Category Archives: nothing special

Ever had times when you felt like a total waste of oxygen? Pretty much sucks, doesn’t it?

Today is the 43d anniversary of the first time that — as far as we know — the species of one object in our solar system set foot upon another.  The first time where humans became the alien invaders, even … Continue reading →

“Cosmo, call me a cab!” “Ok, you’re a cab.” Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor), Singin’ In the Rain. The Red-Headed Menace and I caught one of my favorite movies on the big screen tonight. And it was … Continue reading →

I really want to support the Not-So-Little Drummer Boy’s interest in cooking, not the least because it means I don’t have to make dinner for the next week.  But having had my coffee mill appropriated to grind spices means my … Continue reading →

So, I have just started a very part time freelance gig doing research and writing for the nonprofit I volunteer for.  And thus far I have two pertinent observations: I hate Open Office with a passion that grows deeper every … Continue reading →

I have learned a new expression recently: “Stairway to Heaven syndrome.” The Not-So-Little Drummer Boy  (my artist-in-residence for the summer) and I were talking about impostor syndrome and dealing with self-doubt.  He claimed that he generally accepted that all creative … Continue reading →

The Not-So-Little Drummer boy is working at a new Starbucks in an adjacent city this summer.  Perhaps in response, he has taken to viewing our Saturday morning family outings to the neighborhood Starbucks as an opportunity to exercise some misplaced … Continue reading →

Because of the ongoing Charles Carreon v. The Oatmeal circus (which is the source of a blog post I need to write about the brokenness of the legal system, except that there are so many others writing far more cogent … Continue reading →

The parade went well, at least from where I was sitting, er, riding. I did some walking today, not the parade route but probably a half mile before and after the parade while going to various BART stations, and a … Continue reading →

There is a lot not to like about living in the suburban Bay Area: the insane cost of living, the lack of really good public transit, rush hour, a lack of social cohesion (at least in my neck of the … Continue reading →

I just finished watching Henry V (the Kenneth Branagh version) on Netflix.  It contains one deeply moving long scene when the sides are gathering up their dead after the Battle of Agincourt.  That, along with the wonderful St. Crispin’s Day … Continue reading →

My aunt died yesterday. Mom called me with the news this afternoon. I am not quite sure how to feel. My aunt was my mother’s sister. She had had several strokes over the past few years, and had been living … Continue reading →

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Origin unknown, often falsely attributed to Mark Twain. I attended a Giants game at ATT Park this evening, and I gotta say, of all the American major league cities … Continue reading →

I don’t have a lot of time here right now, but I did want to post a reminder to all my California friends to VOTE today.  It’s especially important given the way that the primary has been restructured: the top … Continue reading →

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether … Continue reading →