180° South

I watched some more of this movie this evening….until Jenny realized I was watching it again….and I looked up and over and realized how bored the little guys were.

It doesn’t work if the little guys are watching a boring movie with Daddy.

They get restless.

Oh, well…..different strokes for different folks is what I say.

I listened to Yvon Chouinard again….while I was driving the mail around.

I have some old interviews on CD that I burned so I could hear what he has to say.

He’s an interesting fellow.

All of Patagonia….and his earlier company, Great Pacific Iron Works, were set up to make some money to do the outdoor activities he loved.

It’s inspiring to see that come together like that.

Creativity and business are a potent combination.

If you haven’t had a chance to see this movie yet, it streams on Netflix….maybe Amazon Prime, too.

It’s a good one….and it will make you want to pack a duffle and hit the road.

Check out the Patagonia website, too.

Good stuff.

coffee and a cool breeze

good morning coffee

We all are sleeping later these days.

It’s funny…usually I would think that it would be time to sleep in when the weather is nasty and it’s cold outside….but, now that the weather has warmed up here, I seem to want to sleep later in the morning.

Of course, it’s harder to sleep at night…..so maybe that’s why I sleep in the morning.

That is ROCKET SCIENCE.

Maybe…..maybe….I’m compensating for burning the candle the night before?

That would make sense.

It should make sense, anyway.

No matter what goes on in the night, though, I know one thing.

I need some coffee in the morning.

Whether it’s psychological or physiological….I need some coffee.

It’s easy to make….easier to enjoy.

It’s like everything I do…..when I finally get around to it and am able to wander around the procrastination corner to actionland, it’s easier than I suspected it would be.

Easy peasy.

So that’s where I’m going right now….to make some coffee.

I’m going to make some coffee and watch some election results.

I’m going to enjoy this cool new breeze as Spring gallops towards us.

Given the option, I’m going to enjoy.

 

Next day, a short PS:

I usually don’t write posts a day ahead.

Usually, it’s a mad dash to get things down before people get up to watch cartoons and eat cereal.

But….I wrote this post yesterday….and the “watch some election results” comment gives me away that something isn’t as timely as it usually is.

Still….I’m getting ready to enjoy my first sip of coffee, so consistency is still around.

That old song said that the best part of waking up….is Folgers in your cup.

I love coffee….but I have to wonder if the best part of waking up……isn’t….waking up.

Wheeeeeeeee!!! I woke up again.

Now what’s going to happen today?!

 

suck it.

 

septictankpumping

Nate got a new experience yesterday.

He got to watch the man come and suck out the septic tank.

It’s good to know that pooping has repercussions.

There isn’t a magic fairy who comes and takes it all away.

It’s a guy with a big-tanked pooh-pumping truck who comes to get it every 10 years.

We weren’t having issues or anything….it had just been a really long time since the tank had been pumped….and I felt like it was time to have it done again….and…I thought it would be a really teachable moment to have with my young son.

Most of it was me trying to impress on him what a pain in the rear it would be if he dropped any of the tools down into the pooh chamber.

That’s a lesson: “Don’t drop tools into the pooh chamber.”

What a weird lesson.

It’s good to know what happens to things that we produce that need to be disposed of.

When (and we don’t have one….but) you use a garbage disposal, the waste goes away like magic.

Where does it go?

Downstream?

When you have a man come and take your trash away, you don’t give it a second thought.

If you know that it’s “away”….well, that’s far enough.

That’s not good, really.

We need at least a little bit of awareness of what our actions cost the environment.

Of course, there is a tanker truck full of what used to be down in that dark place we call our septic tank going who knows where….and I don’t give it much of a second thought.

I let the mystery be when it comes to our old pooh going away.

Nate and I don’t need to know about everything.

Sometimes it’s enough to just wave goodbye.

 

“let the mystery be” Iris Dement

the itch

Sitting watching old Walt Disney cartoons with the kids, I thought about a movie I hadn’t seen for a long time.

The movie was called “Hud”.

It’s a pretty old movie….Paul Newman and Patricia Neal….young people, still.

