Y’know, summer doesn’t go by any slower just because you don’t have to go back to school in September. I feel like it was just June last week, and then I blinked, and here I am. The moral? Never blink.

Which is not to say I haven’t enjoyed my summer. I have, quite a bit. I’ve eaten some fine food, both at restaurants and cooked right at home. I’ve acquired and played many, many board games, although none so often as the much-vaunted Agricola, which amazingly managed to live up to my high expectations in every way. I’ve even been getting a little culture. I went to see Waiting for Godot (which I’d never seen on stage), and saw a local production of Romeo & Juliet.

Actually, Friday’s column was about the play, which I enjoyed a lot more than I expected to. (The play, not the column.) And I got to interview Country Joe McDonald for a piece about his Woody Guthrie Tribute concert, which I’ll post here as soon as it’s published. (The piece, not the concert.)

A lot of people seem to be getting married and having babies. Better them than me, I suppose. (The people, not the babies.)

Since this is the website I direct potential clients to, (or as a more stilted but grammatically correct person might say, to which I direct potential clients), it occurs to me that I should perhaps post some indication that I write things that exist in the world.

I write a weekly limerick for BBSpot.com. The site admin was on vacation for a few weeks, so a backlog accumulated and can be viewed here.

I’ve been doing some book reviews for USA Today. Last week’s can be viewed here.

I’ve also been doing some restaurant reviews for the Berkshire Eagle, but they tend to take them down pretty fast; I’ll try to remember to post the next one when it runs.

And I’ve been writing product copy and podcasting for a sales website. Link available upon request.

I’ve been getting rid of the favorite objects of my youth, lately. I didn’t know it would all happen in the span of a few weeks, but it sort of shook out that way. Last week’s column was about my Magic addiction, and how I’ve finally started getting rid of all my cards. I think it’s a fairly accurate depiction of the hobby, and have been told it’s one of my better columns. So maybe you should read it.

Nobody has yet made a similar comment about this week’s column, but if you want to read about how I also sold all my action figures to a local collector, and sold all my old Nintendo games to a slightly less local store, go right ahead.

Also, I should perhaps mention that “local” in the previous paragraph refers to Rhode Island. I was back visiting last weekend, and am still a Rhode Islander at heart. Now and forever. Best of all, I got to stop at my favorite ice cream stand, Hill Top Creamery. Pina Colada Glacier Freeze (a slushee mixed with vanilla ice cream) is still the most refreshing thing you can possibly have on a summer day.

“Oh My” is a really weird way to end a sentence.

Anyway, the other week I was playing this ridiculous flash puzzle while procrastinating on writing my column. And then minor disaster struck, errors were made, and I got a column out of it. Said column didn’t run until a week later (it was supposed to run the week before the previous column), but such is the way of things.

Also, RisingPun Productions (aka me) is looking to expand its (my) client base (number of people who pay me money for writing), so if you or someone you know is looking for writing — especially with a humorous slant — you should drop me a line atseth@risingpun.com.

Normally, when I write a column, I’d like everyone in the world to read it. But sometimes that’s not the case. For example, last weekend I was at a wedding. And my column about that wedding should probably not be read by a certain attendee of the wedding. Of course, this is the Internet, so anything I post on here can be read by anyone at all.

So it would be especially foolish to then write something on this blog that even more people shouldn’t see. And yet… some things cannot pass without comment. (Or at least, cannot pass by me without comment.) So it’s hard to say which of the two speeches at the wedding irked me more — the wedding “toast” which exhorted the groom to realize he would be wrong in all arguments (and practice saying “Yes, Dear”), or the priest’s reading during the ceremony that said anyone not accepting Christ will burn in a fire.

The fusion of the two, however, is most excellent. People faced with crazy religious intolerance should smile condescendingly and say “Yes, Dear”.  And people who believe that certain gendered stereotypes or condescension should take the place of rational discourse should churn in a mire. And people who blather on their blogs should stop writing and go to sleep.