This BlogPost is August

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Hell, for 8 bucks you can't afford not to buy it!

I suppose writing, "This entry is brought to you by," suggests I am being paid in some way for promoting Arcade Fire's new album. I can assure you, I am not. I wish I was, though.

<------- click there and benefit me and yourself as well, my friend...

August has been a ride. This whole summer has been a ride. Now that I think about it, this whole life has been a ride. What kind of ride, I'm not sure, but a ride nonetheless.

School is back in session which means both myself and my wife are busier. That's not an entirely bad thing. It just sucks that we don't have dinner together as much as we'd like. I love being with her as much as possible. Yesterday I didn't see her from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM and I was home way early last night. If I work a dinner shift during the workweek it means I'll see her for a little bit in the morning, kiss her while she's sleeping when I come home at night, wake up with her, kiss her goodbye, and see her again 12 hours later, sleeping, then I kiss her, and I miss her dearly and I wonder what the fuck's going on...

...and then happiness wells up in me, all the way to my eyeballs, eye-hole deep in cool, cleansing waters. Love. Love is what the fuck's going on. We work hard for love. Why else would you get up in the morning?

In other exciting MitchellG news, I've been using the heck out of Foursquare. Does it mean I'm messed up if I want to share with the world where I am? A voice crying in the wilderness...

My Foursquare usage has been entirely driven by my acquisition of a Motorola Droid. What a fun, useful device. I'm using it to get more organized. My personal time management is not one of my strong areas. I'm working on it, though. Taking advantage of the calendar feature has already helped me stay on top of things. And I've signed up with Mint to better manage my money. We'll see how that goes.

Speaking of making better use of my time...

Peace,
mitchellg

testing Blogaway Lite (beta)

I've been messing with my Droid for hours today.

Grandfather died today

My grandfather died today.

We called him Grandfather. He fit that formal-sounding title. He was like a king, a stern man who ruled strongly with love. He could rule a room of people by simply introducing himself, "I am Norman Glucroft." The man.

My work ethic comes from him, though I slack more in 1 day than he did in a year. But when I'm at work, the way I look at things and behave comes from him and my father. I am honored that I got to work with both him and my father. Those experiences are a big part of who I am.

When I think of Grandfather I think of working excellence, unbeatable business acumen, his intensity when making a point, and his laugh. I can hear his laugh right now.

He is one of the greatest men I've ever met and I'm blessed to have him as a forefather. Part of him IS me. I hope he is proud of me.

The last thing I did with him was introduce him to my fiance and then the 3 of us spent a legendary time together looking at old photos and talking about them. I'm glad that happened.

I love you, Grandfather.

Gulf oil spill jokes: proceed with caution

If you're feeling inclined to make a joke about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, some thoughts for you...

Joking about the spill is like making fun of your mom. If you say it, it's ok, but if someone else says it then you're going to have to kick their ass.

I have to admit that I feel a strong negative reaction when someone I don't know makes a joke about the oil spill. Like, you and your friends can make fun of each other but if someone from outside the group goes there, then it's on.

I also internally squirm with annoyance when someone who's not from the Gulf Coast makes fun of the oil spill. Again, the jokes are for the insiders only. If you're not directly affected by the spill then it's best to say compassionate and appreciative things. Why say dickish things?

I joke a lot about a lot of things and I've uttered more than my share of oil spill joke-atrocities. I'm not saying it's off-limits to humor. I'm saying that you should first establish a compassionate, friendly connection on the matter, then rip away.

The oil spill is possibly the worst environmental disaster the United States has ever known, and it's right on my horizon. (Get it? Horizon!? Deepwater Horizon!? Ha ha ha ha ha ha....) (See, humor...)

I'm no ardent environmentalist but, believe me, I love the beach and and I love the Gulf and I love all the animals and plants and THE PERFECT NATURAL BEAUTY OF IT ALL and I hate that it's being befouled by stupid human tricks.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

- mitchell

P.S. The above sentiments apply to joking about any sensitive matter. Think carefully before you speak.

the meek shall inherit the scraps

So much going on...

Booked our honeymoon at River Street Inn in Savannah, Georgia. It's going to be awesome.

There's an epic oil spill in the Gulf.

We found a baby red-eared slider looking all pathetic on the sidewalk and brought it home and named it Gurgi and gave it a nicely equipped aquarium to dwell in. I haven't had a pet of any kind since high school. Gurgi's cool and will be treated royally.

Finally found Cory Doctorow's book, Little Brother, the other day at Barnes & Noble. I've only been half-heartedly searching for it, but I've been doing so for about a year. I didn't realize I should've been looking in the teen section. Yeah, I could've ordered it, but I figured it'd show up when it was time for me to read it. I downloaded the book a while back but we all know it's a pain in the ass to read long works on a computer.

Peace,
MitchellG