Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Sirens. Sharply defined, solid black column of smoke. Nearby. And east of my house for a change. Put my clothes back on and went looking for it. Turned out to be three blocks east and a block and a half south. Went and shot a roll of film in the (Pentax) K2. Fireman explained that the darker-than-normal smoke was because of an accelerant. A "supposedly inhabited" house, but there was only one piece of furniture in it, so the fireman I spoke to considered it actually vacant.

Came home and was startled to notice that it's about three Kelvins warmer in front of my house than it was down where the fire was. Isn't that a pretty big difference for four blocks?

Then, since I was already up, I loaded the KX and went after the HUGE sheet of ice covering the curb lane and sidewalk of Pratt St. a block west of my house. Folks hanging out on the opposite corner were confused. As I was leaving, one finally came out and asked me what I was taking pictures for. My answer, "Art," seemed to be all the answer he needed though.

Of course, after I got home again and took of my clothes and put on my fuzzy sleeper (too cute -- blue with little yellow ducks all over it), then I thought of how else I could have shot the city-glacier.

There are funky-looking holes and a cracks in the ice sheet. If I can borrow some dolls, or maybe lead miniatures, before the ice melts, I want to pose them to play with the "glacier" idea.

The Muse is toying with me.

I was writing in my dead-trees journal about The Book Thing Of Baltimore, and I was thinking about how their FAQ page on their web site spends a bit of time on "Free?" "Yes." "You mean really free?" "Yes." "What's the catch?". The "catch" is that the books are stamped, "Not For Resale. This Is A Free Book." And that's not much of a "catch".

Then a realization struck me: I'm not absolutely certain of this, but I don't think I've ever sold a book in my life. I've given them to friends, I've donated them to organizations (okay, not often), and I've moved them from house to house, but I can't remember ever selling one. I'm trying to remember whether I ever sold a high school or college textbook back to the bookstore -- I know I kept most; did I really keep them all? I haven't been able to think of any I sold back yet.

So books aren't just Nifty Things. They seem to be in a special, "things I don't think of selling" category in my head. Startling because I'd never really noticed it before. I wonder what else is in that category...

Somehow, I get the feeling there'll be a lot of "me too" responses to this post.