I heard about this video on the radio. I've heard it's a fake and it looks like it might be based on some of the other videos by the same guy but that wail of despair was pretty convincing. I'm going to assume it's real or that guy needs to go into acting.
The Boy is very into gaming and destroying his games (or deleting since he's on a PC) would be like setting all my books on fire. Cruel, unusual, and done at your peril. However, The Boy also has a job and a social life. He's a functional adult but he went through a basement dwelling gamer phase for a hot second before I met him.
I'm fine with gaming but there's an extreme that I just won't tolerate. If my kid is out of high school they either need to be working or volunteering or something in addition to gaming. They also need to get outside and interact with people. If they're back from college, they absolutely 100% need a job or internship. Gaming and nothing else is neither acceptable nor healthy.
If my hypothetical kid ever has basement dwelling gamer phase, I won't destroy them but I will get creative about hiding them. You'll get outside and interact with humans so help me Odin
Music: Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Adirondacks Part 2
Food and the rustic location were not the only reason I went to upstate New York. Most of The Boys extended family was there. By most I mean ~40 people with spouses and kids. So many babies and little children. And the most recently married couple has one coming along. The Boy brought me in at the beginning of the era of young families. I was seriously waiting for one of his cousin's to start looking at me and say "You're next."
Sunday night is pizza night where his uncle, George, makes pizza for everybody. This was my mother's first introduction to his extended family. I was nervous but everything was fine. She didn't get overwhelmed and everyone was pleasant (as per usual). I got to know one of The Boy's cousin a little better an it turns out we're into the same nerdy stuff. This came in handy when we were playing CAH toward the end of the trip. Most of his relatives were picking the nerdy cards out right and left. I think 2 or 3 other people out of ~15 got those jokes. Muggles.
The other big night is shrimp night which The Boy's mother does. She makes steamed spiced shrimp and everyone comes by and eats cheese, snacks, and shrimp. There was even a campfire so my mom and I were able to make s'mores in the fire pit.
On Monday, the last really warm day, The Boy, his 'youngest' sister (older than him by ~ a year), his nephew, and I all headed to the water park. Everyone else in the county had the same idea we did because the place was packed. They had this old fairy tale portion with different houses, sculptures and a museum of stuff throughout the park's history. The water park portion wasn't added until the late 1980's. At the petting zoo I learned that sheep gonads get just as wool as the rest of them. One sheep was walking like "Come on man. Just sheer me already."
When we finally got to the water park portion not an inner tube was to be had. We had to wait in line for a freebie and then wait in line for the slide. I thought we were going to the lazy river first so I felt a little lied to. The slide was fun for the first 95% On the last turn I was reminded that mass x acceleration = force when the inner tube flipped and I landed on my face. At this point I'm just trying to navigate toward where the oxygen in but I was still sliding. The Boy and I came out backwards and before the inner tube.
The lifeguards were not used to seeing that. They were even less used to seeing someone bleed from the head. The Boy felt really bad once he realized I was bleeding. I spent the next hour getting patched up and icing it. The plus side was that all I had to do was ask nicely and we got a free inner tube for the rest of the day. After that I hung out on the lazy river until The Boy located his sister and nephew.
Looking at it healing I think I probably should have gotten a couple of stitches. At least it's a good conversation starter since I still have a bandage on my face. The Boy was a little grumpy that his injury wasn't as widely appreciated as mine but I win since I'll probably have a facial scar. I was a little disappointed I didn't get the black eye I was promised. It would have made for a really good 'having fun on vacation' selfie.
Overall the trip was great. The Boy's family is still awesome, ice cream up there is great, and I'm probably too old for water slides. Let's do this again next year. Minus the head injury.
Sunday night is pizza night where his uncle, George, makes pizza for everybody. This was my mother's first introduction to his extended family. I was nervous but everything was fine. She didn't get overwhelmed and everyone was pleasant (as per usual). I got to know one of The Boy's cousin a little better an it turns out we're into the same nerdy stuff. This came in handy when we were playing CAH toward the end of the trip. Most of his relatives were picking the nerdy cards out right and left. I think 2 or 3 other people out of ~15 got those jokes. Muggles.
