Hey...That Was My Idea

 I subscribe to an app called, App Advice Daily. It's a place that highlights free apps you can download and a new list of apps appears every day. Most of the time I just scan the three or four choices, then move on. A majority of the apps are not for me, and that's okay.

The other day, however, I saw an app that caught my attention. It's called Riff, and some of the descriptions of the app sounded familiar...

Because I thought about creating something like this decades ago.

This was long before apps were a thing. 

I envisioned a website where musicians could open a file of music. In that file would be tracks laid down by other musicians across the globe. It might have ten drum tracks, eight rhythm guitar tracks, twelve lead guitar tracks, five bass tracks, and seven keyboard tracks. The musician could then make up and add a track to the song--even a vocal track with your own lyrics. Or, the musician could open a new file and start a totally new song. What was really cool is you wouldn't even need to be a musician. You could open a file and mix-and-match already existing tracks to create a song from what people had already created. There could literally be millions of possibilities.

I chose a domain name and called the site: Jam Mixer.

Of course, I never made the website and I let the domain name lapse. 

I don't believe Riff is what I was thinking, but from the description, it and my idea were ways for musicians all over the world to collaborate. So, the idea wasn't exactly mine...but close.

Give Thanks...For Sacrifice

 There are a lot of crap things found in social media...but since there's opposition in all things, I suppose it can be a force for good. I found something written by a friend, a fellow performer, and a soldier.

I felt it appropriate for the day before Memorial Day. The following is used with his permission.

Memorial Day 2021 - Finding Your Thermopylae

I have a tradition with students, Cadets, Soldiers, etc. of giving a “Last Lecture”, - a PPT with images and videos that illustrates my so-called “Ten Lessons for Life.” They include things like being a good neighbor, being humble, not sweating the small stuff, and more. Rule 7, however, is on my mind today this Memorial Day, as it is, “Find Your Thermopylae.”

You see, around 480 BC in a coastal mountain pass in Greece, 300 Spartans, led by their King, Leonidas, stood against an overwhelming and daunting Persian Force, and accepted a certain death mission to protect their retreating compatriots, delay the Persians, and indirectly inspire legend, other city-states, and Hollywood. More importantly for my lesson, they became an archetype for individuals literally willing to die for a cause. The challenge I give those who cross my classroom thresholds is to find THEIR Thermopylae - to ask themselves what are THEY willing to die for.

Now, I sincerely hope none of my charges is ever forced to make that horrific exchange, but I think it important to evaluate what things we would “stand at Thermopylae” to protect. Within the military (and most of the time outside as well) I’ve observed that the top three answers are always, “Family, God, and Country,” with fellow Veterans usually coming in fourth. What becomes the poignant and sometimes uncomfortable part of the lesson is when I follow up the question “What are you willing to die for?” with, “What are you willing to LIVE for?” Many have said they’d die for their country, but don’t vote, or take an active role in their country’s future (i.e. give up time to improve their country). They say they’d die for their family, yet ignore family members’ pleas or needs (often avoiding them). There are those who stand by their religion or faith “Til death,” but don’t live it in how they treat others, legislate, or behaved during this Pandemic year. Many would “take a bullet” for a Battle Buddy, but not a phone call.

So what’s the point? Memorial Day is a time set aside to honor those who wore, served in, and died in, a uniform. It honors those who, for whatever their reasons may be, found their “Thermopylae.” For me, it’s also a reminder of what their Thermopylae’s were - what things they truly died to protect, preserve, or promote. It’s a bit trite to merely reduce such things to “freedom” or “justice,” as the actualities are far more complex and nuanced. Further, those at the helm often have less honorable intentions or ideals. The fact, however, remains that there are those who gave their own futures for the one we currently hold and shape, and today I am in meditative contemplation on how we live for that things they died for. When we don’t protect basic freedoms, attack each others’ essential liberties, or ignore the volatility around us, it may be that we are figuratively trampling what they actually fought and died for. They may have carried flags, worn uniforms, and proudly sung an anthem but I guarantee that piece of cloth, or bit of song isn’t what they died for. I believe, and would propose, that the true duty we owe is in making this a country worth fighting and dying for, and in celebrating the joys that they don’t get to today.

“If flowers are all we bring them now, then they have died in vain.

If tears are all we shed for them, forgotten they remain.

If by their courage we ourselves to courage are not led...

Then needlessly these graves have closed above our heroes dead.” - Edgar A. Guest

And to Brent, Josh, Joe, Kim, Lori, Ashley, Oscar, Fernando, Liam, Sakhidad, and far too many more to name or count... I’m sorry. I miss you. And I mourn you. You should have lived longer had the world been a better place. You found your Thermopylae, and now await Valhalla. May the rest of us find ours...

