It's been a busy day--writing and household chores in the morning.  Then a trek out into the country to hang with daughter Claire.  We took Ryan to preschool and then drove into Canton for lunch at an interesting Italian place.  We did some other stuff too.  It was nice visiting and talking a bit.  My daughters are really different, really interesting people.

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I'm at a point in Appearances where some fascinating--to me--things are happening.  It's funny, before I'd written a word of this project--before I had a glimmer of a idea where it might be going--I knew that the book would have to be called Appearances.  That it is subtitled " a novel in 365 fragments" is truly unimportant except as a goad to spur  me on-- a goal line.  So far I've completed 166 fragments and I have, at the moment , a strong sense of what to do next.

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I'm listening to a cd of songs covered by Norah Jones.  Her voice always makes me think about the power that comes from holding back a little--the elegance of just enough emphasis.  Not an easy balance to achieve.  Willy Nelson has something of that quality too.

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I read a lot everyday.  Currently there are 6 books in the mix: the Zizek I'm frequently quoting here, Royle's The Uncanny, a bio of Claude Levi Strauss, Chris Beckett's (no relation) Dark Eden, and Heidegger's Country Path Conversations.

It's a heady mix and there are a lot of intriguing cross-currents for me, especially between the Zizek, Royle and Heidegger.

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While I'm feeling somewhat isolated these days, at this particular moment I'm feeling fairly productive.  So, that's good, no?