Adios 2010... You Kinda Sucked

Surprise, y'all! I felt the need to drop a New Year's Eve retrospective bomb into the deserted ether in here. Not sure if it "means" anything (like I'll be blogging again) or if it's just an isolated case of angst-induced overload triggering a burst of creativity...

In any case, here's my end of the year thoughts on random stuff, for the one or two of you that might have stumbled in here for some odd reason...

When last we left our humble blogger, he had hung up his blog, like an old retired football jersey, and walked off into the sunset. What has happened twixt then and now? Well, the holiday season was the usual tense roller-coaster ride, with the annual Christmas Play. Of course, if I knew better how to delegate, perhaps the tension would be less! As it is, I fleshed out the basic concept, wrote the script, cast it, produced it, directed it, arranged lighting, recorded and edited dialog, acted in it and designed/printed the program. Whew! About all I didn't have my little grubbies in was the costuming and the dance/worship choreography. So, in a way, I can't complain about the craziness of it all, since I could have delegated things elsewhere, and not worried about results. What can I say -- I'm a perfectionist.

The play went off well, and was well received.

And in the middle of it all, we had our 20th wedding anniversary. The world should have stopped. It didn't. I wanted it to be as big a deal to everyone else as it was to me. It wasn't. It was the quintessential non-event, including to my wifey. To say I was bummed is an understatement.

I sit here in my office, in front of my computer (my best friend?), alone, on New Year's Eve. Plenty of time to muse on things. And actually, a fitting end to this year. I guess I should segue into my "best of" stuff from the year. I read a few books (far fewer than last year), so my "best book of the year" won't mean much. I think I started (and left unfinished) more books than I actually completed this year. But that just means I have a shelf-full of books waiting for me, when the reading bug hits again.

Several of the books I'd read were quite good, but nothing earth-moving. I liked Warbreaker (Brandon Sanderson) quite a bit, as well as Legend (Gemmel) and The Red Wolfe Conspiracy (Reddick). The Folding Knife by KJ Parker was a nice read - I really like that author's writing style. And the best Nonfiction book I read was also the only non-fiction book I read, which was Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. Beyond that, as I said, I started a bunch of books and then left them hanging. Currently hanging out in the wind are Elantris (Sanderson) and Devices and Desires (Parker). Funny thing is, I really enjoy both of them. I'm just kind of non-committal.

Speaking of shelves full of unread books, I've also been snapping up games that I likely won't ever play as well.

Steam has been having crazy holiday sales, and I've been buying games all over the place. Mostly indy game bundles and other sub-$5 specials. I have 61 games in my Steam library alone - that's not counting the games in boxes that line my Game Shelf. Of those in my Steam library, only 24 are even installed, and of those 24 games, 17 of them I have either played only once, or not at all yet. I must have almost 100 games in my collection, in total (Steam + shelves), and really, any actual play time is spent with only a few games.

Fallout: New Vegas was a terrific game - probably Game of the Year for me. Wandering the wastelands killing things and finding goodies is always tons o' fun. I have also spent many accumulated hours killing zombies in Left 4 Dead 2. Those two games comprise the lion's share of play time for me this year.

By the way, our semi-annual LAN party is happening New Year's Day. Gonna have a half-dozen or so people here to play the day away. No more "all nighters" for me, thanks. I'm too old...

Music? Well, other than the new Eminem album, I haven't listened to much now along the lines of music. I fell woefully short this year in keeping up with the latest tunes. I guess I'm losing my sense of adventure.

I went into the year at once dreading and anticipating it. I was to turn 40, and to have my 20th anniversary - by all rights two very huge, important milestones. I had hoped it would be a seminal year for me, a turning point. But all things considered, keeping in mind that I have tons to be thankful for, the year sucked. Cascading disappointments (at home, at work, at church, in my gut) had their way with me this year. Again, lots to be grateful for, and I am. Still, it's like sitting in a stinky room, and trying to console yourself saying, "Well, at least it's warm in here! You could be out in the freezing snow."

What else?

Other than my blog dying and my fantasy novel languishing, unloved, I'm not sure what else I can say. Still plenty of work, the rug shop is doing great. Though I'm still on the truck, which isn't my first choice. Plenty of freelance graphics work as well. Best news of the year was probably when we heard Logan was going to be a dad (Congrats Logan, wherever you are). Runner up for Best News was the announcement of the next Elder Scrolls game, to come out 11/11/11. Between that game and Diablo 3, next Fall should be fun indeed.

So, here's to a new year! I hope you all are safe and have a great transition to 2011, wherever you are.

For old time's sake, here's a Jack Vale video...



And here's a couple funny pics.

For some reason, I found this endlessly amusing...

