The Tevatron is closing. The end of an era. I was explaining to B1 what the Tevatron did...
Hail and Farewell, Grand Colliders
He loves tech stuff like that, loves that it was in the Chicagoland area.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Click!
Good light day again, so I had my camera handy, got some great shots of the boys. Their grandparents are going to be overjoyed at that. Other than that, pretty low-key Sunday for me, just fighting the frickin' cold. I'm worn out today. I was due for a cold -- it's been quite awhile since I last had one, so, I'm not really complaining. It's not in my nature to complain, anyway.
B1 has such a head for math. I can see it already, how effortlessly he processes numbers. He's got a keen insight into strategy as well -- like in games we play, I can see him thinking through things and assessing things. He's got a sharply analytic mind. I'm going to do what I can to help him with that -- both encouraging him to grow in that area (with stuff like chess and music) and also to help him emotionally, so he's able to effectively make use of his talents while remaining balanced, as well. He's going to love physics; I can tell already. I think I've mentioned that before, but as he's getting older, it's in sharper focus. That's good -- mathematics is a vital aptitude to have. It'll serve him well.
My folks saw "The Ides of March" in Santa Barbara, at some special screening, and Paul Giamatti was supposed to turn up and speak afterward, but the director had said that Giamatti couldn't make it, so they had somebody else to come speak (and the audience was like "Awwww" in disappointment), and the alternate speaker was none other than George Clooney! Can you believe it? The attendees were floored. My mom just about died. She was gushing about having seen him, said she was just a few rows back in the theater, said he actually looked younger in person than onscreen. Anyway, I'm sure that made her day.
B1 has such a head for math. I can see it already, how effortlessly he processes numbers. He's got a keen insight into strategy as well -- like in games we play, I can see him thinking through things and assessing things. He's got a sharply analytic mind. I'm going to do what I can to help him with that -- both encouraging him to grow in that area (with stuff like chess and music) and also to help him emotionally, so he's able to effectively make use of his talents while remaining balanced, as well. He's going to love physics; I can tell already. I think I've mentioned that before, but as he's getting older, it's in sharper focus. That's good -- mathematics is a vital aptitude to have. It'll serve him well.
My folks saw "The Ides of March" in Santa Barbara, at some special screening, and Paul Giamatti was supposed to turn up and speak afterward, but the director had said that Giamatti couldn't make it, so they had somebody else to come speak (and the audience was like "Awwww" in disappointment), and the alternate speaker was none other than George Clooney! Can you believe it? The attendees were floored. My mom just about died. She was gushing about having seen him, said she was just a few rows back in the theater, said he actually looked younger in person than onscreen. Anyway, I'm sure that made her day.
Laundry
Doing laundry this morning. Somebody left a bunch of celebrity tabloid mags in the laundry room, which leads me to ponder this question: do you think Jennifer Aniston is supremely annoyed with the whole "Poor Jen" storyline they always run with her? She's a famous celebrity, likely makes a lot of money from residuals from "Friends" and what-not she gets from whatever movies she's in. She's at least conventionally good-looking (not my type, but I get it). But the tabloids always run the "Poor Jen" storyline when covering her. She's got to be thinking "Oh, shit, let me not have another breakup and/or something happen to me, so those pricks won't run another 'Poor Jen' story." Sandra Bullock is in that place, too. Poor Sandra. It's just weird, and has to be annoying for somebody who wanted to be famous, and was lucky enough to have found a measure of success in that respect. Poor Jen. Bahah!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Plague Ship
B1 had a cold earlier this week, but B2 is wrestling with one. One of them gave me their cold, as I'm fighting it off, myself. So, it's all orange juice, Mucinex, and Vaporub hereabouts at the moment. *koff koff wheeze-n-sneeze* B2 seems to be hit a bit harder than his brother was.
I'm just tired. If I can get B2 to sleep comfortably, all propped up, then I'll manage to sneak some sleep, myself. We'll see how that goes. Ran errands this morning, got cold medicines and what-not for B2 and me.
