On A Year In Review

In which we look back on the year past, reminisce, reflect, and recount all while avoiding sentimentality.

If you are looking for a blog post that will look back at all the important events of 2009, you have come to the wrong place.  If you have come looking for a year in review of the greatest pop culture achievements of the last year, you have come to the wrong place.  If you have come for a reflection on failed resolutions and a promise to stay on track this year, you have come to the wrong place.  If you have come to read about whatever random events I can remember from the last 365 days, then you are right where you need to be.  Welcome!

The year 2009 had an inauspicious beginning as I was forced to leave the New Years party at Mike and Jessica's early due to my allergies acting up.  I can't say I was too disappointed as New Years is one of my least favorite holidays.

'The Great Blizzard of 09' hits at the end of January¹ dumping massive amounts of snow on Bloomington and the surrounding areas.  No school for a week was pretty nice, I would have loved to gone out to enjoy the wintery wonderland, however out crappy landlord didn't plow our parking area for the entire week, nice job guy².  We did use the snow drifts outside of our front door to keep beer cold.

In February I tried Shiner Hefeweizen, it had a really sweet bottle cap.  So I started collecting them, but I wasn't sure why...yet.  Dun dun dun.... 

In March I went to Mexico with my dad.  We stayed at a swank all-inclusive resort in the Mayan Riviera.  It was pretty awesome.  We went deep sea fishing and on a zipline tour of the jungle.  There were pools everywhere and everything to eat and drink was free.  Each night we picked a different restaurant to eat at.  Ironically enough the best food we had was the hibachi grill/sushi place.  If you ever have the chance to go to a place like this I highly recommend it, it is so choice³.

Upon returning to Bloomington I got dominated by some 24 hour virus or something.  I alternated between burning lava hot and shivering.  I didn't leave the bed for two days and watch some really awesome movies on my computer, one of which was Starship Toopers, which is fantastic in its ridiculousness.

Around this time, in March or April, Brett, B-Carl and I went to check out Roadhouse Pizza.  The pizza was mediocre at best, and they sell cokes by the can, which is way lame.  However, there was a pinball machine that gave out free games like it was its job, we put in 75¢ and played for like an hour; just free game after free game.  Eventually we even attracted a crowd.  When we left there was a free game left that we passed on to a family waiting for their food.

In April I went to see the Little 5.  It was fun and the weather was great.  However, one of my old Wyldlife kids was riding in the race; that made me feel old.  It wouldn't be the first time it happened this year.

Graduated from college for the second time in May.  Now you may call me master.

Went to my second Indy 500 race.  It was a lot of fun; we were on the first short shoot, so some good crashes as well as A.C. Slater⁴.

On May 28th, 2009 the world changed forever, this day will be remembered always in the hearts of people everywhere as the day this blog began.  See it from its humble beginnings here.

June held in store for me a trip to Maine with the family⁵ and the most ridiculous job I have ever done.  I was essentially a hall monitor for the Upward Bound summer program.  I walked from building to building on campus and made sure kids were where they needed to be, when I wasn't doing that I was reading, or playing "David Jones Bingo™" it was simultaneously terrible and awesome.

Also in June we had our only week of summer weather.  It was unbearably hot, luckily it didn't last long.

July marked the end of an era.  Since I didn't know what I was going to be doing the following school year and our lease was up Tim Street and I would be headed to different locations.  Of the 120 months in this last decade I have lived with Tim for 60 of them.  That's pretty crazy.  And for the first time since the summer of 2001 Tim and I were living in Bloomington at the same time, but not in the same place.

At the end of July I moved in with the Feltons temporarily.  It would become permanent.  When I moved in I inherited a bowl full of bottle caps that the Feltons had also been collecting.  During the move I finally realized what I would do with all of the caps.  I had an end table with a removable glass top that covered a sunken in part.  I decided to fill this area with caps, but I didn't have enough, so the collection continued.....for now.

In August we had a Young Life reunion with a bunch of old leaders.  We played wiffleball and my team and an epic comeback that fell just short, but it was fun none the less.

A few weeks later I started my job at Jackson Creek in the in-school suspension room.  I ended up working there about 17 weeks.  During that time I read 20 books.

In October Bloomington Young Life put on their first ever weekend camp.  Years ago the whole state would come together for a weekend but it was cancelled due to sucking, so Bloomington just figured that they do their own.  Jeff, the area director, asked me to speak at the weekend.  It was a blast, but I was a little rusty⁶ having not given a club talk in 3 years.  It was a great time, the whole weekend felt very classy and professional just like a real YL camp week.

