Welcome back, Will. It's nice to have you again.
Always a pleasure.
It's been a while since anybody's heard from you. How are things going?
You know what? Things are pretty good, I think. It's been a good couple of weeks. Finished another script I was working on, that's always a good feeling. Already talked to the director, and he likes it, so the rewriting probably won't be too difficult. Of course, the NHL lockout is over. Officially, now, as of late Saturday night.
Thank heaven.
I know, tell me about it. So hockey season is starting up this weekend, which has got me in a good mood. Plus, I'm in an opera right now.
You sing opera?
Ha! No. But I can cross upstage and carry two suitcase into the inn while other people sing opera. It's a talent of mine. We're about to go into dress/tech rehearsals for that, and then it'll run through February 10th. And the next day I start rehearsals for another touring show to schools. Plus, I recently found out I'll be back with the Astros this summer. So lots of good things lately. Of course, there are some hiccups, too, but that's always the case, right?
Sure. Now, I understand you've got something pretty exciting coming up quite soon...
Yes! Of course, my first ever musical opens tomorrow night. Kim and I are headed out that way as a date night thanks to the extremely gracious Hannah, who'll be watching the boys while we're out.
You want to tell us a little bit about the show?
Sure. It's a new adaptation of Thumbelina. Obviously, I didn't write the music, but the guy who did write it is way better at what he does than I am at what I do, so it's going to be a great show. It's a one-act, but we had to cut a lot to make it close to an hour, so I may one day reconfigure the script so that I can try to sell both a one-act and a full-length version of the show. Which would be great, because I had to cut a character I really liked just for the interest of time, so who knows? He may live again in the full-length version one of these days.
Now, isn't that kind of a girly story?
What? Thumbelina? How so?
Well, isn't it about a princess who lives in flowers and wants to get married and all that jazz?
Well what if I told you there's a dragon in my version?
Really? Sweet!
Yeah, no. Not really. And I don't think it's necessarily an overly-girly story. I mean yeah, if you're a preteen boy, you're probably going to shy away from it, just because that's the way you are at that age. Really, though, I think it's a story about a kid who, yes, is a girl, and she's trying to fit in and find her own identity in a lot of trying circumstances. It's about being lonely, about looking for friendship, about fake friendships, about believing in yourself. So I think everybody can relate to that. Plus, the support characters in this show are going to be hilarious. (Hopefully) So I think anybody who can enjoy a good story, a good song, or a fun morning at the theatre will be able to appreciate the show.
Fair enough. Hey, how about those kiddos?
You're right, that's what folks are most interested in, isn't it? Sorry, sometimes I slip back into my old Xanga mindset where people would log on to my blog to read about me. (Kidding, I promise) The kids are a joy. Robbie is reading pretty well now, even though there are times he doesn't want to because he claims it's hard. It's not really hard for him, though, it just takes effort. And he's not crazy on putting much effort into anything other than playing right now. So we're working with him on that. Really, though, he's doing so well in school. He's also doing fairly well socially. The other day, he saw some kids playing out in the courtyard outside our apartment, and he asked if he could go down there and play, so we let him. Out he went, and he played all afternoon and made something like three new friends. That was huge, because he's never done that sort of thing before. He's always wanted to stay by Kim or I or just stay inside. So that was cool. Isaac is hilarious. He loves music, he loves making crazy noises, he loves dinosaurs. He uses some words that you can understand--actually quite a few if you've been around him enough--but he actually sings more clearly than he talks. He loves Beatles music. He'll be playing on the floor of the living room and suddenly he'll bust out in "Love Me Do" or "Eight Days a Week." The favorite is probably "Yellow Submarine." He and Robbie will actually sing that one together. I need to try to get that on video, now that I think about it.
How about your 365 photo project? You still have one picture to post, you know.
I do know that, actually. I'm debating whether or not to bother with it. By this point, whatever I post is going to be terribly anticlimactic. I knew a while back what I wanted to do, but I needed my camera for it. The iPhone wouldn't do. So I lost my camera, and by the time I found it I was pretty far behind schedule to complete it, and then a LOT of time had passed. And besides, I think I was down to something like 4 or 5 people who still cared about my 365 at that point. So maybe I should post a slide asking if anybody still cares to see what my last picture would be, knowing that there's no way that it could live up to the 2-month buildup. Or maybe I'll just take a different, more boring picture, just so I can say I finished it. Even though, technically, I failed the intent of the project by not posting a picture every single day for 365 days. Came close, though. And for someone like me, who isn't very good at nor used to taking pictures, I think there's still something to be proud of there.
Well, I'm going to let you go, because it's getting late and you've got a big night tomorrow. Any hints about the future?
Um...well, I think flying cars are a terrible idea. Other than that, can't say. God only knows, and lately I've been finding comfort in that rather than trepidation. Anyway, maybe I'll do a ShuffleBlog next time. People seem to like that.
Right then. Until next time, The Truth Fights Like a Panther!
........what was that?
What?
That bit about panthers?
It's my tag line.
You've got a tag line?
All the reputable news and interview programs end with a tag line.
Okay. And that's what you came up with?
Panthers are fierce.
Okay.
Fierce.
Okay. Goodnight.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Yes. This.
Over the years, I have taken a lot of people to their first hockey games. (Or one of their first, or the first where they've been forced to pay attention) And almost every one of them have made the same joke:
"I hope they do the Flying V!"
It is so funny. Every time.
If you are not familiar with the V, then we're not friends. No, I'm kidding, but you're probably not familiar with the Mighty Ducks movies, in which the maneuver is made to look like the most brilliant offensive formation in the history of hockey.
In fact, in D2, when the Team Iceland (Really? Iceland?) disrupts the V, the film (and ultimately, the audience) treats it as the moment where you know the heroes are in serious trouble. (Like Bane vs. Batman Round 1 in Dark Knight Rises, Morpheus getting captured in The Matrix, or the kid watching Lucas rock the power glove in The Wizard). They broke up the Flying V, the audience thinks. These guys must be hardcore!
Inevitably, I usually end up explaining why the Flying V is actually a horrible, horrible idea, why it would never work in a million years. However, I'm apparently terrible at explaining things, because I usually only get blank stares as replies.
