Dog bite, BMI, Car Dent, Big Wired Traffic

August update: I got bit by a dog - - my own sweet Huck - - the other morning. A rival dog off the leash came racing over to attack us. I got between the two, and Huck accidentally took a piece out of my calf. Ouch.

Oh, then I had an allergic reaction to echinacha. I've been taking it ever since a great Method actor (Sopranos) told me it prevented colds. I forgot to shake up a new bottle and choked, eyes tearing, coughing, all that. So, no more echinachea. I supsect it of being a placebo type thing anyway.

Then I posted Wired.com's most popular "gallery" story in July, and took the Amtrak down to Comic-Con and had pork chops with my editor at a restaurant that supposedly used to be Wyatt Earp's whore house. On the train back, I sat across from French director Michel Gondry and his girlfriend.

Last week I found out from BMI in New York that I'm a finalist for their musical workshop. I go there Sept. 8 to audition.

Watching "Mesrine" tonight, about French criminal. Gripping stuff. The guy channels young robert De Niro.

Songs and Blow-Out Preventers

I had been picturing the month of May as a chance to wheel out 30 of my tunes online. I did go ahead and do that with my 30 Songs in May page. But mostly, I obsessed over Container Domes, Blow Out Preventers and Top Kills. I used to live on Pawley's Island, South Carolina, so I know first hand about the hypnotic beauty of the wetlands. Responding to images of the Gulf oil spill, I yelled at the TV so much I got hoarse. I called all my "representatives" and ranted to their poor phone-handlers, and sent emails, and twittered about the government's Katrina-like sluggishness.

Anyway, I've spent Memorial Day Weekend with a cold. Whee!

Bummer: Talented "Wire" Writer R.I.P.

David Mills died this week from a brain anuerism. I interviewed him a few years back when he was producing a TV series called King Pins. On his cluttered office in Burbank, California. Nice guy, smart and loved music. He had a blog which will give you a good idea of his interests.

It's weird when somebody I've done stories about kick the bucket. Heath Ledger, gone. Had a really funny bunch of stories from Jon and a few months later, he drops dead. Allen Ginsberg, over the phone, always a high point as was Frank Zappa.

Rockin Video from the Archives

Okay, uploaded my first YouTube video this weekend. Ex-ODD guitarist sent me a DVD of the band in Chicago, i figured out how to use this iMovie editing software, onverted a clip into a movie file and threw it up there under the desparately named flamewidget channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/flamewidget

Fairfax Feedback

Got some useful feedback today from Alice and Norman Tulchin this afteroon after they listened to my 16-song Fairfax CD over the weekend. They've produced a ton of Broadway shows including Kristen Scott Thomas' Seagull couple years ago. I'm also awaiting a critque from Rokko Jans, composer for the Tony Award winning troupe Chicago Shakespeare Theater. wrote a few songs for one of Rokko's musicals a few years ago.

Musical, Done. . .

I wrapped version one of Fairfax, my musical about teardowns, a cranky grandpa, his two feuding sons and the beautiful woman they both adore. Sixteen songs, burned to CD as I kept one eye on the Superbowl, tell the story: Five rockers, four character songs, two ballads, a waltz, a polka, a duet and a couple of reprises. Next up, I'm sending the thing out and see how / if people like it.

The Week in Rock, Sci-Fi, Musical

Intense week: Sunday, Jody Durham, ex-roadie from The ODD, came by during a visit to L.A. He now runs tech stuff for Chicago's Oriental Theater - Dream Girls in February! - - but used to schlep speakers and lights for my band. Favorite memory: me, in losing battle to a dead-of-winter cold, too hoarse to sing for a club gig in Iowa City. So I moved my mouth to a whole set's worth of songs while Jody, unseen offstage, did the actual singing. Fooled 'em!

Then I saw Book of Eli and reviewed it for Wired.com.

Found out midweek that my childhood buddy Dale Shewalter died. A true wild child, Dale grew up to create the Arizona Trail.

Thursday, singer Vikki Gurdas laid down soulful vocal tracks for my Fairfax: A Musical duet One Plus One.

And Friday I walked a couple of blocks to the Aroma Cafe in Studio City to interview 22-year old actress Alessandra Torresani. She's the star of a new sci-fi series, Caprica, and is a real ball of fire. The enthusiasm of youth - - whew!