4/29/03 TUES:
---Received from THE PROGRESSIVE:
"This week at www.progressive.org you'll find the alarming, the outrageous,
and the inspiring.
Editor, Matt Rothschild reviews the alarming steps being taken by Ashcroft,
and the rest of the Republicans as they continue to trample on our civil
liberties at home while Bush plays schoolyard bully around the globe.
You'll find "The Ashcroft Raids," "The Anti-Sex Party" and "Don Corleone
Bush."
You'll be outraged by the latest installment of "McCarthyism Watch." CBS
is airing a miniseries in May called "Hitler: The Rise of Evil," but the
man who was producing it is out of a job for speaking his mind.
But, I think you'll take inspiration from Elizabeth DiNovella's interview
with comedian, actress, and activist Janeane Garofalo."

---Added to bookmarks:
- Gutenberg Project (for downloads of public domain literature; I have printed out pages 1-20 of PHARSALIA by Lucanus of some 246 total that I now have in a word-processing document; the ways I can think of to go off on tangents!)

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/28/03 Mon):
---Not many extra comments lately to put up here. A few orders that have gone too long unprocessed have been occupying my worktime lately. I am still jotting in my fountainpen notebook at odd moments but I still haven’t taken the time to transcribe anything, if there is even much worth transcribing. I will continue to put up dates to maybe go back and fill in later.

---Email from a formerly not-online customer in Germany:
Hi Chris,
It's been a long time since I heard from you. The last catalogue I recieved was # 144 which arrived at 12 / 27 / 2002.
Did # 145 got lost in the mail ? I hope you're still in business....
Best Wishes
P.S. I am online now. (finally)
---My response:
Great to hear from you online. I have been delayed getting Catalog 145 out. I decided to try to get caught up with a few things I have allowed to slide too long before putting out a new catalog. Meanwhile business generated by my email updates and newish weblog keeps me busy and the cashtrickle continuing. Can I add you to my email update list?
---I wish I could get in touch with everyone by email or on the web. That seems to be the way things are going.

---CDs played today (combined with Friday’s when I did some work but generated now cellar notation):
- Alpha Blondy THE BEST OF ALPHA BLONDY (Xgau: A)
- The Libertines UP THE BRACKET (Xgau: A)
- Blue Oyster Cult AGENTS OF FORTUNE (LP, side one) (Xgau: B plus)
- World Saxophone Quartet REVUE
- Bhundu Boys THE SHED SESSIONS (2-CD) (Xgau: A minus)

4/28/03 SUN:
---Text later?

4/27/03 SAT:
---Text later?

4/26/03 FRI:
---Text later?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/24/03 Thu):

---The in-trickle continues with a couple that look to be good sellers:
Turner, Gary & Marty Halpern (eds) THE SILVER GRYPHON, Golden Gryphon '03, 1st edn, (new stories by Golden Gryphon authors; Book #25), new in dj 27.95

Wandrei, Howard THE EERIE MR. MURPHY: The Collected Fantasy Tales of…[Vol. 2], Fedogan & Bremer '03, 1st edn, (D.H. Olson [ed & intro]), new in dj 35.00
---I can’t find a F&B website per sé, but a Canadian bookseller has done a good job of having one of his pages standing in as one.

---I received an inquiry about what art books I have from Underwood. My list:
Fenner, Cathy & Arnie Fenner (eds) SPECTRUM IV: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Underwood '97, 1st (pb variant), (all color), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 5, Underwood '98, 1st, (best art of year), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 6, Underwood '99, 1st, (best art of year), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 7, Underwood '00, 1st, {hc in dj available @ $35}, new 27.50
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 9, Underwood '02, 1st, {hc in dj available @ $35}, new 27.00
Finlay, Virgil PHANTASMS, Underwood-Miller '93, 1st edn, (weird art), as new 6.00
---WOMEN OF THE AGES, Underwood-Miller '92, (beautiful art book), as new 8.00
Maitz, Don DREAMQUESTS: The Art of…, Underwood-Miller ('93), (1st), as new 7.00

---HC:
Ellison, Harlan “REPENT, HARLEQUIN!” SAID THE TICKTOCKMAN, Underwood '97, 1st trade edn, (illustrated by Rick Berry; deluxe coffee-table edition), new in dj 17.00
Fenners, Cathy & Arnie (eds) SPECTRUM 8, Underwood '01, 1st, (art), new / dj 35.00
Frazetta, Frank LEGACY: Selected Paintings & Drawings, Underwood, 8/99, 1st deluxe limited hc edn, one of 2500 numbered copies, (companion to Icon), {trade edn available @ $35}, BOXED, new in dj 125.00
Jones, Jeffrey AGE OF INNOCENCE: The Romantic Art of…, Underwood '94, (1st), (introduction by Roger Dean), new in dj 29.95
(Discount for MDP members on Underwood--and Fedogan & Bremer and Golden Grphon too, for that matter--is 30%, except "as new" which is 10%)

