• THE THING: Getting everything out of the attic.
  
• THE HAIKU REVIEW:
        Steps, dust, sweat, dark, low.
            Forty silverfish, one for
                each attic visit.
  
• THE FULL REVIEW:
  Today was Get Everything Out of The Attic Day! And I have succeeded!
  
  I am amazed. It has to be 120 degrees up there. And it took me forty trips (YEP, I counted!) up and back to get everything out. A few things (sleeping bags, and a couple other soft things) could be tossed down gently, but mostly I had to lug it all down a box at a time. Whoof.
  
  I am going to rename the attic The Silverfish Sauna. Each time I went up, it seemed, I saw another one basking in the ultra-tropical splendor that is the attic. I actually don't think I killed as many as forty, but I did squash a bunch of those little buggers as I was up there. I'm pretty sure I got the whole lot of them. None survived -- at least that is what is going on my report.
  
  Now I am filling up the tub with some lukewarm water to bring down my body temperature. Seriously, right now I am hot blooded. Check it, and see. I've got a fever of 103.
  

• THE THING: This book: Mobius Highway by Howard V. Hendrix
  
• THE HAIKU REVIEW:
  
  
  
  

  poetically ripe,           prognosticatingly told,               science fiction tales.

  
  
• THE FULL REVIEW:
  This is a collection of a dozen or so short sci fi stories. There is a bit of variety here... but they seemed to have little threads which chained them together.
  
  The stories were rife with socio-politico-religio-techno-predictions. Example: there are a couple stories which take place in the not-too-distant future, where the stars on the American flag have been replaced with a single white cross. VERY interesting...
  
  There is some cyberpunk-ian moments, which are always groovy to read, I think. It drifts from descriptive narrative-y things to violence and hate crimes, pretty fluidly. The shortest tale is a nearly incomprehensible poem, of sorts, called "Chameleon on a Mirror". The concept behind the title involves the consideration of: What colors would a chameleon turn if you were to place it in a box which was lined exclusively with mirrors? It was kind of a fun thing to think about for a few seconds...
  
  I ripped through most of them quickly (though, for the time that it spent on my "Currently reading.." list, it wouldn't seem so!), and enjoyed nearly all in some fashion.
  

Final Score on the Chris Worth Scale: $5.09. Which is exactly how much I paid for it... I think that's the first time that has happened.

• THE THING: The USA TV show called Monk.
  
• THE HAIKU REVIEW:
  
  
  
  

  Detective series           that is clever and funny.               Neurotically great!

  
  
• THE FULL REVIEW:
  I have been wanting to see this show for at least a year now. I somehow find Tony Shalhoub extremely funny. He was in Barton Fink, and the Men in Black movies. He was even funny in Wings, and, dare I say it, Stark Raving Mad.
  
  But I had no idea how good he can be. He's a detective who seems to have some neurotic disorders. He's sort of obsessive compulsive, with a great attention to detail. He seems to be a savant, somewhat, as well. This makes for a fine detective!
  
  I never really thought of myself as a fan of crime shows. That is, until I realized that I would watch Columbo any time it was on. My Law & Order addiction has reached medicate-able levels. If you can cram a good actor, a bunch of humor, and a decent detective story into the same show.... well, we certainly have something!
  
  I know I've only seen a single episode, but I can't recommend this program enough. I enjoyed it from the start. The acting is enjoyable. The crime/detective parts are creative and puzzling. The character subtext is involved, but they give you enough information so you can jump right in.
  
  And I recommend that you jump right in.
  
  [LATER EDITION UPDATE: Holy moley!! HOW COULD I FORGET Galaxy Quest!! Dang, that was funny -- especially for a geek like me. And Tony was amazing in that film. Amazing. I know I am going to get in trouble for saying this, but only Johhny Depp is as flexible an actor. Seriously -- Johnny Depp (did you see Edward Scissorhands? Did you see Ed Wood? Did you see Blow? Amazing.), and Tony Shalhoub -- numbers 1 and 2 in my book. SERIOUSLY.
  
  Seriously.]