Book Day

This chonky 842 page tome arrived last week.

This is the 4th time I have been in the Acknowledgements of a book (the 3rd if you don't count books written by members of my own family about agriculture and conservation tillage).

The shelf is now at max capacity!

Data Day: Trips to the Gas Station

How many times I filled the gas tank of my 2012 Honda Accord:

Key dates

• May 2012: Purchase
• 2018 - 2019: Weekly trips with Maia to visit the grandparents in Alexandria
• 2020 - 2022: Pandemic

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Righteous Gemstones, Season Two:
This season takes a few episodes to find itself -- held back by too much focus on the original three main characters when the origin story of John Goodman's character is far more intriguing. The overall shtick is getting a little old, but there's a few great laughs along the way and satisfying conclusion.

Final Grade: B

Ripley:
This limited series is beautifully shot and perfectly acted, but so so glacial in pace. It's clearly going for a vibe rather than a plot and sometimes gets self-indulgent in how many extended scenes of near-nothingness there are. It's nearly impossible to watch this with a modern attention span -- you'll be on your phone in no time. On Netflix.

Final Grade: C+

3-Body Problem, Season One:
I thought the book version of this had a few great ideas buried in a sea of weak plot and characterization. The TV show version is more successful because they favor the dramatic aspects of the story over the deeply scientific ones. The first season has a nice pace and good reveals, and I would give the second season a try unless it takes 10 years to release and I forget everything that happened in the interim (this happens more often than I'd like). On Netflix.

Final Grade: B

Blackberry (R):
This movie about the rise and fall of the Blackberry device is pretty entertaining if not particularly surprising. It feels strongly like a movie version of the show, Halt and Catch Fire. Although Glenn Howerton was great in his role, I would have rather had Toby Huss instead. On Hulu.

Final Grade: B

Data Day: All of My Shoes

I own six pairs of footwear, ordered here by how frequently they're worn.

1) Hard-sole Slippers: Used to keep my feet warm in the house throughout the year, and to take light trips outside (mail and trash) without having to search for shoes. Worn daily for several hours each day.

2) Brown Shoes: Worn anytime with jeans out in the world, or at home when I'm tired of slippers. Worn daily for a couple hours a day.

3) Yard Shoes: Used for mowing the lawn, picking up street trash, or going on messy hikes. Worn at least once daily.

4) Running Shoes: Worn on the treadmill to run, or outside with shorts when mud is not expected. Worn a few times per week. When old enough, these shoes become the yard shoes.

5) Sandals: Worn outside with shorts when bugs or small pebbles are not expected. Worn a few times per week, but only in the summer.

6) Black Shoes: Worn to work with black pants, or to fancy wedding-y events. Worn maybe once a month.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Chad Darnell's 12 of 12

12 pictures of your day on the 12th of every month

5:39 AM: Bagel for breakfast.

6:36 AM: Showered and ready for work, after a Beat Saber workout.

6:56 AM: Prepped for Beach Day at school with extra sunglasses.

10:59 AM: Heading home from the office after the very important meeting.

11:34 AM: Safeway stop for essentials.

12:03 PM: The healthiest lunch options, including but not limited to Totino's.

3:45 PM: Excited to spend a couple nights at the grandparents'.

4:01 PM: Our fig tree is out of control.

4:25 PM: Ready for gymnastics class.

4:46 PM: Winding down with Diablo 4.

5:17 PM: Dinner with the abbreviated family.

6:40 PM: Lunging at the camera.

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

Jumanji: The Next Level (PG-13):
This unnecessary sequel lacks all of the charm of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the plot is paper-thin once you strip out the endless CGI sequences of monkeys and ostriches. Jokes about being old are used and reused to oblivion. Even Danny DeVito and Jack Black can't save it. On Hulu.

Final Grade: D

Death to 2020:
This mockumentary about 2020 (from the creators of Black Mirror) is a lot of fun, especially in hindsight. It mixes real footage with famous actors pretending to be normal people. Diane Morgan (of Cunk on Earth) and Hugh Grant are particularly fun.

Final Grade: B+

Abbott Elementary, Season Three:
The third season dips in quality, introducing a bunch of characters "working at the district" who feel more like SNL skit actors than anything else. A few good laughs, but not much of an overarching storyline to get invested in.

