Lately progression

Kristin Cashore's Graceling (one of the best books I've ever read, full stop, I couldn't put it down but I was also intentionally reading it slowly because I didn't want it to be over)
> Kristin Cashore's Fire (companion novel, slow getting going but in its own way just as engrossing and good)
> in a funk because I don't feel like reading anything that is not the two books mentioned above
> lots of non-fiction (gardening books!) and a complete re-read of all 7 Harry Potter books since I know precisely what to expect from it. When will I be ready to accept new fiction? Who knows. Maybe NEVER. In the meantime I am on HP2. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. Spoiler alert.

Happened to notice that episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent available for download on xbox
> suddenly obsessed with Vincent D'Onofrio again. Yesterday I said to a co-worker that I love his character because he's so cerebral, and she looked at me like I had just told her I was an alien. (I said, "Have you ever noticed that Goren never shoots anyone? Eames shoots people all the time. Goren can't operate a gun because he's too cerebral.") Watched about 5 episodes of L&O:CI before I remembered that everything about it other than the two main actors in it is THE WORST.
> Rented (from a video store! like in the 90s!) some discs of Bones to watch since they didn't have the newer CSI seasons.
> Also a bit obsessed with Bones. Composed a short essay in my brain the other day about why I am fascinated with that show. It has nothing to do with the crime-plots, which are ludicrous, or the sexual tension (after X-Files, no other show will ever make me interested in sexual tension between partners, sorry) but rather just with Brennan herself. When has American TV ever produced a female protagonist whose main, defining characteristic is her brilliant and strange mind? It boggles. In a good way. A show with Brennan and Goren solving crimes would be ideal, although clearly the two of them could never have a productive conversation. Or maybe they would be soul mates.
> This would also be a good premise for awesome, nerdy fanfiction. Or porn.
> Ooh! Or a comic. In which there is a super-squad of TV's smartest people solving crimes. Who would this super-team be composed of? Goren, Brennan, Gil Grissom, Scully, maybe the dude from Numbers (I have never watched that show so I would have to watch a few episodes of it before offering him a spot), and the Mandy Patinkin character from Criminal Minds (or that tall dark-haired guy whose name I forget). And Nero Wolfe! And then they would need one practical, organized sort of person to keep things on-track. Probably Pepper Potts.
> My brain is weird, but the brain wants what it wants.

I'm at work, but I'm too tired to work at work. I was here until 9 last night and then it took me AN HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES TO GET HOME ON THE BUS. And that was before I had come up with my meta-crime-solving idea, so I had nothing to think about other than how tired and cold I was.

Holy cow, I love the Guardian's Digested read. This week: Christopher Hitchens' Hitch-22.

I find I have written nothing of my wives, save that they are fortunate to have been married to me, and nothing of my emotional life. That is because I don't have one. The only feeling I have is of being right, and that has been with me all my life. I would also like to point out that drinking half a bottle of scotch and a bottle of wine a day does not make me an alcoholic. I drink to make other people seem less tedious; something you might consider when reading this.

Of my pathetic brother Peter, whom I adore, I say only this. I admire the persistence with which he maintains his ignorance. And as I leave you with the conceit of my non-Jewish Jewishness, I retire to converse with Richard Dawkins and read Yellow Dog, the finest work of my brilliant friend Martin.

I find Christopher Hitchens pretty despicable, so I guess it's not surprisingly that I enjoy a good chuckle at his expense.

Abandon ship!

I know I'm lame, but lately all I feel like writing about is my garden. So I decided to try one of those specialty blogs I keep hearing about. I know, right? Apaprently people like reading blogs all about a single topic! So: Dispatches From Zone 3a. I'll still be here, maybe, from time to time, if I have anything non-gardening-related to contribute.