The quality of light today was beautiful -- it had that autumn crisp air, like cool but sunny, with big puffy white clouds and vivid blue skies.
Hard to believe B2 will be 6 this month, and before I know it, there'll be snow on the ground!
I'm just tired. If I can get B2 to sleep comfortably, all propped up, then I'll manage to sneak some sleep, myself. We'll see how that goes. Ran errands this morning, got cold medicines and what-not for B2 and me.
The quality of light today was beautiful -- it had that autumn crisp air, like cool but sunny, with big puffy white clouds and vivid blue skies.
Hard to believe B2 will be 6 this month, and before I know it, there'll be snow on the ground!
Unbalanced
I have to laugh at this writeup of Catherine Deneuve in SALON, in the "Underacting Hall of Fame" section today...
To me, this reads as textbook Libra. ;)
While rewatching Catherine Denueve’s breakthrough performance in 1965′s “Repulsion,” in which she plays a transplanted Frenchwoman losing her mind in London, I was struck by the magnificent paradoxes of her lead performance. She’s at once numb and alert, opaque and transparent. She’s lost in her own thoughts, her own manias, and yet even though neither she nor the dialogue give you many specific clues as to what, exactly, is happening to her, you still feel it, and get it. It’s a performance that ought to seem boringly general but that instead seems achingly specific. It’s not “insanity” that’s being portrayed, but one particular character’s insanity. All this comes through because Deneuve has turned herself into a blank slate onto which the film’s environment can inscribe itself.
To me, this reads as textbook Libra. ;)
Friday, September 30, 2011
My Wave
Man, what a day! First, I got slammed by a wave on the bike ride to work...
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Huge_Waves_Knock_Down_LSD_Bikers__Runners_Chicago-130845438.html
I'm not any of the people in this clip, but I got nailed by a wave, which nearly knocked me over and soaked me, requiring me to bike back home and put on some dry work clothes.
And then, on the bike ride home, I got caught in a storm and soaked again! I was wearing a rain jacket for that, but my slacks and shoes got soaked. Hail was falling, too! And there was a rainbow, and towering, dark clouds, and sunlight, too!
The lake was very wild this morning, about the wildest I'd seen it. All along the route close to shore, the waves were smashing all across the bike path, nearly reaching the street. And on that curve (the part filmed above), it was a deathtrap! I risked a ride for it, nearly made it, but got hung up and hit by that wave. Then I had to bike ahead to reach a higher spot (since I didn't want to bike back the way I'd come and risk another pummeling) and then I had to ride through the city all soaking wet. The wind was really blowing and it was about 52 degrees, so it was like the hypothermia express!
Still, it was fun, even if it's not something I'd want to experience again anytime soon! Musical interlude...
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Huge_Waves_Knock_Down_LSD_Bikers__Runners_Chicago-130845438.html
I'm not any of the people in this clip, but I got nailed by a wave, which nearly knocked me over and soaked me, requiring me to bike back home and put on some dry work clothes.
And then, on the bike ride home, I got caught in a storm and soaked again! I was wearing a rain jacket for that, but my slacks and shoes got soaked. Hail was falling, too! And there was a rainbow, and towering, dark clouds, and sunlight, too!
The lake was very wild this morning, about the wildest I'd seen it. All along the route close to shore, the waves were smashing all across the bike path, nearly reaching the street. And on that curve (the part filmed above), it was a deathtrap! I risked a ride for it, nearly made it, but got hung up and hit by that wave. Then I had to bike ahead to reach a higher spot (since I didn't want to bike back the way I'd come and risk another pummeling) and then I had to ride through the city all soaking wet. The wind was really blowing and it was about 52 degrees, so it was like the hypothermia express!
