Steve: Barrow Killer

Time for a little catch-up. How’ve you been? Excellent!/Sorry to hear that. (Delete as applicable)

Concrete work on Saturday went well. It rained before and after the project but not during. This was nice as it means I didn’t get soaked while toting and lifting. It was bad because it meant that the backyard was nice and slippery.

We had a number of different wheelbarrows that our buddy had brought over for use. Somehow in the rotation I ended up with the one wheeled barrow, as opposed to the rest that all had two wheels. It got filled a little too full from the truck. I started off having a hard time balancing it, hit a bump heading into the backyard, lost the balance of it, regained the balance of it, hit and bump as well as a muddy patch and lost it, spilling concrete onto the lawn. This was more of an annoyance than anything else, apart from my concern that I’d pulled something while trying to keep the wheelbarrow from falling.

I cleaned up the spill as best I could and then had a little sit-down. I removed my hat to cool off. Once the cool October air had a chance to hit my warm head I started sweating madly. It also made my hat cold when I put it back on. This was pleasantly weird.

I continued on. Nearer the end I started pushing the two-wheeler I was then using into the backyard. I got it in there fine, made the turn and then it became difficult to push. Very quickly it became impossible for me to push. As it turned out, I wasn’t tired; one of the tyres had popped. We scooped most of the concrete out until I could shift it again. After that, I was done with wheelbarrowing. I made myself a scraper instead.

The slab turned out nice in the end.

Even fun work can be work

At the moment I’m in the middle of at least three projects, four if you count my fight to stop starting messages with the word ‘so’.

There’s the ‘assisting with the patio’ project for my parents which involves toting and lifting, both tasks that my body is telling me I don’t do often enough. The plan is to pour concrete this Saturday so hopefully that’s almost done.

Then there’s the ‘old series’ informational section I’ve been working on for the web page. It’s an attempt to go back to the ‘Doctor Who’ fan fiction I created during and just after high school, summarizing the stories and commenting upon them. I think it’ll be an interesting addition to the text already on the ‘Python Lord’ site.

Not to forget the new story I’ve been working on that appears to be hitting the home stretch. It’s hard to judge exactly how much I have left to write page wise (despite the fact that I keep trying) but I have a feel for how many scenes I have left to write. It’s getting close. Fun time is about to start! 

The problem with getting near the end of a project is that I want to kick everything up a gear to get them done. I don’t know if I have three gears but I’m trying. So, if it gets a little quiet around here for the next week or two, that is probably why. I’m gear kicking to at least get a couple of these off my plate (that and the toting and lifting will probably knock me out for most of the rest of the weekend). To put this in some sort of perspective, Chad ‘twisted’ my arm into going out for a couple drinks last night after picking up my comics. I had a good time but I was annoyed at the same time because I felt I should have been using that time to type.

For a lazy bum, I seem to be getting a lot done. That can’t be right.

Bringer of joy?

It’s nice to be able to make people happy just my being around.

I was at Chad N’s concerts Saturday night and my presence to the end made him happy.

I was at the Compound on Sunday and it made two-year old Kara pleased enough for kisses.

I’m at work at my temp site and I’m told it would be cool if I could stick around by those that are assigned here, not that they feel they have that much to say about it.

I must be doing something right. Maybe I’m just not doing something wrong at the moment…

So, do I bury it in the backyard or flush it?

I believe my iPod is dead.

I bought an iPod Shuffle, the 1GB size, when they were first released. It isn’t an item I use constantly but it is certainly something I’ve used regularly since I bought it. It is the awesome.

A week or two ago I went to use it and nothing happened; no lights flickered, no music played, nothing. I figured that the battery wasn’t charged and placed it on its USB cable to do so. When I came back later, the battery light flashed red at me and nothing more. Crap.

I checked into battery replacement with Apple. It turns out that replacing a Shuffle battery costs about as much as a new Shuffle. Crap.

I think my iPod is dead. I really didn’t want any incentive to look at a shiny 80GB video iPod. Unfortunately, now I have a little of such incentive. 80GB still isn’t enough to hold my entire iTunes library, so what’s the point?

