More random notes for a Friday morning … hey folks, this doesn’t post every week because sometimes I don’t have random thoughts. Well, that’s not accurate, but sometimes they’re simply not interesting enough to share. (Or, perhaps, they’re TOO interesting to share. Mmm?)
Here then, are some mildly interesting things that popped up but didn’t merit a post of their own.
I recently had a tech issue at work, and spent about five times longer avoiding calling Tech Support than the actual call and solution took. So, that’s on me. But I was trying to think of other scenarios where I (we?) overestimate the pain and misery of something and spend more time worrying about it than the actual thing itself. For some, this is probably a trip to the dentist, or a flight if one fears flying. While I have more traditional fears like that - don’t get me in a precarious high spot unless you are keen to see me having a panic attack - for me, it’s dealing with bureaucracy or customer/tech support. I can’t tell you the lengths I’ll go to in order to avoid going to the DMV, or calling my internet provider about balky bandwidth. And while some of those experiences are just as horrible as I anticipate, most of the time, I’ve completely built up a horrorshow in my head that doesn’t bear fruit. It’s a super cool place to be.
This image came up for “going to the DMV.” When you bring your own chair to wait, we have problems. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me if I wanted to go see The Cure in concert. I was taken aback, because I didn’t think The Cure was still a thing. I’m old enough that this band was very, very important to me … about 35 years ago. And while I was glad to hear that his voice was still excellent, it’s THIS look which made me very, very uneasy to subject myself to a full concert.
I feel like “Yikes!” isn’t a strong enough response here. I’ve never felt older. I declined the generous invite. However, another buddy just sent me this.
There’s a 100% chance I won’t go to this, but I won’t deny a smidgeon of curiousity. I also have questions - like, how did The Cardigans get an invite? Who the hell are the folks on the last line? Heck, the last two lines? But the reality is I don’t think there’s anyone playing from a band I recognize who isn’t close to being eligible to taking withdrawals from their IRA. But it also brought back a bunch of names I haven’t thought of in literally decades - Clan of Xymox? T.S.O.L.? Just thinking about the crowd at this concert makes me kind of happy, cause I know I wouldn’t be close to being “the old guy at the show,” but I also really wonder how many of these singers still sound good, how many band members are substitutes for the original crew who may no longer be with us, or may no longer be on good terms with whoever has the rights to the band name, and so forth. Feels like we need documentation of what could be quite interesting.
As of this writing, I’m about 80% done with the second season of The Bear, and I honestly think that - with Succession over with - it’s the best show on TV right now. (UPDATE: I finished the season. Now I might be more convinced of this take.)
That is, a show that still has more new episodes to air. Perhaps Severance will follow up its great first season with a great second one, much like The Bear has, but … what else? It feels like we are still in a Peak TV moment and yet, what’s the clear Best Show on TV?
Bear is amazing. Underrated and yet still highly rated.
And as a one-time perhaps one of the biggest Cure fans ever I cannot agree more. It's like Nic Cage's boss says to him in Family Man, about the girl who got away: "Old flames are like old tax returns... put 'em in the file cabinet for three years, then you cut 'em loose."