Journal – Page 5 – Stay With Me, Go Places

Addition by Subtraction

Posted on 24 November, 202224 November, 2022 by Ridley

It’s been a rough month, hasn’t it? Most of the people I’ve spoken to lately are feeling it. It gets dark too early, it’s too chilly, too damp, everything is too expensive, everyone is in a bad mood, everything hurts a little more than usual, and everything is a little harder to do. It’s not one thing, it just feels like everything is getting a little worse. Or maybe I’ve just been depressed. It happens. Work’s been tough of late. I’m struggling with the fact that what I do isn’t important in any real sense. I can push through it when it’s providing a lot of free and clear time off and enough resources to do interesting things with that time, but lately it’s been more draining than normal and inflation has eroded that cushion I’d grown to count on. Watching Twitter do whatever it’s doing isn’t helping. I spend an unhealthy amount of time there and it’s not getting any healthier. Over the last month, I have blocked more people than I have in the previous eight years on the site. I’m not a fan of the new owner, a guy who’s one of those wealthy mediocre types who thinks they can get away with anything because they’re rich. Everyone can see what’s going onThey laugh ’cause they know they’re untouchableNot because what I said was wrong Sinead knew of what she spoke Anyway, I’m just throwing words at the wall trying to describe a feeling and if I haven’t done so by now, I doubt continuing to try is going to help. I’ve been down. That’s all I’m saying. While I was sitting on the couch the other night, scrolling through one social media site or another, too tired and too nervous to do anything, the switch flipped. Or, a switch flipped. This is not what I want to do. I want to read, to write, to make music, to enjoy my time with my wife, and maybe even travel a little. What I don’t want to do is glue my eyes to some billionaire’s toy and have a heart attack from the impotent rage. Yes, I recognize that the problem is probably obvious from your point of view, as are some of the ways to address the problem. Understand that, from where I sit, it’s not obvious until suddenly it is. So, job 1 is: Get the damn bird app off my phone. Get all social media off of it (with the exception of Instagram, because I have to post cat pictures). If I’m going to use social media, make it (ugh, I hate this expression) intentional. Only use it when I’m sitting in front of a computer. People who do moderation better than I do might not need to play that game, but I know me better than that. Next on the agenda is make space for the things I want to do. You know the old bit about “No matter what you say your priorities are, the things you spend your time on are your true priorities.” I can’t really argue with that, and I don’t want “work” and “recover from work” to be my top two, so…yeah, get it together Mr. Kemp. I have notebooks full of clumps of story fragments. I have two albums worth of unfinished songs. My nightstand is buckling under the weight of all the books I’m meaning to read. Friends have written novels that I haven’t even read yet, and that ain’t right. My wife likes to remind me how much happier I am when I’m doing those things instead of getting angry at my phone and not only is she right, I’m also a lot happier when I listen to her. The switch that flipped wasn’t some insight that there were changes I needed to make to get out of this rut; it was a belief that I could do them. It didn’t hurt that I got some of the most inspiring comments on my side hustle that I’ve ever heard and that’ll pump a guy up pretty fast. For the first time in months, I’ve felt like things were on the upswing, I was pointed in the right direction, and a little momentum was building. Oh, and finally, thanks for bearing with me through this. It’s a very “LiveJournal” sort of personal/mental health/vaguebooking/type of post that probably ought to embarrass me. Then again, I wrote a Sovietwave song in 11/8 last night just to see if I could, so my shame threshold is pretty broken right now. To show you how much I appreciate you, here’s one of the finest pieces of music ever committed to bits. Air’s “La Femme d’Argent” extended to 26 glorious minutes. Enjoy!-RK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbmbmcNw920

New Hospical for Lunatics from the British Museum collection

What The Heck Is Going On With Twitter?