The other big night is shrimp night which The Boy's mother does. She makes steamed spiced shrimp and everyone comes by and eats cheese, snacks, and shrimp. There was even a campfire so my mom and I were able to make s'mores in the fire pit.
On Monday, the last really warm day, The Boy, his 'youngest' sister (older than him by ~ a year), his nephew, and I all headed to the water park. Everyone else in the county had the same idea we did because the place was packed. They had this old fairy tale portion with different houses, sculptures and a museum of stuff throughout the park's history. The water park portion wasn't added until the late 1980's. At the petting zoo I learned that sheep gonads get just as wool as the rest of them. One sheep was walking like "Come on man. Just sheer me already."
When we finally got to the water park portion not an inner tube was to be had. We had to wait in line for a freebie and then wait in line for the slide. I thought we were going to the lazy river first so I felt a little lied to. The slide was fun for the first 95% On the last turn I was reminded that mass x acceleration = force when the inner tube flipped and I landed on my face. At this point I'm just trying to navigate toward where the oxygen in but I was still sliding. The Boy and I came out backwards and before the inner tube.
The lifeguards were not used to seeing that. They were even less used to seeing someone bleed from the head. The Boy felt really bad once he realized I was bleeding. I spent the next hour getting patched up and icing it. The plus side was that all I had to do was ask nicely and we got a free inner tube for the rest of the day. After that I hung out on the lazy river until The Boy located his sister and nephew.
Looking at it healing I think I probably should have gotten a couple of stitches. At least it's a good conversation starter since I still have a bandage on my face. The Boy was a little grumpy that his injury wasn't as widely appreciated as mine but I win since I'll probably have a facial scar. I was a little disappointed I didn't get the black eye I was promised. It would have made for a really good 'having fun on vacation' selfie.
Overall the trip was great. The Boy's family is still awesome, ice cream up there is great, and I'm probably too old for water slides. Let's do this again next year. Minus the head injury.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Adirondacks Part 1
Every year The Boy and his family take a trip up to the Adirondacks. I was worried I wouldn't be able to go since I was working but I wasn't making that much money from working. My mom said she'd drive up with me and she and I would rent our own cabin and my temp assignment had enough work for me to do and liked me enough that my gig would be waiting for me when I got back.
Because we took an hour at Cracker Barrel (the nice lady in the store kept helping us shop), our total drive time was ~11 hours. By the end my mother was driving like me. It was kind of humorous. The Boy's family owned his cabin which is a real house. Our cabin somewhat resembled those tiny houses you see cropping up. We had a small bedroom with 3 metal walls that comprised the shower, the living/eating space and bathroom, and the glorified porch I was sleeping on. It had enclosed walls but I promise there was no insulation in those walls.
The insulation was relevant since It stopped being nice by Tuesday. Friday I spent the whole day in sweatpants and a hoodie. Every night I slept in that hoodie for warmth either on a crappy pullout sofa bed from the 1970's or a size too small bed with an extra firm mattress at The Boy's parent's place. All of this was occurring 90 minutes from the bathroom break Wal-Mart mentioned in Baker's Dozen Challenge Book 12. This was considerably more rustic than I was accustomed. The keys for our cabin were right inside the unlocked door on the porch. We ain't in DC no more.
The town we were staying and and it's larger neighbor had a bunch of great shops. The Boy had a present waiting for me which was a stuffed black bear I named Picnic. I found some very cool souvenirs including a necklace made from a monarch butterfly's wing (it died of natural causes), a tie-dyed multi-fabric skirt from a hippy store, a cherry blossom glass necklace, a book called "Your Socks Are on Fire" and a much needed pair of sweatpants. The bookstore in town had little flying pigs with magnetic noses that were stuck together. It was to show they were magnets but it made me think of The Boy and I. Neither he nor I were the best bets on paper at the start. I went back into that store at the end of the week to grab something for our neighbor and found 3 pairs like that.
