I can't think of a better way to title this posting, so I am going with the above-mentioned "Adjustments". It has the benefit of at least being factually correct, which makes up for it being on the boring side. Anyway, there are a lot of adjustments to talk about these days.
I miss my cat. I know, that may sound odd coming from a 57-year-old male, but it's simply true. I think about him often. In a lot of ways, he is one of the reasons why I am here today typing this posting. Had he not come into my life when he did, I know my life from November 2010 until now would have been different. Granted, I am not talking about currently living in a utopia, but compared to what my life could be like, well, I am in a relatively good place. Jean-Luc gets some of that credit. He was unfailingly loyal to me and always attentive. As I mentioned in my last posting, he knew me and knew when I needed him. With him gone, well, the world seems just a tiny bit less friendly.
I've also made a job and ultimately career change. The names will be changed to protect the innocent, but I've taken stock of a few things and made the conscious decision that at this stage in my life, it's time to prioritize my physical and mental health. This means a bit less work stress, although I absolutely recognize that most of that stuff comes more from inside me than anywhere else. If anything, my hope is that I'll be able to work on that internal stuff more in the months and years to come. My professional life has admittedly been on something of a rollercoaster since 2016, and it feels like I should be consciously trying to do more of what I truly enjoy along with paying less attention to my inner dialogue that insists on measuring success against others, etc. I know, that sounds very new-age, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances. Who knows, I may decide in a bit that I want more of that kind of pressure in my life, but for now, and for as far as I can see, the right thing to do is more of what I enjoy and less of what I don't.
Finally, I am adjusting to working from home now. I've never been the biggest fan of that, but the reality of working life in 2021 is that for many of us, it's here to stay. To make that more palatable for me, I'm almost done re-configuring my office so that I have a dedicated desk just for work. This now means that my small home office has two dual monitor set-ups and probably draws as much power as Shamokin (Pennsylvania), but so be it. My hope is that I can view the work desk as just that...my workplace and my work time.
In the end, it's all about the adjustments.
Looking forward, there is some work for me to do. For starters, work just needs to be an emotionally smaller part of my life. Put another way, I desperately need to separate "me the person" from "me the working professional". If I can do that, and I am hopeful, maybe there will be room for other things that bring me some amount of happiness. I also have to think about the fact that I honestly don't have a decade more of full-time professional work in me. At some point, maybe in my early 60's, I am going to make the decision that it's time to have a full-time job of simply being me (also known as retiring). The next few years need to be a part of that transition.
Lastly, on the work front, I could absolutely be making a horrible mistake now. There is a part of me that is always in competition. The problem with that though is the fact that the very nature of competition implies that there are "winners" and "losers". When it comes to a constant competition against a notion of what I should be doing and where I should be in my career, well, I don't think there can ever be a winner. As so well noted in that classic piece of cinematic vision (War Games)...
File this one under the category of "For no reason other than to just entertain me".
I'm convinced that, when you talk about the late Elvis Presley, it's simply not right to describe him in the singular. In point of fact, I think there are actually 8 Elvises(1). Allow me to explain.
Elvis #1: Growing Up Elvis
This is the Elvis before there was an Elvis. The blonde Elvis. The Elvis with the burgeoning and almost un-natural attachment to his momma. This the Elvis up until he made that initial recording at Sun Records (for, you guessed it, his momma).
Elvis #2: Initial Fame Elvis
This is the "shaking his hips on national television and causing a commotion" Elvis. The Elvis when most people think about Elvis. The "Love me tender..." Elvis. This is the epitome of all Elvis.
Elvis #3: Army Elvis
This is Elvis when he joined the United States Army, stationed in Germany. The Elvis who, while old enough to be in the Army, developed an almost un-natural attachment for a 14-year-old named Priscilla, who would later go on to be his wife " 'cilla". This is the "your career is over" Elvis.
Yet, life could not keep an Elvis down.
Elvis #4: Movie Elvis
This is the Elvis that made countless crappy movies, where Elvis always played a quasi-heroic outsider type who manages to save the day through elaborately staged 50's-era rock and roll songs. Having seen a few Elvis movies myself, I defy anyone to binge-watch all of the Elvis movies and come out of the experience with most of their sanity in-tact.
Elvis #5: '68 Comeback Special Elvis
This is the black leather-clad Elvis who, tired of repeating the same movie over and over again like some endless run of Home Improvement episodes, decided(2) to get back to his roots.
Elvis#6: Vegas Act Elvis (a.k.a. In The Ghetto Elvis)
This is the "okay, I am a singer again, so now what?" Elvis. The Elvis who wasn't capable of being a contemporary of artists such as The Beatles. The Elvis who apparently discovered plus-sized rhinestone jumpsuits and had a flair for belts only slightly smaller than your average World Wrestling Federation champtionship belt. The Elvis who fancied himself a gun-tot'n real G-man and developed an unnatural affinity for, of all people, Richard Nixon.
This is also the "In the Ghetto" Elvis. Seriously, listen to the song. This song should be an auditory aid when teaching the concept of insincerity to junior high school students.
Elvis#7: Dead on the Throne Elvis
This is the Elvis who died on the toilet at age 42. The Elvis who technically suffered from cardiac arrest as a cause of death, but given the circumstances, including his insatiable appetite for certain drugs, it's not much of a stretch to come to the conclusion that Elvis actually died from chronic constipation(3). That's a crappy way to die(4).
More on the death of Elvis, all be it a sanitized version, can be found HERE.
Elvis#8: Revisionist History Elvis
This is the Elvis of Graceland. The Elvis of countless impersonators. The Elvis of legend and lore. The Elvis that didn't have an unnatural affinity for his momma, didn't date a minor, didn't have Col. Tom Parker strong-arm songwriting credits away from actual song-wrinters(5) and wasn't the demanding customer of proto-Dr.Feelgood drug-dealer Doctor Nicky(6).