Posted on 7 November, 20228 November, 2022 by Ridley

I’m old. My social media usage goes back to AOL (which was very much “social media”) in the mid-1990s. I’ve seen some spectacular failures. Did anyone else really, really try to commit to Google+? I did, and it was a disaster. It was just awful from start to finish. Nicole’s contact list is still messed up because of the poor implementation of “circles.” Against all odds, this is worse. Here’s where I’m coming from. I still have Facebook, although I don’t like it very much and use it to stay in touch with a small number of people and a music group and that’s about it. I have an Instagram for cat photos. I have a blog (duh), and I have a Tumblr as a backup for it. Mostly, though, I use Twitter. It works for me; it’s easy to curate, you get a good mix of people you care about, people with common interests, and some interesting celebrities. Therefore, I take no joy in seeing the meltdown that’s happening before our eyes on the bird site. The site always had a conservative bent when it came to moderation deciding which randos would pop up in my feed, but it wasn’t egregious and I could usually curate my way around it. Now? The owner is playing footsie with some of the worst of the worst, issuing nonsensical threats against imagined enemies and making up new policies on a daily basis, and the policies seem to have more to do with protecting his ego than anything. I cannot imagine what could possibly have produced this reaction. I can live with that up to a point. What concerns me is his deep, abiding desire to turn the site into something approaching YouTube Red but worse. The idea of paying to see “fewer” and “better” ads leaves me cold; if I were to pay, I wouldn’t want to see any ads and I can’t help but shudder at the thought of what he considers “better” ads. This is the sort of thing that tips the scale from “annoying but acceptable” to “unusable.” Of course, “acceptable” has its limits as well. If his own statements are any guide, he’s an incredibly naive individual when it comes to power and influence. That sort of thing attracts Real Bad People. It reminds me of the Anna Nicole Smith show, a “reality” show about a very damaged but also very wealthy individual who was surrounded by awful people who were trying their best to take advantage of her and didn’t give a shit that it was all being televised. My point being: If Twitter becomes another FreeRepublic wannabe or a dumber Truth Social? Yeah, obviously that is not acceptable and I’m out. Exhibit A for “this guy is out of his depth.” He doesn’t understand free speech, he doesn’t understand government, he doesn’t understand his own verification system, and, lord almighty, he has absolutely no clue whatsoever about the business he just bought for $44,000,000,000, or, essentially the GDP of Bolivia. As my bestie is wont to say, “This will end well.” Note: He never has to label it “sarcasm” because the context makes it obvious. Yes, this is a “subtweet.” Is there some master plan, some gazillion-dimensional chess going here? It doesn’t feel like, but I could be wrong. Honestly, I don’t care much one way or another. If I guy spends all his time saying things that make him seem like an ignorant ass, I’m perfectly happy to take what he’s saying at face value. To that end, I went ahead and set up a Mastodon account. And by “set up,” I mean “dusted off an account I made five years ago when there was some other Twitter-related crisis, or so I assume.” It’s @MrRidleyKemp@mastodon.social . To be clear: I’m not leaving Twitter (yet) and I’m not at all convinced that Mastodon will scratch that itch even if I do. Like many people I know, I both love and hate social media and I’m not certain it’s good for me. I miss the days of blogs, of RSS readers, and tighter communities. Just for grins, let’s rank the SM sites I’ve used: LiveJournal – Easily my favorite. It encouraged long-form writing, close communities, but still had the ability to expose you to new people and things. MySpace – I didn’t really use it to its full capabilities. Think “shinier, more customizable, and much more popular LiveJournal, albeit at the expense of the focus on long-form writing.” Twitter – You have to work to be clever and/or interesting with the character limit. Good balance of friends and celebrities. Instagram – With the caveat that 95% of the people who want to be my “friend” and sexbots (a phrase that sounds much cooler than it is), it’s pretty harmless and fun to scroll. AOL – It was fun to hang with the nerds and second wave of early adopters. My people. Friendster – It was OK. Facebook – You know how MSWord used to be a way to type things into a document and eventually because this bloated mess of functionality that no one wanted and made it slow, so people stopped using it? Every Google Attempt At A Social Network (Google+, Wave, Buzz, etc.) – They were extremely naive, didn’t understand the space, didn’t understand what made it work for people, and WERE SUPER-INSISTENT ON REAL-NAME VERIFICATION WHICH BREAKS THE WHOLE DAMN THING SO WHY BOTHER? Edit: How could I forget Ello? Ello was the most aesthetically pleasing SM I’ve ever experienced. I wish I’d spent more time there. Maybe someday I will. I understand it’s still around. It would probably land somewhere in the 3-5 range.Where were we? Oh, yeah, if Twitter implodes? I don’t know. I’m tired of Facebook. Instagram would be easy to live without. Is there anything on the horizon that’s actually worth making a move to? I haven’t seen it. This whole thing is just painful to watch and it’s weirdly tiring.

