More Notes

First and foremost, the cable is fixed, at least temporarily. Apparently the problem arose from the fact that they're currently re-wiring the building in which I live. Personally, I think it might have been nice for them to inform the residents that issues may be forthcoming, but I've never pretended to be an expert on customer service. At any rate, Brandi got off work early on Wednesday, and she finally managed to get someone out here to look at and fix our problem. It may or may not recur as the re-wiring project continues, but we'll hope for the best. I'm most hopeful that our refound connectivity will allow things to return to normal here at the Yawp.

This past Wednesday was Brandi's 24th birthday. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

So after my rant about the Reds the other day, they really shook things up, firing their manager (Dave Miley) and pitching coach (Don Gullett). They're 3-0 since the move, which I have some mixed feelings about. I wanted to like Miley, but I wasn't impressed by his managerial style. Still, most "baseball people" have a lot of respect for him. It's the same with Gullett. He was known as one of the best pitching coaches in the game, yet the Reds haven't had decent starting pitching for a long time. Some of that comes from the players that upper management signed to be on his staff, but it just didn't seem like they developed. Anyway, I'm interested to see where the Reds go from here. It's too late for there to be any real hope for this season, so it'll be interesting to see what sort of moves they make in preparation for next year.

Last Friday I started re-reading The Stand by Stephen King. I had resolved that I wasn't going to start anything else until I finished The Dark Tower and Revenge of the Sith, but I picked up my well-worn paperback copy in a moment of weakness. I'm glad I did. The Stand is perhaps my favorite book of all-time, but I hadn't read it for a while. I had, however, watched the DVD of the barely acceptable made-for-TV miniseries/movie several times in the meantime. As such, I had forgotten many of the nuances and subtleties of the book. The movie is around six hours long, but that is still not enough time to include enough to make it a worthy adaptation. The characters are little more than one-dimensional shadows of their literary counterparts. I still enjoy it, but reading the book is a much richer and more fulfilling experience.

I'm still working my way through The Dark Tower, even while I read The Stand. It occurred to me while I was reading recently what an interesting time this is for me. I recently saw for the first time Revenge of the Sith, which is (ostensibly, at least) the final Star Wars film. Star Wars has always been a part of my life. I'll shortly be finishing The Dark Tower, concluding a series of novels that I first picked up when I was about twelve, nearly sixteen years ago. I think it will be strange to be without the feelings of anticipation for the continuation of these stories that I've grown up with and which have been such a large part of my life and have played such a major role in shaping the person I've become. I will miss it. The Star Wars story will continue to expand, of course, through novels, television series, etc., although it won't be nearly the same experience as attending the films in theaters. The Dark Tower series, though... not only will it not continue, but I'm not entirely sure that Mr. King is going to continue to publish at all now that he has finished his epic. I suppose I'll have to find new obsessions.

Speaking of Revenge of the Sith, I went out for my fifth viewing earlier this evening (late Friday night, this was). It's still good stuff. I'm picking out a lot of parallels with the original trilogy, and I'm digging it a lot more with each viewing.

When I came out of the theater, the moon, just beginning to wane, was a deep shade of orange. How cool is that? It was a beautiful night overall. I kept the windows rolled down for the drive home, with my left arm stuck out into the warm night wind, singing along with the tunes at the top of my lungs. Summer is here, and isn't it grand?