Monday, December 31, 2007

Merry New Year!

It’s been a while since my last post, so while I’m sitting here at my desk in a virtually empty office waiting until I’m certain no one will call or email me requesting something, I’ll catch up here.

Had a great Christmas. My sister, her husband, and my nephew stayed at our place for the duration of their visit and I’d say it worked out perfectly. Katie had a bunk mate for the week and when the first bedtime came without her cousin she was heartbroken and crying herself to sleep. Her cousin got a Wii gaming system which provided a great deal of entertainment for all of us. It’s hard to describe how satisfying it is to watch two 5 year old kids have so much fun together. Katie’s older cousin joined in the fun as well and gets better each day as the role model for the younger two. I hope Katie’s relationship with all her cousins stays as strong as it is now. This Christmas was the fist in 20 years that the whole family was together. It was great.

I gave my lovely wife a wine refrigerator for Christmas which I think went over very well. She totally surprised me with a table saw. I spent Saturday putting the table saw through her maiden project which was installing the wine fridge into the kitchen cabinets. I was very pleased with the results and the saw is now ready to take on bigger tasks. First on the list will be to finish out the second room in the studio so I can host my first session next month.

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a stark reminder that freedom’s enemies are as resolved as ever to foul the world with their stink. My one hope is that in her death those in her country and ours come to the conclusion that many of us have been sadly frustrated with for so long now: There is no sharing the planet with the people who carried out this act. There is no diplomatic solution that will satisfy Al Qaeda and other radical Islamic militancy. There is only eradication. We need to unite around this reality now.

I was passed along a copy of a book my brother read and had given to my dad to read. The two of them have been talking about this book for a month now. It's no wonder, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” is quite the page turner. I’m two thirds of the way through it and will NEVER complain about being cold again. I will never understand why people read so much non-fiction when there are so many true stories that can blow ones mind equally as well.

Tonight it’ll be a small group of us bringing in the New Year. Our good friends and my folks will make their way over to our place to slam some domino's, watch football, drink yet even more of my booze as we wait for the ball to drop.

I’m filled with a sense satisfaction as 2007, my year of big change, clicks over. While not a cent richer or grounded in any more stability than 2006, I still feel like we’ve overcome a great deal this past year. Changes that are not easy to make we’ve conquered nonetheless. Not in anyway compared to the physical challenges Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men had to endure, but challenges just the same.

Have a happy new year everybody and thanks for tuning in…

10 Comments:

At 11:10 AM, December 31, 2007, Blogger Dave Cavalier said...

Love the Trading Places reference.

Here's an out-of-character wish for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008 from the Misanthrope.

 
At 2:21 PM, December 31, 2007, Blogger Tony Alva said...

You too young squire...

2008: The year the world hears the finshed cut of 'Harlon'!

 
At 2:14 PM, January 02, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome book you refer to. Every time I read about how wet and cold they were, I shivered as if I was in that soaking wet sleeping bag. The trek at the end of the journey was almost more impressive. How is this not a movie yet?

 
At 3:21 AM, January 03, 2008, Blogger Jackson said...

And once we get everything microchunked, free, and monetized, hell, 08 will be great!

 
At 10:17 AM, January 03, 2008, Blogger Tony Alva said...

Buzz,

I think they've made a feature of it, but I'll have to confirm. I know PBS made a documentary narrated by somebody cool. I'm so intrigued by the book I'm tempted to drop the $50+ on the photojournal coffee table book published by the expeditions photographer.

 
At 1:05 PM, January 03, 2008, Blogger Ashley said...

Happy New Year to you as well!

We spent NYE at the Chic-Fil-A Bowl in the Georgia Dome. It was a welcome change of pace from so many similar years prior. We were two blocks from Underground when the ball dropped and the fireworks went off. I think I finally got into bed around 2:30am.

Good times...

 
At 4:17 PM, January 08, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I did see the documentary on it at the IMAX, which was just as gnarly as the book. I just think it would make a great feature movie, especially if they could spice it up with some hottie playing a Sacajawea-like native giving all of the men STDs like in the Lewis-Clark journey.

 
At 6:15 AM, November 29, 2009, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Speaking of Playstation two, is it possible to attach the 7" screen to the original thick model or does the 7" screen only be attached to the slim model?

 
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At 11:15 PM, March 17, 2010, Anonymous Anonymous said...

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