My Most-Memorable Concert-Closing Songs

Posted on 2 November, 2022 by Ridley

Let’s drop the temperature a little bit. I haven’t done a list in a while. Y’all like lists, right? I like lists. So, instead of life-changing illnesses (get yourself checked and get vaccinated) or lost friends, let’s just do a fun post instead. I was watching this video the other day because I like music and Michael Palmisano’s channel is one of the best. He hits the sweet spot between player, music teacher, and fan, and he’s a lot of fun. He did this video that names the “Top Five (5) Rock Concert Closing Song Of All Time.” I’m going to defer to his “All Time” designation on account of not having seen nearly enough shows to have an opinion on that scale. But, what about my favorites among the shows I’ve seen in person? That I can do. So, that’s what I did. This took longer to come up with than I expected it to, but in the end? It was pretty easy to identify the five most-memorable closers I’ve seen. Job 1 was: Figure out if I even remembered the final song at a particular show. That’s probably removed 90% of the concerts I’ve seen. I may have loved the show, but if I had to look up what the final song was? Nope. That’s enough of an intro. You get the idea. Here we go! Oh, and I’ll link live versions where possible.“Rim Shak” – Letters to Cleo This was at EdgeFest in Dallas back in 1995. Letters to Cleo were touring on Aurora Gory Alice and their biggest hit, “Here and Now.” It was a really miserable late April day, chilly and grey and damp. As often happens, the festival was off-schedule from the start which meant the mid-tier bands got squeezed. Such was the case for LtC. Kay Hanley, the singer, announced the band had been told they had five more minutes, so they launched into the hit single and, while the crowd were still cheering, went straight into “Rim Shak,” a ten-minute Led Zep-esque dirge. They went well over the five minutes they’d (supposedly) been given. A huge “rock and roll” moment with their most “rock and roll” song. “Yoga Means Union” – Ambulance, LTD This was at Red-Eyed Fly in Austin during SxSW. I was there to see Stellastarr* (who were really, really good!) and got there early enough to catch the band on the bill before them. I had no clue who they were as it wasn’t posted anywhere in the club, or at least, not accurately. So, there was this band playing just absolutely immaculate indie guitar pop. It’s not really my favourite genre, but this was best-of-breed stuff. Great vocals, great songwriting, great performance. Just loved it. They said their thank yous and goodbyes, and they went into their last song: A huge instrumental that builds from a simple riff, and it was a terrific way to end a fantastic set. The only bad part was trying to figure out who the #$^$%$^ they were. “Rappaport’s Testament” – Ted Leo + Pharmacists This was at Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo Park in Austin in…I think it was 2009, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it was a typical Ted Leo set: Fiery, energetic, a little angry, a little silly, and really, really tight. I’m pretty sure this was the first time I saw him when his Echoplex didn’t break mid-show, but other than that? Very Ted. However, as the set was closing, he announced that one of his friends, an old-school punk from Austin, had recently passed. This last song, a Chumbawamba cover, was dedicated to his friend. Leo’s voice was breaking as he was talking to the crowd. Fittingly, the sky turned dark and ominous in the east directly behind the stage. Ted’s version of this song was absolutely thunderous, full of spite, fury, and defiance. It was absolutely chilling. “Frankenstein” – They Might Be Giants The first time I saw TMBG was on the Flood tour when it was just the two Johns and a tape machine (which was on stage with them). This time, at the Majestic in Dallas (with Frank Black opening!), they had a full band including a horn section. The show was spectacular, which seems obvious since they were actually able to play all the parts of the songs live (not to mention, they could loosen up and get a little more improvisational with them). Frank Black came out to play “Spy” during the encore. After that, they intoned that they were going to play the one song that “…no rock show would be complete without.” They then launched into an accordion-driven cover of Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” which, yeah. It was exactly what you’d expect from TMBG covering Edgar Winter. “Afterglow” – Genesis This one’s a bit of a cheat as it isn’t a single performance; they closed with “Afterglow” every time I saw them. That said, it was also great every time I saw them. It’s probably Tony Banks’ greatest composition, a romantic album-ender from Wind and Wuthering that starts quiet and builds to the kind of climax that stadiums were made for. Genesis always led into it with an instrumental medley that changed slightly from tour to tour. My favourite version is the one from Three Sides Live, but honestly? They’re all great. The light show was always built for “Afterglow” first and the rest of the set after that and it really showed. Enjoy. This is the next tour’s version, but it’s probably the best version on YouTube. That’s my take. How about y’all? Any particularly memorable closing songs? Let me know. Cheers, -RK

British museum scan with a winged sun and the inscription Lux Veritatas

Lament

Posted on 25 October, 2022 by Ridley

Yesterday was my friend Curtis’ birthday. I miss him. He was one of my closest friends and, for the record, he was much, much cooler than I ever was: He’s the cool one, I’m the one in all white except for the inexplicable black shoes. I was thinking about him the other day. The new Polyphia single dropped, the one featuring Steve Vai, and all I could think of was how Curtis would have loved this revival of highly-technical guitar music. He was years ahead of me in appreciating this stuff; hell, I’m pretty sure he introduced me to the musical magic of Vai back in the 80s. He was really into it, and I often didn’t appreciate what he was into until years later. He would have been a kid in a candy store today. As much as I dig this stuff, he would have really felt it on a level I just don’t have. I know “He would have really loved some of the niche music today” is a weird thing to think about an absent friend, but that’s how that kind of loss gets you. You see or feel something that the two of you had in common, something that you would have raced to share with them, and then there’s this hole where they used to be. So, if you are into this sort of things, here are some bands I think Curtis would have liked and that you might as well:Covet (Yvette Young) – She reminds me of Tony Levin on the Chapman Stick with her complete mastery of tapping and fluid sense of rhythm. Ichika Nito – Just otherworldly stuff. I don’t have any touchstones to compare him to, but he’s one of those players for whom the instrument literally feels like an extension of their body rather. Manuel Gardner Fernandes – I usually see him playing an acoustic, but when he brings his classical techniques to the electric, it’s special. Marcin – You thought I was going to leave out acoustic guitars? Heh. Marcin is an absolutely terrifying talent and a fabulous showman. Animals as Leaders (Tosin Abasi) – Yeah…I’m not even going to try to describe Tosin. He’s doing something that’s beyond my ability to describe. That’s probably why he had to start his own guitar company. Jason Richardson – Like Abasi, it’s a little heavier than I generally like, but the man is a player’s player. The range he shows in this song is pretty amazing. Finally, here’s the Polyphia track I was talking about because I really, really believe Curtis would have loved them, and not just because they hail from our hometown. Steve Vai has such old-school king energy in this. Here’s ya go Curtis. This is for you:

Almost Six

Posted on 21 October, 2022 by Ridley

For those of you who’ve been following for a while, you may be aware that Nicole and I are on the cusp of our 6th wedding anniversary. It falls on a Saturday, so we decided to take the week a little vacation the week leading up to it. I’m sure there are traditional gifts for the 6th anniversary, but we decided to just agree that our gifts would be “doing things and making memories together” instead. It’s worked out pretty well. The big adventure consisted of spending a couple of nights at our favorite hotel in San Antonio, doing some silly touristy things, and then going out to Lost Maples for an afternoon of blue sky, clean air and, as it turned out, moderate-to-difficult hiking. The Havana is our lodging of choice. It’s not the newest, the fanciest, or the most well-appointed, but it’s incredibly comfortable. It has big rooms, dark wood floors, super comfortable beds, and a vibe that brings it all together. We try to make sure we stay multiple nights so we can just unpack and chill and live there a little. It’s just north of the Riverwalk area, so it’s accessible, but it’s in a low-traffic area so you get a little privacy. It’s also photogenic as hell. Nicole had never been to one of those rotating tower restaurants, so we knocked that one off the bucket list. The restaurant at the Tower of the Americas is a fancy version of Landry’s, so it was fine, but the view made it worth it. The drinks were beyond silly; Nicole’s changed color as it was prepared at the table and my, um, faux-jito was as delicious as the name was cringe. But honestly, who cares about that stuff? Here’s what it looked like: A thunderstorm would have been nice, but seeing as we were going to be outdoors the next day? This was for the best. The whole Hemisfair area is ridiculously nice, so we took a photo by a water fountain on the way back to the car. I am completely baffled by what I was thinking with that shirt, that hair, those glasses, and…everything, but Nicole is on point. I actually took a photo of what my hair looked like the next day after sleeping with all the gunk in it. I will not be sharing that photo. We took it easy the next morning and then drove out to beautiful Vanderpool, Texas to visit Lost Maples State Natural Area. We were a little early for the maples, which was a blessing of sorts as we had the park largely to ourselves. A rare case where a rock stack improved the view. The reminds me of the limestone overhangs on the Brazos. Just thinking. Totally not posing. Some of the leaves were turning! No clue what this is but the bees loved it. Water so clear you can’t tell this flower is under water. I’m a sucker for lens flares and stuff. Almost the end of the trail. The view from the bottom of the trail. The view from the top of the trail. That’s the same lake as in the other photo. Don’t know what this formation is called. “Pretty?” We decided to hike the East Trail, which was listed at 4.7 miles (although door-to-door in the car, it was closer to six). This was the first cool afternoon of the fall, which meant it was absolutely ideal hiking weather. This is a pretty primitive park, so there were camp areas on the trail that consisted of nothing but slightly-cleared flat spots to pitch a tent. We were in a canyon between two…mesas? Long, flat-topped hills. Mesas. Anyway, the two converged and everything go quiet and we were treated to more and more springs coming in from the limestone cliffs. Then there was a sign. I’ll paraphrase: “The trail gets steep AF for the next mile and a half. You are warned.” We’d seen people turn back, but, you know, it was a nice day so we gave it a shot. My friends, that sign was painfully accurate. The trail, such as it was, was nothing more than river rock-sized limestones and rough terraces. The altitude gain was only 450 feet, but that’s 25 more than Enchanted Rock and it was much, much steeper. We were grown-ups about it and took breaks, but we were pretty determined to finish it and so we did. The photo with the lake way down in the distance is taken from the top of the mesa. There are actually two people in it on the path down on the right. Anyway, the view was appropriately breathtaking and we hiked from one end of the mesa to the other to get to the trail down…which was almost as tough as the ascent. It was a little less steep and a little more trail-like, but otherwise? It was tough. The reward was that we were right by the little lake which was absolutely gorgeous. 100% worth the hike. We figured we were done, but we still had about two miles of (blessedly flat) distance to cover. The whole thing took about four hours, which was about an hour longer than we actually enjoyed it. We may have stopped at a little convenience store on the way back and had some extremely naughty snacks. We’d earned them. We actually went back to Seguin to check on the cats because, you know, kittens. After providing them with some love, comfort, and fresh food, we headed back to the Havana for dinner. We’d stayed there many times before, but we’d never dined at their little on-site restaurant, Ocho. Since it was entirely outdoors (they have shutters they can close if the weather requires it), we figured this would be a good time to taste their wares. I can strongly recommend them; we had several small plates, all of which were good, and some of which were several notches above that. Aymeric and Ramza. Yes, in case you hadn’t already worked it out, we are nerds. And then we slept. Oh my stars did we sleep. Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep. Such good sleep. The bed’s at the Havana are big and tall and firm and some of the bed linens are, get this…actually linen. Your mileage may vary,…

