gotta catch them all

Pokemon Go arrived on July 6 and has since taken over the streets and the world.  Places like The Beach Chalet are overrun all hours of the day because of the many Pokemons to be caught there.  The yoots are out en mass walking around staring down at their phones.  Some girl even found a real dead body while hunting for Pokemon by a river.  And opportunistic robbers are using the game to lure unsuspecting players.  I myself don't know a Squirtle from a Charmander, but I could use a Pokeball right now to save me...July is seriously kicking my butt.  I won't go into it but a week ago I received news that turned my life upside down.  I haven't slept through the night since.  I think I should start believing in God, because I need some divine intervention to make everything alright.  Maybe I'll be able to write about it soon enough, but 2016, you suck..."Who knows if it's the start of something wonderful, or one more dream that I cannot make true?"  That's a line from a new song from Ryan Gosling off the La La Land soundtrack.  It's a swoon-worthy line from a swoon-worthy song.  My life is full of dreams that I cannot make true, but I am still a sucker for the start of something wonderful...Garry Marshall, creater of many beloved sitcoms, passed away.  What would my youth be without the laughter that he gifted us with Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, etc.?  RIP, Garry Marshall...I am actually looking forward to seeing Star Trek Beyond, which is getting great reviews and is said to be the best of the new series.  I loved the first Star Trek reboot but did not like Into Darkness.  It will be sad though, to see Anton Yelchin's last turn as Chekov...Star Trek was a show that wore its optimism about humanity proudly.  Right now, the world feels as if it's being ripped apart by hatred.  The latest incident was a shooting spree in a mall in Munich.  I don't think for the past month or two, we've had one week go by without some mass violent attack.  And then this being an election year, we have to listen to politicians spewing even more hate than usual to promote their self-serving agendas.  Those talking heads don't give a crap about making America or the world great.  All they want is more power to feed their insatiable egos...Thank goodness that the Olympics is coming in a few weeks.  Of course there are politics being played out in the games as well, but sometimes when you strip that all away, the Olympics is a welcomed reminder of what individual human beings are capable of doing when they push their wills and bodies to the limit.  There is an essence to the games that is hopeful.  And we need hope more than ever.  Either that, or an augmented reality where we just catch pocket monsters all day long.