End of Summer

Today is the American Labor Day holiday, which traditionally signals the end of summer. My pumpkin vines have spread all over the yard, but seem to bear no little pumpkins. I suspect it is because there are no bees to pollinate the bright, yellow-orange flowers. Damn those insects and their colony collapse disorder! I tried pollinating myself, but that seems to have no real success.

(Is there a name for the color yellow-orange? I was raised poor and never got the big box of crayolas. You know, the one with the sharpener. We always got the cheap ones with lead, which goes a long way toward explaining my brother...)

Anyway, some end of Summer 2008 thoughts:

Movies: I saw quite a few blockbusters this summer. Iron Man rocked. The Dark Knight (aka TDK) rocked harder. (And reminded me just how sad the loss of Heath Ledger really is.) Hellboy II nearly made my head explode... in a good way. Mamma Mia was okay, but Pierce Brosnan's singing made my ears bleed. Just a little. The Incredible Hulk was... meh. So was the new Indiana Jones movie. Worth mentioning: Mummy 3, WALL-E, Hancock and Death Race (if only for Jason Statham.) Find your own website for those. I'm feeling linky, but not that linky.

Music: I have to admit to being pretty underwhelmed with what was coming out of the radio this summer. Coldplay's new album (ain't it cute that I still call 'em albums?) isn't bad and Kid Rock's new song, "All Summer Long" is growing on me. Never thought I'd write that sentence. It's probably because he samples two other songs I basically like. Whatever happened to Warren Zevon? Otherwise, I'm still listening to the Latin music I started in the spring: Juanes, Juan Luis Guerra, Sin Bandera and others. I also picked up Great Big Sea's new album, Fortune's Favor, and am in the process of absorbing it. After hearing him sing "So Close" on the Enchanted soundtrack, I picked up Jon McLaughlin's album, "Indiana." The guy has a fantastic voice.

Mayhem: Okay, really not a lot of drama this summer. I am, by-and-large, a low-drama kinda guy. I went to Cedar Point and rode everything I could except the Top Thrill Dragster; I waited in line 2-1/2 hours to discover I was too big to buckle into. (Body Fascists!) I got in a fender bender. I went out for margaritas and munchies with Missie. I drove to Canada for work and hit a casino. I put a personal ad on craigslist that had good, bad and ugly responses. Kiehl, Mike and I have been doing movie nights. (So far, everyone liked "Latter Days" best.) I'm still single and living with my canine lifemate.

That's about it. I'm looking forward to the colors of autumn. Of course, I'll have to go out and buy a friggin' pumpkin somewhere. I wonder where they got their bees?