…but somewhere on the first page of Flickr’s “Seattle Invitationals 2011 Pool” you can find a shot of me in my best oversize thrift store stage suit.

I’ve been recruited into singing at this year’s Seattle (Elvis) Invitationals. The annual impersonation (or “tribute artist”) competition takes place this Saturday evening, Jan. 8, at Club Motor, 1950 1st Ave. S.

It will be my first singing in a public, non-karaoke setting in at least a decade.

Unlike many of the Invitationals’ entrants, I’m no professional tribute artist. I don’t expect to win this thing. I’m just in it for the show-biz-ness of it all.

Be there if you dare.

Why I haven’t been bloggin’ a lot lately:

• Entered National Novel Writing Month again. Made the 50,000 words in 30 days quota, that entity’s standard of “winning.” Unlike the last time I did NaNoWriMo, I haven’t posted the rough draft of my story here. The reason: It’s still only two-thirds done; when I do finish it, I plan to rigorously edit and cut some of the extraneous verbiage I’d inserted in order to pad my daily word counts for NaNoWriMo purposes. (The subject, you ask? It’s the saddest town in America. No, it’s not Seattle.)
• Started another, nonfiction, commercial book project. All I can say right now is Vanishing Seattle readers might like it.
• Redoubled my efforts to get what I really want. That’s a job. A regular job, where I’d go somewhere, do something (and do it well), and receive a living wage in return. All suggestions welcome. (Note: By “job,” I do not mean unpaid or on-spec writing “opportunities.” I’m not looking for something fun. I’m looking for something that pays.)

I’ve been one poor correspondent, again.

But I had a reason.

I was busy finishing my next book, Walking Seattle.

As of this morning, it’s off to the publisher.

(The last thing I did for it was to snap a pic of the restored Hat n’ Boots in Georgetown.)

I promise to be more present at this site in upcoming days.

(I know, I’ve made such promises before. This time I mean it for sure.)

I’ve decided I don’t like ’em. Will delete ’em as soon as I figure out how.

UPDATE: Should be accomplished now. Sorry about that.

Sorry about the two weeks between posts.

I’ve been on some bigtime freelance gigs, which ought to keep me free from immediate financial worries for at least a while.

I also had another birthday (hint: it’s the same number as a joker in the deck). Didn’t get an iPad, but that’s okay.

I had some recent reminders of what getting older can be like, which I’ll tell you about soon.

Oh, and I do have one piece of good news to report:

The one and only Clark Bar is available locally again! It’s at Bartell’s in milk chocolate and dark chocolate variants. It’s now made by the Necco Wafers people. And don’t even think of confusing it with that brash upstart knockoff, Butterfinger.

Thanks to kind reader Manuel W., I’ve learned some reality TV producer and part-time “undercover rap phenomenon” (i.e., a white dude in Brooklyn) has named his production company “Miscellaneous Media.”

Do not confuse that outfit with this, your one and only genuine original MISCmedia, providing the finest in verbal contemplations and brusque putdowns since that other dude was still rhyming milk-milk-lemonade.