Random Flashback for Friday 7/3/15

Once upon a time (that time being three and a half months after I had run away from home back in 1989), I declared that, for the rest of my life, I would never watch the Fourth of July fireworks in the same sky.

Well ... that didn't quite happen as planned ... but, being the freak that I am, it does mean that I have notes from 15 consecutive Fourths of July ... from 1989 to 2003 ... which is why I can definitively say that TWENTY years ago, in 1995, I was attending "Botz's party" in Cornwall, after which one or more of us headed to "the rockpile".

Mind you, the "rockpile" will be a key location in many a memory to come, and was probably already mentioned more than once since this blog started ... but for *this* specific memory aged two decades, suffice it to say that I had a great time back then with, according to my notes, Kyle, Jimmy, Brian, Scott, Staley and Westy (2).  (Yep, that's apparently how I noted that *both* Big and Little Westys were at the shindig.)

[Note:  because I respect privacy, I will not list any other individuals who may or may not have attended and for whether there may or may not be any significant story related to the events of the night that played out for years after, as that is NOT my story to tell ... until the movie comes out ... and then only after everyone signs the release.  Which may or may not be why I have no *actual* picture from that night and had to locate this google image to accompany this post instead.]

Random Thought for Thursday 7/2/15

Today's post ... a dedication to the one sitting next to me in this photo taken a few years back from an office get-together (ironically,of those who all lived in the same big city of Chicago but who all worked from home as remote employees) on this, her wedding weekend.

Congratulations are in order for Jen A, and although I would have preferred to deliver them in person, the planned trip to Chi-town just couldn't happen as originally arranged to attend the ceremony ... and so the good wishes will have to be delivered electronically.

It was a privilege and an honor to work with Jen for the decade or so that we did in the same company ... and there are so many Kap-adventures as tales to tell (not all of which involve yelling at the top of our lungs at college students [but some of which do] and not all of which are supposed to be repeated [ahem ... Detroit ... cough-cough]).  But it's the later years in our friendship that were the most rewarding (not that scheming together to form an alliance at holiday parties in order to create a fixed outcome during the white elephant gift exchange wasn't rewarding in its own right) ... the chance to connect outside of work: the lunches (looking back, so many of them included burgers), the dog walks (hers, not mine ... but I got to go along), and the emails and phone calls especially when she up and became a world traveler these last few years.

And so a heartfelt congratulations to Jen A and her beau Ryan, for making it official.  Here's to even more exciting activities in this next chapter of your lives together ... and to me hearing about it in our next phone call.

All the best!

(Instead of my customary companion links, here are two more of my favorite pics related to Jen ... one of our meeting-up back in 2007 when she was working for the same company but in California and I was visiting San Francisco ... and the second of her dear dog Maddux, with whom I got to dog-sit back when I only had cats in my life [before the move to Florida and the boys joined my family].)

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 7/1/15

MidYear's Day!

Used in a sentence:  "Seeing as how New Year's Eve has *always* been my favorite holiday, and that sequels and derivatives and clones are acceptable ways to extend a brand, I hereby declare today, July 1st, the 1st ever MidYear's Day!"

Yes, I know, I've gone all Festivus.  And yes, I know, if I had Canadian ties, I'd already have a holiday for today to keep me busy.

All that aside, being the inaugural celebration of the holiday, I've decided on the following:

First, the (soon to be) traditional MidYear's Day meal is BBQ (hence the photo) -- which seems perfect for a summer fest.  Second, the (soon to be) traditional task at hand for the day is to take a moment to revisit and reevaluate the resolutions that were made six months ago ... it's a chance to recalibrate, to recommit and to rededicate to all that you'd like to accomplish in the *second* half of the year.  (I've revived my list, and I'm happy to report that I have checked off 4 of my 15 items for 2015 ... and I'm renewing my excitement to accomplish the remaining 11!)