In November we received an invitation Kaitlin and Andy's wedding, instead of the traditional RSVP note card that asks you to check a box if you were planning on attending this invitation had a post card sized blank space with note on the top that says, "Please reply with number attending by November 28.  This is was we sent in⁶.

The first weekend in December my parents and I went down to Nashville Tennessee because my sister was throwing her boyfriend a surprise birthday party.  Despite the fact that she is, self-admittedly, a terrible liar Peter was still caught completely off guard.  It was great.  Also, weirdly, the night before the party my parents and I went to eat at a restaurant a block from our hotel.  When we were walking to our table I ran into David Pankake, a friend from IU that I hadn't seen in year, what a small world.

Mid-December marked the end of my tenure at Jackson Creek as I started a new job out at the Eastern Greene schools.  I will be filling in for a friend who will be on maternity leave until the end of April.  It is going to be exciting and exhausting.  I am guessing that the first four months of 2010 will fly by.

The first morning I awoke when I was home for Christmas I found that it had snowed about an inch and a half.  Two days after Christmas we had three inches plus.  On Christmas?  It rained, how lame.

When I got back from West Lafayette our house was a disaster area, which isn't all that surprising.  It is slowly getting back into shape.  I have been watching a lot of TV on DVD and enjoying my time off.  One of the things I did was continue to work on the end table/bottle cap art project.  I still have two rows to go, but it is looking really nice.  Two pictures are incoming.  One artsy and one to show the near-finished product.

So now it's the 31^st, not only does a new year start in less than 10 hours, but a new decade.  I think it will be a good one.  I'm hopeful about finding a new job, utilizing the gym membership that I just signed up for⁷, and seeing what God has planned for me.  Two things that I know will happen, I will finish the table, and I will have another long list of ridiculous things that will occur, many of which I will completely forget about.  But for now I am going to go grab a coffee with a friend, find something for dinner, take some allergy medicine, and head to Mike and Jessica's for another New Years Eve party, hopefully this year will start off a little better than the last.

Happy New Year, see you next decade!
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¹ Please note: it was not really a blizzard, and it might not have been January, I can't remember.
² This wasn't surprising, that jerk didn't replace our busted screens the entire year we lived there.
³ Line courtesy of Ferris Bueller.
⁴ I would have preferred Kelly Kapowski, but really who wouldn't?
⁵ Shameless self-promotion warning: Maine post.
⁶ Double sixes, aw crap.  Luckily they both involve the same person.  Talk editing and art work by Carrie Felton.
⁷ For as much as it cost I'd frickin better.

On Random Thoughts Part II: Holiday Edition 2009

In which we return to a previous concept, a ridiculous title is used as well as a record number of footnotes.

LED Christmas lights are a great idea; they don't get hot and consume less energy.  Unfortunately they look terrible compared to old school lights, only coming in strings of 60 lights (that's pretty short) and they are expensive.  Call me when you fix these problems.

Colleen¹ wants to hear my thoughts on the zombie apocalypse, I hit on that once but I can add to it.  Now I'm no expert, but I have seen some movies, played some games (video and board) and read some books on the subject of zombies.  Here are the three most important things to take care of.  1) Shelter, this is the most important piece.  You need to find a place that can be easily fortified, this means a limited number of low windows and a manageable amount of entry points (you will want more that one way in and out, but you need to know about them all).  2) Weapons, be smart about this.  A gun seems like a good idea, but it might be more trouble than it's worth, they are hard to keep clean, tough to use, and ammo might be difficult to find.  If you really want one I would suggest a shotgun, it's got a good blast radius and ammo should be easier to come by.  You will also want some sort of melee weapon, a bat, an axe, a hammer something you can swing.  Just know that they will break down over time, and the heavier they are the longer they will last but the slower you will be with them.  3) Supplies, you will need food and water to survive.  So searching for supplies will always require some bravery.  You may have to leave your shelter to head into infested areas, make sure you stick to places you are familiar with especially at first, and find a good balance of bring back enough stuff so you don't have to go out all the time but won't slow you down.  Canned foods will be your best friend.  Good luck out there.

