Category: Blog 2017

In moving into a new house, I’ve been undertaking one of my favorite traditions: the video game marathon.  It’s an old habit, harkening back to the earliest days of my gaming life where, upon moving to a new house or apartment, I would play through all my games, from start to finish.

In my distant youth, this meant beating a handful of the Nintendo games I owned, like Vice: Project Doom, and getting as far as I could in others (which in the case of Legacy of the Wizard was about five minutes).  Later, as my console and game collection grew, I attempted to do theme marathons.  All the Castlevania games, all the Zelda games, etc.  At least all the ones I owned.

Continue reading “New Houses and Old Games”

We moved into our new house yesterday.  What an ordeal that was.  The cats were NOT happy, although now that they’ve got a sunroom, their tune may be changing fast.  I’ve got a full kitchen to work with, which is nice.  Plus I’ll finally be able to build a real chin-up bar and not be stuck doing my contortionist routine with a doorway chin-up bar.

I don’t care for unpacking, and actively dislike packing, but the moving itself I enjoy.  For me, it’s little more than an athletic event.  Some people pay money to do what is basically a time-constrained move.  Plus, packing the truck is basically Tetris, only you know when you’re getting a long block.  Of course, moves never go according to plan.  They either cost more than expected or they take more time than expected.  In our case, it was the time (I work for the state; going over budget simply isn’t happening).  We’ve got a few dozen boxes left to move, but they fit in a car so we’ll be fine (famous last words, I know).

Continue reading “New Digs”

I’ve always had a strained relationship with Patriotism.  Just the very concept has been one I’ve struggled to grasp.  I recall from a very young age not understanding the Pledge of Allegiance and balking at the idea that teachers documented if I said it aloud with the rest of the class.  I see people holding the American flag as an icon almost beyond reproach.  There are those who observe the age-old protection of never letting it touch the ground, burning it as a form of retirement, etc.  There are many who would go to blows if their beloved nation should be even remotely besmirched.  I’m just not one of them.

Continue reading “4th”

The Amazing Spider-Man movies aren’t very good.  The plots don’t make a lot of sense, the events themselves are really weird and strained, and some of the acting is just really terrible.  That said, I feel like they aren’t as bad as everyone says they are.

Yesterday, ‘Movie Bob’ Chipman released a video on a thought experiment where he imagined how Spider-Man would be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe if he were in charge (along with the requisite disclaimers about how well it has done and what likely implications the franchise would face were he or somebody like him in charge and given total creative control).  That said, it’s a fun video with some neat ideas and I really dig these fantasy booking shows (WhatCulture Wrestling has a bunch of great ones if you’re a wrestling fan).  Like Movie Bob, I concur that any observations on changes to the existing lore doesn’t dismiss the excellence of how Tom Holland looks to be in Spider-Man: Homecoming.  Movie Bob’s thought experiment is just a fun idea and, likewise, this is just a rebuttal on one point.

Continue reading “In Defense of the Amazing Spider-Man”

“These times are sent to try men’s souls” – Metallica

Yes, I know the quote is actually from Thomas Paine’s American Crisis, but that’s actually “These are the times that try men’s souls”, so nyah.

Anyway!

It feels like a dark time, doesn’t it?  Maybe it always has and we’re just now more aware of it.  Maybe it feels this way to some of us, and it felt this way to others, and it will feel this way to still others in the future.  I don’t care to speculate on the swings of the sociopolitical pendulum at this time.  What I want to talk about is burnout, compassion fatigue, and weight lifting.

Continue reading “Social Activism and Goal-Setting”