What’s In A Name?

Posted on 8 October, 2022 by Ridley

Or “How The #$%((@#$)@ Did I Come Up With That Name For The Kitten?” It occurs to me that the name “Aymeric Leonard Bitingway Vardy” is probably not in the top 10 names for cats these days (or, um, any days). As any cat owner will tell you, cats have extremely long names that are often shortened for convenience and used in full when Serious Matters Are Afoot. My boy Win, rest his soul, was more properly “Winjamin Failclaw” and he had more middle names and nicknames than I care to list. Cats accumulate names. Each of the kitten’s names have specific meanings. Since they may not be obvious to all readers, let me elaborate. This is totally not just an excuse to talk more about the kitten. Nope. I wouldn’t do that. Not me. Aymeric This name is taken from Ser Aymeric de Borel, a character from Final Fantasy XIV. He’s the unrecognized son of Thordan VII of the Holy See of Ishgard. He rose from humble beginnings to become the Lord Commander of the Templar Knights. Aymeric was cool and distant to the player when he was first introduced but became one of your fastest friends. He is, if I remember correctly, the only NPC who has a side quest where you just go back later and have dinner with him because he’s your friend. While the nature of his story and character are somewhat appropriate, the big thing is that his eyes remind us of the kitten’s. That’s the primary reason for the name, and its order in the list. There are limits to the similarities, of course. I have never seen de Borel attack a stuffed bee. Well, at least not the with same fervour as the kitten. Leonard This is a frankly unnecessary extension of “Leo” but if we’re going to use a scolding voice, “Leo” just isn’t long enough. A good scold name should allow you to really draw it out. “Leo,” in this case, is the name of a cat I’ve never met. Leo was a grey tabby who was up for adoption at Austin Pets Alive! a good ten years ago. He had the friendliest face of any kitten I’ve seen. Unfortunately, he was FIV+, and with the cats we already had, we couldn’t justify bringing him in to the fold. So, we paid for his adoption and his photo is still on our refrigerator. I know, right? You just want to pinch his cheeks. Bitingway He’s a kitten, so yeah, he bites. Why “Bitingway”? It’s another Final Fantasy thing. The Loporrits (space-rabbits who have turned the moon into a spaceship to help humanity escape the…you know, just go with it) all have very gerund-y name based on what they do: Cheatingway, Puddingway, Aimingway…you get the idea. It just felt very appropriate for the third name, especially since the third name is the least-formal (in my non-definitive taxonomy). Also, they’re painfully cute, aren’t they? Vardy Named for the one-and-only Jamie Vardy, the legendary striker of Leicester City Football Club. Fast, silly, relentless, and cheeky-as-all-get-out. It’s the name of a champion and thus suits little Aymeric perfectly. Probably the greatest footballer of all time. So, there you have it. Once again, I give you: Aymeric Leonard Bitingway Vardy!

