The “bad musical night” went well on Friday.  Charlie, Cara, Alaric, and Sondra showed up, and we had a blast.  We watched Repo: The Genetic Opera and The Apple.  It was a good time, although Charlie and I did quickly guzzle down a full bottle of wine between us, in addition to a few tasty bottles of Bell’s Pale Ale.  I regret that Kate and Michelle couldn’t attend, nor could Ryan or Jess (who were in Bay City for Jess’s brother’s birthday).
Saturday was fun; I went to Rivertown Crossings, purchased the latest in high-quality periodicals (National Review, The Weekly Standard, and First Things), then sat down for lunch at Panera with Becca, whom I had not seen since her departure in the spring for a working summer at Mackinac Island.  Saturday evening was mostly quiet, although I did spend about 20 minutes online with Ryan around 2 a.m. — he very helpfully gave me a most excellent tip, to wit: Don’t drink yourself silly when all you have eaten is chewy SweetTarts, because “you puke rainbows.”  Sage counsel.
Today has been mostly catch-up.  I did some cleaning, some organizing, and I’m blogging this from The Bitter End whilst consuming a sweet, delicious mocha.  Mmmm, mocha.  One of the proofs of the existence of a benevolent God.
I’ve started reading Boorstin’s The Discoverers.  Duane recommended it a while back, and now I’ve pulled it off the shelf.  The chapters are short enough I can do them one or two at a time between other activities.  So far I’m working through the early chapters on the discovery and mastery of time, and am so far thoroughly delighted with the scope and methods of Boorstin’s narrative approach.
My political sensibilities are starting to recover from the numbness of the later Bush years.  Although I voted twice for GWB (and don’t regret it), the final years of his administration were a depressing time for those of us on the center-right who favor federalism, competence, fiscal prudence, and clarity of purpose.  Yet give BHO some credit — he managed to take this Republican, who had been distasteful-yet-complacent in January, and help him get his blood up for a return to the political fray.
All for now.