Triple threat

To make up for last week’s lack, there are three pages of “Don’t Look Back” from Patrick this time out. (permalink)

This week’s suggested soundtrack is “Magnum Opus: Father Padilla Meets The Perfect Gnat / Howling At The Moon / Man Overboard / Industry On Parade / Release The Beavers / Gnat Attack” by Kansas. Quote Patrick: “I miss the era of song titles with slashes.”

On that note, I’m shamed to say that I didn’t get the pun in the above image until it was pointed out to me. I will now hang my head low.

Cause comics makes everything better!

Mike Russell filed his report on Michael and Margo’s (Fake) Wedding over at Culture Pulp. He did a good job at capturing some choice highlights.

By the way, there’s another press report from “Lyle Dashwood, the columnist from The Oregonian’s little-known society pages” over on Alas.

My, what a busy week it was

First, yes, there will be another installment of Patrick Farley’s Dicebox Aside: “Don’t Look Back” at some point today, in fact. It’s been a busy week for Patrick and that’s partly my fault, other parts belonging to the Spouse and Dylan. And maybe Barry too. And, heck, Taran as well.

Patrick gamely assisted in clearing out basements, hauling fallen air conditioners, wrangling cats, cleaning house, picking up and dropping off folks at the airport, shopping, cooking, co-hosting a baby shower, getting food for pregnant ladies with headcolds and participating in a faux wedding as ceremony DJ. Nevermind breaking in the new computer that he got gratis to replace his clearly defective one this past weekend. I’m actually pleased he found time to get the bitchin’ tattoo he had planned on months ago.

So, yes, Kip’s Baby Shower happened this past weekend. Here’s the guest of honor himself:

It was a very nice shower, organized by Dylan and co-hosted by Patrick. I think the most notable thing was how most everyone showed up precisely at 1 o’clock–unknown to me after 12 years of having parties in Portland where I calculate the fact that folks will arrive about an hour after the start time. My only regret was being unable to chat with everyone (I guess it was kinda my shower too)

We had all just about recovered from the shower when we had to get prepped for a LARP wedding Tuesday evening in which I got to play the bride thanks to Taran. A very awkward and dumpy bride to boot. Here’s a lovely photo of Dylan in her role in Barry’s dream wedding:

She’s my second favorite groom ever.

Actually, thanks to Brenna, there’s a nice contrast between my ring exchange with Kip and the one with Dylan.

Kip and Jenn’s ring exchange:

Michael and Margo’s ring exchange:

That’s Brad officiating at Kip’s and my wedding up top; he’s also onstage at Michael and Margo’s wedding as Best Man and brother to the groom.

Barry, in who’s honor this was all put together, has a post about his impression of the faux wedding that include links to other folks entries and pictures. I imagine Dylan will add her two cents after she returns from her trip for work. I certainly hope so.

Today’s message

Not only do we get two pages from Patrick for this week’s installment of “Don’t Look Back,” but we get a very special art lesson. (permalink)

By the way, I intend to use this Dicebox Aside to help explain to Taran the way the world was when Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Patrick were growing up. That and Larry Jordan

Late-ish adapter

You know, if I had much more time and money, I would be an eager early adapter; I get excited by many new gadgets and technology. But time and money constrictions do indeed make me conservative. I wait and see after others have used and abused the item in question and the company has issued an upgrade to fix all known bugs.

This holds true with web apps and communities as well. It takes awhile for me to decide the usefulness of joining and using, this was true for LiveJournal, Flickr… and now Twitter.* (Interesting examples as I consider all three journaling sites: traditional, pictorial and expositional.)

When I redesigned my website and set up my new Wordpress blog, I realized I missed traditional journaling; documenting an event or thoroughly exploring an idea. Besides the discipline and mind stretching, I enjoy and find it useful to go back and see where I was at at a certain point in time. The only reason I didn’t start there and then is this was about the time I discovered I was pregnant. Naturally this would’ve been the topic most on my mind and I was far from ready to reveal or discuss anything about that.

But that (and this) type of journaling can consume more time than I have to spare. This is partly why Flickr became my default journal of sorts a couple years back. It’s an excellent way for me to document things I’d done and when. But, naturally, it doesn’t capture thoughts.

In walks Twitter. Actually, I was first introduced to Twitter about two years ago and was unimpressed and bewildered by the application. But then, the examples I saw all followed this model:

“What a nice day!”

“I had breakfast.”

“My neighbor mowed the lawn.”

And so on. It just took enough people I knew to join in and the standard use to tweak slightly before I became intrigued. Brenna’s regular Twitter collections helped soften me quite a bit, actually. It’s nice to have a place to share a thought or simple happening without feeling obliged to build a post around it nor look for commentary.** (People can comment on a particular entry, but it feels more conversational than an acknowledgment.) Or create an email and figure out who all to send it to. This way it’s out there free to amuse or annoy as folks may choose.

Also, as I do these things for my own benefit as well to share, I’m pleased to have a place to jot things down, have time stamped and then collect every week as an ersatz diary. And, yes, a lot of the thoughts and events are about my pregnancy—it is changing and ruling my life after all. It’s for that reason that I wish I had started Twittering before, then I would know exactly when Kip first felt Taran kick, laughing and crying as he did so. (Thankfully I happen to know when I first felt her as I was dashing off an email to Dylan at the time and chose to mention it to her.)

And, really, the biggest reason I decided I must start Twittering is that I can think of no better way to document my labor and delivery while sharing with those who can’t or choose not to be there first hand.***

* Yes, somewhere after Kris and before Dylan, I joined Twitter. And by god, I enjoy it.

***I imagine there will be a point in the process I’ll be handing it over to Dylan.