Still against it

I got so excited there, I forgot the point of my rant! So, to quote the Cos, I told ya that story to tell you this one.

My more recent 'anti' Lucas conversations surround a proposed movie: 'Indiana Jones 4'. For some time now I've been of the opinion that this movie will never get made or if it does Harrison Ford won't be in it (he is a little old now, he won't last forever). Some retort that the movie is greenlit and that means it'll get made. I recall hearing that the movie was greenlit in 2000 and it would be released in 2001. So, it being greenlit doesn't phase me.

Last week I read a clip from an interview with George Lucas where he noted that he and Steven Spielberg were still working on getting a script in place. To be fair, this could have been a misquote or it might have been old information resurfacing again but, most everytime I see a quote about Indy 4, it's followed with 'we're still looking for an idea'.

Don't get me wrong here. They should take their time if they need it. Movies can be expensive and the last thing I think they should do (or should have done) is to crank out movies for the sake of cranking out movies. My attitude here is not 'you guys stink and should never make another movie' but is rather 'make a movie when you're ready but if you're not ready, don't'. I'd rather there be no Indiana Jones 4 than have another movie emerge from George Lucas that is received poorly. Of course, I'm not that big an Indiana Jones fan either so I guess it's no skin off my nose in that respect either.

The problem with George Lucas now is that people have expectations. With the original 'Star Wars', there were no expectations. Everything was bright and shiny and new. Then he waited. And waited. Books sprang up and comics and games and cartoons and people had time to figure out what 'Star Wars' was so that, when he did say 'It's time' people had expectations of what was going to happen. They'd dissected the movies, determined the history, they 'knew' what had happened and what they were going to see.

And it wasn't what they'd expected.

Whether it was good or not beyond the expectations, well, I've already said I thought they were 'okay' and Pete's all for 'great' but a surprisingly high number of my 'Star Wars' friends turned on Lucas for some period of time. They found fault, they found hypocrisy but, more often than not, they didn't find the joy they wanted. The joy they expected.

Many of those who turned away turned back for 'Revenge of the Sith'. I remember discussing the third movie as it approached and one of Henry's friends, Chris I think, likened the situation to a physically abusive relationship. 'Maybe this time the movie'll be good' he said, comparing that statement to 'Maybe he won't hit me this time'. Over the top? Certainly. Did it have some truth in it? I think so, maybe just a little.

So, George Lucas, don't rush Indiana Jones 4 just to make another movie. Wait until it seems right, feels right, comes together like it should. If it doesn't, don't continue.

...and if you don't start making it by the end of 2007, I'll win my bet with Dave and he'll owe me dinner. Take your time George! :)

I'm against it

Despite the ‘power’ of my geekdom, it’s directed in some, what could be called, non-standard directions, especially for an American geek. I have a deep fascination with British television; not everything generated in Britain obviously, but much of the humour and telefantasy certainly. I’m big on Godzilla and other kaiju movies. Comics are a big thing for me. I tend to gravitate towards older American drive-in movies, the ‘B’ or ‘Z’ pictures rather than the normal Hollywood product. None of this is too far out really. There is one area that tends to separate me from the rest of my fellow geek friends; a topic that occasionally causes some deep trauma for us.

I’m not a fan of George Lucas or of the ‘Star Wars’ cycle.

Occasionally this is a problem. My buddy Pete is a big ‘Star Wars’ guy and he is prone to comment that my lack of interest really bothers him at times. Brett took it upon himself to make sure that I went to the Special Editions when they were released in the theatres to see if that would change my opinions. For that matter, Brett made me watch the original trilogy because it bothered him that I had never seen them all.

I saw ‘Return of the Jedi’ at a friend’s house when I was twelve. I’d been watching ‘Doctor Who’ on and off for four years by this point. As a twelve year old, I thought ‘Jedi’ was dumb and it killed any interest I might have had to see the other two movies. Brett was having people over to watch the trilogy and ‘made’ me come and join them. I was 21 at the time.

