Memorial Day

Greetings bloggers. Memorial Day is upon us and I always have a nice feeling about it. The start of summer, the end of winter, and bugs.
I truly like Memorial Day. Not a fancy holiday but for the above reasons I really like it. I feel that every year you MUST have a barbecue with hamburgers and hot dogs. Not steak, not chicken - burgers and dogs. You can even have cheap beer (sorry Dave). We also have the annual Rubber Duck race down the river in Jackson (Home to many of our golf balls).

Your thoughts on Memorial Day.

How about the forth of July?

Rob

Things we learned on our own

I thought of this the other night, when, for the first time in 4 years, I attemptted to plow the driveway while drinking a beer (A Pabst can no less). And just so I don't make you wonder: Yes, I did toss the empty into the truck bed when I was done.

So I was thinking, 'how did I learn to plow snow'? I never got a "lesson" but rather just figured out how to do it in the quickest time, with the least amount of damage to buildings, lawns or the truck. I pondered about other things that I have learned to do on my own, and wonder if my boys will be able to do the same. It seems doubtful now since they can't even hang up a coat on a hook.

I, alas, did not have a dad around to teach me some of the basics, but I feel that I have done okay. I did learn alot from my grandfather, mostly to think about what you are doing and to attack the task logically. I learned some building tricks from Nancy's Dad, who, I think if he were still around,we would be doing many projects together.

Over the years I have built many things, done electrical, limited plumbing, refinished floors, etc and like doing these things. So how do we learn these things we are not taught?

A pondering thought for the new year.

Rob

Let people know it was "My Bad"

OK - here is the simple question... When someone cuts you off in your car we all know the multitude of non-verbal communication we can choose from to clearly illustrate our frustration. But... what about the time when you realize you are at fault? Should not there be a universal non-verbal sign for "my bad?"

I had this happen the other day when I completely spaced and started to turn right on red when there was a car coming from the left. I was certainly in the wrong and I wished there was someway I could have indicated that. All I wanted to illustrate was "Whoops, sorry - that was totally my bad." I think I pointed at my head (to show that it was empty) but I doubt my message got across.

If you wave you look like a total ass "Thanks for letting me almost kill you!" same is true for a smile and a shrug clearly sends the message "So what, human life is cheap."

So - what should it be? A hand gesture - maybe a fist to the forehead? (I'd punch me I were you) or what?

Lastly, I know it's not Tuesday... my bad.

Dream weaving

Wow, these Tuesdays come at you fast. First, I'd like to encourage people to keep checking old posts on occasion. Some of these discussions have on-and-off, Energizer Bunny life. I think Dave's last post, for example, could be a springboard for working out scenes/ideas that have become stuck in "the mental file cabinet," as Tom put it. And the discussion on how people are dealing with inflationary prices during recessionary times is always helpful. Learning what you're doing to prioritize, cut back on costs, and live more simply and authentically helps me to think about ways that I can do the same.

Now for this week: I'm curious if anyone else has been remembering their dreams lately. Mine have been vivid, though fragmentary as always. (Dreamer's note: The following dreams are weird. Just keep in mind that the dreamer has no control of the dream.)

In one, I'm part of a crowd walking the streets of an anonymous city. Behind every person is another figure, human in form but without eyes, nose, mouth or ears, each a completely different color. I'd say think Teletubby only that lightens a mood that actually felt somewhat oppressive and ominous in the dream. In any case, all these Crayola colored figures are following people and my guy was completely beige. Nothing really happens in the dream. At one point, I turn around and scream at the beige guy to get lost, but he doesn't go anywhere and, of course, since he doesn't have a face, he shows no expression.

A couple of nights later I had an even stranger dream about a purple toy named Martin that was two inches in diameter and spent the entire dream attacking me, like a relentless hornet. It generally appeared in the shape of a purple disc but could actually take any form - toy soldier, Teddy Bear, oval - but always remained small in size. Again, I try to escape, but am always looking back to see Martin following.

