Torture

It comes to me that this will be the last entry, in all likelihood, before I take my 3d dan test. (If you're reading this, you're invited. JG, get your ticket from Grand Rapids and I'll get you and M at the airport. ;) I normally would not blog during work otherwise, and it seems that during the build process I'll have a couple moments.

Hopefully the weather will hold out for the duration of the test; otherwise the non-air-conditioned part will be worse than usual. My left hamstring definitely has a small tear that has not healed in the past couple weeks, and my neck is sore, too.


The birthday was good; bro and sis-in-law were able to make it spur-of-the-moment (I guess writing a blog is good for something, eh?), and so the company was larger than originally anticipated. Ironically, we both had dominos revelations over the past couple weeks.

I picked up a Dremel tool, which I am using to try to update a project I made in 8th grade IA (Industrial Arts). (That was a long time ago.) Eventually I'll try to actually learn how to be mechanically inclined. My skills certainly lie elsewhere.

The wish list grew a bit shorter, also. Er obliged tremendously by purchasing Reborn, Chaotic Resolve, Panic, and Farewell (the CD, which I already own and will probably donate to someone). Of the new ones, Chaotic Resolve has grown on me the most. Reborn has some good moments, but suffers from the sounds-the-same-ism that hurt Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen, even though hard rock/metal is somewhat different than alternative. The last two cuts (a take on Amazing Grace and a retake of In God We Trust) were probably the highlight of the album for me.

Soundtrack of a Soul was worth the wait. There aren't any weak cuts on the record, but I can't say they have any tremendous hits, either. "Flinch" is pretty good, though. I am happy to report that the samples provided on the website don't do the record justice (no pun intended, really), and that it's substantially better than Welcome to the Revolution. Jamie Rowe's contributions are good. 1987 is quite nostalgic; Wenzel is grittier in this production than the original, and it's much appreciated—at least the vocals are more attainable 20 years (!!!) later. Both CDs came as gifts from the folks.

The Pinky and the Brain DVD is as good as expected. Quality moments, such as, "But Brain, isn't that kind of illegal? · Well, yes; but when I rule the world, I'll have Gerald Ford pardon me" had me rolling. (Gerald Ford, for the uninformed, pardoned Nixon after he resigned from office.)


Tonight it's a long-overdue shave and nail trimming. One mustn't go to his doom looking scabby.