Happy Memorial Day

Josh Curtis

Josh wears the uniform and teaches those that share that commitment. My father also wore the uniform and worked at the same place Josh works now. I'll bet they'd have been good friends, had they met. Thanks Josh for the words, for the friendship, and especially for your example. I hope I'll be able to remember your words tomorrow, and always.

Putting In A Yard...

 We planned for two sessions...we figure we'd need both to put down all the newly-cut and purchased sod delivered yesterday afternoon. We planned on working Friday night--last night--for as long as we had sunlight, then we'd get up Saturday morning--this morning--and finish the job. 

We put out invitations, to family first, then to others. Family were to come on Friday night, the others...Saturday morning.

Turns out, we didn't need the others.

Family took care of everything.

It's been a while since we had to put down sod on our property. The last time we did this was at our old house years and years ago. We enlisted family and friends back then, too. Last night family arrived only minutes after the grass was delivered. By nightfall, the last patch of sod was slid then stamped into place. We all rested and admired the new yard.

Thank goodness for family.

For fun, my wife thought it would be a visual treat to set up a camera and capture a time-lapse video. I set up my phone on a tripod just as we focused on the back yard. My wife was right...it was a visual treat. Thank you to all who helped out last night and for those who volunteered for this morning, but were not needed. Putting in a yard is a lot of work and we're not done yet but we're on our way.

Remembering The Small Things...

 We were only there a few minutes, but man...it felt good to be back. Immortal Works, a publisher to whom I owe so much, sponsored a homeschool conference this week. I was scheduled to sign books tonight (Friday...) but we had sod coming this afternoon so I was re-scheduled to sign on Thursday afternoon.

Haven't had the chance to do that in over a year.

Since 2013 I've attended at least a couple of conventions a year and been able to sign books at those events. Part of the fun of attending is hanging out with fellow authors, swapping stories, and just having a good time. Sometimes, it got boring--I'm not going to lie, and sometimes you tried and tried for hours on end to sell a book and it didn't happen, but there's a feeling you get when you pick up a pen and a book that you wrote and sign your name.

Those are the some of the small things you remember, and things you miss as an author, at least, they are for me.

Even though we didn't stay as long as we expected (because other vendors began shutting down for the day not long after we arrived...), the short time we were there...was great.

Never Worked SO Hard For...A Steak

 

"Hey...what do you think about barbecuing this weekend?"

My wife asked me the seemingly innocent question last week.

"Should be fine--we have half a bag of quick-light charcoal (should be enough...), and we've got almost a full bag of the non-quick-light stuff." I said "should be fine" because I thought I would be. The weekend came, I dug out the grill from the garage, brought it outside, dumped the quick-light charcoal inside, added a couple of the non-quick-light briquettes that would hopefully ignite, and retrieved the matches.

There was one thing I did not factor into my response, one aspect I did not--but should have--foreseen.

The wind.

It blows up here...the wind, I mean.

And it blows hard...the wind, I mean.

I thought the quick-light charcoal would light. Nope...I think the briquettes were too old. I tried so many times to get those started. The second the wind would die down, I would quickly light a match and the wind would kick back up. I even dumped twenty or so matches on the charcoal to try and overwhelm the charcoal with heat. Nope.

Because we moved recently, things we always knew where they were could be anywhere, or worse yet, they could have been discarded and not made the move with us. We almost gave up on barbecued steaks, but we went to search for lighter fluid, something we had at the old house and hoped it was in our new house. After a few moments...success. I went outside, flooded the charcoal with fluid and with one match, began to fulfill the promise I made to my wife.

To cut this already-too-long story short...the steaks were delicious.

If You Haven't Yet...Give The Legendarium Podcast A Chance

 I listened to the latest episode from The Legendarium Podcast today. If you're not familiar with the podcast and you like all things nerd and geeky--especially books and movies centering around the fantasy and SciFi genres--you'll love this group. Here's the synopsis of their latest discussion:

The Legendarium Podcast|5/25/2021

Ryan, Craig, Kenn, and Todd are together again, this time to spin the Wheel of Tangents. They take on completely random topics in and out of the SFF fold, including fantasy fashion, amusement park food, issues of distance in sci-fi, absurd dream house features, and much, much more.

I must admit--I don't listen to all the podcasts, especially when they're deconstructing a book I haven't read or they're discussing something I'm not interested in. Though, it's rare when that happens. This latest episode reminded me of when I first found them...obvious friends sitting around chatting, chewing the fat, shooting the bull (sometimes, a lot of bull...). Of the four, I've performed several times with three of them. And, years ago, I was fortunate enough to be included in one of their discussions.

Fast forward several years. They've evolved in their discussions, they've expanded their interests (or the interests they share...), and they've added more experts, some I know, others I don't, but even with the changes, the core of the show remains the same. If you'd like to check out the blog, the podcast, and even support their endeavors, click: HERE for more information. 

