Ever since I've known him, James has periodically rhapsodized about a movie he once watched and would like to see again: <em>Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii</em>. Last night, thanks to Netflix, his dream came true. I managed to take in about half an hour's worth&mdash;not without constant comments and jabs, which I'm sure dampened his experience. Before I left the room I asked if the movie was as wonderful as he remembered, and he answered yes. I would have liked the movie if there had been more shots of Pompeii and fewer scenes of erupting volcanoes,  stoned hairy 70s guys,  and loving pans of the equipment.

With the exception of <em>Wish You Were Here</em>, I have never liked Pink Floyd. I've never found their music, including their supposed masterpiece <em>The Wall</em>, anything more than deadly dull. Last night, I realized why: Pink Floyd is music for fourteen-year-old boys who want to be in a band. I ran this one by J., and he agreed, so long as I was using "fourteen-year-old boys" to describe males of any age who wanted to be in a band. I allowed that I was. It was the loving pans of the equipment in last night's movie that brought on this epiphany.

I'm sure many would disagree with my assessment. I remember a girl who lived on my floor in the dorm freshman year of college who was obsessed with <em>Dark Side of the Moon</em>, had a poster of it on her wall and listened to the album repeatedly. My response to them has always been antipathetic (<em>Wish You Were Here</em> notwithstanding); "We Don't Need No Education" almost makes me physically ill when I chance to hear it on the radio. But enough about Floyd.

In other news, spring is here. I say that with some reservation, since we got several inches of snow last Monday. But the temperature was in the 70s yesterday, and it's sunny and warm again today, so I'm hopeful that it's real spring this time, not the "fake spring" I've been told comes early here. Winter, it seems, doesn't end until June&mdash;at least that's when we've been told that various trails in nearby national forests will be open. A couple of weeks ago, inspired by the beautiful weather, we went in search of a hike, only to find that people were cross-country skiing on the trails we'd hoped to walk. We'll be doing our walking in a nearby park until June, I suppose.
 