Final Grade: B-

Snapdragon Vietnamese Pho:
This Costco Pho tastes great, but as soon as you pour the flavor oil into the bowl of boiling water, your house will smell overwhelmingly like cat pee. I only eat it outside on the back porch now and will not be getting it again. (I only got it this time because the superior ramen bowls have not been in stock in weeks).

Final Grade: C+

Maia's 12 of 12

Maia's perspective on life (pictures taken between January - May 2024)

Maia reads an original story:

(background vocals by Ian, featuring the music of singer-songwriter, James Coffey)

Other posts in this series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII

Anniversary Day

Happy 20th Anniversary to my sister, Ellen, and her husband, Dan!

Here is the family looking fly at the Barboursville Winery, in spite of the mandated tuxedo whose collar board looks like a tiny origami pterodactyl trying to crawl out of my chest.

Lake Anna Day

Lake Anna Wrap-up

We went down to Lake Anna last Tuesday with friends and kids of friends. The house was generally nice but trending away from a modern, working state. Our bed was super uncomfortable. However, I did not receive a single mosquito bite until the final day of the trip even without wearing any bug spray so that's a plus.

We mostly ate dinner at home, but had one dinner out at the Lake Anna Taphouse, which featured overly fried foods and giant lawn games.

Ian loved playing Hot Wheels: Let's Race on the tiered stairway down to the water, while everyone else was swimming or boating. He did go out on a kayak a couple times though.

On Friday, we went to the State Park to enjoy the walk-in beach and Ian had a great time swimming around and singing, "LAZY RIVER" -- a callback to our 2023 trip to the Massanutten Water Park.

We stayed through the entire heat wave and left on Sunday morning, stopping only for IHOP on the way home.

No e.coli or algal infections yet!

Memory Day: Snapshots

This picture was taken 9 years ago, on June 27, 2015.

Ben and Anna were in town briefly with baby Isaac so we met them for dinner at the Herndon Mellow Mushroom (which sadly closed up shop in early 2023).

After dinner, Sydney the cat (who we were hosting for a year while Ben and Anna found a new house) got to meet the baby. I brought up the big round table from the basement for a poker game that also included Larry, Annie, and Mike (of Mike and Chompy). Mike came in 1st, Ben 2nd, and Larry 3rd. There was no chocolate pie, but we ate Rebecca's birthday cake and some chocolate eclairs instead.

End-of-the-Month Highlights Day

New photos have been added to the Life, 2024 album.

• Events
  • Rebecca's old friend, Michelle, came to town on S 6/1. They hit the Lake Anne farmers market in the morning and we had a gathering with Fire Works pizzas at our house in the evening.
  
  
  • Impromptu date night at Local Provisions on M 6/3.
  
  
  • Family trip to Ball's Bluff Park on S 6/8. Dinner at Bungalow Lakehouse.
  
  
  • Solo dad dinner at Local Provisions on M 6/10.
  
  
  • Ian went to the grandparents', W 6/12 - F 6/14. Dinner with the grandparents on Friday night (hamburgers) to celebrate Maia's last day of First Grade.
  
  
  • Rebecca and Ian went to Ryder's 3rd birthday party on S 6/15. Took the kids to Riverside Church for a Parents' Night Out (dinner at Fire Works with Rebecca's church friends).
  
  
  • Rebecca and the kids met up with Emily G at Udvar-Hazy on M 6/17.
  
  
  • Went to Lake Anna with the Edwardses and Catania/Mueller, T 6/18 - S 6/23. Went kayaking and swimming. Visited Lake Anna Taphouse, the State Park, and had IHOP on the way home. Fire Works Pizza for dinner in the heat wave on S 6/23.
  
  
  • Maia started soccer camp on M 6/24. Ian started potty training.
  
  
  • Solo dad dinner at Local Provisions on W 6/26.
  
  
  • Sterling Fireworks (Rebecca and Maia) on F 6/28.
  
  
  • Family day in Claude Moore on S 6/29. Went to Jessica's Bat Mitzvah (Brian and Maia) in the evening.
  
  
  • Rebecca and Ian are visiting Catherine H in Fredericksburg on S 6/30.


• Projects
  • Started adding the final book in the Wars of Light and Shadows series to the Paravia Wiki.


• Consumerism
  • No impressive new TV shows, movies, books, or music this month.
  
  
  • Still playing Diablo 4.

June's Final Grade: B+, A little too hot, but fun