As 2008 Begins

Since the year started with me away from my computer and my home (important, probably, in that order) I haven't said much here. Because of that the thoughts in my head are backed up like this:

I have a lot of things to say in a lot of different directions. I'll forget a bunch right now and then remember later, so the next few days may be a string of bulleted posts with no coherent order, theme, or purpose. I'll just have to find a way to live with that.

• I've removed the "Dubya's Victims" ticker from the sidebar. Not that I'm less enraged about it than I was, but because its constant presence made me stop actively thinking about it. Dubya's idiotic war of choice deserves my attention and my anger, and the ticker allowed me the illusion of keeping it in mind while, in fact, I gave it less thought than before.
• In place of DV I've put up a picture of the book I'm currently reading and a link to the "Video of the Week." The first is because I just like to share what I'm reading in case it jogs some interest in someone else. The second is for fun. I'm just saying, "Hey, look at this," or "Remember this?" or "What the hell is this?"
• I'm starting Phase Two of Building a Better Jason. I've managed five months of successful pescetarianism, and now I need to change something else. I'm going to start excercising. I've never been good at regular exercise--even for the five years I was in the navy. Unless someone has compelled me with threats of bodily harm, I've never bothered, but considering my family's history of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and clinical insanity, I should try to be as healthy as possible.
• I need to write more. I should just have that tattooed onto my forehead.
• The two weeks we just spent in Minnesota seemed to yeild less free time than the five days we were there in November. Didn't see enough of some friends, and didn't see any of others. That sucks. We'll have to come up during the summer at a time not dominated by holidays or celebrations.
• My other blog will see more action in the near future. In the spirit of Dodge's annual book project and Matt's new Agatha Christie blog, I'm going to focus my reading this year. I need to narrow my scope, though, so I'm going to spend the year reading and reading about Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. I'll explain in greater detail on the other blog soon.
• I also need to re-read Elaine N. Aron's The Highly Sensitive Person. I don't buy everything she proposes, but it's become more clear to me over the last year how important it is to my mental health to moderate my sensory stimulation. It helped a decade ago when I first read it, and I hope it will again. I can't keep freaking out. It makes me unendurable.

That's all for now. More to come soon.