When do people worry about hurricanes?

I recently read an article in the December issue of Significance titled, “Does Christmas really come earlier every year?” by Nathan Cunningham of the University College of Dublin.  His premise was that, by using cluster analysis of Google Trends data, we can see how people have begun thinking about the holidays earlier and earlier each year.  It’s a good read: http://www.statslife.org.uk/significance/1892.  I should note that Nathan graciously answered my emails asking for clarification and saw real value in this technique for emergency management work.

I decided to replicate his results using a FEMA-related search term: “hurricane”. 

Google Trends

Google Trends (http://www.google.com/trends/) allows you to view the volume of searches on particular terms.  The units are percentage of total Google searches.  For example, the week that Hurricane Katrina made landfall, “hurricane” scored almost 100; almost all searches were hurricane related. If you sign-on with your Google ID, you can also download the data to CSV.  Cunningham used Google Trends to analyze search volumes on holiday-related terms (“Christmas”, “Santa Claus”, etc).  Here I’ve compared the search terms “hurricane” and “tornado”.  You can see that there is a somewhat repetitive pattern of increase mid-year.  I wanted to explore this pattern.

Cluster Analysis

Cluster Analysis looks at data and organizes it into groups that share similarities.  Once Cunningham had each year’s data, he used cluster analysis to determine in which week of the year the volume of holiday-related searches began to increase.  Similar analysis can be done on FEMA-related search terms; a cluster analysis of the Google Trend data for the search term “hurricane” reveals continuous periods of increased interest for the following weeks from 2004-2014.  This was simple to implement using R (see code below).  The accompanying graphic shows the “shape” of the cluster; the x-axis is the week number of the year, and the y-axis is the percentage of all Google searches for the term “hurricane”.  In hindsight, it is possible to find explanations for these clusters; for example, 2005 and 2012 had periods of exceptionally high interest corresponding to the hurricane activity of those years.  2009 and 2013 had little activity (look at the y-axis) corresponding to light years.

Further Investigation

This simple example shows how cluster analysis can illustrate the behavior of data that have more than one pattern.  This could find application in data that vary from Region to Region or JFO to JFO, or changes with disaster type.

Although Cunningham used cluster analysis to look at Google Trends data, it is easy to see that the data returned also lend themselves to Time Series Analysis.

R Code used in this example

## Crow's nest Clustering example – Tim Allen

# Adapted from http://www.statslife.org.uk/significance/1892

# Nathan Cunningham - Does Christmas really come earlier every year?

# Significance Magazine 11 November 2014

# Allow multiple plots (2 rows x 6 columns)

par(mfrow=c(2,6))

# You have to install and load the mclust package

library(mclust)

# Calculate clusters for each year

for (yr in 2007:2013) {

# 1) load this year's data in a matrix

observations <- span="">as.matrix(subset(gtrends, year==yr, select=c("week","hurricane")))

# 2) find clusters based on models' BIC

fit <- span="">Mclust(observations, 2)

# 3) Plot the clusters and print the model summary

plot(fit, what="classification", xlab=yr)

print(summary(fit))

}

Acknowledgement

My sincere appreciation to Nathan Cunningham of  the University College of Dublin for his kind help in preparation of this article.  Please read his article, "Does Christmas really come earlier every year?"

How to calculate a p-value for an ANOVA F-Statistic using R or a TI-84

At the end of calculating an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), you have an F-statistic.  To get the p-value of the F-Statistic, you can use R or the TI-84:

For example, in an ANOVA with treatment degrees of freedom = 1 and error degrees of freedom = 10, you calculate the F-Statistic as 2.81 and want to know its p-value (that is, what is the probability of observing this F-Statistic under the Null Hypothesis?):

1) R
# The following calculates the p-value of an F-statistic
pf(q=2.81, df1=1, df2=10, lower.tail=FALSE)
 You'll get the answer:
[1] 0.1246126

2) TI-84
The syntax for the Fcdf command is:
Fcdf(lower limit, upper limit, numerator degrees of freedom, denominator degrees of freedom).
Fcdf(2.81, 99999, 1, 10)
 You'll get the answer:
[1] 0.1246126
I'm a student in the MS in Applied Statistics program and the University of the District of Columbia.

