Being Offended

I just erased everything again, for the third time. except I kept the last line and changed sceond to third. Such is life which, like my past entries, sucks... so say the French. Let's hope this one makes the cut.


I've been trying to think of a clever way of saying that people who get offended at either "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" depending on their background are a bunch of idiots.

Being offended by such a trivial greeting is contrary to the point of the season. For instance, if a person is a Christian and some one says "Happy Holidays" and that person is offended, so much for "Peace on Earth good will toward Men" more like "Burn in Hell you Politically Correct Pagan, how dare you soil the name of this holiday by not mentioning it by name!"

And as for the opposite, if you demand tolerance of others, you need to be tolerant yourself. Respect/tolerance isn't a one way street you moron.

Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone. This past year has been one of transition and change for myself. I'll try and get a post in reflecting on my year, cuz I know you're all dying to know more. Until next time however... here are reasons Coldplay sucks:

1. I read that Chris Martin is a jerk
2. Clocks was overplayed
3. All the songs are the same
4. Can we say "wannabe U2?"
5. Kids aren't fruit
6. They haven't given their albums out for free
7. The words "Pop" and "Rock" should go together
8. Bands from England are all just Beatles cover bands riding on the glory of the Fab Four
9. I said so
10. My in-laws like them

Oozing brains

I've started a few posts and then hated them... and a good amount of time on the computer at home has been spent on my WoW habit, but I figured I was letting December slip away from me and being stuck on post #100 was getting old, so here I am, loyal readers.

How cool is it that Las Vegas got snow!?!?!?! My only true memory of snow sticking around in a fun way happened when I was in 5th grade, with most of the time it melting right away. Happy times! (Stacie suck it up and build a snowman.)

I'm at a loss to say to be honest with you, I'm currently leaking brain out my nose, so that might be the reason. We took Noah to see Santa on Wednesday and he was quite the fussy guy while we waited it out in line. However, when the time came to see the big guy, he did great.

School is taking a vacation for a moment, and I'm able to reflect a bit on my new path... like I've said before, it's wonderful.

Steven, liking movie soundtracks with the obsession that you do is a quirk.

I am on Facebook, btw. I'm terrible at it, but I'm on it.

I'm rather proud of the fantastic-ness of my wife. A renaissance woman is what I married.

I depise end of the year best/worst lists. Is it just me or are they all the same. Where's the bold person who likes what Kim Kardashian wears (other than herself, obviously.) I guess this goes with my dislike of all things pop (I hope Joe Satriani wins his lawsuit against Coldplay, sorry everyone.) It also may reflect the increasing out-of-it-ness that is my grip on pop culture. That being said, here's the best of everything list for me this year.

Movie: Ironman
CD: Death Magnetic, Metallica
Book: Ender in Exile, OSC (I haven't even read it, but that doesn't change anything)
TV Show: The Office

There ya go, I am a hypocrit. And to further the fact, here are things that I didn't like this year.

Movie: Dark Knight
CD: Viva la Vida, Coldplay
Book: something self-helpy and preachy
TV Show: everything on CBS

I'll admit, several things on my crap list made it purely to piss people off (namely in-laws) and if my native american culture class taught me anything, it's that in-laws were meant to be teased and taunted relentlessly.

What else can I rant about. Oh, for a bit of political commentary, so much for transparency and a new direction for our dear Pres-elect. Do you really want us to hold you to higher standard? Cause it sure doesn't seem like you're up to it. You know it's bad when a fan-girl on CNN calls you out.

Oh, yay for RSL! That's Real Salt Lake in case anyone didn't know (which was VERY likely.) From going from gutter club to MLS Cup runner-up, I guess that new stadium had some magic in it.

That looks like about it for now. I'll try and squeak in another post before the New Year.

Finger Pointing

I've been trying to steer clear of polilitics in the old blog lately, but while looking at the front page of the Oct. 31 Post-Dispatch, I realized that I needed to address a serious issue... Who are the candidates pointing at? The picture was broken us into 1/4ths and had Obama, Biden and Palin pointing at someone while McCain laughed robustly/maniacally/like a senile old man that he is (pick which ever one suits you best,) kinda like a Sesame Street "One of these things is not like them other" segment.

Your feelings of McCain aside... Who are they pointing at? In all reality probably no one of consequence, and aid or someone they recognized while shaking hands outside. They were probably also told by a staffer to point because it makes the rally more personally or something like that.

Personally, I think of Zoolander when Derek is going to the Walk-off and some guy yells, "Hey Derek! Kick Hansel's @$$!" (I know @$$ really doesn't change anything, but it looks fun.) Just change "Derek" for the P/VP candidate and "Hansel" for the opposing P/VP. And then the candidate type person points as if to say, "Yes. I think I will. Thanks for mentioning it."

I imagine there's a lot of swearing at campaign rallies so this only makes sense.

Unfortunately, my brain just stopped working, so I think I'll end things here.

P.S. This is post #100. Lavish me with praise.

Mind Nuggets

So, I was going through my Google Reader and began to feel guilty about my lack of recent posts. So here's one for your reading pleasure...

It seems like people have themes for their blogs, such as family, art, "my crazy life," writing or whatever... and I'm perfectly aware that for better or worse mine would probably fall into those categories (art being anything about what Em is up to, she can't help it, an artist is what she is.) I think I like to think of myself as a deep thinker, but to be honest, I really don't like sharing those thoughts too much. I like to think about how things fit together (sure the people in the Book of Mormon came over in boats but who's to say people didn't cross a land bridge too,) Politics (rolling my eyes until next week,) and more recently, how would I say that in french or even silently sounding out long french words I just learned in class while watching ESPN during lunch or on the Metro ride home. These are just a couple things. An odd thing though, I'm not much for sharing what's on my mind.