Because this is brand new, know that I am now accepting additional suggestions for this new holiday.  By next MidYear's Day, perhaps bacon and Guinness can be interwoven into the activities.  (For sure, I'll know to ask off from work this time next year ... so that I can turn MidYear's Eve into a drinking event.)

So ... from me and mine to you and yours ... Happy MidYear's Day!

NOT TRYING TO TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE CANADIANS:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/here-s-how-canadians-are-celebrating-canada-day-1.2449108

MY GOAL IS TO MAKE THIS AS WIDELY KNOWN AS *THIS* NEWER HOLIDAY:
http://festivusweb.com/

HOW TO CELEBRATE MidYear's DAY ... CHECK IN ON YOUR RESOLUTIONS:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2015/01/random-thought-for-thursday-1115.html

Random Tune for Tuesday 6/30/15

In light of all the drama on the social media of late ...

I'd like to dedicate tonight's tune (from Porgy and Bess, but sung by Cher [!] on a tribute album from the early nineties) to those who suffer from what I call "selective scripture syndrome" ...

... to those who miss the overall message in the NEW testament (emphasis on the qualifying word) about love in order to pick and choose whatever one of the thirty-one thousand, one hundred and three verses in the Bible fits their argument for hate ...

... to those who maybe should heed the advice contained in the words of the tune ...

To get into heaven ...
Live clean and don't have no fault.
Take that gospel
Whenever it's possible
But with a little grain of salt

WITH A LITTLE GRAIN OF SALT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QgktelM2Y4

Random Memorial for Monday 6/29/15

Gone but not forgotten:  using PrintShop to make banners ... and flyers ... and greeting cards ...

More often than not, watching ABC's The Goldbergs inspires me to select a particular tune for Tuesday (and every time, I also plead for a soundtrack to be released) ... but one of the last episodes of the season (finally watched off of the OnDemand service) made me remember something *else* from the decade in which I came of age.

Namely ... the banner hanging in the background for a family celebration scene immediately took me back to using what was then a fancy software program where you could use the school printer to make your own items.  If only I had more time, I'd go looking for an actual card of that era that I'm sure I have in my files somewhere ...

All the paper good old LHS "fronted" me back in the day (those banners could go on *forever*) and all the signs and cards and such that I made back then ... you are missed.

LOTS AND LOTS OF "FRONTED" PAPER I TELL YA:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/195414071306857819/

SPEAKING OF OBSOLETE TECHNOLOGIES:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/12-outdated-technologies-refuse-to-die?slide=1

DESPITE THE PRINTSHOP, GREETING CARDS ARE STILL A THING:
http://businessweekly.readingeagle.com/greeting-cards-future-sorry-for-your-losses/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 6/28/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Like the rest of the internet connected country, it's recognizing that there is still a lot of hate in the world.

So it struck me ... maybe, if we can find the *one* thing that we *all* hate, we'd actually be unified behind an idea and it would replace all the angry social media goings-on.

The secret to that as a concept is all about finding the ONE thing about which we all could unite in our hatred.  I thought maybe "hipsters" would work (I don't ever see them getting the protected class status in hiring, housing or discrimination), but their facial hair is just too darn comical to stoke a serious hatred.

And then I thought maybe hatred of "sharks" could bring us together, but from my perspective, I find it too truthful to point out that THEY were in these waters long before we decided to dive in ... so ... you know ... they might be in the right when it comes to their recent activities.

My next suggestion was a personal one ... I've been anti-"swagger" since shortly after that phenomenon started (give me quiet confidence over flashy lack-of-substance any day of the week), but now that it's everywhere (including that recent commercial that implies those with recently cleansed lady parts will be obviously identifiable due to their swagger in their step [and I can only assume, seeing as how none of the women I see out and about walk with that swagger, that this particular area in this state has a high percentage of dirty female privates]), that is also an unlikely hatred-target because there is too much money wrapped up in it.

