(Humble) Bragging

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 993 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨   496 WL

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨   10 (6) WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 81/99

Luck 53/99

Streak 744

Since returning home from Hawaii during the last week of February, my posting of feedback in the Wordle forum has been poor.  I don’t know whether to attribute this lapse to being busier at work, attempting to get my sleep schedule back on-track (maybe DST will help beginning this weekend), a push to finish my annual goal of viewing all the Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars (also this weekend — and only “Poor Things” remains.  Tickets purchased for tomorrow) — or maybe I’m just lazy.  I even neglected to humble-brag about reaching my milestone of two years without losing a game (Notice how I’ve cleverly worked the bragging in right here anyway.  It happened on Feb. 24 — Game #980, PIPER — a day that will live in infamy, I suspect, based on the NYT avg of 5.2 in that game)!  But enough stalling — let’s talk about today.

Guess #1 provided only the E (out of position) and almost 500 remaining solutions.  But Guess #2 gave me three more letters, R, A & L (all also out of position).  My meticulous Wordle record-keeping (some might use the term “anal”) served me in good stead, however.  My play from Game #816 (CLEAR on 9/13/2023) showed that only 6 solutions remained — and even included a note to try EARLY as Guess #3.  Eager to follow my own previous advice, I played it and watched all the letters turn green.  I was Under Par for a fourth straight day, tied The Bot, and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.6). 

Hope you're having a great day.

Take care and stay safe.

We're Back

The Middle-Aged Woman and I arrived home from Petoskey, MI on Friday night after a wonderful week there with Leslie and Larry - celebrating Independence Day, golfing, eating, talking, shopping. Mostly relaxing. MAW took the pictures - so check her blog for the visuals.

Today, I return to work and the normal routine, well-rested and ready-to-go. As soon as I'm done typing, I'm going to get in some exercise time to start the work week right. But first, a few random updates from the weekend.

- It was great to get back to martial arts class on Saturday morning. It felt good just to sweat (profusely), to see good friends I had missed, and have a leisurely lunch afterward.

- The opening performance of the Macbeth farce at the Motor City Youth Theater Saturday night was nerve-racking (for me - because I had missed the last week of rehearsal) but turned out well. Two good friends came for the show and were able to hang out afterward and visit with the MAW and me. It was nice.

- The weather was so nice Sunday, I asked The Boy if he wanted to go golfing. Although we golfed at the Twilight rate (which allows you to play as many holes as you want while the sun still shines), he wanted to stop after 11 holes. A surprise - but I don't think he was having fun (despite parring the last hole).

- Watched Vicky Christina Barcelona last night. It has its moments - but the whole thing doesn't really go anywhere, does it?

I plan to return to regular posting now that vacation time is over. Hope I've got something interesting to say.

Take care.

Are you in the play, Jim?

The answer, of course, is - yes.

This weekend and next, the Motor City Youth Theatre and Grantland Street Players and putting on two different productions on alternate nights. The Youth Theatre are performing Hamlet on Friday night and Sunday afternoon this weekend (July 10 and 12 - with a final performance the following Sunday afternoon, July 19). The Grantland Street Players (the adult wing of the Theater - with whom I will be performing) will be presenting The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of Macbeth on Saturday, July 11 and again the following weekend on Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18.

The version of Hamlet done by the youth will be an edited version of the full play - but the production is true to the spirit of the drama and tragedy of the original. I have both watched and performed in other productions done by the MCYT kids - and they are very talented.

The Farndale Avenue...Macbeth is a comedy about a group of British ladies trying to put on Shakespeare's Macbeth - with some difficulty. Imagine Monty Python doing Macbeth in drag - that'll give you an idea of the spirit behind this comedy. But we have real women performing most of the roles.

Anyway, either one of these productions would be a fine night out for you and your family. Particularly if you live somewhere near southeastern Michigan. You can go to the Motor city Youth Theater website (http://mcyt.org/) for more information (you may even find a picture of me there somewhere from a previous production) - or leave me a comment, if you need me to send an email with details.

