Northern Noise

I try to make sense of the world.  And dammit it's hard to do.  1) The office of POTUS is no longer something to be admired, or aspirational, or model of how to be the best of our world.  2) It's September 14 and it's way too warm and I've got the windows and doors open and the dogs are running in and out as if its summer. 3) My truest love is being a good and responsible son and papa and visiting his mom and then his dad, taking our youngest with him. I don't like it when he's gone. 4) I'm 50 years old and I still don't have it figured out. Oh well.  There's always bourbon.

How does one make sense of the world?  Donald Trump is president of the US.  Perhaps more shocking, the president of the US tweets inflammatory, derogatory, un-presidential rants.  The president of the US attends the Conservative PAC conference alongside openly white supremacist hate-mongers. The president of the US attacks the free press, denigrates women, appoints anti- public education advocates to lead the Dept. of Ed and an Interior Secretary who works to decimate national park lands.   Depending on your definition, there have been 7 school shootings since January 1 that have resulted in death. ( How Many School Shootings in 2018? )   Today, Vladamir Putin shared that Russia is developing new nuclear weapons to combat the USA.    I'm not sure I can make sense of all this. 

I've run into a couple of folks the past few days that I haven't seen for awhile.  Both asked me the same question, "Did you do something different with you hair?"  It made me smile because I haven't done anything different with my hair.  Been the same for a long while. I have lost 35 lbs.  Maybe that's what's different.

When it come to really scary, no one does it like Stephen King.  His books have caused me to sleep with a light on, pulling my toes in so they don't go off the edge of the bed.  Even his "non-scary" books are scary, often through examination of human nature, but also with the way he makes normal people experience paranormal events.  But, since this post is about the categories of horror in my collection, I'll share the four  Stephen King movies I own which most folks would count as "scary." Stephen King Movies: Pet Sematary .  Classic cautionary tale of letting the dead be dead. Especially if it includes an ancient Indian burial ground. The Mist.  The humans are the scariest, but, like it's predecessor The Fog , not being able to see what's out there is  horrifying.  This one isn't as scary the second time around, which I think weakens it's status as a classic. IT .  This is one of the most terrifying books out there, and Pennywise th...

October is scary movie month at our house.  It has been since Aileen hit about 13 years old, and we like being scared.  Over time we've gotten a pretty decent collection of what I see as classic horror movies.  Recently a friend asked me if we had a method to watching them - chronology, based on true story, zombie, etc.  It made me think about the types of movies we have and why.  So here's a first attempt at making sense of them. The Classics: Damien - The original demon child When we started watching movies, part of what I was doing was helping build Ali's cultural literacy.  (Like the summer I made her watch all the John Hughes movies, but with more death).  I think we started with the original Psycho ,  followed by The Omen with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.  Like The Exorcist , which we've seen but don't own, these have cultural references everyone should know.  They're also pretty darn scary in their own ways.  Georg...

It's fall time.  Although the temperature is oddly warm outside, the leaves are yellow and covering the drive way.  When we went for a walk this morning I could smell the highbush cranberries.  Soon, probably tomorrow, we'll put away the swing on the deck.  We'll mow the lawn a final time to chop up the leaves and then drain the lawnmower before stashing it in the greenhouse.  I'll make the boy shovel out the dog pen again before the snow flies.  It will be time for Jed to try on boots and coats and make sure they fit. I like fall.

School has begun and my boy is in 6th grade.  He's in his final year of elementary school, which is a little strange to think about.  Bob is in his final year of education, at least formally.  He turned in his retirement papers with his final day being February 20.  Hannah is getting married, so it's her final year of being single.  Aileen has moved into a dry cabin, so its her final year of... hmm, cleanliness? I hope its a good year for everyone.