Sometime in the next day or two, or even in the next few hours, this blog will look odd, because I will have hit the data transfer limit on the third of the Earthlink e-mail profiles I use to store the images for my template. I’m not really in a position right now to do anything about this, though, being in Idaho for my mother-in-law’s upcoming funeral. Well, yeah, it’s all cyber-stuff, so technically I could do something about it, but I can’t see there this is a priority right now, so make it a priority until I’m back in Buffalo at the end of next week. Luckily, the transfer limits re-set at the beginning of the month, so on Sunday the blog should be back to its normal appearance. Sometime in February I plan to make a permanent change when I sign up with an actual hosting company, but for now, the blog will have to look odd.
In the meantime, please enjoy a glass of your favorite sparkling beverage. Thank you.
Well, my little roses that follow each blog post are missing, as is my American flag in the sidebar. This is because Earthlink has apparently reduced the amount of data transfer allowed for people like me who use its free webspace to store graphics and whatnot. Right now I’m averaging hitting my limit in about ten days’ time, so I’ve had to create three accounts (they’re free, you get up to eight or something like that) for my graphics, and then each month when one hits the limit I have to go through the template for this blog and change the HTML to point to a username whose transfer limit hasn’t been exceeded. And then on the first of each month it all resets. The problem is, on the username I’m using right now, I don’t have my roses or my flag. This irritates me.
So, in the next week or two I’ll be signing up with an actual hosting company. I’m looking for a cheap one so I can just host my graphics and not have to worry about things disappearing. I’ll get that taken care of soon enough, but anyone wondering why the blog sporadically looks weird, this is why.
First, it’s National Delurking Week, so if you’re lurking here, feel free to say “Hello” on the comments to that post. I’m observing Delurking Week until Tuesday (one week after I started it), so have at it, lurkers! I love all of my lurkers. Even you, the one who keeps making stabbing motions with his pocket knife over his computer every time you navigate to this blog. You know you love me!
Second, the “Five Question Interview” game is winging around Blogistan again, and my initial responses are here. If you’d like to participate, drop a comment over there so I know who wants to be “interviewed”! (And since I can’t resist this game, I may ask for questions in return.)
Hey you! Yeah, you. No, not you, the other one. Yeah. You.
You come by here but never leave a comment. Well, it’s National Delurking Week, so why not break the trend? Go to this post and say something! Just to let me know you’re there. You don’t have to say anything deep or profound. And nobody will laugh at you.
Steph alerts me that this is, roughly, National Delurking Week, when lurkers are supposed to go ahead and leave a comment. So, here it is! I know I’ve got a few lurkers, anyway, so go ahead and drop a comment, even if it’s just a “Hi from Chattanooga” or something like that. Or say something, or ask something, or whatever. The floor is yours! Let me know you’re out there, Lurkers!
(And I’d point out that I appreciate lurkers as much as “identified” readers. Those who come back time and again, even if not to say anything, are still reading my stuff, which is why I write it. So thanks for being here!)
And here we go with my traditional wrap-up quiz, applied to 2008. I’ll probably take a few days off now, but you never know! In any event, I’ll definitely have new stuff up on Sunday at the latest.
Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Of the ones that were easy to keep, I was successful. I resolved to not use shaving cream for anything at all, and I did not. I resolved to stop listening to Twisted Sister, and I did. (Never having started listening to Twisted Sister helped this one along, admittedly.) And my resolution to wear no fur products was kept with ease.
As for my other resolutions, I don’t know. Did I write more? Probably not. But I certainly did live healthier, with regular workouts at the Y and quite a bit of weight lost. For this year, 2009, I’m going to once again set as my goal to live a more literary and artistic life. I want to read more short fiction, more non-fiction, more drama. I want to also re-read everything Guy Gavriel Kay has written, since it’s been a few years since my last re-reads of The Fionavar Tapestry and The Lions of Al-Rassan; it’s been more than seven years since my last re-reads of Tigana and A Song for Arbonne; and I’ve never yet re-read The Sarantine Mosaic, The Last Light of the Sun, or Ysabel.
Oh yeah, and I resolve to start riding my bike to work once the weather warms. What’s the best way to carry a laptop around while biking, anyone?
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Two old friends from work (who are both now stay-at-home moms) had second children this year. Actually, the first may have been very late last year, but the second was just a couple of months ago. That’s about all, I think.
Did anyone close to you die?
