Vertigo

Today is Alfred Hitchcock Day! I have absolutely no idea why the holiday committee chose today, because I can't find anything about him that happened today. However, that is not very important, as a lot of other holidays have been much, much more obscure.

Alfred Hitchcock, as I hope you all know, was and is known as a aster of psychological suspense. His movies may not have been the kind that you openly screamed at, but they definitely affected how much sleep you got that night. He is also well known for appearing in his own films in one way or another through small cameos. He was able to make the audience feel like part of the movie with camera work that was meant to look like it was the view of an actual person through techniques like view-bobbing or quick-panning.

Today is a day to remember all the classic thrillers he created. The easiest and most convenient way would to be to go down to your local video rental store and rent one or two of his movies and watch them. If his work is just a little too "scary" or "creepy" for you, you might consider renting a comedic tribute to Hitchcock called "High Anxiety". In fact, Hitchcock himself liked it enough to send the producer a bottle of wine. Or so wikipedia says.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Apples, Tools, and Cake

Today is Johnny Appleseed Day! Even though he died today, he is celebrated in March because it is planting season. Obviously it would be a little hard to go out and celebrate by planting your own apple trees, selling them to people, preaching sermons, and donation the little money you make to poor all while slowly but surely becoming an American legend. So instead, just try to put a lot of apples into your diet today. Out of all the things that I've asked you to participate in eating all day, this is by far the healthiest! So take advantage of it! Besides, apples are the most versatile of fruits, in my humble opinion. Just think about how many things they have going for them. Really think about it.

Today is also Worship of Tools Day! Why the word 'worship' was chosen, I do not know. It's not a holiday for some weird obscure religion that literal worships garage-dwelling apparatus. No, it's just a day to give tools to people who appreciate them, or maybe just appreciate them yourselves. Most websites claim this to be a "man day" although they usually also said you shouldn't ignore the females who also work with tools. I'm frankly just thankful that the day is talking about the kind of 'tool' that it is.

Today is also my birthday. To celebrate, ask other people "Did you know it's Kyle's birthday today?" and when they ask "Who is Kyle?", then you just point them on over to this blog. That's all I want from you, internet. It's a little greedy, so if you don't like that idea, then get yourself something nice and tell me what you got yourself. If it helps, ask other people to chip in for a gift for me, and then use that money on something for yourself. After all, that's technically kinda what I just asked for as a gift. I accept no responsibility for loud arguments you may or may not have with your close ones after you have done that, though.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Flowers in the sidewalk

Today is Festival of Life in the Cracks Day! This holiday was quite difficult to find any solid information on, but I think I now have a good idea of what it means. I'm fairly sure that anyone who has ever walked on a sidewalk has seen a crack from which a plant is growing or thousands of ants are traveling in and out of. Those would be examples of life in a crack. Now, I know that most of the things that live in those places are not usually on the top of our celebrating list. After all,  cracks, crevasses, and holes are where the creepy crawlers live. No person in their right mind would put their hand under a shady rock in the desert, and they definitely wouldn't celebrate the scorpion that they find. But, today is their day of celebration. That doesn't mean you have to go out of your way to have a one-on-one talk with that spider under your fridge that seems to just be sitting and waiting for its perfect chance to bite your toes, though.

I like to think of it as more of a celebration of the fact that life even can exist in such a place. They're small, dark, and cramped enough that I hardly even notice them most of the time. When I do think about it, though, it's pretty cool that a flower can find it's way through the tiniest little hole in the concrete. If anything, it stands out more than a flower in a field of flowers like it. I know that the flower in the cement is hardy simply because of where it has grown out of. Not to mention the bright color of it's petals in front of grey cement just makes it more noticeable.

So, if you really wanted to, you could make this a day to remember that a life in the cracks, although it can feel small, dark, and cramped, can be very rewarding after you get through that space. Much like the flower in the cement, it's easy to tell which people in life have been through some difficult situations or cracks in their life and come out better for it. Take today to also celebrate that they, like the flowers, are examples that it can be done.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle