Notes From A Bear's Journey

     For some reason I've been venturing a bit into flights of fancy, gazing over a few recommended graphic "novels," which in today's world are more like elaborate comic books, novels that try to capture alternate worlds or at least try to blur the lines of our world vs. a world right below or beside us (think Harry Potter aimed at an adult audience).  Besides Neverwhere (mentioned in the last post), there's been Edena by Moebius, Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too , Hyperbole and a Half , Persepolis , and even God (okay, I threw that one in to see if you were paying attention although to read the NY Times review , one might feel that the book fits in easily with the other books). Both ventures of reading "comics" and fantasy, much less fiction in general, are out of character for me yet it has exposed me to another range of creativity, something even engineers have to delve into when dealing with the unknown...use your noggin' man, as ...

    The other day I happened to catch a couple of things that were unlike anything I'd seen or heard before. Derek Delgaudio's movie recreation of his off-off-Broadway play (which ran 552 times) featured such a heartfelt exposure of his life, but more importantly an awakening of the importance of each person, of how different each of us are and how we identify ourselves; what we think of our lives.  For the paid attendees, it required only one thing of them...to pick a card (hundreds were hanging on a board upon their entering) that asked "I Am" followed by a word.  The choices were all over the map, from architect to ninja, and from introvert to idiot (yes, that card was picked).  Some took it as a joke, but many would find that this was a serious play, a chance to discover yourself as the play went on.  Tears fell, some became visibly shaken, others simply marveled at how this could be happening.  How could one person make an entire audience peek so...

      Variety used to be (and actually still is, at $400 per year for a subscription) a Hollywood/show-biz insider newsletter, glossy of course and filled with all of Hollywood's inner workings, everything a Miss Whistledown* could want to reveal.  Oops, there's that word, variety.  Or various.  Or by changing a few letters a bit more you have...variant.  And my, isn't that word the news of late.  How many variants or mutations of this coronavirus will there be?  And will the vaccines and boosters work on any or all of them?  And if not, can you mix and match the vaccines from different companies since, well let's be honest, some are seemingly better than others.  My, my, it just spins the minds to think of all this...      Okay, enough of that.  The virus world is indeed changing almost daily and I won't even attempt to pretend that this or that is the "latest" information.**  A quick guide to the variants...

    The passing of my friend not long ago has thrown me off a bit; perhaps it was the timing of it, the expected-yet-unexpected date coming sooner than I thought.  Whatever.  I feel oddly alone and yet realize that this is probably how hundreds of thousands of people feel...their brother or uncle dying of Covid in a hospital room, their sister or friend being killed in a car accident or shooting, their baby or soon-to-be baby somehow not making it, their endless marriage now dissolved.  The world that was once so comfy is now splashing your face with a bucket of cold water.  This is reality.  This is how the world works.  Wake up because you have this moment and this moment only so enjoy it, enjoy being together, enjoy life itself.       I guess what happened to me is that I feel that a cog in my gear has broken off; things are still working but a bit off.  Ironically, before all of this happened,  I was breezily wor...

Cautionary note: some of the language that follows may not be suitable to    e veryone...but it's real and written to express my emotions.  I  apologize in advance if anyone is offended.     Jerry Seinfield was classified as an "observational" comedian, one who notices the commonalities in society and makes us laugh at our foibles; and while I never recall watching him over all the years that he was on television,* I do remember one of his stand-up acts about a wedding and asking why if he was the "best" man well then what the heck was the bride doing marrying another guy?  Best is one of those words often frowned upon by sticklers of grammar, notably when movies broadcast some film as "one of the year's best."  Such grammar, they say, begs the question of how multiple movies can be "the best," especially as others soon follow?  Of course, it doesn't sound as impactful if the title reads "one of the year's better movies,...

   There was a piece in Esquire that seemed to override much of the violent news of the past few weeks, that of people wondering what the heck happened to their beliefs, to their ideals, and to their country.  But more than that, what had happened to their lives?  Wrote teacher Matt Breen in a piece titled 300 Job Applications Later: And now for me, the consequences aren’t so physical.  If I get evicted or I can’t pay my rent, I’m not gonna be homeless.  I’m just gonna have to pack my shit up and move back in with my family.  But for me, that’s not what the issue is.  The issue is that for someone trying to make it, it feels like I just totally failed at it, you know?  The rational part of my brain is like, ‘Well, you didn’t create the coronavirus or have your boss lay you off.’  But at the same time, we live in a capitalist society, where if you cannot produce any kind of work product, like, what’s your purpose then?  I feel aimle...

    When that midnight hour was striking on December 31st a few nights ago, I imbibed a bit more than usual.  I should preface this by saying that my "usual" is generally a single beer at night, or sometimes a small glass of whiskey...but rarely.  Now have me over at someone's house and you may get reports that I can really "hold my own."  But overall, such overly zealous celebrations are rare for me (hey, I'm not a kid anymore).  But this New Year's eve was to be a reason to celebrate, a true welcoming of a new beginning and a hint that this coming year would be radically different.  Less than a week later, the world watched in semi-shock to see just how different.  Those of you outside the U.S. might be wondering, is it that easy to storm and forcibly get into the Capitol of the United States?  As commentators asked that night, apparently so...if you were white.  Contrast the heavy police and sometimes military presence in Portland o...