I've blogged about this group before. Today, listening to my friends, it reminded me of why I like them so much.

Man...I've Missed Seeing This

 Sunday afternoon. I was chilling, doing a little web surfing, when I came across people on social media talking about Phil.

That meant Phil Mickelson.

I knew the PGA Championship was on, but I wasn't into it. I hadn't followed any of the previous days's action. Plus, Tony Finau wasn't in the running to win so I wasn't paying attention. Still, the Phil posts kept coming. I like Phil...we have something in common--we both golf left-handed (which is about it...) And, he seems like a good guy, at least, to the casual golf fan.

I pulled up the end of the tournament.

It was glorious.

And I saw something I'd missed.

Phil basically had the win buttoned up. Unless he triple-bogied the last hole, it was his. Though his final shots were great, what was amazing was the crowd. I could almost feel their excitement, their joy of being there, watching history, and also being part of that history.

I've missed seeing people smile. 

We've not had a lot to smile about lately. Hate seems to be what we're supposed to be feeling. Humans are best when they don't hate, when they're not told to hate, when they're not forced to hate. I saw a happy golfer and I saw throngs of happy people watching a game of golf.

I hope I see more smiles...the world's better when we smile.

Time To Include This Song...Again

 I don't know where I first heard this hymn, but some music just reaches you, speaks to you on a different level. For me, this is one of those songs. Apparently, I'm not the only one. This particular hymn is a favorite of many, or so I'm told. The song was part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint's collection of hymns, but since 1985 it's not been included.

I think it's time for a change.

I heard a while back that the LDS Church is considering revamping their hymnal. It might even be completed--I don't know. A change after almost forty years sounds reasonable--probably a good time for a change. I wonder if they'll include Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing as an "official" selection.

Deciding what would be included and what won't be included must be a tough job. You're never going to please everyone. Imaging if a new hymnal comes out next year or the year after that and this song is not included, well...I'll be one that's not pleased. Let's say they do include the song and there are people out there who hate it. They won't be pleased...pleasing everyone is an impossibility.

I heard one time that the reason the hymn was not included when the new hymnal came out in 1985 was because it wasn't popular. I say give it another shot--see if people like it or if congregations will sing it. Hopefully, they will, but if not, then maybe they were right back then.

Time will tell.

Give Thanks...Bill Davies

 Bill Davies passed away last week.

And I'm a better person for knowing him.

When I think of Bill, one memory stands out. On a warm summer day, July, 2007, I watched a float pass by in our local parade, a float presenting and marketing a community theater. Driving the vehicle that pulled the parade float was Bill Davies. By that time I had performed in a half a dozen productions for that theater, so I walked to where all the floats parked at the of the parade to chat with my friends from the theater.

Though I most likely spoke with others, I can only remember speaking with one person. It was bill, still in the float-pulling truck.

"Hi, Bill," I said and he smiled back, recognizing me as a fellow community theater actor.

Then Bill said, "Sorry to hear about your mom."

My mom had passed away a few short weeks earlier, from the same cancer that claimed Bill. I was one of hundreds--perhaps thousands--of people who had entered those doors and performed on that stage, but Bill knew of our family's pain and reached out to me and offered comfort. That's they type of man Bill is. For as long as I live, I hope to always remember Bill's humanity. May God bless and comfort his wonderful wife and beautiful family. And so many more, for I'm not only person who is better for knowing him. Thanks, Bill--love you, man.

Changes Happen...Those Two Will Be Missed At Immortal Works

 

Immortal Works is an amazing and wonderful organization. I've been involved with them in one form or another almost since its inception. I knew the people who created the publication company before they decided to start the business. Then, they decided to publish my first novel, Chaser...one of their first books.

But, things change...

Not the organization, per se, but in some of the people who run the show, who I've worked with, who I admire. Two people are leaving their jobs with the company. I know they'll be replaced and the new people will most likely do an incredible job, but the two that are leaving did such a great job, it's going to be a little strange.

Working for a small start-up is tough. You're a small fish in an ocean, and you have to fight for each sale, each contact, each impression. You're definitely paddling against the tide. But, looking back at the amount of work these two did, it puts into perspective just how hard those jobs are.

In the time they worked for the company, the numbers of books sold, of social media reaches, and the reputation of the company as a whole has greatly increased. Also, the quality of the stories, the diversity of the genres, the talents of the authors improved as well. It's staggering to see where this little publishing company was before these two employees started and where it is now.

I can't be alone thinking they won't be missed. I know each wants to focus on other things--writing projects, family. These are noble pursuits. But so is the work they did with the company. I wish them well, and I thank them for all that hard work they've done.