See, that’s the thing. I have no nostalgia at all to associate with these movies. They don’t take me back to a warm place in my childhood like they do for millions of other geeks. To me, they’re just movies and, as a whole, I don’t think they’re very good either. As a whole, I think the writing is poor, I don’t like Lucas’ direction and that the special effects weren’t so much revolutionary as they had some money and time to actually have special effects (they weren’t ‘new’ effects as what ‘old’ effects should look like if you’re spending more than $5 and 5 minutes on them). I like ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. That’s about it. To be fair, I haven’t seen all of ‘Attack of the Clones’ yet and I’m in no hurry to fix that problem.

I went with the Edge Geeks – North Chapter (v2) to see ‘Revenge of the Sith’ on opening night. I was curious to see what it would be like. It felt strange not to be that guy, the guy that knows everything and is excited to see it and all that. For once I was the geek outsider and that was interesting. The movie was okay, enjoyable for what it is. I don’t plan to ever see it again. Which is the same reaction I had to ‘The Phantom Menace’ now that I think about it.

I believe ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ is my favourite of the bunch since it seems to have the least Lucas influence. The dialog is better than ‘Star Wars’… sorry, ‘A New Hope’ (I’m not used to the name change and don’t really care either) and it just felt less like a movie and more like a loose collection of ideas.

My distaste for Lucas’ writing and directing was much more revolutionary before the release of ‘The Phantom Menace’. For some reason, people started arguing with me less after that. Except the aforementioned Pete. He’s fond of them all. I think Lucas is a great ideas man and producer. He can merchandize like nobody’s business. I just think he’s better at the idea generation than he is the idea execution.

But that’s my opinion. And oddly enough, I love the Lego Star Wars games. So much fun! So cute!

I stayed up late for that?

There are a lot of things that I have an interest in but, when it comes right down to it, only know so much about them because I don’t do them. I have an interest in how movies and television shows are made. I’ve read books, I’ve watched ‘behind the screens’ specials but I’ve never been involved in the creation of a television show so I really don’t know what it takes to do so. I’ve been on television once or twice in the background of shots but that’s not the same.

Hang on, maybe I was on television. Mark! Did that interview ever air or was it just for your class?

Anyway, I’m straying from my point. My point was football. I’ve watched football for years. I’ve played football video games. I’ve even occasionally participated in playing football with my friends. Do I know what it takes to be a professional football player or coach? Heck no.

That said, if I feel that, as a consumer, I can express my opinion regarding movies and television shows I’ve watched, despite never having professionally having done those jobs, I don’t see why I can’t express my opinions on football in the same manner.

The Packers played a very decent first half against the Eagles last night. Pity they had to play two halves.

Ahman Green may be a nice guy but he’s an injury prone player. I was for him getting dropped last year and I find myself having to repeat the request now. He fumbles regularly, is injured regularly and, when he’s not doing those things, plays well. Not well enough to make up for the injuries and fumbles in my opinion.

Ahman Carroll still isn’t getting the hang of his job. Al Harris seems to understand his job but doesn’t do it well. The Packers need corners and these guys ain’t them.

Is Charles Woodson officially a bust yet?

It’s gonna be a long season…

You have Memory!

I moved into my current work department about a year and a quarter ago. I have a habit of humming or making noise when I’m thinking and I made a conscious effort to stop that when going into this department as I would be around people much more often and I didn’t want to annoy anyone. On and off for the first few months, I had a habit of humming a specific song to myself. I didn’t notice it at first and then I realized it was a real song and not some ideal tune that I was generating on the fly. I grew annoyed once I realized what the song was: ‘If I only had a brain’ from the Wizard of Oz.

I’m not sure why that memory popped back into my head today but it did. It’s the sort of thing that keeps you humble.

