Snow Way!

It snowed a bit last night! Lordy! I'm not surprised, truly; it's the classic Chicago Seasonal Shim-Sham -- you get a taste of unseasonable warmth, before the cold comes hammering back. May is always pretty cool in Chicago, and I imagine this May won't be much different.

I sorted out the last logistical stuff for B2, so he's squared away for school. I just need to get the paperwork filed, and he's all set.

Scre4m

I saw "Scre4m" (Scream 4) today, and enjoyed it. Funny moments in it, and it's crazy postmodern, meta to the bone. Wes Craven still has the right touch with his slasher movies, although it's surreal, given his long history with the genre, making movies that refer to that genre (and themselves refer to the referrals -- I can imagine college students getting high and writing dissertations on this movie, because you really could). I especially liked the rather juicy (and difficultly-named) Hayden Panettiere in it. She was stealing scenes left and right...

She wasn't dressed like this in the movie, alas.

41

I turn 41 tomorrow, figured I'd squeak one last post while I'm 40 years old, still. Ha! I vividly remember turning 30, being amused at being equidistant from 20 and 40. At the time, 40 seemed a world away. Now I'm about to turn 41. I've gotten a lot accomplished in the past ten years -- a couple of kids, home ownership (and sellership -- hahah), a shitload of writing, a decade of quality work for a prestigious employer -- none of that was there when I was 30.

It makes me optimistic for the rest of my 40s, coming into my prime, getting done what I need done, and doing it with style. At the same time, it's staggering how short life is. Even though 10-year-old Dave (1980), 20-year-old Dave (1990), 30-year-old Dave (2000) and 40-year-old Dave (2010) confront each other in a kind of quantum face-off, and I can distinctly remember things from those various decades, it's still amazing and humbling just how fleeting that time is.

Each moment is so precious, but as you get older, it's hard to appreciate the moments the way you do when you're younger, when everything seems new. The "been there, done that" mentality of age can erode the gloss off of living, if you're not careful. I live very much in the moment, and find peace in it. I know I brooded far more about time and age when I was about 25 than I do, now. I still find the magic in the moments, even though I may have to be a little more conscious of them than I used to be.

So, I face 41 with a surprising amount of peacefulness. Another step into my fourth decade of life.

Grant Hart, "2541"

Marathon, Man

This NPR headline cracked me up...

Marathons, Once Special, Are Now Crowded

And this SLATE article also amused me...

Living In the Midwest

Telekinesis

This band, Telekinesis (kind of amused nobody has ever named their band that by this time), is really mining the Cure's sound in this song "Please Ask for Help." Kinda funny to hear that signature sound adopted in someone else's tune, but it makes sense -- for the kids today, the Cure qualify as "classic rock." The video is mildly amusing -- packed to the gills with hipsters, and there's even a Limoncello cameo around 1:01, one of the partygoers dancing.

Later

I'm up late. Was watching some movies on DVD. I'm semi-sleepy, now, and, unfortunately, a little hungry. It's been mild enough that I've been able to keep the windows open during the night, which is nice. Not sure how long it'll last, though.

Shuttle Diplomacy

I'm getting B2 enrolled in kindergarten this week. Not that it takes a week to do so, but one kinda needs to, to ensure all the bureaucratic stuff is sorted out. My younger boy, kindergarten-bound. He's ready for it.

B1 was so miffed that Chicago didn't get one of the retired shuttles. He was particularly irked that New York got Enterprise. Never mind that it never flew in space, he wanted it! We'd already talked about the shuttles, and I figured Endeavour would go to LA, and was sure the Smithsonian would take Discovery. The other two were open questions -- I thought Houston might get one, or Canaveral. Turns out Canaveral got Atlantis, and New York got Enterprise.

So, three on the East Coast, one on the West. The rest of us flyover folks can stuff it, I guess. Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton would've been a great location for Enterprise. Chicago or Houston would've been nice, too.

Why does New York rate a shuttle, tell me? With all there is to see in New York, it hardly seems like a shuttle would be that much of a draw. Way to blow off the Midwest, NASA (or whoever made the final decision on allocating the shuttles).

B1 was grumbling about it all day. He said "New York is spoiled. They get everything they want."

I would have allocated a shuttle to each region of the nation -- Discovery for Smithsonian, Endeavour for LA, Atlantis for Houston (or Canaveral), Enterprise for Chicago (or, failing that, Dayton). It's why it's called NASA, not ECASA (East Coast Aeronautics and Space Administration).

Butter Maid

I was pleased to see Butter Maid Bakery redid their web page. That's a bakery from my hometown. They're really good. Give'em some business, if you're so inclined. They're really good. Their kolachi is fab, and their cookies are amazing. They're really a local treasure, so I'm always talking them up.

Balloon Man

Beautiful light today, and the day got milder, which was nice. A couple of amusing things happened on the way back home with the boys -- one had a tall, attractive, well-dressed woman clacking behind us in knee boots, brandishing some balloons (one was a red, white, and blue braid, the other was a pink and purple hat), and she caught up with the boys and me and said "Can I interest you guys in some balloons?" and, of course, for a moment, my city radar is in place, and I'm thinking "What's the catch?" but there was none apparent, so I said "Sure." and she gave us the balloons, and I thanked her, and then she strutted off on her merry way. The boys loved getting some free balloons out of the blue like that.

Then, a few minutes later, I stopped by a store to get some orange juice for the boys, and one of the mothers from B1's school came in with her own boys and said "You know, I see you every day, walking with your boys, wearing that scarf of yours, and you always get it to hang perfectly, and I ask myself 'How can this guy get that scarf to hang like that?' It's always just perfect." and I said "What can I say? It's a gift." and said my farewells a moment later. I hadn't seen that mom before, although I recognized her kids. What CAN I say? Scarves are a necessity in the city, during the cold months.

Chilly, of course

As predicted, it got cold again over here; or cooler, anyway. Gusty winds, too.

I know I've mentioned the "No problem" response a lot of the younglings offer as an answer to a "Thank You." Well, this morning I got a new one from a young woman who held the door for me while I trucked the boys through it. I said "Thank you" and she said "Of course!" That's a new one for me! Obviously, it was because I was seemingly encumbered getting the boys through, so she held the door to help me out, but it was still a curious response.

Summmmmmmery

Beautiful weather today -- a taste of summer (although it's just a tease. Often it gets very warm like this in Chicago [it's 82 degrees] only for it to get cold again for much of May). But it's all sunny, hot, and windy today. I took the boys out biking today, the first ride of the season. They loved it, and it was fun seeing everybody else out and about, enjoying themselves. I found $20 today, too! Gotta love that!

Coin of the Realm

Nutter Butters operate much like Scooby Snacks in my household, delivered at timely moments, when necessary. The boys both LOVE Nutter Butters...

Clementine, cont'd...

Clementine sapling is doing fine...