” I guess the DVD is just outtakes from “West Way to the World,” of which I have only seen part. But there are still the bootlegs to consider and the fact that I’ve only got a crappy burned copy of “London Calling” because I never bothered to replace it again after it was stolen for the third time.

Joe Strummer has been dead for 642 days. It depresses me to even write that as I’ve mostly been listening to the Clash and his solo stuff for the past six months. Just last night driving to puppy class I got the chills listening to “Clampdown,” thinking Joe Strummer will never sing another song. Sad, indeed.

“London Calling” was originally released on January 1, 1980, two weeks before my sixth birthday. I remember waiting in line outside the record shop at midnight waiting to buy a copy.

I guess I took a break from the blogging for a week plus change.

Life’s moving quickly these past few weeks. I started my job back on August 3oth and just completed my first week. Amy just started school last week Monday, and Athena began her intermediate doggy classes last week. Whew! There hasn’t been much time to settle into a routine.

We just got back last night from the Porcupines Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It’s about five, five-and-a-half hours north from Madison and about as secluded as you can get in the midwest. We backpacked back about two-and-a-half miles to a two-bunk (lots of hyphens in this post) cabin, fully stocked with candles, pots and utensils, a saw, and a wood-burning stove. Did I mention it was on a lake and also had a canoe? It was unbelievable. We want to go back for more than a night, but we could only get a single night as it was booked for the rest of the weekend. By the way, “we” included Athena! She loved it. Pictures to come.

Almost finished with Jeff Ford’s book “The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant and Other Stories” . I like most of them but a few stick out as favorites. “Creation” and “The Honeyed Knot” are my favs so far, but I have a feeling I’m going to like “Floating In Lindrethool” (available on SciFi.com) which I just started this morning.

I also checked out Stephen King’s “Wolves of the Calla” on CD from the public library. Twenty-two CDs long. Who has that kind of time? Still, it’s the fifth installment of King’s mostly excellent Gunslinger/Dark Tower series and I really enjoyed the last book, “Wizard and Glass,” much more than I did the third book, “The Waste Lands.”

Writing? I’m bursting at the seams with ideas but I haven’t had much time to get them all down. My goal is to get six old stories out by the end of the month.

My God. The United States National Team completely stole two points from Panama just moments ago with what looked like an offside goal in extra time. But my God did they look awful. Just awful. Dead on the ball. No spark. No leadership. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I feel sorry for Panama.

Let’s get this straight–I liked everything about the starting lineup except for the defense. I was happy to see Reyna in a holding midfield position, I liked the insertion of Mathis as the attacking midfielder, and I wanted to see Ching and Casey up top. I groaned at the defensive selection, though, and it turns out to be for good reason. Pope, Vanney, Bocanegra, and Hejduk. Of those four, I trust only the Blackmouth.

US Lineup Against Panama
Keller-Looked pissed at his defense for 3/4 of the game and for good reason. Made a good save on the first shot on the goal. Defense completely let him down.
Vanney-Ususally, I like Vanney. But not in 2004. He looked bad tonight. Bad distribution, bad marking. Just plain bad.
Hejduk-Frankie sucks. Memo to Bruce. Frankie always sucks. Tonight was no exception. Get him out of the lineup. Forever.
Bocanegra-Carlos is awesome. He was the only defender who didn’t look like a lethargic clown.
Pope-Shaky, slow, hesitant. This is Eddie Pope, right?
Beasley-Looked like the regular Beas in the first half and a shadow of that player in the second. Out of everyone, the weather effected his game the most.
Donovan-Disappeared for long periods in both halves. Like Beasley, he needs a flat, dry field in order to really play his game and he didn’t get that tonight, but his whiff did set up the dramatic finale’.
MathisHad a couple flashes of the ol’ Clint in the first half, which was a welcome sight. A good save denied him a goal on the breakaway. He started to fade in the second and that’s why Bruce took him out, but I’m not sure I agreed with that decision. I think the problem began behind him, starting with…
Reyna-Look, most fans will tell you different but Reyna is #$&*@! overrated, it makes me sick. The captain is supposed to inspire and lift the team. Reyna led by example tonight by playing lazy passes and laboring to get back on defense. He did nothing, nothing for the team after they went down.
Casey-Not a stellar performance from Casey but I still like him. Crap service. He also took a knock early on that may have hobbled him.
Ching-See Casey above. Crap service. Can’t blame him too much but had a chance he should have finished.
Jones (sub)-Didn’t do much except for save the team two points.
McBride (sub)-See Casey, Ching above. Crap service.
Lewis (sub)-Did Eddie Lewis really take the field?