Ask anyone who has tried to talk to me on the phone, I'm not much of a talker, and sometimes I'm afraid that I may give the impression that all I think about is soccer, WoW and, "I'm really enjoying this semester." What's even worse is that I have a habit of steering conversations toward what I want, sometimes to the point of ignoring the other person (but let's just face it, I am that interesting.)

I suppose this brings my back to the blog. There's things that I think would be great to write about, but I feel I'd either alienate people or... even worse... be boring to read. I think it's a combination of the two that sometimes leads to my lack of blogginess. I suppose I could do more lists and stuff, but to be honest I like reading them but despise doing them.

I also feel bad when I don't put in pictures or links, because, let's be honest, that's kinda what we hope for when checking out the blogs of others.

I just read over the blog and decided it was rather melancholy. I suppose it's needed from time to time. And who doesn't feel the slightest bit melancholy when their at work at 1 in the morning.

I want to end on a happy note, because that's essentially where I'm at in life...
So here's my favorite comic sites:
Red Meat
Get Fuzzy
Foxtrot (but only on Sundays)
Ding! (it's a WoW one)
DM of the Rings (What if LoTR was an RPG... oh wait... it is)

Jenny Craig and other Evil things

What's with health food? Can't it just stick to being health food and not try and convice us that is tastes good too? I've always been under the impression that eating deserts and the like were supposed to be bad for you, hence the not eating them too much. But when health food tries to be desert/tasty doesn't it become the enemy as well?

Health food isn't good for you so much so that it tastes so bad that you only eat a little bit of it before your gag reflex says, "NO MORE!" You eat less food which means, you lose weight. Pretty easy to understand. Now, I know what you're thinking, "But health food deserts taste like crap too!"

Does it? Does it, really?

Drinking Diet Coke doesn't help you lose weight cuz it tastes better than Coke, which means you drink more which equals biggness. Diet Pepsi tastes like crap... like Diet food should. By this reasoning we can see that Coke is evil.

Jenny Craig for a while was supported by Kirsti Allie... need I say more.

Right before Princess Diana died, Sarah Ferguson said that losing weight was, "Harder than avoiding the paparazzi!" Hence, Weight Watchers and British royalty are evil.

Wait... I've gotten off track here... OH YEAH! Health food deserts (and in general) are slowly becoming tolerable, as this continues people will want to eat more of it. I think this is a plot by Al Qeada (I think its misspelled... I don't care) in order to destroy american self-esteem. If you're eating health food, but gaining weight, wouldn't that crush you?!?!

So, I say the patriotic thing is to put down your artifical sweeteners and margarine. Give your 3 year old sticks of butter to snack on! Drench your corn flakes in sugar! Put down that Diet Coke and pick up a Pepsi! Remember Satan is a master of lies! If it tastes good, it's not healthy! Go back to rice cakes and water if you must lose weight!

Don't let them win!!!!

Busy Month

My goodness has this month been racing by! Let's just jump right in...


First off, big thanks to everyone for the b-day wishes and gifts! My 29th was scrumtrulescent. Carousel at the zoo, lunch at PF Changs, raspberry filled dark chocolate cupcakes! Not to mention presents and cards! I'm truly blessed to have wonderful family and friends.


Also, (Happy B-day Phil!) our anniversary was this past Wednesday. 4 years! In that time we've logged our fair share of miles between here and Columbia and various points West. We've been the Europe. The Cardinals have won the World Series. We're going on our second presidential election. Career changes, power outages, Hurricane Katrina, Parents in S. Korea, Sisters in Iraq, Brothers and Sisters returned from missions... A lot has happened! Oh and did I mention we have a 10 month old? Obadi-Oblada Life Goes On (But I don't get to stay at home and do my pretty face...) We'll be married 39 years when I'm 64. And that'll do for Beatles references.


My mom is coming in town tomorrow (actually today) and I'm looking forward to her getting some time in with Noah. I am a very proud papa, and I can't wait to show him off to my parents (my dad comes to town in a couple weeks).

There's other things that I've been thinking about, but I'm going to leave with that for now, see how my brain is in no way focused... I know, it's not like that's new.

Of Cats, Songs and Colored Animals

So, several things have been on my mind lately. But at this moment my mind is encased in a large ball of snot which is leaking out my nose.

I've recently started liking the comic strip "Get Fuzzy" more and more. The reason for this is because the cat is awesome. He complains about pointless things and takes stands against normal things. The Olympics comics start here and I can't help but agree with everything the cat says.

Also, Weezer has a song called "Heart Songs" on their last album, and has got me think about some of the songs that have in some way or another been a large influence in my life. Here's a couple songs that have a little special place for me:

Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
5150/Get Up - Van Halen
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You - Dean Martin
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
Beautiful Day - U2
Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy
When My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles

They're just a couple songs that, to me, are just plain awesome-sauce.

Lastly, I feel the need to rant. Why is the DNC and RNC worthy of primetime? Personally, the last thing I want to watch on TV is a bunch of politicians bash each other and make promises they can't keep. I'm glad I don't check the box on my tax form to have some of my money go to campaigns. Can we say Kingmen and Gadiantons? The oddest thing is that I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here. I must be mental.

Or maybe my brain is just a huge ball of mucus.

Today is has been one of those days...

