Cycho Librarian

So what am I really thankful for? I’m thankful for my home; cozy and warm, with cats curled up beside me. I’m thankful for Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, and Mahler, and the chance to sing them to thousands. I’m thankful for art; in galleries, on streets, danced on a stage, seen in a museum. I’m thankful for pizza, beer, and Douglass Street. I'm thankful for comfortable saddles and chain tools. I’m thankful for a place on the floor at the SOMC Life Center, and getting stuck at railroad crossings. I’m thankful for my Light and Motion Urban 550 and Scioto Trails after dark. I’m thankful for people who think it’s a good idea to ride 50 miles to a garden. I’m thankful for chainsaws and friends who know how to use them. I’m thankful for mosh pits in Pearl Alley. I’m thankful for sprints in the dark. I’m thankful for Lower Twin and Mingo Road. I’m thankful for Ohiopyle, Cumberland, the big slackwater, Harper’s Ferry, Silver Spring, and the Dubliner. I’m thankful for tomatoes and fires. I’m th...

I don't care about birthdays. To be clear, this doesn't mean that I don't like birthdays, or that I have some sort of pathological aversion to getting older. I literally don't care about birthdays. My birthday rolls around, and most of the time my only reaction is, "oh yeah, it's my birthday again, isn't it?" I've had people suggest that I'm avoiding some deep seated anxiety about getting older, but seriously, I really don't care. Since I've been divorced, it's been a good excuse to throw a party and have some friends over, but I could do that any time. Granted, people are more likely to show up when it's my birthday, but all I really want is to hang out with my friends. Against all of this, this time it's different. As much as I'd like to think that this is just another number, it is a landmark. Both because we happen to have ten fingers and so have a weird affinity for intervals of ten, but also because of how it...

I am so tired of this. I don't know what's different this time around. We have many of the same players and attitudes as we did in 2008, but for some reason back then it didn't seem to bother me as much. Maybe it's that, as I observed to someone the other day, at least McCain was consistent. But this time around there doesn't seem to be a coherent, let alone consistent position on the right. But I don't think that really explains my weariness with the election this time around. It's more than that the position is so incoherent. It's that so many people have bought into it and don't seem to have the foggiest idea that everything about it is so wrong, and so dangerous. Most of you know that I'm fairly upfront with my political leanings and my beliefs. If I feel that the person I'm talking to can handle an intense debate without it damaging our relationship, I'm even more than happy to really engage, to really push and argue and tear a...