Well, work continues. I'm actually getting something together that nearly sounds like a finished version of "SecondFirst"... whoduvthunkit? I also cranked out two longish essays (at least compared to my usual stuff) for the Birdhouse. They're about the whole Congressional baseball debacle and Mark McGwire getting roasted by the press. You may need to be a member to check them out (which ain't a bad thing, cuz I kinda like the Birdhouse...) but they are Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? and In Defense of Big Mac. The responses I've gotten in support of these pieces really has surprised me--maybe there's hope for baseball yet (although from the sound of it, Congress is a total loss...)

It's such a strange, messy and backwards problem that Congress swooped in and made worse. Anyway, I'm kinda proud of these pieces so check 'em out if you're so inclined. In the meantime I'm still plowing away at lilies of the field as well as trying to get some fiction done. Never enough hours in the day it seems, but oh well...

And Fear the Power of the, um, Devil Turtle...

-Joe