So you ask yourself, "What's going on in Mammyland?"

The quick answer: not much, really.

I did finally get the Ray Mileur interview put together and edited. I should have it off to Dust in the next day or so. When it will hit the website, well, your guess is as good as mine. But rest assured I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime it might be a good time to drop by the Features page and recheck some of the high-quality interviews with Chris Null, Ray, Tess Wiley, Jamie Hyneman, Joe R. Lansdale, Spinsanity and Otherpower. It's good stuff Maynard--good for your brain. Obey the brain!

Other than that, I've been procrastinating further on the novel, although it is started (for the 4th time thanks to bad media and poor timing...) and starting, however, to tentatively plod forward. I know, promises, promises.

On the bright side there's also been a little preliminary work done on a rerecord of "Second, First" and with some tweaks and adjustments it's already sounding a lot more promising (whod've thunk it?) but no time frame on when I'll work on it again. Basically the Jan 1 original date is sounding most realistic at this point for any semi-polished version.

I've got a couple bits o' news, but I'm going to save them for a grandiose announcement (you know me, I'm a sucker for the broad stroke) that will hopefully be made soon. Until then, here's a little ideal I stole from Michaela's site. I know, I'm still a dirty thief...

20 years ago I was
-Much shorter.
-Waiting for dad to break down and buy a color television.
-Wishing an airplane turbine would fall from the sky (ala "Donnie Darko") and land on Mrs Johnson, who arguably, had it coming...

15 years ago I was
-Still shorter, but taller than 20 years ago.
-Officially in my five year "awkward" stage.
-Convinced that in fact western civilization had reached its pinnacle with "Dr. Who."

10 years ago I was
-Back to my hometown after living with a drug dealer wannabe. It was about as fun as it sounds.
-Fitter. Happier. More productive.
-Very young--contrary to what I believed at the time.

5 years ago I was
-Bad place.
-Wrapping up what would be the final Phase album, "Who Loves Ya?".
-Did I mention bad place? Let's all flip-off WTF, shall we?

1 Year ago I was
-Laying the groundwork for the on-line monument to rocking you see before you today.
-Still believed that "Angel" would be back this season and that I'd have more than two shows I watch on a regular basis.
-Wrapping up All Things Right and Beautiful.

So far this year I have
-Kicked more ass before noon than most people do in a year.
-Talked to Jamie Hyneman and got him to appear on the website. Ditto for Joe R Lansdale, and Tess Wiley, and Ray Mileur, and...
-Finished All Things...
-Got the little website off the ground
-Began, worked on and (hopefully) finished lilies of the field
-Became a writer for the Birdhouse (and haven't been asked to leave yet...)

Yesterday I
-Ate many, many fajitas (fahk-hitas...)
-Hung with the Devil Pups
-Tried to convince The Chad to check out "Blade: Trinity"
-Watched a news report about a young man who's going to jail for a long, long, long time.

Today I
-May actually convince The Chad to check out "Blade: Trinity"
-Go grocery shopping
-May read some more in the book of essays that amuse and annoy me simultaneously
-Will, honest to God, work on the new novel

Tomorrow I
-Will have to work
-Probably won't get a chance to write
-Will likely think the whole Lindsay Lohan lip-sync scandal is as boring and anticlimactic as it really is. In the meantime, I'll probably just think it's amusing in a very minor "fat guy falling down or getting kicked in the nads" kinda way.

Lates,

-Joe