Man...They Work Hard

 My wife and I went out for Date Night a few hours ago. We decided to go to the closest restaurant to our house and pick up dinner. We waited in line. We ordered, then we sat down and waited while three employees prepared our dinners.

Man...they work hard.

Not only did they have several waiting in line for their food, but the establishment also has a drive-thru option...something I did not know about (next time I think we'll use that so we don't have to get out of our van in a rainstorm...). I watched those three employees putting together meals as fast as they could. If you live in an area like mine, you probably see "Help Wanted' signs on almost every restaurant and fast food place nowadays. Truth be told--I wouldn't want that job.

I know that many of these fast food jobs are starter jobs, places where people can get an appreciation for hard work, to manage money, and to learn that not all jobs are the same--maybe you can find a career you not only like, but can excel in. These jobs are important and they play a role in our society.

My wife and I worked hard today...hard manual labor/moving rocks/shoveling dirt/pulling weeds work. We're putting in our yard and we've got one week until the grass shows up. We have to be ready. Tomorrow we'll probably do the same thing. Both my wife and I were tuckered out as we sat and watched these employees make our dinners.

"That's hard work," I told my wife. She agreed. Tonight, I'm so glad people are willing and able to do those jobs--especially tonight...the food was delicious.

Remember...Don't Overload

 It's Garbage Night...or, more technically, Pre-Garbage Day. Before I go to bed tonight I'll need to do a sweep of the house and empty trash cans in the bedrooms and bathrooms. That way, depending on when the garbage truck arrives tomorrow morning, I won't need to worry about it.

The other day in the mail, we received a flyer...one of those "To Current Resident" mailers all current residents get. It was from the city reminding us of the rules when it comes to proper garbage can etiquette. One thing, however, caught my attention...

Containers CANNOT be overloaded.

Good metaphor for life.

Today I found another one of those memories that I posted on this day a few years ago. It just happened to be a picture of an obviously overloaded garbage can, overloaded with tall grass. Truth be told, I did not the leave the garbage can that way--I did break down all those tall grasses so it fit...well, sort of fit. I don't think Tremonton City would have approved how the garbage can turned out that day.

Yes...like containers, it's not good to be overloaded...at least, not too much anyway.

Congrats To Jim...And His Wonderful One-Year Old Baby!

 If you know Jim Christian, you know certain things about him. You know he's a passionate individual--passionate about many things. He loves the theater. He loves music. He loves laughing. He loves creating magic and getting the most out of those he directs and teaches...

And he loves Disney...all things Disney.

So, when I heard Jim was going to start a podcast about all things Disney, I knew certain things. I knew he'd make it as professional and entertaining as possible. I knew he'd try and share his love of Disney to as many people as possible. I knew he'd have wonderful guests and he'd make those guests's experience as fun as possible--for both them and the audience.

And I knew he'd stick with it.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Jim's podcast, That Old Mouse Magic Podcast. If I missed any episodes, it wasn't many. There's much I've learned about Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other theme parks across the globe, and the other Disney venues, cruise ships, resorts, etc. I've learned about which rides are the best, a lot of history behind the parks, the rides, and the food. And I'm not a self-described "Disney geek" and still enjoy the stories and the memories of others.

The hardest part of any venture is dedication. Jim is a busy man. I'm sure there's other things he could do--other things that also bring joy to people, but he's continued pushing out episodes, doing interviews, even creating an online store for his show. And it doesn't sound like he's slowing down a bit.

Congratulations Jim! May you keep that magic flowing.

Sometimes...We Wish We Could Have Chickens

 Back where we used to live, we could have raised chickens. We had enough land to have chickens, but we never pulled the trigger. There were times we thought about raising goats or other animals. We did not have enough land for that.

When we found the area where we wanted to move, we revisited the "maybe we should get chickens" idea. The new area is even more of a rural area than where we lived. Lots of chickens, horses, goats, sheep, even llamas up here. We found a house with enough land to put up a chicken coop (maybe one similar to that found in the picture...).

Problem...

One of the rules for the subdivision is: no chickens.

Raising chickens is like other things that require time and effort. Before, I kept thinking about what would be do with the chickens if we were to go out of town for a week. We'd need to get someone to take care of the animals when we were gone. The funny thing is, if we had gotten chickens at the old house, we'd never have to get anyone to watch the chickens because we really never left for any extended period of time. Now, that chance is over.

No more chickens.

Sometimes...Time Stands Still

I did a little surfing today on social media today. I was reminded of a picture I took in the past. When I saw the picture today and especially when I saw the date when I took the picture, it kind of shocked me. The picture I took seven years ago, but--in my opinion--it could have been taken yesterday. Just for comparison, I did take a picture of my daughter on her twenty-first birthday last month.

Two pictures separated by seven years.

Time appears to be standing still.

