Welcome to the real world.

So, here we sit, so far removed from what previously was the very essence of what one thought it was supposed to be like. And now, as then, it seems so foreign and exhilirating all at once, and rightfully so. Does rushing to label or categorize a thing make the thing different? Time for more pondering methinks. Especially when there is so much more information that needs to be added to the equation. Vague? Maybe. Or not.

So I'm at a client and I'm checking mail and some feeds. A normal afternoon other than the location. Hours pass. Then, as I'm doing something completely unrelated that moment replays in my mind. And I was struck by how that stream of consciousness reminded me of something else, which has not yet happened. More how my description of checking mail and feeds and what I was reading at the time which is/was/will be a part of the something else which has not yet happened. Can a memory of a memory be a precursor of a memory of something which has not happened yet? Strange? Now if sleep would come, that would really tease my brain...

So we all found out this week that the local movie theater, which has been closed for at least a year, will be making a come back. At least one screen of the three will be showing the moving pictures by the end of the year and some more political wrangling will determine what else happens with the rest of the building. When I hear the term "mixed use" I tend to worry, but perhaps, just this once, I won't. Until then I'm bound to cursing all of the semi-local mexaplexes that refuse to show any films worth seeing. So, methinks a train ticket (or a dozen) is in my future. That's the happy. A good friend is leaving and as such my week will from now on seem two days longer than it has in a long time. That's the sad. Uncertainty can be a good thing, depending on the topic, or the person. Or the circumstance. And that's the maybe. Perhaps I will re-watch "The Shawshank Redemption" this weekend, in between all of the working and baseball. "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." Or not.

It seems that I go through these periods where there's nothing for me on the music landscape. When that happens I usually hunker down with my usual suspects and practice my thousand yard stare, looking, or listening as the case may be, at the horizon. And then, when I least expect it, something new pops up and totally takes over. The strange thing is that this seems to happen on a fairly regular interval. So, does that mean that i have a musical equivalent of a sun spot cycle? The difficult part is when the sharing part comes in. I hesitate to tell anyone about my new musical discovery. I keep it hidden away to myself, like a miser hoarding their gold. But there's a reason for that. I think it's a jinx of sorts. If I share said discoveries with friends, something terrible happens. The band breaks up, or worse. Then there's no more new stuff and I'm back to my thousand yard stare. And I definitely prefer the foreground to the background, although, the background seems to always be where it's at...

That's it. I'm switching back to black teas. I cannot stand the malaise. I know pain, it's a friend of mine. So, inspired by the person who uttered the title line I will take my chances — no I will beg fate to bring me the stone and the pain. At least I'm familiar with it, and that seems to be my problem, familiarity, in general, and in particular. Lucky, for you, fair reader(s) there are but one or two of you who may know what I am writing about. And that's good. Art should not be interesting or popular until after its creator has gone.

I'm not a music critic, to be sure, but I have read my share of reviews and I have experienced quite a lot of music in my time here on Earth. This record seems to take the grey that I am feeling and shine it to a polish. And that is not a bad thing. Not at all. I can't wait for the new record...

Being tagged with both words seems, well, odd. Positive and negative all at once. I do not think I would be either if given the opportunity to show proof. But no one really wants that now, do they? The point of departure would then be set and the journey would be the only thing left - and that is the part where being in sync is key. Oh well. So. Pending. And. Patience.

You are Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 75% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 70% Wash (Ship Pilot) 65% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 60% Inara Serra (Companion) 60% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 55% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 45% River (Stowaway) 45% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 40% Alliance 30% A Reaver (Cannibal) 10%

Honest and a defender of the innocent. You sometimes make mistakes in judgment but you are generally good and would protect your crew from harm.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

From the exquisite "Bubblegum" -- Strange Religion. That, and the track before it makes one pause for a moment. Nice.