A final note of sorts:
I don't dislike Elvis. I really don't. I grew up listening to some of his music, and as noted above, I've seen far too many Elvis movies (a.k.a. Elvis#4) in my life. I'll also note that, when you look at what this guy packed into a life of 42 years, well, it's nothing short of truly amazing.
However (and you knew there was a "however" coming), the notion of what Elvis represents does bother me. This includes what's already been mentioned in this posting plus his cultural appropriation (and sanitization) of The Blues and the willful ignorance of those who admire him. Yes, I know we are all flawed as human beings, but if you are going to stake your livelihood on being such a public person, you had better be prepared for the accompanying scrutiny. When you look at the life of Elvis, well, it's actually not always such a pretty picture.
Thank You.
Thank You Very Much.
* * * * * *
(1) The correct plural of "Elvis" is "Elvises", not "Elvii, although I will note that "Elvii" would sound much better. Citation HERE.
(2) When using a phrase like "Elvis decided..." it's important to remember that, outside of say dating a 14-year-old while an adult, Elvis didn't make a ton of actual decisions himself. The man behind the curtain was his manager/svengali, "Colonel" Tom Parker. More on "The Colonel" can be found HERE.
(3) Modern medicine is a great thing. While many medications provide a tremendous service to us, some work, in part, by disrupting the connections between nerves and your brain. A side effect though is that they also disrupt some of the nerve signals in your digestive system, resulting in, among other things, chronic and debilitating constipation.
(4) With apologies for the bad pun, but come on, this is a posting about Elvis Presley for Pete's sake. Potty humor is to be expected. Sh*t, I did it again.
(5) Basicly, Elivs' manager would force songwriters to give Elvis partial songwriting credit in exchange for recording their music. Citation HERE.
(6) Dr. Nicky refers to the real-life doctor George C. Nichopoulos, who effectively was the Official Elvis Dope-Dealer. "DrFeelgood" refers to a terrific song by Motley Crue (see hyperlink).
My late brother Chris and I would sometimes randomly quote movies we liked, including the above references to Stephen King's Children of the Corn. Another favorite movie to quote was Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (a truly disturbing movie, for the record, which explains why we liked it so much when we were in our early teens). Anyway, I was thinking of the "He who walks behind the rows" line as I was in Iowa, driving to Cedar Rapid from Fairfield. The thought was so motivating that I actually stopped to take a few cellphone pictures.
This was something of an Iowa homecoming for me, as I had traveled to the state quite a bit during the years 2004 through 2014. Iowa is, in some respects, the anti-matter New Jersey: Not crowded, wide-open spaces, exceptionally friendly people and a big sky. By "big sky" I mean this idea of a sky that is a kind of big dome over your head, circling around to the horizon in all directions. When you live in a place with tall hills/mountains, it just seems like the sky just isn't quite so big.
Oh, and there is the air.
The air here feels different. Mind you, that notion of different has a certain range of motion, in the sense that, for example, as I was driving by a General Mills facility there was a kind of funk the air, a sweeter version of what I experienced while driving by the manure facility on Tuesday evening in route to Ottumwa. Outside of those human-induced invisible clouds of funk, the air in Iowa just feels better. That's something I would never have noticed, say, ten years ago. However, having developed asthma somewhere during the last decade or so, I've become acutely aware of how clean the air around me is, and how that might impact me. The impact, by the way, isn't all that much, especially given things like rescue inhalers, but it's an annoyance...and source of future health pondering...never the less.
Iowa would be a perfect place for me if it was next to the ocean. It's worth noting though that there are no perfect places. What's more, future moving decisions will be driven more so by proximity to children than air quality. What I will say is this: Had I been born in Iowa I would likely never leave.
The trip, by way, was a good one. I met lots of great people with my (still relatively new) employer and I have an open invitation to come back any time I am needed. It's a good feeling to know that what you are doing is valued.
Sandbridge Beach, Virginia Random thoughts pinging through my head at the moment. Right Now...It's 8am and I am sitting at the dining room table of a condominium in Sandbridge Beach. I'd be typing this on the balcony, but it's currently over-run by something of a small swarm of dragonflies. The locals tell us that they are harmless (I already knew that) and that they kill all of the annoying flying critters (I already knew that too). I just have to get used to swarms of two-inch long flying assassins being around me.
Pill Load...Yes, this (below) is what I bring with me on vacation. I didn't bring my multi-vitamin, mostly because the bottle wouldn't fit in the ziplock back with the other stuff. For something of a science guy, I admit that I probably take too many supplements. In my defense though, the glucosamine and chondroitin I take really do help with my arthritic toes (yes, I have arthritis in my big toe on my right foot...and nowhere else...go figure).
On the good news side, I have no life-threatening illnesses, mostly stuff that comes from living an active life and getting older. By the way, there was a time when I didn't take anything. I literally could get up and go, and go to bed at night without having to swallow or inhale a blessed thing. On the Road...I felt literally battered from yesterday's drive. It was long, traffic was, at times, stupidly backed up, and my knee was hurting from having been bent for so long. While I can't do much about the traffic, I can adjust my seat for the drive back. Speaking of driving, we drove my Silverado down for this year's vacation, mostly out of a desire to have lots of room. Speaking of room though, I've parked in a garage, so I have a feeling that getting in and out of the parking space is going to require some patience. Thank God for the back-up camera. Work...I actually have to do something for (my professional job) work today. I'm putting it off, but that can't be forever. It's something I should have done before I left, and it's honestly not fair to stiff a team member and have her do it for me. There are times when I think I should have been an electrician. Band...I saw this in a restaurant we stopped at on the trip down here yesterday and thought to myself "what a cool name for a band!". Cultural reference, for the uninformed, HERE.