Vacation update: We went on a nature trail hike today (everyone but the Middle-Aged Woman; if you want an explanation, bug her) outside Harbor Springs. And watched Episodes 4 & 5 of The Civil War (1863). And took a walk into Petoskey State Park after dinner and strolled along the beach there. And watched Gran Torino (everyone but the Middle-Aged Woman; if you want an explanation...) - which was great.

So it was a good day. Hope yours was too.

Take care.

Free Man in Petoskey

One of the many nice things about vacationing away from home is removing yourself from the routine obligations and tasks of every-day life. No meetings to attend, no practices, no particular schedule to meet. The luxury of sleeping or staying up late, taking a nap, going to bed early. Having the entire day to read or watch films - broken up by meals and conversation. A day when the most important thing you have to plan is a list for the grocery store.

That's a little different than my normal routine.

Of course, there are still a few activities I would like to work in before the end of the week. But if I don't get to all of them, it won't spoil my enjoyment of the things I end up doing.

- Spend some time on the lake paddling a kayak

- Ride a bike or walk down to the beach at Petoskey State Park

- Play some cards with Leslie and Larry

- Play some tennis and/or have a swim in the (indoor) pool

It has been a bit cool and breezy lately, so outdoor swimming hasn't been an option. On the other hand, there has been little or no rain - so the weather has not much limited our ability to enjoy the outdoors. Although it wasn't warm today, Larry and I enjoyed the natural beauty of the golf course immensely. Driving through the woods quietly in an electric golf cart with the breeze in your hair and a small stream running nearby is pretty cool when you are used to lots of concrete and traffic and a hectic schedule.

My only real obligation this week is to finish memorizing my lines for the play I will be performing in on Saturday (and Friday & Saturday next weekend as well). I'm in good shape for all but my long speech that closes the play - but I made good progress on that bit tonight. I plan to work on my lines each night this week so that I will have it all down cold by the time we leave on Friday.

Having this time to relax, to reflect, to be refreshed is a great blessing. Although I can (and often) do these Three R's at home, it's quite nice to have an extended opportunity to "get away from it all".

Wherever you are, I hope you will find a way to do the Three R's too.

Take care.

"Why don't you give yourself over...to Pleasure?!"

Jim Styro's Meaning Of Life, Part Thirteen

I'm just about smack dab in the middle of a two-week vacation. So far, I have enjoyed myself immensely - golfing, talking, eating, golfing, drinking, listening to music, golfing, shopping, watching films...and golfing. Tomorrow, Larry and I plan to...go golfing. The truth is that we have been ordered to go golfing by our wives - because they want go putzing around in thrift shops tomorrow and don't want us messing it up for them. I secretly suspect that Larry would prefer to hit the thrift shops with the women - but I figure we can hit the thrift shops too (after our round). So hopefully, I can make it up to him.

It will be my sixth day of golf in the past eleven days - which is certainly a personal best for me (depending on how you look at it). I've actually been slacking in the Golf Dept. since we got to Petoskey last Thursday - but there's no way I could have continued the torrid pace of play from last week (five rounds in six days) without my arms falling off. Anyway, I love golf - not because I golf well - because a golf course is just a beautiful place to be. Beautifully green, well-tended, often with rolling hills, trees, a pond or stream here and there. It is the height of luxury, I think, to spend a few hours where the only concern is trying to knock a small white ball into a slightly larger hole.

That thought leads me towards a whole series of ideas concerning enjoyment, vacations, pleasure and leisure, which all touch upon the question:
What is The Secret to enjoying yourself?

We've touched upon some aspects to the question in our past MOL discussions -

You've got to know what you enjoy, what will make you happy.

You've got to align your expectations to reality.

It helps to have people around you who desire your happiness and want to share it.

But being in my current circumstance (in the middle of a two-week vacation with good friends, no responsibilities and the means to do nearly anything I desire) highlights one overriding consideration concerning The Secret:
Will I allow myself to have a good time?

