OMG! A NEW ALBUM FROM THE BREEDERS IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS!!!
1/10 UPDATE … *DROOLS*
Hello, New Pack!
So, hey! I bought a new light backpacking/day hiking pack.
Several years ago, I bought an Osprey Stratos 24 Pack after having used a Gregory Crux backpack for nearly 20 years. The Gregory pack was essentially just a rucksack and not terribly comfortable when loaded up with gear. And it made my back super sweaty on just about any hike. I was in the local outfitting store one day, and saw the Osprey packs with their super cool “Air Speed” suspension system. Essentially, the pack frame curves and keeps the pack off your back with space for air to flow through so you don’t get sweaty (or as sweaty as you would with a normal pack). I feel in love and bought the smallest one they offer.
The trusty Osprey Stratos 24 …
Compared to my old pack, the Stratos 24 was a Cadillac. Super comfy to wear and it barely felt like you had a pack on. That was awesome. I tend to over pack on day hikes, and quickly discovered that the 24 size would barely hold all the gear I like to carry. That was a bummer. But, I made do and figured out ways to strap things to the outside and what gear I could really leave behind. The Stratos 24 ended up being a great bag for the last three years.
Before Christmas I bought a hammock. I knew I wanted to carry this on hikes as well and that the 24 just couldn’t handle carrying any more gear. Thankfully, Christmas cash came to the rescue and I ended up buying a Stratos 36 (the largest in the Stratos line). I tested out loading gear and it’s the prefect size. Now if the damn temps would warm up just a little, I can get out and test the pack and hammock on the trail. Yes!
This has been your overly long post … the gist of which is simply “I bought a new backpack!”
Hello, New Year
And here we are three days in 2018. Such excitement!
I disappeared last week. Actually, I was lazy and didn’t feel like posting.
New Year’s Eve was supposed to be full of friends and fun. David and I had invited people over and spent a chunk of money on food stuff and such. Alas, Mother Nature had other plans. A freak “freezing fog” rolled in mid-afternoon on Sunday and, by party time, the roads were covered in ice. Kiki did brave it and was the only person to show up. We ate food, drank too much (at least I did), played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and watched The Poseidon Adventure (the original one, of course). It was pretty fun … though we still have a crap ton of bad-for-you party food hanging around the place. (I might have gone into a cupcake induced shame spiral this morning because we have a bunch left over.)
Bowser was so pumped about the New Year, he yawned out of excitement.
On New Year’s Day we went down to Mom’s for a Hoppin’ John dinner. Lots of cool folks were there and it was fun to catch up … and somewhat disappointing to keep hearing how everyone is down on the same thing I am down on. If you look back through the first 12 years of this blog and then look at this past year and see what I no longer post about, you might be figure it out. I know that’s vague … and maybe one day there will be a post about it. Maybe.
Anyhoo …
Thanks to the magic of the internet, I have found my new 2018 workout routine!
Post-Christmas
And … Christmas is over. Thank God. I got some super cool presents from the boyfriend (lots of books, some movies, and a cool coat!) and ate waaaaaay too much food due to three different gatherings. I am not weighing myself until July.
I must confess that Christmas is still one of my least favorite times of the year. There has been a big hole in the holidays since 1991. Seems like 26 years would be enough time to fill that hole or, at the very least, have made some peace with it. I suspect that if I haven’t gotten over it by now, I am never going to.
It’s one week until 2018 (just to state the obvious).
In Dreams [Trump Edition]
Yep. I had a dream about Trump last night. I was at a hotel and there was a conference where Trump was giving a talk. The event was set up on the patio of the hotel and about 40 people were listening to him speak. He would say certain things and the people listening would move in rhythm like they were hypnotized or were being mind controlled. Everyone had large, frozen chicken breasts that were thawing and dripping raw chicken juice on the concrete patio. Now everyone is gone and the patio is covered in that raw chicken juice. I go and get a water hose and start washing the patio off. An older Trump supporter comes out of the hotel and questions what I am doing. I get angry and tell him that the situation is unhealthy and dangerous and that someone has to “clean up the mess that Trump and you all have made.” That’s when I woke up. Is America great again yet?
Star Was: The Last Jedi [Quickie Thoughts]
We saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Monday night. I liked it … with a few caveats.
I liked that The Last Jedi has a more complex take on the characters. It’s not all “black and white,” as characters variously struggle with loss of faith in themselves, fear about how their actions have affected and will affect future events (for the worse), issues about trust, and issues about ego and hubris. There are lots of shades of grey. I would argue that The Last Jedi is a directly informed by the self-obsessed/Trump-ian times we live in.
