I.
Is anyone else tiring of "let's get started!" (or some variant like "let's dive right in") at the beginning of every YouTube video?
II.
Observed in town: a Ford Superduty 250 (Google it if you don't know what it is) with no permit taking up a handicapped space.
III.
I got the link to the uni Jetstream Pink Gold Stylus Single Knock wrong in the pen post. This link should work. Don't miss the fact that the seller is "Fun Fun Hobby Japan!", note exclamation point. I'm getting rather fond of my little Single Knock.
IV.
My brother's best friend is a guy from Chicago named Bob who is a committed Catholic and a White Sox fan. And the new pope is...a guy from Chicago named Bob who is a committed Catholic and a White Sox fan.
And by the way, Robert Prevost not picking "Pope Bob I" as his official name seems like a missed opportunity. Does anyone imagine "Leo" being any more dignified than "Bob"? Nope, sorry, isn't. Could there be any more perfect name for the first American pope than "Pope Bob"?
V.
Saturday night free movie: I watched the Coen Brothers' version of True Grit again last night. Didn't mean to, just got into it. I skipped the snakepit scene—to my mind that scene tips too far into potboiler/melodrama territory. Just like every thriller novel, every Coen Brothers' movie jumps the shark at some point. Of course it's the girl who had true grit, not the marshal, or not just the marshal. Small World Dept.: the girl who played Mattie, Hailee Steinfeld, is a woman of 28 and is engaged to Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
VI.
Chaos has a lot of energy. (This is cool. And a little scary, if you look at it like a metaphor.)
VII.
Bad sign: selfie snap on the way back from the stationery supply store (it was right next to the grocery story, don't bust my chops).
VII.
Oh, and one more as an [UPDATE]: In learning about pens and ranging around the internet looking at pen sites, I've noticed that often, people who are into pens happen to have unusually poor handwriting. I don't know what to think or say about that. Maybe it's because when we're bad at something, we try to compensate with equipment? Like the weekend golfer who can't hit a 250-yard drive to save his life but has amassed a collection of the most expensive and exotic drivers. And I know some guitar collectors whose playing is.... ('Nuff said. Getting uncomfortably close to home here!)
VIII.
Another random thing I've noticed: younger generations are beginning to—well—more often pronounce the T in "often." Funny—they don't pronounce the silent T in soften, or in whistle, castle, bouquet or cachet, apostle or jostle, hustle, chestnut, moisten or listen. Why often as the exception?
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Happy Sunday! It's 10:00 a.m. and I'm going back to bed—Butters and I got up at 4:00 a.m. After that, I have a date with a riding lawn mower.
Mike
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