One of the dogs I'm sitting has developed a cute new trick, all on his own, and I thought I'd share it, in case any of you has a dog that is getting "boring," and needs additional material. The trick is very simple, and involves waking up at 2:00 in the morning, sitting next to my bed, and barking repeatedly until I get up and stand next to him. It's so sweet. I realize that there are not a lot of elements to this trick, but he gets big points for endurance and persistence. No matter how I interact with him--letting him out, plying him with food, patting his head, screaming "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" at the top of my lungs with my head buried under a pillow--nothing stops him except for me getting out of bed and standing next to him. It's our own little U.S. Army role-play, with him as General Jake and me as Sleepy Enlistee.

General Jake: "Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!"

Enlistee Violet: "Sir! Yes, Sir!"

He's so butch.

Anyway, for some reason when I finally crawled into bed to sleep last night, an unknowable quirk of the mind kicked out a line from the song "Burning for You" by Blue Oyster Cult, that goes: "Time everlasting, time to play B-sides..." My brain got stuck on the concept of playing B-sides. Is it really B-sides, as in the converse of the popular song, or is it "besides"? And why would this line suddenly pop into my head after a long period of being annoyed by a dog?

I woke up without the song in my head, and remained BOC-free, until I took the company car on an errand and, switching on the radio to flip through the terrible assortment of local stations, heard the line "Time everlasting, time to play B-sides." I am being stalked by this line from a Blue Oyster Cult song, and there's no way to explain it.

Is it time to play B-sides? I do have a bunch of 45s I bought at a thrift store, that I'm supposed to mail to Al. I should look and see what the B-sides are--maybe there's a message.

OK, here they are, the mystical B-sides:

• By "Anthony Quinn Y Gaby," the B-side is entitled "Toda Mi Vida," or "All My Life." OK.


• By "Santo Y Johnny," this next B-side features two songs: "Quiero Saber Un Secreto" and "Todo Mi Amor," by the fabulous writing duo of Lennon y McCartney.


• Record number three features a band of five casually dressed, uncomfortable-looking men seated with legs crossed in director's chairs, under the legend La Revolucion de Emiliano Zapata. The B-side is called "En Tu Piel," which I will translate as "In your skin," is that right? Anyone? Anyone?


• The final 45 features a hefty middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a suit jacket emblazoned with the number 5 and several patches of kittens. It appears that his name is "Tio Gamboin," which is printed inside quotes, with the parenthetical notation Ramiro Gamboa beneath it. His B-side is entitled "El Buen Santa Claus."

Is anyone seeing a pattern, here? I'm not seeing it. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps it'll come to me in my sleep. Or perhaps I'll wake up with a line from Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" in my head. That would be sweet!

Star of the day. . .Eric Bloom