Friday, November 7th, 2008
Signs of Change, Puppies and Saturday Jaunts
Signs of Change
(10/24/2008) There are 24 “Obama/Biden” signs out in the yards I pass on my way into work every day.
Two months ago, there were only a handful of local politician’s signs up, and one or two “McCain” signs on my route to work. Once the first of the presidential debates aired, suddenly a couple “Obama/Biden” signs popped up, almost as if they were dandelions after a summer rain. Over the next few weeks, the “Obama/Biden” signs started to really show up… often outnumbering the “McCain” banners.
Things are changing, and despite the economic meltdown, I think things are changing for the better.
I planted my own “Obama/Biden” sign out in front of our house on Wednesday. It was raining out, but I didn’t care … I just wanted to post it. Make my mark, so to speak. Next week I will be volunteering my time to the Obama campaign answering calls and papering the area.
It’s been years since I have been so politically active. Not since my late 20’s to be honest, when I lived with my good friends Bob Jewett and Pat Price. Bob and Pat followed politics for years, and Bob was especially passionate about it. During the Reagan years, we ranted, raved, and attended a few rallies in hopes of making a difference against the Republican onslaught we were living in. We thought the Reagan regime was the worst it got under Republican rule. In truth, his terms were nothing compared to the outright criminal actions of the Bush regime.
Yee Haa mother fucker.
Back in 2000, when the election was stolen by the Republicans and Dubya was allowed access into the White House, I wrote in my journal that we were on a downward cycle. At that time I never dreamed he would be in power 8 years later, and I would be so completely correct in my predictions.
I seriously do not like being correct on something like this.
The Legend Of The Saturday Jaunts
(9/22/2008) I was chatting with my buddy Patrick at the Artist Jam this past weekend, and in that discussion we talked a little about the past.
Mostly, we were discussing the “Saturday Jaunts” that he participated in with me, my wife and others back in the earlier part of this decade. It became a regular event every Saturday that we would all meet at my house around noon, and then drive all across Omaha and sometimes Council Bluffs in search of comics, books, lunch, DVDs and games. We would usually get back around to our cracker box house on Valley St. around 5-6pm. After a brief discussion about what we wanted to do that evening, we would order food (or go out to someplace to eat) and go back to do whatever we discussed doing. Usually it was watching movies, and sometimes it involved having people staying late to watch “Creature Feature” with Linda & I. It was a grand time that I am so glad to have been a part of.
Originally the Saturday day trips were just errand running. Eventually, Linda and I started to have a regular route we would take, which involved doing the things that we considered fun as well as errands. Soon we had friends who were also not busy on Saturday join us, and eventually they became our regular Saturday Jaunt gang. The random errand running became a full blown weekend ritual, and it was a FUN ritual. Having good friends go with us to buy books and toys, eat lunch and watch a movie on Saturday was one of the greatest things in the world to do. It got to the point where I would really look forward to Saturdays above everything else… and I gather a lot of our friends thought the same thing. I would often hear confirmation of friends attending the Saturday Jaunt as early as Tuesday before. What was originally an unstructured gathering became a beloved event.
Being in this goofy clique meant you were not afraid to let your freak flag fly or to worry about your inherit geekiness. We bought toys, comics, game books … whatever we wanted without fear of being put down for it. The point was that this trip was pure indulgence… nothing else. In sharing our indulgences we became close. We even created our own vernacular or slag amongst us regular Saturday day travelers that we used when together … which was very bewildering to those not directly involved. For example, as a joke one of us (probably me) coined the term “lazy-eyed bitch” and used it in reference to one of our gang. The term was so ridiculous that we started calling each other “lazy-eyed bitch” whenever we got the chance to... as a phrase of endearment. We got many strange looks from people when we would use that term.
This form of the Saturday Jaunts lasted for about four years. As is with everything in this life, things change. People come in and out of our lives, real world issues disrupt schedules and eventually things either evolve into something else or they go away completely. Today, it’s just Linda & I doing the Saturday trip, and as of late, it often isn’t a very long day trip anymore. Whereas we used to run to at least three to five shops and lunch, we have tapered it down to two or three. Depending on how we feel, we sometimes leave at noon or sometimes we leave as early as 10am. There are also times we don’t hit the road till 2:30pm. With it just being the two of us, it’s pretty flexible now. We either watch BBCAmerica in the evenings now or we do our own things (she writes in the evenings now and I will either draw or work on the computer). It’s much less hectic these days.