Well, folks, here we have it: a Flying V (sort of) attempted in game. While the team doesn't form a perfect V, they do gather behind the net and then mount a five-man attack, starting with the rear player carrying the puck and passing it back and forth in an attempt to confuse the opponent. It even starts with the guy behind the net signaling "Flying V" behind the net.
Behold as the whole thing unravels at the hands of a single forechecker.
I'm so glad this happened. I've been watching this video a lot today.
(Tip o' the hat to Puck Daddy)
"I hope they do the Flying V!"
It is so funny. Every time.
If you are not familiar with the V, then we're not friends. No, I'm kidding, but you're probably not familiar with the Mighty Ducks movies, in which the maneuver is made to look like the most brilliant offensive formation in the history of hockey.
In fact, in D2, when the Team Iceland (Really? Iceland?) disrupts the V, the film (and ultimately, the audience) treats it as the moment where you know the heroes are in serious trouble. (Like Bane vs. Batman Round 1 in Dark Knight Rises, Morpheus getting captured in The Matrix, or the kid watching Lucas rock the power glove in The Wizard). They broke up the Flying V, the audience thinks. These guys must be hardcore!
Inevitably, I usually end up explaining why the Flying V is actually a horrible, horrible idea, why it would never work in a million years. However, I'm apparently terrible at explaining things, because I usually only get blank stares as replies.
Well, folks, here we have it: a Flying V (sort of) attempted in game. While the team doesn't form a perfect V, they do gather behind the net and then mount a five-man attack, starting with the rear player carrying the puck and passing it back and forth in an attempt to confuse the opponent. It even starts with the guy behind the net signaling "Flying V" behind the net.
Behold as the whole thing unravels at the hands of a single forechecker.
I'm so glad this happened. I've been watching this video a lot today.
(Tip o' the hat to Puck Daddy)
Monday, December 31, 2012
Reading List 2012
There may not be much consistency to this blog these days (other than spambots leaving multiple comments on year-old posts), but here's one thing you can count on: the year-end reading list!
I'm not too proud of my list this year. I started pretty strong but only actually finished 32 books, including some trade paperbacks and graphic novels. Yikes. (I'm not sure if this is 100% accurate, because I also did a lousy job of keeping track throughout the second half of the year. As some of you may have noticed, my book blog has been ignored completely for almost a year) Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure the list below is fairly close. And, as always, the list doesn't include play scripts.
Part of the problem was that I spent a lot of time trying to slog books that I just couldn't get into. I listed those last year. I'm not going to this year. A bigger part of the problem, though, is that the kids are just so darned demanding of time and energy. Not that I'm complaining, but it does cut back on reading time quite a bit. And I did start and finish writing two plays in the past calendar year. (Or was it three? We'll say two and a half)
So, I'm not an avid reader, or a book nerd, and I don't read as much as I'd like to. I don't write as much as I'd like to, either. Whatcha gonna do? That's life. You don't always get to do as much of things as you want to.
Also, I didn't keep page counts this year because, as I said above, bad record-keeping. Hopefully I'll be better about that in 2013.
And, just to change things up, I'm going to do this year's list in alphabetical order rather than chronological. Oooh!
American Gods, 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
Annihilation: Conquest by Keith Giffen
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Best of Down Goes Brown: Greatest Hits and Brand New Classics-To-Be from Hockey's Most Hilarious Blog by Sean McIndoe
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team by Wayne Coffey
The Bulllpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran by Dirk Hayhurst
The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Dune by Frank Herbert
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
God's Grand Vision for the Home by Dr. Rob Rienow
The Green Mile by Stephen King
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Invincible Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Journeyman: The Many Triumphs (And Even More Defeats of a Guy Who's Seen Just About Everything in Hockey by Sean Pronger
Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung
Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Powerless: The New Avengers vol. 12 by Brian Michael Bendis
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Trust: The New Avengers vol. 7 by Brian Michael Bendis
War of Kings: Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
Faves:
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
The first book I read this year was one of my favorites. The story itself isn't actually all that strong, so it's a bit surprising that I enjoyed the book as much as I did (since I'm generally a story-first man). The prose, however, is simply gorgeous. And, as always, the ideas and themes in Lewis' writing are fun to think about. About halfway through, the book sort of seems to lose its way and gets a little boring (to me, anyway), but it starts and ends so strongly that I'll probably be buying this one day. (The version with pages and a spine and everything, that is)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I never saw this movie, but I loved the book. I can't point out anything particularly masterful about it, but it's solid all the way around. Story, characters, narrative voice, world, there's not really a weak point. It's laugh-out-loud funny and drop-dead serious, and it flows quit naturally between the two. Another one that wouldn't look too bad on my bookshelf one of these days. (When I have room for a bigger bookshelf, that is)
The New Olympians series by Rick Riordan
I read the last three of these books (in the original Percy Jackson series) over the course of the year. If you like YA fantasy or fiction, you really ought to read these books. They're just a ton of fun. They're clever, they're creative, and they really use the Greek mythology well. It is fun, fun, fun reading. The throughline at times gets a bit messy and often it seems like major character development just sort of happens from out of nowhere, but if you're willing to let that sort of thing slide, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable ride.
The Green Mile by Stephen King
My favorite book of the year. Any time someone saw me reading this book, they'd comment on how great the movie is. Well, I still haven't seen the movie, but the book. Is. Awesome. I haven't been floored by King like this since The Stand. (Note: This does not mean that I like this book as much as I liked The Stand, but it did pack a similar emotional whallop) Now, it does get pretty graphic--it is still Stephen King, after all, and the subject matter involves serial killers and death by electrocution-- but if you can stomach some gross details, I'd definitely recommend this one to just about anybody.
Here, a couple of quickie recommendations, and then I'm off to bed:
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
I like math. I like baseball. This book was made for people like me.
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
The subtitle to this book is "A liberating approach to finding God's will." And I can't really sum it up any better than that.
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Great mystery/thriller. Enjoyed every twist and turn the tale took along the way.
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
More Wheel of Time goodness.
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
No mamby-pamby love triangle here! Alternately creepy and hilarious, I can't believe no one ever told me this book was this good.
Journeyman by Sean Pronger
Any hockey fan should read this book. (Just about anybody else probably won't follow)
The Bullben Gospels by Dirk Hayhurst
Ditto, but for baseball. (Oh, and, uh...LOTS of gross-out content. Unfiltered locker-room talk. You've been warned)
The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey
Anybody with a passing interest in the Miracle on Ice, hockey, or the winter Olympics should read.
