Art Imitating Life

Since September of last year, Emily and I have participated in a handicapped bowling league. The premise is that everything is super laid back. You come, bowl three games with some friends, drink a pitcher or three of beer, and have something to look forward to every week. We play for modest cash prizes at the end of the 14 weeks, but otherwise there is nothing at stake, aside from (very unimpressive) bragging rights. It’s not even a sanctioned league!

My point is this: it’s supposed to be fun.

But there are some who seem to take no joy from this weekly recreation. There are a few people we bowl against who are paying $13 a week (plus $2 for shoes, if the don’t bring their own) to do nothing but scowl. They bowl a strike, and it’s a straight face: no jump, no arms raised in victory, no fist pump. They feel no joy.

DUDES! It’s bowling. You’re paying money to enjoy yourself. Smile one goddamn time. You’re bowling!

I realize that it’s half way through the month of January by now, but I would be remiss if I did not finish out my MaBeGroMo updates.

For the month of December, I did not trim my beard. It started like this, moved in this direction, and this was the final product:

Look at how manly that is! It’s so manly that Hercules crapped right in his pants and had to put on a dress so all residual crapping due to the extreme manliness of this photo would just fall to the floor–because it was inevitable for months.

I am having a bit of an internal struggle. I need to be re-sold on my Amazon Kindle.

A little over a year ago, I bought my Kindle. I used it quite regularly; it actually caused me to read more than I had been. I was using the Kindle to its exact purpose: bringing around many books at the same time, reading two or three at a time as suited my fancy, never spending more than ten dollars on a book, and doing it all from my bed.

Recently, my Kindle has crapped out. I stopped using it for about four months (give or take–maybe six? Probably six), and then got so sick of not being able to use it that I called Amazon support, who informed me that it will cost either $20 for a new battery (which may solve the problem) or $180 for a new device.

This has got me thinking about all the things I don’t like about the Kindle.

Actually, it’s just one thing I don’t like, but it’s a biggie: I cannot share books. When I read a book that I like (which is most of them, as I usually quickly set down books that I don’t like) I become an evangelist for that book and I am usually quick to offer to lend it out once I am finished. That’s the nature of the bibliophile, I believe: to be libraries for our friends. The Kindle robs me of this elemental joy.

So, share your insight. Do I stick it out and invest $20 in a device I enjoy using and which allows me to read more books for fewer dollars, or do I sell it on eBay with a bum battery and return to the ways of the physical book?

Last night I got an unexpected email in my inbox:

Hi, artallen.

thecosbyshow (thecosbyshow) is now following your updates on Twitter.

Check out thecosbyshow’s profile here:

http://twitter.com/thecosbyshow

This is really neat! What the Tiwtter feed gives you is little updates on what the actors are doing. For example:

thecosbyshow Phylicia Rashad (Clair) Nominated for Best Actress SAG Award for playing Lena Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun” – http://tinyurl.com/9tclts

This might seem kind of pointless and stupid, but I actually really like it. I actually wish some other shows would do this. Like, if Star Trek TNG or M*A*S*H had feeds like this I’d follow them.

Oh, and then there’s the question of how the Cosby Show knew to follow me on Twitter. A quick search.twitter.com excursion finds one two three tweets that contain the word “Cosby.”

Also, if you’ve spoken to me in the past month and a half you know that it’s all I can do to wait until Christmas Day to get some Christmas Monies so I can go to Best Buy and buy each of the eight seasons of the Cosby Show for $20 each. Heckuva deal! But getting this email connected for me (for some reason) that I could buy this show on Amazon, and it’d probably be even cheaper. And it is! The Cosby Show: 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (1984) $89.99

I cannot wait.

I will be driving in this weather to procure some of these most delicious crackers so I can eat pickled herring and some delicious cranberry chipolte cheddar. That is how necessary they are.