Plague Diary

Posted on 6 October, 2022 by Ridley

I’m late to the party yet again; it took me several years to finally get COVID-19. Even with everything that’s been written on the subject, there were quite a few surprises that, upon asking around, I found were actually quite typical. I thought I’d go through what I experienced in case this is useful for anyone else. Before I started showing physical symptoms, I became unusually emotional. I know, I know, I’m a pretty emotional guy, but this was off the charts. This continued throughout the entire time I was testing positive. Heck, I might still be feeling it; it’s tough to self-calibrate how “emotional” someone is. Let me give you an example: Nicole sent this to me while I was quarantined in the back of the house, unable to see my wife or my new kitten*. Friends, I absolutely lost it. A song from a movie I’ve never seen just destroyed me. Sharing my experiences with some of my friends, I’ve learned that this is apparently a pretty normal reaction to COVID. Most of the people I’ve spoken with said they experienced heightened emotional reactions, but none of us knew that this was something we should expect. *Cats can get COVID. You do not want to give your cat COVID. The next weird thing was being tired all the time (OK, not that weird), but also being unable to sleep at all. There were a lot of factors that probably contributed to this: My perception of temperature went being “burning up” and “freezing” with nothing between, my eyes were very light-sensitive, and there were headaches that simply did not respond to any painkillers at all. The result was I spent hours just staring at the ceiling just wishing I could switch off and be one week into the future. All of this added up to some seriously weird and interesting dreams, some of which were pretty disturbing. All of this is a long way of saying that I don’t think the psychological impact of COVID gets talked about nearly enough. It was deeply weird for me, and I understand I’m not alone in this. If you get the plague, expect things to get strange. Now, my experience may be tempered somewhat by starting on Paxlovid 36 hours after the symptoms started. I have no clue if it helped or not; the disease ran a course of 4-5 days (time got kind of squishy). I don’t know if that’s normal, I don’t know if I had an unusually heavy case of it, I just don’t have the perspective. My only advice is: “Take your doctor’s advice” (and, for goodness’ sake, contact them immediately). The Paxlovid was its own thing, too. The disease didn’t seem to affect my taste buds, but man, the Paxlovid sure did. If you ever wanted everything to taste like chalk, that is the drug for you. My appetite was already completely shot, so this just felt like piling on. I was able to resume work after missing four days thanks to the wonders of working from home. I’m now testing 100% negative, and I feel…tired. I feel very tired. The good news is that I can sleep normally again and the internal thermostat works. The bad news is that sleeping is pretty much all I feel like doing. In fairness, that’s all I should be doing. The doctor made it very clear that I was in for a month of recuperation. No working out, no doing anything intense, just some light walking. The potential damage to my lungs takes time to heal, and even then, like most folks, the healing will stop short of 100%. After a month, I can ramp it up and push a little. But, when the body says “enough,” I have to listen. Oh, and I can see Nicole and the kitten again, so that’s good. Enjoying some really poor baseball last night with Ramza (foreground) and Aymeric. They seem to be getting along. One last thing: This is going to sound weird, but…this was the best vacation I’ve had in years and I say that without any exaggeration at all. I was mentally so completely checked out from work that, even just chilling with Nicole and the cats (once that became acceptable), especially last weekend, was heavenly. I haven’t felt that relaxed during my time off in ages. That’s something I probably need to examine with my therapist, no?So, that’s my story. Let me know if yours was wildly different. I feel like there’s an oral history of this disease starting to develop. Oh, and if you haven’t had it yet: You don’t want it. Keep up with your distancing/masking/vaccinating. Cheers,-RK

Introducing: Aymeric Leonard Bitingway Vardy

Posted on 27 September, 20226 October, 2022 by Ridley

Hi! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, am I right? Almost two weeks ago, we adopted a kitten. I wasn’t really looking for one, but I saw this picture posted and it got stuck in my heart: I know, right? Here’s his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leo_the_fierce/ This kitten was the only feline in the shelter. He looked terrified, and his face has obviously seen better days. I may have set his image on the desktop of one of my computers, and I kept checking back to see if he’d been adopted. Two weeks passed and Nicole, being who she is, didn’t ask so much as “drove me to the shelter to meet him.” He was, as you might imagine, scared. His little steel cage was across from all the dogs, most of which were big and all of which were loud. The “meet” room was even closer to the dogs which seems like a design issue. Anyway, he let me pet him, but he’d hid behind me whenever the dogs got riled up. I finally got a little quiet time and managed to shake my hand around in a way that got him up on his back legs in the “I am fierce and will pounce on you!” pose. So, yeah, as if there was any doubt, the decision was made. I couldn’t take him home immediately as he needed to be neutered before they would allow an adoption. Sorry, little friend, but it’s for the best. I panicked several times over the next couple of days, worrying about what might happen (or if someone else would beat me to the punch; it’s first-come, first-serve at the shelter). A week ago last Friday, he came home with us. Now is a good time to mention that we do have two other cats: Red Velvet and Ramza. Red Velvet is 12 or so, and she really can’t stand active attention from other cats (she does like snuggling up to them). Ramza came to us from the same shelter as Aymeric about 15 months ago, and he terrorized poor Red Velvet. What would happen when we introduced a kitten into the mix? Magic, that’s what. Captured in a rare, “non-crazy-sparring moment. That’s Ramza in the rear and Aymeric up front. Ramza took to Aymeric (who can also be called “Leo” for short; cats must have numerous names), playing with him, grooming him, letting him have the first crack at fresh food, and basically being the big brother he was (apparently) born to be. He loves the kitten, and the kitten is obsessed with him. As for Red Velvet? She’s left alone like she wants to be. She’s still a little prickly when the kitten gets too close, but by and large, couldn’t have asked for a smoother introduction. It was not, however, the fastest introduction. Unlike Ramza, Aymeric had no litter-mates. He’d been feral and then caged by himself. I kept him in my office for his first week here, allowing the senior kitties to visit on occasion. Ramza played with him; Red Velvet ate his food. Aymeric was playful from the start, but very suspicious of noses, anything tall, and too many hands at once. That was then. Things have changed over the last week and a half. At first he was spending all his time in the office. Then, we started leaving the door open during the day so he could get out and wander around. It turns out he really likes being under our bed, which isn’t ideal, but Ramza loves to go there with him, so we roll with it. Then he started exploring the rest of the house, and finally, we stopped putting him up when we went to bed. He’s very confident, although he still prefers to have something over his head sometimes. He loves loves loves to sleep on me or right next to me. More often than not, when he’s sleeping, I find him asleep on my pillow. He purrs. He purrs a lot. He apparently has a very large “glockulum” which is what we have arbitrarily named cats’ organ-of-purring. The only downside is that yesterday I tested positive for the ‘rona. First time for me. And yes, you can pass it from humans to cats and especially kittens. So, I’m quarantining myself in the back of the house by myself and missing my wife and kitten terribly. Terrible timing, as if there was a “good” time to get COVID. OK, y’all have been good and patiently read my story, so here’s what you really came for: Pictures! First time sleeping on me. This old cat bed means a lot to me, and it means a lot that he took to it. First day home. Not too sure about this place. First day home after a meal and some pets. Looking very fierce indeed! Zips Bumbleton and Aymeric on the first day.

