It's been a while. Busy with the kids going back to school, with a killer schedule at work, with working on MINDMISTRESS I never had a chance to do last month's. So this is a combined "issue".

For those who don't know, this is a combination ezine/weblog from the best of the on-line journal world. I give preference to those I haven't linked to before, and this month, at least, I definitely link to almost all (save for one) journal that I've never linked to before.

I usually do it within one month's time. This month I'm covering two, since I skipped last month's.

All excellencies are the individual writer's...any mistake in selecting one of them is mine, as editor.

Anyway...on with the lives.

Humor:

"Men and Their Mothers"---you never really know a man until you know their mother. From THE MOUTH. DANGEROUS WHEN OPEN.

"I Am All Three of the Stooges Rolled Into One"---about how pratfalls and poking in the eye lose their charm when it's happening to you. That's from CRUEL IRONY.

Words of wisdom from your mama:"Wet Dreams" from DYERMAKER.

A visit to "McDante's"---do you want fries with Dis? (If you've never read the Inferno, you won't get the joke...) from HYPEDREAMS.

Drama:

Insomnia and night thoughts with a tumor growing in your head: "I Need to Make Up My Mind" from BLUE RING.

Writer's block, matrihatred, and how one gets to a certain point in life: "Round About Examination of My Vices" from THE SENSELESS RAMBLINGS OF GIALLOTHANG.

In "Very Much a Near-Death Experience" the writer narrowly misses death---and reflects on how it has changed...everything. That's from THE MIRROR OF ERISED.

"Surgeon General's Warning" is about quitting smoking---and the best reason of all to stop. If you don't think that's drama, you've never tried to quit smoking. That's from LUV, THE QUEEN OF THE BEE PEOPLE.

Read CRACKPOTS and FREAKS to see how scary ex's can be, when you're planning to get married. That's from VOX ACERBUS--BITTER VOICE.

Slice-of-life:

"Some Things I've Learned About the Ozarks..." explores what leaps to someone's eyes when they move to that vicinity. That's from THISTLEDOWN. Also check out her "My Life of Crime".

"Sometimes a Ciagerette is just a Cigarrette"--irony and psychiatry intermixed. From THE MOUTH. DANGEROUS WHEN OPEN.

"My Husband the Human Mine Field" and his list of things to do during a rainy day---that's from LA THE SAGE'S KICKASS DIARY.

"Frankly I like being overcaffeinated"---an ode to that underrated of vices, caffeine and coffee. That's from SUNDRY MOURNING.

The weirdness of hanging with ex-husbands in "To Ex-Husbands" from UNSENT LETTERS.

Miscellaneous:

Right now, you can't turn around without tripping over 9-11 rememberances. I promise you: these are different.

XDISSENT reflects on the "culture" of Texas and 9-11 kitsch, in "The Lost Culture of Texas".

In "Ideas Colliding Uselessly, Part II" Columbine of ECCENTRIC FLOWER says some much-needed, "unpatriotic" things---which in times like these, might be the most patriotic thing of all.