Beast by Peter Benchley
Basically Jaws with a giant squid. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but quite possibly the best use of a sperm whale in modern literature.
I'm not too proud of my list this year. I started pretty strong but only actually finished 32 books, including some trade paperbacks and graphic novels. Yikes. (I'm not sure if this is 100% accurate, because I also did a lousy job of keeping track throughout the second half of the year. As some of you may have noticed, my book blog has been ignored completely for almost a year) Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure the list below is fairly close. And, as always, the list doesn't include play scripts.
Part of the problem was that I spent a lot of time trying to slog books that I just couldn't get into. I listed those last year. I'm not going to this year. A bigger part of the problem, though, is that the kids are just so darned demanding of time and energy. Not that I'm complaining, but it does cut back on reading time quite a bit. And I did start and finish writing two plays in the past calendar year. (Or was it three? We'll say two and a half)
So, I'm not an avid reader, or a book nerd, and I don't read as much as I'd like to. I don't write as much as I'd like to, either. Whatcha gonna do? That's life. You don't always get to do as much of things as you want to.
Also, I didn't keep page counts this year because, as I said above, bad record-keeping. Hopefully I'll be better about that in 2013.
And, just to change things up, I'm going to do this year's list in alphabetical order rather than chronological. Oooh!
American Gods, 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
Annihilation: Conquest by Keith Giffen
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Best of Down Goes Brown: Greatest Hits and Brand New Classics-To-Be from Hockey's Most Hilarious Blog by Sean McIndoe
The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team by Wayne Coffey
The Bulllpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran by Dirk Hayhurst
The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Dune by Frank Herbert
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
God's Grand Vision for the Home by Dr. Rob Rienow
The Green Mile by Stephen King
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Invincible Iron Man: Extremis by Warren Ellis
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Journeyman: The Many Triumphs (And Even More Defeats of a Guy Who's Seen Just About Everything in Hockey by Sean Pronger
Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung
Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Powerless: The New Avengers vol. 12 by Brian Michael Bendis
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
Trust: The New Avengers vol. 7 by Brian Michael Bendis
War of Kings: Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
Faves:
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
The first book I read this year was one of my favorites. The story itself isn't actually all that strong, so it's a bit surprising that I enjoyed the book as much as I did (since I'm generally a story-first man). The prose, however, is simply gorgeous. And, as always, the ideas and themes in Lewis' writing are fun to think about. About halfway through, the book sort of seems to lose its way and gets a little boring (to me, anyway), but it starts and ends so strongly that I'll probably be buying this one day. (The version with pages and a spine and everything, that is)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I never saw this movie, but I loved the book. I can't point out anything particularly masterful about it, but it's solid all the way around. Story, characters, narrative voice, world, there's not really a weak point. It's laugh-out-loud funny and drop-dead serious, and it flows quit naturally between the two. Another one that wouldn't look too bad on my bookshelf one of these days. (When I have room for a bigger bookshelf, that is)
The New Olympians series by Rick Riordan
I read the last three of these books (in the original Percy Jackson series) over the course of the year. If you like YA fantasy or fiction, you really ought to read these books. They're just a ton of fun. They're clever, they're creative, and they really use the Greek mythology well. It is fun, fun, fun reading. The throughline at times gets a bit messy and often it seems like major character development just sort of happens from out of nowhere, but if you're willing to let that sort of thing slide, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable ride.
The Green Mile by Stephen King
My favorite book of the year. Any time someone saw me reading this book, they'd comment on how great the movie is. Well, I still haven't seen the movie, but the book. Is. Awesome. I haven't been floored by King like this since The Stand. (Note: This does not mean that I like this book as much as I liked The Stand, but it did pack a similar emotional whallop) Now, it does get pretty graphic--it is still Stephen King, after all, and the subject matter involves serial killers and death by electrocution-- but if you can stomach some gross details, I'd definitely recommend this one to just about anybody.
Here, a couple of quickie recommendations, and then I'm off to bed:
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
I like math. I like baseball. This book was made for people like me.
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
The subtitle to this book is "A liberating approach to finding God's will." And I can't really sum it up any better than that.
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Great mystery/thriller. Enjoyed every twist and turn the tale took along the way.
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
More Wheel of Time goodness.
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
No mamby-pamby love triangle here! Alternately creepy and hilarious, I can't believe no one ever told me this book was this good.
Journeyman by Sean Pronger
Any hockey fan should read this book. (Just about anybody else probably won't follow)
The Bullben Gospels by Dirk Hayhurst
Ditto, but for baseball. (Oh, and, uh...LOTS of gross-out content. Unfiltered locker-room talk. You've been warned)
The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey
Anybody with a passing interest in the Miracle on Ice, hockey, or the winter Olympics should read.
Beast by Peter Benchley
Basically Jaws with a giant squid. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but quite possibly the best use of a sperm whale in modern literature.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sunday Night Conversation
So, here we are again.
Yeah. That's, uh..that's kinda weird, isn't it? I thought this was supposed to be kind of a one-shot thing.
*shrugs*
Okay. So, uh, what do you want to talk about?
Thanksgiving?
Good call. My family and I went to St. Louis for a week to spend Turkey Day with Kim's family. Parents, grandparents, sisters. My nephew was there, too. The side of the family won't get to do Christmas together this year because two of the ladies are nurses and are working on Christmas, so we made Thanksgiving a big deal. It was nice. The boys did SO well on both flights, thank God! I was really worried about, for instance, trying to keep Isaac calm while we stood in line for the security checkpoint. Thanks to the iPhone and classic Beatles, though, everything went fine.
Beatles?
Yeah. Isaac is a huge Beatles fan, apparently. He walks around singing "Love Me Do" and "Eight Days a Week." And with prompting, you can usually get "Yellow Submarine," "Hey Jude," and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" out of him. It's incredibly cute. Isaac just loves to sing, though. It's not all Beatles stuff. He just likes to learn new songs and walk around singing them, banging out the rhythm on his own tummy. He probably gets that from me.
I'm sure he didn't get it from Kim.
Well, yeah.
How's about your 365 project? You should be done with that now, right?
