Limerick Friday #553: 'Tis The Season For Unrealistic 'Fins Expectations -- Day 867

Who could have a big year?

Who's found another gear?

Who might be out of shape?

Who's better on tape?

NFL training camp is finally here

Knockoff Yanks jerseys are cheap

But perfect for a Mets sweep

Clutch bats they wield

For drama at Citi Field

Good to see the pinstripers weep

For a show that's rather space-y

"For All Mankind" got a bit racy

She made an astronaut suit look good

Creating zero-gravity wood

Think we're all gonna miss Tracy

Billy Eppler scrambles

To fix a 'pen in shambles

Hey, while you're at it

How 'bout a righty DH who can hit

Here come the trade deadline gambles

The return of Cinnabon Gene

Pleasant with a little mean

For a dude on the lam

Always running a scam

Bob Odenkirk is magic on the screen

Last time ...

Day 866, Quasi-Quarantine: A Week For Resting WTF Face

 

I've made this same face roughly 43 times this week, so, yeah, I feel ya, Mo.

TGI (nearly) F, indeed ...

Day 865, Quasi-Quarantine: "If Beale Street Could Talk" Offers Eloquent, Moving Depiction Of Marginalized Experience

"Though the death took many forms, though people died early in many different ways, the death itself was very simple and the cause was simple, too: as simple as a plague: the kids had been told that they weren't worth shit and everything they saw around them proved it."

"They were so free that they believed in nothing; and didn't realize that this illusion was their only truth and that they were doing exactly as they had been told."

Nearly half a century later, "If Beale Street Could Talk" still feels as relevant and revealing to the marginalized experience as it did when it was written. The incomparable James Baldwin writes in a fury, with effortless and occasional beauty ("We moved in a silence which was music from everywhere."), lending an intentional, frantic quality to the pacing of what was one of his least-well-received books. 

"The poor are always crossing the Sahara. And the lawyers and bondsmen and all that crowd circle around the poor, exactly like vultures."

"Something travels from him to me, it is love and courage. Yes. Yes. We are going to make it, somehow. Somehow. I stand, and smile, and raise my fist. He turns into the inferno. I walk toward the Sahara."

Despite the brief length of the novel, the gut-wrenching pursuit of love by Fonny and Tish against all obstacles is powerfully emotional. While the open-ended conclusion may lead to frustration for some readers, Baldwin's apparent message is that while hope is alive, all is not lost.

"They looked at us as though we were zebras -- and, you know, some people like zebras and some people don't. But nobody ever asks the zebra."

Day 864, Quasi-Quarantine: Boba's Junior-Sized Starship Marks The Return Of Lego To The Household

 

Boba Fett's Starship (75312) was not originally a set were excited about, due to already having the 20th anniversary version. However, as a birthday gift for my building partner, it was perfect.

The 593-piece set offered a pretty sophisticated build, using a number of Technic pieces that can be challenging for smaller hands. A transporter vehicle doubles as a stand to display the ship in a vertical flying position, a nice touch from Lego.

From a minifigure perspective, it is slightly disappointing to already have these versions from other sets, as the (admittedly sick) Boba Fett minifigure is the same one as from the Boba Fett's Throne Room set. And while you can't throw a rock without hitting a Lego set with a Mandalorian minifigure, can you really ever have too many?

In addition to the minifigure selection being slightly disappointing (this may have been a cool spot to include Fennec), the cockpit orientation is a little illogical. When Boba is placed as depicted in a vertical position in the cockpit, the control panel is actually behind him -- a nit, to be sure, but a legit nit.

The included carbonite brick and the side build do redeem the set in some ways, and the size makes it highly maneuverable and easier to blend with other Mando sets and mocs. Again, while this was not a set we would have otherwise pursued, the final build is much cooler and more playable than we had anticipated.

Day 863, Quasi-Quarantine: Dark Comedy And Reality Continue To Clash, Circa 2022

 

Yeah, pretty, pretty not excited about school returning in a little over a month ...