The neighboring town had a 'hardware store' that was more well stocked than most Wal-Marts. Upstairs was camping gear and outdoor and kitchen furniture and downstairs was a hardware store. Connected to that was fabric, candy, cookie cutters, cookie jars, mugs, plates, towels, pot holders, and other kitchen items. Connected to that was several boxed recipes and baking items. Behind the baking was clothes, toys, and puzzles. Next to that was bedroom furniture including mattresses, pillows, futons, bedframes, dressers, and decorative fans. Behind the clothes and puzzles was the book section separated into a general book section with classics, fiction, various genre fiction, and several young reader sections. Behind that was all local books including guides, maps, histories, and regionally based novels. Back to the front and beside the baking stuff was the yarn and sewing section. Did you get all that?
In town there were only 2 places to eat. A breakfast and sandwich place that closed at 3 and a sports bar/video store (with DVDs and actual VHS tapes) that opened in the afternoon. There was a bakery with bagels the size of your face for only a couple of dollars and epic doughnuts. My favorite place in town was the ice cream stand.
We went there almost every day. The Boy loved the soft serve, my mom was a sucker for a hard vanilla ice cream with M&Ms and fudge fish, and I loved me some gelato. Forest Berry FTW. The Boy's family and mine went to the fancy Italian place in the next town over one night. I had to figure out what 'mountain nice' meant. Casual Friday in the city as it turns out.
Shopping and eating were a large part of this trip.
Baker's Dozen Challenge Book 12
I have completed my Wild Card for the Baker's Dozen challenge. I was driving out to The Boonies, NY (more on that in another post) when we hit a Wal-Mart for a bathroom break. In the interest stretching my legs before driving another few hours, I wandered around. I saw Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and was so pleased to see a book about gay teens in a podunk Wal-Mart I bought it on the spot.
This shows the ever increasing popularity of these writers and that I can't be left unsupervised around books. I've read the ubiquitous The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan. I found both of them to have an excellent writing style and fantastic way with words.
Each writer took on a Will Grayson in this alternating first person narrative. John Green's Will Grayson was fairly standard but he had a strategy of shutting up and not caring I didn't totally understand. Nothing is supremely wrong in his life so what's with the 'tude? Despite that, I understood his desire to not care, not get attached, etc. so he was still a likable character. Plus Tiny Cooper is all sorts of fabulous in every way possible.
Levithan's Will Grayson was, to be blunt, a snarky, angry, emo punk. I'd have thrown in bitch but he was abandoned by his father an clinically depressed so his attitude made sense. Plus some of his observations were hilarious. I will forever remember his rant early in the book about how 'if you think a < 3 looks like a heart then clearly you've never see a scrotum.'
Each writer has an amazing way with words. I kept dog-earring pages (only tiny ones at the bottom. I'm too OCD for anything else.) so I could go back and make sure those quotes were on GoodReads. One of Levithan's gems was "Need is never a good basis for any relationship. It has to be much more than that," and Green had "I don't really want to be the costar in anyone's life," and "Love is the most common miracle."
I looked up several of the bands mentioned in the book. I listened to Neutral Milk Hotel and the Mr. T Experience. I swear I thought NMH was something Green got from a random band name generator. I got a more realistic sounding band name in that meme I did a few entries ago. It is incredibly well written and poetic. I absolutely recommend it.
This shows the ever increasing popularity of these writers and that I can't be left unsupervised around books. I've read the ubiquitous The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan. I found both of them to have an excellent writing style and fantastic way with words.
Each writer took on a Will Grayson in this alternating first person narrative. John Green's Will Grayson was fairly standard but he had a strategy of shutting up and not caring I didn't totally understand. Nothing is supremely wrong in his life so what's with the 'tude? Despite that, I understood his desire to not care, not get attached, etc. so he was still a likable character. Plus Tiny Cooper is all sorts of fabulous in every way possible.
Levithan's Will Grayson was, to be blunt, a snarky, angry, emo punk. I'd have thrown in bitch but he was abandoned by his father an clinically depressed so his attitude made sense. Plus some of his observations were hilarious. I will forever remember his rant early in the book about how 'if you think a < 3 looks like a heart then clearly you've never see a scrotum.'
