Hitting the hay early...

Worked outside in the yard for almost five hours today. Twas a beautiful, sunny, warm day, and the temperature went up to 27 C. Mowed the lawn and finally got around to scraping the moss off the basement steps,  as well as picking up pinecones and cleaning up the leaves and branches strewn about since last year. Somewhere in the middle, had a very brief picnic, with big sister bringing an A & W Teen Burger (which I inhaled), Fries and Rootbeer. Sooooooo good.

Oh... I had a bright coloured green wormy creature land on my shoulder which grossed big sister out. I squished it... Gah. (Sorry worm, you landed on me.)

Had a nice hot shower and even had time to go sit outside in the sun with a bowl of frozen blueberries and yogurt topped with a little cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar.

I think I might have had a little bit too much sun, as I had a slight bit of the chills later on.

Was at a loss for thoughts or anything for a blogpost, but today was a good day and deserved acknowledgement. And... I'm going to bed early... and... I think that I shall sleep.

Happy Day

.... to all you mothers.

Saturday Night Five...

Just wanted to post five random things, and the only thing I had five of was photos. Not like I could come up with five random thoughts or five random questions.

Sitting outside... a bank... parking lot today.

Didn't realize the lilacs were blooming in the backyard. (From earlier this week.)

And one fine May evening...

Walking home from weekly sporting activity.

8:54pm May 2 2012

I was unable to get photos of the Lunar Perigree/Syzygy on May 5, but had taken these blurry shots earlier in the week. Found this video just now.

Indulged...

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to head out of town

(Taken through the front windshield heading down the highway.)

and to the mall where I could get this:

Now... $8.33 (including the 12% tax) for a bottle of water and this, which is the regular size of "The Works", is excessive, but I don't indulge in too many things, and none quite as satisfying.

Friday Food Flashbacks

As I sat here this fine Friday evening catching up on reading blogs whilst eating my last pouch of Liptons Soup for dinner, I had the feeling that something was missing.

Hmm... now... I find myself reminiscing about Beef Scramble, Salmon Casserole (with peas in it and crushed potato chips on top), Sloppy Joes, Spanakopita, New York Deli Pizza (MEAT!), Tacos (Hot Spicy BEEF!, Shredded Cheddar, Chopped Tomatoes and Lettuce... Salsa) ... Seems like a lifetime ago... or a dream...

Sigh.

The Shape of Me and Other Stuff

I was at a friend's shop a few weeks ago, wherein she had some gently used books for sale. One of them immediately caught my eye, although I don't quite know why. It was "The Shape of Me and Other Stuff" by .... Dr. Seuss. I don't remember ever reading this one, but my memory from back then is sub-standard to say the least. Anyways, seeing it made me smile, and at 75 cents... I had to get it. When I brought it home, I looked to see what year it was published... 1973... I read it through, sort of chuckling to myself. Then... very near the end of the book, there was this:

"And, speaking of shapes, now just suppose...!

Suppose YOU were shaped like these... or those!

...or shaped like a BLOGG!

Or a garden hose!

Of all the shapes we MIGHT have been...

I say "HOORAY for the shapes we're in!"


I don't know... The book reminded me of a little boy I know, and that last bit just cracked me up. I've had the book on the table where I often sit and type, but hadn't thought of what to write until I read that bit over again today.

Up and still sleeping... or dreaming of being awake?

HAD been getting more sleep as of late... sometimes I even made it up to five or six hours... straight through. Last night... went to bed early again... before 1AM...  I seemed to be having a non-stop dream, and when I woke up, I was slightly disoriented. The first thing that crossed my mind was... did I wake up still dreaming or am I really awake and in the bedroom I went to sleep in? I wasn't absolutely certain until I went to turn the light on and it worked. I checked the time and it was... 4:40.

I've had this thing happen a few times over the years, where I would wake up from a dream, get up and go to turn the wall light switch on, only to find that it didn't work. I would even flip it a few times wondering what was going on. The light just wouldn't come on. I would go and try the switch in the kitchen or hallway and same thing there. The next thing I knew, I would be waking up again and doing the same thing. I think one of the nights this happened, I went through the same motions three times. I thought today would be one of those again, but it wasn't. Of course though, if it had been, I might still be sleeping.

