me

Hubble 5/31/19

From the Mouths of Babes

In the wake of COVID-19, many of us have taken up new projects and hobbies. My niece, who is 12 and wise beyond her years, is no different.

She recently began a weekly newsletter which she sends to family members and friends. Part of me (as do parents, I imagine) still sees her as the tiny little thing: spunky and adorable. And while I guess she remains spunky, she is neither tiny nor adorable in the sense that she’s a young adult. Yuck. She’s also smart, creative, and very bright.

I’ve been as supportive as I can be of her and her new project, offering to help as I can. So, in our most recent email exchange, referencing my undergraduate degree in philosophy, she asked me if I “had any ideas” about a piece she’s thinking about on the “purpose of humanity.”

Let me repeat. She’s 12.

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It might come as a surprise to some, but I used to have a social life. Shocking, I know. But it’s true.

I used to have a group of friends with whom I spent a lot of time. They moved away years ago to pursue their lives. Their careers. I stayed in Hawaii to pursue mine.

Katja & Macy

Katja & Macy

This is from April 2008. I don’t recall who the blonde on the left is, but the other two are Katja and Macy. They were married a few years after this was taken.

Above is me, of course, and Becky. She also eventually married….

There were a few others in our little group who, for whatever reason, aren’t included in the pictures from this outing. Back then, we frequently spent our evenings together, so I don’t remember the specifics of this one. Needless to say, it looks like drinking was involved and a good time was had by all.

Here’s another post of a bunch of us from back in the day.

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A Sad, if Not Unexpected, Day

I woke up this morning to sad, if not unexpected, news. My candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, Bernie Sanders, has suspended his campaign.

In response to a friend’s disappoint this morning, I wrote this:

I’m equal parts angry and sad.

I didn’t see a path forward for Bernie, so I’m sad not angry he’s dropped out. But I AM angry at the persistence of a social-political structure that will claim victory and do little more than inch forward.

It seems the liberal-democratic establishment learned little from 2016 and I do fear Trump will wipe the floor with Biden.

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While I continue to struggle to write daily, these videos are becoming easier to do. For one, I enjoy the process of looking for songs to do and learning (if necessary) the lyrics. For another, now that I’ve refreshed my memory on how to actually edit them in Premiere Pro, they’re pretty easy to make.

I don’t have any particular attachment to this song and so I don’t have much to say about it. “A Favor House Atlantic” is performed by Coheed and Cambria and is on their album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.

I think it’s just a fun pop-rock song. Though iTunes classifies the genre as “Alternative & Punk.”

So for your enjoyment, here’s my Music Monday video:

 

And if you’re interested in seeing Coheed and Cambria’s video, here it is:

 

Happy Monday!

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A Ha's Take On Me

Though I guess I am technically a child of the ’80s, I didn’t hit my teen years until the early ’90s and it wouldn’t be until later in that decade when I would find an appreciation for 80’s music.

Everyone may have their own ideas about which songs, artists best define the music of the decade. And I would have to wonder about anyone who doesn’t have A Ha’s “Take On Me” on their list. The song, along with their famous, era-defining music video would certainly have to be counted among the art defining the ’80s.

As I get older and we move further and further from that turbulent decade, I find more and more appreciation for the music that came out of the ’80s. “Take On Me” is no exception.

I had intended to share my own lip-sync of this song, but it seems the copyright holder has blocked the content outright. So in lieu of that, I hope you enjoy the original.

I may try to upload “my” video to my website directly, but that will take more time than I’m willing to commit right now. Sorry.

If you were really hoping to see me, here’s the first one I did all the way back in October of 2016.

I’ll have to do more of these so I have a catalog just in case this keeps happening…. In the meantime, enjoy it. And happy Music Monday!

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