Still, it was fun, even if it's not something I'd want to experience again anytime soon! Musical interlude...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Beyond the Wheel
Did I mention getting a new back wheel for my bike? A whole new rim? That frickin' tire would misalign every year, and this year, I finally had a spoke break, so I was just through with it, told the bike guys to replace it. My whole life of biking, I've never had more trouble with a bike than with this one. Anyway, they put on a nice, tough back wheel on it, although I haven't had much opportunity to ride on it, because it's been raining all frickin' week. This is about the rainiest fall I've seen here in Chicagoland.
My boys love the Bond movie, "Goldfinger." They love James Bond in general. Cracks me up. B1 loves the gadgets and the spectacle, while B2 loves the bad guys and thinks Bond's tuxedo is tops -- I actually filmed him singing the "Goldfinger" theme, which was adorable. If B2 saw me in my tux, he'd love that, would want his own tuxedo! Thankfully, he doesn't know I have one!
While looking for some appropriate "Goldfinger" images, I stumbled across this, which cracks me up. Bahah!
I'm in a pretty good mood today, as I managed to come up with a proper ending to a book I'd had written years ago, but had never quite gotten the ending I liked for it. I think I've alluded to it before in here. It's a Young Adult story, I think. That's my nearest guess. Now that I have the ending I like for it, I'll edit it and see if I can get anybody to pick it up. A tough sell in this market, but I'll try to find a home for it. I'm just relieved I got the right ending for it. It's very rare for me to get stuck on a story like that, and this one was like another albatross hanging around my neck (Exene taking the original honor for that, of course, the Lifetime Albatross Achievement Award), but this story was in second place. But I think I got it. On yet another read-through, we'll see how it goes. I shouldn't feel bad -- Tolstoy wrote something like 12 drafts of "War and Peace" -- which would have me going squarely out of my mind if I'd been in that situation. This latest revision will be a cakewalk by comparison.
My folks are seriously eyeing property in Florida. I think they're looking to sell their place in Santa Barbara and settle down in Florida. I think they were missing seeing the rest of the family (since nobody else in our family is on the West Coast), and they were also realizing that they could sell their place for a fortune and buy something particularly fab elsewhere. I always thought their trek to SB was quixotic -- there's a reason why it's like the retirement community for Hollywood. I mean, yes, it's beautiful, but it's also crazy-expensive out there, and if you're not coasting through senescence on residuals, it's a daunting prospect for everybody else. We'll see how Florida goes for them. The boys won't mind that, since they love the ocean (although B1 loves mountains as much as I do -- my Dwarvish boy. He was talking about that the other day, how much he loved mountains and hills. Cuted me out).
My boys love the Bond movie, "Goldfinger." They love James Bond in general. Cracks me up. B1 loves the gadgets and the spectacle, while B2 loves the bad guys and thinks Bond's tuxedo is tops -- I actually filmed him singing the "Goldfinger" theme, which was adorable. If B2 saw me in my tux, he'd love that, would want his own tuxedo! Thankfully, he doesn't know I have one!
While looking for some appropriate "Goldfinger" images, I stumbled across this, which cracks me up. Bahah!
I'm in a pretty good mood today, as I managed to come up with a proper ending to a book I'd had written years ago, but had never quite gotten the ending I liked for it. I think I've alluded to it before in here. It's a Young Adult story, I think. That's my nearest guess. Now that I have the ending I like for it, I'll edit it and see if I can get anybody to pick it up. A tough sell in this market, but I'll try to find a home for it. I'm just relieved I got the right ending for it. It's very rare for me to get stuck on a story like that, and this one was like another albatross hanging around my neck (Exene taking the original honor for that, of course, the Lifetime Albatross Achievement Award), but this story was in second place. But I think I got it. On yet another read-through, we'll see how it goes. I shouldn't feel bad -- Tolstoy wrote something like 12 drafts of "War and Peace" -- which would have me going squarely out of my mind if I'd been in that situation. This latest revision will be a cakewalk by comparison.