The action in this movie is really well done. The centerpiece lightsaber fight is spectacular and quite possibly the best one in the series. AND .. there’s a moment involving Vice Admiral Holdo that is visually the coolest thing I have seen on a movie screen all year.
And, yes. There were some things I didn’t like. There’s a moment involving Leia that comes out of nowhere and is very “WTF?!” that I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around. Maybe it was more execution that made it weird. Finn’s subplot seemed a little like a detour just to give the character something to do. I understand what they were going for, it just seemed to eat up a lot of screen time for the “message” that results from it. The first moments with Luke in the movie is problematic in the way it is staged. Again, I understand what is being gone for but the execution robs this moment of any gravitas. It plays like a cheap joke (and maybe that is what they were going for).
Past that, I think The Last Jedi is pretty damn solid.
It’s been interesting to see fan reaction to this movie. The way some people are reacting, you would think Rian Johnson had personally murdered their mother. It’s all about subverted expectations. I guess I am a little less invested since years of abuse by George Lucas have somewhat deadened my excitement for all things Star Wars. Personally, I was happy to see Johnson do something unexpected with the story/characters. Otherwise, The Last Jedi would just be a retread of themes we have already seen in (at least six) other Star Wars movies.
And now … my (self-obsessed) ranking of the Star Wars movies.
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope | Rogue One
3, The Force Awakens | The Last Jedi
4. Return of the Jedi
5. The Phantom Menace | Attack of the Clones | Revenge of the Sith
Current Lust Object [Lego Edition]
I have a MIGHTY NEED for the Lego Ultimate Collectors Series Millennium Falcon. It’s only $800 (if you can find one). I am currently prepping the sell of a kidney to fund this purchase. 😛
Thoughts and Things
– The Crying Game is every bit as good as I remember it being.
– The Hazelwood Ingle’s needs a new nickname. “Redneck” doesn’t work anymore.
– Living with your boyfriend means a lot less sexting with him goes on.
– I am making Baked Mac & Cheese for a potluck tonight.
– My Baked Mac & Cheese is three shades of awesome.
– We’ll be seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Monday night.
– Resisting the urge to get all of Christopher Nolan’s films on 4K UHD Blu-ray.
– I apparently have more money than brains.
– Speaking of brains … the whole Trump clan really are stupider than they look.
– It’s a little over a week until Christmas. I hate Christmas, but love presents.
– It’s a little over two weeks until 2018. Where did 2017 go?
Eye Candy [LS Edition]
Here’s Emile Hirsch running shirtless in Lone Survivor. His shirtless scenes at the beginning were the best part of this pretty by-the-numbers war movie.
On a Related Note: I wish my middle name was Davenport. That would be cool.
Mood
Feeling like a doormat and that I always fuck things up. Can I crawl under a rock and disappear now?
Snow Weekend Update
Well … we survived the first snow of the season. It came down all day (and night) on Friday and all morning on Saturday. That was when the clouds broke and the sun came out. When it was all said and done there ended up being 10″. Whoo! Not so “Whoo!” was not getting a snow day on Friday since I work from home. Also not so “Whoo!” was shoveling out the driveway and cleaning off the cars. I will give the town and county kudos for keeping the roads scraped and clear. We were able to get down the road by mid-day (and even tripped to Asheville yesterday). I love snow, but Bowser has been less than thrilled with it.
Some fun snow weekend things:
– We started watching Godless on Netflix.
– Acquired a talking Dug Ornament for the tree. It’s awesome!
– Watched Krampus for the first time. It’s a pretty fun movie.
But the BIG fun thing for the weekend was finding an original pressing of Prince‘s Sign O’ The Times album … and it’s in pristine shape! I might have pranced around the living room with Housequake playing as loudly as possible.
Tomorrow night, Glenn and Stephen and Judy come over for egg nog and gingerbread cookies. Yum!
First Snow of the Season!
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Plan on difficult travel conditions. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 8 inches above 5000 feet. * WHERE...Portions of the central and southern mountains of North Carolina and the adjacent Foothills. * WHEN...Until 7 AM EST Saturday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.
Please report snow and ice accumulations by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag nwsgsp.
Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite source of weather information for the latest updates. Additional details can be found at www.weather.gov/gsp.
Eye Candy [Babysitting Edition]
I never realized that Vincent D’Onofrio played Dawson/Thor until we re-watched Adventures in Babysitting last night. I had quite the crush on Dawson back in the day.