Winter Mix Fragments

I should be finishing up grading late work and the last round of papers to close out the fall semester but here I am blogging on a blog no one reads.

(sigh)

Things I will finish or start blogging about before 2019 (okay, I might not, but I am hopeful, after all this is a blog with the term "hopeful" in the title):

• Wizard of Oz Fragments (I was in a show this summer)
• Something about Weezer (likely White album)
• Also, some other poem post 

Happy to discover Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Wait, I didn't discover them, Youtube suggested them. That means I just succumbed to the to algorithm. Oh well, whatever, enjoy the genius video below. I won't spoil the ending. Just watch the WHOLE THING.



If you're too lazy to watch it, are you ready for the SPOILER?

Okay,

Here goes, not turning back.

LAST CHANCE to enjoy the video all on your own.......

.....



....

Nothing happens.

As in, almost literally nothing dramatic happens, it's just a cool cartoon of a woman on the train.

Also, a cool song plays.

Genius...I mean it. It really subverted my expectations. It's post-modern in the best way possible. I was waiting for something, anything and well, nothing happened. It's a message about life itself. Maybe I should write a whole blog about it. It's better than LAST JEDI. (seriously)



UPDATES IN LIFE

Our program to take students around the US is going alright, only three apps but I think it will get to the magic number (7? 8?) I dunno.

Same church I did Wizard at is doing auditions for Willy Wonka. Yeah, I'm gonna audition. I suppose I have the acting bug. Feels silly that's just a community theater group but it's fun and when someone believes in you like the director of this program does, it makes you feel good. I will probably audition for Grandpa, who, is entirely a detestable character and person, but I don't have the suaveness to pull off Willy and I want a meatier role than one of the fathers of the children.

KIDZ Update 

Oldest, C (7th grade) is awesome at flute and just plays all the darn day long because she enjoys it. We've had some 7th grade drama - but that's to be expected. Also, one day she will find my secret blog sooner than later. Yikes. Hi, C!

Second oldest, E (4th grade) is becoming quite the performer, just made a wonderful memory the other night....I was watching her sing along with her mom at the piano several holiday tunes by light of the Christmas tree. Then, C, H, Grandma (and yes, even me) joined in....nice memory already. :)

Youngest, H (1st grade) is now obsessed with BEYBLADES (which, I admit, is VERY fun just to say). He doesn't even have any yet, but he's watched the show and we google the toys together.

I had a dream somebody at work died. I didn't have the heart to tell him when I saw him. The two people I told looked so concerned. Is this taboo to talk about? I mean, I'm not God. I can't dream for it to come true and I have zero psychic powers (to my knowledge).

Ready for the break. It's that time of year and I am ready.

That's it for now, don't forget to check your mirrors before you change lanes and for goodness sake's, enjoy some ice cream every once in awhile.

Poem Post: >Abort, Retry, Fail?_

Every so often I've been writing poems. So I thought I would share one here. Usually I find myself writing late at night, when the mood strike me (which is usually when I am listening to something dramatic on YouTube).  This particular poem come out of a series of poems that meditate on the brain's function and the need to create meaning. Our brains are really just fancy biological computers. In particular, I find it interesting that we're all (for better or worse) stuck in our own brains. I was looking up computer error messages and stumbled across  the "Abort, Retry, Fail?" Wiki article and it included a quote that I thought summed up the human experience pretty well:

"It (Abort, Retry, Fail) has become an icon of poor interface design, because it led exactly nowhere … A veritable Catch 22, since the only viable option appeared to be to keep typing R until one was willing to accept that one's work was lost and there was nothing left to do but shut down the program and start anew"

>Abort, Retry, Fail?_

I dream because I have to

I dream to stay awake

I ask and I ask

but the Oracle is not answering my texts.

My operating system is stuck on re-start -- this is some bulls-

>A FATAL EXCEPTION ERROR HAS OCCURRED  

A virus has infected my registry.  

A sailor lost at sea, a feeling machine sinking in --

I dream because I have to

I  dream to stay awake 

>Abort, Retry, Fail?_

Type “R”, cross your fingers, and hope we don’t crash.