Convoluted...

is a good word choice here. Once again, struggling to say anything, but music brought me back.



One of the CDs I have in the player right now is Deconstructed by Bush. I had been listening to it when this song came up, and I was again captured by the words. I went agoogling and after a bit of searching, I found out that they hadn't written it. I went looking a bit more and came across the original. Now, I don't remember listening to that band back in school, but I knew that after the death of their leadman, the remaining members formed New Order. One of the songs I distinctly remember by them is True Faith. And ... tonight... I also found a live version by them as old farts.

Sitting here listening to these songs, I was once again transported and struck by the lyrics. In high school I listened mostly to "new wave" music with old stuff from the late 60s and early 70s thrown in. In the mid 80s metal crept in with Metallica, and sometime in the 90s, Korn came into play. It is interesting to see the lyrical transition from song to song tonight, and from a musical standpoint at different times in my life...

(I think this was the one Korn album tour that I had concert tickets for... but ... I never made it to.)

Oh... a little while back, I had started writing something about my somewhat symbiotic relationship with Korn.

symbiosis: 1. the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms.

I meant to write a bit more on the matter, but my brain temporarily ceased to function, and that was all I could come up with. However, I did find a very cool live version of another song of theirs. The vocals are a little strained, but the percussive element is sweet.



A couple weeks ago, I took a listen to some of the songs on their latest album and for some reason, nothing really stood out and hit me. It is pretty bad when I can't remember any of the songs that I listened to at the time. I do recall however that it seemed a tad "experimental" again. This has got me to thinking now off on another tangent... I wonder if the music industry has become so ... saturated... yet watered down at the same time... with cookie cutter type music that there will never be anything more that stands out or sets a precedent. That no one new comes along to make their own footprint, but that everyone just follows in someone else's footsteps.

I went looking for some music that is popular today... okay... I'm going to say it... among young people. Upbeat, sweet... too sweet? Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez... I'll be honest... this stuff hurts my head. I was going to put some links up, but... I just can't make myself do it. My musical tastes are varied, but not that varied. If you find me dancing around to a Katy Perry song, you will know that something is very, very wrong.

Wasn't sure where this was headed...

when I saw the title, "How Real Men Shoot Skeet", but ... my heart melted. I have come to the stark realization that I have a thing for...

YouTubeLink (Views 9,696)

... guys in bow-ties tanks.

Curtsy to The Borderline Sociopathic Blog for Boys.

Sometimes you just have to laugh...

Sometimes words stay with you. Sometimes more character can be found in the flaws. Sometimes you just have to laugh.

You are my world...

my life...

my cheeseburger...

everything.

From here. I remembered that bit whilst writing about being hungry this morning.

Oh... and then... when I went agoogling for that, I found this.

Humour is good for the soul.

Retreat or withdraw

I was struggling on the comment thread of one of my posts, and it hit me pretty hard. As usual, my first response is to go on the defensive and put on my armour, and then after a few volleys... retreat. The impact was such that I was considering a complete withdrawal from blogging. There isn't much in life that has the power to do that. But... that is just how it has come to pass. Upon further reflection, I find that the thing that bothers me most is that my words could be taken to be so far from what my actual thoughts are. In trying to explain my position, it was seen as condemning or judging someone else, which was not my intent. The only person I judge is myself. 

I always knew that my inclination to withdraw is something that I picked up as a kid, but I didn't fully understand it until now. I also understand why I never shared my thoughts with anyone before.

No, not the one with a stick...

Definition of LIMBO

1. often capitalized: an abode of souls that are according to Roman Catholic theology barred from heaven because of not having received Christian baptism

2

a: a place or state of restraint or confinement

b: a place or state of neglect or oblivion 

c: an intermediate or transitional place or state

d: a state of uncertainty

Origin of LIMBO Middle English, from Medieval Latin, abl. of limbus limbo, from Latin, border

First Known Use: 14th century

I don't know

I feel as though my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

I don't know if I want to blog anymore.