My family and I went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra yesterday.  It was pretty crazy.  Imagine a combination of Christmas music, rock-opera, 80's hair, laser/light/fire display and a full orchestra.  I had a great time but it would have been a little better if they hadn't played their non-Christmas stuff for a 1/3 of the show.  It's two days before Christmas, play Christmas music.

Sarah² asked me to write about the use of Vince Guaraldi music in Arrested Development, some of you might remember that was a show on my list of Top Five shows.  The use of Guaraldi's jazzy Charlie Brown Christmas music was used throughout the episode titled "Good Grief" is an example of why this show is so classic.  The highlight for me comes from the fact that in the back ground you can catch a glimpse of a beagle sleeping on the top of a red dog house.


Carrie³ want me to talk about our mice.  We had mice in our house.  They are gross.  We have killed two of them to date.  I'm hoping that is the end of it, but I doubt it.  That's all I have to say on the subject.

Lauren⁴ asked two things, I'm picking one.  The origin of "Pop Goes the Weasel."  Did you know there are over ten versions of the stupid song, some with many, many verses.  The oldest dates back to 1855.  I don't know where it came from, but I think it may have been a song about visiting prostitutes⁵.  Check it out:

Up and down the City Road

In and out the Eagle

That's the way the money goes

Pop! goes the weasel⁶.

Cameron would like to know if cows fall over and if they do can they get themselves up.  They do tip over (either from being pushed or falling when stumbling on a hill).  Smaller cows, calves, and steer can right themselves, most full grown cows can't.  Cows that can't get themselves up often die due to exhaustion and stress.  (This answer brought to you by Yahoo answers).

I have always enjoyed eggnog.  Despite how terrible it is for you.  I can usually handle about 4 glasses throughout the Christmas season (Thanksgiving-Christmas day).  Growing up I remember my grandfather drinking it after Christmas dinner, he always added rum and nutmeg.  I prefer bourbon⁷ and a nutmeg/cinnamon mixture in my nog.

Story-time interlude courtesy of my friend Kevin⁸.  Kevin and I grew up down the street from one another so we would hang out at one another's houses all the time.  One summer afternoon we were playing around with Snap-Pops and we got the bright idea to through them at passing cars, which we found hilarious.  It was all fun and games until we threw a few at a car and once it passed the house we saw the driver slam on the breaks and whip the car around.  I yelled to Kevin, "Run!" and took off around the side of the house and dove behind a small bush.  When I looked back at the driveway I realized that Kevin was still standing there in the middle of the driveway.  By this time the driver had pulled up to the base of the driveway and was screaming at Kevin.  I saw Kevin glance down at his shoes then turn his head slightly point to where I was and said, "Josh is in the bushes."  We still give him a hard time about it when he makes it back to Indiana.

My top four Christmas movies are, in this order, A Christmas Story, Die Hard, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Elf.  "Can't see the lines can you Russ?"

Whitney wants to know what video games would be the best/worst movies.  I would have said Silent Hill 2, but they tried that and it was a mess of studio meddling and wasted potential.  I think Metal Gear Solid, would have some cool potential if done right.  As for worst, Tetris.

"The Twelve Day's of Christmas" is a pretty ridiculous song.  My second favorite rendition of this song is by Straight No Chaser.  Here is a YouTube video of the song.  Please excuse the super-lame introduction.


Jon⁹ wants to know what my best/worst Christmas I ever got was.  I think my best gift was going with my dad to see Purdue play in 1998 Alamo Bowl against Kansas State.  State, ranked fourth in the nation, felt like they got snubbed by the BCS and ended up playing unranked Purdue.  Purdue jumped out to an early lead but Kansas State came back to take the lead 34-30 with just over a minute to go in the game.  But Purdue, led by freshman quarterback Drew Brees¹⁰ drove the field in just 54 seconds to score the game winning touchdown. It was spectacular.  I can't think of what the worst was.

Thank you to everyone who sent me topics to write about, it was a lot of fun.  I hope you all have an incredibly blessed Christmas and if you are traveling that you stay safe.  I've got to go watch Christmas Vacation with the family.

Merry Christmas!!
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¹ Delicious recipes found here: http://redwhiteandturkey.blogspot.com/
² I just started following Sarah, now you can too.  http://notwhollyinvain.blogspot.com/
³ Token Asian blog found here: http://thesaltyside.blogspot.com/
⁴ Warning don't go here unless you want to see super cute babies: http://majorscoop.blogspot.com/
⁵ I have no factual basis for this claim.
⁶ Come on, how is that not about visiting a prostitute?
⁷ Don't drink until you are 21 and even then please do so responsibly.
⁸ Kevin uses his blog responsibly to track his exercise routine, he is a much better person than I am. http://kevininc.com/
⁹ Jon has recently made a commitment to use footnotes more, a behavior I fully endorse. http://jonuebelhor.blogspot.com
¹⁰ You might have heard of him.

