Behold the Driveway of Doom.
Jaysis. Some days, the writing, it goes smooth like butta.
And some days, it goes more like shitting broken bottles into a flaming toilet. Something of a pain in the keister, is what.
This is the grotesquely scenic route toward explaining the recent dearth of bloggery in these environs. With mots of the bon variety proving elusive I felt compelled to corral the few I was able to catch, hoping eventually to assemble them into a remuda of paying copy.
Nix.
Notions kept arising with malicious intent, like Martin Sheen surfacing in the lagoon en route to snuffing Marlon Brando in “Apocalpyse Now.” False paths with bad endings. Curiously shaped bricks that, while fascinating in their own right, didn’t quite fit in the wall.
Gah.
Also, it snowed. One of those obnoxious, featherweight snows that, coupled with a stiff north wind, basically glazes a steep, north-facing driveway like a cop’s donut if the homeowner is distracted by journalism and forgets to clear it first thing.
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeyit.
While all this was going on I was striving mightily to avoid the actual news, which, wow, talk about your false paths and bad endings. The road goes ever on and on. Here be dragons. This way to the Dark Side. Thus I shunned The New York Times and NPR in order to remain blissfully ignorant and focused on the task at hand, viz., to wit, earning the meager handful of coppers I require to purchase my common groats and lentils.
And now I believe I need a break from all that. It’s the weekend, f’chrissakes. The toilet will still be on fire come Monday morning.
Tags: Journalism, winter
Mad Blog Media 
January 7, 2017 at 9:54 am |
You do have a way with words, I was getting a bit concerned. Hadn’t read any bombasts about the vast white right-wing conspiracy in recent moments. Glad to see that you seem to be back up and operating at peak efficiency.
As for myself I been stuck in my bloody house for almost a week. I hate snow, especially in this part of the country where it starts out as snow i and always ends up as freezing rain.
Good luck!
January 7, 2017 at 10:08 am |
No excess mental capacity lately to monitor the evildoers, alas. I haven’t even been causing trouble on Twitter. There’s just something about January that makes everything slightly more difficult.
Freezing rain? My favorite. Once on a first date in Oregon I found myself sitting in a half-frozen puddle en route to dinner courtesy of some invisible black ice on a sidewalk. I made a tremendous first impression. In the puddle.
January 7, 2017 at 10:05 am |
Good time to enjoy a bowl of red or a plate of enchiladas and take the mind off of everything else for a few seconds. Savor the bounty of good hearty foodstuff…was 17 degrees in Central Texas last night. Brrr…
January 7, 2017 at 10:11 am |
The Adventure Cyclist boyos report an extended stretch of subzero temps in the Greater Cosmopolitan Missoula Area. I don’t think they’ll be challenging your mileage record anytime soon.
I made chorizo-potato tacos last night and may do some gong bao chicken tonight. I need to stoke the furnace.
January 7, 2017 at 12:40 pm |
I’ll wing my way back onto the frozen plains of Iowa tomorrow after enjoying a bit of warmth (sort of) and sun yesterday.
http://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2017/01/arrivederci-southern-california.html
Already making plans to come back in March for some cycling, then jet off to NAHBS in SLC. If we’re gonna be stuck in the USA this winter/spring we’ll somehow make the best of it.
January 7, 2017 at 3:01 pm |
Back to the deep freeze, hey? Herself and I bundled up to walk The Boo, then figured we weren’t quite bundled up enough for a run, so we added layers … and, naturally, by the end of the run, we were peeling off bits of this, that and the other.
No NAHBS for me this year. Señor Deme asked if I was interested, but I think I need to ride more and look less.
January 7, 2017 at 3:30 pm |
Too bad about NAHBS, we’ll miss you though I’ll be doing something more similar to work this time than at Charlotte, “helping” my friends as they feature their FAVALORO hand-made bikes and handmade SMP saddles. The week prior in SoCal (rains permitting) I hope to get enough cycling in that the break will be welcome.
January 7, 2017 at 12:56 pm |
I thought your brief absence from the blogoshpere was due to deadlines. Lots of them. After all, the might Boo Man must eat.
January 7, 2017 at 3:05 pm |
O, indeed, Pat. It’s what he lives for, The Boo — dinnertime. Also, breakfast and lunch. And snacks.
I’ll get a break from velo-drudgery starting in February, when I’ll be fresh out of review bikes until a Co-Motion Deschutes hits the stoop. Alas, come March, BRAIN goes back to twice a month, so we’re talking a very short break indeed.
January 7, 2017 at 3:33 pm |
These goofy eyes of mine are a good excuse for poor editing. Even with the spell checker on, I still screw things up. Anywho (that’s on purpose) we are glad the Mighty Boo Man is eating regular. We rode to Brown Canyon Ranch this morning, and I am taking the ES out for a spin tomorrow. Sandy is heading to KY in a week to help her Mom, so Duffy and I will be running unsupervised for a 7 days. I would think about jumping in the truck and coming up to ride the Paseo del Bosque trail, visit the aquarium, and buy you guys dinner, but I’m allergic to snow. Maybe in the spring.
January 7, 2017 at 2:24 pm |
Shoveling? Our predicted 1″ to 3″ snowfall has turned into nearly a foot and it is still snowing. We have worked on on own walks and paths twice today, as well as an elderly neighbor’s. We are eating hearty Italian tonight with a little (or more) vino.
January 7, 2017 at 3:07 pm |
Well, my shoveling mostly involves word count, which can be done indoors, where it’s warm. If I had been smart, which I will never be, I could’ve dealt with our piddling snowfall using a push broom. But nooooooo, I had to wait until late afternoon, when I needed a flamethrower.
January 7, 2017 at 3:52 pm |
I feel your pain, amigo. Believe me.
January 7, 2017 at 4:47 pm |
José! Long time no see, hombre. How goes?
January 7, 2017 at 9:39 pm |
Ahh, should I send you a picture of my sandal tan?
January 7, 2017 at 9:56 pm |
No
January 8, 2017 at 5:12 am |
Yes. We will pay you back in June.
January 8, 2017 at 4:59 am |
27 degrees here this morning in lower alabama. we spent the xmas holiday in bavaria visiting family. i managed to score a fairly shitty bike and do some shortish rides in the foothills of the bavarian alps. it was very cold but completely awesome. even a shitty bike can take you wonderful places. for some reason i can’t quite get motivated to throw a leg over a bike this morning.