Vin's Birthday, 2018

Today is my brother Vin's official birthday. Since his boyhood, we have usually celebrated his birthday on Thanksgiving weekend because a lot of people had off for the long weekend. For his eighteenth birthday, we conspired with a bunch of his friends to get him out of the house for a few hours so we could gather a ton of his friends in our house, making sure that they all parked around the corner, out of sight. Vin was completely flabbergasted when he walked into the living room and was confronted by dozens of guests all shouting, "Happy birthday!" My older brother, Sweetums, displaying impeccable timing, snapped his picture as he stood there, jaw halfway to the floor.

This year, we had a couple of birthday celebrations at Vin's place in Alabama. On Friday, one of his army buddies came over with his wife, their two beautifully mannered sons, and the family dog. This buddy of his, dubbed 'Sweet Pea' as a teenager because of his almost pretty good looks and gentlemanly nature, was a regular at our house... he's been family for over two decades. I hadn't seen him in a long time, but it was as if the years melted away, and we settled into our old, jocular routine. He hasn't even changed much in the intervening years. His wife, a good sport, was immediately inducted into the family as well, and the boys were an immediate hit with us. On Saturday, Vin's neighbors who lived next to house he rented when he first moved to Alabama came over. They are a retired couple- she volunteers in a pet rescue, he plays various instruments and runs an open mic night at a local coffee shop. I immediately took a liking to them, as always Vin has exhibited flawless taste in his friends.

Happy birthday, Vincenzo! It's always a great multi-day extravaganza, so I have no doubt that it will continue all this weekend.

Nine Inch 'No'

Today, we have an item for the schadenfreude file- Ted Cruz asked for free tickets to see Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor told him to fuck off:

Trent asks the crowd who voted for Ted Cruz - 11/27 Irving, TX from r/nin

The weird thing here is that Ted Cruz is a Nine Inch Nails fan in the first place- the band was often picketed by fundamentalist Christians like Cruz purports to be. The one reason I could possibly think for Cruz' desire to see the band is to indulge in some 80s nostalgia. Reznor released his first album in 1989, but he has always worn his influences on his sleeve, often performing with artists who inspired him- here's a live performance by Mr Reznor collaborating with 'goth' godfather Peter Murphy, the frontman of the post-punk band Bauhaus:





A while back, I binge listened to a lot of Gary Numan's music, and Mr Numan and Trent Reznor have performed live together on multiple occasions:





Gary went through his embarrassing Tory phase back in the 80s, but he got over it. I have no doubt that he'd also tell Ted Cruz to fuck off.

The Burning Question of Last Week

My goddaughter, having been raised correctly, asked her mother to buy her a Ramones T-shirt a couple of weeks ago. There being no Ramones T-shirts at the store in which they were shopping, the dear girl chose a Hogwarts T-shirt as a consolation prize. This raised a question in my mind... which original Ramone would have been chosen by the Sorting Hat for which House of Hogwarts. I came up with this sorting:

Joey- Hufflepuff
Johnny- Ravenclaw
Dee Dee- Slytherin
Tommy- Gryffindor

Of course, others may have a different opinion regarding the wizarding potential of each individual Ramone. At any rate, here is a video of the famous 1977 London concert which became the source for the live album It's Alive:




I hear they caught the train for Hogwarts the next day.

Post-Thanksgiving Catch-up

I got home this morning at about half past five, beating out the bulk of the NYC rush hour traffic by a nose. The fourteen hour drive home was an endurance test, but not an ordeal, and my first order of business upon getting home was to call family to let them know I'd arrived safely. Now, it's a matter of catching up... I've caught up on sleep, I've consumed plenty of water to make up for my 'take only sips' roadtrip strategy. Now, I will go out and catch up with my local friends, and tomorrow will involve catching up with the laundry, and reading more in-depth about the news items I'd merely scanned while in Alabama. Hanging out with family took precedence over keeping up with current events. I also have to upload some pictures from my phone to my laptop so I can add them to the posts I'd written on my phone last week... specifically, I have photos of my handsome new friend, Lupin, the wolfy dog that my warrior queen goddaughter adopted. I should be caught up in a couple of days.

About to Hit the Road

I’m in the process of packing up for the trip home. I got up at 6:45 so I could see the kids off to school and my brother off to work, then went back to sleep for a few hours. Now, the bag is packed, and I’m showered up and powered up. I just have to put on my traveling clothes, fill up the Camelback, bid adieu to my mom and my sister-in-law, and head out to what Charles Portis called ‘the roadways of pelagic America’. Most of the trip will be the northeasterly I-81 route from Chattanooga to Hazelton, PA, then it’s a scoot across I-80 til I’m home.

I had a ball with family and friends, and I’m positively swollen with pride at my nieces and nephew. The ride home won’t be fun, but my love for the family makes the slog worthwhile.

Feeling Sorry for Travelers

This morning, we spent some time watching the weather channel, following the snowstorm horror stories from Midwestern roadways and airports all over the country. Here at Vin and fam’s Huntsville home, it was a balmy, beautiful morning- a perfect morning for playing with the dog in the backyard. We could see clouds rolling in around noon, though. Vin and I took the girls to see a movie (the second ‘Magical Beasts’ movie, a fun fantasy spectacle suited for imaginative girls who love animals), and the skies opened up briefly as soon as we left the theater.

I don’t have to be back to work until Wednesday, so I am planning on hitting the road early tomorrow afternoon. It looks like the weather will cooperate with me. I just feel sorry for all of the travelers who braved the journey home today.

Black Dog Friday

I’m not big into consumerism, so I’ve never understood the appeal of Black Friday. I’m not averse to fighting, but for me, it’s strictly recreational- the idea of fighting over a television or a pair of sneakers is repugnant to me. I preferred to spend a Black Dog Friday- playing with my niece’s Dog, a Black Belgian shepherd. My niece really wanted an army of dragons, but that’s not feasible, so she decided to settle for a dog, with the proviso that it would be a big, wolfy dog. A husky-Alsatian mix had caught her eye, but had already been adopted. She settled for the next wolfiest dog in the shelter, a skinny fellow with big, alert ears and a shabby coat. Apparently, ‘Lupin’ had been running the streets for an indeterminate period of time, either a runaway or an abandonee.

A couple of weeks of good meals and good care resulted in Lupin being the strong, handsome dog I met on Wednesday. He’s a social dog, uncomfortable with being alone, and excitable around new people. He and I became fast friends from the get-go.

There’s one tantalizing clue to Lupin’s footloose days... I was telling the girls about a goofy mockingbird on my worksite which mimics car alarms. While whistling the opening bars of the typical car alarm, Lupin ran across the kitchen into the living room, took a flying leap onto the couch, and proceeded to exfoliate my face with his tongue. Ever since, if I want the dog’s attention, all I have to do is mimic the car alarm. It’s a mystery, one I find amusing.

I’m writing this post on my phone, but I will update it, including a picture of my handsome, wolfy friend.