It's a chilly, gray, misty, rainy, windy Saturday in Norfolk Virginia USA.

Being at FUTURES means turning on warm incandescent lights to steal the "blues" from some of my florescent ceiling lights, turning on the electric and gas heaters until I reach comfortable and relaxed, and turning on the stereo with music to cooperate with but improve upon the weather outside (currently Golden Earring, Bo Hansson, John Mark & Johnny Almond, The Doors, & Tim Buckley).

If you've never heard the Bo Hansson album "Lord of the Rings" created about 1969-70, you're missing some unique instrumental music. He opened for Hendrix - by Hendrix's request. If there was ever a "mystical rock" album, this is it. I don't remember how I came upon it, but had I seen its awful album cover art first, it would've never reached me.

Golden Earring, a Dutch group, had one hit you may remember: "Radar Love", which is good, on the road rock, but it's the rest of the album that gets as sophisticated at rock could ever become...especially on their first album.

Mark & Almond, coming out of the John Mayall blues group, created some music from the same era that stretched out of its roots into, well, again, music I've never quite heard anywhere else...especially on their first album.

Tim Buckley began as a folk singer, but even then had a blues edge, which only increased until you heard no "folk" in him... & then he killed himself with alcohol about the same time as everyone else.

You know, 1969-72. They were droppin' like drugged flies.

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I just had a woman in FUTURES who said the last time she was in she was jobless, but after buying an item, she went home and was suddenly offered a job! She ended up quitting, but came in today to buy another (small) item... and get a new job... if I still offer such magic in my stuff. She bought a napkin rack. I predict she'll get a job in a diner.

She should've bought a "ufo" hanging light. She'd become an astronaut... or at least get a civilian trip on the Shuttle. If I took any of my green inventory out of this space, I'd end up VERY jealous of her.

She might even move to another country... and become.... AN ALIEN!

"Hahahahahhahahahah...Oh THANK you, thank you SO much!! Good night, take care, god bless, you've been great!!! Tip the hat check girl, and please drive safely - all you drunks! Hahhahahaaaa.....haha.........goo'nite!"

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Here's one of the design sites for which I occasionally write as one of their experts. This is a new conversation about the use of so-called "common" materials:

http://purecontemporary.blogs.com/behind_the_curtains/2007/10/modern-
concrete.html

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There are people who prefer to travel, travel, travel - experiencing different places, people, food, etc. each time. There are people who seem to find one or two places, and return to them again and again and again. I'm the second type.

Once I discovered the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, I needed no further exploration. It's a huge, rich, complex landscape, and gave me so much in so many ways, well, let's face it, I want my ashes scattered there, so I'm prepared to walk the walk even when the wind is doing the work for me.

When I moved to Holland, it was with the idea I was staying, and I never left the borders of that tiny country. When my wife and I have our Topless Miata Blueridge Drive vacation, we travel the same areas.

I saw these patterns in myself and others while still very young. There were people who wanted to experience as much as possible in a fast, overview, tally sort of fashion, and, there were those who preferred experiencing fewer things but in a slow, thorough, more intimate way.

There were people who had lots and lots of acquaintances and were members of various organizations or clubs, and, there were people who had a few very close friends, and tended to not join large groups.

I don't know the roots of this division, but it's been a very clear one to me my entire life. These ARE two styles of living life, no matter where you live or what you do.

I suspect that people who go after higher degrees which require them to study one subject minutely, would also be the same-vacation-place/a few close friends people. People who love rereading certain books once a year, re-viewing certain favorite films, collecting a category of things... same deal.

Random thoughts... no further conclusions.