Where's the Angst?

I guess if a person is somewhat at peace, it kind of takes away the creative energy. Maybe I should start drinking or something, pull a Hemingway. I'd probably knock out a novel in two weeks, tops. Oh well. I have successfully managed to make it this far in life without drinking anything alcoholic, or trying anything resembling an illegal drug. Though the morphine following surgery two years ago was pretty cool....I can see where people might actually like that stuff....but I digress. I've had to find creative inspiration outside the pharmaceutical realm for most of my life.

I have nothing really to write about. I've gone about three days without anything in particular hacking me off. I think that's some sort of record. I'm fairly sure I'll get over it, never fear. So I'll pass on some unimportant banalities in the meanwhile.

In literary news, I just read Nelson Demille's NIGHT FALL. Quite a good read. John Corey is a great character, and the story is pretty compelling. I would recommend it. However, one would probably need to read PLUM ISLAND and THE LION'S GAME, since they feature the same character. The book concerns the demise of TWA Flight 800. While the flight has been officially listed as crashing due to mechanical failure, several eyewitnesses state they saw a flash of light traveling upward to hit the plane. The book runs through several conspiracy theories, and is generally very readable. A killer ending is something else to look forward to.

The tough thing about conspiracy theories is that they are so darned attractive. They explain a whole lot more than the official explanations ever do. Somehow, they are more satisfying than reality. It's hard to accept a plane could just blow up. Its much easier to accept that someone blew it up, and the government lied about it. Not that the government ever lies to us or anything..

I also re-read the awesomeness of John Steakley's VAMPIRE$. The guy is talented, if not prolific. Kudos to a Texas writer. Those of you who have seen the movie are strongly encouraged to pretend it doesn't exist, and read the book anyway. You know, the HIGHLANDER 2 routine. It's ok if you just pretend it's not there. The book is great; the movie sucked. The movie is not even recognizable if one has read the book. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The Walther PPK/S is a pretty decent firearm. After all, it was the choice of James Bond for many an adventure. It's tiny, has great features like double action, safeties, and a de-cocker. It fires a barely serviceable .380, which is still better than a .22. The only problem is that it weighs about a ton. It's a great size for a pocket pistol, but just a bit weighty. The sights are not all that impressive, either. The Sig 232 weighs a bit less, but lacks a few of the PPK/S's cool features.

I think a little justice got served out in California today. Scott Peterson is going to get the needle. There has never been a more fitting candidate for it, in my opinion. Perhaps the state does not want to pull another OJ. I won a small bet with my secretary on whether Scott was going to get the death penalty. So I've got that going for me..

Reasonablenut has an interesting post regarding the Brit's push to outlaw knives. They banned guns, and saw an escalation in crime as a result. Now they're going to take away the citizen's last line of defense. We might as well write that country off. They've apparently lost their minds. There's a reason our forebearers fled that place. It wasn't just the weather, bad dentistry and lousy food, either.