Tag: summer

TBT: Interminable Heat

The Portly Politico2 Comments

It’s another insanely hot summer here in South Carolina, and we had a long drought in June with nary a drop of rain. It makes me wonder how people in pre-modernity survived droughts and famines that lasted for years.

The rains have come, but the days are still quite intense with heat. The afternoon showers are not as routine as I’d like, but they are at least bringing some reprieve in the evenings. Our upstairs unit runs nonstop on sunny days, regardless of where we set the thermostat; one day it was 85 degrees Fahrenheit up there! Our downstairs, thankfully, maintains a reasonable frostiness, even in the heat.

The koi and the minnows seem to be holding up well, however. The minnows don’t seem to mind at all! I’ve noticed, though, that even they stay a bit below the surface on the hottest days. The koi, who usually eat more when it’s hot out, have been eating less than usual; I think they’re enjoying the cooler temperatures a bit further down.

Dr. Wife and I are taking a cruise next week, and its a tour of the Western Caribbean: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and another stop in Mexico on the way back to Tampa. It’s going to be brutal in the tropics, but at this point, how can it get much worse (perhaps I just jinxed it). One day we’re going to see a Mayan temple, so maybe yours portly will end up roasted on a spit above a pagan altar. Gulp!

With that, here is 23 July 2025’s “Interminable Heat“:

Read More »

TBT^256: SimEarth

The Portly Politico1 Comment

Yesterday I wrote about how bogus Darwinian evolution is as a theory.  It’s one of those concepts that sounds both so radical and logical that it must be groundbreaking and true.

Then you start to examine it more closely and realize it requires a lot of suspension of disbelief.  There’s an entire Facebook page that just shows weird animals with hyper-specific “adaptations” that are so outlandish, there’s no conceivable way they could have gradually “evolved” to that state.  Any median point in the process would have made the creature unfit for the conditions.  Sometimes, the animals have some odd characteristic that doesn’t even do anything in particular.

That said, the concept of evolution is fun in video games and science fiction.  Sure, maybe that’s just pro-Darwinist propaganda embedded into popular culture, but evolution works well in the context of a video game, where progression is encouraged through rewards.  I’ve always liked games with a grand scope that require incremental improvements over time.

Of course, even those games prove intelligence:  the development of a species, or a civilization, or someone’s neighborhood in The Sims, is itself a process of intentional, ordered choices.  Granted, players aren’t God, but they get to guide development over many turns or rounds or what not.

That’s all to say that I loved playing SimEarth back in the day.

With that, here is 8 May 2025’s “TBT^16: SimEarth“:

Read More »

Interminable Heat

The Portly Politico9 Comments

It is hot—interminably hot—here in South Carolina.  I can only imagine how much worse it is for our senior correspondent, Audre Myers, down in Florida.  My European readers will struggle to comprehend the kind of heat we’re experiencing.  I still can’t comprehend entire nations in the developed world that don’t have air-conditioning; it is truly a privilege for Europeans to have the luxury of not having A/C, much less not having to run it constantly.

I’ve often referred to the South in the summer as akin to living on the surface of Venus.  Our poisonous gas atmosphere is in the form of humidity—breathable, but barely.  Imagine walking outside and feeling not just heat, but a kind of all-encompassing clamminess that somehow manages to make you feel even hotter.  Yes, you can get acclimated if you’re willing to stay out in it long enough, but you have to drink constantly, as the combo of heat and humidity is constantly sucking moisture from your body.

Read More »

TBT^4: Summertime Schedule Begins

The Portly Politico16 Comments

Well, here we are again—another summer vacation, which means another school year in the books.  This past academic year was not nearly as taxing as the one that came before, but I am always amazed by how exhausting teaching can be, even though I have lived it for over fifteen years now.  March through May are always a mad dash, and then—as I have noted many times before—everything just… stops.

Not precisely, though.  I’ll do my annual Minecraft Camp next week.  Dr. Fiancée and I are also in the depths of wedding planning.  And I am looking forward to my annual visit to Indianapolis to see my older brother.

