Friday, October 28, 2016

He had a passport

We were in Paris, hanging out by the Eiffel Tower when my son disappeared. Emma and I went after him, for some reason my stepfather came with us but he stayed put.

I was running, not as fast as I used to and noticed that. Age caught up to me. Lost track of my son. Now there was a missing non-verbal teenager in a country where there is already a language barrier.

That moment where you think you spotted him from behind but when you got there saw it was a French kid wearing a similar shirt happened.

Fences and barriers were jumped and rolled over, stairs were climbed. There was a small place to eat at the top of one flight and my son was not there. When I turned around I saw my Wife and we each had the same look of exhaustion and horror on our faces.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Revisionist discord from a rock and roll pariah

It's always hard to determine how people will react when fame comes to them suddenly and at a young age. The story of the Beach Boys has been told from many angles and by many different people. All seem to agree that Murry Wilson was an unrepentant tyrant, Dennis was a split personality with demons, Carl was a good soul who got caught in addictions and Al is, well Al.

Brian Wilson's troubles are well documented and often told with the man on a pedestal. A musical genius who became brain damaged through drug addiction and pressure to produce masterpieces. Brian's story often puts his cousin, Mike Love, in the role of tormenter and adversary.

It's time Mike Love has told his side of the story and he has with his new book. Love writes about how he was manipulated and cheated out of lyric credits by Murry and Brian and is rather convincing with his side of events.

There are some fascinating stories about Dennis and his situation with the Manson family. His relationship with the Bush/Reagan families does not go into politics but into genuine concern about the planet.

Sure he comes across as a bit of an ego maniac, but he is rather honest about his flaws and I thought less of him as a villain and more of him as a bit of a ass who got screwed by his Uncle. Love and James S. Hirsch have assembled an entertaining and informative read about one of rock music's most misunderstood and controversial members.

Monday, October 10, 2016

I'll pick Click Bait for $1200 Alex

Last week I took the Jeopardy online test. Initially I did well, better than some of the other tests I've taken. Then I saw the replay of the questions and I got at least nine wrong (out of 50 questions) and stand a slim chance to move on in the process.

Today I got an email from Jeopardy. It's subject heading was, "Congratulations!"

Intrigued, but not convinced, I opened the email, which said, "CONGRATULATIONS! You completed the online test. If you pass we'll contact you to schedule an audition."

Bite me you teases!

Because of the Columbus Day holiday my son had no school so I have been watching him today. It's been rather chill. We took a walk downtown earlier. The meters were free thanks to the oppressor's holiday. My son got to meet one of the three deer along the Scioto Mile.



He seemed to enjoy the walk. He walks very fast, faster than me and it was a struggle for my out of shape self to keep up with him. He liked the loop, we did not see anything twice, and he did not complain when we got back to the car. Dad win.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Dead icons and not wanting to hear it

Not sure what led up to this but one segment had my son removing one earplug and placing it on a bookcase in the dining room. He then took out the other earplug and threw it on the floor. I told him to pick that up, which he did and he put the earplug with the other one. Why he did not do that in the first place is unknown.

The other part involved Nelson Mandela giving a lecture in a small room. He did not really look like him, but like a bespectacled Greg Morris from Mission Impossible.



So he's giving a talk as Mandela but not looking like Mandela, who is dead but that not seem to matter. My friend Alexis was also attending. He seemed to have problems with cleaning his glasses so I got my sunglasses case out and handed him my microfiber cloth. He really appreciated that and made small talk with Alexis and I. Mandela kept asking us about getting a clearance, access or something we had to get online, and the password to get to the site was Mandela62.

And that's how that dream ended.