Category: Uncategorized

I’ve been largely quiet on social media about the murder of George Floyd, the protests against police violence, BLM, and the like, because, lord knows, the last thing the world needs on this subject is the opinions of me, another middle-class white dude.  But I wanted to share a video that is honestly one of the more affecting things I’ve seen in a while.

In seven minutes, Kimberly Jones gives a passionate and powerful accounting of where this country is at in regards to racial inequality and injustice, and the ugly history of how we got here. It’s tough to watch, but necessary.

If you’re white and want to be an ally but don’t know where to start, Vox has a pretty good interview with several activists about how you can help.  Also, if you have the means, there are a number of organizations and efforts in support of black lives that you can donate to.  Here’s a list.

I’m writing this missive from downtown Baltimore, where I’m staying for a few days for a work-related conference. It’s been warm and sunny, but the temperature inside the hotel’s ballroom is just barely above “Winter is coming Jon Snow” levels. On breaks I go outside with the smokers to warm up. I have a rental car, but I’m not sure how much I’m going to use it. Parking downtown is at a premium, and driving is typical big city aggravating. Also, the hotel where the conference is being held charges $32/day to park. So it’s looking like Uber is the way to go. 

The past couple of weeks have been quiet. I’ve been feeling vaguely meh, probably thanks to my delightfully wonky sinuses, so many of my evenings have been spent hermit-style, watching ORPHAN BLACK and IZOMBIE (both of which have been amazing, by the way). I did have some friends stay with me over the Labor Day weekend, which was lovely, and then also made a quick sojourn to Columbus last weekend to hit up Dirty Frank’s and 16 Bit. Okay, so maybe it hasn’t been that quiet. It just feels that way.

I completed my first 5K on Saturday, but it was no ordinary 5K, because those are boring and also running is terrible. This was the Insane Inflatable 5K: a course of huge, inflated obstacles spread over five kilometers, give or take. Technically it should have been called the Insane Inflatable Almost-but-Not-Quite-5K. But it was challenging as hell.

Look, here I am afterwards, sweaty and tired, before being rejuvenated by a shower and a stack of buckwheat pancakes.

  

I woke up feeling pretty good yesterday, but as the day wore on, the aches and sore muscles made themselves known. If I do this 5K thing again next year, I guess I should condition a little more (or any at all, if I’m being honest). Today is at least a little bit better.

I started writing this yesterday during a layover in Detroit, which is becoming one of my more favorite airports. Free wifi and a decent selection of food options. Plus, it’s quirky, in a good way. Passing through the lengthy corridor that connects terminals A to B is like walking inside the Aurora Borealis. The walls pulse and shift with a panoply of color. A kind of trance music reverberating throughout.

More airports should adopt psychedelic design elements. It would make layovers more entertaining.

  
Took this photo a couple of hours ago, somewhere over North Carolina. The sky seemed particularly clear, blue.

We’ve been planning this trip for over a year, talking about it longer; it seems vaguely surreal that the time has actually arrived. The next ten days should be quite entertaining.

But first we have to get there. Currently we’re sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta, in seats that are slightly more comfortable than on a normal flight. No free wifi, but the on demand movie selection is surprisingly good. I expect in an hour or two there will be nothing but ocean below, and I’ll be watching DEADPOOL.

Today at work was a little stressful, so when I left it was with a headache. Not a migraine, where I have to pop Vicodin like mints and flee to my dark Cave of Solitude and hope I either pass out or die. But the kind where I was able to skip going to the gym, grab dinner from Panera, and come home and watch a movie I’ve seen thirty times, all guilt-free. It wasn’t an ideal situation, of course, but sometimes it’s nice to have an excuse to be lazy.

I saw THE REVENANT over the weekend. It was very good, gorgeous to look at, and super fucking intense. The notorious bear scene, while expertly shot, was particularly hard to watch. I’m glad I saw the movie, and on a big screen, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to see it again.

Well, today I was talking with a coworker about the movie, who shared similar feelings towards it. Later, he emailed me this:

I didn’t realize until now that the same person also made Winnie-the-Pooh-themed posters (Poohsters?) for all of this year’s Best Picture nominees. They’re all pretty great.

This arrived a couple of days ago, a Christmas gift to myself. Only took two years of talking about it for me to finally get around to going to the local county office and applying. Now that I have a passport I can legally inflict myself upon foreign lands.  It’s in the Constitution, or something.

Fancy passport holder courtesy of my sister.