Stuff

- Got the new ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic album on Tuesday when it came out. I’m a fan of his in general and I’m not disappointed in what I got. It’s a Weird Al album. There’s nothing shockingly different about this album and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have expected that. Al makes fun of newer songs. That’s his thing. It works and I like it. The closest thing to ‘shocking’ is the Weasel stomping song which has noises of weasels being stomped in it; sort of a pained ‘squeee!’ noise. The album has a 10 minute track which is the story of himself and his wife going to the drive-thru for dinner. It’s an anal-retentive explanation of the situation that’s much funnier than it should be. Best yet, it doesn’t feel like it runs for ten minutes, which is probably the best compliment I can give it. While I got the Dual-Disc, I haven’t had a chance to observe the DVD extras. So far, thumbs up.
- Haven’t mentioned comics much in here yet, have I? Ultimates 2 - #12 – All big action movie style sequences. The entire chapter of this book is boiling down to this issue and the next and it feels great. I read it in the store and kept making noise throughout. Neat! Ultimate Spider-Man #100 – Well, I didn’t see that coming but I probably should have. Oddly enough, that’s been my response to the last few issues of this book. I consider that a good thing.
- Wrestling: I think Kurt Angle in TNA is a good thing. Will it get me to pay them any more attention than before? Probably not. I realized recently that I’m way burned out on wrestling. I’m still paying attention to the news and that but I don’t have the desire to watch any of it at the moment, not even the stuff like TNA that I have been enjoying to some degree. These interests are cyclical to me so I’m sure something will get my attention and I’ll dive back in soon enough. The dip in my wrestling interest is also possibly due to the steady increase in my ‘Doctor Who’ related interest. Neither has ever gone away but my attention to Who has been much increased of late. I’m still reading the old magazines I mentioned the other week. I just got to the issue that announces the recommissioning of the show. I’m only three years behind now!
- As a FYI, I tinkered with a setting on the blog last week. Previously, only registered users of blogspot could post responses. I changed a setting and now anyone should be able to post. Due to the individual that requested the change having been busy, I have yet to test this theory. So, if anyone has a moment, feel free to test it for me!

'Thrilling' Eye-wear Update

Finally removed the set of contacts I complained about earlier this month. I popped them out on Saturday because I couldn't, well, see anymore. Not literally but close enough. The old spectacles came out for Sunday.

See, I'd called last week to order new contacts. I had a set left but I don't like leaving it for the last minute. It's one of those things that I'm actually somewhat grown-up about. They said I needed an eye exam to reorder on my insurance. So the plan was: make contacts survive to Saturday night, remove them, rest my eyes a bit, get an exam on Sunday while not watching the Packers lose, bung in new contacts and return to enjoying life in clear vision.

By the time I reached the store in the mall on Sunday, they were booked for the rest of the day. I made an appointment for Monday and went home. While I drove home, the Packers managed to not lose. Evidently, the key to their success is my not watching the game.

Suffered with my glasses all day today. I can't help but feel them on me all the time now. My vision is less crisp. They're heavy. My nose hurts. I fidgeted with them all day.

Passed my eye exam with minor changes. Got trial pair of contacts (ooo, forgot about that) and was encouraged to bung them in straight away. I don't like doing this sort of thing in public, mainly because it breaks my concentration and I'm sure I look dumber than normal. Managed to do it relatively quickly and look like I sorta knew what I was doing. My insurance paid for everything. Hooray!

Watched 99.9% of 'Heroes' tonight. Loved it. Please give it a try. I'd like to know what they're planning on leading up to for the finale and would hate to see it cancelled midway through.

Cleaning on the Archive

One of the awkward things about having all the stuff that I do is that it doesn't take much for it to get out of control. A few years ago I bought a little cabinet to help corral some of my papers. I promptly piled items in front of it and I've been unable to access it for most of the time it's been in use.

Today I decided I needed to accomplish something and weeding through the creeping pile in front of this cabinet was the thing to do. In so doing, I found an item or two I'd forgotten I'd owned (an event similar to one I experienced a week or two before when I was discussing a book with a couple of my friends and I couldn't remember if I owned it or not; tidying up proved that I did indeed own the book in question). Finally I could open the cabinet again, dumped a bunch of stuff inside and blocked it off again, just not as badly.

I did find some items inside the cabinet that I was wondering about. I found some Doctor Who fanzines (one of which has a rather rubbish story of my own in it), some of the drafts of my stories from a few years ago, text from the novel I wrote that still needs editing and some documents that, luckily, I've not needed of late. Most importantly to me, I found a note pad with a couple of scenes written on it. They were for another novel idea I had awhile ago that I have been seriously considering fleshing out. On and off, I've been looking for this note pad for a couple months. So yay for that! I wonder if any of those scenes are worth keeping...

