My actual birthday involved almost no reckless, stylish indulgence but lots of wandering Western Avenue which is reportedly the world's longest road. It seemed proper to hit the local taco joints, thrift stores and Brazilian Legal Aid/Brazilian themed boutique while my exhaust system was being replaced. The total damage to my already critically injured checking account was $200, and considering I went there expecting to get out with a $40 muffler, it was a huge birthday bummer. Last night was chill, I even skipped a going-away party I was invited to. Today, I'm making up for it all.

I struck gold at Dusty Groove, nabbing a couple original Billy Paul LPs for 5 bucks, the Rotary Connection original LP for much more, but passing on the Trojan Rock Steady box set because honestly I have tons of Studio One and reggae comps that I have yet to really dig into. On Billy Paul, I've been digging the "360 Degrees of" best of for a while (LP is easy to find) and he's also been included on a lot of pricier Philly Soul comps coming out this year. In 2003, he was awarded $500,000 for his "Me and Mrs. Jones" recording, which you've probably heard on oldies radio many times. His case was a landmark in the fight of small production companies to get royalties from big distributors. Right now I am enjoying "War of the Gods" a bit more than "First Class" though it is the latter that DJs are all up in right now.

Birthday plans include seeing a movie ("Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2" perhaps) and getting all Euro with dinner at Avec.