I watched it the first time on an old black and white television.

What a great movie.

It’s a weird jump to go from a cartoon to a movie like this.

Maybe it was the era of the cartoon that made me think about Hud.

Hard to say….

If you get a chance to watch it, pay attention to the scene where Paul Newman’s character, Hud, is talking to Patricia Neal’s character, Alma….I think that it’s when Alma has decided to go away.

She’s standing in a doorway….Hud is standing on the steps leading up to the doorway…and Alma says something about a relationship between them that might have been.

It’s a sexy scene.

It’s a sexy scene….without any sex.

That’s the way to do it.

Pretty amazing.

Like I said, it’s a weird jump to go from Walt Disney to Hud.

Funny how a mind can work.

Barkley

I couldn’t sleep last night.

I guess that I was worried about things.

I let things run around in my head until I couldn’t turn it all off….and I ended up laying there at 1:30, eyes shut and trying too hard to drop away from being awake.

You can’t try to sleep with any success.

Effort doesn’t always make it happen.

We watched this documentary about the Barkley Marathon yesterday.

5 loops in the Tennessee mountains….each loop a reported 20 miles, but really closer in reality to 26 miles.

That’s 130 miles that the runners have 60 hours to complete.

They don’t sleep much.

I slept a couple hours less than I usually do.

These guys run and run and….run….and they sleep as little as possible….trying to do what few have been able to do since the race started being held in 1986.

I’m still tired….and all I had to do was hang out on a lazy Sunday and eat some good curry.

What do I have to complain about?

That’s a question that’s worth losing sleep over.

The documentary, The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young , currently streams on Netflix.

grapes

“grapes” Andrew and Polly

 

I listen to a show on the satellite radio with Nate while we ride to school called “Absolutely Mindy”…..on a Sirius channel called “Kids Place Live”.

It’s a pretty great show….and it’s a nice habit to listen to it with him in the morning.

Sometimes, after I drop him off, I forget to change the station to more adult fare.

It’s entertaining.

Lately, because I transferred the radio over to Jenny’s minivan, we’ve been listening to commercial radio….classic rock, mostly.

It’s not the same.

It’s fun for Jenny to get to listen to it with the kids, though.

It’s a good pacifier.

One of the songs that I love is “Grapes” by a duo called Andrew and Polly.

Here’s a picture of Andrew and Polly…..

andrew and polly

They look like a fun pair….

Jenny thought the song was kind of suggestive.

I thought so too.

They really want to eat some grapes…..and they don’t mask that enthusiasm very well.

They’re pretty up front about liking grapes.

There are so many great and creative kid’s songs on that “Kids Place Live” channel !!

“Grapes” is just one of them.

 

it was warm here, too.

I get a kick out of Casey Neistat.

He’s such a smartypants…..but in a good way.

And the creativity!! The aggressive pursuit of creativity!!

Man!!

This is another funny video….made on a sunny day in NYC…rolling around the city on a motorized skateboard.

It’s fun when it’s warm after a cold Winter.

It was warm here, too.

What’s it all about….Derek?

I listened to an interview for a good part of my morning with this guy, Derek Sivers.

Interesting stuff.

Tim Ferriss did the interview.

Derek Sivers is a musician and former circus clown.

Derek Sivers started an online company called CD Baby a while back that’s set up to help musicians get their CD’s to the public.

He later sold his company for 22 million dollars and used the proceeds to set up a trust to fund music education.

There are a lot of interesting people in the world.

I’m learning a lot more listening to podcasts than I do listening to commercial radio.

The “Zoo Crew” never taught me a thing.

Here’s a link to his website, sivers.org…..and another link to his book, available on Amazon…..or independent bookstores.

 

“alfie” Pat Metheny

it’s not so much what you do, it’s what you appreciate while you’re doing it.

Casey Neistat.

I enjoy his videos.

I wonder if it really isn’t all the great stuff that you do that makes a year….great?

Maybe it’s the appreciation that makes a year great?

Gratitude.

That’s something to work on.

Expressing gratitude is a great activity.

Energy and enthusiasm are great attributes.

GO!!