Anyway, I was thinking to myself, "If I had a band, what would I call it?". After all, I do have a bass guitar that, in theory, I am going to learn to play one of these days. I'll have to work on that thought. Today's Agenda...I have to get that work stuff done, as it's hanging over my head. Outside of that, probably some reconnoitering and planning for the week. From there it's anyone's guess. Happy Father's Day...to all of the Dad's out there. Fatherhood is probably the most under-rated job in the world. Those who do it well deserve our thanks.
A Memorable Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving should always be memorable, mostly because we get to spend it with family and friends. That was true for this me this year, but with an added twist: We had a flying squirrel visit us for Thanksgiving. By way of background, we had a large Thanksgiving dinner in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania with my wife's family. The actual festivities were held at a beautiful old church hall that my father-in-law (a retired Episcopal priest) was able to procure due to his having previously acted as a temporary pastor. Anyway, after much chasing and general Keystone Cops-esque tomfoolery, our visitor was safely captured and returned to the wilds of Jenkintown.
(Photo courtesy of my sister-in-law Julie's Facebook feed)
Hopefully, our little friend will go about what flying squirrels normally do and avoid church halls in the future.
Bohemian Rhapsody...We saw the Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody on Friday night, and it did not disappoint. In fact, if you are even remotely familiar with the band's music, I'd highly recommend that you take the time to see the movie. A lot of great stuff is being said about the lead actor, Rami Malek, and all of it is deserved. I will note though the actor who played Brian May, Gwilym Lee, was uncanny in his resemblance to the guitarist.
I know there has been some backlash centering around how the movie treated Freddie Mercury's sexuality (see THIS article as an example), but it seemed to me that the film made a very reasonable attempt to show Freddie Mercury as the complex individual he likely was. While I can't relate to his sexuality, I can absolutely relate to being someone who is wildly uncomfortable in personal interactions but very comfortable and confident when on a stage (in my case, in front of a classroom). In any event, Freddie Mercury was a son, a cat-person, a rock icon, a loyal friend, a lover and many other things, all of which the movie tried to show in the course of fewer than two hours...and I think they did a great job.
Christmas Shopping...It's only a few days after Thanksgiving and, as usual, I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping. Now lest anything think that this is because I am masterful at planning (well, actually, I'm pretty good it), the reasoning behind my holiday buying habit is far more practical: For a long time I basically didn't have enough money to buy all the presents I wanted to get for others, so I had to start shopping very early (typically in the summer) and buy a little over time. I may not have that underlying need now, but the practice continues.
Bombas...I admire businesses that give back to the world in a significant way. One such company is Bombas, a company that makes and sells socks. You can read more about them HERE. For every pair of socks you buy from Bombas, they donate a better pair to a homeless shelter. I've purchased a number of socks from myself from Bombas, and they make a great product. The fact that they help others in the process is all the better.
October (in the rear-view mirror)...October is the worst month of the year for me. Always has been, always likely will be. Looking back on last month, October once again delivered fully on its reputation. There is a larger post on this topic that's to be written but suffice to say I got through it, and maybe for the better. The odd thing is that there was just one part of the month that was particularly challenging for me, but other parts were actually very enjoyable.
Self-Checkouts Are Horrible...Don't use self-checkouts. Just don't. They seem to me to be just another example of how some retailers are trying to further de-humanize retail, squeezing even more profits out by reducing entry-level jobs. I'm not the only one who feels this way; see THIS article.
On the North Sea The mechanics of writing this stuff is interesting, well at least to me it's interesting. I'm actually 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time as I write this; my pattern has been to, after dinner and other evening activities, look at photographs and write the basic posting. I then actually finish things up and publish the following morning, usually before breakfast (I'm a chronically early riser). Someone might think that's an awful lot of work, especially on a vacation, but it really isn't for me. If anything, I enjoy this process, as it gives me a chance to reflect on the day how incredibly lucky I am to be even taking this journey in the first place. Speaking of that last point, when I was a kid, one time a more well-off family brought in their home movies from Disneyland (or whatever it is in Florida) for the class to watch. Knowing then that I had no shot at such a vacation, I hated the experience. Envy? Sure. I think about that experience as I write this, but I also realize that, unlike grade school, I'm not dealing with a captive audience. Or so that's how I rationalize things. Stavanger, Norway Today's port-o-call was Stavanger, Norway. The town's claim to fame is the fact that it's something of the headquarters of Norway's oil & gas industry. We got into Stavanger early around 7am and had to leave by about 1:30pm, so there wasn't much time to explore. Ms. Rivers and I did take the provided tour, but I found it somewhat boring. For the record though, I'd rather be somewhat bored in Norway than be at home. The major portion of the tour as a visit to the Norwegian Oil & Gas Museum. I didn't actually take any pictures. There were some interesting ships docked near us, which did warrant some photographs.
The above ship is actually somewhat famous: It was featured in the movie Dunkirk. More information about this ship can be found HERE. Since leaving at about 1:30pm, we've been in route to Alborg, Denmark. Arrival is set for about Noon tomorrow. The afternoon was spent mostly reading, although Ms. Rivers and I did partake in an official tea-time at 4pm with her parents. While I've been drinking tea all of my life, I've never done an official tea-time. To quote John Mellencamp, "Another boring romantic, that's me". Given that I don't have any spectacular photographs to show or insights to offer, it feels as if this posting is, well, a bit short. The best I can do is offer the following grainy photograph of a Norwegian harbor lighthouse, shot with a large zoom lens, with a ton of glare.
The day actually ended with about two and a half hour dinner that included my wife's family. It was a busy place, and there are only so many Ukranian/Russian waiters to go around. Dinner itself was nice and the company was good, so what's not to like? I'll end this with a few observations:
Oil & Gas. In Norway, the nation's share of profits from the oil and gas industry has been used to build roads, bore tunnels for highways, construct bridges linking remote coastal towns and other such things. Seems like a good idea.
