The Month That Was - July 2009: The past month is dominated in my mind by Things I Did Not Get Done.
I did not finish Lanark by Alistair Gray, although I reserve the right to get back to it. It is nicely written, intriguing and original -- but slow, slow, slow to develop, and after two of the four books I'm still not sure whether it's taking me to any form of enlightenment. Plus, it is a lot of work; the themes and connections can be quite subtle. It begs the question, how much work should you have to put into reading a novel? I had to set it aside, because I have so much I want to read and limited time left in my life. I swapped it out for the WWII memoir With The Old Breed by E. B. Sledge which I can pretty much guarantee I won't have any problem finishing. Wow. More on that next month.
I did not use up my free pay-per-views from Comcast and thereby rid myself of the need to sit through any more disappointing movies. I had three left and I managed to use two; the Flick Checks are below.
I did not get all my desired travel planning done. I set things in motion for a run down to Florida to see family and to continue my explorations around that State (although after I made plans with the intent of catching a shuttle launch, they changed the schedule on me). But I also need to hit Chicago to see the new Modern art wing and some of the stuff going on in Millennium Park. I did some prelim then I balked at the prices (Chi-town has gotten quite expensive); it's still an open issue. I also realized I haven't been down to New Orleans in a couple of years and it might be worth a visit. And there are a couple of good plays going on over in Stratford, Ontario. And Labor Day is coming up... You get the idea.
I did not get the pedals changed on my bike. I have been trying to gain some basic bike maintenance and repair skills -- slowly, because I am a slow learner. I also have an old beat up Bridgestone with moustache handlebars in the garage that I have my eye on fixing up, so I am trying to gain knowledge and pick-up skills where I can. Well I had the need to swap pedals on my main road bike, and sure enough, I could not get the pedals off. No amount of force would do it. Now I'll have to bring it in to my local bike mechanic for this simple task. An inauspicious and somewhat embarrassing start to my potential new hobby.
I did not get this site redesigned, although I did clean up the column to your left. And light finally broke through the cracks in my cement skull and I am going to start including Amazon links in the posts, not just the sidebar. Plus, I increased the font size a bit so I can continue to delude myself that I don't need reading glasses.
I did not get the first revision of Misspent Youth done (although I am close).
Tempus fugit, eh? I need to drop Tempus like a clay pigeon.
Cellular Groan
Flick Check: Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist
Flick Check Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Kennebunkport
Book Look: Percy Jackson & The Olympians
The Webscape
Travel Rewind: Found: New Land (2008)