Patrick misses the Saturday Jaunt. In some ways, I do too, because it was a truly unique, enjoyable event in my life that I am so glad to have been a part of. I am just glad I got to witness it.
A Puppy For Fredd
(10/16/2008) I had a puppy for a week and a half recently. Now I remember why I love dogs so much.
My friend (and one of our New Riders knights) Dave Schade spent several days with us recently. After Riverssance, Dave had some free time between Riverssance and the Las Vegas show, so he asked if he could crash at our place for a few days. We were nothing short of elated to have him stay with us. In all the years we have worked together at the joust, Dave and I have become very good friends, and it is a joy to me to get to goof off with him without having a joust in the way of it all. Truth is, working with Dave has made doing renaissance faires for this long so worth it. When you help out someone who genuinely appreciates your efforts it can make all the difference in the world.
He wanted to come and relax for a few days, and asked us if we wouldn’t mind watching his puppy Casey while he was off jousting. Casey is a friendly, well trained Corgi who is an absolute doll to be around. She loves everyone, is very patient with children and handle cats just fine. I almost jumped at the chance to have a puppy around for a while.
I miss dogs. I miss their companionship and their unconditional love. Being pack animals, they look at you as the pack leader, which is totally NOT a feline trait. Cats, on the other hand, will sometimes accept you as an “honorary cat”, but they rarely show their love or affection as much as a dog does. They are usually solitary creatures who don’t always socialize with each other. A dog, however, is always willing to show you their feelings for you. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cats … however there are times you just want a pet that just gives you all of their love openly.
Dave stayed with us for a few days before leaving for Las Vegas. While staying with us, we did very little. There were no big plans beyond some dinner plans and watching the two remaining presidential debates, no huge exciting things to participate in. I warned him that Linda and I like our quiet time at home, so there is a definite possibility he would be extremely bored. It turns out that Dave wanted EXACTLY that; no running around from here to there, no fretting about being on time for this or that. All he wanted was some time to decompress from everything, and to relax. Truly rest for a few days. He was SO HAPPY that he would get a chance to do this in our home that it tickled him.
He slept in, took naps, checked things out on the web, played with my godson … all very low key, restorative activities.
When he left for Las Vegas, I got to delight in playing like Casey was my dog. I enjoyed taking her outside, and I enjoyed having her sitting with me as I played Wipeout HD. Every morning she would get up on the back of the furniture and want one of us to get her started “singing”. Oh the howls from her were hilarious.
The cats, on the other hand, didn’t care for Casey. They decided that for the entirety of Casey’s visit, they would stage a peaceful protest upstairs where Casey couldn’t go (thanks to our baby gate on the first landing). Most of the time they spent their exile upstairs in my studio and the master bedroom. Sometimes they would wander down for some company (and to access the litter box), but for the most part they stayed upstairs.
There were, however, a few confrontations. The first day Casey was in our house, Linda took her upstairs with her to do some chore. This was when my cat Squire Spiff decided he was gonna beat the dog up. Dave and I sat on the couch and watched Spiff slowly slink up the stairs with that evil look in his eyes. A few minutes later we heard a yelp, and a bark. A suddenly freaked-out Spiff ran down the stairs. I could see the look of surprise on his face as Casey stood her ground. Spiff, with his eyes wide open, looked as if to say “That damn thing makes NOISE!!”.
The other confrontations were benign, and non-violent. Merry, Pippin and Hunter all would come down to use the litter box and to get some love from their mom. However, Casey became attached to Linda big time, so she was usually wherever Linda was at. This meant that the cats would either be nose-to-nose with Casey (who didn’t bark once) or they would run to the safety of the stairs. Pippin was the most social of all the cats because he is so spoiled for Linda’s attentions that he HAD to get over the dog being there. Hunter & Merry would look longingly from the stairs, though towards the end Merry started coming down when I got home so she could get some “dad time”.
Squire Spiff, on the other hand, upped the ante` by deciding to stay upstairs exclusively … and decided crapping on the bathroom floor was the best way to show his disapproval. We decided to place a litter box upstairs to prevent this from happening. It worked… and he remained upstairs till the night Dave returned from Las Vegas.
This morning I was a little sad to not have that squat puppy waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I got ready for work. Ah well.