I've started taking the Metro to school, it's cheaper than gas + parking pass and that whole environment kick that everyone is on. For some strange reason, I can't stand bikers, I realise you're considered a vehicle, but that doesn't give you the right to drive in the middle of the road, connard. Also, if bikes are vehicles, why don't they obey traffic law? Ever see a bike stop at a stop sign? Didn't think so. Anyways, back to the Metro. St. Louis still has strongly divided lines as to what color of skin goes where, and as far as I can tell feelings are strong on both sides. And even coming from what was once dubbed "The Mississippi of the West," I am sometimes shocked at the deepness of racial animosity that can exist here. This is where I say I hate the Metro right? Not at all. It's been nice to not drive all the way to school. The few minutes that I do spend on the Metro helps me get my mind in "school mode" without driving getting in the way. And yes, I'll admit it I can be an angry driver (just look at the biking rant.)

I'm really enjoying school as well. The only bad thing about it all, is that I honestly believe that I should've been doing this sooner. I've held strong anti-french feelings since my mission, and the reason for this, as I believe I've said before, was that I wasn't as good of a missionary that I should've been. But, WOW, do I feel like I'm in the right place. Ever since I've decided to go down this road, I've felt like everything was going to be OK. It's odd, because, with all reason, I've left behind a rather rock solid career. All I feel now is that I'm onto a happier life for myself and my family.

So, yeah, it's been that kinda day. The kind I couldn't wait to get up for. The kind I don't want to go to sleep from.

Also, here's the preview for the film we watched in my language/culture class (it's all about language and culture through film, jealous?



P.S. I have read "First Meetings" (and as far as I know OSC hates the name "Ender-verse." And as much as I like a good dare, I have no interest in reading about teenage vampire angst. Besides, I'm not much for dares, I'm all about bribes.

The Quiet Riot in My Mind

I'm not sure where this post is going to go... which could be said for many-a-post on my blog. School is creeping closer, summer is getting hotter, soccer season is upon us, there's a virtual cornicopia of things to talk about (or in my case, rant.)

Well, for starters, I've got 3 books left in the Foundation series. I'll be honest with ya, the thing I like about the series is the idea behind it, the characters are a bit weak. That's probably because, it's more of a collection of short stories as opposed to all out novels, (except for books 1,5,6 & 7.) I really like the idea of psychohistory and the establishment of the foundations. I realise all that means nothing to you... so read the books. When I'm done I'll be moving on to LotR, which I've only read once, and I'm dying in anticipation. I'm not sure if I'm going to include The Hobbit and Children of Hurin, in the adventure, but I'm considering it. School starting will no doubt hamper my progress through the books, but I'm sure I'll be able to sneak in a chapter or two here and there.

The Ender Series is really what calls to me. For all the greatness of Middle Earth, I do like me some Buggers and super-intelligent military children. I just bought the Lusitania novels and I'm lloking forward to reading them with a more "adult" eye as opposed to expecting more of the same as Ender's Game. Speakers, Piggies, sentient programs and Buggers kinda change the landscape from that of Battle School.

Along with the books, I bought Robin Hood, not the "Hi! I'm Robin Hood *twang*" one with Kevin Costner, but the one where Maid Marian is a fox... literally. I've been watching Peter Pan with Noah, every now and then, so I figured it was time to force more of my sentimentality upon my boy. But I'm sure that no one can deny that it's the best of all the Robin Hoods. (Admit it... you're starting to get the theme song stuck in your head.)

Honestly, somtimes the craziest things happen while I'm posting...

I've started to slip back, a little bit, into sleepless nights. Sometimes, it's from oversleeping after a shift, and other times, it's probably from stress. Anyways, I've taken to Tylenol PM at times (I have trazadone, but don't feel like sleeping in 'til noon), I also try hot cocoa (does the job nicely), sleeping on the couch, and watching stuff on hulu. I'm tempted at times to play WoW, but that can work me up a bit, so I try to avoid it after midnight. I really have no purpose in telling you that. Just wanted to tell ya.

Until next time... enjoy "Day Man"

This Looked Like Fun... Part 2

Well, I couldn't help it, so I figured to give a quick rundown of the pictures...

1) I'm turning 29 on my next b-day
2) I saw this picture on my mission of the beach in Biarritz, and it's the one place I wish I could've spent more time when Em and I went to Europe a couple years ago. Not just Biarritz but the whole Pays Basque, really.
3) Colter Bay, Tetons Nat'l Park... Heaven on Earth
4) Awesome pic of a soccer ball
5) mmmm... pizza /drool
6) Em was expecting a penguin, which would be equal valid, but at the moment I did the post, 5-fingered garbage eaters beat out flightless swimming birds.
7) It's green. I knew this one would be confusing, but in reality this pic is reall all about the green flash.
8) Salt Lake City, UT
9) Central West End is the neighborhood in which we live in StL.
10) It's a lab... I couldn't find any pics I wanted for Sam, Samantha, or Samantha Jane
11) Astronomy isn't so much a PAST love as it is one that I currently don't indulge in, unfortunately I can't drive 30 min to Red Rock to see the sky at the moment.
12) The guy who designed the chair had Mathias in his name
13) A house on Tholozan (my WoW character) Ave
14) Chief Joseph, there was also a pic of Joseph Smith's martyrdom, but I didn't want to be a Debbie-downer.
15) Ammon rocks.
16) Dunrobin Castle, home of the Duke (or some other title) of Sutherland
17) World of Warcrack
18) Ah pipe machine... how I don't miss you
19) The Queen Mary... My dad mom is Mary, my mom's is Mary Lou.
20) Yes, I'm getting a degree to follow topless women into battle.
21) Tell me you don't think this whenever I go weeks without a post.

This Looked Like Fun

I usually don't do survey thingies because they make me feel like I need to give some clever response, this just requires pictures...