Every year I think about what I will do with the time, and every year I find that I fail to meet the breadth of my ambitions.  I do want to put in some more work on Offensive Poems: With Pictures, as I think that could be a fun project and might actually move some copies.  Otherwise, I’ll do some more digital composing.

One thing I am looking forward to is the return of the afternoon nap.  Goodness, how I love a good siesta!

With that, here is 30 May 2024’s “TBT^2: Summertime Schedule Begins“:

Read More »

TBT^16: SimEarth

The Portly Politico4 Comments

The big news in the gaming world right now is the incredible The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.  It came as a total shock to the gaming world (yeah, there were rumors swirling that it was in the works, but no one knew it was coming so soon), and managed to update the game’s graphics and fix some bugs while also maintaining the legendary “jank” for which the game is so fondly remembered.

Yours portly has not yet taken the dive back into Cyrodiil (although, goodness, I am desperate to do so), but I am looking forward to the rapidly-approaching summer for a chance to dig into some classic games.  It’s been so long since I’ve really been able to sit down and lose myself for hours into a good game.  I haven’t even been able to touch Civilization VII in almost two months!

Gaming always comes to my mind during the hot, lazy days of summer, when it’s so unbearable outside, I l basically live like my home is a life support pod on Venus, only venturing out when absolutely necessary.  So it was that I booted up old SimEarth some years ago, and took a rose-tinted, nostalgia-fueled walk back to my past, when I first played a copy of the game my Indian friend copied onto a 3.5″ floppy disk for me.  Those were the days!

With that, join me on this extended walk through the past; here is 16 May 2024’s “TBT^4: SimEarth“:

Read More »

Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2024]!

The Portly Politico12 Comments

Ah, yes, another glorious Labor Day—the last gasp of summer.  Sure, we technically have another few weeks of the calendrical summer, but Labor Day marks the end of the cultural summer.  Schools all over the country are back in session—or will be tomorrow.  And there are few days off from here until Christmas.

At the time of writing, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be doing this Labor Day, but I imagine there’ll be a lot of lounging around and maybe playing some video games.  Whatever the case, I’m thankful all those unions made a fuss and got us a day off in September.

With that, here is 4 September 2023’s “Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2023]!“:

Read More »

White Boy Summer Out Today!

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Yours portly keeps churning out the hits, and I’m pleased to announce my seventh album this year, White Boy Summer.

White Boy Summer is a collection of ten summertime jams spanning multiple genres of instrumental music.  The title track is a driving retro rocker reminiscent of Super Nintendo side-scrollers, and is perfect for jamming to on the open road.  I also rewrote it as a chorale for the album’s finale, “White Boy Summa (Theologica),” a piece for brass trio.

This album heavily favors trombone, and the three major trombone pieces emphasize the chill nature of summertime:  “Mellow,” “Lazy River,” and “Summer Vibes.”

“The Sea Crab” is the most experimental piece; it’s a musical interpretation of an unpublished poem of the same name by Liza Libes.

And, despite the title, White Boy Summer is for all people of all races—and both genders.

You can pick it up on Bandcamp for $7.  I’ll be posting links to the album on other streaming platforms in the comments.

Rock on!

—TPP

P.S.—Here are a couple of the tracks that have already been uploaded to YouTube:

TBT^2: Summertime Schedule Begins

The Portly Politico50 Comments

Not to rub it in or anything, dear readers, but today marks the first true day of my summer vacation.  Who knows how I’ve started this auspicious day?  Perhaps I lounged decadently while sipping coffee.  Perhaps my dog is licking my feet.  Maybe I’m still asleep—gasp!

Well, it’s an interesting little dip here—this extended weekend, of sorts, before I start my summer camps next week.  I always relish this transitory moment before camps begin, as it’s a good chance to decompress.

Whatever I end up doing, maybe I’ll finally get some work done on my planned third book, Offensive Poetry: With Pictures.  I largely abandoned the Sunday Doodles book, but perhaps I should revive that old chestnut, too.  I’ve got all summer to figure it out—mwahahahahaha!

With that, here is 9 June 2022’s “TBT: Summertime Schedule Begins“:

Read More »