Without getting into the meaning of these dreams, it interests me to see a similar theme and pattern. For a while I kept a dream journal. Whenever I remembered one I would write it down and if you read them could see certain motifs and situations coming through regularly. So my questions for the group this week are: Do you ever remember your dreams? What's the most recent one you can remember? Are any of them recurring? A creative writing teacher I had once said that nobody cares about anybody else's dream. I get that - to a point. But I also find sharing them helpful, because I'm able to isolate certain recurring symbols and themes and remember images that I can use in my writing or artwork.

Great scenes from movies not yet made

Every once in a while I get an idea for something that I could imagine seeing in a movie. Not a whole plot by any means and not even a scene per se but an idea or gimmick that could be used in a movie.

One that has been stuck in my head for some time now is the idea of a character that cannot open a closed door from inside. Due to karmic reasons unknown to him, whenever he attempts to open a door from the inside, inevitably, someone else will be opening the door from the outside resulting in his getting his head smacked or his nose broken. As a result, the character is forever stuck inside men's rooms waiting at a safe distance from the door for someone to come in so he can exit safely.

I could see this ruse being used in an action-comedy for the protagonist. Throughout the movie, the character keeps getting stuck in situations in which he is unwilling to open a door until someone else opens it first. As the plot develops and the character is being pursued by the bad guys, the need to move through doors becomes more urgent and he becomes more willing to take on the punishment in an effort to escape and/or pursue.

Near the end of the movie, the protagonist uses the inevitability of getting smashed by doors to his advantage in overcoming or escaping the bad guys.

This of course would not be the central point to the movie, but just a quirky trait to provide for plenty of slapstick.

So what ideas have you got?

Summer Pleasure

I was thinking the other day about movies, that no matter when I see them, I am reminded of summer. (I know my first post was about movies, sorry)
The first one that comes to mind is the first Star Wars. I remember going to the Showcase on a hot summer day and relaxing in the "rocking chair seats" and air conditioning and seeing one of the best (the best?) big screen movie ever. I saw it several times that summer, all with the same reaction. On a side note, when I eat strawberry twizzlers - I think of Star Wars.

Jaws is another, however, I never saw it in the summer, but rather we traveled many times to Lincoln to see it and it was always sold out. I didn't see it till late summer or early fall.

Woody Allen's "Sleeper" is another. I think that also the content of the movie has a summer feel.

Lately I have enjoyed summer animated movies that I have seen with the boys. "Lion King" fits the summer bill too. (The opening sequence and the matching end are worth the price of admission).

I think that The Showcase was the best place for summer movies, for the reasons mentioned above, plus the many movies that were shown at one time and walking out from the dark theater into the hot Seekonk sun. Plus we all went to more movies in the summer together.

Oh yeah, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Star Trek 2 - Wrath of Kahn"

I will think of more I'm sure and add them along to comments. Your thoughts?

The High Cost of What?

Most of us all fall into the same demographic more or less. We are around the same age, the same race, and with few variations the same gender. While our incomes my be different I would bet that the differences in our bills help to neutralize that metric as well. So - based on this I am curious to hear what changes if any you have made given the recent turmoil in both the financial markets, price of gas, value of your home etc... It seems that everywhere I read about how people are cutting back or not traveling on and on.

I would have to say that in my world, not much has changed. I have always been a thrifty guy and will always look for the best price. If I had to pick one thing I would say that we have not cut back on how often we go to restaurants but have as of late picked lower cost restaurants and especially BYOB places. I do not know if this is economics or simply that I don't see the value in paying over $25 for a slab of salmon on rice with an $8 glass of wine.

The only other area (be it small) where I have made some changes is what I take in for my lunch. I used to always look for frozen meals that were around $2.50-$3.00. In the past month it is getting harder to find anything of quality in that price range and I am starting to rethink the whole frozen food thing. As you get closer to $4.00 - $4.50 you might as well start thinking about the sandwich from Subway again. Think I might start making my own lunch from scratch. Is this a big thing? Noooo - but it is a change. Any of you guys doing anything different?