INTERESTING TIMES

Cocaine and booze
are the eggs and bacon
of the addict's world,
the perfect combination.
--Ozzy Osbourne
(in The Week 7/4/14 p8)

(but not associated with anxiety)

"People who are susceptible to depression are already more prone to social isolation and withdrawal and therefore more likely to develop problematic Internet usage because the Internet provides an outlet for them," Dr. Christakis observed. "So the findings from the study are highly plausible, and because it was longitudinal and adjusted for baseline levels of depression and Internet use, the findings are both novel and robust."
( notes from medscape article )

Pixar's latest release...we just saw it. It's getting four stars in lots of different reviews, but in my rating system it gets a 3 or less. The story is cute: widower's house gets surrounded by city, his dead wife didn't get to do her childhood dream, he feels dissatisfied and is unwilling to "retire" in a "home". So he hooks up his house to a bunch of helium baloons and flies away, house and all, headed for South America where his dead wife's dream can be completed. Probably the best thing about the movie was the spunk of the old man. A boyscout looking for his "helping an elder" badge stows away of the flying house, and they end up having unbelievable and somewhat stupid adventures together in South America, beating the badguys by the skin of their teeth, and returning stateside to claim the coveted service to elder boyscout badge. It's touching, and the story is coherent, but it was for me too outrageous, or silly, or something. It lost me early on. I stuck through the whole show but I don't exactly recommend it. Pixar has made better movies. At least it isn't immoral.

The other night Suzanne and I went to a local theater for this show. It's a long one, nearly 3 hours, but it's good entertainment. The story is that of a man who is born old and ages young. He meets the love of his life when he is still old and she is very young. He lives an odd life because it is backward. I envied him in that he was taken seriously as a youth because he looked like an older gentleman. How much better our lives might be if we were taken seriously as children, instead of being treated like wild animals or nuisances.
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I'm listening to Obama speak in Desmoines, Iowa ( right now, )

I can hear the booming music from the Pine Mountain Ampitheater out at Fort Tuthill. They're bringing in pretty big acts to a small town and I am curious to know how many tickets they are selling. Tonight was Dwight Yoakam.... I bet it was a good show but I don't like hearing the thumping percussion into the evening---this place used to be quiet at night but for the semi-distant Interstate highway--I-17 is the one I can hear from here.
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