My new video: Median Polish - Exploratory Data Analysis

I recently completed a video about Median Polish, an Exploratory Data Analysis technique for analyzing two-way tables invented by John Tukey.  I had tried to find a Youtube video about this, without any luck.  So I thought I'd better create one to fill the gap.  Enjoy:

MS Word: How to delete all the comments in a document using Visual Basic for Applications (VBS)

I just got passed a document with a Microsoft Word document with a zillion comments in it.  I could have deleted all the comments by hand, but it would have taken forever and there would be a good chance I would miss one.  So I used Visual Basic for Applications to do it.  Here are the steps:

1. In MS Word, type Alt-F11 to bring up the Macro window
2. At the bottom of the Macro window, there is a pane labelled "Immediate".  Commands entered here are run immediately.
3. On a single line in the immediate pane, type
   
   for z = ActiveDocument.Comments.Count to 1 step -1: ActiveDocument.Comments(z).Delete : next
4. Hit Enter. All of the comments in the document will be deleted.

Parkour Flow video

I finally got around to filming a new parkour video.  This is a short video of some parkour flow work I did this afternoon near my work.  I filmed a lot and mean to edit together a longer clip when I have some time.  Enjoy!

Idea: The Shivery 30 Blanket Run

I visited National Cathedral today with Daniel. If you haven't had the guided tour, you really should do this. We learned a lot of great things. Daniel was terrific, really curious about everything; he asked great questions of the docent.

After a trip up to the observation deck, we made the obligatory visit to the Gift Shop. We got a couple things, and when we rang up, the sales person asked if we wanted to donate $15 to buy a blanket for a needy DC family. Since I'm not a heartless ogre, I went ahead and ponied up.

Then I started thinking: $15 for a blanket. Every time I run, I see homeless guys out there freezing in sweatshirts. And I'd already been playing with the idea of doing another ultramarathon and having people donate blankets. But here is a ready-made mechanism for getting blankets into peoples' hands... just waiting for a knucklehead like me to drive people to it.

I'm not thinking of doing another 46 miler for this... first off, Sònia wouldn't have it. And second off, Sònia wouldn't have it! But I already do 30 mile training runs pretty regularly. I could just do a 30 mile run, get people to sign up and send money to the Cathedral, and voila: cold homeless people get warm! A dollar a mile pledge would equal two blankets per donation. And the block around National Cathedral is just at one mile and a bit... I could actually run the thing around the Cathedral! So I'm giving some actual thought to this. I'm not saying it's a done deal... I'm just saying it sounds do-able. Really. Hmmm.

$1075 raised by Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler!

The Oyster-Adams Community Counsel folks have added up the donations made for the Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler, and so far we have raised at least $1075 for Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. You can still donate! Click here to make a donation. Thanks to all who have donated so far.

IMPORTANT: If you make a donation, please put "Daddy's Crazy 46" in the description. If not, the school won't know the DC46 was where the funds came from.

I ran 46 miles! Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler

Yesterday morning at 3am, I started running. Eight hours and 42 minutes later, I finished-- and I had covered 46 miles. We did it! And when I say "we", I really mean it. No way I would have completed this without a great deal of help from some very good friends.

Friendship can be defined in a lot of different ways. One of the most beautiful examples I can think of was Sancho Panza's friendship for Don Quijote. Sancho didn't ignore that his friend was crazy-- Sancho knew that Don Quijote was crazy. Sancho supported him anyway:

"God's will be done," said Sancho. "I'll believe all your worship says, but straighten yourself a bit in the saddle...."

No one tried to talk me out of tilting this windmill. On the other hand, plenty of people helped me stay straight in the saddle! Maybe I should call you all my "enablers" instead of my "supporters"!

