Bits and Pieces

Blogging weekly ain't easy.  I know last week's blog was incoherent, at least in places.  I intend to clean it up at some point.  I meant to do it two days ago.

I usually try to get these done Thursday night and set them to publish at close of business Friday.  Right now it is 10:12 PM 5/25/2012 and I am at my brother's house in Gee's Bend, Alabama.  (When asked where it is I usually reply "go to the middle of nowhere, and turn off the paved road.")  This blog may be shorter than usual.  I just want to get it posted by midnight.  Maybe I'll have two incoherent in a row.  That won't surprise anyone.

I do have a topic though.  Some might call it serendipity, or coincidence, or divine guidance.  Looking back I think it was actually inevitable.

A couple of days ago I was talking to my neighbor and mentioned I was making this trip.  She asked what route I would be taking, and I said I'd probably go through Mobile.  So of course we got to talking about cool places along the coast.  I mentioned the FloraBama Lounge (which I still haven't been to.  I've fallen behind in my dive bar exploration.)  She told me about a place called The Shed.  She told me the story behind it, described the place (as much as it CAN BE decribed) and said they had good barbecue.  She did mention that it was at exit 57, on Highway 57, but that didn't mean much to me.

Anyway, I took the day off to come here, dragged around the house and got on the road about 10.  Traffic on the Interstate came to a halt several times for no apparent reason.  Somehow I forgot it was a holiday weekend.  That happens I suppose.  Anyway, traffic had just started moving along in Mississippi, I was planning to stop in Mobile for lunch and gas, I had just checked my GPS (figuring about half an hour) and my clock (it said 1:00. straight up) and looked up to see a sign: The Shed, Exit 57.  Moving into the right lane there was exit 57.  Some things are just meant to be.

I'm not gonna try to describe The Shed.  I know I can't.  Go see it for yourself.  Thank me later.

I have come to prefer sausage over any other barbecue.  I know it's harder to judge, the sausage itself overwhelms the cooking technique, but I like it.  I'll have ribs next time.  There WILL BE a next time.  I had the sausage plate, with collard greens and potato salad.  Over the past half century or so I've had a lot of barbecue.  Over the last decade quite a bit of barbecued sausage.  If I've had better, I don't remember it.  The potato salad may have been the best restaurant potato salad I've ever had.  And I had a diet coke.  The next time it will be a beer.

Anyway, I have 996 days until retirement.  I'm in triple digits now.

Hmmm ..., I wonder what time I'll be passing exit 57 on the way home ....

Now you kids get off my lawn!

Dark Shadows

It occurred to me as I sat in the theater waiting for it to start that it would be impossible for me to "review" this movie.  A review would require me to be impartial, and when it comes to this I cannot be impartial.   But that's never stopped me from shootin' off my mouth, so why should it now.  

It was better than I had feared.  I wish they hadn't played it for comedy, but they did.  I wanted to see it a second time before I wrote this, but life is a lot busier now than when I could spend half a day on the steps of the Lake Theater waiting for the doors to open.  

How do I tell you about it without spoiling it if you haven't seen it?  I don't.  It's not really spoilable.  If you're reading my blog you're probably familiar with the original.  You have a pretty good idea of how it goes.  They definitely have a different take on it, but I think it was in keeping with the spirit of the original.  If you're worried about spoilers go see it, and come back and read this later.

I like the tone they set in the 18th century backstory.  I knew I would.  It was obvious from the trailer.  I wish they had maintained it throughout.  I found Barnabas' discovery of the Mark of Mephistopheles.  If you don't see that coming down sixth avenue I can't help you.

They hooked me on the train.  The original series started with Victoria on a train to Collinsport to start a new life.  After Barnabas was introduced there seemed to be some indecision whether Vicky or Maggie was the romantic interest, and I like the way that was handled.

The second point I appreciated was Barnabas introduction to Victoria.  If I had not been watching the original series on NetFlix I wouldn't have caught this, but they used the exact line from the series.

The seventies tone was well done, even if it was a little over the top.  I found the "business rivalry" had the tone of a seventies prime-time soap opera, Dallas or Dynasty, which was appropriate.  Of course I liked the music.

For some reason I was distracted (by Alice Cooper, I think) and missed the cameos at the door during the ball.  (The main reason I want to see it a second time.)  I have read that Mr. Frid did not enjoy the experience, and that saddens me.

I've had about all I want to see of overblown fight scenes, and in the immortal words of Forrest Gump "that's all I have to say about that."

The ending, also over the top (we're talking about Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, right?) I find more acceptable upon reflection.  When you consider the story of Josette from the original series you'll find we have a complete circle.

It's not the movie I would have wanted.  I hear there is more that will be on the DVD release, and I hope that's more satisfying.  But I don't think they've damaged the franchise.  They didn't "Howard the Duck" it.  There is certainly much more that can be done with this story.  The Collins Family deserves a place in American Mythology.  I hope the next version does the story justice.

And if my math is right I have 1003 days until retirement.  So until then you kids get off my lawn.

Time Flies

Time flies.

It doesn't matter whether or not you're having fun.  Oh, when you're NOT having fun it may seem to drag at the time, but when you look back on it....

Now, if you're younger than me ... you're not reading this.  Who am I kidding?

After years of silent contemplation, I think I've figured it out.  When I was 20 years old, 20 years was a lifetime.  It had been two years since I graduated from high school.  But when I was 40, 20 years ago was last week, and I graduated from high school yesterday.  At 55, I graduated from high school ... yesterday, and 35 years ago was last week.