Then I thought I had found the obvious unifying category in "angry white men" (which also seemed super-topical in light of the ongoing election cycle), but now that SCOTUS-led progress has happened so quickly, their complaints switched just as quickly to being anachronistic ... and almost "precious" in their ignorance -- kind of like they'd all been Archie-Bunker-fied in that they now exist as a sign of what was, and what will never be again, but that they are relatively harmless in their old-worldliness ... and most certainly good for a laugh with their posts.

Finally, I stumbled on the obvious.  *Everybody* hates cancer!  (And that Kanye guy.  That was a "layup", as they say ... [Don't judge me ... any idiot who declares himself Jesus has to go into it knowing that he is courting some well deserved persecution.])  Now if we could all just focus all of these hate filled energies toward cancer (and Kanye), we'd be speaking in one unified voice and forget everything that makes us different ... and maybe those united efforts might even rid the world once and for all of them both!

Here's hoping (fingers crossed)!

NO ONE I KNOW WALKS LIKE THIS EREGO, DIRTY COOCHES EVERYWHERE!:
http://www.popisms.com/TelevisionCommercial/111005/Summers-Eve-Commercial-2015.aspx

PROFILING KANYE WEST HATERS:
http://radio.com/2015/03/20/what-hating-kanye-west-says-about-you/

YES ANGRY WHITE MEN, YOU (ME?) ARE ANACHRONISTIC:
http://www.nationinstitute.org/blog/nationbooks/3643/america's_angry_white_men/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 6/27/15

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

[... I can't let a month go by without at least one rave instead of my usual weekly rant ... doctor's orders for more balanced mental health ...]

... I have to tell anyone I can.  Rich Hill.  Find it.  Watch it.  Process it.  (From its Facebook link below, it is playing in select theatres and it can be found on streaming services in case you watch things the way that young people do.)

I had the privilege of seeing it at home a week ago (it was on PBS' Independent Lens and last Saturday's at-home movie night tradition was devoted to a couple of documentaries), and it's filled with the types of stories that will stay with you.  In a nutshell, it covers the three young men pictured in the accompanying image ... one dealing with the after-effects of something in his family's recent past (no spoiler here), one dealing with a boy acting out against a mother who seems to struggle to parent him, and one trying to make the best of a family unit always on the move running toward a dream that proves to be elusive.

It's a heart-breaking look at "rural" poverty in a midwestern town in Missouri where coal was once the primary industry.  (Although I promised no spoilers in the paragraph above, it would be correct to assume that Rich Hill is not filled with the rich.)  Actually, poverty is just the A story ... but upon reflection, it's also just as much about how children are shaped by parenting choices, good or bad ... and about how boys struggle to become men in modern day America dealing with the reality that support, in general, may be fleeting.

Don't worry ... it's not all gloom and doom (which isn't saying that it wouldn't be a good idea to have the tissues handy [quadruple negative alert]) ... especially with the ongoing tale of Andrew.  Despite everything that the documentary displays about the life he lives, he has a smile almost every time he is on screen, and he has an approach to what he faces from which we all could learn a thing or two.  As depressing as it may be to watch his innocence lost too young, there's an underlying hope always with him that can't be vanquished by adverse situations.

I dare you to watch this and NOT feel ready at the end to follow through and deliver where his father couldn't and provide the $400 Walmart shopping spree that is spoken of as if it is the epitome of a lifelong dream.  (Actually, according to the website for the film, donations are accepted and split between the three boys equally.  Also ... that same website provides updates since filming stopped.)

Rich Hill.  Find it.  Watch it.  Process it.  Let it break your heart.  Then have it be your call to action to change this world so that children can remain children for as long as they should and not have to grow up so soon.

Rich Hill.  Find it.  Watch it.  Then spread the word to others to do the same.  You won't regret it.

CHECK BACK AFTER FOR UPDATES (AND CONSIDER DONATING):
http://www.richhillfilm.com/

FIND THEATRES AND STREAMING SERVICES ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/RichHillFilm?v=app_599788450050788&app_data=referer_override%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.richhillfilm.com%252F

CATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/09/16/rich-hill