Signs of Change, Puppies and Saturday Jaunts
Signs of Change
(10/24/2008) There are 24 “Obama/Biden” signs out in the yards I pass on my way into work every day.
Two months ago, there were only a handful of local politician’s signs up, and one or two “McCain” signs on my route to work. Once the first of the presidential debates aired, suddenly a couple “Obama/Biden” signs popped up, almost as if they were dandelions after a summer rain. Over the next few weeks, the “Obama/Biden” signs started to really show up… often outnumbering the “McCain” banners.
Things are changing, and despite the economic meltdown, I think things are changing for the better.
I planted my own “Obama/Biden” sign out in front of our house on Wednesday. It was raining out, but I didn’t care … I just wanted to post it. Make my mark, so to speak. Next week I will be volunteering my time to the Obama campaign answering calls and papering the area.
It’s been years since I have been so politically active. Not since my late 20’s to be honest, when I lived with my good friends Bob Jewett and Pat Price. Bob and Pat followed politics for years, and Bob was especially passionate about it. During the Reagan years, we ranted, raved, and attended a few rallies in hopes of making a difference against the Republican onslaught we were living in. We thought the Reagan regime was the worst it got under Republican rule. In truth, his terms were nothing compared to the outright criminal actions of the Bush regime.
Yee Haa mother fucker.
Back in 2000, when the election was stolen by the Republicans and Dubya was allowed access into the White House, I wrote in my journal that we were on a downward cycle. At that time I never dreamed he would be in power 8 years later, and I would be so completely correct in my predictions.
I seriously do not like being correct on something like this.
The Legend Of The Saturday Jaunts
(9/22/2008) I was chatting with my buddy Patrick at the Artist Jam this past weekend, and in that discussion we talked a little about the past.
Mostly, we were discussing the “Saturday Jaunts” that he participated in with me, my wife and others back in the earlier part of this decade. It became a regular event every Saturday that we would all meet at my house around noon, and then drive all across Omaha and sometimes Council Bluffs in search of comics, books, lunch, DVDs and games. We would usually get back around to our cracker box house on Valley St. around 5-6pm. After a brief discussion about what we wanted to do that evening, we would order food (or go out to someplace to eat) and go back to do whatever we discussed doing. Usually it was watching movies, and sometimes it involved having people staying late to watch “Creature Feature” with Linda & I. It was a grand time that I am so glad to have been a part of.
Originally the Saturday day trips were just errand running. Eventually, Linda and I started to have a regular route we would take, which involved doing the things that we considered fun as well as errands. Soon we had friends who were also not busy on Saturday join us, and eventually they became our regular Saturday Jaunt gang. The random errand running became a full blown weekend ritual, and it was a FUN ritual. Having good friends go with us to buy books and toys, eat lunch and watch a movie on Saturday was one of the greatest things in the world to do. It got to the point where I would really look forward to Saturdays above everything else… and I gather a lot of our friends thought the same thing. I would often hear confirmation of friends attending the Saturday Jaunt as early as Tuesday before. What was originally an unstructured gathering became a beloved event.
Being in this goofy clique meant you were not afraid to let your freak flag fly or to worry about your inherit geekiness. We bought toys, comics, game books … whatever we wanted without fear of being put down for it. The point was that this trip was pure indulgence… nothing else. In sharing our indulgences we became close. We even created our own vernacular or slag amongst us regular Saturday day travelers that we used when together … which was very bewildering to those not directly involved. For example, as a joke one of us (probably me) coined the term “lazy-eyed bitch” and used it in reference to one of our gang. The term was so ridiculous that we started calling each other “lazy-eyed bitch” whenever we got the chance to... as a phrase of endearment. We got many strange looks from people when we would use that term.
This form of the Saturday Jaunts lasted for about four years. As is with everything in this life, things change. People come in and out of our lives, real world issues disrupt schedules and eventually things either evolve into something else or they go away completely. Today, it’s just Linda & I doing the Saturday trip, and as of late, it often isn’t a very long day trip anymore. Whereas we used to run to at least three to five shops and lunch, we have tapered it down to two or three. Depending on how we feel, we sometimes leave at noon or sometimes we leave as early as 10am. There are also times we don’t hit the road till 2:30pm. With it just being the two of us, it’s pretty flexible now. We either watch BBCAmerica in the evenings now or we do our own things (she writes in the evenings now and I will either draw or work on the computer). It’s much less hectic these days.