Thanks to all of you. Andrew, Pedro, and Fabricio who met me at mile 31 and paced me for the next 15 miles. Claire and Marcia ran with me on Adams track, and way back in August did not ask me whether I was going to do this-- they just asked me "when?" And Phoebe, who helped me steer through the details of permissions, and who got me through the OCC board last year. Jerome, Dana, Joy, and Gina, who don't even have children in the school came and cheered me on. Ibis and Karen and Maria who cleared me to use the track for the last ten miles of the run-- and thank you, Ibis for opening up and cheering me on as well. Donna, David, Maricarmen, Paco, Susana, Scott, Elisa, Diego and Marta came and ran a few laps and helped out Sonia-- you guys are our constant friends and we're always grateful for you. And thank you to everyone who contributed to the OCC-- Oyster-Adams is a better school because of you. If you're still thinking about donating, you can click here to do so.

And of course, thank you to Sonia and Daniel. What kept me going was knowing you'd be at the finish line.

It went so much better this year than last. It mostly was just better training-- I came a lot better prepared this time, having done more and longer long runs, having tested all of my equipment better, and having been much more consistent in my training. Also, just having the experience of completing the distance last year was a big psychological help. But, whereas last year I had to walk a lot after the 30 mile point, this year I was able to run the entire 46 miles. I even was able to run the last three miles at a pace near 9 minutes per mile.

Now I get to think about what to do next. Sonia has already started talking about next year-- so I guess I have the most important permission already! Now that I've done two of these, I know that it's not just a fluke. If I do a third one, I suppose I can consider it a habit. With it going so well this time, I'm wondering if I shouldn't try to get in at least one official ultramarathon a year besides this one. Hmmm.

But for now, I guess I should concentrate on recovering to the point that I can go downstairs without gritting my teeth!

My checklist for the Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler

So much to remember. Here is my checklist of essentials for tomorrow's 46 mile run:

Fannypack:
IBUPROFEN
Lactic acid pills
Gels
Powerbars
Washcloth
Money
Keys
Lip balm
Batteries
Camera
Toilet paper
Whistle
Credit card, metro, license
Chalk or 16 spoons, whiteboard

Clothing:
Sweatshirt
Vamos T-shirt
Arm sleeves
Knee band
Camelback (Put Electrolyte in H2O)
Headlamp, tail-lamp
RoadID
Socks
Pants
Skivvies

Finish bag:
Water
Warm clothes for finish
Towel for finish
Potato chips
Something sweet

Tasks:
Plug in HRM tonight
HYDRATE tonight!
Breakfast morning
Take ibuprofen morning

Stock house for recovery:
Sonia, Daniel, Sparky
Ice cream, chili, pyjamas

Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler: One week to go!

I'm down to seven days until the Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler. I feel like I'm ready: my training has gone well, I have my route well thought out, I know what my strategy is for the run. I even got interviewed by the Washington Post Express-- it should be on the newstands next Tuesday, I think. And yet it doesn't feel very real for me yet. When I did this a year and a half ago... it just feels like my life has changed so much since that time. We bought a house and moved from Woodley Park to Glover Park. Sonia started working at the State Department and I started walking Daniel to school in the mornings. The big snow came. I got a big promotion at FEMA. We adopted Sparky.

My dad died.

I suppose life was just different. And last time, I really wasn't certain it was possible for me to finish the run. This time, I know it's likely I'll finish it. And I'm pretty sure I'll get through it in a lot better shape this time.

One thing that keeps running through my mind is the question Vicky Hallett asked me last week in the interview: "Why are you doing this?" I don't remember my exact answer, but it was something like, "because I have to... I can't imagine not doing this." Even when I told Vicky this, I knew I wasn't fully satisfied with the answer. I wish I had said that I love the feeling of running for hours in the dark by myself. Or that the way I lived my life sixteen years ago, I used to dream about doing things like this but never could have. Or that running a long way, for me, is kind of a celebration of the fact that I'm free to do this kind of thing now.

