• Clarification

    I haven’t been particularly lazy this last month or so, and I’ve been doing just as much reading as ever, but one of the last books I tried reading was a terrible bore. I say this because a new book recently appeared in the recent reads portion of this site, and the length of time between updates has nothing to do with the book that was added (“Benighted,” by Kit Whitfield). None of you will particularly care, but I feel compelled to make sure my feelings about this book are not misrepresented. Actually, I went through this book in a weekend (less than half the time the average book takes me).

    The book that was a terrible bore (which I tried reading before “Benighted”) was not added to this site because I never finished it. In fact, had I read even half of it I might have included it. But it was a terribly long book, I was about 150 pages in (less than a third of the way, after a month of giving it chance after chance), and I just couldn’t take it any more.

    In closing, let me just say that “Benighted” was a great book, and leave it at that.

    Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.

  • I’m John, and I can’t see you

    Katie Couric is good at what she does. As far as I know, it’s as true today as it was six months ago. What’s more, I’ve always liked Katie Couric (even though I don’t watch much weekday morning TV). I say this up front because this entry is yet another example of me being hyper-critical, which is somewhat ironic given my many flaws. Although, isn’t always the worst offenders that are the biggest critics? I say this over and over in these entries, so tonight I’m going to add one more flaw to the list: disingenuous apologist.

    Back to Katie. I hear she had a big debut this evening. I’m not a fan of the Network News genre of “newstainment,” so I don’t know this because I was actually watching. No, you have my wife to thank (blame) for this entry. Cheryl had a number of good things to say about the broadcast, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of them, save one: the first one. I was thrust headlong into a state I like to refer to as: “the blank stare of deep thought.” Irony strikes again… the first thing Cheryl had to say about the broadcast was the last thing Katie had to say. Apparently she signed off by saying, “I’m Katie Couric and I hope to see you again tomorrow.”

    Cheryl thought it was nice and personal. Not having seen it, I thought it sounded a little too pleading… like she was afraid that after tonight no one would come back. In a way I guess even that is kind of sweet; a refreshing departure from News Anchors with high opinions of themselves. As my blank stare of deep thought persisted (and Cheryl’s voice was a barely heard background mumble wafting through the mists of oblivion) I wondered why I was the only one in the house that knew that our television is not a two-way video conferencing device. If Katie couldn’t see us tonight, how is she going to see us again? Doesn’t “again” suggest a recurrence, a repeat of a previous event? The only people she saw tonight was the production crew at CBS. Baring an extraordinarily bad case of poor judgement by the head’s of the network honchos, it’s a pretty sure bet she’s going to see them again.

    As Cheryl was finishing up (unknowingly) talking to herself, a final thought came to me which brought me out of my altered state of consciousness: I wouldn’t have done better. I shared all of this with my wife and she gave me something I like to call “the spousal stare of contempt.”

    There’s a somewhat obvious lesson in all of this: never voluntarily admit to your wife that you weren’t listening to her.

  • Boy knows best

    Adam was finishing up his dinner and rediscovered a cup of Pringles he had on the side. (It was one of those form fitting cups with a single serving of chips.) He went for a spoonful of chips when I helpfully suggested, “Adam, you can’t eat chips with a spoon.”

    Adam took one look at me, grabbed hold of the business end of the spoon, ground up some chip dust, and took a spoonful of chip-bits with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eye.