Today I drove around and bought stuff. Abnormal stops included:

• A final visit to Big Al's, this time I found no used records interesting enough for purchase. The same at other venues, for used books (Los Altos) and used CDs (Sunnyvale) - stood at one of the free listening units there, at the Compact Disk Warehouse, listening to various useds, including really hearing the group James for the first time.
• That small storefront opposite Streetlight Records on Bascom, where I found only a sign in the door advising of a move to swank new digs in downtown San Jose, which I drove over to.
• Upstairs in a nice large high-ceilinged space, third floor - it's the new home of Slave Labor Graphics. This comic book company's been special to me since their mid-80s masterpiece, "Suburban High Life", from which they still do the spin-offs "Milk And Cheese". I bought the brand-new "Action Girl" (#14) <1> and the first two issues of "The Jam" (those almost ten years old; I missed it the first time around).
• "The Running Thread" in Cupertino, where I stocked up on the special thread I make Temari with (DMC 5) - they had all I needed except the great Turquoise (#995).

This has been my mental jukebox's programming: a somber, eerie track from "The Truman Show" soundtrack ("Living Waters"), "Bell Bottom Blues" by Derek & the Dominoes, and "A White Sportcoat (and a Pink Carnation)" by Marty Robbins.