43

I interrupt this little Peaksfest to say: 43. (Tomorrow it will just be much cooler if I say that now before I say 42 then)

I'm on Facebook now. That's not related, but I wanted to mention it.

Synchronicity

"temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events" - definition of synchronicity, Carl Jung

Thought I was going to talk about Twin Peaks? One of the major themes of the show involved just the kind of occurences Jung was talking about. So there's the theme for this post, right? Nah, it's spookier than that.

I initially watched Twin Peaks when it was in its second and final season. My then girlfriend Beth and I watched it religiously. Which was kind of an achievement, since the later portion of the season was marked by time changes and even a lengthy hiatus. Although the first season of Twin Peaks was released on DVD several years ago, seeing the second season anytime soon was far from a sure thing. Last I had heard there were no plans to release it.

So, imagine my surprise two weekends ago when I go to a department store for plumbing hardware, decide to check out the DVDs and find ... Twin Peaks Season 2! Apparently it just came out. So I pick it up. Now I can watch the scene where Leland kills Maddy, over and over and over again ... Love that scene. Horrifying and compelling simuiltaneously. I'm fond of things you watch out of the corner of your eye because you have to watch but can't look straight on. Anyway ... more on that scene next post.

So, there's the Twin Peaks angle. What's that? You're wondering the synchronicity angle?

Two days before stumbling across the Twin Peaks season 2 DVDs I spoke with Beth for the first time in 17 years.

There ya go.

There are Owls in the Roadhouse

"We don't know what will happen or when, but there are owls in the Roadhouse" - Margaret (Log Lady), Twin Peaks episode 14, "Lonely Souls"

I had several titles in mind for this post. I went with the Twin Peaks reference. The next 2 posts are also Peaks-related (in part at least) and I figure, hey, why not make a trilogy?
Episode 14 was very much about expectation and anticipation. In the weeks running up to the episode ads trumpeted "Laura Palmer's killer - revealed!" In a scene that is simultaneously one of the most compelling and one of the most disturbing moments ever seen on scripted network TV, the killer is indeed revealed.

To us. The viewers.

Within the universe of the show, though, there is just the expectation of something happening - series lead Dale Cooper is even told as much at one point ("It is happening ... again.") What, where, and when are never revealed to those within the story, at least not yet.

I'm in a similar place. Something is about to happen. Not sure what. Not sure when. It's been slowly unfolding, just like the plot of Twin Peaks. The players are taking their places.

There are owls in the Roadhouse.

Independence

http://foodindependenceday.org/

Names

Most of this post was written yesterday. Problems with blogger prevented it from actually getting posted then. So like the Coca Cola 600 (which was rained out) we try again today.

I registered a domain for myself: www.daveinmpls.com. I have been watching a poker tournament sponsored by domain registrar godaddy every Sunday the past few weeks, and I guess having Danica Patrick on my TV each week telling me I should register a domain finally got to me.

Yes ma'am :).

Speaking of Danica (Indy car driver and one of the most well-known ladies in ANY sport):

As I write this the Indy 500 has just ended and the Coca Cola 600 hasn't quite started. I'm taking advantage of the gap to do a little blogging here. After all, a man cannot live on motorsports alone. Although I sure feel like I'm trying that today.

Relevant results:

Danica Patrick - 3
Sarah Fisher - 17
Milka Duno - 20

Although I don't really follow oppen wheel racing, those were the 3 drivers I was supporting in this race.

Yesterday the grocery delivery guy asked me if I had plans for this weekend (since it is a holiday) and I told him my only solid plans involved spending most of today (Sunday) watching racing. "Oh", he said, "do you have a favorite driver?"

I answered with an explanation of why I'm without a real NASCAR fave right now, but I do like Burton (Jeff), Busch (Kyle), and Stewart. I only mention the first name of the first two because there are other drivers with those last names.

If he had asked about Indy it would have felt natural to refer to Danica, Sarah, and Milka. I never would have called the 3 NASCAR drivers Jeff, Kyle, and Tony, though.

A similar use of first and last names struck me during the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. The two front runners were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In campaigns Clinton called herself 'Hillary' and Obama called himself 'Obama'. Both uses seem natural.

Why the difference? Using a woman's first name in a high-profile situation feels natural, but using a man's first name alone just seems ... weird.

Although that is exactly what many major news outlets did, discussing the contest between 'Hillary' and 'Barack'. Going for paralellism I guess.

Seemed strange to hear. I don't have any insight as to why, just something that I noticed.

Hot

We're having the hottest weather yet for summer '09 here in the Twin Cities. And, like every year, it has seriously impaired me. I've missed two days of work because of it.

I'm not very happy right now.

Phil

This is the story of Phil and how it all ended.

Phil died.

Well, not really. There is no Phil. Phil is a metaphor. I knew a Phil once, but there is no connection.

Why Phil? Little wordgame there, purely to amuse myself.

Phil and I knew each other a very long time. I fact, I knew Phil longer than any other person in the world did.

Not that our relationship was picture perfect. In fact there were times that I flat out despised Phil. Especially the fact that while I was spending all my time with Phil other folks who knew him got to spend at least some time away from him. Then he died. We all got time away from him.

What's a death without a funeral?

So the big sendoff happened. It wasn't so big, but it happened. Only I wasn't asked to say anything. Not even invited. Not that I got upset with those who were, but ... I spent more time with Phil than any other person - but wasn't qualified to speak.

Which stung quite a bit. Why the hell had I been straight up ABANDONED with Phil if I wasn't good enough? I had sort of rationalized the time I spent with him as a tacit endorsement of my ability. Apparently I was fooling myself. I was just dumb enough to let him be dumped on me.

All this happened some time ago. Still smarts though, but I'm just realizing the extent of it.