On Gaming and Charitying

In which we investigate an interest and introduce a great opportunity.


I am a member of the 'Nintendo Generation,' which according to one thing I read online constitutes those people "old enough to remember the Soviet Union¹ yet young enough to master the internet²."

Now I don't know if I fully agree with that definition but none the less I would say that I that is where I fall.  I remember the Christmas my sister and I got our NES, playing Mario while the cat batted at the screen, or jamming the Zapper right up to the screen when playing Duck Hunt.

Video games were a large part of my childhood and are an indelible part of my memories.  I love the fact that in Blades of Steal, if you get a fight the loser goes to the penalty box.  I learned that Japanese game cartridges are different from US ones when we tried to import Super Mario Bros. 3 when our friends were in Japan.  I remember my sixth grade class (the boys anyway) splitting down the middle civil war style and having the classic SNES v. Genesis argument, SNES all the way ps.  I know that if you plan on playing a Game Gear on the way from Indiana to Wisconsin and you don't have a car adaptor all six batteries will be dead with in an hour and a half.  I remember how stunned I was the first time I played Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation and how many hours my friends and I spent playing Golden Eye for the N64, helicopter pilot for life yo.  I know that on 9/9/99 the Dreamcast came out, and I think I have only seen two in my whole life.  I remember skipping class when I got the call that there was an extra PS2 for me on launch day (don't worry dad I just skipped billiards).  I still remember Jeremy and I watching Brian play Silent Hill 2 and being absolutely terrified the whole time.  I know that I have never enjoyed Halo and found the Timesplitters series much more fun.  Just last weekend I stay up until 2am playing Mario Bros. Wii with a bunch of my friends.

I don't play video games as much as I used to.  But I think it will always something that I do, it's a part of who I am and I look forward to when I have kids of my own and if they are into games I can share that experience with them³.

When I got to college I started following an online comic strip that focused on a lot of videogame humor.  Published three times a week the strips are accompanied by postings by the author and the artist.  Often they will cover various topics that come up.  Back in 2003 they came across an article in the Seattle paper (where they are based) that made the claim that videogames were training kids to be killers.  This was certainly not the first such article and Gabe and Tycho (the authors) were tired of all videogamers being painted with the brush of sociopath time-bombs that would do little for society as a whole.  So they decided to do something about it.

They contacted Amazon.com and Seattle Children's Hospital to create a charity called Child's Play.  They asked their readers to visit the wishlist and purchase items for the hospital to use with the kids there would be there over the holidays.  In the month that the charity ran they managed to raise $250,000.  That's incredible, they were totally blown away, as were most people that followed it.  Even the guy that wrote the original article responded.  Most people probably would have said, "Job well done," and walked away but they decided to try again the next year.

In 2004 they added four additional hospitals and raised $310,000.  2005 saw the addition of 7 hospitals in the US as well as in Canada and England, that year they almost double their amount to $605,000.  In 2006 hospitals from Egypt, Australia and four more from the US were added and over a million dollars was raised, $1,024,000.  In 2007 a hospital in Hawaii and New Zealand were added the total amount raised was $1,300,000 was raised.  Last year $1,430,000 was raised.  Those are huge numbers.

This year, with time still remaining, Child's Play has already raised $1,302,367.  That's over 6 million dollars in a 7 year period.  That is simply amazing.

So in this holiday season if you find yourself with a little extra spending money I urge you to think about giving to Child's Play (but really the important thing is for you to give so find something you are passionate about and give a little back).  Follow this link and you can click on one of the many hospitals they serve and find out what needs they have.  Anything you buy is tax deductible and will be shipped straight to the hospital.

God bless, and have a happy holiday!

Oh yeah, it's not too late to suggest a topic for my holiday edition of random thoughts.  I will be writing that blog next week so get them in soon.

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A⁴


________________________________________________________________
¹I totally would draw tank fights as a kid that were USA vs. USSR.  Dirty commies.
²I kicked the internets butt all the way up and down its tubes.
³Always play age appropriate games, don't be one of those parents that gets their 6 year old GTA.
⁴Thirty lives, booyah!

