In an effort to get in 31 posts for August (an average of one per day), I have been forced to crank out six posts on the last day of the month. This has by necessity put the focus on quantity over quality, but I look at it as a sort-of extended free-writing session, something that will stimulate my creativity and ultimately lead to something better, even as anyone reading the current results is left confused, angry, bored or a combination thereof.
I promise to put more thought and effort into September’s entries.
My promises don’t always stick.
But I try.
Also, here’s a picture of me with a freaky filter from Prisma applied:
How I miss my green organic hat. đ
(Trust me, it really was green, not decorated like the bus from The Partridge Family.)
(The bill split open when I washed it and MEC doesn’t carry it any longer, so it’s gone forever, like the dodo or your favorite dinosaur.)
Oh, they may still be “magically delicious” but what happened to the traditional weird little marshmallow things they used to have in Lucky Charms? You know:
pink hearts
orange stars
green clovers
yellow moons
blue diamonds
Now there are rainbows (which make sense), shooting stars (which make sense if you believe leprechauns are from outer space, I guess), something that looks like a rotten tooth (I think it’s a hat?) and an hourglass so you are reminded that soon it will be time to visit the dentist if you don’t remember to brush after eating this stuff.
The simplicity, the magic, if you will, has diminished in the quest to put in more stuff. Also, the cereal is now being pitched at adults because if kids and adults eat your cereal, your profits will be magically delicious.
While I can’t say I yearn for Lucky Charms nowadays it was probably my favorite cereal as a kid, saving the marshmallows for last, of course. And even with today’s weird collection of marshmallows, Lucky Charms still has the benefit over Cap’n Crunch of not lacerating the roof of your mouth when you eat them.
It’s only two months until National Novel Writing Month 2016 rolls around. Will I take part? Most likely. Will I succeed? Odds are trending toward 50/50 (at best). My current plan is I have no plan, but this year I will definitely make a plan and have it in place one full month before this whole thing kicks off on November 1st.
I’ll report back at the end of September on the status of the plan, possibly while weeping in despair.
Yesterday I spent some time looking at various distraction-free writing programs but didn’t find any that really clicked. I still prefer WriteMonkey and am hoping the sexy new version launches soon, though I am doubtful of that. I could use the current version of WriteMonkey and probably should. Or Word. Or a notepad and crayons. Or anything. It already feels like I’m making excuses. I wrote my first (admittedly unfinished) novel by hand–using a pencil! Well, several pencils. I don’t need the newest, shiniest writing software in order to write.
But I want it.
Anyway, the proto-plan still in development is to have both the tool and story idea nailed down a month in advance. If I don’t I will officially give up before I even start.
Here’s to my maybe success in a month and my maybe greater success in three months!
Technically I had “lunch” in the form of a Clif bar, but I didn’t actually take a break, I just kept working. In part it was due to the weather turning wet and making a walk unpalatable, as I have no umbrella nor the desire to spend the afternoon working in soggy clothes. I was also partway through a large task and didn’t want to lose momentum.
Unfortunately I had not slept well last night so the combination left me feeling tired and gross by the end of the afternoon. I feel a little better now, just in time to go to bed and try sleeping all over again.
Tomorrow I am taking that break. Kids, don’t skip your breaks! If the mean supervisor tells you to march straight back into that coal mine, you tell him you have rights and you’ll work that much harder if you get your break first. Also, you probably shouldn’t work in a coal mine if you’re a kid. Or human. Those places are dangerous.
(Ignore for a moment that you can’t actually see music, unless it’s on a sheet.)
Nostalgia is fun, but sometimes it’s best to remember what was and not what might be.
A new Pink Floyd album featuring the Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright line-up. This won’t happen because Rick Wright is dead, for one, David Gilmour would never agree to it for another, and even if all four were around and agreed, I doubt they could recapture their best work. The dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.
A new Alan Parson Project album. Not one of Parsons’ solo efforts, but a reunion between Parsons and his co-creator of the Project, Eric Woolfson. Woolfson died a few years ago and the closest the two came to working together again was when Parsons remastered their entire catalog. Given the time apart to each do what each wanted (Parsons toured with a live band, Woolfson staged original musicals), I think they might have produced something decent with a one-time reunion.
R.E.M. with the original Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe. line-up. R.E.M. produced some great material after Berry quit but they also produced some of their most uninspired music, too and it was obvious at the end that Mills and Stipe were glad to leave it all behind. A one-off album with no obligations between the four of them, something that would be a fusion of their original sound–jangly Byrds-style rock–with the best of their more sophisticated later work would likely be a worthy listen.
