Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 91

In the night and in the day,

the beach people attacked the cake castles, and, lo, the castles began to fall.  Castle CaBobcake 1 suffered most from the attack, only a small slice of it still able to stand.

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Though, of course, its neighbor, Castle CaBobcake A, still remains untouched.

The Dark Castle Bobcake remained largely untouched along one long wall, but the ceaseless onslaught of the beach people has clearly taken its toll.


Will tomorrow bring the fall of Castle Bobcake?  Tune in then to find out.

It's the beach, and I'm tired,

so I'm going to bed insanely early (for me) and planning on sleeping a few extra hours.

I should probably indulge in this practice more often.

In the epic battle between the beach people and the Bobcake

the Bobcake must always lose, because the people are many, and they are determined--but the Bobcake does not go easily or lightly.

After the first evening, it was still mocking the beach people.

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Its companion, CaBobcake 1, also scoffed at their puny eating efforts,


even as its brother, CaBobcake A, looked on in untouched splendor.

After this evening, however, the Bobcake was actually running a bit scared, because the beach people had worked hard at its destruction and had in under 30 hours eaten more than half of it.


CaBobcake 1, however, was still standing strong.


Sure, more than half of it has vanished, but its brother-in-sweetness, CaBobcake A, stands ready to replace it.

Ah, the struggles of beach life.

An eventful day at the beach

So many things happened today that it's almost too much for the beach-addled brain to handle.  People bought things.  People ate lunch out (as usual) and then went shopping and had ice cream.  People took care of car issues.  So many things!

Among the many developments of the day, though, a couple stood out.

First, Sarah unveiled the latest in beach hair fashion.  With her permission, I unveil the incredible construction my lovely daughter created with her hair.

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Want a canted view?  But of course, we are ready to oblige.


The next major development occurred in the evening:  the arrival of the Bobcake!  Accompanying it was BobDinner2015, the Feastening.


Grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna, salmon, cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, and salad--the last because we are, of course, all about the health here at the beach.

Did I mention the majestic Bobcake?

Oh, yeah, that is a mountain of chocolate deliciousness.


We ordered with it two of the lovely CaBobcakes, carrot cake jewels that would look huge anywhere except in comparison to the Bobcake itself.  Here's one on its own,


an enormous cake, and now a picture of it with the Bobcake.


Yup, we have a lot of cake to eat.

Life here at the beach is full of weighty responsibilities.

A full day at the beach

is an easy day anywhere.  Walk a couple of miles.  Splash in the pool.  Eat a delicious lunch.  And so on.

Aside from reviewing the page proofs for my story in Onward, Drake!, I did nothing productive.

It was quite a treat.

I look forward to more days like it.

Rain, email, beach time

About 4:00 this afternoon, a glorious thunderstorm turned the world dark and pounded us with water.  I love storms, and storms at the beach are particularly wonderful.


Nothing encourages a relaxed pace--and napping--like a great storm.

Speaking of a slow pace, that's what I'm going to be following over the next two weeks.  I normally respond unhealthily fast to email, but while here my responses will be slow at best.  I do not intend to stay glued to my computer, my phone, or any other device.  I will move on beach time, with even blog entries likely to be late.  I apologize in advance if I leave you waiting a bit, but I need to relax, and I aim to do so.

Of Chase and oysters

Quite some time ago, my nephew, Chase, ordered oysters from a restaurant here at the beach.  The restaurant's menu included fried oysters, so he ordered some raw.  They were unsure what to do with his order.  Their decision resulted in
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the dreaded and disgusting oyster goblet.

Do not attempt this goblet anywhere.

Today at lunch, we visited a new (to us) beach restaurant, one whose menu actually listed raw oysters on the half shell.  I'm happy to report that these oysters did not come in a goblet or glass of any kind.


Chase declared their quality hit-or-miss, and many were too sandy, but I think we can all agree that they represent a big step forward for beach cuisine.

For those who track our beach movie-watching, in addition to a couple of UFC events, we've now consumed an SF film and, of course as a late offering, the newest Segal.  It was everything we expected it to be.

Beach, I am with you

Well, technically, beach house so far.


Ah, it's good to be back.

I leave for the beach in the morning

so you'll have to enjoy this new Delta Rae video as I pack, load the car, and so on.



I do love their sound.

Always something new to watch

I cannot imagine being bored in a world so full of wonderful books, music, TV shows, and movies.  On the latter two fronts, these trailers fill me with hopeful anticipation.

The Sherlock special.



Doctor Who's new season.



And, of course, Bond, James Bond.



I look forward to all of them!