Another So-So Ocho for you, my friends.
ONE: I’m staring down the barrel of 38 years old, and while I’m definitely in the “age is just a number” part of life, there’s certainly a cool and somber placidity to my day to day that reminds me that it could have gone much worse. I’ve got a good thing going. My wife and her family, my parents and siblings, my career, our health and that of our close friends, etc. Things are stable, and I’m grateful for that. I said it in my wedding vows and I’ll say it now until my last day – I live a very charmed life, and though I don’t altogether know how, I’m grateful to whatever orchestrations, if any, that have plopped these circumstances and people into my time on Earth. While of course time always wins and people we love won’t be around forever, being intensely aware and present during these years is absolutely vital, and I never lose consciousness of that fact.
TWO: Spent an hour or so raking up the yard yesterday. There’s about 30 pounds of pine needles and leaves that fell over the last few months, and with the wind, cold, and my laziness, the yard became something of a mess. I’m definitely a novice homeowner, have practically zero DIY skills, and am making it all up as I go. That said, I take small satisfaction in doing basic stuff like raking up the yard and general labors to keep things looking alright. My wife’s smile and a “much better” is my indicator that I’ve achieved a crumb of victory.
THREE: I’ve had a renewed interest in dinosaurs lately. My parents have a small pile of dinosaur-related books in their house that I wore to pieces as a kid, along with plenty of toys and a VHS copy of Jurassic Park that fueled my desire to become a paleontologist someday, which didn’t quite work out. Thankfully growing up in the early 90s was the BEST time to not only be a kid, but to be into dinosaurs, as they had a pop culture resurgence, developing an enormous army of adults who became scholars, researchers, diggers, etc. who were and are determined to enhance our knowledge of our (very) old friends the dinos. I literally sat up part of a night thinking very hard about the childish question of “what’s your favorite dinosaur?” I determined that it had to be the Brontosaurus (or Apatosaurus, depending on your school of thought). This isn’t a lifetime lock, however, so I’ll have to get back to you after thinking about this some more.
FOUR: I’ll eventually be migrating this page over to a new URL, possibly more, but I fully intend to keep blogging. I’ve never done much fussing with domains, hosting, etc, so this is baby steps and a learning process, but one I hope to gain at least a basic understanding of by the time I’m done with aforementioned fussing.
FIVE: Was talking to the wife about opening my own breakfast diner up someday while we were, appropriately enough, getting breakfast at a new place in town. We talked about some more about it, the specifics, what it would take and so on, and ultimately I decided that I would rather just buy Merry-Ann’s someday. America is nothing without greasy spoon diners that serve cheap coffee, eggs, bacon, and pancakes to people rough from the road, hungover after a late night, or locals who find comfort in these staple destinations.
SIX: I am deeply depressed to see Batman played by Michael Keaton again. Not that he looks stupid or wrong all these years later, but it’s shoehorned into this awful, and I mean awful looking Flash movie, starring a legitimate deranged criminal in a continuation of the long-suffering and tremendously irrelevant DC Universe movies. This isn’t a graceful or logical return, and whatever dignity the Burton films had is utterly squandered. I do not intend to see this film at all, and I do not recommend anyone watch it. Ever.
SEVEN: The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie, on the other hand, looks fantastic. There’s little things I’m curious about, Donatello being seemingly the youngest of the four namely, but all around it seems so cool. The animation style rocks my socks and the humor seems not-annoying. Can’t wait. Cowabunga.
EIGHT: Be sure to vote, and do not vote for Republicans. There’s no sanity or dignity remaining in the party, and god help us if they get control of things in a couple years. Vote in every election, local or otherwise, and do not vote for the right.
1985 Edition 