My folks are seriously eyeing property in Florida. I think they're looking to sell their place in Santa Barbara and settle down in Florida. I think they were missing seeing the rest of the family (since nobody else in our family is on the West Coast), and they were also realizing that they could sell their place for a fortune and buy something particularly fab elsewhere. I always thought their trek to SB was quixotic -- there's a reason why it's like the retirement community for Hollywood. I mean, yes, it's beautiful, but it's also crazy-expensive out there, and if you're not coasting through senescence on residuals, it's a daunting prospect for everybody else. We'll see how Florida goes for them. The boys won't mind that, since they love the ocean (although B1 loves mountains as much as I do -- my Dwarvish boy. He was talking about that the other day, how much he loved mountains and hills. Cuted me out).
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Bahahah
So, I've been watching the remake of "Battlestar Galactica" on DVD, and have been enjoying it. I love EJO's take on Adama, who's a quiet kind of badass. And speaking of asses, I love his takedown of his son, Apollo, who they had looking particularly bad for Season 3...
That made me laugh out loud. I can't stand Apollo in the series, so this scene cracked me up.
That made me laugh out loud. I can't stand Apollo in the series, so this scene cracked me up.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Yum!
I made a yummy dinner on the fly tonight: I grilled some vidalia onions in a pan with some olive oil,
and while that was cooking, I cooked some rice, and some black beans in some chicken broth. Then I took the onions out of the pan, put some turkey burgers in there, and sauteed them in some more of the chicken broth. Once they were cooked, I put the burgers on a plate, topped them with the onions, had the beans and rice on the side. Heavenly scent, delicious! The broth had the burgers nice and moist, great flavor.
Not fancy, but really delicious! Washed down with a beer, and even better!
and while that was cooking, I cooked some rice, and some black beans in some chicken broth. Then I took the onions out of the pan, put some turkey burgers in there, and sauteed them in some more of the chicken broth. Once they were cooked, I put the burgers on a plate, topped them with the onions, had the beans and rice on the side. Heavenly scent, delicious! The broth had the burgers nice and moist, great flavor.
Not fancy, but really delicious! Washed down with a beer, and even better!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Da Boys
I could tell the boys were growing again, so I weighed and measured'em...
B1: 4'9" and 80 lbs.
B2: 3'10.5" and 44 lbs.
Both boys have grown a quarter inch in the last two months, and both of them have grown 4.5 inches in the past 2 years!! Amazing! B1 is definitely going to be taller than me, at the rate he's going. I mean, I was 5'3" in 7th grade, and I grew to be 6'3" by my senior year -- B1 is already 4'9" in 4th grade!
B1: 4'9" and 80 lbs.
B2: 3'10.5" and 44 lbs.
Both boys have grown a quarter inch in the last two months, and both of them have grown 4.5 inches in the past 2 years!! Amazing! B1 is definitely going to be taller than me, at the rate he's going. I mean, I was 5'3" in 7th grade, and I grew to be 6'3" by my senior year -- B1 is already 4'9" in 4th grade!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Coconuts
These are deadly-good...
I'm always buying the last couple of boxes before they're sold out. It's always a competition to score those before they're gone, so others realize that they're food of the gods, too.
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| Not my hand, btw. |
Falling Leaves
Went ambling through the city last night, since the weather was so good. Lots of people out, enjoying it. Already nearing the end of September, with October nipping at one's heels. This month flew by. I need to buckle down and get into my autumnal writing groove. I've got so many pieces to work on, it's going to be hard to choose. At this point, I'm tempted to just do them alphabetically, but I know that'll never work with me. I'll need to do them based on either how soon they can be completed or else which ones inspire me most. I just know how I am, especially for first drafts -- I have to go with inspiration, first, just to get that first draft done. Then the discipline part kicks in with revision.
Did you see that stuff about neutrinos? I am hoping it's corroborated, because that'll be awesome, will pull the rug out from under physics for generations, which'll make for a lot of excited/perplexed/enraged physicists. We'll see. Science is fun. Haha!
Did you see that stuff about neutrinos? I am hoping it's corroborated, because that'll be awesome, will pull the rug out from under physics for generations, which'll make for a lot of excited/perplexed/enraged physicists. We'll see. Science is fun. Haha!
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