brainsplotch

I am currently at a family get-together drinking a beer and watching the Detroit Lions demolish the Chicago Bears. We will soon be eating dinner. The last few days, I have read Patti Smith's A Book of Days, which was a Christmas gift from my niece. It is an excellent collection of photos and accompanying captions that Patti Smith posted on Instagram the last few years. The book will make you want to investigate and or read the works of the many artists, poets, novelists, and musicians that she celebrates within the pages of the book.  Patti Smith writes with the flare and floridness of a poet. It's not always a style that I gravitate towards, but I never doubt her sincerity. She is a deep thinker and clearly someone who has completely dedicated and immersed herself into the life of an artist and seeker of knowledge and truth. I admire her for this. If you like Patti Smith, or have any interest in the arts, I recommend seeking out this book.

This is my last post of the year in what has been a slow year on the Brainsplotch blog. This is the fewest number of posts I've written since I started the blog in 2008. I have to admit that most of my blogging energy has been spent on my other blog, Treasures from the Spartan Attic . With the MSU football team in the Rose Bowl, that blog has been more enjoyable to write to be quite honest. On a personal front, we just "survived" the worst ice storm I've ever seen in these parts. Our house was without power for almost four days, but we had it easy compared to some people I know. A few of my local friends had their power restored as late as yesterday. As the expression goes, "first world problems." Needless to say, it made for an interesting Christmas, as we celebrated the holiday in a stranger's house. We were lucky in that my in-laws (who also lost power) were able to move us all into a house in their neighborhood that still had power, and it just ...

I'm getting too old for this New Year's stuff. Last night, we went to a friend's house for New Year's Eve and I had the hardest time staying awake until midnight. After the ball came down, we finally headed home from Lansing to Okemos at about 1 o'clock in the morning. I really hate driving in the hour or so immediately following the New Year, as I'm paranoid of police and drunk drivers on the road. (I had only had two beers and a half-glass of champagne, but am always terrified that some Dudley Do-Right will pull me over for some silly reason). I was greatly relieved when we finally pulled into our safe driveway. Moving on to other matters. A few minutes ago, I watched Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Chris Fowler give their pre-game "analysis" of the Capital One Bowl. As I should have expected, from their overview of the game one would assume that the only team playing was Georgia. I acknowledge that Michigan State is the underdog in this game, but I...