From the “Blatant Lies” department:
The Early Years: Jim Is Class Spokesman
Author: James Viscosi
About Your Dating Profile …
A few months ago—before the shelter in place started, but not long before—I started watching The Expanse. This is an adaptation of the science fiction book series of the same name; the first season (mostly) follows the plot of the first book, Leviathan Wakes, which I read last year during my recovery from The Event. I say it “mostly” follows the plot of Leviathan Wakes because it includes characters and subplots I’ve never seen before, which is what’s making me a little reluctant to watch too much of the series just yet, because …
When adaptations are involved, I usually try to read the book before watching the adaptation, so that I can properly position the adaptation somewhere on “the book was better”* spectrum. (By this measure, The Expanse is pretty good.)
In Case You Were Looking For Something To Blow A Couple Of Stimulus Checks On
I don’t know if this is a signed copy of Night Watchman, my old splatterpunk “not everyboy wants to read The Books of Blood“ novel that recently became orphaned when the publisher abruptly closed up shop last year with no notice. But for that price, it had better be. And really. $2,000 and no free shipping?! #ripoff
My advice? Wait for me to republish it. Then you’ll be able to pick it up for, oh, not more than $500 or so.
Cross-Post: The Liebster Award
As I’m sure most readers are aware, I also run The Oceanside Animals blog (formerly Dennis’s Diary of Destruction). Proving the truth of the admonition never to work with children or animals, because they will steal all the scenes in which they appear, their blog has always been much more popular than this one, but every once in awhile, they share their fame with me. This week, I got to tag along with them on their Sunday Awards and Meme Show, when they were given the Liebster Award and I got tagged for it as well. Naturally most of the space in the post is devoted to Charlee, Chaplin, and Lulu, but I got to answer a few questions too. The show is reproduced here in its entirety with the kind permission of their agent.
A Six-Month Semi-Versary
So this week (Thursday, specifically) marks six months since The Event, when an undetected 3mm aneurysm at the base of my brain ruptured on November 7, 2019, causing a serious subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and putting me in the hospital for about two weeks, most of that time in ICU. After being released, I spent the next couple of months recovering at home and returned to work on January 2, 2020. Also in January, my wife and I started going to our local dance studio again, and I resumed exercising and most of my other normal activities, at least until California shut down due to the coronavirus about six weeks ago.
The Early Years: Who Wore It Better?
Me and one of my cousins (I’m on the left, in case you werre wondering …)
My mom’s nurse teddy bear?
Me or my mom’s nurse teddy bear?
(It’s okay. I know the answer is the bear.)
A Public Service Announcement
So I was talking this week with my parents, who remember the polio epidemics of the 40s and 50s. Each summer the virus would flare up in different cities and regions. When there were outbreaks in a particular locality, movie theaters and bowling alleys would shut down, and swimming pools and beaches would be closed. It seems to me the present situation is not unlike a polio outbreak where the air is a swimming pool, the entire country is a movie theater.