Happy. The folks we've encountered in towns so far...as in the locals...have seemed pretty happy. That fits in with the data I've seen that shows the Nordic countries as being among the happiest places on Earth. I'd provide a link to support that assertion, but I don't feel like waiting the extra 5 minutes for the Google search results to come up (and then for me to switch the language from Norwegian to English).
Passengers. Ms. Rivers and I are on the younger side compared to most passengers on this cruise. I'm good with that, for the record. Most of the passengers we've spoken to have been extremely friendly. About the only negative I can cite is an older (not shocking) gentlemen who I spoke to at lunch who went on about how forced busing ruined schools in Kansas City, Mo. I'm okay with that statement provided that you can come with an alternative solution to the whole "separate and unequal" educational thing that existed prior to forced busing.
In response to fellow blogger Sean's list of top 10 movies (see HERE), here's my own. Note that the relative order isn't all that important, as they are all really good. 1. 2001: A Space Odessey. Forget the beginning part; outside of the dawn of man, this is simply a great movie. The effects still hold up, 50 years later. The movie also reminds me of the sense of hope and wonder that the space program brought the nation in the late 60's/early 70's, only to be squandered by a lack of vision and funding. "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." "I'm afraid I can't do that Dave." 2. Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope. The original and still the best. It's still entertaining, even as I've watched it a dozen times. Terrific in part because of its simplicity; too many of the other Star Wars movies were overly (and needlessly) complex in terms of plot and characters. "May the force be with you, always." 3. The Goodbye Girl. I love the original movie version, starring Richard Dreyfus (who won an Oscar for his performance). This movie so reminds me of the 1970's. I also love the fact that it has a happy ending. Call it my version of Sleepless in Seattle. "You were never four and a half, you were born 26." 4. Aliens. The second movie of the series, and in my estimation, the best. Non-stop action, terrific effects and (what we thought was) a happy ending. The movie is like a freight train charging ahead, and the fact that the lead actor is a bad-ass woman makes it all the better. As an added bonus, I really dislike the most of the characters played by actor Paul Reiser; in this movie, his Burke character is a great example of why. "Express elevator to Hell...going down!" 5. Help! The best movie as a vehicle for music ever made. I find it very funny and obviously love the music. Watch Paul McCartney playing his Hofner bass during the song The Night Before and tell me you're not impressed. For the record, this is the first of two movies on this list that my wife thinks is, well, stupid. "You're a failure Scientist!" 6. Being There. Funny and touching. Peter Sellers is simply a genius. I've read where it was something of a personal crusade on Sellers' part to get this picture made. If you like Peter Sellers this is a must watch. "This is just like television only you can see much further." 7. The Godfather. I'll call this an umbrella listing for both the first and second parts. This created the modern gangster movie. Another movie that I can watch again and again. "You can act like a man!" 8. Lincoln. The word acting doesn't adequately describe what Daniel Day-Lewis did in this movie. I feel as if I am actually watching Abraham Lincoln on the screen. This is a profoundly interesting movie. "Buzzards guts man! I am the President of the United States of America! Clothed in immense power! You will procure me these votes." 9. Rocky I and II. Sorry, but another package deal. Both movies make me feel good. I'm reasonably sure that Rocky was one of the inspirations behind my late brother Chris wanting to be a boxer. "He's all wrong for us, baby. I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man kept coming after you. Now we don't need no man like that in our lives." 10. Love and Death. I know, he married his wife's adopted daughter and is a scumbag as a result. That noted I love the movie Love and Death. For the uninitiated, it's a parody of Russian literature. This is the second movie on this list that my wife thinks is stupid. "You're the greatest lover I've ever had!" "Well, I practice a lot when I am alone."
As a bonus, I would add... 11. Virtually Anything with Christopher Walken. I know, I'm cheating, but we're talking about Christopher Walken. The guy can make any character interesting, mostly because you always think "that how Christopher Walken really is" when he's on the screen. From the Deer Hunter to A View to a Kill and countless others. I'll watch a Walken movie any day. As an extra added bonus, I offer the following three movies as examples of "memorable, but too damn disturbing to be a favorite". 1. A Clockwork Orange. I saw this on HBO when I was in my early teens. Just what a 13-year-old should never ever be watching. "Food alright? Try the wine!" 2. Event Horizon. A damn scary movie. In fact, I'd call it the best horror/sci-fi movie ever made by anyone. "What are you telling me, that this ship is alive?" 3. The Exorcist. While the effects seem a bit dated, I defy anyone to, for example, watch the outtake crabwalk scene and not be thoroughly creeped out. "Your mother's in here Karras..."
The #MeToo in the title doesn't refer to me personally.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the #MeToo movement (background HERE), which isn't all that difficlt a task, given the daily disclosures of sexual misconduct by those in the media, entertainment and politics, all resulting in a wave of quitting that would make Sarah Palin proud(1). Some of these self-inflicted wounds make me cringe; think Garrison Keillor(2). Others? Well, let's just say that Matt Lauer is a special breed of scumbag.
It's worth noting that everyone as a right to due process, and there are always two sides to every story. However, when several people who don't know each other tell similar stories of abuse, well, there's at least room for discussion. What's more, no one is entitled to be a media powerbroker, Today Show host, politician, Senate Candidate, etc. Those are privelidges, not rights. If you want to make a living in the public eye, well, you have to take both the good and the bad that goes with the gig.
Anyway, here's the central point worth making: The #MeToo movement, in my mind, isn't about...
...men
...patriarchy
...sex
...it's about power. If you think otherwise, well, I think you're blinded to the real issue at hand.
Folks engage in this kind of behavior because they can. They have taken to believe that, by virtue of their awesomeness (as they have been told), they can pretty much do whatever they want. The power to do whatever one wants is ultimately corruptable. The fact that more men engage in this kind of behavior is simply a symptom of the fact that more men in our society are in positions of power than women.
I'm not excusing bad behavior by men, for the record. As the father of three young professonal women, well, I worry mightly about their well-being. What I am saying though is that there plenty of men who never engage in this kind of behavior. Even men in positions of power and authority. Using #MeToo as a blunt instrument to talk about men in general steers an important debate into an area that will result in nothing productive.
