NYt: The Heyday of the Dead.
Dear God, I am part of the problem.
UPDATE: wait, no I’m not. But GODDAM I can’t wait until all that crap goes on clearance! Skull-logo Ralph Lauren alligator shirst that were a commercial flop! I’ll buy ’em by the pallet at pennies a shirt!
I have to admit, I am frustrated with my decreasing frequency of posts. For three years, roughly, I posted daily. Since the turn of the new year, I have posted every three days, give or take.
I beleive that the difference has primarily been our move to a new home. It was in quite rough shape and every week brings a new task requiring time or money to address. This only satisfies me partially, however. Prior to our move any wacky rentier challenge would prove fruitful for words; in this new location, the discovery of a gas leak or sprung roof seam generates no desire to write about it whatsoever.
I think that the lack of blab can be laid to two things: solving any given homeowner problem requires a greater time investment than solving a comparable rentier problem, and that I, personally, have no interest at all in reading about or writing about the challenges and problems that property owners face.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually do read about such, and even actively seek out sources of information on subects such as the average annualized cost of hydration via hose as opposed to inset sprinklers. But it’s literally homework, of no emotional interest or value to me, and I resent it deeply. Every moment I spend learning how to conduct fiduciary analyses of variant home irrigation systems is a moment I have utterly failed to live my life in accordance with my desires.
Expect blogging to dwindle accordingly.
Our porch thermometer reads 104 degrees.
Yesterday was not as hot although I thought today would be cooler. We began our day at 8 am with a brisk hike at Twin Falls State Park, just beyond Mount Si on 90 east of the city. We went with Greg and Stacey, at Greg’s suggestion. I actually agreed to the plan without consulting with Viv which led to a great deal of crying and moaning at 7 am as we attempted to rise.
It was not hot on the trail but it was steep enough that we were all sweating heavily. It was interesting to note that the heat of the rest of the day did not seem as hot as it was. Next time I know there’s gonna be a heatwave horror, I’ll be trying to do some heavy excercise prior to the height of the heat.
NYT: For the Pennsylvania Dutch, a Long Tradition Fades.
200 of 800 Pennsylvania Dutch barn ‘hex signs’ remain.
Odd, I recall seeing these a great deal in the early seventies as our family drove around the lower northeast. Seems like there must have been more than 800 at one time.
NPR ran a five-minute end-of-the-hour feature on the New Voyages Star Trek fan film crew this morning. As is becoming par for these stories, passing acknowledgment was made that this crew is not the only one making these fan-produced episodes, but the entirety of he reporting was focused on Cawley’s project. This is likely as much a reflection os the snowball effect of that initial Wired story as much as a reflection of the skill with which Cawley’s assembled his media hook, which is that the project features the original series characters played by new actors with increasing numbers of professional Trek veterans appearing in the New Voyages episodes.
Another factor in the coverage, I believe, must be the continuing delay in release of Starship Exeter‘s new episodes; Exeter has been acknowledged as the inspiration for New Voyages and the Exeter creative team initially worked with the New Voyages team prior to the production of the first New Voyages episode. Personally, I found the initial Exeter episode to be a more successful translation of the original-series ethos than the first episode of New Voyages. I have been holding off on watching the more recent New Voyages pieces until Exeter releases the full second episode to be better able to compare the teams’ work.
However, the rate at which New Voyages has been producing episodes may well make this moot, as practice brings experience and soon the series may no longer be comparable in any meaningful way.
The view from Chris and Sabrina’s aparment, ydrterday evening.
Lindsey ran away to sea, and is home again, but, I think, may be actively seeking ways to become the world’s first wind-propelled librarian.
I must admit, I thought of Lindsey as I watched Pirates II, which apparently gave short shrift to the Aberdeen Seaport.
Lindsey, you gots to check out “Two Years Before the Mast.”
I hear tell it’s hot out there. Here, it is not. I spent my early evening under a cloudless 70-degree sky wrestiling with a mister-tyle soaker hose and recalling heatwaves I have known in the past.
Come visit. It’s in the sixties in the basement.
LA kegger in the works? Sounds like you need to hit Bevmo.