Canned Ham: Slow News Day

It's been too long since I've posted a SPAM subject. Sorry about that.

U.N. Report - avi’s can ruin y0ur marriage

Hey, United Nations, don't you have other things to worry about?

Giving up

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker the other day. It began with a discussion about debt and the desire to get out and keep out of debt. My anti-debt feelings should be no surprise to the readers of my blog. Anyway, the discussion eventually transitioned to things less tangible than family budgets. Most notably, we discussed how the handling of our resources reflected our faith, our general view of the world, and our feelings about our place in the world. It was an appropriate conversation with the with the holidays and holiday gift-giving/receiving coming up. That conversation also introduced me to the Junky Car Club. Check that out sometime.

Anyway, I shared part of my gradually developing story. Over the last two years, my wife and I have worked hard to clean house. Now I won't go into the anti-debt-speech as I've done that several times before. Beyond that, though, I've been working to run a tighter ship. That sounds vague, I know. What I mean is that I've been trying to concentrate my time, money, and effort on those things that mean most to me. What am I passionate about? It's really been an exercise in saying no. As a result, there have been a few hobbies like woodworking, sculpting, and Flash animation that haven't received a lot of attention lately. On the other hand, I've been able to focus my attention on other things like drawing. I miss those things and do expect to get back to them but it might not be for awhile. As it was, keeping everything on the plate meant that I couldn't really focus on anything.

I read an article quite awhile ago (it's been on my to-blog list for a long time) . Essentially, it discusses how we, as humans, tend to place a higher value on things simply because those things are ours. That is, once something is in our possession, we're suddenly more zealous in keeping it that we ever were to get it. It's probably best to use a for instance. I have a old Huffy banana-seat bicycle. It's metallic green, has a sparkly green vinyl seat, sparkly hand grips, and is, overall, flippin' sweet. I picked it up at Goodwill several years ago. Here's the thing...I really can't ride it. Seriously, the wheels are 20". It's made for a kid and it's downright painful for my 6'+ frame to ride it. I could sell it for more money than I'd realistically pay for it now. But I keep it around because it's mine and it's cool. Well, I was keeping it around. Its up for sale now. I'm saying no to cluttering up the garage. It'll be sad to see it go but I really won't miss it.


Wow. Talk about a lack of focus...

Shady Dealin's (Part 2)

Breaking news!

The Shady Dealin's Etsy Shop is officially open for business! I posted not one, not two, but three prints just today. I'm actively working on a fourth and hope to have it done in time to order more prints of them all. Guess that depends if/when these three sell.

Anyway, check em' out.




By the way, if you're a) a regular reader of RetroBrett, b) you happen to have my personal email address, and c) you're interested some prints for yourself, let me know. We can work out some kind of deal. Maybe a codeword sale for friends and family.

Movie Reviews: Casino Royale, et al.

So, while my wife was out of town this past weekend, I did my typical stay up late to watch action/sci-fi movies. Atypical was the complete lack of zombie movies. Maybe I'm growing as a person. Maybe I just ran out of time. Anyway, here's what I did watch.

1. Predator. The 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. I'd seen this few times before so I knew what I was getting--violence, state-of-the-1987-art special effects, delightfully awful one-liners ("Stick Around!" delivered after throwing a knife) all wrapped in a thrilling and fun sci-fi package. I don't know. I was just in the mood for Predator. Really hit the spot.

2. Justice Legue: The New Frontier. Now, I loved the graphic novels on which this movie was based but I wasn't sure what to expect from the movie. Overall, I'd say the movie was so-so. I enjoyed it but it wasn't nearly as good as the books. Granted, the graphic novels were pretty rich in that they contained multiple story lines, spanned decades of time, and delved pretty deeply in to the culture and environment (the cold war, race relations, the space race, etc) of the atomic age. The movie was pretty linear and, with the 75 minute running time, a lot of the details were left out. It wasn't bad but I definitely prefer the books.

3. Casino Royale. Ok, I saved the best for last. I loved this movie. First off, some background. I grew up watching Bond movies and I've always enjoyed them, drawn to their action, cars, gadgets, intrigue, and the sheer over-the-top-ness.

Casino Royale is a huge departure from the previous movies. Oh, it still has some of the Bond staples—the exotic locales, the women, a fabulous car (a proper British Aston Martin [gone are the blasphemous BMWs used in several of the later films]), and it's still over-the-top—but it felt entirely different. It seemed so much more real. Gritty even. The women don’t automatically swoon when Bond appears. The gadgets are realistic. Bond has genuine conflicts with his superiors. Then there’s the Bond character himself. I thought Daniel Craig was terrific. The later, pre-Craig incarnations of Bond seemed almost superhuman to me. You know, above us lowly mortals. Emotionally, there’s a real humanness to the character in Casino Royale. He has flaws. He gets duped. He hurts. He feels. He fails. He succumbs to feelings of revenge. Physically, Craig brings a more believable presence to the screen. As much as liked the previous movies, I always had a hard time believing that some of the later super-suave and super-sophisticated Bonds could have survived an intense fight. Craig looks grizzled and hardened, like he can really bring it.

Now, I still love the previous movies. I just love them for different reasons than the latest movie. And I admit I’m really looking forward to Quantum of Solace when it comes out next month.

Testosterone Weekend

I just came off of a pretty exciting weekend. My wife spent the last few days at a conference so it was my first multi-day solo experience caring for the boys. First off, my wife had a terrific time. She came back recharged and encouraged. By far, that is the best part and I'm glad she was able to go.

As much as I (and the boys) missed her, I really had a lot of fun spending the weekend having quality time with my sons. We went to the park, visited a Renaissance Faire, roughhoused, read stories, and generally had a blast. It was good to see the boys 24 hours a day as my time with them is generally confined to what will fit in between work and bedtime. Even weekends are pretty busy.

Anyway, I managed to keep the house together. Nothing ended up too too out sorts. I even managed to make some progress on a few things:

1. I replaced a bathroom light fixture.
   
2. I worked on my old radio control car so I could race it with the boys. Got a nice, blistery burn from a soldering iron on my finger.
3. Cleaned up/patched bedroom walls for later painting.
4. Did some drawing. Also wrote out some descriptions for Etsy ads.
5. Sketched out ideas for some built-in bookcases.
6. Watched a few action and sci-fi movies (more on this later).
   

Now, just to be clear. I'm not under the false belief that my weekend at all represented what it's like to be home with a four-month-old and a nearly two-year-old every day. I had it easy only because my wife worked so hard to get me, the kids, and the house in such good order. That left me able to concentrate on just keeping everyone fed and uninjured (ok, everyone but me uninjured). I am very, very appreciative.