Month: March 2023

The VIP experience is one that people don’t often think is in reach or even worthwhile if you’re just someone who wants to enjoy the park. It is worth it. Like really. We went to Universal Hollywood on the VIP tour and that was the best theme park experience I’ve ever had. The rides that take 30-90 minutes to get on were ours in minutes. We got to see Hogwarts, and after that we got in to the new Nintendoland and that was pretty epic.

Here’s how VIP works at Universal: You show up, they feed you a breakfast, they take you on a 90 minute tour through the lot, backstage, and through a handful of mobile rides like King Kong. Then your tour guide takes you (in a small group of 12) around the park, passing you quickly to the front of all the lines and right into the rides. We got on all of the rides without a wait. All of them.

The rides themselves are really good. The Harry Potter 3d and Transformers 3d are the best and not to be missed. Unfortunately, without the vip cutting of the line you don’t get to get into all the rides because the lines are so long. We used that privilege twice on the new Mariokart ride. That one is complex–so much so I’ll need to talk about it tomorrow.

Some Thoughts:

1. Not much of a Friends guy, but some episodes are legit.
2. I’m worried about arthritis–wrist and hands. Typing hand?

A short journey through my open tabs reveals what I am thinking about. There are three categories worth noting: Medical, Story research, and Academic. I want to speak on the last one these ten minutes. I’ve been thinking a lot about my place as an educator and, in part, stressing over what I do vs. what I used to do. I used to be in the public eye and on the stage and on the road where everyone knew what I was doing. Nowadays I’m not that guy. My focus is on providing and improving upon a peak classroom experience. The term peak is not static in teaching, because the material that was fresh and current two to five years ago is stuff these students were too young to care about when you try to present it to them today. It took a while for me to learn that and, moreover, to mix new content and delivery methods (both for them to present and for me to present) with tried and true formats that are immune to the passage of years. I’m still getting there.

I’ve long been a distant follower of memes. I’m not up to date on them or follow them with the ferocity of my kids, but I get the idea. I have yet to find a way to fit that kind of communication into an english comp class, or decided if I even should. There should always be space between how they communicate with each other and more of a formal communication, the latter of which is my role in providing guidance for. Yet, I am also trying to teach them about the value of essay writing. In truth, I am more focused on the value of cogent argument and thought–particularly at the paragraph level. Just as in developmental education where I taught the kernel sentence, and spread out from there, I now focus on the PIE paragraph and use that blueprint to build anything larger.

So, why are so many windows open on my computer? Because the fundamentals only matter in context, and providing a context they can understand through content that entertains is the core of the classroom experience. To wit, I need new content.

Let’s start with the High School. Scooter Molander takes over as DV coach and he will lead both of my kiddos next year. He’s won in divisions as high as 5A and also in college as a coach and he has the chops to win 6A. Needs the talent to make it happen. He built a program from scratch and took them to the 3A title in 4 years. With an incoming freshman, I’d like to see this team competing in the next four years. I think they will. I think they hire will generate buzz and will give us some transfers at key positions. We need a new QB, because our all-conference guy is moving out of state.

Moving on to the pro game, I’m half-pissed at the Giants. I get it: You think Jones is that guy… 40 million though? He carries a cap hit of 19 million this year, which balloons to 45 next year and that is rough rough rough. I don’t know if any one player is worth that much cap–especially as we are trying to seriously develop other positions at offense. Still, I’m trusting the process and trusting that a long term deal with our key leader, Mr. Barkley, gets done. In the interim the team needs to finally release Golladay (as promised) and restructure Williams (32 mil cap), and Jackson (19 mil cap) in order to provide some space for the team to sign (or trade for) talent at the WR position, CB position, and finish rebuilding the O-line so we can win. If the G-men cannot find anyone to stretch the field, we won’t win.

I’ll talk about options, and DV Football more next time.

This one is coming in late in the evening. Been a long day as Tuesdays typically are. That is why I like to reflect on Tuesdays, however I’m on the phone so I cannot exactly link to a past post. I can however link to a past experience.

Today I spent time walking the campus with my students. We are preparing for a public event, which used to be my jam. Lately I’ve been either in my office or in my classroom and zero presence In between. This is a contrast to my early years at the college when I was everywhere and doing just about everything. It was my life. Between that and coaching my existence was about pleasing and educating.

no longer.

I give more of my hours and energy to the writing —be it student or my likely my own. I plan for classes instead of hanging with colleagues. I am no longer a scion of campus life. It was good for a time and I have no regrets. This is good too. This is who I am now and still, I have no regrets.

Listening to Mr. Nightmare while writing this. He’s talking about disturbing backstories of Craig’s List ads. I like diving into these stories purely for the creep factor. I’m not very good at building that type of tension in my narrative, and it feels like training to listen to this modern version of what I’m trying to create at times and contrast that with the beauty of Stephen King and those of his ilk. It also makes me think about the things that people do foolishly and how people can figure out that something is not quite right… For starters, stay off of Craig’s List. That’s just a recipe for disaster. I’ve sold dogs on the list, and only after meeting and vetting the people was I willing to part ways with the pup.

I also think I stumbled on the dude who is responsible for them creating the ‘Don’t F** with Cats’ story. People are incredibly messed up.

Some Thoughts:

1. Yeah, I have a lot to say about sports come Wednesday.

I came back into the office to write this blog and wound up working on the novel for a while until I realized I was supposed to be blogging. That is a dang good sign. I want to write this story. I feel the contours of the thing in my bones and it is going to be very very good. High hopes for a book that ostensibly a Shadowrun novel, but there it is in a nutshell. This is going to be my best work. Then I will write something better.

