Neverwhere

I didn't realize it's been so long since I last posted. I could pretend I've been busy, but actually my laziness is a direct effect of being not busy. The more I do, the more industrious I feel, the more I want to do. In truth, in late April I finished a short story, and while I was writing it I was blogging, reading, working out, planning, playing the guitar. When the story got finished I breathed a big sigh of relief and just relaxed -- relaxed every muscle, not just the ones working on the story.

There's today's insight into human frailty.

There are new bus drivers, both going to work and coming home. The morning guy is great. He announces loudly "Fifteen, downtown!" to every passenger as we get on, even to those of us who get on every day. One morning last week I didn't go in until noon, and the next day he told me he had looked for me -- meaning, I suppose, he slowed down to see if I might be approaching the bus stop. Not every driver would do that (some blow by when you are at the corner).

The evening guy is good, too. He doesn't say anything, but he drives like a maniac and we make great time. Plus, he's consistently on time to pick me up.

Speaking of public transportation: Neverworld (by Neil Gaiman) is about a secret, almost gossamer society that exists in the London subway system. It's a very violent, very cruel but very ritualized civilization. There's a lot of magic and mysticism going on there, and the hero who gets sucked into it actually thrives in the other world-- against his will and inclinations.


Gaiman includes an interview with himself, which prejudiced me against his book right away. Self indulgent, full of himself, I assumed. You know - when McCartney left the Beatles and issued his first solo album, he interviewed himself for the occasion. So maybe I associate "interviews self" with "The Beatles have broken up". Be that as it may: Gaiman may indeed be self indulgent and full of himself, but Neverwold is a fun, well written book loaded with interesting characters.

Gaiman, it turns out, also wrote Stardust, which was made into one of my favorite movies of the last 3 years or so (the Post Lord Of The Rings era of the cinema).