---The robins won’t have any trouble finding worms today. The bike trail was covered with them, emerging from saturated soil, on my 8-mile run today. I am off schedule from what I had laid out for myself for a training plan, but at least the cold driving rain was conducive after a week’s layoff. The one time I aced the competition in high school JV cross-country (this was 1965) was on a similar day. Being long is only desirable when the winds and rains are trying to drive one backwards. I guess I slice through it a little better than someone a little shorter and a usually a lot fleeter. Not that it is so much fun out there in the dismal dank, but after awhile you get used to it. Certainly a lot more solitude, except for the guy I thought was fishing at Big Creek Lake who hastily whipped it back in and was zipping up as I went by. It wasn’t a fishing rod!

CDs played today:
- Rolling Stones FORTY LICKS (2-CD)
- THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CUBAN SON (Xgau: A minus)

4/23/03 WED:
--It looks like today is the day I will have to mow the lawn for the first time this season. The weather has been about as nice as can be: sunshine, little wind, temps in the 60s. Supposed to be thunderstorms tomorrow, however.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/22/03 Tues):

---I think it might be better if I placed the CDs Played at the end of the notes.

---An email from Scotland:
hi Chris
The last book catalogue i received was #144 just before christmas. Could you
let me know if i should have received any catalogues since then.

---My reply:
You should have received another catalog by now, but I haven't issued one. I am mired in orders, emails, books to catalog, housecleaning, and whatnot. It seems business keeps chugging along more than I can keep up with even without issuing a catalog. I am trying to get a few things taken care of before I send out another catalog, which invariably puts me up against it worse than ever. But I do hope to get one sent before not too long, and then maybe by then I will be organized enough to get back into a regular routine again.

---New arrivals continue trickling in:
Kiernan, Caitlan R. TRILOBITE: The Writing of Threshold, Subterranean '03, one of 552 SIGNED copies, 94-page chapbook, new with added CD inspired by works of Kiernan 14.00
---and:
POLYPHONY Vol. 2, ('03), (OA; stories that skate gracefully across the boundaries of SF, fantasy, magic realism, & literary fiction; featuring a mix of new and established writers), new 16.95

---A book from SFBC special-ordered for a customer he received as a gift before I got around to getting it:
Clarke, Arthur C. THE COLLECTED STORIES OF…, SFBC, nd, (966 pages), new in dj 14.99
---I wonder if a link to this from the SFBC site would work.

---Amy found a picture of our house on the web.

---Added to bookmarks: ElectricStory.com (Lucius Shepard movie reviews, Waldrop column, etc.)

CDs played today:
- DJANGO REINHARDT - not the Koch Präsent cheapie I was after but a Belgian import; still shows some pretty slick guitar licks
- Roger Lasley WALKING BACKWARDS - another great guitarist (and this is one CD that I also have for sale)
- Shania Twain SHANIA TWAIN

4/22/03 TUES:
---Received word of a new Robert Christgau CONSUMER GUIDE (Not Hop, Stomp: An Easter-season turkey shoot). Tremendously entertaining and perceptive. I missed his usual Thanksgiving column of pans, so this is welcome--and easier on the pocketbook.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/21/03 Mon):

CDs played today:
- Philip Glass SONGS FROM LIQUID DAYS
- Lois V. Vierk RIVER BENEATH THE RIVER (Tzadik)

---A couple books that have been here a while that I have neglected to catalog:
Cady, Jack GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY: Stories, Night Shade ('03), 1st edn, one of 100 SIGNED with added chapbook, (new and uncollected fiction; a nonfiction piece), new in dj $45
---the regular hc @ $27 and the trade pb at $15 are still available.

Harrison, M. John THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN, Night Shade ('03), 1st edn, one of 150 SIGNED with added chapbook, (visionary stories; intro by China Miéville), new in dj $45
---the regular hc @ $27 and the trade pb at $15 are still available.

---Here is the list of forthcoming PS books I forgot to send up:
JUPITER MAGNIFIED Adam Roberts (novella; hc/pb)
IN SPRINGDALE TOWN Robert Freeman Wexler (novella; hc/pb)
DEAR ABBEY Terry Bisson (novella; hc/pb)
INFINITY PLUS TWO Brooke & Gevers (anthology; hc only)
BY MOONLIGHT ONLY Steve Jones (anthology; slipcase/hc)
FLOATER Lucius Shepard (short novel; hc/pb)
CHANGING OF FACES Tim Lebbon (novella; hc/pb)
JIGSAW MEN Gary Greenwood (novella; hc/pb)
BIBLIOMANCY Elizabeth Hand (four novella collection; slipcase/hc)
TOLD BY THE DEAD Ramsey Campbell (collection; slipcase/hc)
FUZZY DICE Paul Di Filippo (novel; slipcase/hc)
GIG James Lovegrove (two interlinked short novels; slipcase/hc)
---For now, the discount to members on these is 15% but the cost of postage is a lot more than other UK publishers ($2.50 per book!), so next update of discounts will list PS at 10%, but an extra 5% will be tacked onto pre-orders.