On An Updated Recipe

In which we briefly revisit a previously posted recipe and a request for input is made.

So in the past I posted about making pizza in the Roses' mud oven, the other night we had another 'make your own pizza' extravaganza, this time sans mud oven.  So I thought it would be a good time to work on my barbecue chicken pizza recipe.  It didn't change a whole lot, but it is certainly a little simpler to make.

Backyard BBQ Chicken Pizza

• One can of all white meat chicken
• 1/2 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (original)
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 jar banana peppers (hot)
• 4-5 sliced Oscar Myer pre-cooked bacon
• 1/4-1/2 orange or red pepper
• Pizza crust (x2)
• Shredded cheese (your choice)

Start by slicing the onions thin and cutting them into strips, place in a bowl and set aside.  Measure out approximately 1/4 cup of the banana peppers (no juice) and slice into small strips, add to bowl with onions.  Coat pan with extra virgin olive oil and heat to medium+ (that's about 6/10 on our stove), toss onion and pepper mixture into pan, spreading them evenly around.  While the veggies are sautéing slice your precooked bacon widthwise into small pieces, add to pan with veggies.  Make sure you are stirring the veggie and bacon mixture so that you don't burn them.  Open can of chicken and drain.  Cut or shred bigger pieces of chicken and add to pan, allow chicken to heat and mix with the veggies and bacon some.  Add approximately half the bottle of BBQ sauce to the pan and heat mixture, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes.  Pre-heat oven to 375-400.

Spread half of mixture onto your pizza crust; sprinkle a few (2-3) handfuls of cheese on top.  Place banana peppers and red/orange pepper slices on the pizza then cover with another couple of handfuls of cheese.  Place pizza, or pizzas this recipe makes enough for two, into the oven for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown just a little (just keep you eye on it).

Remove pizza, slice, and enjoy.  (Let it cool down first if you are the litigious type.)

Special announcement!

Back in October I wrote about a bunch of random things, this came about after eating a Subway sandwich and reading about balloon boy¹.  That was probably the most enjoyable blogging experience I've had yet and I thought that it would be fun to try it again for the holidays.  So coming soon, the first annual "On Holiday Random Thoughts" post.  But for this to work I need the help of you, dear reader.  Please send me a topic and I will write a paragraph.  You can leave a comment², email me, call me, use smoke signals, tell me in person, even leave a burning message in my yard if you want³.  The topic doesn't have to be holiday themed even though the title of the post will be, and hopefully I get so many ideas that I can save some for later.

So think of some ideas you want to hear about, or just want to make me blog about, and send them to me⁴.

I really crammed those footnotes in at the end there didn't I⁵?

__________________________________________________________
¹I still can't get over that they named their kid Falcon.
²Yes Carrie that means you have to come to the site, not just read it on Google Reader.
³Please don't do this.
⁴All...well most, inappropriate suggestions are subject to editing. 
⁵Yes I did.

On Life and Lessons Learned

In which we investigate a variety of lives and seek out the deeper meaning and important lessons therein.

So over the course of my life I have learned many lessons.  It seems like everyday I am learning something new, it's pretty cool how that works.  Unfortunately people are forgetful and I often will not remember the lessons that I have learned until I repeat a mistake or situation.  At which point I say to myself, "oh yeah, I knew that."  Or I swear; that happens sometimes too.

So I thought I would preserve some of these "life¹" lessons for future generation.  At the very least it might cut down on my swearing.  Here is how this will work.  I will start with some....let's call it life context, and they I will impart my wisdom.

Life - NBC's police drama about Charlie Crews a LA police officer who was wrongly imprisoned for 12 years for a murder he did not commit.  As a part of a settlement with the LAPD he was given a job as a homicide detective.  Crews' time in prison left him quiet and contemplative with a love for fresh fruit and Zen, as well as a drive to solve the murders he was sent to jail for.
Lessons - It turns out there is no future, there is no past either, just now.  And now.  And now.  //  Sometimes, when dealing with a Russian gangster, the appropriate response is a swift, crushing blow to the esophagus.


Life - A magazine that ran from 1883-2007.  Known for its oversized design and red box logo, but most importantly it's photos.

Lessons - The hardback collections of years of life magazines are a great way to spend a day when you are working as a substitute teacher.  //  A picture is often famous beyond it's context.

