All my fine words last week, and I’m still not writing very regularly. . .

Rereading Shogun. I originally bought the book more than 10 years ago, as plane and coach reading while traveling in Spain. No one else on the trip understood why I was reading a book about medieval Japan while traveling in Spain. Somehow I never managed to adequately explain that it wasn’t the subject matter but the fact that it’s an 1100 page paperback.

Yesterday, I found a little card marking page 758; the card offers a Fiesta Americana on the 4th of July, “Tu segunda cerveza gratis.” I have always assumed I had finished this book, but now I’m not so sure.

Watched Treasure Planet last night. It’s OK, a bit lacking in subtlety. I may now need to read Treasure Island. Mom tried to read it to me when I was small; all I remember is being scared out of my wits. I can’t remember if it was the story that scared me or the paintings. It was a Junior Illustrated Library edition with very few illustrations: black and white drawings at the beginning of each chapter and five or seven color paintings. My voice recognition software uses excerpts from the first chapter of Treasure Island as part of its training. I almost know it by heart, and it’s always a little sad that the story comes to a screeching halt so soon.