It's going well. Perhaps too well...

When I started in my ‘new digs’ at work, I was told that it might take a little time for people to warm to me. It was nothing against me personally; it was just that the culture of the site was a little different. People would be polite to start and would warm to me after they got used to me and I’d been able to help a few out. Basically, they’d like me once I’d proved myself a little.

It’s been almost a month now. I’m starting to feel the luv. I left yesterday with a shower of enthusiastic ‘thanks’ and waving from user’s I’d helped that day. To be honest, most of the stuff I’d done for them was all goofy stuff, stuff I normally wouldn’t have done but, out here, I’ve got the time and I did. People seem happier to see me now. My supervisor buddy is pleased that I’m fitting into this situation so well.

Something is bound to go wrong. I can feel it.

What if El Hombre de Silla 'really' wrote this blog?

Rough day today.

Broke up three muggings, destroyed the robot of a mad scientist and still had to take part in a tag-team tournament as part of my ‘day’ job. My legs are killing me, my hands feel like meat and I have this wicked bruise on my side from where the robot caught me.

Tomorrow will probably be just as fun.

In brief

- Watched ‘The Brain That Wouldn’t Die’ on Friday as part of my effort to watch DVDs that I bought three years ago. It’s a rather snappy film for being … 47(?) years old. I thought it was fun as well, playful at times. It was a MST3K movie that I didn’t need the jokes to enjoy.
- I’ve watched two Packer games this season (of two) and neither provided me with much hope. There are brief moments of happiness that get washed away in a sea of pain and misery. Steve’s depressed prediction: Packers go 0-16, Brett Favre ‘retires’ as a Packer to play with the Seahawks and Mike Holmgren again. Favre wins two Super Bowls in Seattle and retires. I’d be happy for him but jealous that it didn’t happen in Green Bay.
- Missed part of ‘Simpsons’. Enjoyed this week’s ‘Family Guy’ and ‘American Dad’ moreso than last week’s.

Last week's new theory, which, I guess, means it's not so new anymore

My Dad was adopted when he was about one. He was born during World War II (or, if you prefer, World War – Part II) and most of my theories surrounding his being put up for adoption involve the War. My guess is that his birth father was a soldier and killed in action, perhaps even before Dad was born. Unable to deal with a child on her own, or deal with another child in the family or perhaps unable to deal with this reminder of her dead husband, his birth mother put Dad up for adoption. The fact that Dad had a bad neck at birth may have also contributed to this decision. We have a picture of him as a toddler, looking cheerful as can be, but unable to lift his head. Surgery fixed that soon enough and he’s been as well as can be expected since.

Dad has long expressed a disinterest in finding out any information about his birth parents. They didn’t want him and that’s fine because Grandma and Grandpa did. He considered them his parents and that was that. The birth certificate we have for him lists his birth name as one of the spelling variations of the German version of ‘Smith’ (I forget which and don’t feel like guessing today). As a result, we’ve always just generically taken our heritage from Dad to be solid German because really we don’t know. (Hey, maybe his parents were spies for the German government during the War and were caught and executed and that’s why Dad was up for adoption. That would be interesting! Not very cool really but certainly interesting!)

Last week while we were chit-chatting amongst us, I came to a different conclusion. Since we didn’t know what background Dad is really, that meant, instead of just being one heritage, it could be all of them! I mean, genetically all humans are essentially the same. The divisions amongst humans have been created by humans, not by whatever being or process started humans in general (and belief in what being or process is certainly one of those divisions!). So, while I already believed that all humans are just one big race of people anyway, this decision just made me feel more connected to everyone a little bit more. Which was nice.

It also fed nicely into one of my other beliefs. Why dislike someone based on the colour of their skin or their country of origin? That’s silly. When you get to know people, getting beyond all those surface things, there’s often perfectly good personal reasons you can find to dislike them.