The most incredible part of it all is that I do have new ground to tread here. I have stories that haven’t been told in the 60+ books before. Now that I’ve stopped looking at the crew in the story in the same vein/fashion as the Smoker’s Club, I can tell their own authentic story that speaks to their quirks and their world through their eyes. I don’t think I accomplished that with the first one, because I was trying to get it all out and making sure it ‘felt’ like a Shadowrun book. I’m past that. This one is going to feel like a Talislegger book, which is the only way it ought to be.

Some Thoughts:

1. Actually have a lot to talk about sports-wise come Wednesday. So.. the wire is BACK… for a hot second.
2. Here’s the difficult thing about raising kids: You gotta expect the disrespect if you don’t want to be caught flat-footed by it. Just today I fixed hulu for them, after days of them not being able to access it to watch their games. I at least expected a thank you. Nope. Not any acknowledgement at all. They just turned on the game and acted with the level of privilege and don’t give a damn how much work it was for you that only kids can produce for their step dad. Sigh. I don’t do it for the love anymore, because I’m not ever gonna get that. I do it because it is the right thing to do, and hopefully that teaches them something for their own future.

In the background the after-show is playing and Kareem Abdul-Jabar is dropping knowledge from his 75 years of life about how we got to what is modern black culture. He’s talking about what Chris Rock said just a few minutes hence on his Netflix Comedy special–The first live Netflix Comedy special ever. I had a wonderful time listening to him drop jokes and finally have a chance to internationally air his grievances about Will Smith just shy of a year to the day. In truth he was so amped up about the affair that he actually screwed up the joke. Of course, he hit the other 11. He went so hard that I had a moment where I turned to my partner and gave her the ‘stop the fight’ look. He talked about selective outrage and how Will knew he could hit him and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. He talked about the reason Will went at him like that. He talked about the personal stuff (that Will’s wife took public) that led up to that. All of this culminating in an evisceration of a man that Rock once admired.

I think I needed this special. I think I needed a moment where people talked about the journey I’ve been trying to make since I realized who I was and the level of life I wanted to live. I think that journey is different for a black man on many levels and, honestly, it feels really good to hear that situation reflected by someone I truly admire and see has gone through the work to be the man he is today.

Being a writer, it is hard for me to be bluntly critical of other artists and performers in a public venue. I don’t want to say ‘they suck’ because the truth is more nuanced than that. Case and point: Hasan Minhaj has flashes of comedic genius, but he isn’t the right fit for The Daily Show, as evidenced by his recent spate of appearances.

Again, he’s not awful, but he also isn’t what the audience has come to expect. Over the past few months following the (overdue) departure of Trevor Noah, the show has been rotating through a long list of guest hosts. Some get the script–by which I mean do justice to the legacy left by Stewart–while others see the format less as an intelligent and biting referendum on the news cycle and more as a playground for stuff they really like. Others still, like Minhaj (and frankly Noah) are bit-driven and truly incapable of carrying the weight of the multiple parts of the show. You have to be a special sort to carry the multiple parts and even more confident and team-oriented to allow your crew to do a lot of the lifting with you. That last part is where Noah failed. The show became about him and not about the show. It was Trevor Noah and the Daily Show and that showed in how much the focus was on him. Stewart focused on the issues and the controversies and is the only host among all I’ve seen able to carry out thoughtful and intelligent interviews with a variety of guests. You need that as part of the show.

Some Thoughts:

1. Johnathan Majors is going to win awards. He is suddenly the ‘it’ black male lead, and is getting praise from all corners. The Yale MFA is certainly good in some roles, but he does have a tendency to overact in others. Antman and the Wasp is a wonderful example of that forced gravitas. I’m not sure I buy the hype, but the hype is buying him some roles.

I’m coming at this new book from a different angle. The last one was written from the perspective of two of the four main characters. This one is from the perspective of a different one of the four (thus leaving the 3rd and final possible book from the 4th perspective… unless there is a 4th). This specific character choice is a male voice that is capable of reflecting a great deal of nuance in regards to what I want to say about this story world and how it treats race, mortality, and even family. I think this is a deeper approach than the last book and I intend to make it my best book ever. I’m excited for the opportunity to grow with each new writing, and this puts me back on the grind to being that writer of my own dreams.

Putting in the work!

Track season is upon us, so I thought I’d hit the wire this one time to talk a little about it. I’m excited about what the boys are doing this season. The Jr. Has a chance at the podium in the state championship. His team boasts the #1 200 runner in the state, and several top 5 or top 10 athletes. He’s a top 9 guy in the 39″ hurdles, which is solid for a 15 year old kid. He’s top 5 in Division 1 and is presently running exactly .09 off his best time in both the 110 and 300 hurdles. That is oddly in sync, but really good coming off the first meet since the broken leg.

The 8th grader ran 11.59 in the 75m Hurdles, which puts him first in the state, and would’ve been good enough for 7th in the nation last season. He needs to cut half a second off that to ensure the school record (and likely the US record). He’s got this. The team is looking stronger than they have in years, and I have hopes for them taking the whole thing this year. In truth I’m hoping the boys run some out of conference meets as independents. I want to see what they can do.

Some Thoughts:

1. On the last book of the Legend of Camelot series written by Bernard Cornwell. Excellent writing. Interesting perspectives on the rise of Christianity. Loving the journey, hating the characters I am supposed to hate. Well written indeed.