4/20/03 SUN:
---Easter

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/20/03 Sun):

CDs played today:
- Richard Pryor ...AND IT’S DEEP, TOO!: Disc 8 & 9 (Xgua: A Plus)

---Back in stock from American Fantasy (Garcia Publishing Services) but in a second printing, with variant-color covers from the first edition:
Wolfe, Gene & Neil Gaiman A A WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES: Little Walks For Sightseers #16, American Fantasy, 2nd, (demented travel tome; 58 pp), new 15.00
---These copies are signed “Best from the Shambles” by artist Randy Broecker.

4/19/03 SAT:
---A story in the local Champaign IL newspaper about son Neil’s spring break activities.

---Bookmarks added:
- Jim Hightower or Jim Highttower Weblog
- Common Dreams

---Received from THE PROGRESSIVE:
“The Iraq war is over, but the occupation of Iraq has just begun and now the
Bush administration has set its sights on Syria, calling it a member of the
"Axis of Evil J.V. team" along with Cuba and Libya.
Editor, Matthew Rothschild, has posted the following commentaries regarding
the occupation of Iraq:
- "And Now the Occupation"
- "Is Mosul the Future?"
- "On to Syria?"

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/18/03 Fri):

CDs played today:
- Grétry SUITES & OVERTURES
- THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE MUSIC OF NIGERIA AND GHANA (Xgau: A)
- Bud Powell JAZZ GIANT
- Momus 20 VODKA JELLIES (a gift)

---The pile on my desk is almost enough to obscure the computer screen. I need to get it taken down now.

---Amy taking a vacation day today, so unless she can get out to do her gardening I will have to play nice CDs and quietly.

---A couple new ones from PS Publishing (each is published in a signed 800-copy editon, including these of 500 softcovers):
Barclay, James LIGHT STEALER, PS, 12/02, (Stan Nicholls intro; 89 pp), new 16.00

Burns, Cliff RIGHTEOUS BLOOD, PS, 12/02, (two novellas; Lebbon intro), new 16.00

---After a less-than-anticipated wait, Volume 5 of the selected Wellman stories is here:
Wellman, Manly Wade OWL’S HOOT IN THE DAYTIME and Other Omens: The Selected Stories of…, Vol. 5, Night Shade '03, (Wagner intro; Page afterword), new no dj as issued $35
---A while ago I got a call from Night Shade about the availability of slipcases for the set. Cost was predicted as coming in at something like $68 plus shipping, or maybe $75 for just the slipcase. These were to only be available to original subscribers to the set (few in number) and book dealers. Anyone wanting to fork over $75 for one of these, let me know and I will see if I can still latch onto any.

4/17/03 THU:
---Amy left the eMac on System X when she used it last, and I had some CDs to re-shelve, so I ripped a few of the tunes that had been noted and came up with enough for my what I call CD COMP 4. This is just a thing for myself to put in the rotation for songs to be in a different gestalt (occurring with new neighbors) that maybe stand out from other songs on their original discs. All very random and unprogrammed. I listened to the result through the DVD player and I like it. Anyone wanting a copy with their next book shipment, I would be more than happy to toss one in.

4/16/03 WED:
---Amy was starting to complain about the material from the back room accumulating on the front porch. I have been trying to clean out the back room enough to make space for everything, but I took a few days off before the process had proceeded far enough. I ended up today spending a too much of the day assembling the other shelf unit I had obtained and filling it with things stashed on the front porch. Now most of the worst stuff is off the front porch. The back room is still in bad shape but nothing like before. It should make book packaging less of a hassle when I go looking for a suitable box in the back room.

4/15/03 TUES:
---Text to follow?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/14/03 Mon):

CDs played today:
- RAWKUS PRESENTS SOUNDBOMBING (Xgau: A minus)
- Randy Travis ANTHOLOGY: TRAIL OF MEMORIES (2-disc) (Xgau: A)

---Email from Gauntlet Press:
“SOLICITATION FOR GATEWAYS, NEW REPAIRMAN JACK NOVEL
BY F. PAUL WILSON

GATEWAYS, the newest Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson is now at the printers for what we anticipate to be a late June/early July publication. Nothing much more has to be said about the book other than we can only print 475 numbered and 26 lettered copies and our last Repairman Jack book (THE HAUNTED AIR) sold out on publication with distributors wanting over 200 more copies than we could provide. Our intention is to serve our customers and dealers first (as we did with THE HAUNTED AIR) and distributors last.

GATEWAYS comes in two states:

575 copy SIGNED numbered limited edition.

