Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Page 6

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 6

Apologies to the one or two fans and/or robots that have been waiting patiently for new content. My writing priority for the weekends is a love letter to my Ms. Boss. Nothing else gets written until that gets finished. When I say ‘finished’, I mean perfect. Sometimes it takes a little longer to complete than others, especially during a jam-packed weekend. I actually am working on essay that I feel passionate about, but it won’t be done today.

I saw two Canadian Geese strolling through a fallow corn field this week on my way home from an errand. I was about to note the experience as odd and move on with my life, when I noticed two tiny goslings strolling along behind them. I am secure enough in my manhood to publicly pronounce the sight as ‘extremely cute’.

To my knowledge, it has been four days since Ozzy had pooped in the house. This should be considered a noteworthy achievement.

The miracle that is a smartphone is allowing me to blog at my youngest’s soccer practice. I am tremendously thankful for the time.

Some of you may wonder what I do for a living (for the record, blogging so far is a money-losing proposition). I do technical work, but other than that, I’m not allowed to say. Yes, I know, First Amendment and all that, I’m still not going to say.

For those of you younger than forty-five, no – time does not get slower as you get older. It gets faster and faster and faster. While working on an essay, I wrote down an event that happened a year or two ago to me, only it didn’t happen a year or two ago. Once I started piecing the time line together, it happened over four years ago. Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping…

I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday and spent the whole visit singing along to the muzak. Yes, forty-five years old and not afraid to embarrass myself every once in awhile.

Flour, yeast, water, salt. You only need these four things to make bread. This is perhaps one of the most important pieces of information I have ever picked up in my life.

These thoughts seem to be more random and more semicoherent than usual. Since my phone is about to die, it’s probably time quit… at… word… number… 392..

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 5

Prince died today. My Prince memory? Listening to ‘Darling Nikki’ on the boom box in the back of school bus in sixth grade. It talked about… you know… sex. It was definitely pushing the envelope for the Eighties. When NPR played it today during the news blurb on his death, I couldn’t help but smile.

Best band of all time? Led Zeppelin. Dazed and Confused was the song that hooked me – I played Led Zeppelin I on a cassette tape my step-brother recorded for me. It was over a decade before I discovered that he had the songs in the wrong order on the tape. Soon enough I had all ten albums. My wife and I’s ‘song’ is ‘Thank You’ – I sung every word for her during our first dance. I can’t hear it without crying. Every time I hear it played on the radio, I call her immediately.

To my number one fan, have I mentioned lately that I love you? (Yes, in case you were wondering, Ms. Boss is my number one fan.)

Best Album of All Time? Nirvana’s Nevermind. Listening to it was a pivotal moment in my life. You know how people know where they were when the hear of some kind of tragic death? I was traveling through Indianapolis on I-465 when I heard Kurt Cobain died.

When my wife and I got married, I had a functioning eight-track in my garage with a copy of Village People’s Live and Sleazy. I still like the Village People.

To completely and totally confuse you, my most-played track on iTunes a couple of years ago was Bach’s Cum Sanctu Spiritu.

If money were no object, my funeral would consist primarily of Brahm’s Ein Deutsh Requiem with a huge choir and complete orchestra. My more ‘budget-friendly’ option would be Bach’s Erbame Dich with only alto, viola, and organ. Sopranos and violins are overrated and I have – or I guess I used to have – a secret love of organ music.

I used to sing, especially older classical music – and by older my mean Handel, Bach, and the like. Outside of church, it’s not as popular a pastime as it used to be. The last group I sang with fell apart, people just weren’t passionate enough about it to keep it going. Alternatives available me at the moment would entail driving or voice lessons or lots of time or all three. Have I mentioned that I have too many hobbies?

I knew I had finally gotten old when the instrument I would most like to be able play changed from electric bass to cello.

I played tuba in high school. I’d take one of them if they weren’t so expensive.

Recorders are a lot cheaper instrument to play. Last year I relearned how to play one – I hadn’t picked one up since fourth grade. I played along to punk songs for a week or two (punk songs aren’t known for their complex musicality). I can’t believe I’m admitting that. I guess when you set 500 words as a goal, it makes you do funny things.

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 4

I now have plenty ideas of what to write. What I lack now is time.

I am enjoying being a net internet content creator rather than a net internet content consumer.

Speaking of the internet, I just learned today that it is appropriate to write ‘internet’ rather than ‘Internet’, that is according the the AP Stylebook that will be released in June.

‘Why I write’ could be a post unto itself, but here’s a little tidbit – flexing my creative muscle enables me to sleep better at night. A little bit of creativity mixed with some exercise during the day puts me a deep sleep and brings vivid dreams. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but it does happen to me.

I owe the reader a proper introduction to Ms. Boss. I owe Ms. Boss the best possible introduction I can muster. It’s on my list of things to do.

One thing that a dog is good for is getting me up and out of bed in the morning. There’s nothing like the prospect of cleaning up dog turds to motivate one to action in the morning. Actually, there is something else – Ms. Boss generally finds Ozzy’s ‘accidents’ after I go to work. If my motivation is lacking, she is willing to lend me some.