Friday randomosity

I definitely went to sleep much earlier than usual last night. The post I did was 11:59pm, and I know I turned the lights off soon after that. As far as I can remember, I don't think it took me too long to fall asleep either. Woke up at 6:18am, feeling as though I hadn't slept. Went back to bed... feeling as though I wasnt sleeping. But I was dreaming... I was wearing a monk's robe in a basement somewhere and there were people in the same coming downstairs and going into an adjacent room... then the phone rang. And kept ringing. I woke up and the phone was ringing. It was only 7am. Nephew sounding sleepy, asking if I wanted to go for breakfast. I hadn't had a shower, but I went anyways. No way I would pass up an Egg McMuffin. This time I tried a Bacon and Egg McMuffin... Just that, and not as a meal... Holy crap... It cost $3.19... With tax it came to $3.57. No... not worth it. I usually have the Sausage Egg McMuffin which is more substantial for the same price I think.

***

Oh... and further to a post I did two days ago, today I received three more Spam comments, so Spam is winning, 4 to 2.

***

So... it's Friday night. And get this... I'm sleepy. What better to do on a Friday night than ... sleep? Absolutely nothing.

***

Just heard the other day that a girl I grew up with, one block over and one year ahead of me in school, tried to commit suicide. Even though we didn't hang out much, and she left town after high school, it really hits home.

***

Ah... feeling ... wistful... And not sleepy anymore.

Derailed

No thoughts. No words. No ideas. 

My being wants to sleep.

Goodnight moon...

Well... I'll be...

Two days ago, at the behest of my one regular reader and commenter, I removed the word verification for posting comments. Lo and behold, this morning, I received my first Spam comment (that went directly to Spam) ... in Russian. I had a feeling that there was a Russian bot floating around here for a while, as there were days when there were more visits showing up from Russian traffic sources than from anywhere else. In all likelihood what will happen is that I will end up getting more Spam comments than real comments, which wouldn't be that hard to do, considering that this blog isn't really a high volume type of endeavour in the first place. I guess I'll wait and see, but so far we are 1 for 1.

An accidental life?

Does anything ever make you wistful? Do you ever look out a window with a sense of longing? Do you question the path that you are on? If we do not know the path that we are on, how can we change directions? Do you ever feel as though you are missing something in your life? When something is lost, is something in its absence therefore found? I seem to have no part and no place in this world. Was my presence here on this planet a mere accident? If dying is the end of life, shouldn't a life worth living be a life worth dying for?

That's just weird

Someone found my blog by typing "fortune cookie sasquatch" into Google. Who would even think such a thing? Someone from Wisconsin. Granted I have had the words "fortune cookie" on the blog ... as well as posted a picture of a Sasquatch. But still... putting the two together is just weird.

Il pleure...

Way way back in middle school we had a French teacher who... hmmm... I'm not sure how to put this. I shall just say that the words "fear and loathing" come to mind. There was one poem that we all learned and memorized... I think I have mentioned it before, but it came back to me again this morning. Upon further reflection, I think that he took the joy out of learning the intrinsic value of something both beautiful and sad. To a bunch of thirty kids thirty years ago it was just a bunch of words to be recited like robots. That's kind of sad in a vacuum where words have their meaning sucked right out of them... although the method worked. It makes me think more on how the beauty of the language was lost because of it. Well... he could not take the beauty and meaning of these words away from me.

Il pleure dans mon coeur

Comme il pleut sur la ville.

Quelle est cette langueur

Qui pénêtre mon coeur ?

O bruit doux de la pluie

Par terre et sur les toits !

Pour un coeur qui s’ennuie,

O le chant de la pluie !

Il pleure sans raison

Dans ce coeur qui s’écoeure.

Quoi ! nulle trahison ?

Ce deuil est sans raison.

C’est bien la pire peine

De ne savoir pourquoi,

Sans amour et sans haine,

Mon coeur a tant de peine.

Paul Verlaine

Interesting. I just went agoogling and found out that Paul Verlaine was born on March 30, 1844. He shared a birthday with the WWI soldier poet, Julian Grenfell (March 30, 1888), whose poem I just mentioned the other day.

... and her too

I read a story in the news yesterday and it really bothered me. Let's just say that from the title to the previous post, "And night shall fold him in soft wings", I add... and this little girl too. Words escape me even now.