Reading: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by DAvid Eggers
Music: Pete Seeger
TV/Movie: X-3
Link o' the Day: Mission Hill "Lost Episodes"

I mentioned the other day that I've got a lot of work going on. That's still true, but I think I'm getting a handle on it, and if I can make it though to Monday, I should be back where I should be.

Of course one hassle is that I'm also intensely busy at the ol' day job. We do a lot of monthly publications, so I end up getting very busy during the weeks before and after the top of the month. And as is the norm for the printing business, every customer feel's their job is the most important, yet none feel or see the need to submit their jobs in a timely manner. Everyone is late, so everyone is in a rush.

Nature of the beast.

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Fishing season is nearly upon us here in the Ocean State. I can't wait. I was thinking I'd try out this weekend, but it looks like the weather might still be too crapola (loose talk of snow and lotsa rain) in which case I may move it up another week.

And I'm facing, again, the yearly question--why fishing?

Dunno. I tend to fish out on the end of the Providence Pier, which juts out into the head of Narragansett Bay. It's a great view, and it's not crowded. I can enjoy an hour or two of near-solitude on the edge of the water, watching the sun rise, watching the tide flow in or out. Observing the minnows and crabs around the pier foundations. Sometimes I bring a small transistor radio and listen quietly to NPR. Sometimes I bring a folding chair and book, hitch my poles onto the edge for some simple bait casting, and read.

It's a quiet time, and a small brush with Nature (big N) in front of me while the City (big C) wakes up behind me. And of course there's always the thrill of hooking something, fighting and reeling it in.

I'm sure there's more to it than that. Mayhaps I'll meditate more on it as the weeks and months progress. Or maybe not. This might be one of those cases where it's best to keep it simple.

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Today's link leads to a site storing scripts for the five "Lost Episodes" to the defunct animated show Mission Hill. What was Mission Hill? It was a half-hour animated feature created by Josh Weinstin and Bill Oakley (formerly of the Simpsons) from 2000 that featured a cast of Generation X slackers and other oddballs of the Mission Hill district of their city. The look of the series was somewhat inspired by some of the independent comics of the late 80s/early 90s (especially Peter Bagge's HATE) and made use of an unusual color palette that gave the show a very unique look.

Unfortunately, the show barely lasted a couple of months on the WB before being cancelled. It survives, however, on DVD and I _highly_ recommend it. For those who are already fans, the "Lost Episodes" (unproduced scripts) are a bittersweet treat. They're neat to see, fun to read, but we wish they could have been produced--those, and many more. (WARNING: This is a tripod.com site, so who knows how long it's going to remain. Download the MSWord or PDF versions whilst you can.)

Enjoy.

Cheers!

--John