Another group of photos illustrated my point, but to a lesser degree. This time, it's me that's the subject of two photos. I opened up an e-mail account I had not accessed in years, my student e-mail account at Weber State University. When I went to "settings" there was a picture of me. Once again, I was taken back a little. This picture was used on my student I.D. card when I started graduate school...

In 2007.

The difference between my two pictures is fourteen years so there's more of a difference. I'll bet, though, if I take a picture of my daughter seven years from now, she'll most likely look almost exactly the same.

Time, of course, will tell.

New Holland Boomer 24...I Sing Your Praises

 

Sure, I'd driven and operated a backhoe before, but never as if the job depended on it--there were always better operators who could make that incredible machine literally move mountains, albeit small ones. But I had never been tasked with the responsibility of taking a piece of equipment and putting in a yard.

I must say, renting the New Holland Boomer 24 from Butters Equipment was a Godsend.

It was funny--we saw the tractors waiting to be rented in the parking lot of Butters Equipment. You just needed to pull up your truck and drive it away. Problem--we have no truck. No problem--Ryan at Butters said he'd be glad to drop it off at our house. It arrived at 8am and with only a few breaks, we worked that Boomer 24 until 4pm. It ran like a charm.

First, we picked up and relocated rocks...lots of rocks. When the top soil showed up, the rock relocater became the dirt depositor. We ordered 24 yards of top soil. Now, that top soil is spread out over three sides of our house. In the next two weeks we'll be raking, shoveling, and spreading it out, smoothing it, creating a carpet pad for grass.

We could have moved it by wheelbarrow and that would have taken days, or even weeks. The Boomer 24 handled the project with ease. And, because the wheelbase of the 24 is relatively narrow, I could maneuver the blue beast nimbly around buried sprinklers already in place. Yes...I'm a fan.

When Ryan dropped off the 24, I casually asked him what a New Holland Boomer 24 costs. He said around $15k, give or take. Now, we don't have that kind of money to spend on a tractor, but if I did...we'd have a shiny 24 in our garage right now. But since we don't, we'll have to rent it again...

If the need arises.

Some People Still Make Beautiful Things...

 My son and his wife found some amazing and beautiful gifts to give my wife and mother-in-law on Mother's Day this year. They know local artists who create pottery. They bought some of that pottery as gifts.

Beautiful.

I've always thought that humans have an innate urge to create, be it art, an impact, even children. Everyone...on some level...creates. We create memories for others and ourselves. Some create miracles and some create problems. Actually, I guess we all do both.

And some make pottery. I suppose when we start out making our art, we think about how many people is it going to reach. Will there be a huge demand, or any demand at all? And if the demand is big, will you make money--serious money--from your hard work? And if that happened, would they sell out for a big payday and allow others to mass produce their art? Artists think about these things. I know I do from time to time. Then again, if you're only making art for the money, you're sort of cheating in a way...cheapening the process.

Looking at the gifts from my son and daughter-in-law, I thought of the Rasmussens, putting in the work, creating amazing things. It renewed my faith in humanity a little bit more.

First Impressions..."Shadow And Bone"

 How much can you tell from just one show? There are SO many shows out there. Movies, series, limited series, even podcasts and webcasts...it can be--and it is--overwhelming. So, when we see an ad for yet another product vying for our ever limited time, the ad better be good because the person who saw your ad also saw hundreds of other things.

We're not necessarily anti-new. My wife and I have also checked out some new comedy series and we gave them thumbs down...not funny, or it seems they've sacrificed humor for social awareness.

I admit--I'm a little leery of new fantasy shows. I love the fantasy genre, even though I don't read enough of it. I've been burned by some fantasy series in the past, even if I'm a fan of the source material. I saw an ad for a new show, Shadow and Bone, based on the books by Leigh Bardugo (which I haven't read...yet) and it looked intriguing. I thought I'd give it a shot. Add to the mix a glowing recommendation from an author/friend Kevin Anderson, it increased my interest.

So, I watched Episode 1.

I thought it was great. The set-up was simple, yet fascinating. There's a world where societies are separated by a Shadow Fold...basically, a void. Voids, by nature, are scary. So is this one. In fact, it's terrifying. Some citizens of this world have magical powers. Some don't. In Episode 1 there's evil thugs, waring armies, secrets, and best friends from childhood now adults caught in this amazing world.

There's SO much riding on that first show, that first impression. Careers are made or destroyed over the success or failure of that one show. Yes, we've tried new shows before...some good, some okay, some terrible. Even though I've only watched one episode of Shadow and Bone, I'm going to watch more.

Yes...It's A Daunting Task

 Tomorrow, it's going to get crazy around here. At 8am a truck will roll up our street pulling a tractor--a small tractor--but a tractor none the less. There will also be two dump trucks hauling top soil that will be left on the street in front of our house.

