Doctor Evil said it best, there really is nothing like a good night’s sleep. Or was that Ann Landers? Anyway, after eight continuous hours, this boy is ready to rock and roll!

Today I see good things for the page, even it’s blank. Ah, the sound of so much fury.

Chatting with the day job boss about the upcoming release White Noise led to the subject of haunted houses, which in turn, reminded me of a place in California from preadolescence that had a very odd vibe. Nothing Amityville horror grade, but definitely strange. I’ll jot a few notes down and decide if there’s enough for a short story. If so, my News Years resolution is to write and post it.

Buddhapuss Books business – specifically dealing with wholesalers – consumed the entire day. On the plus side, lots of cool new titles are coming. On minus side, brain function is minimal, collapse is possible. Aiming for bed now. Tuesday’s blog will be better.

Got to thinking about the Woodstock riots today. By the Woodstock riots I mean the aftershock of the Woodstock music festival in 1999 in Rome, New York.

Unlike the peanut butter and granola love fest in 1969, the 1999 concert series was a cacophony of violent crime, with charges that included robbery and assault, all capped off with an LA style demolition attack that left the base looking like the set of Apocalypse Now. Who said white people can’t throw it down? Instead of “Peace, love, music” the 1999 tag line was “rapes, riots and arson”.

Well, hindsight is 20/15. Just where did the promoters go wrong?
1) Location, location, location. Establishing a compound in the center of an abandoned military base, much of it upon a sea of asphalt was unfortunate. The festival was in midsummer and the blacktop reflected the heat and light, fraying nerves and aggravating the risk of heat stroke.
2) Ticket pricing. It set a record at the time of 150 dollars a head. At that price perhaps many expected a miracle of drugs and sexual ecstasy.
3) Vendor prices. There’s profit and there’s fleecing. A 12 oz bottle of water – where there was no competition and 225,000 potential customers – $4.00. Burrito – $10. Hey, remember all that hot asphalt in step 1?
4) 2500 portable toilets and a staff of 450 to clean. On the surface the ratio seems sufficient, until one takes into account how much waste 225,000 people hopped up on $10 burritos can muster. Let’s just say all the brown stuff in the pictures was not mud.
5) During the last musical act, they passed out thousands upon thousands of lit candles to the crowd as a goodwill gesture. Now just to recap, we have 225,000 broke, constipated and dehydrated people now armed with flames and no prayer of getting out of the parking lot. Enter the final catalyst…
6) Letting the Red Hot Chili Peppers close. Don’t get me wrong. I play bass. I’m a Flea fan. However, at the time the Peppers routinely ended shows by destroying the stage and their equipment, which they also did at Woodstock. Ever one with the mood, as the crowds set the vendor huts ablaze the Peppers jammed to Fire by Jimi Hendrix. Did the Peppers cause the riots? Of course not. They were the spark chased by the wick, looking for an excuse to ignite.

In short, that’s my take on where Woodstock 1999 went horribly awry. Next week, why Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 election.

There’s no more painful treatment for a hangover quite like a hike up an iced over hillside with a stiff wind to the face.

Sure, some swear by orange juice and aspirin, water and ice packs, or a taste of whatever inflicted the mortal wounds the previous night. I prefer a long bout of physical exertion. The more excruciating the better.

After sampling every hangover “cure”, at the advanced age of thirty one, I’ve accepted the following reality: there are none, only the the choice to drink excessively or not. Ah, such problems.

On other fronts – the bookstore exceeded expectations – particularly for the first week. Orders arrived on every business day, with a nice, nice bump on the weekend. All I can say is sweet. Buddhapuss may earn a slice of sushi pizza by New Years.

The only thing I’m not happy about is the amount of writing. Very slow movement there, not sure why. Perhaps this week the answer will reveal itself.