Ha! Yeah, actually, I should be. Actually, I was due to post my last pic today, but it didn't happen.
Um....
I know. Sad, right? Thing is, I'm working on my last pic, and I know what I need to do to finish it, but somehow I lost my camera AFTER unpacking it when we got home from vacation. And for this particular picture, I can't just use my iPhone, which is what I've been doing for a lot of my shots recently. My camera probably went hiding because it's jealous of the iPhone.
How about those Top 7's you mentioned last time? Any progress there?
Well, I wanted to do a "Top 7 Boss Battles (in Movies)" list because the other day I rewatched the Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock fight on the train and the whole sequence was just awesome. I mean, yeah, Spidey gets hit by a train and bounces RIGHT back at one point, and yeah the whole thing starts with Spidey and Doc Ock falling dozens of stories and landing on a moving train, then getting up and wrasslin', so it's a little far-fetched. But if you can let that stuff go, it's just a sweet fight scene. A lot of times, the best "boss battles" (I'm using video game terminology here, of course) are the ones in the middle of the film, not the ones at the end. For example, the battle with the cave troll in Fellowship of the Ring is more epic than the battle against Lurtz (the leader of the Uruk-hai) at the end of the film, though the fight with Lurtz has more emotional impact. So I wanted to look at my favorite fight scenes, which is kinda funny because I don't get into a lot of the movies that are hailed as being the best fighting films. (Tarentino films, in other words) Of course, lack of credibility on the subject matter has never stopped me in the past!
So what happened?
As you know, I like to include video clips embedded in my Top 7's, and a lot of these fights are hard to find in decent quality on Youtube. Copyright. Go figure. So I never really got into the list-making stage. Off the top of my head, though, some of the ones I was thinking about are the two I listed above along with Hulk vs. The Abomination from Incredible Hulk, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, Rocky vs. Drago in Rocky IV, Indiana Jones vs. the huge muscle-bound Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Incredibles vs. the robot in The Incredibles, and Scott Pilgrim vs...well, pretty much anybody in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Your Top 7 lists totally show off your limited scope of pop culture.
True. I could restrict it to top comic book movie boss battles (or more easily, most disappointing comic book movie boss battles), but eventually I want to to a Top 7 comic book / superhero movies list, and I'd hate to be too redundant.
You know what else I love? Melee battles in movies. Helm's Deep, the Battle for New York in The Avengers, the storming of Fort Wagner. The end of Slap Shot (kidding). When I was a kid, I LOVED the Lost Boys' attack on the pirates at the end of Hook. That's one of those films I'm scared to go back and watch again because it's probably not nearly as good as I remember it.
Hey, maybe that'll be a fun list someday. "Films I Love and am Afraid to Watch Again for Fear That They Actually Suck."
Read anything good lately?
Yes! I picked up Les Miserables, but then I lost it. Several times. I don't know how you can lose a 1,600 page books multiple times in one week, but I did.
Sensing a theme here...
Yeah, it's hanging out with the camera. Anyway, I picked up a book I've been borrowing from a friend for a while (and that could be any number of books) and finally finished it. But now I'm excited for the second annual Christmas Book Month!
That didn't go so well last year, did it?
What are you talking about? That romantic comedy about the cat that tried to hook the firefighter up with the lady from the pet store was GOLD!
Any surefire hits this year?
You know what, I just put about four or five books with "Christmas" somewhere in the title on my hold list at the library. I don't even remember what I'm getting. Hang on a sec, I'll go check. Let's see...I've got a Christmas murder mystery, a historical romantic fiction, a book on Christmas philosophy, Scaredy Squirrel, and a story about a stray cat who brought love into the life of an autistic child. And those are all the ones I'll fess up to.
Any recommendations?
Yes. The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry. Laugh-out-loud funny and a surprising amount of heart. Also, for nonfiction fans, The Man Who Invented Christmas by Lee Standiford is about Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (obviously), how it came about (an interesting story!), and the effect it had on English society at the time. Those were two gems picked out of the rot last year in Christmas Book Month.
Well, it's getting late....
True. I'd planned on going out to see a movie tonight, but the baby went to bed so late it didn't pan out. Just as well, I'd probably better get to rest. Got a whole day tomorrow with no running water at home.
Awesome! It'll be just like Little House on the Prairie!
Um...yeah.
What? I've always wanted to live in Little House on the Prairie.
Really?
Everyone's always so happy!
Dude, there was a major trauma every other episode!
Whatever. I'd be buddies with Pa Ingalls. Ain't nothin' that man can't handle.
You do have a point there.
Plus, I had a crush on Melissa Gilbert growing up.
I knew it!
You did, too?
No! But pretty much any guy who says he liked LHOTP growing up had a crush on Melissa Gilbert.
Hey, did you know there's a Little House on the Prairie stage musical?
What? No, I didn't. I thought we were wrapping this interview up...
Do you remember the episode where Mary went blind? I cried!
This is getting weird. I'm going to go to bed. I don't know why we're talking about little house.
Okay, okay. One last question, and then we'll be done.
All right.
Who would win in a fight: Laura Ingalls or Anne of Green Gables?
Goodnight.
Yeah. That's, uh..that's kinda weird, isn't it? I thought this was supposed to be kind of a one-shot thing.
*shrugs*
Okay. So, uh, what do you want to talk about?
Thanksgiving?
Good call. My family and I went to St. Louis for a week to spend Turkey Day with Kim's family. Parents, grandparents, sisters. My nephew was there, too. The side of the family won't get to do Christmas together this year because two of the ladies are nurses and are working on Christmas, so we made Thanksgiving a big deal. It was nice. The boys did SO well on both flights, thank God! I was really worried about, for instance, trying to keep Isaac calm while we stood in line for the security checkpoint. Thanks to the iPhone and classic Beatles, though, everything went fine.
Beatles?
Yeah. Isaac is a huge Beatles fan, apparently. He walks around singing "Love Me Do" and "Eight Days a Week." And with prompting, you can usually get "Yellow Submarine," "Hey Jude," and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" out of him. It's incredibly cute. Isaac just loves to sing, though. It's not all Beatles stuff. He just likes to learn new songs and walk around singing them, banging out the rhythm on his own tummy. He probably gets that from me.
I'm sure he didn't get it from Kim.