I did explain that my head clears when I'm out there running. That running is like meditating for me, and that when I'm having a good day, the monkeys in my head stop chattering for a while. I didn't tell her that it's like a long prayer for me; it is. I wish I could explain that better. But it certainly is true, and it's a big reason for my running.

Anyway, seven days to go. And really, I can't wait to get out there and start running.

Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler: One month to go!

I'm down to one month to the day until I run the Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler. I think I'm a lot better trained this year than I was for last year's 45. I've done a lot more long runs, and my longest training run was 35 miles. I found my biggest trouble happened last year after I got over my longest training run distance.

I've had some patellar tendinitis problems in my left knee, probably due to some of my poor technique in parkour. I've been using The Stick, and that seems to be helping, and I just got a foam roller today. I tried it out on my IT Band-- man, did it hurt! Apparently, that pain is a sign that I really needed it.

I will have a flyer out tomorrow with details of the run and how to donate to Oyster-Adams Community Council in support. And tomorrow I'll be taking advantage of my day off from work to run 26 miles-- just two long runs to go before I do the 46!

Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler: Date set - 6 November 2010

I just got off the phone with the coach from Oyster-Adam's school: we agreed I would run the Daddy's Crazy 46-Miler the first Saturday of November, 6 November 2010. I'm really excited! And now I have to figure out some logistics: how I'm going to train between now and then (I'm thinking 18 miles Friday, 26 the next Saturday, 25 again the following, then two weeks with no long run, then run it!). I have to pick the route (easy enough: 35 miles out and back on Connecticut and Georgia Avenues, then 15 miles around the Adams track). I have to put together a flyer directing people to the donation site.

Wow, that was easy. Now all I have to do is run the thing!

Memories of my father - Red Kayak

I shared this at my father's memorial ceremony:

Hi, I’m Tim Allen. I’m Dad’s youngest son, and I’d like to talk to you all about some memories that I have of my father. I think of him very often; there are certain actions that I take, that every time I take them I think of my father. I’d like to share with you one experience that I had from when I was very young. This is a poem I wrote. It’s called “Red Kayak”.

I was five
We built it of canvas and wood, and
You let me help paint it
Bright red as my bicycle

Mom and Dad painted. I was actually quite a big boy before I realized that not everybody’s houses smelled of oil paint and clay. Now, when Dad left the Marine Corps in 1973, we came here to Texas, and he became something of a hippy. He grew out his hair and he grew a beard. He designed a kiln, and he and my cousin Donny began to spin pots like madmen. Donny and Dad would pay me eight cents a bat to clean the clay off of the spinning bats. This was the first job I ever had.

It still smelled of paint and glue
When we carried it to the Ocean
Which was and still is
The largest thing I've ever seen

Dad later shared with me that it was most likely not the ocean that we carried the red kayak to, but rather a fairly small creek that was near our house in Cherry Point, North Carolina.

But I wasn't worried (much)
Because my dad was
The strongest man in the world
And smarter than the ocean

I think of Dad every time that I take our dog, Sparky, to the dog park in Washington, DC. Now, Sparky is something of a digger. She likes to dig in the dog park. We used to have dogs here in Texas, and they would dig holes in the front yard. My dad got tired of filling in the holes, so Dad worked out a system. He discovered that he could stop the dogs from digging holes if he would simply urinate in the holes the dogs had dug. And it worked. They stopped digging. I have been tempted to try this system out in Washington, DC. I haven’t done it yet.

You put me in the kayak
Got in behind me
And we began paddling
I could not see over the wave
Until we crested it, and the
Sunlight dazzled my eyes
Across the brown water

Now, I think of my dad when I look at my son, Daniel. I caught my first fish when I was four years old with my dad. We have a photo of that moment. When Daniel saw that photo when he was four years old, he could not be convinced that it was not a photo of him.

