Today is my brother Jason’s 34th birthday and I wanted to make sure and wish him a happy one. My brother (on the left) is a little over 2 years younger than me and looking back over old pictures today I had many fond memories of the good times we had together as kids. Sure, we fought like all siblings do, but we enjoyed hanging around with each other and playing games together.

We grew up initially in a trailer court and then moved to a small housing area in the country. There were few television channels and even when cable emerged it wouldn’t reach out that far so we were used to making up ways to entertain ourselves. We ‘invented’ a game we played frequently called ‘ship-a-boat’. This was essentially us using our beds or the furniture as boats from which we would embark on high seas adventures. How we ever came up with that name I’ll never remember but the family teases us about it today. Don’t misunderstand me, however, we still watched alot of television!

I’ve posted on this blog and others that many of the things that I am nostalgic about today, The Muppet Show, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Night Gallery, are all programs that I watched with my brother and my memories and fondess for them are inextricably linked with Jason. Jason and I watched many a test pattern together in the mornings before cartoons would come on!

I love my brother very much. He was more than a brother growing up, he was a friend. We shared a bedroom, we worked jobs together, and we had many, many good times together. One of my lasting memories of Jason happened just before I moved to Tulsa to go to college. In high school we didn’t spend nearly as much time together as we had our own friends, and jobs, girlfriends, etc. Jason took me to the local mall and bought me a really nice pair of name brand tennis shoes as a going away gift. He purchased them with his own money that he had earned at his restaurant job and they were the first pair of truly ‘name brand’ shoes that I ever owned. This really touched me deeply and I’ve never forgotten it.

My brother lives in Nebraska and I don’t get to see him as much as I’d like to. We still have a tremendous amount of fun when we get together. My brother is a movie trivia wiz and is an absolute blast to play games with. He has a great family and I miss them all very much. Happy Birthday Jason, I hope you have a terrific day and know that your older brother loves you very much. I’m proud of the man that you’ve become.

Pop on over the Jenn See’s site and wish her a Happy Birthday as today is the big day!!! While you’re there, check out The Zoomquilt for a fun, graphical adventure! Happy Birthday Jenn! Hope you had a great party!!!

With today’s passing of famed science fiction author Andre Norton I began to mourn the fact that there are so many science fiction/fantasy Masters, or almost-Masters, that I have yet to read.

It is only within the last few years that I picked up Robert Heinlein, Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Simon R. Green, Jonathan Carroll…………and they’ve all been an unspeakable joy to read! It makes me wonder what else I’m missing.

I have never read Andre Norton, but she is far from being the only household science fiction/fantasy author that I haven’t experienced. The list includes:

Isaac Asimov, Robert Aspirin, Frank Herbert, Fred Saberhagen, Poul Anderson, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card (fiction), George R.R. Martin, Robert E. Howard, Anne McCaffrey, Spider Robinson, Roger Zelazny, Arthur C. Clarke, Frederick Pohl, Ben Bova….I could go on and on. In addition there are books that I have yet to read by authors that I have enjoyed over the years. The Pip and Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster, the Ringworld series of Larry Niven, the Eden Trilogy of Harry Harrison. The saying “so many books, so little time” seems so trite but so true. I treasure reading, though I often feel that there is not enough time. I choose to do other things that can be equally satisfying but whenever I hear someone lauding their favorite author or their latest literary discovery I think, “now when am I going to have time to read that?”

I used to think of reading as a solitary activity. You pick up a book, open the cover, and allow yourself to be wisked off into other worlds, other times, other dimensions. I no longer feel that way. Books throw open the doors of conversation with those around you that you may not have taken the time to converse with otherwise. Its always a pleasure during those awkward ‘small talk’ moments when you find out that the other person is a reader. Sharing books deepens a friendship in ways that no other medium can. And when you find a good friend that will trust you enough to try something that maybe they’ve never read before and that you can trust enough to open yourself to books you have never read before it is truly magical. And reading to someone deepens a relationship even more.

So rather than spending time lamenting the fact that I will never read all of the science fiction and fantasy, not to mention classics, children’s books, etc. that I desire to, I decided to go out and do something about those I do have time for. I picked up Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and The Tar-Aiym Krang, a Pip and Flinx adventure, by Alan Dean Foster. I look forward to reading, and sharing, these books with great anticipation.

For those of you wondering, this is me. A fat me. Spare me the ‘you’re not fat’ comments, this is not a post looking for sympathy or ego boosting. This is about accountability. Underneath that stylish gray shirt is the equivalent of a belly 6 months with child and carrying the kid high. (Notice how the picture was taken to distract you from seeing my belly by positioning myself next to the sexy legs of my Forbidden Planet poster. 🙂 And, though you can barely tell, Stainless Steel Droppings is up on the monitor.)

I was supposed to go to a wedding a few weeks ago but it was postponed until September due to a family death. I was attending the wedding with my friend Scott and was lamenting that I did not own a suit nor did I have the desire to buy one to fit a frame that I am not at all happy with. Scott mentioned that he would like to get back into the gym and thus the weight loss/healthier living idea was born. We have a little less than 6 months until the wedding. The idea is to start exercising again, eat better, and evaluate progress every Tuesday morning. The intensity of our personal regimens will be determined by the progress we are making.

I’m posting this as a way to be accountable. If I have others knowing what I’m supposed to be doing this will help motivate me. I’m 5’6″ and weigh 188 lbs. Most if not all of the extra weight I am carrying is belly and love handles. Both need to go. So, here we go. Goodbye to an average of 3 Mt. Dews a day. Goodbye to stopping several times a week and the local QT to pick up M&M Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches. Hello to at least trying to eat more fruits and veggies (both of which I like but am usually to lazy to grab). I’ll keep you posted. Anyone willing to join in can jump on board. The final weigh in will be Sept. 1st. 🙂