Bill Murray for President!

Awesome.

So that's that. Thanks for reading my end-of-the-year wind. Is this post an anomaly, or will I start posting again in 2011? Who knows. We shall see...

The Curse of the Glass Wall

Well, I believe it has finally happened...

Blogging has slipped silently behind the glass wall. I knew it would eventually, and I'll be darned if it didn't do just that!

I've gone on at length in this blog before about how I tend get into something, as far as a hobby, interest or other activity, and I go all out with it, letting it absorb me, and then very suddenly, it simply ceases to be a viable activity anymore. I can't tell you how many things this has happened with. It's depressing, really - mostly because I don't really understand why it happens or how to stop it. The best analogy I can come up with is that it slips behind a glass wall, like in a trophy case or something. I can see the thing, but I can't grab it anymore. It has been memorialized.

Skateboarding, script-writing, acting, playing my guitar, writing music, cartooning, animating, watching wrestling, working on my first novel, playing certain games (PC/video), listening to certain types of music, having in-depth theological discussions, bible reading/memorizing, painting, playing golf, working on my Wagnervana website... all of them used to to fully absorb me, often for years on end, and all of them ended with being 100% full-throttle one day, then completely dead the next. They "slip behind the glass wall", where I can still "see" them, and I still tell people I do them and have interest in them... but I simply don't do them any more. They will always be a part of me, just not an active part anymore...

I always knew this blog would get there someday. That day has come.

I can't tell you how proud I am of this blog, and how cool it is that so many people would read it so regularly, and look over my shoulder as I took this weird journey, almost 500 posts ago. I started out knowing I had a lot to say, and to challenge myself to see if I could write a new post every day for a year. I hit that goal, and had a lot of fun doing it.

But I woke up the other morning and I just knew I was done. I waited a few days to see if I was somehow mistaken, but I'm not.

I appreciate your support throughout the months. I don't expect you to keep this blog bookmarked. I'm going to assume this will be my last post. I'll still be available via Facebook and email: davidwagner1 (at) cox (dot) net if you'd like to stay in touch. I'll also certainly continue lurking and leaving comments on your blogs.

It's been a great trip.

Dave Wagner
San Diego

Turning Forty: Part Two!

Had my 40th birthday party on Saturday, and a bunch of people showed up. It was hard for me to gauge the success of the party, being sort of off-kilter the whole time. I have a rather bizarre mix of personality traits, whereby part of me loves to be on stage and entertain people, while another large part of me infinitely prefers to lurk in the shadows, and enjoy myself vicariously by making sure everyone else is having a good enough time, without reference to me...

All that to say, I *think* everyone enjoyed themselves sufficiently, but I'm not positive...

Wifey and I... and Keno...

We ate fruits & veggies, sandwiches and sodas, primarily. Everyone brought me a card, which was nice of them. I think all told, there might have been 30 people or so. I tried to get some good pics, but there weren't very many good ones to choose from. Here's a few...

Outside with Johnny, Jayson, Abbie, Keno, Rebecca, Chris, Rebekah and Grace. Abbie is about to kiss her soda for some reason. And Rebecca just didn't want to be seen, so she turned away... (kidding, she was talking to Rebekah...)

Grace and Jayson, lounging around...

Vye, Dimitri and Yanni, probably talking about Starcraft 2...

"Happy birthday to yooouuuu..."

Boggle time! Guess who won? :D

Say cheese!

Bob, Stan and Russ, talking about guy stuff, no doubt...

My brother John left a message for me on one of the unused Scrabble boards...

All in all, I was happy with the event. Many thanks to my wife and mom for making it happen. After we left, I went home and had sushi and Starbucks, and worked more on the camp video. A great way to end the day!

Other odds and ends:

- Yanni finally started a new blog! Yay! Now everyone else will be able to experience that crazy brain of his! I feel like a glutton not sharing... I trust you'll enjoy him as well, as he gets his blogging feet under him. Once it gets rolling, I'll add a permanent link to the sidebar.

- I got a new iPad for my birthday from my sister! What a gift! I already bought the Boggle app for it! I got $40 in iTunes cards for my birthday, so I'll have fun browsing for apps, songs and books.

- The latest Pooter videos have been terrific. Here's Episode 111 and here's 112. Enjoy!

- I won a book called Solitary by Travis Thrasher, in a give-away on Fiction Addict. Yay for free books!

- Saw this cool car + trailer combination on the road the other day... click to make it bigger...

How cool to design the trailer to be just like the car...

OK, I'm done. I had other "40" stuff to post about in a third post, but I think the theme has run its course. I'll be back to "normal" with the next post...

Hope y'all are doing well.

Dave XXXX

Turning 40; Part One!

