Sentential Links

Haven't done one of these in a while! Some links:

:: I’m not trying to raise a Mini-Me, but a thinking, separate person. And, increasingly, she is. (This is, to me, one of the more fascinating facets of parenthood: watching The Daughter's interests and passions develop, and noting the areas of commonality we have as well as the points at which we diverge. Sometimes I have to catch myself and not allow my thinking to shade into disappointment -- "Y U NO LOVE STAR WARS AND SPACESHIPS LIKE I DO!" -- but mostly, I find it amazing just to watch another person's way of being develop. It's surely a sign of something that I, a former brass player and eternal lover of fine pens, have turned out to be raising a string player whose favorite pens are cheap BIC sticks. And that's OK.)

:: Therapy is a mixed bag. It takes a long time to understand why you're holding yourself back and when you finally do, it's not easy to face. And this is just one aspect. It's better than feeling that way the rest of your life. But the hardest thing I've ever done is getting to know who I am, and why. (Another of SamuraiFrog's always-moving posts of self-examination. It takes a lot of bravery, I think, to write about oneself like this.)

:: Welcome to farm life: epic views, pure joy, beautiful moments, friends in need, chores, different people, chaos, guilt, and disappointment all within one hour of living. I wouldn't have it any other way. (Farm life wouldn't be for me...but I'm really glad it's still an option for some folks.)

:: I would love to travel the ocean in this bad boy. It could be our flag ship that allows us to move away from the Cave of Cool at a moment's notice. Tell me these have a job onboard that I could do for them besides cabin boy or bait. (Yup, that thing is pretty nifty!)

:: God, I hate having an English professor for a father. (Mine's a mathematician. On road trips, I'd ask, "How much farther?" and get a response like, "Our remaining mileage is the only positive integer to lie directly between a square and a cube." Which I kind of miss, actually...but to this day, he still works number-stuff into casual conversations!)

:: Everyone who thinks they want a big cat as a pet should visit this place, see these animals and hear their stories. (I'm reminded of something Chris Rock said, years ago, when one of their tigers attacked either Siegfried or Roy: "People are saying the tiger went crazy, but he didn't. That's what tigers do. The tiger went tiger.")

:: The contrast between funny actors and comics is most apparent in the early episodes of SEINFELD. Jerry is clearly the weak link. And I’m sure he’d admit it. I give him credit for allowing himself to be surrounded by comic actors who were spectacular and he learned and grew along the way, but who are we kidding? He’s a kazoo player in Wynton Marsalis’ jazz combo. (This is true, as in the early seasons Seinfeld is clearly doing stand-up amidst a bunch of actors doing comedy. He got a lot better as the show went on, though. He'll never win any acting prizes, but he figured out quite a bit of stuff, and show-Seinfeld became much more of a distinct character as the show progressed.)

:: Oh, sorry, the God of the Funkyverse isn’t actually trying to stop Wally and Rachel’s wedding, just drive it into Montoni’s, where by immutable law all economic and social activity in Westview must take place. They don’t call Montoni’s “The Wedding Chapel of Love” for nothing! Actually, nobody calls it that, but Funky refuses to stop trying to make it a thing. (I wish I had thought of doing a blog mocking daily comic strips, way back when. Sigh....)

More next week! (Or maybe not.)