I’ve spoken about my journal before. Another thing about my journal is that I must write a full page worth when I start and entry. Sometimes it’s easy, other times, not so much. My blog and I now have somewhat a similar arrangement. When writing on here, I try to make the ‘word count’ – a stat prominently displayed down the corner – exceed five-hundred words. I figure that’s a worthy goal for an entry. Again, Sometimes it’s easy, other times not so much. Hopefully, I don’t resort to something silly like – three-hundred seven, three-hundred-eight, three-hundred-nine….

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 3

The original plan for this blog envisioned a string of thoughtful, well-crafted essays that speak about my life experience. Instead, dear reader, must endure a barrage short snippets – such as this one -that capture fleeting thoughts and lack any kind of depth. I am, after all, the generation that grew up on Sesame Street. I blame my parents for giving birth to me during the Seventies.

One of the first things I learned how to cook: scrambled eggs. One of the last things I learned to cook correctly: scrambled eggs. I can eventually get things right – it just takes thirty-five years or so.

NPR (yes, I’m an NPR listener) aired a story on Mark Zuckerberg and the future of Facebook today and it caused me to think: this thirty-one year-old boy (he’s fourteen years younger me and addressed his shareholders wearing a t-shirt, I think I can get away with that comment) has made BILLIONS and changed American society forever. I wonder if anyone has ever counted up how many lives he has ruined in the process?

Speaking of NPR, I heard an interview with a Taoist scholar a couple of days ago. I was busy driving the down the street and wasn’t listening that close so I may have not gotten the full gist of what he was saying, but the concept he laid down that got my attention was this: this world is full people and their problems running into other people and their problems. That’s so true.

My favorite breakfast? Anything that Ms. Boss makes. Barring that, a truly good morning starts with coffee and toast made from homemade bread and butter. Since bread is incompatible with my current lifestyle, a simple smoothie will have to do.

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 2

Tell your wife you love her. Do it now. You’ll never know when it’s too late.

My journal and I have a deal – there’s no such thing as a backspace key. What’s on the page stays on the page. This is completely and totally the opposite of how I write professionally (not a writer, just everyday correspondence) where I’ll scrutinize a single paragraph for fifteen minutes. I’m trying to split the difference here. I get three looks and it’s posted, perfect or no. It’s the only way I’ll ever generate any content. Perhaps we can make a game of ‘spot the grammatical error’.

Brisket. Brisket is my favorite thing to eat as well as my favorite thing to cook. It can not and must not be overcooked lest it become plain old roast beef. Slow and gentle is the way to go for tenderness.

The ironic thing about the last little tidbit is that I just realized my wife has been trying to tell me something similar for years… and barbecue sauce has nothing to do with it. Have I mentioned that I’m and obdurate male?

So I was sitting there drinking my normal morning breakfast (Cherry Berry Smoothie with Green and Protein Powder) when a random thought popped in my head about the news media. Would we be better off today if there was no profit in delivering the news? Would America be much different without the 24/7 news cycle or instant access to multiple sources? Then it ocurred to me that this one has been tried before – Pravda. Even when no one profits, media is still profitable.

Speaking of the former Soviet Union, I checked my web stats the other day and found that the part of the world that has visited my site the most is… Ukraine. Now, I’m not naive enough to believe even for the briefest of moments that my page was accessed by some Ukrainian national who can identify with the ramblings of a middle-aged American male instead of a web-crawling robot, but just in case… Pryvit! Prijemno poznajomytysia!

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 1

When I posted regularly on ‘well-known media site’, I often wrote about an activity I often engaged in. In each posting, I inserted ‘random semi-coherent thoughts’ that didn’t seem to jive with the narrative. Since my life is filled with such thoughts, it seems wise to begin that practice here. Think of them as thoughts that have yet to evolve into blog posts.

I once was a ‘card-carrying member’ of a political ideology. That isn’t the case any more. The climate of polarizing ‘groupthink’ in today’s America unsettles me. I prefer to make my own decisions and not have the masses make them for me.

The most startling thing about being forty-five is that I managed to make it this far. By no means reckless, I can point back to multiple times where decisions I made should have been fatal.

I don’t mean to wax political, but it’s hard to avoid that topic in an election cycle like 2016. What I will say is this – politics is so messed up this year that the presidential candidate that I like the most is the one whose ideals I identify with the least.

Again with the politics – the party that I’ve voted for all my life recently ran thirteen – THIRTEEN – candidates for the Congress in the spring primary. Unlike most Americans, I actually spent almost two hours looking over their issue papers. I voted for the one who annoyed me the least. I’m actually thinking about voting for a third party candidate in the fall.

I have quite a few interests in my life, too many actually. One of them is photography. Last night, while I was writing my post, the sun broke through the clouds as it was setting pouring golden light all over the trees on my wooded lot. I had no idea where my camera was, but grabbed my phone instead. It was a complete and total fail. It pays to be ready in life or you will miss moments that may never return.

I talked about having many interests. It’s true. I’d fashion myself as an erstwhile Leonardo daVinci except not quite as smart… or artistic… or inventive… or creative… or Italian… or medieval… or rich. Come to think of it, I’m nothing like Leonardo daVinci.

Yes, I know this blog is in the default WordPress scheme with hardly any modifications whatsoever. I like the starkness of black text on white background – it brings focus on the words. I also know that the software would allow me to have pink, fluffy unicorns on the page if I so chose – which would render this particular blurb completely meaningless.