26 copy SIGNED traycased leatherbound edition with each book containing an original page from the author's 26 page outline, complete with his handwritten notes. THESE ARE NOT PHOTOCOPIES, but his original outline.

Please Note: We have recently released Richard Matheson's previously unpublished COME FIGYRES, COME SHADOWES which Publishers Weekly compared to HELL HOUSE. Since the review we have received over 200 orders from distributors and while we have ample copies of the book available, it could well sell out within the next few months. If interested, now would be the time to pick up this title.”

---I have the Matheson in stock, but will not be ordering GATEWAYS unless I get some advance interest in it. I did get orders for THE HAUNTED AIR after the fact which I could not supply.

---Still no sign of Catalog 145 yet. I am thinking about sending something scaled down, maybe with just the “New Arrivals”, perhaps photocopied, just to stay in contact with non-computer people. The pile of orders I am trying to reckon with just now is still daunting. I should not be fooling around so much.

---I just printed out the New Arrivals so far for Catalog 145 to run off on my copier and include with shipments. A few orders to non-computer customers are going out now. I thought I ought to think of something to help them have a better idea what is in stock.

4/13/03 SUN:
---Added to bookmarks:
- The Smoking Gun
- This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow
- Wil Wheaton

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/12/03 Sat):

CDs played today:
- Morton Feldman STRING QUARTET NO. 2 (5-disc)

---A couple new arrivals catalogued today:
Shepard, Lucius AZTECHS, Subterranean '03, 1st edn, one of 526 SIGNED copies, (112-page short novel), new in dj 35.00

Prichard, Kate & Hesketh THE EXPERIENCES OF FLAXMAN LOW, Ash-Tree '03, (psychic detective; first published 1899; Jack Adrian [ed]), new in dj 41.50

4/11/03 FRI:
---Reading George Orwell - AN AGE LIKE THIS: Vol. One of his Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters (1920-1940).
- p 19: “There are times when it is wise to accept without seeking knowledge” (futility of “interpreting” works of art, specifically Melville’s poetry as interpreted by Lewis Mumford in his biography of Melville)
- p 34: “woe to the creed that is not backed by machine-guns!”
- p 35: “His marriage was not unhappy in itself; it was merely the marriage of two unhappy people.” (on Thomas and Mrs. Carlyle)

4/10/03 THURS:
---I have dusted off the old chronometer for use while running. It should cause me to pick up the pace a tad, but might make me more injury prone; less inclined to stop and fix shoelaces, for example, and not so cognizant of aches and pains. Having to push button at quarter-mile markers calls for less abstraction while running (which always means slower with less effort). But since this is my big exercise event of the day, I might as well utilize a proven incentive to try to improve performance. It has gotten so I can cruise along for the five miles and not see any improvement. For health maintenance it is probably fine, but I would like to see some improvement to make it more interesting. Nothing particularly dramatic, but a bit of upgrade would be nice. I know that I am physiologically incapable of achieving the level that some runners are born with, so there is nothing that great about being a better than middle-of-the-pack runner instead of just a middle-of-the-packer. I will record my times here because it is someplace I can find them myself. Certainly they will be of limited if any interest to others, but this is my weblog.
---Heading south on Neal Smith bicycle trail: about a mile from my house to entry at mile marker 21 (9:02); 20.75 (/); 20.50 (4:28/13:31); 20.25 (2:13/15:35); 20 (2:28/18:13); 19.75 (2:18/20:31); 19.50 (2:15/22:47; turn around); 19.75 (2:27/25:14); 20 (2:19/27:34); 20.25 (2:15/29:50); 20.50 (2:22/32:12); 20.75 (2:26/34:38); 21 (2:19/36:58); another approx. mile home (8:05/45.03 final time). About five miles total, perhaps a little farther. Mighty slow, but plenty of room for improvement. I used to be able to string sub 2-minute quarter miles together (except on some of the uphill segments), but then I suffered a string of nagging maladies to the various bones, joints and muscles that get put to the test when the will tries to triumph over the body in running.
---The south-heading route has a bit less shadiness overall, which makes it worse in the summer if I wait too late in the day. It has some gradual up and down hills, but not as steep as the northerly route. For a long time I rarely went to the south, because the stretch paralleling the mile-long bridge road was not very pleasant. Now that a row of pine trees between the bike path and the road has grown, it has become much nicer going that way. The gentler slopes are easier on the legs, too. Either way, the advantage over running on the road with cars zooming past is tremendous. The bike path’s blacktop surface is smooth enough so I do not have to consciously monitor every footfall and it is softer than a concrete road or sidewalk. Except that I might wish for a bit more shade on some days and that I have to run a mile to get to it, it is an ideal place to run. I am lucky to have it nearby. I just wish my capabilities were such that I could run more of the fifty available miles than just the mile-and-a-half either way I generally traverse. My long run is up to 7.5 miles this week. On Wednesday I headed north to mile marker 23.75 before turning around. The plan is to go to mm 24 next time (hopefully Monday by my current regimen--adding a half mile every five days, unless an extra rest day is taken or imposed).

