Antisocial Media

 A gorgeous day in Madison, and I did my best to enjoy it and try not worry too much about what July and August are going to feel like.  1. Let's ride bikes!  Lucas, age 9, taking out his new-to-us bike for a spin. His old one was small enough that his knees would hit his armpits when riding. The last of the ice on Lake Mendota. I took a jog over to Mom and Dad's to pick up my bike - it had unintentionally overwintered in their basement - and rode home via the UW Lakeshore Path. A little later in the afternoon Isaac wanted to go for a ride, and we paused at the Square for him to snack on the apple and go-gurt pouch that he'd brought in his pocket. This bright yellow crocus was one of several we saw coming home. 2. A chilling vision of things to come! I don't need reading glasses yet, but when I do I think I'll need a different frame design and color. 3. Uncle Muncle's Caramel Corn Puffs. Uncle Muncle's Caramel Corn Puffs.

Happy Weekend Everyone,  may it be at least average,  and hopefully much better.  

 Funny somehow that my Leap Day, rather than having some spaciousness and flex to it (as one might hope from a whole extra day grafted into the year), instead felt like five days crammed into one. I don't know how it was for anyone else, but I am moving sloooooowwwwwww this morning. I gave myself a little grace last night at 11 and decided that I didn't need to try to cram in an entry before midnight. But today is a new day so here are my Three Good Things to kick off the month of March: 1. The Mechanical Fair (Todd Terje Remix), by Ola Kvernberg https://youtu.be/hSE7GIVJz6g?si=cCadk1naLR1jowW4 I love this tune. It builds so well, and has such a playful propulsive energy. It grabbed me from the first time I heard it on Ezekiel Kweku's (aka Scholastics) live-DJing Twitch stream (Curricular) and I have never tired of it since. Some pieces of music are medicine for your soul, and this is certainly one of those for me. 2. Trains!  I thrill to the notion that one day in the next...

 1. At last I learn what the executives do in all those "hotelling" offices. 2. Lightning Camera. This app records a several seconds-long buffer that pauses when you press the shutter button, after which you can review the recorded frames to see which you want to use. I haven't gotten any dramatic branching lightning strikes with it, but I do love being able to capture that feeling that heat lightning always gives me. That said, I like heat lightning better in the summer than in February... 3. Elevator door selfies. Can't explain it, I just love the abstracted distorted mirroring of that brushed steel texture.

I'm frustrated and a little heartsick tonight, so I don't have many words for my three good things. Here's three photos taken by a camera I no longer have, of subjects that are no longer there. 1. This tree lost a big limb this fall, and must have been removed before the winter. The house looks diminished without it. 2. A young couple waits to order at Michaels Frozen Custard. It's a Chocolate Shoppe now, and I miss the idiosyncratic and overcrowded menu. Michael's was the first place I ever had a waffle cone, and I can still smell them. 3. I haven't seen this neighborhood cat around for several years. He was a stinky old character. For anyone curious, the camera was a Mamiya RB67.

It's been a long day so I'm keeping my words short tonight. 1. Blogging. A passionflower vine trying to cling to a lime leaf. I am really enjoying this daily exercise of writing and gratitude. And it feels good to be "creating content" solely on my own behalf and not to help Mark Zuckerberg get even more obscenely wealthy. I chose the right turn of phrase when I renamed this blog. Long live Antisocial Media! 2. Cooking food that my kids request. J Kenji Lopez-Alt's NYT recipe for wildly garlicky noodles My youngest has been asking for "the garlic noodles" for a few days, and I was so excited to finally have a window to make them that I may have sliiiiiiightly overdone it on the garlic. I mean, what's thirty cloves between friends? It's a delicious recipe, and while it's simple there's a lot of nuanced care demanded by the process. I'm able to make it reliably edible, but I'm quite a ways from mastering it.  Can't wait to bring...

1. Bikes! Two boys head down the sidewalk on the first bike ride of the year. Sure it's several months earlier for this than I'd prefer, but I cannot deny the joy it brings me to see these two able to take off on bikes for a small adventure. I'm brought to mind of my friend Elizabeth's favorite joke: Q: How many ADHD kids does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: Let's go ride bikes!! 2. The mid-90s Honda Prelude. Red Honda Prelude,  caught at an awkward angle prays that traffic clears. I have always loved the design of this car. My friend Enrique drove a black one in high school, and its stylish lines and understated air of menace really complemented the rude boy persona he cultivated at the time. 3. The Isle of Elsi. A red plush stuffy of the dragon character Nogard poses in front of a shelf of books. My friend Alec (among many other projects) runs an awesome webcomic for kids titled, "The Isle of Elsi". You can guess from the name that it's heavy on ...