All I See Is Plaid

I like being one of the first to find something, be it music, movies, games, whatever.  What I have a hard time with is understanding the hipster mentality.  They, or the stereotypes we have to work from, seem to want to be there first but keep it secret.  How they think the things they love will stick around without widespread support we'll never know.

The real joke of it is that now being a hipster is mainstream.  So in effect they hate themselves to the point of negating all of their initial arguments.  It's a sweet poetry that makes me laugh as I share my favorite things with whoever will listen.

Also on the docket is making sure that people are prepped for the long weekend.  You're going to want to do some stretching, light calisthenics and maybe even resistance training to get ready for all the relaxing in store.  We here at the Ranch have a project or two but largely hope to just kick back and enjoy that extra day before craziness ensues full force.

I've heard Hulk Hogan often say "Be cool and eat fruit."  So do that for him.

Punch it, Chewie!

The Franklin Hypothesis

So the second round of apocalyptic events came through this past week.  Instead of fake prophecy this most recent rash came in the form of natural "disasters." With the earthquake hitting the capital followed quickly by Hurricane Irene, it was a memorable week.  So I'm not confused as insensitive to the people that were deeply affected by the recent storms, be it power outages, flooding or even with loss of loved ones, that is not the case.  I'm merely looking at the situation from my own point of view, which was thankfully unaffected by Mother Nature's hissy fit.

If it were more serious here I imagine I'd resort to something along the lines of the image posted here tonight.  Seriously, I'd have a hard time without constant internet and video streaming access.  First World Problems, right?

Again, several years late, I found a show that I highly recommend the rest of you all try.  We've been watching Breaking Bad from its beginning here at the Manor, and I can understand why Bryan Cranston won so many awards for it.  Both main characters are equal parts repulsive and lovable without finding themselves falling into familiar stereotypes.  AMC's done a good job lately of picking the right projects, or maybe it's something about letting the projects do a bit more of what they would like.  It's hard to tell.

Either way, enjoy this week and the long weekend approaching no matter what your plans, or lack thereof, may be.

Punch it, Chewie!

Power Leveling!

Taking the old adage I've heard from those with more smarts that I do, I try to make myself mostly presentable when it's time to get stuff done.  That being said, imagine going to your office and seeing people dressed as racecar drivers, artists, athletes, etc.  It made me think for a second how I would dress myself into a new career path, and before the thought even finished forming I knew it would go down exactly as it appears to your left.

Luckily, I don't own a bullwhip or the other various pieces that would make a killer likeness.  If I was in possession, you can bet that I would spend minutes every morning staring at them fighting not to head into the world making a fool of myself.  Or who knows, maybe the gear is all that's keeping me from finding artifacts and evil Nazis trying to get their hands on them before me.

This week went by at lightspeed, and I'm grateful for that.  Keeping up that pace would not be appreciated come the weekend though, so fingers crossed we can kick our collective feet up and enjoy the peace for however long we can grab it.  Take care of yourselves, I won't be able to until I grow those superpowers I sent away for.

Punch it, Chewie!

The Dark Supervisor

Batman is timeless. He's the eternal struggle against evil and dance that must be played to avoid becoming what you hate most. And then it started.

It came along innocently enough.  Robin, grief-stricken over the loss of this family joined the fold.  Then Bat-Girl, and Huntress, then Robin became Nightwing so we needed another Robin.  Catwoman became a buddy and showed up to help once in awhile.

It all just added up to Batman in charge of his own little crew instead of out wrestling with his demons on his own.  I understand that the "mirror" of well-adjusted heroes can be helpful in showing how much of a loner he is, but it also does him a disservice.  With all the voices in his head, Batman doesn't have the chance to brood and run things down as much without angering his little brat pack.  I think his reboot should remove most of his sidekicks and bring him back to the shining example in the dark. /Batman rant

Recently watched all of the Mad Max movies.  It's a shame they turned him into a repetitive loner who was continually drawn into social situations.  For what they were, the entertainment value was still high.  I would recommend checking out The Road Warrior at least.  I wasn't a huge fan of Beyond Thunderdome, with or without Tina Turner.

Alright, let's keep our heads down and just push our way through this week.

Punch it, Chewie!

Based On Imaginary Reality

If I ever built a treehouse, it would be with the proper load-bearing materials to support myself and whatever I wanted to bring up there.  Kids would only possibly be allowed, so I'm grateful I don't have any.

On another note, I was convinced to put a small fireplace in the background of the imaginary treehouse.  I tried to argue that it doesn't make sense for a fireplace to be lit inside a wooden structure, sitting in a tree.  As you can see, I am unable to stick to my guns.

For one reason or another I got nostalgic remembering a few funny Ryan Dunn moments from the Viva la Bam show, so of course now I'm sucked into watching the entire thing, mindless as it may be.  What I find to be the most sad is that I'm not sure Bam was playing a character for his fake reality show and he really does have that level of d-baggery in him to the core.  Dunn was always my favorite of those guys so it's terrible he's done but from what we've seen it's amazing that he was the first to go from the Jackass crew.

Another weekend looms ahead! Only this looming is different from the normal looming because it's neither menacing nor making some kind of quilt.  Enjoy it and we'll see you around the bend.

Punch it, Chewie!