Oh the things I do!

Been busy, run off my feet the last week.

Nothing too profound but a couple things to share:

Went bowling with the Lutheran youth group I work with. Haven't bowled in a LOOOOONG time so my scores weren't too unfathomable (92 and 107) Once I got a feel for the motion again I just didn't have the touch and kept leaving spares. Ended up with lots of 7s, 8s and 9s. Plus the machines were setting the pins strangely so a perfect pocket hit would leave you with three standing. Or pins would just randomly fall down (happened a LOT). But it was fun and the youth had a great time so that's all that mattered.

A couple movies to add to the list:

Pulp Fiction - I'll catch pieces of it on TV but clearly it's a movie you have to see uncut. People had given me the impression that it was incredibly violent but it's really not. The deaths are spectacular but it's very classic Greek theater. They all take place "off stage" and you only see the aftermath. Now as for language! If bad words upset you do NOT want to watch this movie. It becomes funny (at least to me) after a while because they swear CONSTANTLY! For all that it was a really good movie. Visually stylish, amazing dialogue and a cast to die for. Highly recommended.

Rushmore - Man did I go into this one with misgivings. I'd been told "If you liked Napoleon Dynamite you'll probably like this". I hated Napoleon Dynamite. Two hours of my life I'll never get back. But I really like this one. Yes, it's strange. Yes, the main character has a weirdly obsessive personality (as compared to normally obsessive). But it's a neat little off beat story that carries you right along to the end. And you have to love the production values of the main characters stage shows! Worth a look when you're in the mood for something a little quirky.

I went to something new last weekend. It's called Artists Share and it's co-sponsored by a local church and the Arts Council. Literally it's a chance for artists to come together and share/show their work and get some feedback. This month was writing (last month was photography) and it was very cool. I ran into an old co-worker of mine (old only in the sense of jobs neither of us hold any more. She's a fair bit younger than I am!) I now discover that she is a prolific and talented writer! It's just fun to be around folks who are creative again. I think I'll keep coming back. In fact I'm working on a new blog that will be dedicated just to whatever creative pursuits I can produce. We'll see how that goes.

I'm trying one other new thing. I'm in a football pool. Since I don't bet (because I lose)I've never done a pool before. One of my brothers usually does a football pool or two during the NFL season so I've thought about it. This one's great, it's "sponsored" by the youth group of a friend of mine. So there's no money, no prizes, just the glory of winning it all. It's also simple and appeals to me. No worries about point spreads or anything like that. It's simple you pick the winners of the 16 games each week. Then you rank your "confidence" in each pick. For example this week I picked New England over Buffalo (sorry my fellow Bills fans but seriously did ANYONE think they'd win?) and ranked it 16, my highest confidence. Those then turn into points if you're right. Without tonight's game (which has my lowest confidence point total - 1) I'm at 81 points. Not real good, not terrible but not gonna win either. The first week someone picked all 16 games right! How do you do that ON THE FIRST WEEK!?!?!?!?!? This week's disappointments were San Diego and Denver. I picked Philadelphia to win so that felt good. So I imagine I'm still firmly mid pack somewhere. Let's see if I can't do better as the season goes along.

So on the whole a pretty good week. But lots still to do.

So off I go.
Peace