The Grab-Bag

Using a term held dear in the heart of my 16 year-old daughter, here are some 'random things' I've been thinking about:

• Can one ever have too many books? The answer is 'yes' - if you have to move them from one place to another. That's what I've been doing. I moved 2 bookshelves from one room to another this past weekend. Then I spent 2 days putting coats of paint on some walls. This evening I shall, again, move 2 bookshelves from the one room to another. And it's all for a bunch of books I mostly keep as pretty pets. I think it might be time to consider donating some.
  

• I did make some time to see The Watchmen last evening. The SuperOmniMegaPaloozaPlex was suprisingly devoid of people on a Sunday night during March Break - but Theater 8 was absolutely packed for the 8:30pm show. My take: very, very good movie. I liked it a lot, and the ending worked for me - moreso as I've been thinking about it today. As for my angst about what 18A really means, I chose to leave my teenaged son at home. This turned out to be the right choice. The Watchmen is very true to the source material - which means it is violent and graphic in more ways than a kid should know about.
  


• My companions in Theater 8 last evening are fellows I've know for 30-ish years. Back in the day, these were my go-to guys for prolonged rounds of D&D, weekends of Risk, Star Wars at the old Park Theater, and all the other things geeks do when they're 16-ish and waiting to be noticed by girls. As I sat there in Theater 8, I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that we're all still sitting together in movie theaters watching geek fare. And true to form, we're planning to get together later in the week for a game of Risk - with our own geeky kids in tow, ready to learn why Madagascar never really matters very much. I love this kind of personal continutity - these links to an unencumbered Me. Or perhaps I'm in a 30-year rut.
  
  
• This evening my teenaged son, JediBoy, (yes, that one) submitted his audition video for Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. He has adored the books and has decided he should be in the upcoming movie. It should be understood that JediBoy is the shy, quiet type - so creating an audition video is a Big Deal for him. To suggest it's out of character is to suggest that our hometown of London, Ontario is sort of a boring place (duh!). Nevertheless, we spent 13 takes acting out the prescribed audition scene, and then dutifully sent it into the ether. I don't expect he's the right type (they're looking for a Bill Murray-esque personality), but I admire the hell out of my son for just trying.

And for the record, I've never believed in 'random things'.