Each writer has an amazing way with words. I kept dog-earring pages (only tiny ones at the bottom. I'm too OCD for anything else.) so I could go back and make sure those quotes were on GoodReads. One of Levithan's gems was "Need is never a good basis for any relationship. It has to be much more than that," and Green had "I don't really want to be the costar in anyone's life," and "Love is the most common miracle."
I looked up several of the bands mentioned in the book. I listened to Neutral Milk Hotel and the Mr. T Experience. I swear I thought NMH was something Green got from a random band name generator. I got a more realistic sounding band name in that meme I did a few entries ago. It is incredibly well written and poetic. I absolutely recommend it.
1) Another World – Wild Cards edited by George R. R. Martin
2) Learned Something – Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
3) Movie Book – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
4) Graphic Novel – Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol. 1 by Sam Humphries
5) Dust – You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark
6) Nonfiction – A Little F'ed Up by Julie Zeilinger
7) Reread – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (as read by Wil Wheaton)
8) Shorts – 20something Essays by 20something Writers
9) Fiction – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison
10) Shiny – Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
11) Retelling – Classics Mutilated edited by Jeff Connor
12) Wild Card – Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
13) The End –
Music: O, You Sinners by Eliza Rickman
This One Time at Bandcamp
I think I love bandcamp. It's a great place to discover new and unknown artists or for independent artists to get their stuff out there.
You can stream all musical content for free. I absolutely love this since I need to spend less money but have that annoyingly human thirst for novelty. My brain loves the fun chemical rush of a new thing. Now I can just get it for free.
If I ever did get around to downloading, most of the download costs are very comparable to iTunes. It may be better than iTunes since your money is going right to the artist instead of some corporate machine and the man. (Picture me in a flannel shirt and grumbly for that last part and it gets even better.)
Michael Cera quietly dropped his new album from there. I discovered Dessa and Eliza Rickman from Welcome to Nightvale weather. I love the unique and ethereal sound of Rickman's music. I discovered The Smittens while poking around on their discover section. A friend told me about Margot MacDonald who's a local artist with some serious talent. She reminds me a tiny bit of Emmy Rossum on her first album.
You can follow artist you like and add CDs you don't want to buy or download right away to your wishlist (done it). I swear if I get more money and start downloading things from here I'll turn into such a hipster. 'I'm listening to this awesome indie band you've probably never heard of.'
It's not all indie stuff, although that does seem to be a majority of stuff I'm finding. I've seen metal, electronic, rap, devotional, classic, and comedy. I've got so much exploring to do.
Music: Ruth by Michael Cera
PS: If you're not listening to Welcome to Nightvale, wtf are you waiting for???
You can stream all musical content for free. I absolutely love this since I need to spend less money but have that annoyingly human thirst for novelty. My brain loves the fun chemical rush of a new thing. Now I can just get it for free.
If I ever did get around to downloading, most of the download costs are very comparable to iTunes. It may be better than iTunes since your money is going right to the artist instead of some corporate machine and the man. (Picture me in a flannel shirt and grumbly for that last part and it gets even better.)
Michael Cera quietly dropped his new album from there. I discovered Dessa and Eliza Rickman from Welcome to Nightvale weather. I love the unique and ethereal sound of Rickman's music. I discovered The Smittens while poking around on their discover section. A friend told me about Margot MacDonald who's a local artist with some serious talent. She reminds me a tiny bit of Emmy Rossum on her first album.
You can follow artist you like and add CDs you don't want to buy or download right away to your wishlist (done it). I swear if I get more money and start downloading things from here I'll turn into such a hipster. 'I'm listening to this awesome indie band you've probably never heard of.'
It's not all indie stuff, although that does seem to be a majority of stuff I'm finding. I've seen metal, electronic, rap, devotional, classic, and comedy. I've got so much exploring to do.
Music: Ruth by Michael Cera
PS: If you're not listening to Welcome to Nightvale, wtf are you waiting for???
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