---Odd random bits of ratiocination the last couple days that maybe I should dicker with more carefully before blabbing out, but I want to try to make this weblog a little something more than just a surface survey of my doings. For better or worse, I will try to render a few of my thoughts, entangled and ill-informed as they may be. I can’t always spend the time honing arguments and marshalling evidence as maybe I should before showing up where I don't belong; but I will try to keep working on it. Writing about things is part of the thinking process. A better writer than me can get paid for their output. I am just trying to have it be an element in self-actualization. Being on a weblog makes it a bit more exciting and fun, with perhaps a bit of discipline. I hope as time goes along to become more at-ease with this forum and see what comes out.

4/9/03 WED:
---Revised text to follow?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/8/03 Tues):

CDs played today:
- Jackie McLean DESTINATION OUT (1963 jazz recommended by Gary Giddins in VILLAGE VOICE)
- Ice Cube GREATEST HITS (Xgau: A minus)
- Albinioni 12 CONCERTI A CINQUE, Op. 5

---Finally back down here. The backroom cleanup project has to be put on the back burner (I wish). At least I can reach the window now. Temps are supposed to get back to 70 later in the week. Then it will be great to open that sucker up. Now is the golden moment between when the mold and insects act up and when it is too cold to operate. (There is no heat in the back room.)

---Here now:
SPACE AND TIME #97, spr/03, (the magazine of fantasy, horror, and science-fiction; A.R. Morlan, Jeff Carlson, Terry McGarry, Jeffrey Goddin; Ligotti interview; more), new 5.00
---Details on #95 (which I still have in stock, as well as many other issues) are at the link above, but not #97, at least as of right now.

---Back in stock from River City (if you knew it was out of stock):
McCammon, Robert R. SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, River City '02, (1st), (727-page novel), new in dj 27.95

---A typical reply to a question about what happened to someone’s order:
“I do have your order. I seem to have gone into self-imposed forced semi-retirement, considering my ability lately to keep up with business. I should expand my capabilities by taking on help instead of the continual erosion imposed by the ageing process. At any rate I will make it a point to get your order taken care of immediately. I will email you the result, as usual. Thanks for everything!”

---Afraid I watched the NCAA Finals last night. I could have done without it. Not only do I have to watch the game, but I have to hang in there through the Shining Moment video melange. It is so sad that that is about as good as it ever gets. Sad but glorious.

---It took me an hour to reconcile my checkbook, usually a snap procedure. Finally figured out I had written in a 285 where it should have been 258 - accounting for the $27 I kept coming up short. At least if it had been the bank which had erred I would have caught it, making it maybe worth the brainwrack.

---Email to Slovenia:
“I wish I had invested in a Slovenia-specific mutual fund. Last I heard things were looking good there. Maybe it was a situation where the only place to go was up. Can't say I care for the way things are going here. There do seem to be parallels with the rise of Hitler and Nazism. It was impossible to be apolitical then--except for being purged, you either had to leave or be loyal to the party/country.”
---To elaborate: Check out the 1981 German-Austrian movie MEPHISTO, wherein the actor/protagonist has to decide whether to exile himself--as do many of his colleagues and even his wife--or stay and be loyal to his country. To leave Germany would be to leave his homeland and language, where his artistic roots lie. When Hitler is elected (“I can’t believe they elected that clown”), civil liberties go down the drain, a culture of imposing self-styled superiority on neighboring countries--lots of things recognizable as, though of course not exactly parallel to, what is going on here today with our supposedly more benificent form of imperialism. It is possible here today in the USA to see a populace going along with, even vociferously supporting, an inimical force taking over the reigns of government, poisoned by a tainted electoral process allowing elements paying lip service but having little to do really with freedom and democracy, to seize unchecked control of the reigns of government. Opposing the present regime equals not supporting “our troops”, being unpatriotic, even committing treason. If it is okay to be opposed before a rush to war has been effected but not during the conflict; if being a wartime leader means increased approval ratings; and if being commander-in-chief means you can wage war at will despite good-willed attempts at restraint and appeals to reason, beating back discussion out of hand; then we are in trouble--and the more “success” these elements achieve, the deeper down the drain we are going. Hitler had his successes too.
---A kind of nationalistic messianic fervor taking hold of a commanding percentage of the population is a very troubling thing to have be going on around one. To equate military success with ethical superiority is totally wrongheaded.

