Kinda dull

So, nothing much going on at work today. I've got things to do but they aren't very interesting. I actually have some stuff that would be exciting, except that I'm waiting for others to give me what I need. That's one part of the job that drives me nuts. Waiting for other people. Ugh.

I'm currently reading the Lucifer set of trade paperbacks. I collected the single issues for a while, but then stopped, sold them all, and then got all the trades. Probably not the most economically efficient way to do it, but it saves space. I'd have to say it's a good read. It's not the greatest comic I've ever read, but it is interesting and has a good premise. Basically, Lucifer, who gave up his reign in Hell in the Sandman comics, winds up with his own creation. Shortly thereafter, God abandons this creation. Lots of intrigue and drama ensue. I still have two books to go, so I don't know how it all winds up. I'll report back later.

At the same time, I started listening (books on cd) to The Age of American Unreason. It's very interesting, since it is about our culture's disdain for intellectualism and rationalism. This is a topic that I'm very interested in because I don't understand why Americans think that way at all. There's lots of talk about education and we all grow up being told about the importance of education, but then we have no respect for the educated and no understanding of science. It's also one of the things that I really can't stand about the Bush administration, as I think the President and many of his appointees exemplify this idea. I'm on disc 4 of 12. So, it will be a while before I'm done.

On a side note, I've been trying out books on cd since January and have discovered that I prefer non-fiction to fiction on cd. For some reason, I just get sick of the fiction books and have to get the actual book and read it. I think I only actually listened to one entire novel without resorting to the printed version. I think it has something to do with the same voice being used for all characters or something. I have no problem with the non-fiction and in some ways prefer it over reading the books. I don't know if this is common or not.

The Dresden Dolls

Most of you know that Lacey and I love The Dresden Dolls. Here's a video of them performing a cover of Pink Floyd's In The Flesh. We saw them do this in Baltimore in December. I thought it was absolutely fantastic. They are great performers and whenever they do a cover, it just seems like they bring so much to whatever song it is. Plus, this one features Brian (the drummer) singing, which is pretty rare.

Lazy Saturday

So, today was a complete wash-out. We slept late and haven't really done anything all day. The grass needs mowing, but it's still kinda hot to deal with it.

It's been a busy week. Last night, Jay had a scrimmage against a team from Columbia. They won (I think), but nobody was really keeping score. Our team looked pretty good. Jay was doing a good job as a lineman. I have to admit being somewhat surprised. Last year, he wasn't all that great at blocking when he played wide receiver. He's much improved. Their first real game is next Saturday.

Work was busy all week. And, we had things to do in the evening, so we didn't get to do much this week. I took the kids up to the school on Thursday to meet their teachers and things like that. They were both nervous and didn't talk much. The kids, not the teachers. The teachers seem nice.

Ummm, movies. In the past week, we've watched Stop-Loss and Be Kind Rewind. Both had interesting parts, but weren't all that great overall. It looks like we won't be seeing the Clone Wars in theaters. Nothing I've read has made me want to go see it and Jay seems to have forgotten about it.

So, as I mentioned last time. We went out for Lacey's birthday last weekend. It was a pretty good time. The hotel was neat, with a very different decorating motif. We went to the Palace of Wonders and saw the Gilded Lilly Burlesque troop. These ladies are from Baltimore. I thought they were very good. We've seen groups from both New York and Philadelphia, and I thought our local girls were better than both. They had very creative routines, most of them seemed to have actual dance training, and were quite sexy. I highly recommend seeing them whenever they perform. It's worth it just to see Sable Sin Cyr.

Odds and Ends

Lacey and I watched The Bank Job over the weekend. It was by no means perfect, but it was entertaining. I think the London in the 70's setting gives it a good feel.

Jay has his first football scrimmage tomorrow against Bowie. Go Stars!!

Star Wars - The Clone Wars comes out today. Apparently, it sucks. Of course, now I have to decide if I should listen to the reviewers and see it and make up my own mind.

We're going out for Lacey's 30th birthday this weekend. Here's the agenda: See the Gilded Lilly Burlesque troop at The Palace of Wonders in DC. Get down with our bad selves at the Black Cat. Then retire to our room at this cool hotel. Hopefully, Lacey won't throw up this time.

Hair

I went to get a haircut today, which had me thinking about hair. When you think about it, the fact that we have hair is a little strange. In fact, hair itself is kinda strange. I mean, when I look at my cat, for example, I can see why he has hair - for protection mostly. But if I look at my hair or anybody else's hair, it's not that obvious. If my whole body was covered in hair, then I think i could figure it out. But, it's not. Just my head. Does my brain need to be warmed? That can't be true, because if it was, then bald people would be disfunctional. Maybe I'll just picture everyone I see today without hair. That might give me some clue.

Anyway, if you have free time, give some thought to the concept of hair.

By the way, I also learned that a haircut in Crofton is more expensive than a haircut in Catonsville.

Getting Started

So, this will be the first post on my blog. Obviously, I'm a little late to the party on the whole blog scene. I guess you could say I was just waiting for all of the trendy people to move on to the latest thing. Plus, I don't how dedicated I can be to this. But, I'll give it a try.

Now, first of all, I guess I should introduce myself for the one person reading this that doesn't already know me. I'm a guy in my late 30's, who's married to a beautiful woman (Lacey), with two school-age children. I think I'll leave it at that, otherwise, why read any more posts?

Since I just finished a book, I'll start off writing about that. Today I finished Little Children, by Tom Perrotta. This was made into a movie, which came out last year. I enjoyed both. The movie sticks pretty close to the book, although there are minor characters that are more fleshed out in the book than in the movie. Both Lacey and I actually read his latest book, The Abstinence Teacher, prior to seeing the movie. We both really like it and once I realized that he wrote Little Children, I wanted to read that, too.

Anyway, the basic plot is that a man and a woman meet at a playground where their children play and have an affair. Obviously, it's the characters that are important in this one.

To me, the title refers not to their children, although all of the characters' lives are centered on children, but how their lives are affected by events in their childhood or at least at a younger change. And it's not that they had great tragedies in their childhood that 'made them what they are', but that how in their mundane lives, they are reminded of certain events (a remark by a former boyfriend, things that happened in college), and that these events influence their decisions now. This was one of the things I liked, because I could identify with these "blasts from the past" popping up and coloring how I look at things now. There is also a character that is a sex offender that was treated in a realistic way and I think this lends an interesting twist to things.

Now, I'll leave you with a link to some concert footage of Talking Heads circa 1980. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8lFmsCXhg