Miscellanea from the week.

Some thoughts from the last several days:

-A personal aside: I'd long considered the implications of such a decision, but I'm fine with it now: I no longer care about the 'someday' release of George R.R. Martin's forthcoming A Dance With Dragons.  I was a huge fan of the series, but the five year gap between stories, for me, eroded all interest.  I'll not criticize Mr. Martin's writing practices, as his words and plans belong distinctly to him to use as he sees fit, but I will say the long wait has been...disappointing.

-The power went out and my mind wandered and somehow tripped on this one:  Jim Carrey and Matthew McConaughey confound me.  I consider several of their movies fantastic: great stories, great acting, but I leave the theater wondering, "What the hell is going on here?  Why can't they do that all the time?"  I just don't get it.

-Finished the first volume of H.P. Lovecraft (Penguin classics edition), and I'm in desperate need for more.  Such is my adoration of the stories that I hope someday to visit the Brown University library (with an appointment, of course) and see what primary sources of Mr. Lovecraft's yet remain.

-The second episode of 'The Walking Dead' was quite a drop-off from the pilot.  An irritating C+.

-I think I'm finally watching the beginning of the end of Josh McDaniels' term of service.  It may not be this year or the next, but this relationship isn't going to be a lasting thing.

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A lovely, yet heartbreaking-because-I'm-a-parent chat I had with my oldest son, Joe, yesterday morning as we walked out of the store.  I was surprised that the answers were natural and just sat there in my mouth, waiting for the next question .  I was holding one of his hands, his other was on the white paper bag which held his precious Wednesday doughnut:

(This is was yesterday, and as close to verbatim as I can get.) 
HIM: Papa, will you always love me? 
ME: Of course!  Forever and ever.  And then forever some more.  No matter what. 
HIM:  Even when I go up to Heaven? 
(I pause for a second because a huge lump of emotion is choking me.  Dammit.) 
ME: Of course!  Will you always love me?
HIM: Yes! Forever and ever.  Even when you go up to Heaven. 
ME: Well, thank you. 
HIM: Papa, will I go up to Heaven by myself?
ME: No.  You'll never be alone, buddy.  I'll always be there. 
HIM: Papa, when I'm in Heaven, will God and Jesus be there to talk to me? 
ME:  I'm sure they'll be there to say hello and talk for a while.  I'm sure they have a lot to do up there. 
HIM: Yeah.  Papa, you and mama and the puppies will all be up in Heaven when I'm there, right? 
ME:  Absolutely, my man. 
HIM: Hm. Good.
ME: Okay.  Let's stop the Heaven talk because that's a long ways away.
HIM: Can I have my doughnut now, please?

Good grief.  Nothing like a nice little chat about the afterlife with a four-year-old on a snowy Wednesday morning, huh?

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Congratulations to Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez for their first Gold Glove Awards...here's to many more!

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One last thing.  Most of us have lists of things in our heads that I'll call 'Other Things I Should Be Doing With My Time Right Now.'  I don't like them.  Please do me a favor and make sure that whenever you stop and think about the current moment that you are doing precisely what you want to be doing.  If you're not, get up and go and do whatever you really should be doing with your time.

Don't put things off.  Otherwise, you may find vast, maddening gulfs of your life have been spent doing 'Other Things.' And that's no good.