My Age:

A Place I'd Like to Travel to:

My Favorite Place:

My Favorite Object:

My Favorite Food:

My Favorite Animal:

My Favorite Color:

Where I was Born: Where I Live: Past Pet: Past Love: Best Friend's Nickname: My Screen Name:
My First Name: My Middle Name: My Last Name: Bad Habit: My First Job:My Grandmother's Name:My College Degree:What I'm Doing Right Now:

It started at 9:51 pm

Several things have been on my mind, none of which that I can remember at the moment. And just for the record, I'm starting this post at 9:51 and I'll be adding to it through the rest of the shift, so by the end of it you should be thoroughly confused at the confusing maze of my non-linear mind.

It occurred to me the summer is quickly reaching it's end, and I'm none to excited about it. I feel like it's just getting started, but that may be because I equate summer with heat and not so much as not being in school. We've been rather lucky so far to not have a hideously sweltery summer, but it is mid-July and I think we're starting to get smacked with the outdoor sweat house that is St. Louis summers.

I don't think I've mentioned Spain winning the EURO Championships. It's like the World Cup, but only for Europe and the football was fantastic. The final was especially wonderful and a big thanks to ABC and ESPN for airing so many games (yes, I know they're owned by Disney, my nemesis, but I've got to be thankful to them), and also a big thanks to Grandma Lambson for letting me hijack her TV to watch the games.

Several things that I like right now are: keeping up the the WotLK beta updates, watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on HULU, just finished season 3 of BSG and will now have to wait for season 4 to come out on DVD and in the meantime, avoid reading spoilers (yes, I know they get to Earth), doing stuff with Noah and Em, they rock and I'm glad that I get so much time with them.

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1:04- So, I'm reading the Foundation series again and I plan on reading LoTR next and then the Ender's Game series. I realize that some people may cringe at re-reading a book, but it's kinda like getting to know an old friend again. I'm saving Ender for last because in all truth that is my favorite series, AND I just read that there's a comic/graphic novel version of it coming out in October. I'm hoping that it's a preliminary for the movie... one can only hope.

I've been having a rough time sleeping lately and I attribute that to 2 things: 1) the return of a full work week, and 2) having put a couple of things off, crunch time is coming and I need to get my act together. Problem 2 has for a very long time been my Achilles Heal. I'm glad that I have a wife who is very patient with me and is good at communicating her frustration with my apparent lack of motivation.

Oddly enough, I don't feel any real excitement for Dark Knight, I think that hype can real kill things for me at times. Also oddly enough, Quantum of Solace doesn't get me going either. I think it's because I don't like the idea of a James Bond sequel, I know there have been tons, but this one is directly related to Casino Royale. Forget all that happened in that movie and get him fighting terrorist trying to get nukes or something, one enduring trait about Bond movies is that they're all fairly independent of the rest, the only back story needed is James Bond has gadgets, is ultra-suave, blows things up, saves the world, gets the girl, the end. What happened to the girl in the next movie? Who cares! She's a Bond Girl! She goes on to make Catwoman and Xmen for all we care, but Bond/We forget about them, put the notch on the bed post and move on.

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2:03 So, who else could careless about the election in November? Sure, it's bound to be "historic" and all, but when you think about it, who are we to say whether something is "historic" or not? I'm sure there have been many times throughout the ages when the men of their times touted their exploits as "historic" only to become and interesting footnote in history, if anything at all.

What I find slightly disturbing is that in dubbing things historic, we forget to look into the past, into true history, and seek out the cycles of civilization and the many tragic parts of history that we stumble into only to not learn from it again. There is a problem with looking to the future when you regard the past with an up turned nose and a pride in your own understanding. Change is good, but not for changes sake. Societal Inertia has a lot of weight behind it, and sharp turns can easily turn into a train wreck.

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2:45 Just read Stacie's blog and she had people put in memories that they shared with here, and then said for us to do the same things on our blog. So there's a challenge faithful readers, bring on the memories and then do it on your blog or risk the wrath of the chain letter gods (I made that last part up.)

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4:08 Well, I think this'll be it for this entry, I'll be adding links later, as well as a movie from hulu which will be a must watch for all. Anyways, catch ya later.

Here's the movie:

Look at this! A post!

It's been a while, eh? Well, how are we all doing? May exciting things have happened since the last post, but I realised this has never really been much of a "journal" type blog as much as a random "brain farts" type blog. And just to get it out of the way... no I will not "can" the music on MY blog. If you don't like it turn down the speakers or hit the pause button. And while you're at it "anonymous" (if that's even your real name) why don't you get an account so I can critize your blog. Jive Turkey.

So, I've been thinking about ancestors and honor recently. Two things kinda brought those to my mind one was from President Uchtdorf's First Presidency Message especially where he says:

"I have no ancestors among the nineteenth-century pioneers. However, since the first days of my Church membership, I have felt a close kinship to those early pioneers who crossed the plains. They are my spiritual ancestry, as they are for each and every member of the Church, regardless of nationality, language, or culture. They established not only a safe place in the West but also a spiritual foundation for the building of the kingdom of God in all the nations of the world."

The other is from Karate Kid 2, where Mr. Myagi has to fight to appease the "honor" of his old best friend whose pre-arranged wife he stole.

I think it's important to honor our ancestors, be it literally or in a spiritual sense like Pres. Uchtdorf mentions. We owe a lot to them for who we are and what we have. Be it pioneers in covered wagons coming from Nauvoo or pioneers in a station wagon coming from North Carolina (Thank You Grandpa for moving West), I'm rather lucky to have the gospel in my life, and they set the groundwork in order that I would have it in my life.