An album of original material featuring the vocals of Barbra Streisand but written by a strong songwriter, not someone who would write timid or predictable pop schlock. Streisand has an amazing, powerful voice but her rare forays into pop music (Guilty, etc.) are undermined by material that is often pedestrian. I can’t actually think of a good fit here right now because I’m out of touch with much of the contemporary music scene, so insert your favorite songwriter here.
Another Simon and Garfunkel reunion. Just kidding. I would like to see some sort of Simon and Garfunkel-esque collaboration, though. For one half of this duo I nominate Mike Mills, former bassist of R.E.M.
I’m not sure I’d actually like to see this, but it would at least be interesting to behold what Billy Joel would have to say with 23 years having lapsed since his last album, 1993’s River of Dreams. Would he be an angry old man or merely cranky?
Run 456 Average pace: 5:20/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5:03 km
Time: 26:57
Weather: Clear
Temp: 19ÂșC
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Stride: n/a
Weight: 158.2 pounds
Total distance to date: 3645 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
If there’s a word I’d use to describe tonight’s run it would be nice. I was wary of the right leg being stiff from Sunday’s run and conditions were comfy, so I adopted a more relaxed pace. Even so, I still came in at 5:20/km and with no discomfort. It did feel like I was on the edge of some cramping a few times, which made it easier to justify the moderate (yet still reasonably zippy pace). The combo of the pace and temperature of 19ÂșC meant my heart rate was lower, too, which is always a plus.
I headed out later than normal due to a late dinner but the bonus side effect of that is the sun had dipped behind the trees, so I didn’t have to engage in a staring contest with it on that one part of the river trail.
Overall, this was a mellow, almost relaxing run. I’d practically forgotten what it was like to run without the elements conspiring against me.
If the forecast holds up, there’s a better than 50% chance that Thursday’s run will be soggy. I’m hoping not because I prefer rain-free runs to not rain-free, but I’ll head out regardless, hoping that one day someone will invent technology that keeps glasses dry when it’s wet out.
What better way to anticipate the shorter days, colder weather and incessant rain that will come with the arrival of fall than to throw together a bunch of writing prompts looking back fondly on summer?
Write a story in which a curmudgeonly campfire recalls all the lame ghost stories told around it over the years, saving the very worst for its last dying ember.
Include the following words in a summer tale: canoe, grizzly, bucket, haberdasher, pointillist, gerund.
Write a journal entry in which you refused to help someone with poison ivy because you thought it was contagious. Remember to include how stupid and selfish you were, then conclude with a witty comment about how silly life can be.
It’s so incredibly hot your computer melts, so you try writing a story using pen and paper but it’s so hot the paper bursts into flame, so you try writing a story using a stick in the sand of a beautiful tropical beach but it’s so hot the stick burns to cinders, so you try writing a story using a chisel and stone tablet but then Moses grabs the tablet away from you. Twist ending!
The Beach Boys are your next door neighbors. Write a story about your zany adventures living next to a bunch of guys who won’t shut up about cars and surfing and what is Brian doing in the backyard there?
Make a list of all the things you can do in the summer for less than $1,000,000.
Surf’s up but stocks are down. Write about the world’s worst stock broker surfer champion.
Summer is the favorite season of many people. Invent a new season that would kick summer’s ass, if a season could actually have an ass.
What if dogs threw Frisbees and people caught them in their mouths instead? That would be one weird thing to see in the summer, wouldn’t it? But don’t write about that, write about an ice cream truck that is secretly a kid-eating monster.
Summer spelled backwards is remmus. Write a poem about how remmus the backwards summer would fool everyone by being cold instead of hot and stuff like that. No, that’s pretty dumb. Write a sequel to the story about the ice cream truck that is secretly a kid-eating monster instead.
Run 455 Average pace: 5:28/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 10:03 km
Time: 54:57
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 17-18ÂșC
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 165
Stride: n/a
Weight: 158.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 3640 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Today was my first post-vacation 10K, coming nine days after the last one, when it was 30ÂșC. It was also my first run since this Thursday when it was even hotter at 33ÂșC. The weather has changed and I’m reasonably confident the last hot days of summer are over. With the sky overcast and the temperature a mere 17ÂșC (which is, in fact, almost ideal for summer running and is perfectly fine even if you’re strolling out and aboot), I set out this morning to find out just how much of a difference 16ÂșC could make.
As it turns out, a lot!
My pace last Friday was a molasses-like 6:01/km, one of the few times I’ve slipped past the six minute mark. I was not impressed. I was sad. I felt old. And slow. And sweaty. I remember struggling to pull my shirt off I was so sweaty, like the start of some porn scene gone horribly wrong.
Today I decided to start exactly at the 0 km marker and run the exact, official Burnaby Lake Loop, to see how well the markers matched the GPS. When I strode past the 10 km marker the watch showed me at 9.88 km–pretty close, really.