What's the solution? Well there isn't one. This isn't a "do this and it will get fixed" kind of thing. A big part of this whole mess has to do with American celebrity culture: We worship the famous and powerful, and thereby give them license to whatever they want. You see the headlines all the time. Excusing bad behavior in one area opens the door to the perception of excusable bad behavior in another. And there's a long way to go: Roman Polanski (see THIS posting from 2009) is still celebrated by Hollywood and living a good life in France.
While I don't think there is a solution to this problem, I do believe that #MeToo is ultimately a healthy exercise, provided that it isn't too broadly focused.
(1) Famous Quitters should be a Jeopardy! category.
(2) Mr. Keillor maintains his innocence, as of this writing. See THIS link for more information and THIS link for a statement from Mr Keillor.
In honor of Halloween, here are the five scariest movies I've actually watched:
1. The Exorcist
I'll confess that this hasn't aged well, but when I first watched it, man, for a young Catholic kid it didn't get much more frightening. If you watch this, really listen to the audio...in retrospect, that's one of the most frightening parts of the movie.
2. Alien (the Original)
I first watched this at the Comerford theater in downtown Scranton, and the atmospherics were incredible...very dark, very gritty, definitely not Star Trek. This is what you get when you combine a great script with a top-notch director (Ridley Scott).
3. Event Horizon
Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neil and some very frightening scenes. While I don't find gore to be particularly frightening (as a result there are no zombie movies on the list), in this movie it really adds to the experience.
4. The Prince of Darkness
Not a well-known film (at least relative to John Carpenter's career), but I found this incredibly frightening, especially the dream sequence towards the end.
5. The Omen
Another one from when I was younger. There is something particularly sinister about portraying evil in the form of a young child.
Han Solo & Chewbacca were great and completely within character.
Princess Leia was a tough as ever...and forget all that crap about her looking old...hello...she is old. It's about 35 years from the last movie. People need to get over that stuff.
I liked the Kylo Ren character (and Adam Driver did a great job with it). The fact that he was a kinda "pretty boy" under the mask worked really well.
The Bad:
The 80 or so "kinda just like the old movie" references & parallels (old guy killed by Darth Vader-esque character, all starting on a desert planet...I guess all desert planets in the Star Wars universe are $hit holes to boot, "not quite but almost" death star, the kinda-sorta emperor character, etc.).
Funny, but Luke had to learn the ways of the force from Obi Wan and then Yoda. Rey just seemed to pick her skills up by osmosis I guess.
95% of the movie consisted of action scenes. I think it needed a bit more back story. For example, who actually ran the galaxy? Was the First Order some kind of officially sanctioned outfit, or were they actually more like rebels?
There was no sense as to where these planets were in relation to each other.
I missed the traditional 20th Century Fox introduction.
The Indifferent:
The Poe Dameron character was interesting...I just wish they made better use of him.
Ditto on Captain Phasma. I hope she appears in a future movie.
Obligatory cute droid.
They didn't modernize the technology too much.
Seriously, Luke Skywalker? Mark Hamill is the smartest guy in the galaxy for getting paid what he likely did for what he actually contributed to the movie.
Overall? I'd give it a solid "B" grade.
Not my favorite Star Wars movie (those are the original and the Return of the Jedi) nor was it anywhere near my least favorite (Revenge of the Sith...outside of the first sequence I hate* that movie).
It's approaching year-end, which means the dreaded "Year End Performance Appraisal (a.k.a. PA)" season. Yes, people who work in HR probably hate them more than anyone else. More on that in a future posting. Anyway, the PA season makes me think more than usual about my professional life. One thing that sticks out? Well it's the (professional) thing that frustrates me the most, namely the importance placed on self-promotion in the hyper-competitive business world. Oh, and I stink at self-promotion.
Am I feigning modesty? No. Look, I have absolutely no problem listing a multitude of personal faults, Hell, any number of my postings could be turned into a "Steve bashing Steve drinking game", so if faking modesty was one of them, I'd readily and repeatedly cop to it. I simply grew up in an environment where boasting wasn't exactly encouraged.
Am I actually pretty modest? Yes. It's an odd kind of thing though. Ms Rivers will tell you that I don't like being stared at, yet I do a fair amount of "in front of the audience" kind of stuff professionally. The difference is, I suspect, the fact that while I am in front of a audience speaking, I am controlling what's going on. No such control exists when I'm randomly being looked at, and that's difficult for me to handle.
I'll also readily admit that there are a few things professionally that I do well. Some things very well. As I mentioned to my manager once, "I can't figure out whether I am some kind of evil genius or idiot savant". Maybe I'm both. It's as if my professional life could very well be one giant scene from the brilliant Peter Sellers movie Being There.
One thing I do well is thinking about things in ways that are different than most folks. Therein lies part of the paradox for me, namely that I could say something incredibly profound...or stupid...and it could very well be that both are equally true.
Anyway, lacking in self-promotion skills knowingly puts me at a disadvantage professionally. Like it or not, the corporate world is about competition, be it for customers, ROI, promotions, raises, "air time" in staff meetings, recognition or money. For this I am poorly equipped, at best. For the record I will note that I also find it repugnant when others go overboard promoting themselves.
What do to? Mostly nothing. Seriously, mostly nothing. By and large I'm not going to hoist the flag of better promoting myself as a development objective for 2016. I know me, and I am comfortable with me, even with the knowledge that my lack of skills in this particular area puts me at a distinct disadvantage. I don't want to be that person with the enormous ego who is constantly trying to top everyone else, also known as a "Topper"...
The Martian...I saw the movie The Martian over the weekend. It's worth the effort and the money. It's great to watch a movie that's simply a good story; the fact that its got an element of science fiction to it makes it all the better, at least for me. I'm thinking that the potato board must have helped sponsor the movie though.