Well, yeah.
How's about your 365 project? You should be done with that now, right?
Ha! Yeah, actually, I should be. Actually, I was due to post my last pic today, but it didn't happen.
Um....
I know. Sad, right? Thing is, I'm working on my last pic, and I know what I need to do to finish it, but somehow I lost my camera AFTER unpacking it when we got home from vacation. And for this particular picture, I can't just use my iPhone, which is what I've been doing for a lot of my shots recently. My camera probably went hiding because it's jealous of the iPhone.
How about those Top 7's you mentioned last time? Any progress there?
Well, I wanted to do a "Top 7 Boss Battles (in Movies)" list because the other day I rewatched the Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock fight on the train and the whole sequence was just awesome. I mean, yeah, Spidey gets hit by a train and bounces RIGHT back at one point, and yeah the whole thing starts with Spidey and Doc Ock falling dozens of stories and landing on a moving train, then getting up and wrasslin', so it's a little far-fetched. But if you can let that stuff go, it's just a sweet fight scene. A lot of times, the best "boss battles" (I'm using video game terminology here, of course) are the ones in the middle of the film, not the ones at the end. For example, the battle with the cave troll in Fellowship of the Ring is more epic than the battle against Lurtz (the leader of the Uruk-hai) at the end of the film, though the fight with Lurtz has more emotional impact. So I wanted to look at my favorite fight scenes, which is kinda funny because I don't get into a lot of the movies that are hailed as being the best fighting films. (Tarentino films, in other words) Of course, lack of credibility on the subject matter has never stopped me in the past!
So what happened?
As you know, I like to include video clips embedded in my Top 7's, and a lot of these fights are hard to find in decent quality on Youtube. Copyright. Go figure. So I never really got into the list-making stage. Off the top of my head, though, some of the ones I was thinking about are the two I listed above along with Hulk vs. The Abomination from Incredible Hulk, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, Rocky vs. Drago in Rocky IV, Indiana Jones vs. the huge muscle-bound Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Incredibles vs. the robot in The Incredibles, and Scott Pilgrim vs...well, pretty much anybody in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Your Top 7 lists totally show off your limited scope of pop culture.
True. I could restrict it to top comic book movie boss battles (or more easily, most disappointing comic book movie boss battles), but eventually I want to to a Top 7 comic book / superhero movies list, and I'd hate to be too redundant.
You know what else I love? Melee battles in movies. Helm's Deep, the Battle for New York in The Avengers, the storming of Fort Wagner. The end of Slap Shot (kidding). When I was a kid, I LOVED the Lost Boys' attack on the pirates at the end of Hook. That's one of those films I'm scared to go back and watch again because it's probably not nearly as good as I remember it.
Hey, maybe that'll be a fun list someday. "Films I Love and am Afraid to Watch Again for Fear That They Actually Suck."
Read anything good lately?
Yes! I picked up Les Miserables, but then I lost it. Several times. I don't know how you can lose a 1,600 page books multiple times in one week, but I did.
Sensing a theme here...
Yeah, it's hanging out with the camera. Anyway, I picked up a book I've been borrowing from a friend for a while (and that could be any number of books) and finally finished it. But now I'm excited for the second annual Christmas Book Month!
That didn't go so well last year, did it?
What are you talking about? That romantic comedy about the cat that tried to hook the firefighter up with the lady from the pet store was GOLD!
Any surefire hits this year?
You know what, I just put about four or five books with "Christmas" somewhere in the title on my hold list at the library. I don't even remember what I'm getting. Hang on a sec, I'll go check. Let's see...I've got a Christmas murder mystery, a historical romantic fiction, a book on Christmas philosophy, Scaredy Squirrel, and a story about a stray cat who brought love into the life of an autistic child. And those are all the ones I'll fess up to.
Any recommendations?
Yes. The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry. Laugh-out-loud funny and a surprising amount of heart. Also, for nonfiction fans, The Man Who Invented Christmas by Lee Standiford is about Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (obviously), how it came about (an interesting story!), and the effect it had on English society at the time. Those were two gems picked out of the rot last year in Christmas Book Month.
Well, it's getting late....
True. I'd planned on going out to see a movie tonight, but the baby went to bed so late it didn't pan out. Just as well, I'd probably better get to rest. Got a whole day tomorrow with no running water at home.
Awesome! It'll be just like Little House on the Prairie!
Um...yeah.
What? I've always wanted to live in Little House on the Prairie.
Really?
Everyone's always so happy!
Dude, there was a major trauma every other episode!
Whatever. I'd be buddies with Pa Ingalls. Ain't nothin' that man can't handle.
You do have a point there.
Plus, I had a crush on Melissa Gilbert growing up.
I knew it!
You did, too?
No! But pretty much any guy who says he liked LHOTP growing up had a crush on Melissa Gilbert.
Hey, did you know there's a Little House on the Prairie stage musical?
What? No, I didn't. I thought we were wrapping this interview up...
Do you remember the episode where Mary went blind? I cried!
This is getting weird. I'm going to go to bed. I don't know why we're talking about little house.
Okay, okay. One last question, and then we'll be done.
All right.
Who would win in a fight: Laura Ingalls or Anne of Green Gables?
Goodnight.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Dave does it better
Here's another thing stolen from Dave. (Fun fact: if there's anything cool you've seen on this blog, I probably stole it from Dave. Shuffleblog? Stolen. Link-dumps? Stolen. All the good stuff. Except for the birthday mad-libs, those were all me)
A while back, Dave returned to his blog after a lengthy hiatus and, instead of trying to do the usual catch-up-and-apologize entry, he put it in the form of a personal interview. And I liked it. So I'm going to do it, too.
Only, Dave did it better.
Until he got the fever and (apparently) died.
**************************
Hey, Will.
Hey, Interviewer. How are you?
I'll be asking the questions here, thanks.
Oh. Um, okay.
So, how are you?
(You stole that one from me) I'm doing pretty good.
Really?
You know what, almost every time I talk to someone I haven't seen in a while, they do that. They ask how I am, and if I say I'm good, or fine, or anything like that, they press with, "Really?" As though they think I'm lying. And I'm not sure what that says about me, because I think I've always been pretty straightforward and told people when, you know, I wasn't fine. Because I know there are a lot of people who'll say they're fine just because they don't want other folks to worry about them. But I'm pretty sure I've never been that way. When I'm not fine, I want somebody to buy me a pizza or something, you know? I'm a wimp that way. But yeah, lately, nobody believes me when I say I'm doing well.