For in much the same way the a person can look a golf course and appreciate the natural beauty, feel exhilaration in the challenge of the game itself, or just enjoy a few hours spent with a buddy in the fresh air - another might focus only on shots that went awry, the cost of the golf balls that were lost, or how fast/slow the greens were playing. Any of these elements may reflect the reality of the experience - but our enjoyment of the experience is based just as much (if not more) on which elements we CHOOSE TO focus on.

Why would we EVER choose to focus on the negative aspects of the experience? Perhaps because the overwhelming majority of elements of an experience were "bad" (or did not meet our expectation). But is other cases, it may be that our attitude was not shaped by the experience (we don't feel good because so many bad things actually happened) - but rather, our attitude shaped the experience (we "knew" beforehand things would go badly, things happened, we decided they were bad, repeat Steps 1,2, and 3). Maybe I don't really believe I deserve a nice vacation. Maybe I don't think I've earned the right to enjoy myself. In my experience, people don't always need a good reason to punish themselves.

So perhaps the first element in enjoying yourself is to remember or decide that - it's OK to have a good time. It's allowed.

Perhaps this is only an issue of middle-aged, white American men - but I doubt it.

Lest you be concerned: I am not having any problems along these lines. In the words of Elwood P. Dowd, "I have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whoever I'm with." Of course, Elwood drank.

But so do I.

Take care.

PS: I may write some more about this. Or I may be having too much fun on vacation. You never know.

Musical Matchmaking

The morning, as scheduled, the Middle-Aged Woman and I left the cozy confines of suburban Detroit for the small-town splendor of Petoskey, MI. (For those of you who need a map, please refer to this post.) In preparation for our departure last night, I created a couple of compilation CDs for Leslie and Larry.

One of the discs featured a selection of 25 Nat (King) Cole tracks, including his big hits and many personal favorites. I noticed Larry grooving to the King Cole Trio's Straighten Up And Fly Right during our drive home from Greenbush to Detroit on Monday and decided then and there to make sure that he receive a more in-depth exposure to Cole's music.

A slight digression: Jim Styro's Top Five Nat (King) Cole tracks
[This is very difficult...]

1. Straighten Up And Fly Right - This really swings. Such energy, so playful. Pure gold.
2. Nature Boy - Although I normally detest an artist rerecording their own work, some of Cole's tracks really benefit from the maturing of his voice and some fantastic new orchestral arrangements. This song is an example.
3. There Will Never Be Another You - A personal favorite. The man has so many astounding ballads that picking particular tracks is painful. The first time I ever heard this song was in the film version of The World According To Garp. A wonderful, heart-breaking lyric.
4. Stardust - As an amateur vocalist myself, I've got one question: how the HELL can he make this song sound so effortless?
5. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - What an arrangement! So smooth, so much swagger. It's the bomb. That's why he's the King. (Jump back, Elvis, Michael or anyone else you want to mention. Who needs Sinatra when you can have Nat?)

OK - where were we?

Oh yeah - so I also made L&L a collection of 19 Jonatha Brooke tracks (both solo and with The Story). I'm not sure Jonatha has had any songs which would qualify as "hits" exactly - but if you haven't heard this woman's music, you need to run (don't dawdle) to Amazon and buy some now. (I am willing to provide recommendations at no charge.) We were listening to some of my personal collections during our drive Monday and it struck me how many times I have included Jonatha's music. I also recalled Larry expressing interest in her music at some previous Music Night gatherings; he may have even borrowed a CD or two. Anyway, I decided he needed to possess more of Jonatha's music as well.

[Dear Jonatha: In penance for giving some of your music away, I promise to buy another copy of "The Works" and give that as a gift as well. Love, Jim Styro]

Another digression: Jim Styro's Top Five Jonatha Brooke songs
[I can believe I'm doing this to myself again. So hard...]