October... As I was laying in bed at 4:30am Monday morning, I realized that I have a ton of things to do at work, as in several big things to deliver. It's nice to be needed, I think. First things first, time to make a list. A big, hunkering list.
October is an interesting month for me. Some good things have happened in October, and generally speaking, I love the weather. Some not-so-good things have happened as well, but it's hard to not have those kinds of things in any kind of life worth living. As I often times remind myself, life is the ultimate contact sport.
Blog Dilemmas...I have a posting that I've been holding onto, in one way, shape or form, for a while now. I just can't seem to get myself to hit the publish button. The content might be upsetting in some corners, but that hasn't stopped me before. I think maybe the bigger issue is one of perceived disappointment, namely that, despite my advancing age, I still don't want to be a disappointment to anyone. Apparently even people I either barely or don't know. Oh well, I suspect it will eventually see the light of day.
Also, it has been requested that I write something funny. I'll have to think about that one some more. Generally speaking, I don't do well with blog content requests.
School...I am officially 40% done with my graduate coursework, and am on track to get half way done before the end of the year. I've already begun to ask myself the question "Gee, now that you don't have school anymore, what are you going to do with your time?". Somehow, I think I'll manage. Some things I could do include: Learning to play guitar, learning to speak French or Italian, starting up a business blog, volunteering to help others and/or going to a trade school in the evening.
Struggle...Granted, it may appear that I more or less have my "stuff" together, but being a completely and normally flawed human being, there are many things I do struggle with pretty much on a daily basis. Some of those thing are:
- Physical Exhaustion (due to really bad sleeping patterns)
- Socializing, as it's really difficult for me
- Ego*, mainly in others, as I'm more or less afraid to have one of my own
- Optimism, I try hard to be, but it's a struggle at times
- Self-Doubt, its always been a problem for me
- Self-Talk, as in I have to work hard to avoid the negative variety
- Over-Eating, and there's no rhyme or reason to it
- Judgement, I am by nature judgmental, and I have to work hard at not being
(*) The more I read and think about the works of Eckhart Tolle, the more I'm convinced that he's absolutely right about ego.
Feel the Bern...I confess to not being a fan of Bernie Sanders. Maybe it's the militant advocacy for unions, his often quoting of the erroneous 78% wage gap (see HERE; there is a gap, but it's not that big and some of the reasons for its existence have nothing to do with evil, scheming older white guys) or the notion that college should be free (it has value, so it's worth paying for...although that cost shouldn't be measured in "house sized" units). Anyway, I think the passion for him is at least partially a negative reaction to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Now I don't consider myself a fan of Ms Clinton, but I hardly believe that she is the evil, communistic she-devil that her opponents make her out to be either. Bottom line? It's going to be a long primary.
You know, there are times when, within the course of a single day, I go from this feeling of "I'm an evil freak'n genius" to "I'm feeling almost in despair at the moment for reasons unknown" and lots of states in between. I go from "Life is a blank canvas" to "I feel as if there are six invisible walls closing in on me", and (again) lots of states in between.
More than anything else, I suspect is the loss of a sense of control.
It is, despite the fact that I have a perfect batting average in dealing with life's ups-n-downs, a feeling as if I am but one crisis from some unimagined and non-articulate-able end state.
These sometimes feelings are horribly illogical, horribly so, for or a hundred and one reasons I could list right now, but I will not for reasons of both verbal economy and modesty. The logic is even more undeniably stupid when you consider just where I started: In a housing project, raised by a single mother who was barely able to keep it together. Heck, anything north of crack addict or sterno-bum should deem me a success in life.
I do know that part of "it"* is a by-product of work, which as been more stressful than usual over the past few months. This is despite, or in spite of, the fact that I've actually done some really good stuff of late. Yet the work environment is difficult for someone of my wiring, for reasons such as:
Thinkers Beware I like to think before I talk, yet that's really not how a corporate culture works. I'm forever in situations where I have to run a shunt past my own best instincts simply because communication in the corporate world really is a real-time endeavor. Now I am better communicator because of this need, but it comes at a cost. Make no bones about it: Corporate life is one where action comes before thinking. Show No Fear The corporate culture rewards confidence, and I can fake it really well, but again, it's not native equipment for me. Now I know I do many things well, but I also know that the calculus inside my head is one of weighing and reviewing just about everything I do, twice over. I get caught up in these review loops that can be very difficult to break. Trust (or else) I don't trust easily, and yet in the work environment trust is something that is almost expected, out of the box and without cost. Competition I don't like competition or competitions. I know, that's hardly an eye-opener, but yet so much of the modern business world really is a competition... ...To meet and exceed deadlines, ... for your supervisor's time, ...for the salary budget, ...for a percentage of a bonus pool, ...for "face time" during staff meetings, ...for providing the best possible feedback when asked, ...to be granted some token of appreciation for a job well done, ...to be the one who comes in the earliest and stays the latest. Now when it comes to competition, I have only have two places in my head: Winner and everything else. What to know why I don't play card games, video games (against others) and countless other, similar things? Because I absolutely hate to lose, so I end up driven to win at almost all (fair) cost, which literally sucks the life force out of me. Again, I simply f&^%king hate to lose at anything.
The last item, above, is why in my civilian life I have adopted the philosophy of Joshua from the movie War Games: The only winning move is not to play. Unfortunately that's not always an option in the professional world. Again, see above.
So, keeping the theme of the movie War Games going (it's a really good movie, by the way), what is the end strategy to this all? I'm not entirely sure, but I do know this: It's not something from the outside, yet certainly whatever I do on the inside will impact things on the outside. Circular, I know. Part of it is this...as in this blog...as it genuinely helps me to understand how I feel about this stuff in this very sort of public, bloggy way. Odd, huh? I noted above that I don't trust easily, but yet I trust the whole Internet with my feelings. It's not that horribly illogical when you think about it though: This process makes me feel better because it's a thinking venue (rest assured that every.single.word written on this screen is here for a reason). Also, while I sometimes feel massively out of control in other venues, I control every single word here. Even the wacky sounding stuff is part of a well planned strategy that keeps in mind who might be reading this at any given moment. Ah, control!
