I receive many catalogs in the mail, primarily book and music catalogs, not surprisingly since reading and listening to music are my two favorite pastimes. I also belong to several book and music clubs, and this week I took advantage of a Buy 1 - Get 4 free offer to order two free cds for Jean and the following three for me:

> The Very Best of Jackson Browne, a two-cd set containing the best of 30 years of music from one of the finest singer-songwriters

> Audioslave, the debut album by a new hard rock supergroup combining musicians from Rage Against the Machine and the former leader singer of Soundgarden

> Contraband, another debut album by supergroup Velvet Revolver, which features musicians from Guns ‘n’ Roses and the lead singer from Stone Temple Pilots

I also bought a novel last night, The Golden Globe, by John Varley. He was one of the very best science fiction writers of the 1970s, perhaps the best, who took an entire decade off to write Hollywood screenplays. for which he made lots of money but only had a single screenplay actually produced. Now he has returned to writing fiction, so I am anticipating reading this novel about an interplanetary showman.