Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 50

From First to Worst

I went from first to worst in less than sixty seconds. Okay, it took a week, but it seemed like I really was gone in sixty seconds. Of course, I am talking about March Madness.

While I have been the fantasy football champion among my friends and coworkers (twice before we got the trophy, even if our commissioner says that does not count), I have never come close to having a successful bracket during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It is taken for granted that I will be last or next to...

Reading is Dangerous

Reading is dangerous. It expands our minds. It gives us new ideas. It might even make us think.

I have been blogging since 2006 and officially started my own website in 2007. And even though one of my friends and faithful readers says he hopes that I can get up to the status of mediocre some day, I would still like to have a few more readers. (My old bit was that I had more imaginary readers than real readers. It might still be true.) Which brings me to my own reading.

I read a book called...

#FlashbackFriday

I am sure I am going to regret posting this, but I am going to do it anyway.

I wrote about people picking on me several years ago (see Charlie Brown). I was not complaining or anything. I was just noticing how it seems natural that people like to throw barbs at me. Nothing serious or anything. Just good fun. At least it is since I probably invite it and I do not mind the attention.

Recently, one of my co-workers decided to revisit that Charlie Brown post and put up a picture of me in the sta...

The End

I am not sure if every author feels it, but there is a sort of grief that comes when ending a project. I am feeling that grief.

While I am sure there would be few mourners if MediocreMan left the interweb, that is not what I am mourning. I am still planning on publishing weekly for as long as I can keep coming up with words to write. (So you can be relieved or disappointed about that news.)

No. The reason that I am in a bit of mourning is because I have just finished a project that I have be...

Parentheses

I like to use parentheses when I write. (As if you have not noticed already.)

Part of the charm of parentheses is that you can put humor or things you think but might not be totally relevant to the whole piece you are writing. (As if any part of what I write is relevant.) Part of it is that you can clarify points that might need a bit more something. (Lots of my stuff needs clarification.) And of course, the big part of the charm is that it makes your words invisible. (Try it sometime.)

I al...

Glass of Water

A Glass of Water
taken by Derek Jensen
This work is in the public domain.

I was reminded twice in the last few weeks of how irrelevant we can sometimes feel.

I do not remember exactly what I was reading, but I read the saying about how replaceable we all are. The thought goes that we make as much of an impression as when you pull your finger out of a glass of water. There might be a few ripples for a short time, but the impression is gone. And there is no evidence whatsoever that your finger...

Snow Day

Snow days are not what they used to be.

It used to be that snow days meant going out to shovel snow and then getting outside with the kids to make snow forts or snow sculptures. Now, it just means shoveling snow and hoping that the one kid left in the house might deign to come outside and play in the snow with me.

In some ways, it is a disappointment when he says no. And in some ways it is a relief.

On our last snow day, Thing 3 said that it was too cold outside. He was also feeling a bit un...

Remembering Together

Photo courtesy of Russell Miyoshi

I am not exactly sure if it is a tradition or rite, but we remembered my dad on the anniversary of his death.

It might sound sort of morbid from a certain point of view, but remembering a loved one on any day is actually a good thing. Sure, it might bring a tear or two or even a deluge, but remembering somebody fondly is good for the soul. As is the crying. And remembering to remember somebody on any specific day is, at the very least, therapeutic. Whether i...

Writing versus Production

There are times when I wonder which is more important, writing or production. I know it is a silly question, but there are times when I wish I was writing instead of getting my blog post ready or creating some simple art or typesetting a book getting it ready for production. (I know, there are no typesetters anymore.) All those things are parts of the writing process, but I cannot help but think that I ought to be writing when I am doing the other tasks that still pertain to writing but are...

Stupid Internet Part 2

Our youngest son, Thing 3, thinks the internet at our house is stupid. Spelled: S… L… O… W…

If you have ever seen that commercial about an internet service provider where the granddaughter posts or tweets about going to internet purgatory at her grandparents’ house, that is actually about our son. Except that he thinks his grandparents’ house is heaven and ours is hell.

Apparently, our internet is slow. Very slow. Glacial in fact. It must be true because unlike the girl in the commercial, ou...