2002-08-20 - 2:07 p.m.

Thanks for the birthday greetings, everybody. So far, it's been a pretty good day, sure to get better once I leave work.

At midnight last night I felt I needed to get out of the apartment, so I walked to the park and sat in the grass for a while. A loud rainstorm, in congress with my bladder, awoke me at five this morning. What a welcome rupture in a two-week streak of 90-degree weather (or something like that). I went back to sleep, got up, did a little bit of yoga and made coffee. Shower, shave, listen to Talib Kweli being interviewed on the reviled Hot 97. Came to work, and this is where we are.

Happy birthday to me, indeed. My parents called my office phone from France, but apparently they were a few minutes too early, as I arrived around 9:15. Unless they'd screwed up the time difference. Nami called from Japan, too -- bedtime for her.

So many good shows, still, lately. Another Men's Tennis explosion at Luxx. A Ted Leo show within walking distance. (Southpaw on Fifth Ave. near Flatbush is my new fave live-music venue. A raised patio-type area for those who want to listen, see, and sit at the same time! How innovative! And a curtain! Why don't any other clubs have curtains?) Oh my God was Guided by Voices hot, too. I'd never seen the Dayton drunkards before, and now I'm wondering why not. I now totally understand Steve Priest.

See you at Buttermilk tonite if you're interested.