2003-10-03 - 9:32 a.m.

I can throw a whirling dervish out of whirl. That�s my weird way of saying my life is madness right now. Nonstop madness. Good madness, but I need to slow down. I�ve been meeting my deadlines with the freelance gig, caught in a deadline frenzy at my real job, moving boxes and furniture and so much stuff into the new homestead (we�re finally done and the place is a sty; former tenants have performed many acts of d�cor violence against the circa 1920 building), and, well, of course, having "Breakfast with Radiohead."

About the breakfast thing: I�m not complaining, but that name is ridiculous. It�s a cheesy ploy by a sucky radio station. "Breakfast" occurred at 5:30 P.M., and not only was there no food or drink, there were no bathroom trips allowed. We were corraled in the parking lot for several hours, then herded into a little recording studio

But I�m not complaining, oh no. It was a once-in-a-lifetime extraordinary experience. Kristine and I became pals with some KROQ guy named "Lightning" and sat in the second row (five feet from Mister Yorke and Mister Greenwood) as they played a 45-minute acoustic set. They played mostly slow stuff, mostly with Thom on the piano. It was beautiful. No words.

Every person (all 100 of us) wrote a question for the band on an index card during our internment in the parking lot. Then a KROQ censor chose 15 of the questions to be asked. He chose my question, as well at Kristine�s. (I�m guessing this was largely because most KROQ listeners are illiterate?) Kristine�s question was a good one: She asked Thom how his view of the world has changed since having a child, and if it�s also changed his recent songwriting. His eyes lit up with the question. It was heartwarming. He gave a really long, thoughtful answer. My question was pretty boring, and I sounded really meek when I asked it. So, I�m not telling what it was. Anyway, we were both on the radio on Tuesday morning "chatting" with Radiohead during "breakfast." I missed it because I was dropping off that damn Saab at mechanicland. No surprises.

Did I mention how grateful I am to Kristine for picking me for the Radiohead experience from her vast array of quality friends? I�m really grateful.

Did I mention how much I love the Cindy Sherman book K. Maria sent me for my birthday? I love it a lot.

Did I mention how thrilled I am - as a Californian - about the likelihood of Arnold Schwarzenegger being our next governor? I�m so thrilled. Hopefully - with any luck - his election will pave the way for Steven Segal to announce his candidacy for president of our fine country. Hooray! Segal for president!

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