Been granted grace by the lady of the house to do macho malarkey this weekend, so I'm out of here, baby. Goin' to Sayreville, New Jersey to catch THE HOLD STEADY tomorrow night with friends, got me my new Lansdale tucked under the arm (awesome so far, of course...), then I'm doing a turn and burn down south to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Yeah, yeah...lots of driving, but my pal Vernon, back from extended tours in the 'Stans and Iraq, has put me on the "kill permit" (love that) for his folk's farm out near Charlottesville and attendance is a must for someone who went through all that for seven-odd years. Apparently there's a deer problem that needs solving which consists of deck chairs at twilight, BBQ ribs, and whatever Odocoileus virginianus is unlucky enough to show up in the fields. Taking the laptop to catch the details and kill the slack-factor. One of the guys going is actually the dude I based a character on last year in Burton & So's THRILLING DETECTIVE. See you, Moan-day, people. In case you want to track me down...that's the view from Big Brother up top, but if you show up make sure you stick to the road and leave your antler hat at home.