Why I wish I wasn’t working today (not because it’s Monday) and other items of note

As is typical for a Monday, I’ve got lots of things running through my head today.  Some are thoughts informed by tidbits from the weekend past, like that final few crumbs of a morning muffin that gives just a hint of the enjoyment had previously.  Mmmm…double chocolate chip muffin.

What?  Chocolate is too perfectly acceptable for breakfast-times noms.  Count Chocula used to tell me so on Saturday mornings in commercials wedged between the Smurfs and Scooby-Doo.  Surely the Count wouldn’t lie to children, right?

Aaaaaanyway…some other of my current musings are particular to the week upcoming, or today, in particular, as a unique, fleeting point in time and space.

Was that too, uh, quantum for a Monday?  Probably best if I just get to the point.

Freshly Pressed – In case you’re wondering what the shiny “Featured On Freshly Pressed” graphic on the sidebar there to the right is for, it means that one of my posts was linked on WordPress’ “Freshly Pressed” page.  Freshly Pressed is intended to showcase the posts considered interesting, timely, or noteworthy from the vast sea of blogs powered by WordPress’ software.  To get linked there is an incredible honor, and I’m thrilled to have been chosen.  As it turns out, apparently my nostalgic look at the Wheel of Time books just before the release of A Memory of Light was thought to be both entertaining and poignant for fans of the series.  I’m guessing maybe for once I didn’t ramble on in that post as I’m wont to do. And find myself doing at the moment.  Ahem.  Anyway, so, that was pretty awesome.  Also, if you’re a new Puddintopia reader, arriving on the wave of new peepers from WordPress, Welcome! I’ll do my best to produce entertaining nonsense while limiting the usual excessive foolishness as much as possible.  No promises, of course.

Roller Skating, FTW! – On Saturday, Mini-Me (the second of our four puddinlings) was invited to a friends’ birthday party.  Believe it or not, the party in question was held at a roller skating rink!  Seriously, did someone know that these places were still a thing and just not tell me?  Because, I swear I thought they went they way of feathered hair, pulled up, over-the-calf, multi-colored and striped tube socks, and short, too-tight athletic shorts three decades ago when John was still a Cougar and his Mellencamp was a long, long way off.  Imagine my surprise, then, arriving at the party Saturday to find a new generation of pimply-faced kids rockin’ the quad-wheeled skates (which, by the way, don’t appear to have changed much in form or design since 1983) and skating around in an all-too-familiar oval.  Which, of course, begs the question: have the skating rinks been hanging around quietly since my youth, or is this a case of something old being new again?  What say you, wise readers?

Image via <a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/us/politics/obama-inauguration-draws-hundreds-of-thousands.html”>this story</a> from the <a href=”http://www.nytimes.com”>NY Times<a/>

Inauguration Day 2013- Today is one of my two favorite days to be an American citizen:  Inauguration Day.  The other is Election Day.  And to be quite honest with you, I don’t understand why we observe the holidays we do but don’t consider these two more important.  Obviously, I see that Memorial Day and Independence Day are both valuable, but I just don’t get why we put more emphasis on the remembrance of the past than celebration of our actions in the present.  Election and Inauguration Days should be more than just government and bank holidays.  I say that every business ought be closed on these two days. That every American should be given the time to see the President of the United States inaugurated, whether you voted or not for him or her, whether you agree or not with him or her.   That every one of us should have the opportunity to celebrate the election of our candidate, or conversely, witness the other candidate take the Oath of Office, swearing—usually in the name of the Almighty—to preserve, protect, and defend, under the Star Spangled Banner, making a promise to serve, words against which he or she will be held in the days forthcoming.  And that on Election Day, every citizen should have the opportunity to cast their vote without fear of going over a lunch break or being late to work, or worse, missing the polling times.  That they should have time to spend at home, with family, over a feast worthy of Thanksgiving or Christmas Day itself in appreciation of a method of governance (however imperfect) by and for the people that has produced the uninterrupted, largely peaceful transfer of power without revolution for more than two centuries.

Quite frankly, I don’t care who you voted for.  Inauguration Day is as awesome today as it was the day depicted above.

Pud’n