Here's my first article for the new paper, running this morning. You're not gonna believe this, but the two cities I'll be covering are among the wealthiest in the nation.

Editor's note: Once he gets into the swing of things, Dickie should have stories up on the Web site daily, easily found under "local news." If there's ever an A1 or a particularly interesting story then he'll simply make mention. That's how we'll play this from here on out.

Next week I really start into things - and the next month should be filled with the daily challenges that come with a new job in general, plus a lot of hard work as I get my new beats off the ground. Even once I get into a groove, this job is gonna keep me ridiculously busy.

And that's a good thing.

Friday night I met some new co-workers at this dive bar, about a mile down the road from the paper's main office and not far from the new pad. I thought I was a few minutes late - turned out I was really early. To give you an idea: There are dive bars, and there are dive bars in Palm Springs. I walk in, and the only other person sitting at the actual bar, dressed in plainclothes, is an Elvis impersonator. No I'm not joking. The guy had the hair, the chops, the glasses.

I order a Maker's, tempted to tell the bartender "Thank you. ...Thank you very much." And for about 20 minutes it's just Elvis and me watching Kobe- er, "the Lakers" take Golden State to overtime. These are the moments where you stare deep into the mirrored wall facing opposite and ask: "Where the fuck am I?"

But once the co-workers showed up I mellowed out. They're a good, bright bunch - that much was clear as I sat silently with a blank expression, listening to joke references that made no sense. Baby steps....

*************************************************************************************

I touched on the Jill Carroll situation in my last post. Now word comes in that Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were "seriously injured" in a roadside bomb attack near Taji.

I hate having to read this shit, with reporter safety gradually pushing itself into the very news they're trying to cover.But I'm glad I had this interesting perspective on the dangers of covering Iraq by LA Times reporter Alissa Rubin, passed on by Karen Warrior-Chieftain, before this morning's news on Woodruff.

I swear, what a clusterfuck. Even if they just had elections, which is encouraging, things are clearly still getting a lot worse over there before they're getting better. And it's so easy for the war's supporters to preach patience from the comforts of suburbia, as new suicide bombs claim dozens of innocents every day and we check the daily casualty counts like the local weather. If this is Bush's idea of "freedom on the march" and I'm an Iraqi citizen, I say take your political catch-phrases and shove 'em. Anyhow...that's my Sunday morning soap box.