I could hear you singing
As you pulled at the water
The biggest wave in the Ocean
Crested before us
I wanted to cry out and drop my paddle

I remember Dad every time that we eat Mexican food. One time our entire family went and ate at a Mexican restaurant. We all ate way too much food, except for my dad, who ate one taco. The rest of us were sitting around, groaning about how uncomfortable we were because we were so full. And my dad said, “I ate just the right amount”. My Sister-in-Law, Liz, and I have not been able to have a meal in a restaurant since then without sharing that memory.

But you had given me a job to do
And a paddle to help keep the boat straight
And you were not afraid

I think of my dad when I make mistakes as a husband and as a father. My dad was not a perfect man, and neither am I. I especially worry during hurricane season, when my job takes me away from home so often, that I am somehow leaving Sònia and Daniel in second place. But I can assure you that I never felt like I was in second place when my dad’s work took him away from home. I knew that what my dad did was very important.

The wave crested in front of us
And we glided over the water
I was close to the world
Close to the water
And close to my father
Nothing could hurt me

I think of my dad every morning when I bring a cup of coffee to Sònia in bed. Every day, every morning that Mom and Dad were together, he would bring a cup of coffee to mom and he would give her three kisses. Every day.

We turned to shore
And landed the red kayak
I don't recall ever going out in it again
But I've returned to that Ocean many times
Grasped my paddle and pulled the water
And knew that you were behind me
The first man I ever met
And still the best man I ever met
Singing and pulling the water with me.

Things Change: The final edits are finished

I finally finished editing and re-recording the 14 songs I wrote in February. They form an album called "Things Change". You can listen to the songs with the player here, or on the following page.

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2548531

This is a song cycle about recovery from addiction: what it was like, what happened, and what it's like now. The 14 tracks are built around this three part structure:

Track 1. What it was like

What happened:
Track 2. Step 1: Well I admit it
Track 3. Step 2: Always there
Track 4. Step 3: Things Change
Track 5. Step 4: I was a drunkard
Track 6. Step 5: This with me to the grave must go
Track 7. Step 6: What does it mean to be ready
Track 8. Step 7: Pawn shop
Track 9. Step 8: Rewrite history
Track 10. Step 9: Just some papers we had signed
Track 11. Step 10: Wrong wrong wrong
Track 12. Step 11: You as I understand you
Track 13. Step 12: Fully awake

Track 14: What it's like now.

The songs a really very varied. In talking with a few people, it has come up that the first song ("What is was like") is a bit sad-- as it should be. Things look up as the cycle goes along.

My favorite tracks are "Always There", "I was a drunkard", "Pawn Shop", "Fully Awake", and "What it's like now", although I really am pretty happy with all of them.

http://timothychenallen.blogspot.com/2010/04/things-change-final-edits-are-finished.html

New Song: Always There

This is a work in progress called "Always There" from a 14 song set I'm working on called "Things Change". I'm still working on editing and re-recording the entire set. This is a rough version of the song I put together yesterday afternoon; I have some ideas for it that I still want to write up. But I thought it would be interesting to let people hear what what it is like along the way.



I don't mind if you didn't create everything
I don't mind if you're not always there
I don't even mind if you let me down sometimes
I just need some help with this one thing

I don't mind if you aren't always perfect
I can tell from the look of the world that that doesn't mean a thing
And besides, perfect for me can intimidate me
All I ask is that you be good enough

Cause when I'm falling down
Just need your hand to be there

I don't mind if you didn't create everything
I don't mind if you're not always there
I don't even mind if you let me down sometimes
I just need some help with this one thing

I don't mind if you aren't always perfect
I can tell by the look of the world that that doesn't mean a thing
And besides, perfect for me can intimidate me
All I ask is that you be good enough

Cause when I'm falling down
Just need your hand always there

I don't mind if you didn't create everything...

BigBrainz Timez Attack RULES!