---Email from Sweden:
“ Iraq. Don't get me started. Syria or Iran next? Or Norway, since they too got oil? Bush is not that appreciated in Europe right now (apart from England and Denmark...). And why haven't Iraq used all the weapons they had. Or didn't have? Well, I guess you and me are on the same side of the fence, anyway.”
---My modest-proposal reply:
“Thanks for the Norway idea. Dubya might want to consider it. We gotta prove we will kick Nordic butt just as quick as Islamic, so the Arabs will get over that persecution complex they so perversely harbor. Why be a superpower if you don't have super powers? Certainly if Iraq proves to be a pushover. With less than 100 U.S. casualties, how many or how few of these adventures would it take to equal the losses in one Vietnam experience? Maybe enough to conquer the world.”

---Thought for the day (with blog in mind):
“It is probably not a good idea to allow oneself to be too well truly known, since we are all shit at heart anyway. But I will continue to try to rise above the muck.”

---From email to Subterranean Press (regarding minor problems I seem to be having with my orders):
“I know what it is like to be over-busy, but I know customers keep wanting things to be handled correctly too.”
---Later: seems to have worked. Actually a response.

---Received word that Robert Christgau’s latest VILLAGE VOICE column has been posted.

4/7/03 MON:
---Caught a few inches of snow overnight. I think I will have to do some shoveling. Not what I care to be doing on April 7. Amy is home sick today so I don’t have to spring her car first thing.
---Still haven’t got the new shelves erected in my back (corrugated heap) room. Enough floor space was raked clear so I could get the shelves in position.
---The shelves are up, but the mess around them is still of massive proportions.
---This, as you may suppose, is wreaking havoc on my schedule. You might think my priorities would be in order by now, but that does not seem to be the case.
---On top of everything else it is beer-bottling day.

4/6/03 SUN:
---Continued with the cleaning/re-organizing of the backroom cardboard storage area, finding it to be a much bigger job than expected. Picked up a large shelving unit at the local Menards, to optimize floor area. End of the day found the shelves still not erected.

4/5/03 SAT:
---Got started cleaning up of the back room cardboard storage area. It has turned out to be a huge job. I can ill afford to put other things on hold, but that is what happens when these sort of projects gain a toehold on my itinerary.

4/4/03 FRI:
---Big change from yesterday. Temp now (9:30 AM) is 34 degrees. Drizzly and windy too. Yesterday it was still in the 70s.
---More text to follow?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/3/03 Thurs):

CDs played today:
- John Cage COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC vol. 5 (2-disc)
- Bach ST. MATTHEW PASSION in English (3-disc)

---Plenty of books on hand to catalog and mention here, but I am so behind in filling orders and answering emails that I better not get sidetracked for now. My plan, as ever, is to get everything up to today (whatever today that might end up being). And then implement a program to whittle down the umpteen boxes of uncatalogued books hereabouts.
---Another project that is clammoring for attention--a clean-up of my back room where empty boxes are stored. I am just going to have to flatten them out and make a neat pile on some shelves. Having them empty and ready for use produces an accumulation with a mind of its own, quite in opposition to mine. It is getting to be the time of year when I will want to be able to open the window on the far side of the room. Now I would have to wade through that mountain of cardboard to let a little fresh air in back there.

---A new title from Hippocampus:
Gorman, Herbert THE PLACE CALLED DAGON, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (1927 horror novel favored by HPL; Larry Creasy intro; Joshi afterword), new 15.00

---Here from Meisha Merlin:
Lee, Sharon & Steve Miller THE TOMORROW LOG, Meisha Merlin, 2/03, (Gem ser’Edreth #1; first published by Embiid in electronic form), new / dj $30
---There is also a trade paperback but I do not have it (yet).

---And:
NOT ONE OF US #29, 3/03, John Benson, (stories and poems; this issue reflects our fatal attraction with things that cut ourselves and others; Patricia Russo, others), new 4.50
---No Internet connection is mentioned in the magazine, so no link--but probably no less interesting to read.

---An article in NY Times CIRCUITS about the programming competition Neil was in over part of his Spring Break.

4/2/03 WED:
---With Neil home on spring break I didn’t have full access to the computer I use to post blog entries, so there has been a lapse. I hope I can get back in the swing of things now--and maybe figure out a way to not get knocked off track so easily in the future. For now I have posted the missing days with more or less blank entries, so I can come along later and fill in. Some text is already extant from the downstairs (business) computer, and some exists in my fountain-pen notebook that may warrant transciption. Maybe it does not warrant it but might get it anyway. Or might not... we will see.

4/1/03 TUES:
---Back to work in the cellar.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/1/03 Tues):

CDs played today:
- Stanley Kubrik’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE soundtrack (vinyl LP)
- Zelenka RESPNSORIA PRO HEBDOMADA SANCTAS (2CD)
- Nisse Helberg XTREM (non-extreme George Thorogood in Swedish)
- Bruce Springsteen THE RISING (Xgau: HM) - not near as hyper as the terrific TV concert on CBS a couple weeks ago.
- Fred Frith CLEARING

---I am way bogged down (not to say blogged, though I should) getting next catalog (#145) out.
---Temps in 70s by mid-morning, ran 5 miles in shorts as early as I could get out. It finally got up to a high of 87 degrees--downright hot.
---Won’t have much chance to dwell on words here, because I am so behind on everything. As occasions occur, though...