Here's a couple pictures to round things out...

Grandpa and Noah, hanging out in the back yard.

Matt, Me and Rob

There's a bunch of randomness swirling in my head... so why not share it.

First of all, I wish I could tap dance. It looks fun. Not River Dance type stuff either, I'm talking real musical type tap dancing. How's that for random.

Also, Noah's teething and it's led to a rather large regression when it comes to sleep for him (and us, mainly Em). He's been so good at sleeping recently, it's hard to see him hurting and struggling with it.

Lastly, A shout out to my bro and his getting his master's from VCU's Brandcenter. Here's a pic of us outside his apartment in downtown Richmond. Dave's the one to the far left.

Roslin in '08

I dig Weezer, and I thought that they had broken up or retired or whatever it is bands do when they stop making music. Then, one day, while browsing through EW.com's PopWatch, I stumble upon their new music video and a comment about their new album coming out soon. It's a pretty fun video, with a whole bunch of viral videos in it... enjoy
Here's some links to the videos in the video: Shoes, Leave Britney Alone, The Mentos Experiments, Numa Numa Guy, Miss Teen South Carolina, Chocolate Rain, Dancing Guy, Daft Hands/Dancers, Afro Ninja and of course...

Also, I'm happy to say that I've finally picked a canidate to support...Laura Roslin. The former teacher couldn't be a better choice, and I paricularly support her stands on making babies and finding Earth.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've been rather lucky in my life to be surrounded by wonderful women. Since high school it seems most of the lasting relationships that I've made have primarily been made with females. On top of that, they've all become mothers.

I think it's odd that my best friends are mothers and fathers. I've always had a great aversion to adulthood, and at times I feel like Peter Pan looking through the window seeing other people grow up.

I'm lucky enough to have my own Wendy, however. I can't imagine a more pure love in my life than seeing my wife holding my boy. I'm very lucky to be married to an intelligent, witty, artistic renaissance woman. Be it pictures, cupcakes, singing or another of her many talents, she makes the world more beautiful by living in it. I love her.

My son is very lucky to have her as a mother.

Which brings me to my own. To state it pure and simply, my mom loves her kids. I'm not sure if I need to elaborate on it anymore than that. I'm not exactly good about telling her how wonderful she is but few people are as unselfish with their love as my mom. She rather like a beacon of light that people come to to feel loved. She's filled with it.

So here's to two wonderful women and mothers. I'm blessed that they're in my life.

She-who-must-not-be-named

Let me start out by saying that I really enjoy the Harry Potter books. They are fantastic and fun to read, with great heros and villians and great twists. I can't say that I'm a fan of the author though. There is a fansite that has decided to publish it's vast information on Harry Potter and She-who-must-not-be-named has decided to sue. Let me direct you to some one who is a much better writer than I am ----> Click Here!

OSC definatly has a way with words. And if you think it's all just sour grapes on his part check this out, and this too. Or if you don't want to click there here's a quote:

"If you love the Harry Potter books, then you are part of the best of contemporary American literature, not because the books have sold so phenomenally well, but because they are so phenomenally good, and millions upon millions of people have recognized it."

And in case you were wondering if he has any gay characters in his books... he does. Zdorab in the Homecoming Saga.

I know several people might be unhappy with me over a such anti-She-who-must-not-be-named post. But I had to put it up.

Spring

I'm a Desert Rat. I love it when we go out to Vegas because there's a natural beauty to the desert that I just love. It's possible that it's just nostaglia but I love the drive from St. George to Las Vegas. The Gorge is cool and when you pop out of it the grey-brown mountains, vistas and the wide-openness speaks to me at my core.

Nothing beats the natural beauty of Valley of Fire or Redrock after rain.

That being said, I love having all four seasons here in St. Louis. All of the colors are at their most intense. Green isn't just green... it's a vibrant neon lime green. The purples and pinks are straight out of a Dr. Suess book. And dafodils and tupils display their wonderful colors with a vanity that only belongs to spring flowers.

People here seem to despise the rain at times. "Oh no! We're going to have storms!" is what new forecasters seem to say. I love it when the rain gets so intense that we can barely see our neighbor's roof. And storm clouds seem to come from The Nothing, rolling and pitch black, even in the middle of the day.

However, of course, I do prefer the sunny days, especially now that I can go on walks with Noah. This past Tuesday we went on two walks, one to the Cupcakery and another the Grand Basin in Forest Park to meet up with Em after she got off work.

Pretty soon the fireflys will be coming out and with them the wet heat of summer. But for now I'm just happy that color is back after what seemed like a rather long winter.

Brave New World?

It may be just me, but I think Sci-Fi writers must be awfully disappointed about where we are as a society. This popped into my head after watching "Jeopardy 1999" from a SNL skit from 1979. To be honest, it wasn't that funny (that's why I didn't post it), and the only things it predicted correctly was looser attitudes toward sex and Chevy Chase's non-existant post-SNL career. (Yeah, I'm not a fan of his).

Here's a list of disappointments:
1. Flying cars that run on garbage
2. Moonbases
3. Death Comets
4. Interstellar travel (not even at sub-light levels!)
5. Hot aliens
6. People used as food
7. Anything on Mars
8. Using the Sun to travel through time (And we still have whales! Take that Green Peace!)
9. Cyborgs
10. Ice Pirates

As you can see, we might as well not have running water. Isaac Asimov and Gene Roddenberry lived in vain from what I can tell. (L. Ron Hubbard, on the other hand, never died... he's off fighting aliens).