No. Recently, the Reaper seems to strike us in odd-numbered years, so I’m not looking forward to 2009.
What countries did you visit?
The big new one was Terre D’Ange, of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart. (I’ll post about that eventually.)
What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Better perspective. I think I’m on the way.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing 35-40 pounds.
What was your biggest failure?
I didn’t write enough, not nearly enough. I’m wasting too much time and not spending enough on my literary pursuits. I know I can do it. So why don’t I?
And yeah, The Promised King still isn’t done. Ach!
What was the best thing you bought?
Huh. I’m not sure, really. I didn’t buy a whole lot, and that was mostly books. I got a 250-gig external hard drive for backups, so that was good. Aside from books, it wasn’t a year for buying things. I didn’t even buy any new pairs of overalls this year! First time that‘s happened in many moons. In fact, after selling a bunch of pairs on eBay, the size of my overalls collection actually went down significantly. So, best things I bought? Probably meals and movies with the family, and books I read. Simple and true. (And not much by way of economic stimulation, I know. Sue me.)
But I did get to finally start buying clothes in the regular sizes at Target, which means no more paying an extra two bucks to get XXL! Huzzah! (I’m using the word “Huzzah” a lot, all of a sudden. Why not! Huzzah!)
Whose behavior merited celebration?
The Daughter, as always. She is turning out really interestingly, a geek-in-waiting. I can’t even begin to comprehend all the stuff she tells me about Pokemon. And we read so many terrific books together!
And The Wife, who continues to endure her frequently buggerish husband.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
John McCain’s. Sarah Palin? Really?! Come on. And all the free-market libertarians who continue to insist that if we just eliminate government and let the market do its magic, wonderful things will result. I keep looking at the current economy and thinking of George Carlin’s words: “Right now, that invisible hand of Adam Smith’s is offering an extended middle finger to an awful lot of people.”
And yeah, there were times when my own behavior left me scratching my head and thinking, “Why on Earth did I think that was a wise idea?”
Where did most of your money go?
Into my gas tank and into our stomachs; the rest went to creditors or onto my bookshelves.
What did you get really excited about?
Barack Obama, who will on January 20 descend from Mount Olympus to lay hands upon the nation and thus save us from the cruel grip of our own worse natures. (Or who, alternately, will take the oath of office as President of the United States and do his best to fix the errors of the last eight years, doing well on some stuff and falling short on other stuff. I’ll take either one.)
What song will always remind you of 2008?
“Last Dance”, by Donna Summer; “How Deep is Your Love”, by the Bee Gees; “Falling Slowly” by Glen Mansard and Markita Irglova. More on that one below, and later on in another post.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I am happier. I think.
Thinner or fatter?
Thinner! You bet your sweet arse I’m thinner. At my height I’d lost 40 pounds on the nose from what I tipped the scales in 2007, but I’ve put back between four and six pounds since that point, mainly owing to my decreased workout frequency the last two months. (It’s just been terribly hectic.) I’m shrinking out of clothes and into smaller clothes. It’s a great feeling. And I’m stronger, too.
Richer or poorer?
I don’t know. For some reason I think I should feel poorer, but I don’t. It’s odd.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing, listening, reading, drinking rum, watching movies. Same stuff as always. Hanging with The Wife. We missed quite a few opportunities this year.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Same as last year: worrying about stuff I can’t control, and controlling the stuff I wasn’t worried about. Also, missing opportunities with The Wife.
How did you spend Christmas?
The same way we always do: opening gifts, eating food, reading and writing, visiting Little Quinn’s grave.
Did you fall in love in 2008?
My stock answer: I fall in love on a daily basis.
How many one-night stands?
I’d tell you all, but not one of you would believe me.
Oh fine. Zero. You happy now?
What was your favorite TV program?
The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, The Amazing Race, Once and Again, Firefly. (Nobody said I had to limit myself to shows currently running.)
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don’t like hate. It’s such a worthless emotion. It serves no useful purpose, and it saps energy. I do feel it, from time to time, but I try not to sustain it.
What was the best book you read?
I haven’t posted about it yet, but I did mention it above: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Also, a graphic novel called American Born Chinese hit me between the eyes, as did Will Eisner’s Life, with Pictures. And I just read Waiter Rant by, well, a waiter. Hmmmm. Lots of good books, actually; see the preceding post for links to where I’ve talked about stuff I’ve read.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
I didn’t make any real new musical discoveries this year, aside from the afore-mentioned duo of Hansard-and-Irglova. I did start exploring some areas I’d been familiar with previously, such as the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. Oh, and I came to the conclusion that the Beatles actually didn’t suck. Who knew?