Greetings!

I decided instead of lamenting the fact that I'm turning 40, I might as well celebrate the fact, by doing a post celebrating "40". I've discovered I have way too much stuff for just one post, so I'm going to divide it into at least two big posts, and see what happens...

OK, so I was born in 1970, and while I was technically alive for the whole decade of the 70s, I remember exactly none of it. I know most people can remember stuff from as early as age four or five or so, but I'm not one of those people. My memory sucks. I like to think it's because I live so much in the "right now" -- and with an eye toward the future -- that I don't have the time or mental capacity to dwell on the past! Honestly, it's probably just because I'm flighty.

My first relatively vivid memories have to do with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 - he was our 40th President, by the way! Here, lemme post a pic...

He's our country's best President, since he was the only one who could make a giant, ethereal American flag magically appear behind him in the sky. How cool is that?

Not having any real clear memory from the age 0 to 10, I can only assume all was well, since I survived it... And you know how nuts the 70's were! *shudder*... Think of the pants I must have worn!

After trolling several "Today In History" sites, I've come to see that absolutely nothing of interest happened on August 16, 1970 -- I mean worldwide! Therefore, I am forced to conclude that the most important event to occur was my birth. My logic is unassailable! In any case, here's a quick rundown of the tops in music/books/movies in 1970...

Top songs of 1970
--------------------------

1. Layla - Derek and the Dominos
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
3. Let It Be - The Beatles
4. Your Song - Elton John
5. Get Up - James Brown
6. Lola - The Kinks
7. Who'll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Fire and Rain - James Taylor
9. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
10. All Right Now - Free

Top Albums of 1970
---------------------------

1. Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin
2. After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
3. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
4. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
5. Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon and Garfunkel
6. Loaded - Velvet Underground
7. Fun House - The Stooges
8. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & the Dominos
9. Moondance - Van Morrison
10. Let It Be - The Beatles

Top Books of 1970 (Best-Sellers)
--------------------------------

1. Love Story, by Erich Segal
2. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
3. Islands in the Stream, by Ernest Hemingway
4. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
5. Great Lion of God, by Taylor Caldwell

Top Movies of 1970 (By gross)
------------------------------

1. Love Story
2. Airport
3. MASH
4. Patton (won Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director)
5. The Aristocats
6. Woodstock
7. Little Big Man
8. Ryan's Daughter
9. Tora! Tora! Tora!
10. Catch-22

In continuing my 40 Theme, I'll now play a song. It is 40 by U2...

That's the song they've ended every concert they played, for decades now... they still might, I don't know... The lyrics of that song come from Psalm 40, actually...

Psalm 40: 1-3:  I waited patiently for the LORD;  he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Read the rest of the the Psalm here. Some good verses in that Psalm. The first chapter in the bible to have a verse 40 is Genesis, during the story of Abraham sending his servant out to find a wife for his son Isaac. Not many "verse 40's" in the Bible. I'll sift a couple good ones out for the nest part of this post.

Moving right along, here's the White Ninja comic #40, from their archive...

Not exactly his best work, but still good for a chuckle, methinks...

There's a curious little "club" in Major League Baseball called "The 40/40 Club", which a player can belong to, if he hits 40 (or more) home runs and steals 40 (or more) bases in the same season. Only 4 players have ever done such a thing, making it an exclusive club indeed! Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano. Usually, homerun hitters are too slow to steal many bases, and good base stealers are too lithe and wiry to hit many homeruns... so to find someone swift enough to swipe bases and strong enough to belt homers is rare - and frankly, 3 out of the 4 people in the "club" have been involved in accusations of steroid abuse.

I promise, I don't take steroids!

Here's another song, this time by UB40, called Red, Red Wine.

Odd that someone would go to the trouble of laying the album audio over live footage like that... anyway, I thought it was fitting, since IB40....

Not only did nothing interesting happen 40 years ago, but there's also a surprising dearth of professional sports players that wore the number 40. The closest I could find was in football, where legendary running back Gale Sayers wore number 40. But that's it...

Granted, Sayers is a legitimate Hall of Fame player, so he's no small potatoes. Still, I thought I'd be able to find high-caliber playas in all the major sports to pick from.

Well, I guess I could go into the (admittedly interesting) history of wonder-product WD-40, but I think that might be pushing the theme a bit too far... instead, I'll post one last piece of music, this time Mozart's Symphony 40 in G Minor, which you should immediately recognize...

There, now you have been sufficiently cultured and (hopefully) entertained for the day! I have more 40-related goodies to post in part two, but there will likely be a post about my birthday party on Saturday first, with "40 part two" following Monday (which is the 16th, actually). Thanks for browsing this far.

Adios,

Dave