Insomnia is a fucked up thing. Even when you want to sleep, know you really do need to sleep, when you've finally said, "Okay, look, fine, I surrender. I give in. White hanky in the air" it still just sits in the corner and broods, watching you.

I have to sneak up on sleep when I do sleep. I have to dislocate my hip wrestling with it.

Odds and ends. I'm re-reading Imajica. I hardly ever re-read books, simply because I have a pretty solid memory of the books that are worth re-reading and I just go back and access that as necessary.

However, I've picked the Barker back up because of the new one-volume edition with appendix and new illos (I'm such a sucker when it comes to bonus features) and also because I feel the need t0 plunge into something epic. Probably because I'm preparing my brain for the coming of Martin's fourth volume. Probably because Barker and Martin are the only two folks who have really just hit me with an epic that felt…well, epic.

King's Dark Tower series somehow doesn't fit because it seems far too personal an endeavor, and is the rock upon which King built his church. All roads lead to the Tower in King's work, and that just isn't the same. Not in my head, anyway. Tolkien was nice, yes, but it always felt like the really impressive thing that you walked into and looked around a bit, then left–you know, like St. Patrick's Cathedral.

So yes, I want to wade up to my eyeballs in a book and have it slap me around. Hence, Imajica.

Even more odds. The links for Mystics and Desolation over on my right are now Amazon links. Amazon owns Booksurge now, the Amazon prices are corrected and every one you buy helps my sales ranking.

Finally, there's a new LiveJournal, as well as three more Something Odds.

Oh, and I want to say something about writing rules. Not writing rules, mind you, but rules for writing. But not now. Later. This is just a reminder to myself. For now, I'm going to try this sleep bullshit again.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN!
JUST LET US HAVE THE BASEMENT, REGGIE!

Taken from Hembeck.

P.S. Three more Something Odds are here.

You think the moles that the movie industry types send to this shindig to check things out come back with their reports, see the industry types scoff, and then prep their resumes? I would if I were them.

Read it. It's fascinating.

And for those that care, episodes 19 and 20 of Something Odd are up here.

Arnold Schwarzenegger signs into a law a ban on soft drink vending at high schools in California, which I personally applaud. Why? Not because it takes even more of the burden of parenting off of California families…

"Coke, Pepsi and other junk-food marketers enjoy being in schools because they know it is one of the only places they can target kids without parental interference," said Margo Wootan, the [Washington D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest's] nutritional policy director said in a statement.

"But in California, parents have clearly had enough, and leaders of both parties took notice," she said.

…because obviously any place that the parents can't be there to stand over their children's shoulders and make them eat well–i.e. cinemas, malls, restaurants they could go with their friends, etc.–needs to have the government step in as well. Obviously. That's coming, you know it is.

No, I applaud this because right now, very intelligent high school students are tabulating their plans to create a "black market" for candies and soft drinks and figuring out where and when to sell their wares at a huge markup. I hope they use all the best technology to put this together and I hope they make a bundle. Because those who know how to exploit demand should make plenty of coin for their efforts.

Bravo, Arnold, for setting in motion a better economics lesson than your public school system's curricula could provide.

Found via Drudge.

First, a black iPod. And one without U2's insignificant chickenscratch John Hancocks on that back. Granted, it's a Nano. Which means it replaces the Mini. Which means it doesn't have the capacity it would need to justify me getting one. But it's black, goddammit, which means that it's sitting there. Mocking me. Pull up that picture. Look at it smirking. Little bastard.

Now. You all know I have a Sidekick. A Sidekick 1, mind you, because it still works just fine though a little beaten up. I've been able to resist getting a Sidekick 2 despite the extra-cool features it has over the SK1. NOW I get word that there's a limited edition Sidekick 2 coming in October. Oh, and it's black.

You. Sorry. Bastards. You find the one chink in my armor and exploit it six ways from Sunday. First an iPod, now a Sidekick. I hope you all burn in hell. But before you go, put that shit on sale. I'm a poor webmaster and I can't afford $399 for a new SK2.

But it's black.

Oh, cruel wretched villainy. How you smile, smile and be villains. A plague on both your houses. Gizmodo brought the bad news of the Darla Mack post. I'm going to go crawl under a table and pummel myself into a coma now. Talk amongst yourselves.

Just had this idea while talking to Doc…we've got Google Earth…what else is there left for them to map…

…on this plane of existence, anyway.

I say grab a copy of The Dictionary of Imaginary Places and work your way down. I want Google Narnia. Google Middle Earth. Google Westeros. Google Lilliput. Why the hell not?

Talk about a way to get even more love from the geek crowd than you already have…