1. Christmas week flew by in a haze of family engagements and with little to no progress. I'm trying not to let that bother me too much, as it is Christmas. 2. Though it occurs to me that learning how to feast properly is as much a skill as learning how to fast, and in … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Recovering from Christmas, John K. King’s, and the New Year
Thoughts
Some ‘Batman Returns’ Thoughts
This year's Christmas film with the family was Batman Returns, my first time seeing it. My immediate reaction is that this film feels like a fever dream, or like a piece of fan fiction written by someone who is very enthusiastic about the 1960s Batman TV show and is more than a little insane (which, … Continue reading Some ‘Batman Returns’ Thoughts
Friday Flotsam: A Lot of Variety and a Bollywood Clip
1. Ember Friday of the Third Week of Advent. Enjoy your fast and penance before Christmas! 2. It's been a pretty good week for me; I maintained my intended schedule, for the most part (I tend to fall off toward late afternoon, but I'm likening that to being out-of-shape and will trust that I'll get … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: A Lot of Variety and a Bollywood Clip
In Which I Defend My Much-Disliked Former Employer
I find this funny: I have no love for my former employer, United Wholesale Mortgage, for many reasons, but this strikes me as too patently absurd not to laugh at. Apparently, someone's suing them for racial discrimination. See the full article here. I'm sure this has happened plenty of times, but if you knew the … Continue reading In Which I Defend My Much-Disliked Former Employer
Saturday Flotsam: Late, Haphazard Edition
1. I missed yesterday owing to poor time management. Oh, well. 2. I'm officially on a 3-week Christmas break from work. A break I'll need to use to find another part-time job and get myself onto a good schedule so that I can be more successful in the next semester. Not that this past semester … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Late, Haphazard Edition
Friday Flotsam: Immaculate Conception, Hapsburgs, and More
1. A blessed Feast of the Immaculate Conception! 2. This is, of course, the national feast day of the United States, as instituted in 1846 by the US Bishops and confirmed by Pius IX. This seems primarily based, historically, on the fact that Christopher Columbus's flagship was the Santa Maria de la Inmaculada Concepción, and … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Immaculate Conception, Hapsburgs, and More
Friday Flotsam: Complaints, Movies, and Alexander
1. Auto-play videos on web pages are one of the worst ideas of the internet age. Every single time you go to a web page you have to rush to pause the thing before it starts, as likely as not hearing the first second or so over and over and over. Even if I'm going … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Complaints, Movies, and Alexander
Immediate Reaction to Seeing ‘Godzilla: Minus One’
So, my immediate reaction is "Go see this film. It's only getting a limited release in the US, but this deserves all the support it can get." Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen a film this good in a theater (that wasn't a re-release or special showing). I'm trying to make a … Continue reading Immediate Reaction to Seeing ‘Godzilla: Minus One’
Friday Flotsam: Thoughts On Turning 35
1. Today is my 35th birthday. If our allotment of years is three-score and ten, I'm halfway done. 2. I'm obliged to face up to the fact that I am not happy with the man I've become or with what I have to show for my years. If you'd asked me ten or five or … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Thoughts On Turning 35
Quick Thoughts on ‘The Last Unicorn’
I'm up in Maine visiting the niece and nephew this week, and for movie night tonight we watched The Last Unicorn. The film has a very high reputation, but honestly, I wasn't impressed by it. Oh, it's interesting, and I think I'm glad I saw it, there are a lot of good ideas in it, … Continue reading Quick Thoughts on ‘The Last Unicorn’