Life, The Game of - Milton Bradley's prominent game life simulation, because who needs to live when we can move around the board.  And in spite of the fact that it involves such thrilling activities as buy insurance, paying bills, and raising children it is still more entertaining than Monopoly.
Lessons - Always, always buy any insurance or stocks, they always pay out. //  Number spinners are terrible.  //  When you have children they will be the same size as you, with no arms, legs, or any definable characteristics, other than boys are light blue and girls pink.

Life - A 1999 movie starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.  I have never seen this movie, as it looked horrible.
Lessons - Eddie Murphy loves to wear intense face makeup in his movies, he loves it.

Life - Quaker Oats introduced this cereal to the public back in 1961.  Since then they have added (and in most cases subtracted) the following flavors.  Or should that be styles?  Cinnamon Life, Raisin Life, Honey Graham Life, Life Vanilla Yogurt Crunch, Life Chocolate Oat Crunch, Maple & Brown Sugar Life (Canucks² only), Multigrain Life, Baked Apple Life.
Lessons -  Cinnamon Life is the best.

Life - "A characteristic that distinguishes objects that have self-sustaining biological processes from those that do not³."  If you don't self-sustain it means you are dead or inanimate.  I'm alive.  Promise, I just checked.  In fact I have been doing this whole living thing for a while now, 28 years by my count.  It's been a pretty nice deal.  If you aren't currently a part of the "life" category let me first say that I am impressed that you were able to navigate the interwebs despite being dead or inanimate, and two, if you can swing it I highly recommend you give the old self-sustaining biological process thing a try.
Lessons - Cold rainy days are best spent reading a book, preferably by a fire.  //  When camping, put a tarp under the tent and inside the tent to increase the likelihood of retaining dryness.  //  Being a gifted public speaker does not translate into being a gifted conversationalist.  //  We often want to be heard but rarely want to listen.  //  The internet makes it easier for me to know what is going on in the lives of people I know, without actually knowing what is going on in their lives.  // The secret to telling a good story is to paint a picture in the minds of your views.  //  Some bros don't want to be tazed.

I had some other lessons, but I have forgotten what they are.

¹Tim these quotes are totally necessary, as I'm sure you discovered or will discover; depending on if you are a person who reads footnotes when you come to them, or wait until the end of the post. 
²That's slang for Canadian, eh.  You hoser.
³Thanks Wikipedia for making life seem so boring.

On Giving Thanks and Calling Fools Out

In which thanks are given, future events considered, and fools called out.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I don't know when that happened.  Sometime while I was a college it just sort of became one that I loved.  Part of it, I am sure, is that being away from home made me appreciate my family that much more.  So the long weekend spent at home became that much more precious to me.  Watching movies with my dad.  Eating home cooked food.  Playing with the dog.  Disc golf with Sarah.  Long talks with mom.  I am so thankful for my family.

Getting to see my family was not the only catalyst for Thanksgiving moving up the ranks of holidays.  I think another big reason came in the fall of 2002.  At the time I was living with Nick and Tim (Street not Felton) and we decided that we wanted to have all of our friends over for a Thanksgiving dinner of our own.  So we moved furniture around, brought in some extra tables, bought a huge turkey¹ and told people to bring a side dish and come on over.  It was a blast, there was so much food, we were packed in elbow to elbow, and it was amazing.  This last weekend I went over to my friends Jodi, Laura and Julia's for the seventh annual Thanksgiving dinner (see picture below). 

Seven years, that's pretty crazy.  By my count there were four of us there that were at the original dinner, and yet it was still going strong.  I love and miss all of those friends that were at the original Thanksgiving, especially those that I don't see often or have fallen out of contact with.  But at the same time I love all of the new friends that I have made over the last few years of being back in Bloomington.  I am thankful for my friends.

Speaking of huge holiday parties the Sunset Hill community (the Feltons, Roses and myself) went back and forth about having a Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves.  We decided to wait and instead have an epic Christmas potluck before we all head out of town².  Our hope is to pack the house with our dearest friends, eat way too much, laugh a ton, and maybe watch a Christmas movie³ and/or sing Christmas carols.  We already have our turkey waiting in the deep freeze, and I will start collecting paper to cut up for telephone-pictionary.  Our hope is that this party is so big we are finally forced to spread the good cheer to the upstairs annex (if for no other reason than to force Tim and Carrie to clean their dang room).  The last four month of living in an intentional community has been such a blessing.  This Christmas party will hopefully paint a great picture of how we want to live, loving and caring for each other and having our doors wide open to those who want to come.  I am thankful for this community of believers.

