Regarding things under the sun, and how totally not new they tend to be

I started reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman yesterday, and its very, very good. The only problem I have with it is that it appears that many original ideas that I thought I had have already been explored by the dude that wrote Sandman. SANDMAN for god's sakes.

I was reading it, enjoying it, realizing that he was treading ground similar to what I'd like to do with this story about Ed but not caring, because, well, its intrinsically different in tone and characterization of human imagination. Then I get to this scene where the main character is drifting off to sleep, watching tv, when Lucille Ball comes on and says that they need to talk.

Goddamn it. I mean, seriously, goddamn it.

There are differences, but, of all people, LUCILLE BALL. It's this kind of crap that makes a dude think the world revolves around him, and that it revolves around him just to piss him off.

This, I know, is not true, but the coincidences in life that just pile up around people...MAN.

For example, why am I reading this book now as opposed to when I got it, which was about two years ago? It's been sitting in my room, completely unnoticed until I started reading a Terry Pratchett book, and remembered that he and Gaiman had written a book together.

I thought that American Gods was the book that Gaiman and Pratchett had written together, so I picked it up, discovered I was wrong, and started reading it anyway. I am reading this book by mistake, and it is still eerily appropriate for my time, place, state of mind, and current writing project.

Come on people. Don't tell me there's not a God, he's got his little fingers all up in my shit everyday.

(please read the previous post and the first third of American Gods to understand why I might be irritated. For the literophobe, you could just walk up to me and be all like, "damn! Niles, what up?")