I think I'm feeling mildly better already.
Now to work on eating better and getting more sleep.
(*) I really need to give this feeling a name. An ominous sounding name. Something like "Morlock".
My youngest daughter Rebecca went with me yesterday evening to watch the new Godzilla movie? The verdict. Well as someone who grew up watching the old Godzilla movies, I walked away from Sunday's showing mostly impressed. A few hits and misses include:
Hit - The fact that Godzilla was (more or less) the "good guy". That's how the old movies were, and it was nice to see that bit of homage being paid.
Miss - The human characters. There was enough acting to be distracting from watching the monsters, but not enough to really get to know the characters. I guess compromises had to be made. but if I had to choose, I'd say more monsters, less humans.
Hit - The effects. Simply great...with some obvious nods to the old Japanese movies, but updated to modern mega-movie spectacle status. Also, unlike the Transformer movies, you could actually keep track of the action sequences.
Miss - Not enough monster fighting. The real monster battle occurred at the end, but prior to that there were teases of Godzilla fighting the flying monster. I don't like being teased.
Hit - The final battle was more or less pretty cool. How Godzilla dispatched the final monster was way, way cool. Epic cool.
This was worth the money I spent for the two tickets. I did see the 3D version of the film, but that's kind of a waste for me, as I don't really "see" 3D effects all that well. No bother, as I think Rebecca enjoyed it.
Go see Godzilla if you, as a kid, used to watch the old movies on TV. It's worth the trip back in time.
As I may have mentioned a week or so ago, I purchased a DVD on the life of Harry Nilsson, which I finally got around to watching Sunday night.
My overall impression? If you are a fan of Harry, or of the music of the late 60's/early 70's, then I'd suggest you check this out. The DVD is long for someone who actually had a relatively short career in the spotlight, but it held my attention for all of two hours it played. I do confess to pausing at about the one hour mark for some popcorn though.
The basic story of Harry Nilsson is really rather compelling. Here is a guy who was enormously talented. He played multiple instruments, wrote terrific songs, and had one of the most incredible singing voices of all time, bar none. Want some evidence?
Interestingly enough, Without You is a song that Harry didn't write (it was actually written by a member of the band Badfinger). Regardless, I think this is something of a signature piece for him, along with Everybody's Talking. I don't know of another current musical "artist" that can sing like Harry; hell 90% of what you hear in modern popular music is acoustically altered using auto-tune or some of other computer magic.
As for the man, this is something incredibly tragic about someone born with so much talent...that works so hard to get noticed and becomes successful at their craft...and then becomes intent on destroying that which made him so successful. Yet later in life Harry seemed to become grounded and by all appearances died while personally very happy, surrounded by his family.
This is a great, all be it very sad at times, story.
Back to the Future...I've probably watched the first Back to the Future movie about a half dozen times and have watched parts of it maybe a dozen times more. In the "you know it's a great movie when..." department, every time I've seen the movie I catch some inside joke, sly reference or obscure point that I never saw before. You got to love it.
Super 8...Also in the movies department, I saw the new J.J. Abrams movie Super 8 last night with my oldest daughter. Well worth the price of admission. Now I think it started rather on the slow side, but my daughter disagrees. We both agree though that it is, overall, a great movie. What's more, it's fairly appropriate for large audience, as I didn't see any real heavy gore and no sex/sexual innuendo, which is a rarity these days.
Judge Vaughn Walker...is being criticized for making a decision against California's Proposition 8 while keeping the fact that he is, himself, gay a secret. Story link HERE. If his ruling is thrown out on this basis, does it mean that a heterosexual judge could also be called "biased" if he/she makes a ruling against gay right? After all, if one is heterosexual, perhaps that means he/she is automatically against homosexuals by design? Maybe non-smoking judges shouldn't be allowed to hear tobacco lawsuits. Or smoking judges shouldn't be allowed to hear tobacco lawsuits. Okay, I am being sarcastic, but my point is this: throwing the ruling out on this basis alone creates a mighty slippery slope that I don't think serves the interests of any party. Like it our not, our judicial system rests on the notion that judges can make decisions based upon the facts and circumstances of each case. If we start trying to dissect the personalities and personal traits of judges post-decision, then we open ourselves up to the notion that every judge can be questioned on every decision. What would the point then be of even having a legal system?
Weiner-Gate...I have been staying away from this one for the most part, simply because it's so tawdry in nature, but hell, it's just begging for comment. Mind you, my thoughts in the case have nothing to do with politics, as history has shown that "horn-doggyness" isn't an exclusive trait of any one political party. By and large I think his constituents should be deciding his fate, save for one caveat: if he extensively used government property to pull off his schemes, then I say throw the bastard out. I'm also discounting the notion that his activities involved having inappropriate contact with minors; if there is proof that he did have any form of sexual contact with a minor (virtual or otherwise), then this becomes a criminal matter.
Tuesday...I will be pressuring washing the front porch of the house. I know that it doesn't take much to entertain me, but as I remarked to a friend the other day, in our line of work often the effort you put forth into something doesn't necessarily manifest itself in visible results. This is why I actually like activities such as yard-work (or pressure washing the porch): I put forth effort and I see almost immediate results. Then there is the whole notion of a certain, simply joy in physically hard work. I sometimes think our society is needlessly degrading the value of getting your hands dirty. This is something that Mike Rowe from the TV show Dirty Jobs is very passionate about (you can read more HERE). In another life I am coming back as an electrician.
Blog Vacation...I am contemplating a taking a blog vacation next week, as I will be traveling anyway and will probably have only limited blogging units available. It would be the first extended time-off from blogging that I've taken since setting this up in 2008. We shall see.