So, to help us get over the fact that we're hopelessly behind... here's some Sci-Fi for ya

And for something a little more upbeat...

Well...maybe we're not so bad off after all.

So, I've been thinking quite a bit about what I'd want to write about in here, and I've decided to give politics a bit of a rest. For someone who hates politics, I sure do obsess about it. How about we start off with The Office then?

Now that TV writers are getting paid, Thursdays are back to being the nights that I wish I could fully pay attention to the TV while healing my guild through the first parts of Karazhan. And thanks to NBC's full embrace of the internet, I can catch up on it all. This weeks Office didn't take place at Dunder-Mifflin at all, but was probably the most uncomfortable it's ever been.

I've also started watching The Tick. There's a only a few episodes, and he hasn't yelled, "Spoon!" in any of the episodes, but it is rather fun to watch the precursor to Heroes, only with better costumes.

Now, about my rather diverse musical tastes. I think I can boil down my current musical tastes to a handful of people. First of all, Emily has introduced bluegrass to my life. The only bluegrass I have in my player is from Old Crow Medicine Show, which Dave introduced me to, but I don't think I would have liked it as much without Em's influence. She plays the banjo, and if I was to kick my own butt, I would pick up my dobro and get my groove on. So now I fully appreciate Allison Kraus. My bro Dave is responsible for leaking new music into my life. My Chemical Romance is all thanks to him (even though they aren't entirly new). He is hip and with it, the type of person every new father needs. Anything Hippie related is my Dad's fault. His life has been greatly influenced by Jim Morrison. My Mom is the classical music influence. I think this goes back to when she taught dance on Saturday mornings at UNLV.

Metallica is still my favorite band deep down, but I only listen to them when I am alone, and then I turn it up REAL loud.

Big Cop-out

I know it's a cop-out to post a video...but Christopher Walken is pure comic gold

Something's happening here

I'm not entirely sure why, but I keep up with the news. A lot seems to be going on... Democrats are in a bitter primary battle, riots in China, the economy, butts fusing to toilets... stuff is pretty crazy. I think the best part of it all is that people are surprised this stuff is going on.

WHAT!?!?! China has a terrible human rights record (baby killing anyone?) and now with the Olympics knocking on the door, people are surprised that all that they've done to improve their record is silence critics, kick people out of their homes, and blame other people for problems with their occupation in Tibet. Nothing will be done because China makes things cheap and money trumps ethics in the political world.

Now, I'm not sure exactly how to denfine myself politically, but I'm definately not a Democrat. Which makes this whole Hilary vs. Obama thing rather fun to watch. Given the way things are, who would vote for either of these people? The lengths that they go keeps making John McCain look good, and he's not exactly a likable guy (I'll admit, I'm probably going to be voting for him). What I like the most is that Obama is acting like he's fighting clean. Actually, we could say he is, but everyone around him isn't. At least we know Hilary's true colors. But all in all, is there such a thing as a clean politician?

And don't call me a Republican lover because I blame Bush for passing every possible spending bill sent his way until the Democrats took over Congress and then started vetoing everything he possibly could.

Butts fusing to toilets is just awesome.

Arsenal lost to Chelsea yesterday, and I hate to say it, but it looks like my guys are out of the Premiership race, but at least the CL is still there.

Lastly check out this site, it's pretty fantastic.

You guys

I just thought I'd say that you all are rather fantastic. Keep up the good work!

Closing in on 3 am...

Well, I haven't had a significant entry in a while. That's not really because I haven't had anything to say or report, but mainly because I haven't really been in the state of mind to truly ramble on like I'd really like to...


To start things off, let's get some soccer news out of the way. After their 1-1 draw with the U.S. in Olympic qualifiers, 7 Cuban players disappeared. If things are so great in Cuba, why do they all want to leave so bad? Riddle me that, Michael Moore. Since the terrible injury to Eduardo vs. Birmingham, Arsenal hasn't had much luck in the Premiership. However, that didn't stop them from being the first English team to beat AC Milan at the San Siro. Next up is Liverpool in the CL!

I recently read an article by Glenn Beck over on CNN.com. And before I comment on it, may I just ask where all the good humored liberal commentators are? Rush and Beck are fun to listen to, even if I don't consider myself a right-wing kinda guy. Al Franken lost his humor when he stopped writting for SNL. The same thing goes for that conservative lady who had that fight thingy with the Edwards' at the beginning of the primaries (I can't remember her name, and really don't care) but, man, get a life people!

Now to the article. It's about how America (and Americans) have stopped being accountable to anything. From the top down everyone it seems is trying to get out of the messes they've made. I've made plenty of mistakes, and as much as like the to go away, I'm paying for them and I wouldn't have it any other way. Mistakes are great things, but when you deny yourself the pain of the results, you end up being worse for wear, and in many cases, a burden on other people who don't deserve it.

And lastly, I love being a dad. Noah is a crazy puzzle, that Em and I are trying to solve. One night it seems we have things figured out, then he throws the curve ball and cries all night. Check out his laugh at his or Em's blog.

Oops...

Sorry, I haven't posted anything in a while. It's just that everytime I go to do a post my mind goes blank and I can't think of anything in particular. So, just because you deserve something great... here's a song I like to sing to Noah...

My Riches

I got the afternoon off today and went to a movie. Seeing how it's Oscar time, I went and saw There Will Be Blood, I spent half the movie waiting for someone to quote the title passionately right before a huge fight with people covered in oil... but it never happened. I was a rather quite film, but Daniel Day-Lewis's character really had a great fire to him.