Then, the fun begins.

It'll also be a day of firsts. It's the first time we rented a machine to help with the yard work. Years ago I did some work on a backhoe putting in roads on an excavation crew. The tractor is substantially smaller than the backhoe but I didn't have to worry about running over sprinkler heads or breaking open a water main back then. I will tomorrow.

I've got to say, it's a little daunting just thinking about it.

We rented the tractor for eight hours. I have no idea how much we can get done in eight hours. We have dozens (or more...) rocks to move. I have no idea if that will be an easy task or not. I guess I need to just calm down, get a good night's sleep, and get it out of my mind. I mean, tomorrow's coming, so is the tractor and the dirt. There will be a learning curve, but hopefully, it won't be steep. 

These are the "before" shots of our back yard. Hopefully, the landscape will look different soon.

When Was The Last Time You...?

 

Sure, they're still there, at gas stations, grocery stores, McDonalds, and at one time we used to frequent these amazing kiosks on a regular basis...

But, not much anymore.

It's not that the product the red Redbox boxes push has changed, but I think the way we--and by "we" I mean, our family--has changed. Case in point, after we moved, we unpacked our DVD and BluRay players, but we never hooked them up. It wouldn't take much to plug in the HDMI cable and throw in a disk, but it's just something we haven't done and I don't know when we will.

When I say my first Redbox kiosk, I was blown away. I thought it was one of the most amazing things anyone had produced. Sure, the movies were not first-run. To see those movies, you'd need to go to the megaplex across the street, but for a couple of bucks (and availability, of course...), you could watch movies that came out a few months earlier in the comfort of your own home. I even remember seeing a new DVD kiosk for sale and I think it was around $3k at the time. I even thought at the time it would be cool to buy one of these kiosks and go into the vending business. 

That was a long time ago. Things change. Even before we moved, we used Redbox less and less because, well...there were so many new movies that we didn't want to watch. We may be in the minority here, but there wasn't anything for us. We usually went home and re-watched something we either had in our DVD library or found something online.

Yes, the boxes are still there and they still have movies. They must be there because people still use them. I wonder, though, if one day the Redbox kiosk will become the new public pay phone. Those used to be everywhere, too...

I guess time will tell.

Teaching A Not So Old Dog...A New Trick

 Dogs are smart...

Not with all things, but with some things. Case in point, after I've put in my ten hours at work I will venture outside to retrieve the mail. And our dog has taken notice. He watches me as I get up to go out the front door and he waits. Then, when I come in, he knows what I have in my hand...he knows that if there is something in my hand, there's a good chance, he'll get to rip it apart.

Our dog has learned when the mail arrives.

I'll come in--he zeros in on the mail. He'll follow me into the front room where he waits. I'll look at the mail, the bills, the coupons, then the ads. It's the ads he wants. Sometimes, we'll want to keep an ad so we have to tell him he can't have that particular piece of mail. 

Still, he waits.

Patiently, he'll sit looking at us look at the mail, hoping the oil change notice or the latest cell phone or satellite offer will eventually be his to destroy. I don't have to tell you, he had a great time during the last months of the election.

As long as we keep getting shiny mail--and we have the dog--he'll be waiting to see if anything came for him.

Being A Photography Geek...I LOVE This!

 I saw a post the other day...the tag line caught my attention:

The World's Largest Photo of New York City

I mean, that's like crack to a photo junkie. I clicked on the link and I could spend hours--literally--hours looking at this photograph...and I've only been to airports in New York City. If you want to check out the site for yourself, click: HERE. You may have seen photos with super-high resolution before. In this photo of NYC you can zoom in and see make and model of cars and individual people walking the streets miles from the Empire State Building where the camera is positioned.

Of course, there's a dark side to everything. I suppose at any given time we're being photographed. I live in a very small town, but I'm sure there is camera surveillance all over even in this small town. It would probably surprise me, but it shouldn't.

Having said that, I still love the technology. There's a good chance I will probably never see NYC again in person. This site allows me to see things I can't see otherwise, see parts of New York they don't show in movies or TV shows. I think it's pretty cool.

Give Thanks...The Story Had A Happy Ending

 

If you live in our neck of the woods, you may have heard of a situation last week concerning a lost hiker, and if you were following the reports, you know how it ended.

It didn't end that way for my cousin's family when their son went missing on a hike. For them, tears were shed...tears of sadness. The tears from the recent emergency were tears of joy, of prayers answered, of a successful search. Living, as we did, in that small town, we knew the neighborhood from which the hiker originated...our neighborhood. We recognized faces on the news of the searchers, of those hiking the mountain for signs--hopefully positive--of the person we know from a family we love. I wish I could have helped them search.

