~ we have put behind us 7000 more miles of road, both ends of which were pleasantly lacking in the anticipated tumultuousness, and we are still far from being settled, but it is now safe to say that the angry red planet has arrived in new york.

~ the angry red planet is wrapping up a cold and rainy week in georgia by catching colds and fevers. much holiday junk food was devoured, many comics were researched and archived, and several gore vidal tomes were reviewed. despite the suffering caused by ice and wind, the imminent return to los angeles and to the work is the closest thing to mind and farthest thing from desire.

~ after an internet-free-access weekend in forsyth county, georgia, the angry red planet vacation has come to a halt with the uneventful return to los angeles…

~ the lack of updates over the past week is due to the third cross-country road tour of the summer. this time, a course from los angeles, california, to atlanta, georgia, was set through winslow, arizona, fort smith, arkansas, and memphis, tennessee. the digital camera was lost at during the first day and did not surface until after the arrival on the east coast. so, no graphic updates will be available for a while.

~ in cumming, georgia: the angry red planet has moved into temporary offices with a 486 with a 28.8 connection, 640×480 resolution, and 20mb of ram.

~ in los angeles, california, the los angeles police department is shooting fellow citizens of the united states of america with ‘rubber bullets’.

~ the angry red planet weekend work retreat was held in the lovely sequoia and king’s canyon national parks [w], in search of the great sequoia tree. while taking a break at lodgepole, we noticed that the u.s. flag was being flown at half-mast, indicating that a national figure or hero had died. naturally, we assumed that it was president gerald ford, hoped that it was president’s son george w. bush [w], but never imagined that it was old ben….

~ the angry red planet is back after a four-day ‘holiday’ spent entertaining guests from no.cal. yesterday was, of course, ‘independence day’ in the united states, so the angry red planet packed the car with water and headed out of los angeles and into 1,000 palms in the california desert. without notice to the angry red planet, the refuge we sought is closed for july and august. so, we turned back and wasted a total of $28 on mel gibson movies…

~ there is a new skywriter in los angeles.

~ i haven’t been very inspired with the transcription of the tales of this summer’s second cross-country drive. but i have managed to sift out a key moment from each state though which we passed, except for the hour we spent in pennsylvania.
   new york: four minutes into the bus ride from the airport to downtown, i realize that i never want to see albany again, though my decision is almost swayed after i get the chance, while waiting for the trailways bus to phoenicia, to visit the glorious empire state plaza [w].
   ohio: i pull off the interstate and head to the cleveland’s waterfront. i wake the passenger to announce that we have arrived at i.m.pei’s rock and roll hall of fame [w]; she looks up and asks why we stopped at this monstrosity. i drive away without stopping.
   indiana: sorry.
   illinois: ‘sneaking’ into chicago’s field museum allows a view of sue [w], the most complete fossilized skeleton of tyrannosaurus rex ever found by humans.
   iowa: from the looks of the capitol building, des moines must have the impression that iowa is a grand empire over which it is lorded. the view from the highway dissuades us from a closer look; we save our time for lincoln, nebraska.
   nebraska: during a furious hailstorm on i-70, the s-10 runs out of gas after we pass three exits and two towns with no fuel stations.
   wyoming: why the the song ‘america, the beautiful’ was written… (no nationalism intended).
   colorado: after visiting the quarry at dinosaur national monument [w], we walk out to the s-10 to take the tour deeper into the park. when we get to the truck, we notice that there is river of coolant flowing from the engine. it is a bitter disappointment to only spend 30 minutes at the park we drove for four days to see, but the water pump is apparently broken, and there is not going to be anyone ready to fix it at 5.30pm on the friday before memorial day weekend. so, we load the bed of the truck with jugs of ‘lowtox’ and water, and push forth into the utah desert.
   utah: everyone drives down the mountainside from the ashley national forest [w]like they are on crank, while i can’t coax the s-10 over 60mph while going downhill.
   nevada: new york, new york.
   california: i hate everything between san bernadino and the 5. if there is another auto route from the east coast to los angeles, i’d like to know.

~ ok, we are finally back from the first and second of this summer’s road trips. one 4-day drive from atlanta, georgia, to los angeles, california, was quickly followed by one 7-day drive from phoenicia, new york, to, again, los angeles, california. non-digital camera pictures are at the developer and the events are being typed; watch for the story to appear here at any moment.

~ i am spending this week in a truck somewhere between phoenicia, new york, and los angeles, california, so there will be no new entries for a few days. until then, content yourself with the archive.

~ i just drove in to los angeles from georgia; in a couple of days, i am flying to new york, from where i again will be driving to los angeles. be surprised if there are any updates before my return…