President Mitt...Mitt Romney is set to state the obvious and announce his candidacy for President. I predict a very good hair day.
I find Mr Romney to be far less objectionable than many of the others in the current Republican field. What's more, he supports health care mandates. Wait, does he? I'm not sure. It's all so very confusing.
One the rubs against Mitt is that he is rather boring. Being boring is okay though in the primaries, as we always have Santorum saying stupid things to keep it interesting. This includes such hits as implying that John McCain doesn't understand harsh interrogation tactics. Ahhh Ricky...he kinda was tortured once.
Super-Bug...and I'm not talking about a 70's vintage Beetle either. Apparently the stain of E. Coli that has caused many a German to get sour (get it..."Sour Kraut") is some new version that is particularly toxic. Given the German propensity for eating cured meats, I'm thinking it would have to be in order to make them sick. Still no word on the source of the tainted veggies.
Leeloo Dallas, Multi-Pass...I love the movie The 5th Element, and there is a scene that I quote where Milla Jovovich's character holds out an ID and says in this thick accent "Leeloo Dallas, multi-pass" whenever I come up to an EZ Pass toll booth on the PA Turnpike. Problem was that I didn't have an EZ Pass. Problem now solved, as I joined the ranks of the EZ Pass(ed). This should come in handy as make trips down to West Chester to move my youngest daughter into college.
The Enforcer...It was noted in an article appearing in yesterday's Scranton Times that the husband of Scranton City Council President Janet Evans basically told a reporter that she would not be talking to that particular version of the press. I guess that makes Mr Evans the de facto press secretary for Ms Evans. Interesting stuff, particularly given the fact that Ms Evans is reportedly interested in becoming Scranton's first female mayor. Call me crazy, but I expect my elected politicians to talk to the press, frequently.
On the Flip Side...I can almost (note the word "almost") understand the reluctance of Mr Evans to allow his wife to talk to the Scranton Times, as they have been fairly tough on Ms Evans over the years, especially over the past few months. Why? Well Ms Evans is apparently trying (or was trying) to get a disability approved by her former employer, the Scranton School District. I've noted this before, but while I certainly respect the right of Ms Evans (or anyone else) to keep confidential medical information private, the basic facts and circumstances of her claim should be a matter of public record. She was employed by the public, so the public should know whether or not she has filed a claim, the basic nature of the claim (was it an accident?) and why she believed that the injury prohibited her from sitting at a desk for a few hours a day.
Speaking of health...I continue to thoroughly enjoy the ability to now take very deep breathes. It is a wonderful feeling. My "cat free zone" seems to be doing the trick, and since I have been off the 'roids now for about a week I can no longer use that as an excuse for flying off the handle. Okay, I don't really "fly off the handle", but I just wanted to make a snarky 'roid comment. Anyway, breathing is a very, very good thing so don't take it for granted, and for God's sake don't do anything that might impede your ability do it. Life is too short.
Happy Birthday...to Charlie Watts, drummer for the Rolling Stones. He turns 70 today. That statement alone is rather saddening.
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
- Joshua, War Games
If you've never seen the movie War Games, then I suggest you dig through a discount department store DVD bin and try to find it. While it's rather dated from a technology perspective (it takes place in 1983, hence cutting edge technology such as dial-up modem is prominently displayed), it's still well worth watching.
Now for some reason I woke up with this movie, and specifically this quote running through my head. The "game" referenced by Joshua isn't anything philosophical; rather, it's called Global Thermonuclear War (well that and Tic-Tac-Toe...but you have to watch the movie to understand the comparison). Deeper meaning at work here? Not especially, although it is 7:14am and I got about 4 hours worth of sleep, so maybe it's just me being overly tired.
Routines...Routines are a funny, funny thing. We curse them as part of the bane of boredom and creators of stagnation, but it's amazing how much of an impact changing them has on us. Right now I'm a test case in routine change, and there have been times when it's been nothing short of nerve rattling. Yet there is this certain refreshing aspect to it all. It's like sticking your toe in the pool water, feeling that it's cold, but yet you move the rest of your body into the water anyway.
It's the Little Things...that sometimes unnerve and piss you off. Right now I can't type and watch TV at the same time, as my TV is behind me. It's irritating and surprisingly stressful. Must have been one of those routines.
Political Blogging & the Ironic...NEPA's favorite local blogger (or maybe it was Gort...I forget) once told me that if you write about politics at all you are automatically considered to be a "political blogger". So I guess that's where I fall; maybe saying that Tom Corbett looks like Leslie Nielsen wasn't such a great idea after-all. Anyway, what's the ironic part? For all of the political stuff I've written about or pondered, since I recently moved I didn't get a change to change my voter registration. Translation: I really can't vote in this next election. That's okay, as rumor has it that a certain local political message board administrator almost never votes, despite the arrow slinging.
Speaking of Politics...I have a feeling that Dan Onorato is going to make this a very close election. What makes me thing that way? Because my uber-conservative brother Chris, a guy who thinks Limbaughness is next to godliness, is going to vote for Mr Onorato. Why? Simple...The current AG's very unreasonable stand of natural gas drilling taxation (re: none). I know that Pennsylvania's "like clockwork" swings between Dems and the GOP for the governor's mansion basically gives the election to Leslie (I mean Tom), but if my brother is voting for him, maybe miracles are possible.
Vonage...I am officially joining the ranks of the VOIPed. I figure I need to make good use of all this cable Internet bandwidth. We shall see how the experiment works out.
The Day the Earth Stood Still...My youngest daughter had to watch this movie (the original...not the one with that Ted starred in) as part of her Cold War history class. I was kind of proud of that actually, as there were more contemporary movies she could have watched. The best part? She really liked the movie, although she complained that the special effects looked "cheesy". Fair enough, although the effects on 2001 looked dated as well, and they are light years ahead of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