One group of people I would love to see join us for the Sunset Hill Christmas Potluck Extravaganza are the members of my small group.  I have loved spending time with them Thursday evenings, getting to know one another as we investigate the book of Genesis.  Even more fun was hanging out [read: playing telephone-pictionary] with them outside of small group, and I hope that that happens more often.  Like at a giant Christmas potluck.  They are all so awesome.  I am extremely thankful for my small group.

Speaking of abrupt topic shifts, you may have noticed that the last seven blog postings of mine were all uploaded during what most people would consider "work hours."  The reason behind that is simple, they were all written while I was at work.  I'm even at work right now.  This sentence...written at work.  But that will all change in about two and a half weeks.  I am leaving the cushy, yet low paying, job of in-school suspension monitor so that I can take over for a counselor at Eastern Greene middle and high schools who is going on maternity leave.  What will that mean?  Certainly less reading will get done, my fantasy football team will probably not get as much attention, I will not be able to answer emails with as much frequency, and my blog may become less frequent.  On the upside (though you may consider some of those things on the upside already) I will actually be utilizing the masters degree that I worked for 3 years to obtain.  I am thankful for the job opportunity that I had at Jackson Creek and the people I have met, but I am also thankful for the opportunity to return to Eastern.

So the best part of this whole blogging thing is that I get to see updates about my friends Sarah and JC and their super funny son Luke.  I have been terrible about making it up to see them and this way I am a least a little connected to them.  That's the wonderful part about the internet, staying update about friends' lives, thoughts and reflections.  With the in mind, welcome to:

The Great Blog Call-Out of 2009.

July 15^th, 2009 - Jon
August 3^rd, 2009 - Seth
August 10^th, 2009 - Colleen
October 1^st, 2009 - Dan
October 28^th, 2009 - Sara
November 10^th, 2009 - Kristen

This was the last time these people posted.  Kristen has only been absent for two weeks, so that's not too bad.  But the rest of you are on notice.  I am especially disappointed in one Seth "they call me death" Rowe, who claims to enjoy writing, but I think he just says that to impress people (it doesn't Seth).  So share something with us, a thought, a poem, a recipe, a picture, something.  P.S. Good work Carrie for posting furiously over the last week.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 ¹The next year I learned two things.  One, the only huge turkeys you can find are frozen, and two, you can defrost a huge frozen turkey in a day if you keep it in a bathtub full of water.
²The festivities will be help at our house on Sunday December 20th, if you are in town, or want to come into town for the fun let me know.
³My vote would be for the greatest of all Christmas movies, Die Hard.

On Top Fives, Part II

In which a list is completed, a task finished, and readers that know me may find themselves surprised.

 Welcome to part two of top fives.  What an odd sentence.  Anyway, back to finish this list up, which, in all honesty, has become a lot bigger than I originally invisioned.  Oh well, hopefully the five of you that read this have enjoyed it, if you missed part one check out the end of the paragraph.  Please note, most of the items on these lists are not in a particular order (with the exception of Shawshank, East of Eden, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay)

Books:

4) American Gods (2001) - Written by Neil Gaiman (who wrote Stardust, Coraline, and Sandman) this book follows protagonist Shadow after he is released from prison.  Once arriving home Shadow meets up with the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who offers him a job.  The book follows Shadow as he travels around the county helping Mr. Wednesday along the way.  We learn, along with Shadow, that our world is populated by gods, any god that has ever been worshiped in America has appeared on earth and survives only based on what belief there is in them.  This book appealed to me mainly because of my religious studies background, there are a lot of interesting 'religious¹' figures that pop up throughout the book, but also because it is a very intriguing story.  It's a quick read, not too dense, but I highly recommend it.

5) Lamb (2002) - I went back and forth over what book to have in my fifth spot.  There wasn't one that immeadiately jumped out at me.  Finally I settled on Lamb, or as the whole title reads: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.  This is a book written from the perspective of Jesus best friend growing up Biff, and the adventures they shared.  The majority of the story fills in the time before Jesus arrives on the scene at 30, we follow Biff and Jesus as they travel east to find the three wise men.  The best adjective for this book is irreverent.  But it is also hilarious.  We learn that God sounds a lot like James Earl Jones, that Jesus said "knock and the door will be opened to you" because he was forced to wait outside of a monastary for days on end, and that the disciples weren't always the brightest bulbs (okay that you can get from the Bible itself).  So fare warning, if you lack a sense of humor about your faith don't read this book, you will most likely come away from it very offended.  But if you want to read a funny work of fiction and may force you to think more about what Jesus was like when he was a boy, or just hanging out, then give Lamb a look.

