The weekend was spent taking naps, watching TV, feeling punk and concerned should this state of being continue through the week. A perverse idea arose that this business has nothing to do with my physical condition (which is - ha! ha! - getting better), but something to do with the fact somewhere back there it became normal for me to judge the success of a weekend by making little check marks against a list of internal censor approved projects. Had I gotten in that walk, cleaned the garage, photographed a parade, cooked a meal, washed the car, attended a play, concert or movie, all necessary to a "successful" weekend? You couldn't just spend it in bed zoned out watching ad riddled movies on television or your internal censor would squawk your life was being wasted. I spent the weekend zoned out in bed listening to the radio and watching ad riddled movies on television feeling just fine, thank you.

Why three days of naps?

I think it's the damned job. I think the youngsters in the group walk around with heads every bit as funky as mine on their weekends.

I futzed with the studio lights again this afternoon. I think I've figured out the light meter. It really is as easy as pointing and shooting - pointing in the right direction, of course, and shooting with the right button. What I hadn't realized is these lights are in a whole different league than the ones you fit on a camera. What did I know? I figured big was better. They have a slider gizmo on the back that allows you to set them from zero to full power. At 150 watts for the one and 300 watts for the other (a quarter of their power) they put out enough light to shoot ISO 400 Kodak TMY at f 22 at one five hundredth of a second almost as fast as you can pull the trigger. You can't shoot flash with most cameras at one five hundredth of a second so I'm getting some slower TMX (ISO 100) tomorrow and knocking back the power. All this and hanging a framed piece of cartoon art in the bedroom before dinner! Life in the fast lane, my friends. Here in Oakland.