Maybe it's because you haven't been blogging for a long time.
True.
Like, a long time.
I know, I know.
So what's the story, Wishbone?
Ha, nice. No, you know what it is? And this is the plain truth, and it's going to sound kinda harsh, but I promise it's not at all. It's just a fact. Truth is, I've had more important things to do.
Since last June?
Actually, yeah. Since last April, actually. I actually had a job over the summer. I know I talked about that a little on here before my disappearance, but I had a job, and I would work every night for a week at a time, and then when I had time off I wanted to spend it with family or catching up on reading. Or there was my church work. Man, summer is probably the craziest season of the year for my church job. There's VBS, which I'm in charge of, there's camp, which I have to go to , and I scheduled those during breaks in my other job, so when I wasn't working one place I was often working the other. Plus, I was keeping both boys every day all summer.
Aww, poor you.
I know, it sounds like I'm complaining, right? I promise, I'm not. It was a good summer. Busy, tough, but good. Just meant that blogging was not an activity I saved a lot of energy for.
How much energy do you really have to save for blogging?
You'd be surprised, actually. Oh, and then fall came around! Can I talk about fall?
Sure, why not?
Okay, well in September I started rehearsals for a touring show that traveled to schools, mostly in the Katy area, as part of a literacy program. We actually had our last performance this past week. At Robbie's school.
Cool!
It was. And they've invited me back for the spring tour as well. Now, since we are a one-car family, and I had to get out to Katy twice a week, that means I took a lot of buses. Sometimes 5:30, 6 in the morning.
Ouch.
Yeah. I'm not so much a morning person. So again, too tired for bloggity blog. Plus, Isaac has been having issues getting to sleep at night, so I've spent a lot of time staying up way too late rocking him, too.
So despite the business, and early mornings, and the late nights, it's been all sunshine and roses?
Yeah....I wouldn't necessarily put it that way. I've had my ups and downs over the past couple months. I mean, that's life, right? But for now, things are good. Hey, I got to see my parents the past couple of weekends! They were on their way down to Galveston for a cruise, so they stopped in to play with their grandkids while they were gone. Also let Kim and I get out to dinner one night, and Kim ended up getting a kiss from the Houston Texans' mascot.
What??
Yeah. It was pretty random.
Okay....well, what else is new in your world?
Let's see...Robbie started kindergarten...Isaac is singing Beatles songs...I finished the script for my first ever musical (Thumbelina, I think it's going to be pretty good)...Kim and I celebrated our 7th anniversary...we're flying to Missouri in about a week...
Hey, what about that picture thing you were doing?
Oh, my 365? Yeah, that's probably another reason I wasn't blogging. Some nights, those pictures take a lot of time and creative energy.
And then sometimes you just take a picture of yourself reading a book.
It's a series! And anyway, trying to find the right place to put the camera, the best lighting, and all that jazz, can take some mental gymnastics if you're like me and not a very good photographer. Still, it's been a cool project. I'm actually almost done. Actually, I would be done, if I'd actually gotten something every single day, but I'm still pretty close. But you'll always be my first love, blog.
What about the book blog?
Oh, man! That is so behind! You know what, I was actually going to update that once over the summer, then somebody posted a comment about "Hey, you haven't updated in a few months." Literally, the day I had planned on updating. And then I thought, "Well now I can't update it, because people will think I just did it because of the comment, and then they'll start leaving comments like that every time I go a while between entries, and I don't want that!" So I sat on it for a while longer, and then I actually went a while without reading anything for some reason. So yeah, ball dropped. But I'll pick it back up at some point. I can tell you I've read some pretty good stuff. I read The Green Mile, which was excellent. Also, Shutter Island was very good, and I was very impressed with Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. I've always been sort of underwhelmed by the storytelling aspect of the popular musical; I was amazed to discover that there's actually a really compelling and frightening story in there! Let's see, what else...The Boys of Winter is a must for any American hockey fan or just anybody who loves the story of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. Peter Benchley's Beast is great, if you're into monster stories in the vein of Jaws. (And I don't just say that because it's the same author; it really is quite a bit like Jaws. Only with a giant squid, a chainsaw, and an epic final battle) Oh, I also finally finished the first Percy Jackson series. Super-fun books.
I'm surprised you haven't logged on to blog about the hockey work stoppage.
You know what? I really don't want to blog about that. I've been following the whole thing very closely. On the one hand, it just makes me furious. On the other, I'm actually kind of over it. See, last time they had a lockout (2005), when they lost a whole season, I at least understood the reasoning behind it. This time, I totally understand where each side is coming from...but they're both being unbelievably stubborn and foolish. The whole thing is just dumb. The players' side is being dumb. The owners' side is being dumb. It's remarkable how utterly stupid the whole mess is. And I'm kinda like, you know what? If they want to lose a whole season over this, fine. Whatever. The AHL hockey is phenomenal this year. But if they think they're going to step right back to arenas full of loving supportive fans when this thing is over like they did in 2006? Man, are they ever in for a nasty surprise.
Okay. Yikes. Well, any plans for the blog? Are you "back on the wagon?"
Oh, I don't know. Probably not really. I'll probably never be an almost-daily blogger like I used to be.
Why's that?
Several reasons. One, and this is kinda like I said earlier, I've got more important things to be writing. I just finished Thumelina, like I said. I plan to have Jungle Book drafted before Thanksgiving, and a script for my church to use at Easter done before Christmas. Those three projects will all have to have rewrites, of course. I've also got another couple of plays I plan to work on. Maybe even something for grown-ups.
Shock and disbelief!
I know, really branching out, right? I also have some idea for kids' picture books that I think would be kind of fun. Really, though, I want to get back to my novel. It's been way too long. I think there's something good there, though. It's time to rewrite.
And then?
Wealth and fame, of course.
Of course. So, you're not blogging any more?
