lay me down in a sea of pens and feathers

The NY times reported yesterday that Saul Bellow passed away. He was 89, lived a full life by all accounts. I'd rather not get maudlin about his passing. I'd rather focus on his work. I make no claim to have read his entire opus, but A Theft and Henderson the Rain King left permanent imprints. Especially the latter. Henderson, the protagonist, alternately frustrating and lovable. He wanted so much, sometimes too much, he pushed the limits of reason, but yet... you wanted just as much as he. I loved Bellow's description of Henderson's heartbeat, a chant of I want, I want, I want, I want. Because I think back to that when I'm really in the zone on something, that chant, that feeling that your heart might burst right out of its chest from the pang of ambition/wanting/desire. It's extremely uncomfortable, and yet, it's the best feeling in the world. I'll know I've found my calling when I experience that heartbeat at least once a day. I don't know. Far be it for me to try to paraphrase Bellow, but that book is as precious as gold to me, even though there are parts of it that might not be viewed as PC, and the female characters are a bit flimsy in my opinion.

In other news, note to the Bay area and all other cities in the US: don't try to be New York. It's a futile task, and incredibly counterproductive. And for the love of all that is holy, do not try to claim you can compete in the realm of pizza. Yes, I did just say that, Chicago. I don't care how much you paid off some NY food critic, you'll note he still didn't say the Bay area rivals New York- just that it's the best place in California to get a slice... gee, that's high praise indeed. I read this nonsense, and all I thought was man, I could really go for popping into one of those dives in the village for a slice right about now.

Reminder: I still hate the time difference. One of my dear friends just got back from India, and our esteemed blogger J just returned from the UK, but is that going to put my life in perspective and get me to stop my b*tching about a wee one hour shift? Silly rabbits.

Which reminds me of a Barkley quote I heard yesterday (god, that man is a lovable loon):

On primadonna basketball stars being overrated: "I got a theory... I call it the Playboy bunny theory... see, everyone thinks they're married to a Playboy bunny... but the truth of the matter is most of them are married to a rabbit."

Inappropriate? Yes. Typical Barkley humor? Absolutely yes. He actually managed not to insult too many players in this interview, which was shocking to me.

Must get caffeine now. Brain losing ability to function.