Patrick misses the Saturday Jaunt. In some ways, I do too, because it was a truly unique, enjoyable event in my life that I am so glad to have been a part of. I am just glad I got to witness it.
A Puppy For Fredd
(10/16/2008) I had a puppy for a week and a half recently. Now I remember why I love dogs so much.
My friend (and one of our New Riders knights) Dave Schade spent several days with us recently. After Riverssance, Dave had some free time between Riverssance and the Las Vegas show, so he asked if he could crash at our place for a few days. We were nothing short of elated to have him stay with us. In all the years we have worked together at the joust, Dave and I have become very good friends, and it is a joy to me to get to goof off with him without having a joust in the way of it all. Truth is, working with Dave has made doing renaissance faires for this long so worth it. When you help out someone who genuinely appreciates your efforts it can make all the difference in the world.
He wanted to come and relax for a few days, and asked us if we wouldn’t mind watching his puppy Casey while he was off jousting. Casey is a friendly, well trained Corgi who is an absolute doll to be around. She loves everyone, is very patient with children and handle cats just fine. I almost jumped at the chance to have a puppy around for a while.
I miss dogs. I miss their companionship and their unconditional love. Being pack animals, they look at you as the pack leader, which is totally NOT a feline trait. Cats, on the other hand, will sometimes accept you as an “honorary cat”, but they rarely show their love or affection as much as a dog does. They are usually solitary creatures who don’t always socialize with each other. A dog, however, is always willing to show you their feelings for you. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cats … however there are times you just want a pet that just gives you all of their love openly.
Dave stayed with us for a few days before leaving for Las Vegas. While staying with us, we did very little. There were no big plans beyond some dinner plans and watching the two remaining presidential debates, no huge exciting things to participate in. I warned him that Linda and I like our quiet time at home, so there is a definite possibility he would be extremely bored. It turns out that Dave wanted EXACTLY that; no running around from here to there, no fretting about being on time for this or that. All he wanted was some time to decompress from everything, and to relax. Truly rest for a few days. He was SO HAPPY that he would get a chance to do this in our home that it tickled him.
He slept in, took naps, checked things out on the web, played with my godson … all very low key, restorative activities.
When he left for Las Vegas, I got to delight in playing like Casey was my dog. I enjoyed taking her outside, and I enjoyed having her sitting with me as I played Wipeout HD. Every morning she would get up on the back of the furniture and want one of us to get her started “singing”. Oh the howls from her were hilarious.
The cats, on the other hand, didn’t care for Casey. They decided that for the entirety of Casey’s visit, they would stage a peaceful protest upstairs where Casey couldn’t go (thanks to our baby gate on the first landing). Most of the time they spent their exile upstairs in my studio and the master bedroom. Sometimes they would wander down for some company (and to access the litter box), but for the most part they stayed upstairs.
There were, however, a few confrontations. The first day Casey was in our house, Linda took her upstairs with her to do some chore. This was when my cat Squire Spiff decided he was gonna beat the dog up. Dave and I sat on the couch and watched Spiff slowly slink up the stairs with that evil look in his eyes. A few minutes later we heard a yelp, and a bark. A suddenly freaked-out Spiff ran down the stairs. I could see the look of surprise on his face as Casey stood her ground. Spiff, with his eyes wide open, looked as if to say “That damn thing makes NOISE!!”.
The other confrontations were benign, and non-violent. Merry, Pippin and Hunter all would come down to use the litter box and to get some love from their mom. However, Casey became attached to Linda big time, so she was usually wherever Linda was at. This meant that the cats would either be nose-to-nose with Casey (who didn’t bark once) or they would run to the safety of the stairs. Pippin was the most social of all the cats because he is so spoiled for Linda’s attentions that he HAD to get over the dog being there. Hunter & Merry would look longingly from the stairs, though towards the end Merry started coming down when I got home so she could get some “dad time”.
Squire Spiff, on the other hand, upped the ante` by deciding to stay upstairs exclusively … and decided crapping on the bathroom floor was the best way to show his disapproval. We decided to place a litter box upstairs to prevent this from happening. It worked… and he remained upstairs till the night Dave returned from Las Vegas.
This morning I was a little sad to not have that squat puppy waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I got ready for work. Ah well.