Magic and Loss

Posted on 31 August, 2022 by Ridley

It’s been an interesting couple of days. The weather rhymes with the mood, alternating between heavy rain and sweltering heat. You take the good, you take the bad, or something like that. The good persists, but you feel the bad more intensely at the time. My side gig is coming to an end. It wasn’t a paying side gig until recently; even then, it would be a stretch to call it “professional.” Nonetheless, it’s something which has occupied me for five years now and I’ve always enjoyed it. As is often the case, it wasn’t personal. It was business, at least to the people who were in charge. It hurts more than I expected it to. I assumed I would just walk away at some point but the thing would continue without me. I’ve read accounts of similar situations in all manner of arts and entertainments, but I didn’t really understand the sadness that comes with folding up the board, putting away the pieces, and closing the box until yesterday. It was good for five years, though. That’s a good run, and I’m thankful for it. Sunday night, Nicole picked out The French Dispatch for us to watch. It was really more for me than for her as her selections usually are. I am a fan of Wes Anderson’s work and always have been, but there are times when my fandom is difficult. I didn’t get The Grand Budapest Hotel at all even though I wanted to. There are times when the critics are correct and Anderson’s directorial tics approach self-parody. That was not the case with The French Dispatch. That isn’t to say that it isn’t a quintessential Wes Anderson film because it displays all of his mannerisms in abundance. The framing, the color palette, the tracking shots, and the David Byrne-meets-Michel-Gondry magical realism are all present. But, this is a much grander thing than we’ve previously seen from him. It’s been described as a “love letter to The New Yorker,” and it is certainly that, but it has the manic energy of the most meticulous stage production ever created. So yes, it’s a difficult film to describe. The stories (it’s an anthology) are beside the point; this film is all about how those stories are told.* The screen is often filled with so much, so many things happening at once, and not one of them is left to chance (it is Anderson, after all), that it’s not possible to take it all in at once. IMDb lists 363 cast members, all of whom are in motion except when none of them are during extended tracking shots that must have been a nightmare to produce. Every Wes Anderson film is a Wes Anderson film, which seems obvious until you try the same equation with George Miller. But, this is a bigger, more ambitious film than Anderson has ever wrangled. I loved it, and I loved watching it which is slightly different. I suspect your reaction will depend entirely on how you feel about Wes Anderson as this is the most Wes Anderson he’s ever been, and to me that’s a good thing. Last week, a discussion between one of my Twitter friends, Julie Brown, and I resulted in my wistfully recalling my long-lost copy of Miss Brown’s “Goddess In Progress” E.P. She said it was available on her site and, while it was sold out, there was a more-than-acceptable alternative: sigh. You have no idea how jealous (and impressed) the 1987 version of me would be. This is absolutely terrific, and Julie’s remains the force of nature she always was. I haven’t worked out the appropriate way to display this treasure, but it deserves better than sitting on the shelf where the rest of my CDs would be if I had any others. I referenced a thing that Nicole was working on a while back. I am sad to report that the “thing” is on hold, and I am the cause. I’ve been irresponsible…more accurately, I’ve been responsible only sporadically…and some financial problems from years ago have prevented us from moving aggressively to turn her idea into a reality. It will likely be 4-6 months before we can regroup and try again and I’m feeling the guilt. I have to be vague. It’s a good enough idea that, if it were to somehow make it to the wrong eyes or ears, our opportunity would be lost. It is possible that, come early spring, we will be in a better position than we thought we were in now. But, it’s possible we’ll miss the chance and that would be heartbreaking. That’s about it for now; thanks for checking in and take care of yourself. -RK