Oddly enough, the movie got me to thinking about my personal riches. And seeing how I live behind an organloft, my riches are my family. It's a little one to be sure, but the 3 of us live a very blessed life. Noah is quickly approaching 3 months, and Em's leave it quickly coming to an end, which means it'll be just me and the little guy during the day for a couple months.
Yesterday was Valentine's and Mary came and watched Noah so Em and I could go out to eat. We went to Wasabi and it was wonderful as always. I'm glad that we have people who are willing to give us a break here and there, and Noah is lucky he has a couple of great Aunts nearby.

Em has started to regain her creative juices and has been busy with projects and cooking. She made raspberry coconut cupcakes for Valentine's with cream cheese frosting... they made me cry a little they were so scrumtrulescent. I bet oil barrons don't get to eat those.

Time For A Mega-Post

Well... So much to say, and a bit of time to say it.

Let's start off with the Grammy's. I read an article recently that said we forgive "artists" for their vices if the end product is good. Hence, the big victory for Amy Winehouse (or "Wino"). I couldn't care less about the Grammy's to be honest, all the big awards go to people I don't like. And comparing albums that are up for the big awards is like combining apples and oranges and then leaving out the more deserving clemetines and kiwis. We complain about sports stars using drugs but when these guys use, it's like it's expected and even helps their "craft." You have to love our society that praises excess, disfunction, and depravity and then wonders why it's stars fade out and die so young.

So, I'm not sure why it bugs me so much (and I think I've mentioned it before) but why do people nod when other people are talking to large groups? I want to smack them and tell them their opinion isn't legitimate and to keep their bobble-head to themselves. Just one of my stupid pet-peaves.
A week or so ago we went to Art Hill to go sledding. It was a BLAST! I kinda wish a little that they didn't put haybails at the bottom so people could slide all the way into the basin... but that would probably end in tragedy, and we don't need more of those for the time being.

Spring Training starts pretty soon, and we're bound for another strange year with the Cardinals, I believe. Pitching remains the big question mark, and even if our offense turns out to be amazing (I'm not sure it will), we're headed for a long summer and some more losses at Wrigley this year.

Speaking of Wrigley, The Cubs won't win the World Series...again.

The WGA strike is over and within 4-6 weeks we may be able to see some fresh, non-reality stuff on TV again. May I suggest Chuck, 30 Rock and The Office. You can watch them online (you can even download them now, I think) so catch up with my favorite shows, and make them yours.

The Oscars are coming up and The Simpsons and Transformers were both snubbed for the Best Picture nomination. If Shrek 3 beats Ratatouille, there is something desperately wrong (Ratatouille should be up for best picture, it was the best reviewed movie of the year), and I usually root against Disney.

Lastly, I haven't really said anything about the passing of Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley. He was an amazing man that was groomed for our time. I remember when mini-temples were announced, and looking back I can see how huge it was. He truly was inspired by God to lead the church and I'm happy I got to witness it.

Hitler and the Patriots

I saw this on SI.com and had to post it. Just watch out, there's a bit of language, so don't watch it if you might get offended...

I Don't Like Boston

So, are you ever walking around and thinking... I should blog about this. I do that all the time, but I usually think that people really don't need to hear my political opinions and how I think the hippies are whats wrong with government. So, I decided to rant about other things.

I'm really enjoying my french and algebra classes. It's so nice to feel smart again. With french its mainly just reviewing stuff that has gotten a bit fuzzy in my head, but with algebra it's truly satisfying to be grasping ways to solve linear equations and working with imaginary numbers. I'm still not sure what direction I'm headed in, but I feel good about where I'm at.

I'm also grateful for all the support I've gotten.

And can you believe the Super Bowl last night! I was torn between watching the Patriots march to history and cheering the Giants to crush the hopes of the people of Boston. And when it comes down to it, I'm really happy for the Giants, cuz I don't think there's a city where players take more heat than in New York. I'm mean look at the Knicks... they couldn't suck more despite individual talent. The Yankees and Mets have been pouring money into their teams only to see them get beat out by the Red Sox (07) and Cardinals (06) the past 2 years. Unfortunatly, no one watches the Red Bulls who have a killer line up and (let's face it) no one (me) cares about hockey (The Rangers). So, Eli faced up to pressure that only A-Rod can claim too and beat the Cheaters... I'm mean Patriots. In your face Boston!

Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-1 this past weekend, handing the Citizens their first home loss of the season. And couple that with ManU's draw with Hotspur, that puts my Young Gunners on top of the Premier League once again!

P.S. I have no reason to rationally dislike Boston other than while working on the Bungy Tower you could guarentee that a group from Boston would be full of Big-Talking, Smartallek Sissies who just really wanted to go home and eat thier beans after taking the walk of shame for not being able to do what the 80 year old grandma just did in front of them.

Baby It's Cold Outside...

I just wanted to comment that yesterday it was 70 degrees at noon... now it's 16 degrees.

A Quick Note...

So, I've been hearin' stuff about Em's post concerning my somewhat fuzzy future. Isn't the whole point of a blog about putting up thoughts and feelings? Why would I (or anyone else) have a problem with Em posting her feelings on how pretty much our life plan has been thrown up in the air. It is quite normal to grieve expectations when they go up in smoke especially when they're replaced with uncertainty. It is seeming to me that the possibilty of being a nurse is fading away and being replaced with becoming a French major, which in itself lends to itself an air of uncertainty, because what else can I do with it other than teach? Sometime this week I'll be going to see a counselor at UMSL to talk about that stuff. Until then, I too grieve the loss off my once certain future, and hope to regain a clearer vision of where I'm going soon.

So back off my wife.

I Started This Last Year...