1. The Angel In The House (The Story) - This is the first track that really got my attention. Such a bittersweet lyric - and Jonatha's vocal range is glorious.
2. Where Were You? - The word that comes to mind again is "swagger". On her first solo album, Jonatha rocks out with impunity. I particularly love the homage to "Here Comes The Sun" that closes this number.
3. Because I Told You So - What this lady can do with just her voice and a guitar is amazing. A wonderful lyric of devotion - a personal favorite.
4. Linger - Great, ringing guitars. When the chorus kicks in, who can resist punching the accelerator? "Here I go-oh-woh-woh-woh-woh-woh..."
5. No Net Below - Few artists are brave enough to be heard so up close and personal. This track is recorded so that you can hear every breath, like she's whispering the song into your ear. In the dictionary, the word "intimate" refers back to this record.

Damn - it's getting hard to remember what I was going to write about when I started this.
Oh, I remember...

So we're listening to a Jonatha Brooke song ("No Net Below" actually) on the way to Petoskey today and Snoplum says:

"I think it would be great if Jonatha Brooke covered a Steve Ward song. What's that "river" song I like?"

"Well, there's a few of them: do you mean Flow (river flow) - or The River Leads Me Home - or Down By..."

"That one. River Leads Me Home."

"I think she should cover Kid Yourself. It's probably his most Jonatha-like song. Or, if she wants to do a ballad, I would suggest Still Life"

"Well, I think they should do a duet on The River Leads Me Home."

"OK"

"They should work together on a record. Jonatha has her own label. She can hire whoever she wants to work on her records..."

"OK - but...they seem like very different types of artists to me - in so far as you can make judgements about what a person may be like based on their art. Steve Ward is...a disillusioned optimist - and Jonatha is an optimistic cynic."

"Oh - that's a post!"

"What's a post"

"What you just said about Steve Ward and Jonatha Brooke."

"I thought it was more something I might put in a Random Tuesday Thoughts thing - not a whole post just for that."

"No - you have to write a post with that and we'll send copies of it to Steve Ward and Jonatha Brooke so that they can start working together. And I will be responsible for having brought together two musical geniuses."

"You'll be responsible? Does that mean you're writing the post?"

"No - you're writing it. I'll be...distributing it."

[Think of the great scene in Schindler's List where Neeson (as Schindler) meets Ben Kingsley (as the accountant Stern): "Not the work, not the work...the PRESENTATION."]

Last digression: Jim Styro's Top Five Steve Ward tracks
[So...painful...]

1. Careful (Can't Fall Again) [Cherry Twister] - So hard to pick only one Cherry Twister number. But I love the slide guitar on this number (it reminds me so much of Steely Dan's Pearl of the Quarter) and the harmonies are sublime. This is the softer side of Steve.
2. I Missed The Mark - The opening track of Steve's first solo album, Opening Night. From the joyous organ strains that open the song to the closing guitar lick, this is no rookie music-making. This is alternative pop from a man who knows how to write, how to play, how to sing, how to produce a record. How can this guy not be both rich and famous?!?!?!?!
3. Still Life - A near perfect pop song. I won't even attempt to describe its pristine beauty. Go buy "Opening Night"!
4. The Death of Star - Oh and do you like psychedelic pop too? Well the Doctor is in! The arrangement to this song is mind-blowing; like Art Garfunkel doing Strawberry Fields Forever.
5. Kid Yourself - The closing song on Steve's second (and last, so far - dammit) album, See and Be Seen. "Someone's got a secret to tell..." - indeed; and the secret is: Steve Ward is a pop music genius.

OK - so to sum up:
1. Go buy all of Steve Ward's albums (quit whining - there's only three. You'll thank me later.)2. Go buy any three Jonatha Brooke albums
3. If you already know about Steve and/or Jonatha - and you have any powerful friends that can bring these to talents together, then lend your voice to mine. Send emails, make phone calls, alert your Senator, Congressman, Obama!

We need them to make beautiful music together.

Take care.

