There are these companies that will produce custom snowboards, so I played with some art and came up with these options. The looney tunes are in the public domain, but the Frazetta art is not, so licensing on top of the $500 cost of the board itself would probably be beyond what most people would pay. But it's nice to dream...
Archive for All the Words
Boots in Arms
At some point in my life, the phrase “deploy troops” became “boots on the ground.” The media and collective consciousness started saying “boots on the ground” whenever they talked of deployed troops. I remember noting how viral the phrase had become, almost as if commentators and social debaters felt it lent an air of legitimacy to what they were saying.
Last night I listened to the news for the first time in a long time. NPR was on in the car (I don’t drive much right now). The vaccine was the topic of discussion, specifically the discrepancy between production, delivery, and administering it. The expert being questioned said “shots in arms” whenever he referred to administering the vaccine to patients. He said it three times in less than 30 seconds. The host herself repeated the phrase at least twice after that. So now I expect a viral onslaught of “shots in arms.”
I am Not a Musician
This is me and my wife playing with our kids.
I am not a musician.
Ever since we had children, I’ve tried to take time out of my days to play with my kids. I remember that first Christmas with kids, not the very first, but the first time they are able to actually play with toys. We played with the Fisher-Price Little People Farm then. We always played whatever they wanted to play. If they were into blocks, we played blocks. Cars, we played cars. Legos, we played Legos. Minecraft, Board Games, fire shooters, high speed photography, the list goes on.
In the beginning, I showed them how to build, or play, but eventually they showed me how and I became whatever they needed me to be. Lego engineer, photography model, nerf gun marksman, I let them show me how to use their toys and play their games, and we had fun together.
I am not a musician, but this is me playing with my kids, and soon they will be adults and leave home. If you have kids, take time to play with them and their toys, a finite activity, that’s infinitely rewarding.
I still don’t get it
From seven years ago:
Went to an outdoor concert in San Diego where lots of middle aged and older people were dancing. At one point, they all started doing the same synchronized dance.
“I didn’t know this song had a special dance?” I said.
“It doesn’t.” My wife said, “That’s just a basic line dance. We never got divorced so you never had to learn about that.”
“So in an effort to attract a mate, everybody gets in line, does the same thing, and makes no effort to stand out from the crowd?”
Beetle Mania
“Dad, there are two beetles in the bathroom!”
“Are they dead or alive?”
“Alive!”
“Ask them to sign my copy of Abbey Road.”
Wining About Snow
They don’t have 14 different words for snow. They have many words describing snow. Kinda like us and wine.
New Slang
Goombaya: Italians Sing about Peace and Love
Balance Blues
A little ditty I wrote when I had some issues with my head:
Woke up this mornin’
(Da-neh na naught)
Rolled out of bed.
(Da-neh na naught)
Had to crawl on the floor.
(Da-neh na naught)
Somethin’s wrong with my head!
I’ve got the Verrrrtigo. Yeah!
V-E-R-T-I Go!
I’ve got the Verrritigo. Yeah!
Head spinnin’ round, so now y’know.
Music
The first CD I ever owned was a gift from my father, Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms. But even before that I was exposed to the wonderful complexity of Mark Knophfler’s work when a song would come on the radio, and observing my dad’s excitement over it, I’d ask for the name of the artist and he’d reply, “Dire Straits”, with that tone that makes a kid realize that even though they may be hearing this for the first time, it’s common knowledge among adults, and so you’d better remember this, and make it part of your common knowledge.
Similarly, my first exposure to The Doors was while watching an episode of Family Ties with my mom in which Michael J. Fox sings along to Light My Fire. I remember my mother saying, “that was a great song” and as before, though I was hearing it for the first time, it was clear to me that the song had some affect on her. Regardless of the content of the show, the song is what stood out for her. There must be something to that, and sure enough there are beautifully complexities to the keyboards of Ray Manzerek throughout the catalog of The Doors.
I must have somehow passed these on to my son too, because one of the first guitar songs Marcus learned was Money for Nothing and when he wanted to really show off the results of 3 years of lessons and practice, he tackled Sultans of Swing. And taking up these new challenges did not take away from his progress on the piano as he simultaneously tackled the intricacies of Riders on The Storm (while singing no less!) and the theme to Interstellar by Hanns Zimmer.
And those other two guys, playing on Sultans, they’re his teachers. They’re the kind of teachers who, when kids come to them with pie-in-the-sky dreams, react with an emphatic “Hell yeah, let’s go for it!” They provide constant encouragement, guidance, and expertise and yet remain focused on letting the student shine.
And if that wasn’t enough, the band he plays in with his brother and friends joined with the acapella group to do Bohemian Rhapsody.
Speaking of his brother, Jared has assumed my love of punk music and that manifested in his performance of 21 Guns by Green Day, where he too takes his first foray into vocal performances while also playing guitar.
Blindness
Me on social media: So, for 3-8 hours after my optometrist appointment, I will effectively be blind. What activities are available for the temporarily visually impaired without supervision?
My friends: Quality time…with yourself….What’s it gonna do, make you blinder? 🙂