A - Attached or Single: Attached I'm hot for teacher, her name is Emily
B - Best Friend: Matt, his wife says that I'm his shoulder devil
C - Cake or Pie: Cake.... no.... Pie.... no.... Cake Pie?
D - Drink of Choice: Cranberry Juice or Pepsi
E - Essential Item: My bed
F - Favorite Color: Green
G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H - Hometown: Las Vegas, NV but working on 5 years in StL
I – Indulgence(s): World of Warcraft, Sleep, Long Showers, The Simpsons, Following SoccerJ - January or July: July
K - Kids: 1 boy, Noah
L - Life is incomplete without: All of my family, immediate and extended, in & out-laws, genetic, by marriage and friends that might as well be family (both mine and Emily's)M - Marriage Date: September 17, 2004, workin on year 4
N - Number of Siblings: 3. 1 older Sis and 2 younger Bros.
O - Oranges or Apples: Granny Smith Apples and clementines (do they count as oranges?P - Phobias/Fears: Failure
Q - Favorite Quote: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:25
R - Reason to smile: My Wife and My Boy
S - Season: The time right between Spring and Summer
T- Tag Three: I thought everyone may have done this... But I tag you
U - Unknown Fact About Me: I'm afraid of ladders
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I find it oppresive NOT to eat them, to deny them being eaten is to deny their very nature of being
W - Worst Habit: I think I started this in August... so procastination must be it
X - X-rays or Ultrasounds: Both at the same time while in an MRI machine
Y - Your Favorite Foods: Pizza, Steak, Mexican food, whatever's in front of me
Z- Zodiac: Virgo and Year of the Ram

Greetings to Denmark!

I had a hit from Denmark to my blog... I don't know how you are but leave a comment next time, that would rock!

Peace and Quiet?

I just got Noah down without using the blowdrier CD. The thing is awesome, the CD + swaddling turns of most of Noah's senses and let's him get down to napping. One downside, though, is that it seems to turn off my senses too. Even on the lower settings it seems that my mind switches on to stand-by mode. So, it's nice to have a bit of quiet for a little while.

So, I registered for classes and I'm going to be taking College Algebra, French 201 and a swimming class. It's looking like I'm going to be leaning over to getting a French degree (we'll see if I go the secondary ed route or not). I barely missed passing Nursing a couple times (1 freaking percent off!) and so I think it's time to move on to new things.

This is a bit scary seeing how Emily is going to stop teaching after this year to take care of Noah, but hopefully i'll be able to get a degree quick and move on to bigger and better things. So, we'd appreciate your prayers while we go throught this transition.

One last thing, Emily has set up a blog that's all about Noah, so I'll be referring to it for pics and videos and stuff. Yes, my wife and son are awesome.

It's a Long Time Coming

It's about time I mentioned "The BoB."

On Sunday morning before church I hoped online real fast to check e-mail and to see how Arsenal did in the FA Cup, and surprise of surprises one of my best friends from high school, Rob, had left a comment on one of my posts...

It made my day.

Rob was responsible for dragging me to my first choir try-out. And along with him and Matt (and several others who later became known at Durango HS as "The BoB"), we terrorized our parents while ruling over the strip.

To make it quick (to late), Rob's brother Scott bumped into Phil's (yes another "BoB" member) wife, Amanda. She gave him Matt's phone number and in turn gave it to Rob. He then called up Matt, went over to his house, and Matt showed him my blog, where he left the comment. the last time I saw Rob was in March of '03 not long after I started working on the bungy tower. It's been a while and it's great to be back in touch.

Now, I know what you're wondering... what's "The BoB?" Well, it started out at lunch my sophomore year, when a person wrote a story about people we knew describing the current drama that was going on, but using pseudonyms for our friends, mainly using character names from Rocky and Bullwinkle. Well, in turn, Matt and I decided to write our own story, using Bullwinkle as the villain, gave ourselves the names James Bob (me) and Guns (Matt) and basically thought of clever/ridiculous ways to kill people at our table. And thus..."The BoB" was born.

I think now-a-days we would've gotten in trouble. Ah... Pre-Columbine Years... you seem so far away.

So as time went on we got a guy to draw the main characters, which were our close friends...
Top: James Bob (Me), Guns (Matt), Chumpman (Rob), Xuon (Troy)
Middle: Sfortzando (Nic), Bullwinkle, Brat (Cindy)
Bottom: Jackelyn (various girls I had crushes on), Ammo (Can't remember her name...it's late), Blondie (Stacie), Argon (Troy's friend)

For individual shots, I put a slideshow on the side bar.

A Year of Bloggin

We'll another crazy year has passed, and 2008 is starting to fly by already. First off Noah is doing great. He's by far and away the highlight of last year. Even though he didn't show up 'til the end his presence was felt throughout the year (by Em more than me).


It looks as though I might be changing majors, but more on that as it develops.

Election stuff is a constant nag in my brain, and as much as I can't stand politics, I can't seem to get away from it. I just hope whoever ends up winning doesn't screw things up too much, but no matter how much they talk of change, I really don't see things getting too shaken up. Politicians depend on the status quo and true change would have to come with sacrifice, something politicians don't know much about.

If I were in charge of movie awards Transformers and The Simpsons Movie would be the winners. I haven't really been able to see any of the Oscar contending films mainly because our movie going has gone down a bit since Noah came around, and I don't mind one bit.

We were able to get out west this summer, and is was fantastic to be able to see everyone. It was nice to feel dry heat again, even if it was near 120. And as much as the four seasons and the trees out here are wonderful, sometimes you just can't beat desert and mountains.

So, I hope y'all have a great New Year, and that it brings some fantastic adventures to all of you!