To Be Continued

Posted on 22 August, 2022 by Ridley

The latest issue of the comic Saga (at least the latest I’ve read) by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan has the results of a reader’s survey at the end of it. As an old LiveJournal veteran, I thought it’d be fun to treat the survey as a set of interview questions and see how that goes. Warning: I haven’t actually read the questions yet, so this might not go well. It’s Sunday night. Not like I’ve got a lot else going on. Question 1: Do you love your job? Oof. This could get me in trouble, but the answer is “no.” I’ve never loved any job. The closest I’ve ever come to loving a job was when I was a record store clerk as a second job and the people I got to work with plus the type of work I was doing plus the fact that I didn’t need that job made it a lot of fun. I don’t get loving a job. It’s just not how I’m wired. I had a gig in the sports world that seemed custom-made for me and not only did I not love it, it kind of made me hate sports at the same time. I understand the necessity of a job the way society is currently constituted and I try to make to do work I find meaningful, but “love”? That’s asking more than I think I have to give. Question 2: How many pushups can you do? Heh. Not many. I’m in lousy shape, but I’m in much better shape than I was six months ago. I’m just focusing on cardio work and not the arms, so…five? Question 3: What are your pronouns? He/him. I’m always tempted to change my nouns, but the pronouns are fine. Question 4: Did that last question bother you? Not at all. Question 5: Other than the incomparable Fiona Staples (the artist on Saga), who’s your favorite comic artist? I’ll always start with Bill Sienkiewicz. His work on New Mutants completely changes how I looked at comics. It was as revelatory to me as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. Denys Cowan always delights me, and Gabriel Rodriguez is such an incredible craftsman. I love Colleen Doran, Mike and Laura Allred, Jackson Guice, Phil Jimenez, Frank Quitely, and Jamie McKelvie…don’t make me pick one. Question 6: What do you smell like? I don’t really have much of an aroma. I don’t wear deodorant and I’ve never had anyone comment on it. Not the most interesting answer to a pretty interesting question. Question 7: Who’s the best bald fictional character who is NOT a villain? Jean-Luc Picard. Question 8: Ketchup: yay or nay? Nay. Question 9: Have you ever killed someone? Nope. Been in stupid situations where it could have happened, but I was fortunate. Question 10: What was the #1 movie in America on the day you were born? This is too much like a security question for me to answer it directly. I’d never heard of the film, but hoo boy did it have a great cast and a great director. Question 11: Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever touched? Sir Terry Pratchett. I met him at a book signing after the release of Monstrous Regiment. I had him sign my copy of Small Gods. He drew a turtle inside. He was every bit as magical in person as you’d hope. Question 12: Do you believe in angels? Nah. Question 13: Is there a podcast you think we should be listening to? I’m more of a YouTube channel guy than a podcast guy. I really enjoy Adam Something, Chase Carneson, Nik Nocturnal, Benn Jordan, Espen Kraft, and Bad Gear. Question 14: What did you lose during the pandemic? Personally? Not much. We were very, very fortunate and have continued to be so. I’m disappointed in my country. The time came for us to look out for each other and a big chunk of us flat-out refused and the other half got tired of it all and gave up. My expectations were pretty low, but… Question 15: What did you gain? A lot! Like I said, we were fortunate. Working from home put a huge stress on our relationship, but the combination of absurdly low-interest rates, pre-boom housing prices, and generous 401k withdrawal rules let us buy a house when it seemed out of reach. The fact that we’ve managed to (mostly) see no one but each other for three years and yet we still look forward to seeing each other gives me great hope for our future. Question 16: Are you a fairly “accurate” representation of my astrological sign? Hell if I know. Question 17: How’s your local comic shop doing? Moving to a small town, we lost the joy of having a local comic shop. Our old one, on the other hand, is doing swimmingly. Question 18: Are you happy? Yeah, I am. I probably have been for a long time, but I’m more able to appreciate it now. Question 19: What would it take for you to be happier? Depends on when you ask. A shitton of money would be welcome, of course. Everyone else having the same advantages and good fortune we’ve had would thrill me no end. But, honestly? I wouldn’t trade my lot with that of anyone else on this planet. Question 20: Do you have any trophies? I do! After playing baseball for 9 years, I was finally on a championship team. I blew out my shoulder that year, but it was a great year. Also, one of my snails won a costume contest, but that’s really their trophy, not mine. Question 21: What’s the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten? I’m not a big sandwich guy, but there have been some memorable ones. My first banh mi, my first lobster roll…all great. But the best was a burger I ate at the Rockin’ R in New Braunfels, Texas. We had gone tubing after working to open a new Bennigan’s (this was a while back), but the river was very, very low so a three-hour float turned into an eight-hour drag and we had nothing to eat with us. When we finally got to the takeout, we descended like flies upon the little burger shack. I have no clue if the burger was…