As I mentioned in my first blog, judging by family history on my father's side, I think I can count on checking out around 80, following a 10 year decline.  Using the time calculations above, check out time is noon tomorrow.

I went to work for the State of Louisiana in 1990, with no intention of actually retiring from the State.  The retirement plan was a good one however, and we've already discussed how short 20 years really is.  Now, 22 years later I'm looking at actually retiring in 1010 days.  If those pinheads in the Le ... t's skate back over where the ice is a little thicker.

Time flies.  

Back in the day, at good ol' Camp Karankawa, we decided to offer the Journalism Merit Badge at Winter Camp.  That was just yesterday, or 27 years ago.  To help our campers fulfil the Merit Badge requirements we published a camp "newspaper."  As is usually the case the tail was soon wagging the dog, and Eric (you readin' this?  Hi, Eric!) and I were soon more worried about filling up the paper than teaching a merit badge.  We decided it would be funny (it amused US anyway) to review movies that hadn't been released yet.  Next week I'll do my first movie review in this blog.

Back in 1970 or '71, I don't remember the date, a movie called "Night of Dark Shadows" was released.  Okay it was released in '70 and made it's way around the country as movies did in those days.  What I don't remember is when it got to The Lake theater in Lake Jackson, Texas.  What I do remember is that I was standing on the steps with the film canisters when the doors opened.  Did I mention I was a "Dark Shadows" fan?  I don't remember whether it hit The Lake in the summer, or whether movies started their run on Saturdays then, but I do remember those film canisters on the porch, and not having anything better to do than wait for the theater to open.  I guess I was ahead of my time.  Today there'd be a thousand other geeks with sleeping bags, everybody would be dressed as characters, we'd have an all night party, the showing would be at midnight, and I'D BE FIRST IN LINE.  I was the cool guy and didn't know it.

I was also at the last showing, and three in between.  For years, "House of Dark Shadows" was tied with "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (which came out a few years before, but I seem to remember after) as the movie I had paid to see the most times.  Five each.  That lasted right up until "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Anyway, I have a committment tonight, and I have to get up early tomorrow.  But I have every intention of adding my cash to their weekend gross, and next week, I will inflict my opinion on any of you who care to read it here.

But until then, YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

Random Thoughts

The only sort of thoughts I seem to have nowadays.  I'm takin' another stab at this.  I'm gonna try to do this weekly.  I should have been working on it for an hour or so, but I've been arguing with Facebook instead.  This newfangled interwebz thingy is workin' on my last nerve.  I was planning to gripe about Blogger, but now I have to gripe about Facebook first.

What's this Timeline crap?  A couple weeks ago I got some message from one of those games y'all play telling me I had to "upgrade" to Timeline so it could poke into my information.  I must have clicked the wrong thing, because next thing I knew I was being told I had so many days before my Timeline went live.  Well, my days must be up because it's live.  I've  been looking for the "turn the sumbich off" option.  'Tain't there.  But it tells me "Remember: you can always change who can see any post that appears on your timeline."  Right.  I finally found how to "hide" my friends, and interests (I think..., nope, there they are...) but that's about it.  No luck on "Likes" at all.

Okay, to be ABSOLUTELY honest, I'd like the Timeline, if they weren't forcin' the sumbich down my

throat.

Now back to Blogger, and Blogspot, which appear to be the same thing.  Now I started this with the hope that somebody might actually find it amusing.  (Let me suffer from that delusion just a little longer, why don'tcha?)  Part of the reason for using Blogger, a Google product, was the hope that people who DON'T know me might find it.  Now, how's that s'posed to happen?

Many years ago, perhaps before Google acquired Blogger (hang on, let me be sure ..., I'll Google it)

....

Okay, I'm back.  I had to go to Wikipedia to find anything on Google's acquisition of Blogger.

Go figger.

Many years ago, shortly after Google acquired Blogger, I remember being able to browse blogs (I think we called it "surfing") and just stumble across something interesting now and then.  What happened to that?  And why can't anybody that answers questions on the interwebz actually answer the question that has been asked?  (That's a gripe I have in my work life too.  But the ice is sorta thin over there.  Maybe later?  1017 days?)  When I google "how to browse blogspot" I  can find the question, but the answer always tells how to SEARCH for a blog.  d'UH? There's a "Search Blogs" link that ain't that hard to find.  How do you freakin' BROWSE?  (Maybe I should google "Surf Blogspot"?  Nope.  Got blogs on surfing.)

My cousin has blog that comes up on top of a Google search for his screen name (if I can spell it right.)  He also has a "next blog" link at the top.  It never goes to the same blog. but it usually starts me down a path of similarly themed blogs.  How come I ain't got one of those?  How do I get one? Don't get me wrong, I like y'all.  You're some of the best Facebook friends a guy could ask for.  But you're gonna get sick of readin' this soon enough and I'll need sombody else to inflict it on. 

I do see where I can label this thing "Adult Content."  Do I need to do that if I use terms like "crap,"  sumbich" and "WTF?"  (They actually need a label for "Juvenile Content.")

Anyway, as for my Retirement countdown: 1017 days.  I finally got around to checking a 2015 calendar, and 15 Feb falls on a Sunday.  So my retirement will probably begin officially on the 16th, and my last day worked will probably be Friday the 13th.  How appropriate.

Okay, that's all the griping I can think of (for now,) so you kids GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!