I originally became a computer programmer because I loved video games. About 500,000 lines of mostly business intelligence and database code later, I'm at peace with the fact that I'll never be a professional game programmer. But I still love a good video game.

Fast forward: I'm a dad now, and my 3rd-grade son is learning his multiplication tables. I'm pretty good at math, but I remember this being a struggle for me. Rumors of a secret weapon have been floating around my kid's school, and I finally got the scoop from one of the parents: Timez Attack.

Timez Attack looks and feels a lot like, well, Quake. No monsters being liquidated against the walls with a BFG-9000, though. The weapon here is your kid's mind: he or she blows away the baddies by answering multiplication questions correctly! As ghastly as it sounds, it works, and my kid is choosing to practice math as a result!

I, of course, had to give it a spin for myself. You'll be happy to know there is a way to test out of the lower levels-- but I found that the higher levels were surprisingly challenging. This isn't a walk in the park; you will be required to produce each math fact in about three seconds or forfeit the point. I fat-fingered an answer and crushed the monitor with my bare hands! (okay, I actually did not do that-- though I considered it!)

There are free, standard, and deluxe versions of the game. The free version is really quite fun! The upgraded versions add more environments so you aren't playing in the same dungeon every time. It's well worth a spin to see if it will work for your kid (or for you, for that matter!) Check it out here:

multiplication games from Big Brainz.

National Novel Writing Month: Completed! with an overview

I finished off the very, very rough first draft of "I don't know if I love you (but I might)" at 50,024 words. This is my third year doing this. I've completed each time. This was by far the most difficult year. I searched the manuscript for something that I could excerpt out here. But there was nothing I really liked. So here is the story pitch:

Jay Boudreaux and David Goldman are driving from DC to New Orleans for Jay's father's funeral. Jay's father, Bubba Boudreaux, was a big man in New Orleans, well loved, but with a troubling past marked by alcoholism and strained relations with his wife, Sally Boudreaux. Passing through Greensboro, Jay and David get into an accident with a motorcycle driven by Sara Smith (the one character I carried over from last year's "The Duke of Sunrises"). Sara goes into a coma, and Jay and David decide to wait it out in the hospital.

Sara is stuck between life and death in something akin to the afterlife-- set in a 1950's federal building with bad florescent lighting and mismatched furniture. There she meets Bubba Boudreaux, who is being guided through his first days in the afterlife by Mason, who has been here for a few thousand years.

The back story on Sara is that she was running from DC after the death of the man she was living with, Aaron Washington. Aaron was an artist who had found recent success in the DC art scene and then committed suicide by metro train.

Sara is treated by Dr. Amir Sindh, who is completely incompetent, but who has a brilliant record of diagnosis and treatment because he is constantly accompanied by the soul of his grandmother, Zayd, who won't allow him to make a mistake. He fumbles through and finds the correct diagnosis for Sara and saves her life.

In Greensboro, David attends an AA meeting and meets two characters who are bound together by ancient history: Mr. Deacon and Missus Circe. I'll admit it here: Mr. Deacon was my favorite character. I based him on Anansi. Note: if you're writing something and can't seem to make it work, put Anansi in your story-- he can do damn near anything. A large portion of the story is about Deacon and Circe-- in reality, they originally were slaves in New Orleans who have been alive since the 1600's. Part of their history bases their relationship on love/hate, but they are inseparable on this earth.

I don't want to ruin everything, but Deacon and Circe end up being instrumental in Sara Smith coming out of her coma. There is a connection between Missus Circe and Aaron Washington, Sara's dead lover. When it is over, Missus Circe passes away.

After Sara comes out of the coma, Jay and David continue on down to New Orleans for Bubba Boudreaux's funeral only to find that Deacon has beat them to NOLA, where he is consoling his old friend and Jay's mother, Sally Boudreaux. Jay, David, Deacon, and Sally attend Bubba's funeral, where we find out that Deacon (Anansi) is able to move freely between this world and the afterlife, which makes for a little comedy with Bubba Boudreaux, the deceased.

