I dislike themes, but this week we seem to have a surplus of pieces on self awareness, a practice that leads to or requires introspection or stripping away all of our defenses, both of which habits I detest and avoid as much as I try to avoid long-winded bores at parties. Don't always succeed at either. Maybe I should spend a little time thinking about why that is.

Essentials dialogue.

We start with this bit of dialogue from Calvin and Hobbes to encourage the preservation of sanity and perspective.

Hobbes: You know what I like about summer days?/ They're just made for doing things/ ...even if it's nothing
Calvin: Especially if it's nothing.

With apologies to Carly Simon.

I was fetching the paper from the front stoop this morning when the song The Wells Fargo Wagon became today's earworm. I don't know why, but there it was. I thought about the song in the context of the movie (The Music Man). I thought about most of the town gathering with a sense of wonder, excitement and anticipation. I'm 99% certain that didn't happen in IRL, but it did get me thinking.about then and now, and how now is less than then.

Basically, (and the Conspiracy Theorist agrees with me) there is an organized plot to destroy any sense of anticipation we might have. Mostly, everyone seems to have a 'Nostradamus Cape,' that they put on to foretell the future. For the last month, sports networks have been prognosticating on what the NFL draft order will be. That's the 2027 draft. Weatherpersons guess what the weather will be a week from now, but when we get there, the weatherpeople neither apologize nor preen about the accuracy (or lack) of their prediction. They are living a week in the future. There are whole websites devoted to predicting what Apple is going to do (although these days they seem to be more interested in product announcements than what Apple might or might not do). And of course there is the whole political pundit class, spouting off about what the leader of country X or country Y will do, and how country A will respond. Of course business will have continual announcements of upcoming products, mergers, and layoffs, many of which won't happen. There are websites that let people make money by predicting events. The nice thing about these gigs is that there are absolutely no repercussions if a predictor gets something wrong.

Certain TV channels are showing Christmas movies 24/7 all this month, and will have weekly refreshers until mid-October, when they kick into full-on Xmas mode again.

And by the time the event rolls around, we're exhausted and just want to nap. The poster child for all this frontloading was probably The Millennium. By the time it arrived, our response was, 'Oh, look. Fireworks. Yay. We'll have to do it again sometime.'

What is sad is how this living in the future destroys senses of anticipation and excitement. It used to be part of the fun of Christmas, birthdays, Halloween and Thanksgiving was before the event, like waiting for Santa, the different parts of the Thanksgiving dinner being assembled, and of course what the presents would be.

A lot of that sense seems to be missing these days, under assault from how many things have become routine, how generally jaded we have become, and there's always someone who is going to criticize or have a problem with what should be a happy event.

Remember that Wells Fargo wagon I mentioned? Now, if we want, when we order stuff from away, we can track the progress of a package almost to the point when the truck enters our street. Even if we choose not to track, we have at least four delivery vans that cruise the street regularly, taking away any anticipation or wonderment. Routine kills surprise and anticipation.

Now this may not seem like such a big deal, but hope grows best in an atmosphere of anticipation and wonder. Boundaries are lowered if not erased, allowing us to see new and expanded horizons, opportunities for betterment and growth. A world where anticipation can flourish.

Now, if I can just get that d*mn song out of my head.

Another revelation.

There will always be someone to believe anything a 'figure of authority' says, no matter how stupid the statement or suspect the speaker's authority is.

Today's question.

Why does it seem I'm more likely to break an item that I really like than just a plain ol' thing?

1. If you like it more, you probably use it more, so the Law of Opportunity kicks in.
2. The odds are that you're probably more careful handling or using special or cherished items than you are with ordinary things. This throws off your natural equilibrium, motions, and body weight distribution, leading to increased risk of imbalance, fumblefingers and general oopsies.
3. If you are of a Puritanical frame of mind, you may have made the item a graven image, a blasphemy in the eyes of the Lord. This could lead to the Lord smiting the loathsome object, dashing it to the ground, and breaking it. While sad, think 'better it than me.'

We need some terms defined.

Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, the title character is set up as an arbiter of taste and fashion. I was willing to go along wit that until I ran into this:

At another time he devoted himself entirely to music, and in a long latticed room, with a vermilion-and-gold ceiling and walls of olive-green lacquer.

At no time in human history in any civilization could that color combination be described as anything other than an assault on the retina.

Longings.

While making lunch, I noticed that the buns I was using were 'enriched.'

How old school! Bread products have been enriched for as long as I can remember. Then I wondered what the bread was enriched with (but didn't care enough to check), and if anyone ever checks to see what the enriching ingredients are. Do people actually buy this product because of the enrichment (the letters are large and front and center)?

But here's the big question: can I get enriched, preferably as easily as they enrich hot dog rolls?

I'll have to wait, though—before I commit, I'll have to decide how I want to be enriched—Financially? Socially? Physically? Emotionally? Creatively? Mentally? Or are combo packs available?

The jig's up, writer guys!

Firstpost reveals that cannabis users may recall events that never happened.

Damn! Now everyone's going to be able to write creative, fascinating poetry and fiction.

And might I point out that 'recalling events that never happened' is not limited to cannabis users or writers, it's limited only by the size of the human race.