And when I passed that 10 km marker I was not bathed in sweat. I actually only sweated a little, mostly in my favorite spot, which is around the sides of my temple. Why these spots generate so much sweat I do not know. Maybe my brain is mentally jogging at the same time. My pace turned out to be 5:28/km, not only handily eclipsing the previous 10K but also besting my fastest 10K post-injury, which was 5:41/km.
The only downside is the right hip area started to feel a little sore when I applied thrusters. Moderating my pace corrected this, though it still feels a little sore tonight and I suspect it may be a bit stiff tomorrow. I’m not overly concerned as it feels sore rather than hurt.
Given the cooler conditions there weren’t as many people out but still more than I expected. There were a lot of runners, including more cute young male runners than I am used to seeing. I only point this out because almost all runners I see, male or female, tend to be in their 30s or older. I didn’t recognize most of these runners (I see a few regulars most days) and one of the young guys was absolutely drenched with sweat, as if he was in a bubble where it was still 33ÂșC.
Other than the small degree of soreness in my right leg, the run went very well. For the first time in a long time I actually felt a second wind on the back half and my pace picked up after the usual midway drop. It was nice.
Tuesday’s forecast is currently calling for around 21Âș about the time I am running, which is warmer but still much cooler and the rest of the week looks like poop from a summer weather perspective, with a chance of rain and highs in the upper teens. I’m liking the temperatures but could do without the rain. I’ll take the rain (to quote R.E.M.) over more 30ÂșC+ temperatures, though.
The Songs of Distant Earth uses “terabyte” as if it’s a near-impossibly huge amount of storage space, but other than being a bit dated tech-wise (it was published in 1986 and the genesis of the story began as a piece originally written in 1958), this short, brisk novel details events surrounding the improbable chance of two separate colony ships sent hundreds of years apart encountering each other light years away from Earth.
To be more precise, the first colony ship has already landed on the water world of Thalassa, its crew having settled there hundreds of years earlier, populating the three islands that form the entirety of land on the planet. One of the last ships to leave the doomed Earth centuries later stops by on its way to its own destination, the hostile but tameable world of Sagan Two. Choosing Thalassa in order to use its water to reconstitute a massive ice shield on the bow of their colony ship, the crew of the Magellan is surprised to find the planet inhabited (after losing contact due to a broken antenna on Thalassa, it was assumed its colony ship had never completed its journey), thus beginning a clash of cultures, ideas and philosophy, pitting the laidback Thalassans and their seeming Utopia against the crew of the Magellan, who still face a massive amount of work to make their chosen planet livable (an edict passed in the dying days of Earth forbids colony ships from colonizing worlds with any notable life, sort of a variant on Star Trek’s Prime Directive).
There is a lot of debate about what makes life worth living, with a fairly heavy hand directed against the alleged scourge of religion–the Thalassans are non-religious and live in a democratic society where procrastination and non-monogamous relationships are the norm. Clarke has characters from both the planet and the Magellan intermingle–on projects in and out of bed–to help illustrate the risk of “contamination” between the two groups. Complicating things further, the paradise-like nature of Thalassa leads a small number of Magellan’s crew to attempt mutiny.
The tension Clarke creates as these two peoples work and play together for the months it takes to rebuild the Magellan’s ice shield is low and never really threatens to boil over, but the discussions the characters have are filled with insights, dry humor and observations about humanity that feel authentic, if somewhat studied.
The Songs of Distant Earth sometimes feels a bit thin compared to denser works of science fiction, but Clarke does not so much skimp on detail as focus precisely on what he feels is most important to the story. In the end, the novel offers hope that humanity will mature and flourish among the stars, albeit not without some bumps along the way.
Run 454 Average pace: 5:23/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 5:04 km
Time: 27:12
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 33ÂșC
Wind: light
BPM: 157
Stride: n/a
Weight: 157.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 3630 km
Devices/apps: Apple Watch and iPhone 6
Let me illustrate the temperature for tonight’s run with an actual illustration (technically a screenshot from my Apple Watch of the Weather Underground app):
In the evening I usually head out at 6 p.m. Tonight I headed out about 45 minutes later, hoping it might cool a bit. 33ÂșC is not exactly cool.
I dutifully headed off on my 5K run, choosing to use the built-in fitness app instead of the Nike Run Club app because it was too hot to fiddle with anything I couldn’t use Siri with. Siri is nice when you’re lazy and she’s feeling cooperative.
I was grateful for most of the run being in the shade. I still sweated copiously.
Though my pace was much slower than Tuesday, it was still a respectable 5:23/km and in an unusual twist, my pace actually picked up in the latter half (the temperature dipped slightly, which may have helped a little).
Considering the heat, I’m fairly pleased with how the run went, especially given how strongly tempted I was to loaf at home instead. Sunday is promising to be much cooler and I ain’t complaining.
