Sunday, November 23, 2008

define easy

i played a new board game this weekend and had a lot of luck winning. it seems a lot easier than the train game i've been playing with friends recently, because this is the type of game where the first one to finish is the winner. there is a clear goal you work towards and you know that getting thwre first means you win. with the other game, your ultimate goal is a lot murkier; you know you have to defeat the other players but it's hard to know how to accomplish that. as my friends and i have obtained familiarity with that train game, i have found it increasingly rare that i win or come close to winning. perhaps my strategy is totally wrong. i think it's safe to argue, however, that the game with a predefined end point is easier. you still have to balance risks and strategize, but yo always know what will be enough to produce a victory. there's a while other level of strategy involved when you're racing both to a defined end of gameplay and an unknown point total that will produce a win.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

the debate continues

normal, abnormal, normally abnormal. it's strange the way some people insist on telling me i'm weird, others that there's nothing so weird about me. could be a matter of perspective, just one of these words we get caught up over, one way or the other.

at times i just can't seem to do ordinary, though. i can act it, when there's a reason. i can dress up like something that doesn't feel like me, and that's fine as long as i'm comfortable with the character i need to become. once in a while, i get caught trying to fit in, and i absolutely fail. that must be when i'm the most normal.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

thinking a bit ahead

i'm going to get a jump on the whole giving thanks thing.

i'm thankful for a number of things i won't mention. some that i will say i am thankful for include:

cake

friends, especially when they're patient

hot water

anyone who does nice things at work

words that just sound funny

silence

i'm having a very difficult time with my list, unfortunately. there won't be any more entries today, but perhaps i can think of some more things. it seems to have been a really good idea for me to have started early.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

finders

interesting album of the moment:

summerland
-nedelle and thom

if cryptacize isn't quite your thing but nedelle's voice intrigues you, checkback on this 2004 effort. i'm on my initial listen, so i can't offer any depth of analysis. so if you need some pure pop harmonies, give this a whirl. you can pretty much guarantee you've never heard these tracks before. there was a pint in my life when i realized obscure but worthwhile music like this must exist somewhere. honestly, most of you own dozens of albums you'd rather listen to than this. personally, as this is one that's new to me, there isn't much i would rather hear tomorrow. 'in time it snows' is an easy crowd-pleaser.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

it could be a cost-saving measure

i purchased two pair of pants yesterday, at one of these stores that doesn't give you a place to try anything on. turns out they both fit, except that they're too short. now, the way things used to be, pants that did not come with specific lengths were always fine on me. so, are we entering an era of shorter inseams, or am i just unlucky?

for anyone who cares, person of the week is a fairly frivolous honor and probably won't be given to barack obama next week. it's really a prize for good writing, more than anything. he won the presidency, so he shouldn't be too disappointed. i have no candidates immediately sticking out at this moment. maybe james mercer. does he seem like a good person of the week? it won't be james mercer either. seriously, dude, why did you have to steal eric johnson? oh, and that time the fruit bats opened for son volt, you think jay farrar was confused about which eric johnson he'd set up as his opening act? i mean, it's entirely possible the other one would have made some of those angry people in the crowd less angry? maybe? i don't mean that's what i would have chosen. just wondering.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

person of the wk

deborah solomon

for the best use of 'pithy' i have seen in some time...in an interview nonetheless. how would you like to be interviewed by someone who uses the word pithy in such excellent fashion? you better bring your a game to that interview, that's all.


i was going to make this the journalist of the week, then thought writer of the week, but consider this to be an award that will almost always be handed out for feats of written excellence.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

three hours ago

i had to get up early today, which means that besides watching tv like most saturdays, i have managed to head all the way up to the church and back, purchase a charger and a pair of scissors, and...um...watching extra tv because i got up earlier. yah.

sea legs

i originally woke up about half an hour early this morning. i was tired so I went back to sleep. ended up sleeping in another hour and a half. opps. somehow i was still feeling lousy and tired. at that point i just didn't want to bother with a costume, but figured i'd be regretting it later if i left the stuff behind. good decision. not sure how i'd forgotten this, but i really enjoy dressing up as things. everyone at work got my main costume, and thought the other random ones were pretty funny too.