What did you want and get?
A Democratic president-elect. A copy of the works of Kahlil Gibran. Shorter shoulder straps on the overalls, and even the ability to button all the side buttons on some of the bigger pairs. At work: a corded circular saw, a pair of pneumatic nailers, an angle grinder, and a finish sander. I figured out how to make DVDs on the main computer.
What did you want and not get?
La La Land Records has issued a two-disc set of Mark Snow’s music from the Millennium series that I haven’t ordered yet. I didn’t get a new teevee yet; nor did I get a new stereo to replace the one whose CD player is slowly dying. (It still has good sound and I play CDs on the DVD player, so I don’t need to replace this, yet.) Worst, I didn’t get nearly enough time alone with The Wife.
What were your favorite films of this year?
As always, I saw almost nothing that came out this year, so Quantum of Solace wins pretty much by definition. We watched Wall-E a couple of days ago and loved it; more on that in a later post. Ditto Prince Caspian, although apparently that film’s less-than-spectacular box office has made Disney skittish about the prospect of continuing the series. Their mistake here was rushing Caspian into the melee of summer box office; I suspect the film would have done much better as a winter release.
What did you do on your birthday?
I went to dinner with two friends, while The Wife was out of town on family business. Then I went home and started a three-day bender. (OK, not really. But I did go out to dinner.)
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
The same as ever: tie-dye, soft sweaters, thermal henley shirts, overalls, hiking boots, et cetera. I did buy a pair of regular blue jeans this year. Next year I’ll need to replace nearly all of my shorts, which are now too big. I decided that I like the color orange, for some reason.
What kept you sane?
My friends and my family.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jenna Fischer, Sela Ward, Gillian Anderson.
What political issue stirred you the most?
No single issue, really. Just all the ones that Republicans are wrong about. (It’s a very long list.)
Who did you miss?
I missed Blogistan while I was elsewhere.
Who was the best new person you met?
As always, you. Over there. Behind the other guy.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Keeping a few from last year: The Internet is made of people. Punting is for losers. Democracy works, eventually. Not all tears are an evil. Whipped cream is a miracle substance. So is ice cream. Use your library; limiting your reading to only those books you can afford to buy is madness. OpenOffice rules. Buy good tools, take care of them, don’t lend them out, and they’ll last forever. Savory or sweet, eaten or worn, from pizza to apple to coconut cream, pie is wonderful. Screw fashion; if it’s comfy, wear it. We’re not meant to be alone. No object fits in your hand so perfectly as your wife’s hand, and no object fits so perfectly on your shoulder as your child’s head. Let it be, and all you need is love.
And keep smiling, because you never know what life will throw in your face next!
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
The afore-mentioned “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Markita Irglova, used in the movie Once:
I don’t know you But I want you All the more for that Words fall through me And always fool me And I can’t react And games that never amount To more than they’re meant Will play themselves out
Take this sinking boat and point it home We’ve still got time Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice You’ve made it now
Falling slowly, eyes that know me And I can’t go back Moods that take me and erase me And I’m painted black You have suffered enough And warred with yourself It’s time that you won
Take this sinking boat and point it home We’ve still got time Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice You’ve made it now
Take this sinking boat and point it home We’ve still got time Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice You’ve made it now Falling slowly sing your melody I’ll sing along….
Wow, it seems less and less like twelve months has passed, each time I set out to do one of these posts. Below are links to what seem to me to be the best posts from this blog, as they appeared in 2008. This was the year when I ended up ceasing blogging for more than three months because I got bored of the whole thing, so I won’t make any promises about 2009. But for now, here’s the good stuff you may have missed.
:: I call special attention to my Fixing the Prequels series, which actually began in 2007. But the bulk of the work on The Phantom Menace took place in 2008, and I’ve begun addressing Attack of the Clones. I also call special attention to the 2008 edition of Ask Me Anything!, a game I now play every February (since that is this blog’s anniversary month — and it’s coming up again, so start thinking of questions!). Additionally, I finished off my 100 Favorite Movies list in 2008. When I returned from blogging I changed the appearance of the blog; one idea for the redesign that I rejected can be found here. Finally, I started my weekly musical selections series, Something For Thursday, in 2008.