PS: I had to finish off this post in the parking lot of the Petoskey Burger King where I was barely able to steal their free Internet access. So please excuse any typos, bad grammar, stupid ideas, etc.

Personal best

My vacation started last Friday, June 26. In the six days since then, I have played a round of golf all but one day (Monday - my birthday - when we drove home from Greenbush to Redford). And on four of the five days I played, we shot a full 18 holes. So I've played 81 holes in the last week. I've never played golf five out of six days. I may never do it again. But it certainly raises the bar for future golf planning.

Tomorrow, we drive to Petoskey to spend the week with our good friends, Leslie and Larry, at their condo. Although I expect to do lots of different things over the next week, my one critical duty will be to provide suitable films to watch for periods of inclement weather or days when a quiet evening at the condo is desired. I always take way more video that could possibly be watched. It's my way of keeping options open.

Here's what will go in the movie bag:

Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood's latest, filmed (in part) around Metro Detroit where I abide. Of the four of us, only Larry has already seen it.

Ken Burns' documentaries, The Civil War & The War (WWII) - Leslie had been reading a novel set during the Civil War and desired additional background. Nobody's better at making history interesting than Burns.

Frost Nixon - Nominated for Best Picture last year with great performances from Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. I believe I'm the only one who's already seen it.

Swimming to Cambodia - Leslie and Larry weren't familiar with the late Spalding Gray (who the MAW and I love) - and their children are currently traveling in Thailand and...Cambodia.

Lonesome Dove - Larry mentioned he hadn't seen it. Most likely, too long to undertake - but you never know.

The Dark Knight - L&L haven't seen it. And they count on me for a good comic book movie now and again.

State and Main - A good comedy is always important to have ready. And I'm the only one who's seen this one.

Burn After Reading, Thank You For Smoking, Lars and The Real Girl - Three more comedies, because I'm the King of Video excess. Each of these has a different mix of funny and touching - with the Coens Brothers leaning more cerebral (as always) and Lars being on the opposite end of the spectrum.

The Times Of Harvey Milk - Because I haven't purchased Gus Van Sant's Milk yet. And that film owes a debt of gratitude to this earlier documentary.

The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen - Because I got the 20th Anniversary Edition for Father's Day (along with The Times of Harvey Milk).

A River Runs Through It - I love this movie. A great story of family.

Harvey - Perhaps my favorite move ever. A comedy - with heart.

Well, it's getting late - and I've got a big drive tomorrow. I hope to keep posting while we are out of town - but access to the Internet may be limited.
Keep a look-out for me. And I'll try my best to stay in touch.

Take care.

The Plan

My vacation starts tomorrow. It will last about two weeks, cover several hundred miles and be broken into two major components.

Part 1: June 26 - June 29

Hanging at Wiser Times in Greenbush, Michigan. Our very good friends, Chico and Chickadee have a place on Lake Huron. We will spend a long weekend, hanging out, golfing and enjoying each others company. There will be anywhere from 2 - 4 couples and perhaps even children involved. But not mine.

Part 2: July 2 - July 10

Hanging with Leslie & Larry in Petoskey, Michigan. This is on the Lake Michigan side, up near the top of "The Mitten" (the Lower Peninsula of Michigan). It will be an extended version of the previous weekend's activities - but just the four of us. And we'll take in the annual Fourth of July parade in Harbor Springs (just across the Little Traverse Bay from Petoskey).

For our visually-inclined readers, I've included this detailed map of our planned travels. Part 1 will take us from the green dot to the blue dot to the purple dot and back. (At one point, we had planned to stay "up north" for the entire two weeks - but Snoplum likes to sleep in her own bed - so we're coming back home for a couple days. That way, we can maximize the number of hours in the car.) Part 2 will take us from the green dot to the red dot and back.
It's gonna be great.

But before all that comes the event that some men wait all year for. A competition of such historic proportions, grown men grow faint at the prospect.

FRIDAY: The 22nd Annual Spinner Invitational

Get the inside scoop tomorrow morning - right here.

Take care.