Limerick Friday #552: The Best TV Prequel Of Ever Winds Its Story Down -- Day 860

Drama and tragedy, y'all
Rolled in a tension-filled ball
The ballad of Jimmy & Kim
Ehrmantraut poised on the brim
The last days of "Better Call Saul"

To value you barely tether
Storms you can't weather
Professionalism has disappeared
Don't make this fucking weird
Just get your shit together

Under the knife again
For the better, but when?
Another rare abnormality
Which is her specialty
Deserves a treat or ten

Work conversations fraught
Hey, here's a thought
Be good at your job
Stop being a knob
Then we can discuss what we ought

To Zebulon we slum-er
'Tis a Mudcats summer
The Micro-Brews at times
Or the Pescados (with limes)
Old-school baseball couldn't be funner

Last time ...

Day 859, Quasi-Quarantine: You Got This, Mo

Thinking of this wee one today ...

Day 858, Quasi-Quarantine: The Irresistibly Melancholy Melange Of "Sea Of Tranquility"

 

"--Because of that ancient horror, too embarrassingly irrational to be articulated aloud: if you say the name of the thing you fear, might you attract that thing's attention? This is difficult to admit, but in those early weeks we were vague about our fears because saying the world pandemic might bend the pandemic toward us."

The latest from Emily St. John Mandel, "Sea of Tranquility," is something of an extension of "Station Eleven" and "Glass Hotel," featuring recurring characters and moments. However, despite the presence of time travel and the potential existence of the simulation theory, "Sea of Tranquility" is somehow less disorienting than much of the author's previous work.

"Getting lost is death, he can see that. No, this whole place is death. No, that's unfair -- this place isn't death, this place is indifference. This place is utterly neutral on the question of whether he lives or dies; it doesn't care about his last name or where he went to school; it hasn't even noticed him. He feels somewhat deranged."

Imbued with a frantic quality, the book is beautiful and emotional. The storyline is completely engrossing, and while the pace veers toward too-fast at moments, the overriding melancholy of "Sea of Tranquility" is absorbing. 

"'The truth is,' Olive said, behind a lectern in Paris, 'even now, all these centuries later, for all our technological advances, all our scientific knowledge of illness, we still don't always know why one person gets sick and another doesn't, or why one patient survives and another dies. Illness frightens us because it's chaotic. There's an awful randomness about it.'"

If anything, this novel feels too short, with its resonance on pandemic life leaving you wishing and searching for additional chapters -- and moments.

"'I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we're living at the climx of the story. Its a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we're uniquely important, that we're living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarm, now is finally the worst that it's ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world.'"

Day 857, Quasi-Quarantine: Better Off With The Hosers

 

Everything is fine, eh?

*Sigh*

Day 856, Quasi-Quarantine: The Book Challenge A Bit Past The Halfway Mark

It's been a bit more difficult to get into a rhythm this year, but I'm still slightly ahead (by two books) on my 2022 reading challenge. With 26 books under my belt, I'm in pretty good shape, and with a beach trip looming, I'll probably push ahead once again.

Granted, my pace would likely improve if I could shake my habit of note-taking and capturing quotes that appeal to me as part of my quasi-bookmark.

Yeah, that ain't happenin' ...

Day 850, Quasi-Quarantine: As Depiction Of Family Gap Year, "We Came, We Saw, We Left" Manages To Be Both Endearing And Annoying

"Unlikely events are unlikely -- but they are also events, which means that they happen."

"Life is about planning for what you can predict, and being realistic about what you cannot."

Proceeding at a breakneck pace, "We Came, We Saw, We Left" documents a nine-month marathon around the country by the family of author Charles Wheelan. 

One-third travel adventure, one-third look at raising three teenagers, and one-third expose on international budgeting, the book is amusing and engrossing. However, it falls short of a possible intention to chart global changes over time and dissect environmental impacts across the world -- by mentioning these issues in passing, "We Came, We Saw, We Left" suffers a bit of an identity crisis. 

"He collapsed to the floor, where he began crying and saying repeatedly that he wanted to be a taco." 

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the book is just annoying in a way that is difficult to articulate. We came to know way too much about the family dynamic, landmark sights like the Galapagos Islands are glossed over, and there is an anxiety-inducing sense that the group is just trying to set foot on as many continents as possible (six!) in the cheapest and fastest way possible.

The accompanying blog lends visual clarity to the trek, and while the "family gap year" concept is alluring, some readers may find themselves looking for a little more to hold on to in the tale.