---Another batch of pbs for next insert sheet:
2 • • NEW ARRIVALS (& re-arrivals): 2/17/2003—4/1/2003 • •
Signet E8525 Andrews, Bart THE TOLKIEN QUIZ BOOK, 2/79, (1001 questions), vg+ 5.00
Condor 028 Arnason, Eleanor THE SWORD SMITH, 5/78, (orig; adult fantasy), vg 3.50
Tor 50880 Bell, Douglas MOJO AND THE PICKLE JAR, 5/91, (orig; fantasy), vg+ 2.50
Jove M4556 Bodelsen, Anders THINK OF A NUMBER, 6/78, (Danish thriller), vg 2.25
DAW 600 Bradley, Marion Zimmer CITY OF SORCERY, 10/84, (Darkover), g-vg 2.25
Baen pb 3583 Chalker, Jack L. MELCHIOR'S FIRE, 1/03, (orig; Three Kings #2), new 7.99
Del Rey 31358 Clarke, Arthur C. 1984: SPRING: A Choice of Futures, 11/84, (nf), vg+ 3.50
Pyramid T2281 Clarke, Arthur C. AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT, 6th(8/70), vg-f 2.50
Pocket pb 53817 David, Friedman & Greenberger ST: DSN 20:Wrath of Prophets,5/97, vg 2.00
Carousel 70097 DeBolt, Adriana VOYAGE OF THE TRIGON, ('81), (spacers), g-vg 2.50
Baen pb 3560 Drake, David (creator) FOREIGN LEGIONS, 9/02, (shared-world), new 7.99
Baen 31992 Drake, David LT. LEARY COMMANDING, 6/01, (RCN Series #2), new 7.99
Pop Libr 04614 Eckert, Allan W. SAVAGE JOURNEY, 9/80, (Amazon jungle), vg 2.50
Baen 57814 Friesner, Esther (ed) CHICKS 'N CHAINED MALES, 5/99, (orig), new 6.99
Baen 87867 Friesner, Esther (ed) DID YOU SAY CHICKS?!, 2nd(8/01), (OA), new 6.99
Baen 31950 Friesner, Esther (ed) THE CHICK IS IN THE MAIL, 10/00, (orig; OA), new 6.99
Baen 57868 Gellis, Roberta BULL GOD, 5/00, (when gods still walked the earth), new 6.99
Pop Libr 04245 Gerrold, David DEATHBEAST, 7/78, (orig; savage SF excitement), g-vg 2.25
Pocket 83614 Golding, William THE INHERITORS, 12th, (pre-history novel), vg+ 2.50
Pock Card C207 Goodwin, H.L. THE SCIENCE BOOK OF SPACE TRAVEL, 12/55, vg+ 4.50
Pop Libr 04256 Goulart, Ron INVISIBLE DEATH , 7/78, (Zarkon, Lord of Unknown), vg-f 5.00
Pop Libr 03201 Goulart, Ron THE EMPEROR OF THE LAST DAYS, 4/77, (orig), vg-f 4.50
Baen pb 3585 Greenberg & Tier (eds) GIVE ME LIBERTY, 1/03, (libertarian SF), new 7.99
Dell pb 6668 Harrison, Harry (ed) NOVA 2, 4/74, (OA; Aldiss, Farmer, Anderson), vg-f 3.00
Bantam J2316 Harrison, Harry PLANET OF THE DAMNED, 1/62, (orig), g-vg 3.50
Baen 57848 Ing, Dean FIREFIGHT Y2K, 1/00, (Millenial Retrospective Edition), new 6.99
Avon 71107 Jance, J.A. HOUR OF THE HUNTER, 15th, (Koontzish suspense), new 7.99
Baen pb 3566 Keith, William H., Jr. BOLO STRIKE, 10/02, (created by Laumer), new 7.99
Carousel 70040 Kelly, David J. TOWER OF DESPAIR, ('80), (future battle), g-vg 2.50
Pocket 02424 King, Stephen HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, 3rd, (Sixties novel), new 7.99
Pocket pbk 5596 King, Stephen ON WRITING: A Memoir of the Craft, 2nd, (non-fic), new 7.99
Baen 87713 Lackey, Mercedes (creator) LAMMAS NIGHT, 2/96, (orig; OA), new 5.99
Pinnacle 00901 Lamb, Harold HANNIBAL, 8/76, (history; world's greatest soldier), vg 3.00
Baen pb 3527 Laumer, Keith ODYSSEY, 3/02, 1st combined edn, (2-in-1-plus), new 6.99
Baen 31857 Laumer, Keith RETIEF!, 1/02, 1st unitary edn, (3-in-1; 601 pages), new 6.99
Ace pb 66951 Le Guin, Ursula K. PLANET OF EXILE, nd, g-vg 2.00
Starscape 34568 Lee, Tanith RED UNICORN, 4/03, (enchanting, magical sequel), new 5.99