… You can smile at that you know. It was a joke. Relax a little…

New theory

I’ve been fighting off tired for most of the last week or so now. Not consistently mind you, just more often that not. At first I was of the opinion, as I noted here, that I just wasn’t sleeping properly. That started to mutate into me blaming it on the weather. What I didn’t like about that theory was that I don’t like the idea of my being affected by the weather. So what if it’s been cloudy and raining for the past week? Generally I enjoy that to some degree. Tuesday doesn’t count, that was a downpour for most of the day. I think someone lifted up Lake Michigan and dumped it on us.

Anyway, my theory changed again today. A number of people in the office are coming down with colds. My new theory is that I’m fighting off this cold and that’s why I’m tired. It makes as much sense as the other theories.

Most importantly, I’m still writing.

What I did with my Monday

Rather than talk to you lot yesterday I cleaned out my closet. This was one of those relatively simple projects that I’ve been meaning to do since, apparently, high school. I saw clothes that I didn’t think I owned anymore. I definitely didn’t fit into a lot of them. There was an entertainment value to it but it took a couple hours to sort through everything. Technically I’m not done yet. This was just my ‘good’ clothes. I still have jeans and stuff to check on. Still, it’s clean now. It should last for a week or so.

It Must Be Fall

It's a rather blustery day in Wisconsin. I am fond of the word 'blustery', in part because I learned it while still in the single digits of age. I learnt it from a Winnie the Pooh record. It's a lovely word and doesn't get used nearly enough as far as I'm concerned. Blustery. I wonder if I've misspelt it?

At any rate, the temperature is not what leads me to my conclusion in regards to the season. No, the amount of Packers shirt and jackets and jerseys I saw in a brief trip to the grocery store did that for me. The NFL regular season starts today. I know, I know, the first game of the season was Thursday but that didn't really count. Sunday is professional football 'day' despite all attempts to spread games out during the week. Therefore, the season starts today.

All over the nation fans are hoping that this season will be a little better to their team than the last one was to them. Personally I hold no great expectations for this year's Packers team. I'll be happy if Brett Favre manages to survive the season with the ability to still function normally. The offensive line has much to prove and, to put it bluntly, I'll be happy if Brett doesn't die, literally or figuratively.

Go Pack!

Tired

I don't think it's fair. Last night I dreamt I was being chased. I escaped from a house and ran through a backyard then through a schoolyard and was suddenly driving a car down city streets before turning into a deserted section of a shopping mall pushing a cart with someone (one of my brothers?) in it. We strolled into the active part of the mall, apparently safe from whomever was pursuing me. After all this 'exercise' I woke up tired, about as tired as I was when I went to sleep. The tired has hung with me all day. I don't think it's fair.

I got a haircut yesterday so you could also look at my head and think it's not hair.

Sometimes I miss the Lucha

By 'lucha' I don't so much mean 'lucha libre', translated from the Spanish as 'free fight', as I mean, well, 'fight'. On and off for about a year or so, some of my friends and I played at being wrestlers. The goal was not to hurt each other ala the 'backyard' wrestlers of that era but just to goof around, have fun and have it look like professional wrestling.

This is where the character of 'El Hombre de Silla' was born, slowly and painfully in performance. His name changed a bit here and there but not as much as the accent I thought he needed at first. I have NO clue what I was going for there. He slowly grew into That Guy, the cheerful good natured fellow that tried to fight fair and shook hands with his opponent. He was a nice guy, a hero. In fact, in the last event we performed, that's really all El Hombre gets to do. He has no grand storyline, no mountains to climb; he fights a 'jobber' (generic) wrestler, wins, shakes hands and waves a lot. He's probably smiling but you can't see his mouth throught the mask.

At the time, I developed the theory that El Hombre had three 'personas'; not so much personalities but ways of acting in public. The 'in-ring' El Hombre was the character as already discussed. The 'movie' El Hombre (which, despite my desires, has yet to be developed) is a strange non-super super-hero in the mold of El Santo. The 'real' El Hombre is the character that has appeared in a text story or two. He has no life to speak of, he's paranoid, he fights crime (cheerfully, like his ring character) and does nothing but fight. He knows nothing else. He also never takes his mask off. Never? Well, hardly ever.

I miss the performing aspect of 'being' El Hombre. I miss developing that version of the character. To be honest, I mostly miss hitting guys with a chest chop. It can be very carthartic.