I Haven't Had Much to Say (Which Is Why I Haven't Been Saying Anything)

I am still jobless. That's some of the less exciting news I have.

More exciting things:

— Next week, we are going to see Jolie Holland!(for which concert there will undoubtedly be a review posted here. Several days late, of course.)

— Tonight I finished the longest piece of writing I've ever completed. A short story which clocks in at 21 pages (6134 words), called "The Weather God." I'm at least reasonably pleased with how it turned out. Obviously it needs some (read: a lot of) work, but the ideas are there. Most of them, anyway. A first reading by someone who isn't me will let me know if I was clear enough, though still subtle enough, with the hinted things. Or, perhaps, too out in the open. The reading will help. And this story is something I intend to include in a collection I'm developing in MY BRAINS called Hello, City. I have two other stories finished in rough drafts, both of which are only about a quarter of the length of this one, called "The Guitar Man" and "The Man Wearing the Black Suit and Carrying the Gray One." I like both of them, too, which is a nice surprise. Also, I have plans to insert, between each of the stories, little things I'm calling "vignettes of place," which are very short——no longer than a page——and have no characters, no plot; none of that stuff. Just descriptions of places. I have a few of these started: "The Payphone," "The Pigeon" and "The Bathroom He Used" (this last one may not be included. It was just something I whipped up, though it probably doesn't belong with the rest of the collection.). And several other ideas, including the backyard at this place and a parking lot.

Hi, my name's Mr. Pretension. How are you?