Well, not necessarily. There have been a few posts I've wanted to write lately, but not many. Actually, I have a ton of Top 7's I want to do. Those actually take quite a bit of time, you know. But hopefully I'll get to some of them. I do want to write the occasional blog, if for no other reason than I know I have a few friends and family who like to read it from time to time. You won't need to check in daily, because I won't be posting all that often. But I'm sure I'll still lurk around here from time to time. Hopefully, there'll be some exciting new things in my life that I'll want to share, and I may drop in here for some added insight on what I'm working on. Maybe someday I'll finally go on my full-out rant on how stupid MLB's new playoff system is/was. Who knows? But you'll see stuff on here sometimes. And on the book blog, too, once I figure out the best way to get back into that one.
I see. Well, anything to say in closing?
Um...not really. I'm kinda tired of talking, actually.
I love you, man.
Oh. Okay. Um, thanks.
A while back, Dave returned to his blog after a lengthy hiatus and, instead of trying to do the usual catch-up-and-apologize entry, he put it in the form of a personal interview. And I liked it. So I'm going to do it, too.
Only, Dave did it better.
Until he got the fever and (apparently) died.
**************************
Hey, Will.
Hey, Interviewer. How are you?
I'll be asking the questions here, thanks.
Oh. Um, okay.
So, how are you?
(You stole that one from me) I'm doing pretty good.
Really?
You know what, almost every time I talk to someone I haven't seen in a while, they do that. They ask how I am, and if I say I'm good, or fine, or anything like that, they press with, "Really?" As though they think I'm lying. And I'm not sure what that says about me, because I think I've always been pretty straightforward and told people when, you know, I wasn't fine. Because I know there are a lot of people who'll say they're fine just because they don't want other folks to worry about them. But I'm pretty sure I've never been that way. When I'm not fine, I want somebody to buy me a pizza or something, you know? I'm a wimp that way. But yeah, lately, nobody believes me when I say I'm doing well.
Maybe it's because you haven't been blogging for a long time.
True.
Like, a long time.
I know, I know.
So what's the story, Wishbone?
Ha, nice. No, you know what it is? And this is the plain truth, and it's going to sound kinda harsh, but I promise it's not at all. It's just a fact. Truth is, I've had more important things to do.
Since last June?
Actually, yeah. Since last April, actually. I actually had a job over the summer. I know I talked about that a little on here before my disappearance, but I had a job, and I would work every night for a week at a time, and then when I had time off I wanted to spend it with family or catching up on reading. Or there was my church work. Man, summer is probably the craziest season of the year for my church job. There's VBS, which I'm in charge of, there's camp, which I have to go to , and I scheduled those during breaks in my other job, so when I wasn't working one place I was often working the other. Plus, I was keeping both boys every day all summer.
Aww, poor you.
I know, it sounds like I'm complaining, right? I promise, I'm not. It was a good summer. Busy, tough, but good. Just meant that blogging was not an activity I saved a lot of energy for.
How much energy do you really have to save for blogging?
You'd be surprised, actually. Oh, and then fall came around! Can I talk about fall?
Sure, why not?
Okay, well in September I started rehearsals for a touring show that traveled to schools, mostly in the Katy area, as part of a literacy program. We actually had our last performance this past week. At Robbie's school.
Cool!
It was. And they've invited me back for the spring tour as well. Now, since we are a one-car family, and I had to get out to Katy twice a week, that means I took a lot of buses. Sometimes 5:30, 6 in the morning.
Ouch.
Yeah. I'm not so much a morning person. So again, too tired for bloggity blog. Plus, Isaac has been having issues getting to sleep at night, so I've spent a lot of time staying up way too late rocking him, too.
So despite the business, and early mornings, and the late nights, it's been all sunshine and roses?
Yeah....I wouldn't necessarily put it that way. I've had my ups and downs over the past couple months. I mean, that's life, right? But for now, things are good. Hey, I got to see my parents the past couple of weekends! They were on their way down to Galveston for a cruise, so they stopped in to play with their grandkids while they were gone. Also let Kim and I get out to dinner one night, and Kim ended up getting a kiss from the Houston Texans' mascot.
What??
Yeah. It was pretty random.
Okay....well, what else is new in your world?
Let's see...Robbie started kindergarten...Isaac is singing Beatles songs...I finished the script for my first ever musical (Thumbelina, I think it's going to be pretty good)...Kim and I celebrated our 7th anniversary...we're flying to Missouri in about a week...
Hey, what about that picture thing you were doing?
Oh, my 365? Yeah, that's probably another reason I wasn't blogging. Some nights, those pictures take a lot of time and creative energy.
And then sometimes you just take a picture of yourself reading a book.
It's a series! And anyway, trying to find the right place to put the camera, the best lighting, and all that jazz, can take some mental gymnastics if you're like me and not a very good photographer. Still, it's been a cool project. I'm actually almost done. Actually, I would be done, if I'd actually gotten something every single day, but I'm still pretty close. But you'll always be my first love, blog.
What about the book blog?
Oh, man! That is so behind! You know what, I was actually going to update that once over the summer, then somebody posted a comment about "Hey, you haven't updated in a few months." Literally, the day I had planned on updating. And then I thought, "Well now I can't update it, because people will think I just did it because of the comment, and then they'll start leaving comments like that every time I go a while between entries, and I don't want that!" So I sat on it for a while longer, and then I actually went a while without reading anything for some reason. So yeah, ball dropped. But I'll pick it back up at some point. I can tell you I've read some pretty good stuff. I read The Green Mile, which was excellent. Also, Shutter Island was very good, and I was very impressed with Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. I've always been sort of underwhelmed by the storytelling aspect of the popular musical; I was amazed to discover that there's actually a really compelling and frightening story in there! Let's see, what else...The Boys of Winter is a must for any American hockey fan or just anybody who loves the story of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. Peter Benchley's Beast is great, if you're into monster stories in the vein of Jaws. (And I don't just say that because it's the same author; it really is quite a bit like Jaws. Only with a giant squid, a chainsaw, and an epic final battle) Oh, I also finally finished the first Percy Jackson series. Super-fun books.
I'm surprised you haven't logged on to blog about the hockey work stoppage.
