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The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

  • About Jack
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  • About Jack
    • Other Places You Can Find Me
  • Contact Me
    • Disclosure

Archives for September 2017

The Mightiest Dad Blog

September 26, 2017 by Jack Steiner 2 Comments

They asked me to describe this joint as it stands today and I said it is the mightiest dad blog.

“What does that mean Jack?”

“It means I might publish today or I might publish tomorrow. Or I might not publish for a week and then I might publish every day.”

In other words this place isn’t dead, haunted or dying–it is evolving.

And when you are in a state of transition you try to be the smart guy who understands you have to let things unfold and play out.

Drinking More

I suppose it is worth mentioning that I haven’t slowed down my writing in general.

Hell the other blog is moving at warp speed, but this one is a bit more like a teenager in some ways.

It is moodier and more likely to surprise you with fits of unexpected rage or profound insight.

This place is where you’ll come to find stories of fights with Santa Claus, clowns and tales of how to talk to kids about death.

And it is where you’ll see posts and pieces about the growth of those kids and get just a little insight into what happened to the boy who helped push me into blogging and the teen he has become.

But as with all good blogs there are boundaries and we follow those carefully here until we don’t.

You just never know what you will or won’t find because when you stay drunk on writing all things are possible.

That is truth and not fiction– search for the write stuff and you might just find it…maybe.

Filed Under: Blogging

Nintendo Captures Teens & Monsters

September 13, 2017 by Jack Steiner 2 Comments

It is neither profound nor particularly insightful to say it can be difficult to capture a teenager’s attention, especially when the person asking for it is their father.

That is not to say mine refuse to pay attention or interact with me because they do on a regular basis but it would be dishonest to say they respond like they did when they were five.

Yep, the sad but true story is they no longer see dear old dad as Superman.

Now, I am a just a man who sometimes does super things for them.

Nintendo Captures Teens & Monsters

Nintendo provided a free version of the Monster Hunter Stories for me to review.

You should consider that to be my disclosure but just in case you didn’t get it, here it is again in bold, Product Was Provided By Nintendo.

My initial idea was that I would play it and then give it to my almost 17-year-old son to try and the two of us would write the review together.

But people plan and G-d laughs and so you have a picture of me above filming my son playing the game.

Why?

Because he picked up the 3DS and started playing and it captured his attention almost immediately

Every time I told him our plan was for me to play and then him he asked me to wait just a little bit longer.

Eventually, he broke down and gave me my turn but it wasn’t an unencumbered experience and by that I mean the following.

He tried to coach me the whole way through and while that might sound irritating I didn’t take it like that.

Instead, I was grateful because it gave us something to do together and we enjoyed some father/son time that has been simply wonderful.

Don’t misunderstand that to mean that we never do anything together because we do a lot, but this was different.

Different because he was the expert and he was the person teaching and that was fun for both of us.

Kids Grow & People Change

Steiner the minor and I have always had a good relationship but lately it has been a bit more challenging.

As he has gotten older and more independent there have been more of those moments where we bang heads a little bit.

More moments where I find myself quoting poetry to myself or sharing it with him as we dissect parts and pieces of life.

That Whitman quote above has been of significant importance to both of us.

I have told him I don’t want or need him to be exactly like me but that I also need him to not try so hard to prove he is not.

There is a rhythm and balance that you can find if you look for it but it doesn’t come if you push too hard.

This game came at the right time for us and I think that our collective search master of Monster Hunter Stories helped us find it again.

So if you are looking for a walkthrough with cheats, tips and tricks about how to play this game, well that is not what this review is about.

But if you want an idea about a game that young people and teens can play as well as adults, this might be one to think about.

Disclosure: Product was provided by Nintendo but all opinions are mine.

Filed Under: Nintendo

Thaw Today, Thaw Tomorrow

September 4, 2017 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Found some old fiction and took a moment to read and review.

I Loved Her Once

It made me feel some things and I found myself muttering, Thaw Today, Thaw Tomorrow or don’t.

Can’t say what will or won’t be and don’t intend to spend a lot of time trying because that is best left to the old gypsy woman at 43rd and 3rd.

Life is too short to spend too much time wondering and waiting so I do as I will and I must trusting that I’ll know what needs to happen when it does.

And if I don’t, well maybe that is just how it has to be.

They say what is for you won’t go past you and that is the sort of mystical and magical sentiment I can accept.

It works for me because it doesn’t ask me to engage in blood sacrifices and or crazy rituals.

You just have to live your life and that is enough.

Filed Under: Life

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