This weekend, I'm grateful that of all the outcomes that could have happened, the outcome that did happen was the one many worked for, and that we all wished and prayed for. If you spent any time on social media today, you were inundated with photos and thoughts of thanks for the mothers in their lives. I'm glad for one neighbor family, this year's Mother's Day had a happy ending.

Waving "High"...To Strangers

 Waving to the neighbors...a common tradition, I believe, in most places. I know we did it where we used to live. It didn't happen all that much because we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac and not many drove by. But even when it happened, when our neighbors took a drive down our street, we'd wave.

And they waved back.

We moved last fall, and have not spent a lot of time outside until this spring. We are currently putting in a sprinkling system and we are finding ourselves outside more and more, especially in the front yard. Last week and this week, we've been out front digging holes, checking sprinklers, and planting trees. We've also seen numerous cars driving by our house. And when they do, we wave to them.

And they wave back.

The difference is, for most of the drivers in those cars, trucks, four-wheelers, and motorcycles, we don't now the people. They're strangers. Thanks to covid, we haven't been able to get out and meet many of our neighbors. We hope to get to know the people who have been driving by and waving sometime soon. But for now, we'll continue waving to those who drive by.

And--I'm sure--they'll continue waving back.

I See Small Bottled People...

 In our new house, we have a couple of things we've lived without for decades. When we built our house almost twenty years ago, we opted not to put in a fireplace. As we lived in that house, it was something we wished we had done, especially when the power went out in the winter--it would have been nice to have a secondary heating source.

So, we found a new house that had a fireplace and a fireplace mantel, two of the things we didn't have for a long time. We love both. But, when it's not Christmas (or in our house, Halloween...), the mantel looks a tad bare. That's why my wife found some nice home decor items that add a touch of class to the mantel, the fireplace, and the entire room.

Trouble is, she inadvertently encased in glass a couple of what appears to be little hobgoblins. One looks like Jack Skellington, though not a skinny one, and the other reminds me of a foot soldier holding a shield. Yes, you sort of have to look use your imagination a little bit to see them, but every time I look at the glass containers at a certain angle, they're there.

Of course, there aren't little people in our decorative jars. It's just a coincidence the dried flowers and yarn balls and other things she bought to fill the jars just happened to be placed just so, and those placements just happened to look like a couple of entities now reside on our fireplace mantel.

I guess it's all how you look at it.

I've Often Wondered If They Should Bring Back Firefly...I'm Re-Thinking My Opinion

 There's an opinion I've had about the long-defunct TV series Firefly. It's not a popular opinion, and I have very little evidence to back it up, but here it is...

I believe canceling was one of the best things that could have happened to the series.

For many, that's sacrilege, blasphemy, a bad thing to think, let alone, say.

When I say, it was a good thing, I only mean it thrust the show into a very special place, a place of reverence, of honor. It became more than it was because of the untaped and unrealized potential...what could have been. Each fan of the show has thought this...considered this.

Myself included.

Since the show was given such an undignified ending, we all have an idea of the show continuing--of Mal and the crew fighting injustice with irreverence, Chinese cursing, and humor. I think those lofty aspirations of a show discontinued would never be fully realized had the show been allowed to continue. That's why--my opinion, of course--it's probably best to let show, the stories, the world die. After all, a key character was killed in the movie, Serenity, and an actor of the series has since passed away. Many of the actors have gone on to other projects...I don't think that original magic can be resurrected, and if it was tried, it would be a poor imitation.

But I think I'm changing my mind.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been watching the Firefly series as I work out, about fifteen minutes at a time. After watching the series this time, I think they could bring back the series and have it not shatter those "what if" expectations we all have. The reason I think this is because the world building is so good. And if you've constructed a believable world, you can get new characters to fill that world.

Every now and then, there's a new rumor about the show coming back. In the past, I've thought that would be a mistake. Now, I'd welcome a new series. Whether or not that ever happens, who knows? If not, at least we'll still have our "what could have beens."

So Next Time People Ask, "Is That Your Photo The News Posted On Instagram?" I Can Say...Yup

Having a somewhat popular name comes with the potential for interesting experiences. Years ago someone with my name was hit by a car that his wife was driving while they were both drunk and arguing (it didn't help that man with my name lived in the same town as me...).

Not always are the stories so extreme. With the advent of social media, if a person with my name posts something, it has the potential to be seen by billions of people. Take, for example, Scott Taylor, the photographer. Yes, there are a lot of Scott Taylor photographers out there including me, but there's one specific photographer from the Salt Lake area and he's amazing. His shots are so amazing, so much so, that many are picked up by the local news media. I hope it's okay to post here, but if you're interested in seeing some of these pictures on his Instagram account, you can see them by clicking: HERE.

Every once in a while I'll get a message from a friend--a friend who knows I dabble in photography--and they'll ask me if the beautiful photo they saw on the news or online was mine.

In the past, I've always said, "No."

But...maybe I don't have to say that now.

At least, for one photo I took.

Earlier, I posted a photo looking east in the early evening after a storm. I think it turned out great, so great I decided to submit it to a local TV station's website. Turns out, someone at the station liked it and posted it on their website and Instagram account.

I don't submit many photos and I don't see that changing any time soon. Still, for once, if anyone asks me if that photo taken by a Scott Taylor was mine, I can say, "Yup."

There's A New Author Website Out There...Bennion Ellsworth

 Scrolling through Facebook today I came upon a post from a writer acquaintance. He's created a new website to highlight him and his works.

Good for him!

I met Bennion a few years ago at a school book fair. We got to talking and it turns out I know both his parents. Another interesting fact...both his parents speak Danish, and neither are Danes. There was a time, decades ago, when the three of us roamed around the Danish countryside, name tags on our clothes and pamphlets in our pockets.

Now, decades later, their son is writing books and making the world a better place. If you want to check out the website, click: HERE. 

Being a writer can be tough. Even if you come up with the most brilliant idea, betting the story written, then edited, then critiqued, then published can seem an overwhelming exercise. So, if you want to check out a new author website, check out Bennion's blog. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Funny How You Learn Things...

 I ran across this picture last month. I'm the first to admit that I don't understand all things, especially things on the internet. This happens a lot because of my age. I guess I'm not "hip" enough to understand all the hidden messages--it's because I don't spend a lot of time checking out the latest things.

This picture showed up. I screenshot it and sent it to my friend (unfortunately, I do not know where I saw it originally...). I saw a dinosaur and a creche--two things you would not normally associate together. It wasn't until I took another look at the screen shot, I learned something knew.

I had no idea what the Miskatonic University is.

I'm learning more about it now.

I am a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. I've read some of his stories and even wrote a short story that was published in an awesome anthology called, Redneck Eldritch. You can order it by clicking: HERE. Many of my writer friends know volumes more about Lovecraft so I'll be they knew about the Miskatonic University. 

From Wikipedia (because the other sites about the university are more examples of self-promotion...):

Miskatonic University is a fictional university located in Arkham, a fictional town in Essex County, Massachusetts. It is named after the Miskatonic River (also fictional). After first appearing in H.P. Lovecraft's 1922 story Herbert West--Reanimator , the school appeared in numerous Cthulu Mythos stories by Lovecraft and other writers. The story The Dunwich Horror implies that Miskatonic University is a highly prestigious university, on par with Harvard University, and that Harvard and Miskatonic are the two most popular schools for the children of the Massachusetts "Old Gentry". The university also appears in role-playing games and board games based on the mythos.

I love how I came upon this information. And thanks to the internet, I was able to find this information immediately. Funny how you learn things.

Give Thanks...Modern Machinery

Yesterday I spent the morning and afternoon in the yard, and because of an incredible machine, we only needed one half of one day to pull all our sprinkler pipes. Those of you who have put in a sprinkling system before (or even if you haven't...) might be thinking, "Big deal. It should only take a few hours."

Um...not where we live.

We live in the Rocky Mountains. The hill on which our house sits isn't exactly a mountain, but it's definitely full of rocks. Last fall I watched our across-the-street neighbors hire a crew to put in their sprinklers. Those poor workers. They trenched, then had to shovel-dig the rest of the way for their PCV system.

We decided on something different.

We hired a neighbor's John Deere 60G.

It worked AMAZINGLY well. We hooked up the pipes to the claw The claw dug into the ground pulling the pipe, and the 60G backed up moving rocks and boulders out of the way as the pipe reached its destination. In a few hours, we were done.

It would have taken at least a day with a trencher, and a month with shovels and picks. Even though I did a lot of shovel digging yesterday, and I was exhausted by the day's end, I am so grateful for modern machines and the incredible people who created them. Literally life saving.

 

The Writing Retreat That Was...

 I survived the week. I didn't write everyday--today, we put in half our sprinkling system, though I could do a little writing tonight. I did not write 50k words, like Husberg (the guy's a machine...), or even 28k like Ritchey (another machine...), or the many many pages produced by the grand marshal Butler himself.

Mine was more modest output.

I was in the 5-6k rang.

When it comes to word count, maybe size doesn't always matter.

I had several first with this writing retreat. I--for the most part--finished a story that I have tried to finish at least two times in the past, at two previous writing retreats. The story contained three storylines told by three main characters. I've never done that before. And I wrote a battle scene involving werepigs (sort of like werewolves, but with pigs...).

I've got to clean it up, tie up some loose ends.

I've had a good couple of months, writing-wise. And I had a good writing retreat week, writing-wise.