Nothing like the joys of Comic Book Wednesday to take the edge off of a tough hangover. Even better is when your Midtown Comics $20 rebate kicks in the same week 75% of the comics you usually buy unexpectedly come out at once. Yay!

Tuesday's Acentos was another great one with Willie Perdomo doing what he does best, reading poems with substance and leaving the spectacle to others who need it. The open mic was solid and it was one of the better overall turnouts so far. Not sure what was in the air - maybe the sight of Willie's old crew coming out to support him? - but afterwards I hung out much longer than usual, talking with MC Siegel and Juan Diaz, bonding with the new bartender, Tina (the first Acentos bartender with a personality, I felt like I was cheating on Maureen!), and drinking Coronas like water. The jukebox spit out old favorites and time flew by and the next thing we knew it was nearly 3am! Rich, Oscar and Jessica had hung around, too, and we all ultimately closed the place down. After three hours of sleep, I was totally useless yesterday.

It was worth it, though, as the night felt like one of those Fridays back in '97 when a handful of us first started to connect at the Nuyorican, drinking and debating late into the night, eventually workshopping and pushing each other creatively. As long as it skips that whole incestuous phase - and, of course, no one ends up getting banned - we should be all right! ;-)

Good stuff.

PS: From the Onion, Mom Finds Out About Blog!