The good news is that I've found an additional part-time job, which ought to greatly enhance the 25 hours I've got elsewhere. There's training at the end of this month, and then I'll be on my way.
Since it's hot as hell in Olympia this weekend, let me mention my favorite new album of late, Jimmy Cliff's Rebirth (Sunpower Productions/UMG). I haven't heard a lot of reggae since the '70s, and I've been unimpressed by the lazy, pristine sound of the modern stuff that has managed to find me. The great thing about Rebirth is that it's like discovering classic reggae all over again. A short album (under 40 minutes) but it's so punchy (Cliff covers Joe Higgs' "World Upside Down" and the Clash's "Guns of Brixton"), topical ("Children's Bread") and beautifully sung.
Something that startled me last year was seeing Cliff accompany himself on some of his old songs, recorded at Rolling Stone's NYC offices. Did you know that Jimmy Cliff is a left-handed guitarist, or that he sometimes backs himself? I didn't. It's been 40 years since I've since seen The Harder They Come film; perhaps it's in there.