putting Descartes before the horse
Until now, I've always associated the music of Wesley Willis with the hours I've squandered at Shot in the Dark Café, filling up with coffee and home fries and feeling tattoo-deficient among the other diners. I remember being at Shot in the Dark one morning when zulunation had control of the counter and the stereo. He put on Wesley Willis, whose blend of comedy, poetry, and profanity could serve as theme music for Shot in the Dark. I've heard Willis on the stereo there a few times since, sometimes when zulunation was there, other times not.
It was always Shot in the Dark music until today. I've been reading Michael Muhammad Knight's travelogue, Blue-Eyed Devil: A Road Odyssey Through Islamic America, which early in the book describes his stop at Wesley Willis's memorial service. "Though the son of a Muslim, Wesley was Christian," Knight explains. In a book that spends most of its time among the Islamic fringe in America, and among non-Muslims who live close to the border with Islam, Willis's Muslim parent makes him worthy of a several-page stop in the travelogue.
Knight made me nostalgic for Willis's music, and with $56.92 in Bookmans trade credit in my possession, I headed to the Grant and Campbell store hoping to find one of his CDs. Upon arrival, I was distracted from my mission by a Jaguar that was taking up two parking spots. I hastily wrote a note that said, "Next time please let someone sober park," and I put it on the windshield.
My trade credit was spread among three credit slips. The last time I weeded through my library, I took the discards to all three Tucson Bookmans locations. What one store doesn't take, the next store will usually pick through until they find one or two items to take. I had one slip for $5.50, and I found a Wesley Willis CD for $6.00. I had a bunch of dimes and pennies in my pocket, so I was delighted that I'd be able to use up my credit slip and make up the difference with the excess change I wanted to purge. I took my purchase to the counter, and a cute cashier I'd never seen before took my purchase. Prepared to count out a handful of dimes and pennies to her, I was caught off guard when she discounted my purchase so that my trade credit would cover all of it. I was simultaneously happy and disappointed--disappointed that I'd have to carry around this pocketful of coins until the next cash purchase I made. She instantly picked up on my disappointment and said I should give my change "to the kitties." I didn't know what she meant until she turned around and grabbed an acrylic glass trapezoidal prism, bearing the logo of an animal charity and a slot cut into it for donations. I laughed and told her I would happily feed it my change.
With pockets lighter, kitties happier, and CD in hand, I went out to the parking lot and noticed that in the space where the Jaguar had been, my note lay torn in pieces. Leave it to the Jaguar owner to practice dickish parking and littering.
Speaking of cars, what I learned on Saturday was that mine needs a new crank position sensor. I have to take it back in this coming weekend, since the part was only available by special order.
That's all for now.
It was always Shot in the Dark music until today. I've been reading Michael Muhammad Knight's travelogue, Blue-Eyed Devil: A Road Odyssey Through Islamic America, which early in the book describes his stop at Wesley Willis's memorial service. "Though the son of a Muslim, Wesley was Christian," Knight explains. In a book that spends most of its time among the Islamic fringe in America, and among non-Muslims who live close to the border with Islam, Willis's Muslim parent makes him worthy of a several-page stop in the travelogue.
Knight made me nostalgic for Willis's music, and with $56.92 in Bookmans trade credit in my possession, I headed to the Grant and Campbell store hoping to find one of his CDs. Upon arrival, I was distracted from my mission by a Jaguar that was taking up two parking spots. I hastily wrote a note that said, "Next time please let someone sober park," and I put it on the windshield.
My trade credit was spread among three credit slips. The last time I weeded through my library, I took the discards to all three Tucson Bookmans locations. What one store doesn't take, the next store will usually pick through until they find one or two items to take. I had one slip for $5.50, and I found a Wesley Willis CD for $6.00. I had a bunch of dimes and pennies in my pocket, so I was delighted that I'd be able to use up my credit slip and make up the difference with the excess change I wanted to purge. I took my purchase to the counter, and a cute cashier I'd never seen before took my purchase. Prepared to count out a handful of dimes and pennies to her, I was caught off guard when she discounted my purchase so that my trade credit would cover all of it. I was simultaneously happy and disappointed--disappointed that I'd have to carry around this pocketful of coins until the next cash purchase I made. She instantly picked up on my disappointment and said I should give my change "to the kitties." I didn't know what she meant until she turned around and grabbed an acrylic glass trapezoidal prism, bearing the logo of an animal charity and a slot cut into it for donations. I laughed and told her I would happily feed it my change.
With pockets lighter, kitties happier, and CD in hand, I went out to the parking lot and noticed that in the space where the Jaguar had been, my note lay torn in pieces. Leave it to the Jaguar owner to practice dickish parking and littering.
Speaking of cars, what I learned on Saturday was that mine needs a new crank position sensor. I have to take it back in this coming weekend, since the part was only available by special order.
That's all for now.