Pyramid G461 Leinster, Murray MEN INTO SPACE, 10/60, (orig; TV tie), vg+ 5.00
Beagle 95123 Lovecraft, H.P. THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, 8/71, fr-g 2.00
Faw GM d1659 MacDonald, John D. DEADLY WELCOME, nd, (suspense), g 1.75
Faw GM R2005 MacDonald, John D. THE CROSSROADS, nd, (expert chiller), fr 1.50
Faw GM T2443 MacDonald, John D. THE EXECUTIONERS, nd, (tension and terror), vg+ 2.50
Faw GM M2325 MacDonald, John D. THE LONG LAVENDER LOOK, 10/70, (orig), g-vg 2.50
Faw GM d1609 MacDonald, John D. THE PRICE OF MURDER, nd, (suspense), vg 2.50
Timescape 49299 Marshak & Culbreath THE PROMETHEUS DESIGN, 4th, (Star Trek 5), vg 2.00
Pop Libr 00388 Maxwell, Ann THE SINGER ENDIGMA, 7/76, (haunted universe), vg+ 2.50
Dell 1st B110 Merril, Judith (ed) YEAR'S BEST S-F: 2nd Annual Volume, 2nd, vg+ 3.50
Ace pb 73684 Monaco, Richard RUNES, 1/84, (orig; fantasy; Druids vs. Romans), vg 2.50
Pocket 04172 Neiderman, Andrew CURSE, 10/00, (magic or murder?; evil eye), new 6.99
Pocket 02709 Neiderman, Andrew NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, 1/00, (suspense), new 6.99
Pop Libr 04142 Priest, Christopher THE SPACE MACHINE, 1/78, (martian invasion), vg+ 4.00
Baen 57879 Schmitz, James H. T 'n T: TELZEY & TRIGGER, 2nd(11/01), (#2), new 6.99
Baen 31966 Schmitz, James H. TRIGGER & FRIENDS, 1/01, (Hub #3), new 6.99
Pocket pb 44244 Springer, Nancy THE SILVER SUN, 2nd, (>The Book of Suns; seq), vg+ 2.00
Pocket pb 49564 Starub, Peter JULIA, 15th, (genuinely frightening chiller), vg 2.50
Pop Libr 03173 Wallace, Ian THE SIGN OF THE MUTE MEDUSA, 1/77, (orig), vg 2.50
Baen 31977 Weber, David ASHES OF VCTORY, 3/01, (Honor Harrington #9), new 7.99
Baen pb 3575 Weber, David FLAG IN EXILE, 5th(9/02), (Honor Harrington #5), new 7.99
Baen 87783 Weber, David HONOR AMONG ENEMIES, 5th(7/02), (Honor #6), new 7.99
Baen 57770 Weber, David IN ENEMY HANDS, 5th(8/02, (Honor Harrington #7), new 7.99
Baen 3571 Weber, David ON BASILISK STATION, 8th(2/03), (Honor #1), new 7.99
Baen 57855 Weber, David & others WORLDS OF HONOR, 3/00, (Harrington), new 6.99
Baen pb 3584 Weber, David THE EXCALIBUR ALTERNATIVE, 1/03, (orig), new 7.99
Baen pb 3572 Weber, David THE HONOR OF THE QUEEN, 8th(8/02), (#2), new 7.99
Baen pb 3520 Weber, et al. WORLDS OF HONOR #3: Changer of Worlds, 2/02, new 7.99
Baen pb 3573 Weber THE SHORT VICTORIOUS WAR, 7th(8/02), (Honor #3), new 7.99
Baen 57846 White, Steve EAGLE AGAINST THE STARS, 1/00, (orig), new 6.99
Avon 30973 Zelazny, Roger SIGN OF THE UNICORN, 11/76, (Amber), vg-f 4.50
Avon 33324 Zelazny, Roger THE HAND OF OBERON, 6/77, (Amber #4), vg-f 3.50

3/31/03 MON:
---Got back from taking Neil back to Illinois. Was able to pick up mail but not much else.
---More text to follow?

3/30/03 SUN:
---Took Neil back to Urbana for the balance of his second semester at the Univ of Ill. Will stay in a motel and return tomorrow.
---More text to follow?

3/29/03 SAT:
---More text to follow?

3/28/03 FRI:
---More text to follow?

3/27/03 THURS:
---More text to follow?

3/26/03 WED:
---Picked up Neil at airport for what is left in his Spring Break. He got to go to Beverly Hills for a few days to be in a contestant in the ACM Intercollegiate Programming Contest.

3/25/03 TUES:
---More text to follow?