I would like fortune to shine on me (in the manner of making money) hoping to get a house within years. It would be nice, hopefully to have open windows without the stench of cigarettes, cigars, etc. The cats prefer the windows open as do I when it is a reasonable temperature to do so. Still, our location features road noise and oddly enough a disproportionate number of emergency vehicles (EMS mostly).

Ah, Kayden wakes and my 45 minutes gone

Ah, Kayden wakes and my 45 minutes gone

Thanks to SNL, I can move 2 toothpicks and change 6 triangles to 3 and covert pen is mightier to ...

Ah, subtle humor lost on so many, especially those lost in grammar he'll and spelling Hades from texting though they had numeric only. Ninja plz! I supposed with age and I think reading something beyond Facebook you may have a chance understanding the well-placed adverb with critical thinking is sarcasm or alliteration.

I had read many texts messages with the pay-per-letter mentality that lead to so many interpretations it might as well have been Nostradamus or the Bible for the many versions it would spawn. "Cum ovr"? Ew, no! "Cum over"? No! "Come over." Meaning... I go there or you come over here.... hours later and no phone call it is translated.

Thing - the

Call me old fashioned or just old, but I like reading the book -- novel or short story before watching the movie.  An old adage is "the book was better".  In  many cases I will declare this as true.  Nicholas Sparks fans will attest that translations of his stories to film have taken large steps away from his original works.  I am not a Sparks fan nor a fan of Stephanie Meyer's girl-slanted 'romancing the dead' novels.

I read the book on which, Fight Club, was based and on this rare exception the movie captivated my attention better and was less brutal than the book.  I can write that the movie version of Misery was more fluid than the book, though Kathy Bates' character was kinder than her novel counter-part.

The Thing was a fine little movie. I read a review of the remake which noted that many reviews assailed the movie with many glaring weaknesses -- grotesque special effects not among them.  To those who have not seen the John Carpenter's version (music director, esquire) -- did many movies and the music as well.  Like a fond childhood memory, his version sticks in my mind as the "real version".  It is notable that he borrowed clips from the original 60's stab at the film.

If you wonder why there was a lone woman in the 2011 remake -- the director for the black-and-white added her for character development -- she was not present in the short story.  I hope John had the wherewithal to read the 45 minute story.

The remake had bits and pieces of the short story, the 50's special, and John's work.

I think making the story-absent-only-second-woman the protagonist dealing the final death blow to the known and very visible thing and finally a maybe, probable thing was dumb.

The clever detail in the short story was either a fantastic understanding of human arrogance or a quick way around not having to redress the ship, was that the scientists miscalculated and melted it into nothingness.  This wasn't shown in any version and in the final movie version, the ship remained intact, though powerless.

Good changes (the book is not always better), was that the thing was not for certain contained.  The book concluded that the alien shapeshifters were wiped out completing leaving a fair handful of scientists waiting for regular pickup and delivery with the oncoming of spring.

The remake of Thing beat "dark" into the ground, save the game-like alien creeping around.  The blowtorch, never explained in any version was mentioned quite plainly in the book as ice cleaners for the choper props.  The large compound also didn't make much sense in the remake with a warehouse about the size of a WalMart.  I am thinking with a 10-day window to build in lovely Antarctica, such a large and amazingly well-stocked warehouse lacked congruity with the bleak-sense conveyed otherwise in the film.

John's version played on the isolation -- even in the only sunny day shown, windy, bitter, inhospitable, unsuitable for living existence.

Still, I suggest reading the short story with amazing scientific fact, conjecture, and fiction packed into a 30-45 minute read.

single serve

Since Kayden has chosen to feed himself, as he bulks quite a bit about being fed, I am trying to make single servings of meals for him:  eggs, noodles, meat, fruits, selected veggies.  I was instantly reminded of, "single service friends", from Fight Club, and yes, witty has carried me far.

For you Kayden, the work I do will pay off, I hope to see you independent of me earlier than otherwise might have been.

grim

I applied to the county to work as a corrections officer.  While I made it through a couple of steps in the process, I was not selected to continue.  When I saw the jail from the inside, I am confirmed that many should do this, it looks grim and boring and enough to drive a sane man nuts.  I saw many closet-sized rooms facing a common room which was for all meals and sitting.  There was a single TV with the weather channel playing.  The scant windows there were frosted so that only a small portion showed the true outside world, sadly facing more brick.  An interesting question I was asked in the interview was, "have you ever been in a fight".  I guess my avoidance of physical fights was not helpful in this adventure, as physical fights are common in the jail, understandable as there are lots of people in close quarters for 16 - 18 hours daily.  I am sure tensions run high.

Still, the experience was well worth it and I can attest that the officers there have a very tense, disturbing job for which they are not likely given the appreciation.  I was reminded of the Drill Sergent in Full Metal Jacket having the platoon sing happy birthday dear Jesus, when the corporal said he sang something of the kind on one Christmas including the term, "lockdown".

For any officer who reads this, already I appreciated police for their many efforts, often given snide attitudes when upholding the law.  Know now that I understand even more the trials and challenges that you endure protecting inmates from themselves and each other daily, throughout the year.