I’ve said it before elsewhere, but the US will not be a convincing power until they take their %$^@#ing chances. Ching missed one, Mathis missed one and it almost spelled disaster. The US also has a strong inclination to play down against their opponents. I suppose I should be happy with five points from three games, two of which were on the road.

But I’m not.

It’s never a good thing when the referee creates more talk than the play on the field. The US looked good and got an important, confidence-building win but I will forever remember this game as being the one where the dude from El Salvador got a red card for wearing a necklace. Seriously, eight minutes of stoppage time? The keeper kicking The Beas in the face? Calling every foul the wrong way? Mr. Brizan, please go back to T&T and never come back. Ever.

From the 26th minute on, the game had an air of farce about it because of the ‘effing reffing. While the US dominated from the opening whistle, I was unimpressed that it was only 1-0 until the 70th minute. Things got positively squirrely the one time El Salvador got forward in the second half and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could have poked one in and then packed the defense to give the US a humiliating home draw against 10 men. Donovan’s goal released the pressure and the rest went according to script, but the US needs to start burying these teams with two, three, or four goals when they’re outplaying them so badly.

Still, 2-0 and looking forward to Wednesday’s game against Panama. 3 points there and it’s practically time to start looking at the final qualifying round. Here’s my impression of the US squad:

US Lineup Versus El Salvador
Tim Howard- What can you say? Hardly had a thing to do but was quick off his line and commanded the box.
Steve Cherundolo-I’ve always liked Cherundolo, and against El Salvador he pushed into attack pretty well. He’s not a big guy but he doesn’t shy away from the challenge and plays the ball well out of the back.
Carlos Bocanegra-Carlos is the man. He chased down attackers all day and swallowed them whole, not to mention how well he gets the ball forward once he’s won it. Hardly put a foot wrong.
Cory Gibbs-A good game for Gibbs, too, although the defense was rarely tested. He has a tendancy to disappear for long periods but there are worse qualities for a defender.
Bobby Convey- I am slowly becoming a Convey convert. Always thought he was the heir apparent to the crown of Most Overrated US Soccer Player (currently donned by Claudio Reyna,) I have been following him at Reading and his cross was absolutely world-class on the opening goal. He kept it up, charging up the sideline all game and made Beasley’s threat all the more imminent. He’s like a Frankie Hejduk, except he can tackle and cross.
Claudio Reyna-I can’t bash Claudio because he had a solid game, except for one glaring mistouch that would have send Donovan free down the right. Still, I never seem to saying, “My God was Reyna on tonight! Beating guys on the dribble, slicing open the defense with razor-sharp passes, nailing shots from distance…” Why is that?
Kerry Zavagnin- I can’t quite figure out Kerry’s role on this team. I think it’s defensive midfielder but he didn’t do a whole lot in this game. It would have been more interesting to see him against Jamaica. Never seems to do anything wrong, but he never seems to do anything important, either.
Landon Donovan- Beauty of a second goal and continues to raise the play of those around him. I often get the distinct feeling that only Beasley can keep up with him, and sometimes his urge to make things happen gets him in trouble. Still, a cracker on the second and ran circles around the defense. The US’ most versatile, dangerous player, bar none.
DaMarcus Beasley- I love the Beas. A few sub-par crosses after burning the pants off the entire right side of the field, but he’s been getting better each year. You can see the mounting frustration on the faces of defenders as they resort to fouling to stop him. Looked very, very good with Convey behind him.
Brian Ching- Chingy! Good lord, what a good goal that opener was. Two huge goals in two big games. Let’s hope he can keep it up. Not sure he’s the ninety-minute article yet but he’s a massive presence, links up well with Donovan, and always seemed to be in the mix.
Conor Casey- If I had one wish for this team, its that Conor Casey would get a damn goal already. What didn’t he do for the team on Saturday? Bad refereeing denied him a few chances. You gotta love how he bowls into the keeper though. Keep him in there, Bruce!
Brian McBride (sub)-I’ve always been a McBride fan and I think he’s got some good years of service left in him, but he may have peaked. He looked good for the fifteen minutes he was on the field and may be a bit more versatile than Ching or Casey. A great guy to have starting or off the bench.
Cobi Jones (sub)-I have to admit, Cobi looks pretty damn good any time he comes on the field. His crosses are spot-on and he’s not afraid to run at defenders. Throw him on in the last fifteen minutes of every game just to mix things up.
Clint Mathis (sub)-An interesting character as you never know what you’re going to get. Mathis has to work on his consistency to get a spot back on the team in my opinion. Saturday saw him get a few good cracks in but nothing so important to make me think he’d be anything more than a bit player in this ever-increasingly talented squad. The Mathis of 2001 would make Arena look long and hard at that midfield.