Late that night, Yury got a call. He could fly on to Paris. At 4:30 am, guards (18) would collect and escort him to the gate. But was this good news? Would I know he was coming? Had I given up? Would he land in Paris knowing nobody, having almost no money and no clue how to find me? Should he chance it? Or should he just go back to Moscow?

(to be continued)


p.s. Gosh, thanks for the healthy response to my psychological test. That's not to say you're psychologically healthy, which has yet to be determined. So I naively thought that by taking the test, you would learn wads about yourselves and thereby find satisfaction and inner peace, but you guys want me to diagnose you, don't you? Allright, I tell you what. On Sunday I'll subject each test taker to a short, Cooperanian analysis then send you on your ways, okay? In the meantime ... ** A hearty hello and welcome to 'les boudoir' and 'j.h.' (I didn't know MLT was already out in Spain, thanks. What does the cover look like?) ** Mv, That's one of the interesting things about the new photo series -- the specificity of your concentration across the board is really effective, causing me at least to discard any preconceptions and really get the beauty and impressiveness of the passions/ dedication of the subjects, which I suppose is the most persuasive aspect, if that makes any sense. ** Paul curran, Thanks for the alert re. the post of part of your novel. i very much look forward to reading it. The whole publishing process with so many intermediaries is really difficult, and yet the system is set up such that writers without agents have so little chance. But the rise of the independent presses, in the US at least, is making such a difference. Indie publishers have told me that they're more inclined to pay attention to mss. sent directly to them by writers because they're looking for fresh, original books, whereas mss. from agents signals to them that the author is only approaching them because no major publisher wanted them. Things are looking up, I think. And I second jax's advice. ** Willfabro, ... and A Beautiful Mind, and ... ** Antonio, Interconnectedness is next to godliness, right? ** Vivisalive, Your Lance Kerwin-Steve Kerwin thing made me laugh so hard that Yury walked into the room to check if I was okay. ** Ronnie, My younger brother once smoked a joint with Lance Kerwin on a beach on Maui, Hawaii circa 'James at 16.' But did my brother appreciate his privileged position? No. ** Motor inn, So how did you manage to explain such a thing to such a person? ** Dickon edward, I think that's so impressive that you're continuing your musical work. Fuck conventional success. You know that other than loading your bank account, it means squat. The future figures greatness out. Come play Paris. And I too think it's seriously cool you wrote lyrics for 'Bid' from the vastly underrated Monochrome Set. ** Gotta rush out the door. Be well until tomorrow.