"One thing will never change: fortune favors those who get their passports and go."

Day 849, Quasi-Quarantine: The New Yorker Channels My Brain Yet Again

 

My only question: "How did the cartoonist get inside my car?"

Limerick Friday #551: To The Moon, Apple! -- Day 846

Apple TV making its move

Finding its creative groove

"Ted Lasso" a sensation

"For All Mankind" a revelation

Signing up, it would behoove

Respect became a strain

Support became a pain

You're kind of a bitch

Who drove their career in a ditch

Hope you get hit by a meal train

Another Mets collapse feared

As the offense disappeared

But signs of fight

In the Queens night

As some troubling clouds cleared

A situation dire

America stuck in the mire

Midterms loom

Impending doom

Held hostage by every thief and liar

Foes you can't dupe

Time is a loop

You're either out or in

So it makes this dad grin

To have a son who can hoop

Last time ...

Day 845, Quasi-Quarantine: Getting A Relative Breather At Animal Kingdom For Disney Day 3

 

While the visit to Batuu on Day 2 may make me re-order my favorites, Animal Kingdom is my top park at Disney World.

From the Tree of Life to our family's fave ride, Expedition Everest, Animal Kingdom is an immersive experience that needs to be enjoyed at leisure. After a day of 30K+ steps, we probably didn't honor this park with the respect it deserves this time around.

The Kilimanjaro Safaris is always a staggering adventure, and this time around didn't disappoint, with unique views of the okapi and a black rhino mother and child.

We also hit DINOSAUR (one I like, but decidedly not a favorite of the family), Avatar Flight of Passage (incredible), and Kali River Rapids (my first time on this quick, underwhelming water ride). 

After multiple rides on the stellar Expedition Everest, we called it a relatively early day, headed back to the Dolphin resort for some R&R and a quick pool visit.

The capper for this long-suffering 'Fins fan was a trip to Shula's Steak House to celebrate our anniversary and check out some Miami memorabilia.

A tremendous meal with some strong nightcaps offset the presence of a few aggressively drunk sales types at the bar where we ended up eating. After "only" a 26K-step day, it was a good day to catch our breaths a bit.

Up next: A return trip to the Magic Kingdom after an abbreviated visit on Day 1.

Day 844, Quasi-Quaraninte: "Final Girl Support Group" Loses Impact By Veering Too Hard Toward Self-Deprecation

"Dying isn't the important thing. It's nothing more than the punctuation mark on the end of your life. It's everything that came before that matters. Punctuation marks, most people skip right over them. They don't even have a sound."

Grady Hendrix's "The Final Girl Support Group" proceeds at a breakneck pace, following the horror movie trope by not leaving much room for making sense of split-second decisions. 

"Curiosity was the faceless monster that stuck a pitchfork through the cat."

Propelled by dark humor and an untrustworthy narrator, the book leans into the stereotypes that pepper the genre, allowing the novel to weave a commentary about itself. Hendrix ensures he's not taking himself too seriously, but at times, the novel suffers as a result, as the lines between what is real and imagined become hard to parse. 

As a quick, fun read, "The Final Girl Support Group" is an ideal summer group; if asked to be something more poignant and universal, the book will fall flat for most.

"The line between being too careful and not being careful enough is a line you only get to cross once."

Day 843, Quasi-Quarantine: Uncle Daycare Is Exactly As Spot-On And Disturbing As You Thought It Would Be

Perhaps a little too on-the-nose from even two years ago, but there is humor beyond the eerie truthfulness.

Limerick Friday #550: "Westworld" Rises From The Dead -- Day 839

 

Season four out of nowhere

A pleasant surprise if you care

Dolores a work of art

Rhymes with a female body part

"Westworld" jumping the shark is fair

Hypocrisy stains

Helplessness reigns

Emotions run high

As ideals die

Democracy in chains

Injuries add up and stink

As the lead does shrink

Keep on the wheels

With ATL on your heels

Another Mets season on the brink?

Traffic makes me glower

Inefficiency by the hour

Nostalgia was real

But the overriding feel

Was not missing the Tower

NIL deals do sway

Superconferences on the way

No transfer rules

Sanction rulings by fools

Just detonate the NCAA

Last time ...