You know what? I really don't want to blog about that. I've been following the whole thing very closely. On the one hand, it just makes me furious. On the other, I'm actually kind of over it. See, last time they had a lockout (2005), when they lost a whole season, I at least understood the reasoning behind it. This time, I totally understand where each side is coming from...but they're both being unbelievably stubborn and foolish. The whole thing is just dumb. The players' side is being dumb. The owners' side is being dumb. It's remarkable how utterly stupid the whole mess is. And I'm kinda like, you know what? If they want to lose a whole season over this, fine. Whatever. The AHL hockey is phenomenal this year. But if they think they're going to step right back to arenas full of loving supportive fans when this thing is over like they did in 2006? Man, are they ever in for a nasty surprise.
Okay. Yikes. Well, any plans for the blog? Are you "back on the wagon?"
Oh, I don't know. Probably not really. I'll probably never be an almost-daily blogger like I used to be.
Why's that?
Several reasons. One, and this is kinda like I said earlier, I've got more important things to be writing. I just finished Thumelina, like I said. I plan to have Jungle Book drafted before Thanksgiving, and a script for my church to use at Easter done before Christmas. Those three projects will all have to have rewrites, of course. I've also got another couple of plays I plan to work on. Maybe even something for grown-ups.
Shock and disbelief!
I know, really branching out, right? I also have some idea for kids' picture books that I think would be kind of fun. Really, though, I want to get back to my novel. It's been way too long. I think there's something good there, though. It's time to rewrite.
And then?
Wealth and fame, of course.
Of course. So, you're not blogging any more?
Well, not necessarily. There have been a few posts I've wanted to write lately, but not many. Actually, I have a ton of Top 7's I want to do. Those actually take quite a bit of time, you know. But hopefully I'll get to some of them. I do want to write the occasional blog, if for no other reason than I know I have a few friends and family who like to read it from time to time. You won't need to check in daily, because I won't be posting all that often. But I'm sure I'll still lurk around here from time to time. Hopefully, there'll be some exciting new things in my life that I'll want to share, and I may drop in here for some added insight on what I'm working on. Maybe someday I'll finally go on my full-out rant on how stupid MLB's new playoff system is/was. Who knows? But you'll see stuff on here sometimes. And on the book blog, too, once I figure out the best way to get back into that one.
I see. Well, anything to say in closing?
Um...not really. I'm kinda tired of talking, actually.
I love you, man.
Oh. Okay. Um, thanks.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
I mean, you really can't cover it all. Not after over a month of non-blogging. So your options are either ignore everything and pick up as if you never went away, or else give an inadequate recap of the past month. I'ma go with option B!
--Robbie's last day of preschool has come and gone. He was pretty sad, so we let him pick dinner that night. Naturally, he chose New York Pizzeria. Now it's been twenty-one days of keeping both boys at home with me throughout the day. We had some struggles early on, since we don't have cool things like playgrounds and classmates in abundance, and transitions are always hard anyway, but we've been doing better lately, getting into our groove. And I actually got him to (with help) clean his room, so we can play with the toddler in there now as well. I try to fit one "outing" in per week, and maybe two trips to the park as well. I'm pretty darn sure we'll all survive the summer :-)
--I threw out my back about a month ago. I've strained it before, but I was completely incapacitated for a full day. And mostly incapacitated for two days after then. And then, I could function fairly normally, just with a lot of pain, for a while. I cannot think of a time I've been in that much pain in my life. Kim had to help me walk back to bed, and I almost passed out from the pain. It was crazy. Anyway, I had my first completely pain-free night of work this past week, so I feel pretty safe in saying I'm just about out of the woods. Now, time to work on getting out of terrible shape and back into marginally poor shape.
--The Kings won the Stanley Cup. I know you were probably expecting something epic from me about that, but it's now a part of the "too much to cover" cloud. It was pretty awesome, though. They pretty much steamrolled through the playoffs. First Cup in franchise history, and there's always been a pretty fantastic core of hockey fans in the LA area. Like my dad. So happy for him to get the chance to finally see his boyhood team lift the Cup.
Also, really happy for a lot of guys on that roster, especially good soldier Willie Mitchell. The man has played steady if unspectacular hockey for years, and to see him finally get a Cup win is a huge part of what makes the SCF so fantastic every year.
--Finally, by now I sincerely hope everyone has seen the Les Mis trailer twenty or so times. But in case you haven't,
--And that, of course, reminds me of the Les Miserables Street Fighter-style fighting game, Arm Joe. Because you always wanted to see Marius beat the snot out of Eponine, and because you thought the story needed a cyborg Jean Valjean, right?
--Robbie's last day of preschool has come and gone. He was pretty sad, so we let him pick dinner that night. Naturally, he chose New York Pizzeria. Now it's been twenty-one days of keeping both boys at home with me throughout the day. We had some struggles early on, since we don't have cool things like playgrounds and classmates in abundance, and transitions are always hard anyway, but we've been doing better lately, getting into our groove. And I actually got him to (with help) clean his room, so we can play with the toddler in there now as well. I try to fit one "outing" in per week, and maybe two trips to the park as well. I'm pretty darn sure we'll all survive the summer :-)
--I threw out my back about a month ago. I've strained it before, but I was completely incapacitated for a full day. And mostly incapacitated for two days after then. And then, I could function fairly normally, just with a lot of pain, for a while. I cannot think of a time I've been in that much pain in my life. Kim had to help me walk back to bed, and I almost passed out from the pain. It was crazy. Anyway, I had my first completely pain-free night of work this past week, so I feel pretty safe in saying I'm just about out of the woods. Now, time to work on getting out of terrible shape and back into marginally poor shape.
--The Kings won the Stanley Cup. I know you were probably expecting something epic from me about that, but it's now a part of the "too much to cover" cloud. It was pretty awesome, though. They pretty much steamrolled through the playoffs. First Cup in franchise history, and there's always been a pretty fantastic core of hockey fans in the LA area. Like my dad. So happy for him to get the chance to finally see his boyhood team lift the Cup.
Also, really happy for a lot of guys on that roster, especially good soldier Willie Mitchell. The man has played steady if unspectacular hockey for years, and to see him finally get a Cup win is a huge part of what makes the SCF so fantastic every year.
--Finally, by now I sincerely hope everyone has seen the Les Mis trailer twenty or so times. But in case you haven't,
--And that, of course, reminds me of the Les Miserables Street Fighter-style fighting game, Arm Joe. Because you always wanted to see Marius beat the snot out of Eponine, and because you thought the story needed a cyborg Jean Valjean, right?
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