Some days, happiness is simply a clean set of bedding and clean bathroom fixtures.
Okay, happiness is also a working pair of LEGO seige weapons.
In related non-news, guess who this Sinfest comic reminds me of?
Month: June 2008
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Let them eat cake. And by “them” I mean “us.”
Yesterday was a very good day, as you might expect from one which begins with pancakes (with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon) and bacon. In the afternoon, Kyla and I took Erica out to Washington Square for shopping and dining. For all that Erica pooh-pooh’d the idea of eating at a place called “Cheesecake Factory” (“I don’t like cheesecake!”) she came around at the mention of their chocolate cake selection. While she ordered a pepperoni pizza (ending up with enough leftovers to bring home and share with Alex), she did try a bite of my parmesan-crusted chicken and approved. There’s hope for her yet, I say.
There’s hope for me as well. I managed to eat only a couple small pieces of the bread, less than half of the (delicious!) pasta that came with my chicken, and enough of the cake dessert (which I’d left room for!) to feel I’d gotten my money’s worth… and still left the table without feeling the slightest hint that I’d overeaten. I weigh 240 pounds, and one of my goals is to get a handle on my eating habits. I may not be eating healthier, but I’m at least trying to eat a bit smarter. I feel good about yesterday!
We went slightly nuts at the LEGO store; Erica came away with a set which would allow her to build two different creepy bugs or an articulated snake-shaped creature. I’m certain that her mother will be delighted. I spent a bit more than originally planned, but came away with enough medieval-themed minifigs to populate the proposed 4E gaming sessions with the Sunday Evening Group. Kyla picked up a few sets in the Castle theme herself, and spent part of our Doctor-Who-watching time assembling the most sinister prison coach you’ve ever seen.
She says it’s cute. I question her judgment.
We also came away with new shades for everyone (I’d sat on mine Friday at work, Kyla’s were falling apart and Erica didn’t have any) and a new pair of jeans for myself. Not only that, but thanks to various Tri-Met drivers, Erica and I had transfers that lasted until 6pm… which is just about when we boarded the #56 for downtown. Sweet deal!
I’d say that the only downside to the day at all involved a traumatizing sight when we three were beginning our journey westward. Just as the #9 was pulling up at NE 9th and Broadway, a whole bunch of bicyclists rode by.
Naked. Butt naked.
Let’s just say that most people really are better off clothed. I’m not sure which of the three of us came away from that with the most mental scarring…
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High-schoolers! Oh no!
As of last night, when my daughter was formally “promoted” out of the 8th grade, I have two teenagers in high school.
I joke about feeling old, but I’ve sort of always felt old, so that’s not really what I’m going through right now. I think it’s a combination of “Hey, cool, it’s about time!” and “Whoah, where does the time go?” The most jarring part of the experience, actually, was seeing my little tomboy transformed into an elegant young lady for last night’s event.
My kids are awesome. I know I mention that often, here, but that’s because I can’t help myself. I’m also prone to pointing out other obvious facts, such as the presence of clouds in the sky or how the grass is green. You’ll just have to deal with it, gentle readers.
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Summer Project 2008: Mic Test & Preview
I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to the way I sound when recorded.
[audio:Summer08/00-PreviewMix.mp3]The original plan was to use parts of three different tracks for the music bed so that this would be a proper preview of the Summer Project. Alas, I couldn’t bear to cut away from Yuki Kajiura’s “Melody (Salva Nos version)” and so you get the whole thing. Shucky darn, eh?
Mind you, I also didn’t realize until I’d performed the final mixdown that I completely failed to refer to the music in any way… which is sort of the point of the project in the first place! It just figures.
Enough of playing coy, here’s the deal: I want to highlight fourteen musical artists every Friday from the start of summer until the beginning of autumn. Part of the plan is to record introductory and interstitial material for three songs per week, but I could scrap the voice thing and rely on the written word instead. Hence this test.
So, give it to me straight. Should I do it? Could you stand to listen to my voice once per week for fourteen weeks?
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No! It will remain static, forever!
Here’s why I don’t watch the television news, kids.
“Blah blah blah polls indicate yadda yadda is the whatever hoo-ha, but that may change.”
Oh, no. Do go on.
Are you saying that poll results, or indeed any given state of affairs at this precise moment, aren’t completely static? Is it remotely possible, perhaps, that everything may change, sooner or later? People, unless you’re telling me about the speed of light or the fact that two apples added to two apples gives you four apples, I’m going to operate under the perhaps-misguided belief that the state of the world as relayed by talking heads on a glowing rectangle might, perhaps, be undergoing change nearly all of the time.
Okay, so they’re not really trying to insult my intelligence. (Not this way, anyway.) It’s almost as bad, though: They’re just filling airtime. With X minutes to blabber through and Y amount of data, the average newscaster is going to run out of Y long, long before X comes to a close. Thus we end up with inane drivel such as, “But that may change.”
These, as George Carlin once joked, are the thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools.