§ These last few weeks of October before daylight savings time ends are some of my favorite. Dramatic dark mornings that suddenly break into sunrise during my commute. The fighting chance for a hour or two of usable daylight after dinner.
Pitch black mornings always remind me of chilly pre-dawn drives to the airport as a child. A break in routine brimming with adventure and possibility.
§ On Monday I finally—finally—completed a years-long quest: I bought a handful of fresh pawpaw fruits from the same farm that I got the pawpaw “butter” from a couple of weeks ago.
What can I say, it’s a good fruit. Is it good enough to justify the multi-year quest? Honestly, it might be.
§ This time last year I planted garlic cloves for a springtime harvest. It hadn’t really crossed my mind yet this year since it has been so unseasonably hot with frequent highs in the 80s over the past few weeks.
In the name of science I decided to give it a shot anyway and planted ten cloves across five different varieties of garlic. This year only one plant survived to harvest. Here’s hoping we have better luck next year.
§ Both of my planned work trips to San Francisco earlier this year were ultimately canceled. However, on Wednesday I booked my flight for a quick work trip to Milwaukee (and, very briefly, Chicago) for the end of this month. I’m pretty excited, especially considering the fact that this will be my first time in Milwaukee.
Someday I’ll see San Francisco.
§ On Friday afternoon I drove out to Oberlin for a lecture. I always seem to forget that we have a college with such a rich and important history nearby in rural Ohio. I only wish I had a reason to visit more frequently.
§ On Saturday my wife and I attended the first birthday party for the son of a friend of ours. We made a custom CNC-machined pull along toy as a gift for the one year old. He seemed to like it.
§ Given how effusive I was about the first season of Twin Peaks last week it is only fair to say that I always seem to forget that the show’s second season is probably ten episodes longer than it should be. There is a whole lot of subpar filler in the middle there.
Also, I finally started watching The Return for the first time:
- Cameos from the original cast were cute but I found myself preferring the “new” characters and storyline
- Except for Kyle McLaughlin, who is incredible
- The combination of the humorous and horrific with the surreal and bizarre is spot on
- The sparing use of Badalamenti’s score made for a completely different atmosphere compared to the original two seasons. Other than the frequent use of low atonal drones, almost all music is diegetic.
