Posthuman Blues

I just discovered that the coffeeshop where I've been writing lately has its own website.

I'm making decent progress on my new book, which I hope to have finished by the end of the year. One of the obstacles is that the subject matter -- alien visitation and the fate of technological civilizations -- is exceptionally slippery. But I've grabbed hold of a few substantial threads and I'm determined not to let go.

Something James Spader's character said in the last episode of "Boston Legal" keeps cropping up in my mind. After a bout of anxiety-induced "word salad," he questions his ability to persist and says something like: "Words are all I have. Without words, I'm all alone."

I don't want to be all alone.