At the end of the book, Sara Smith is back in DC, trying to piece her life back together. David and Jay are just arriving in DC, and a friendship with possibilities has struck up between David and Sara. Bubba and Missus Circe spend time in the afterlife together accompanied by Aaron Washington. And Deacon is somewhere-- not tied to any one place or any one life.

I really don't know what to do with this story. If it is like the two previous stories, it will sit on my hard disk and that will be that. I feel like I never want to look at the story again, but I just finished it today and am a little sick of it. I also know that some of my best writing went into this draft. In any case, I'm very proud and very happy to be finished.

National Novel Writing Month: Excerpt

My buddy Johnny asked me to post an excerpt from my ongoing submission to National Novel Writing Month. I'm a little over 13,000 words into it. The working title is, "I don't know if I love you (but I might)":

Sally Boudreaux held the funeral announcement in her hands and shook her head in disbelief. Boudreaux was possibly one of the most common names in New Orleans; hell, it might just be the most common name. Boudreauxs had been some of the first settlers of this god forsaken place, had probably worked some of the first ships to land at the port of New Orleans four hundred years ago, had most likely populated just about every square mile from the French Quarter to the Lake Pontchartrain. Boudreaux was a pretty damn popular name in New Orleans.

And those dumb sons-of-a-bitches had misspelled Boudreaux on her husband’s funeral announcements. Boudreax.

What the hell was she going to do?

She’d have to deal with it. She’d have to deal with every damned thing. Larry and Michelle would mean well, but they had five kids to take care of—five! And her other son, Jay… well, Jay.

Sally put down the funeral announcement and looked down into her coffee cup. Jay.

She had finished the cup and stood to get a refill. It occurred to her that she could walk down to The Last Drop and have someone make breakfast for her. But Sally just was not ready for all of her neighbors who frequented The Last Drop to sympathize with her, to crowd around her to see if she was doing all right.

She was doing all right. Of course she was doing all right. Bubba Boudreaux—not Boudreax—had been a miserable son-of-a-bitch who had two-timed Sally miserably. He had been drunk and disorderly in just about every bar on Bourbon Street, had gotten his sorry ass thrown out of places it was damn near impossible to get thrown out of, and had gotten her woken up to bail him out of the parish drunk tank more times than she liked to imagine. Things had taken a turn for the better the day that Bubba Boudreaux—not Boudreax—had finally kicked the bucket with an esophageal hemorrhage. She hoped it hurt. She hoped it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

Sally held the funeral announcement to her face and sobbed into it, the ink staining her cheeks.

New song: Sitting in a circle

"Sitting in a circle" by Timothy Chen Allen



We are sitting in a circle
in a room above a store
and we're waiting for a sign that never comes

And we look into each others' eyes
and wonder if it's wrong
to be impatient with the process
brings us home

And I would not believe
that you would ever look away
I'd be a sorry friend to think of you that way

But I myself am falling asleep right now
I can't do much more than promise that I'll stay

But I myself am having trouble opening my eyes
I'd like to go to sleep right now if I may.

http://timothychenallen.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-song-sitting-in-circle.html

New song: Chameleon

"Chameleon" by Timothy Chen Allen
(I wasn't feeling particularly positive about myself when I wrote this)



I'll find out who you want
And be that all night long
I'm a chameleon
I'll be so good to you
I'll treat your mother good, too
I'm a chameleon

I know you look at me
Believing what you see is
Real, real, real
But when you turn around
I'll drop my colors down
Blink and you'll never see

Chameleon-meleon
Try all my colors on
See what looks good on me
Don't know quite who I am
Want you to lend a hand
Say what you like to see

The smile that's on my face
It hides an empty case
Nothing behind the glass
Don't like to meet my kind
Two lizards never find
The color of our mask, mask, mask

Chameleon-meleon
Try all my colors on
See what looks good on me
Don't know quite who I am
Want you to lend a hand
Say what you like to see