Television:

1) Futurama (1999-2003/2007-Present)  I didn't enjoy Futurama when I first watched it.  I was a Simpsons fan when it started and I never really gave it a chance (which was dumb because it is made by the same people).  Years later, during the "Summer of Seth & Josh" I got in the habit of watching reruns on Cartoon Network's [adultswim].  Suddenly it was as if my eyes had been opened for the first time.  Here was a show that had layers of jokes, from very simply physical humor, to deeper more thought-out, to jokes that I only know about because they talk about them in the commentary.  When people tell me that they don't enjoy Futurama it is almost certainly because they haven't really given it enough time yet, this is a show that will grow on you (which you will find to be a theme for many of the shows on the list).  To sum up, there are two positions that I will not waiver from.  A of all, if you watch the episodes "The Luck of the Fryrish" or "Jurassic Bark" and at the very least don't have tears form in your eyes you are a soulless monster.  B of all, Futurama is much, much, much funnier than Family Guy could ever hope to be, if you don't agree then you either don't have a sense of humor, or, more likely, you suffered a traumatic brain injury (okay maybe that's not more likely).  In conclusion, Futurama is intelligent and hilarious, Family Guy is simplistic rubbish.

2) Arrested Development (2003-2006) - What's it all about, lucky for us they start every episode telling you.  "Narrator: Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development."  Arrested Development is sitcom that follows the dysfunctional, once wealthy, Bluth family in a pseudo-documentary² style.  Much like Futurama I didn't really discover this show until it was almost off the air.  Also, like Futurama, this is a show that rewards viewers that stick with it. There are call back jokes and inside jokes aplenty.  This is a show that I can watch over an over again and laugh every time.  If you want to check it out you are in luck, Hulu has the entire first season online for free.  And as a special gift to you dear reader:


3) Band of Brothers (2001) - Do you remember the first time you watched the Normandy Beach scene in Saving Private Ryan?  How big it all was?  The sheer amount of work, and people, and pyrotechnics that when into it, and the rest of the movie, was mind boggling to me.  By the third episode of Band of Brother (a ten episode mini-series) the special effects department had used more pyrotechnics than in the entire movie.  Band of Brother follows the exploits of a company of para-troopers from their training before Normandy through the end of the war.  Over time we see them grow closer together, rely on one another, fight with one another, and mourn for one another.  Also, the show introduced me to Major Richard Winters, who is joining Ginny Weasley in my certified bad-ass club³.

4) Chuck (2007-Present) - You have no idea how excited I am that I get to write "present" instead of "2009" in those parentheses.  Chuck came very close to being canceled last season, the blame for this falls squarely on the shoulders of NBC and Jay Leno, fortunately fans of the show wrote letters to the network and show sponsors calling for its return.  Here is the premise of the show, Chuck Bartowski is forced into the world of espionage when he unwittingly opens a computer files that embeds the NSA and CIA's spy secrets into Chuck's brain.  A CIA and a NSA operative are sent to protect Chuck, and as often happens in televison show, wacky hijinks ensue.  Now I can hear your eye's rolling from here, I know that the idea is very absurd.  But think about all the other shows out there for a moment and you will realize that most shows have very flimsy ideas behind them; it's what you do with the stories and character that make lasting shows.  And in that realm Chuck has few equals, especially when it comes to the supporting cast, all of whom show incredible depth.  The third season won't start until after the new year, so there is still time for you to get caught up.  Go out and get the first season DVD and watch it and I gaurantee you will be hooked⁴.  *Important addendum: Chuck has been slated to return for it's third season on Sunday January 10th, there will be two back-to-back episodes and then one on it's regular time Monday at 8:00.

5) The Venture Brothers (2003-Present) - You want to talk about a ridiculous premise then look no further than The Venture Brothers.  What if Jonny Quest grew up, how would he deal with the pressures of being his father's son?  Or deal with all the traumatic situations that he dealt with as a kid?  That is basically what The Venture Brothers is all about.
Rusty Venture is a failed "super-scientist" who is trying to raise his two teenaged sons (one of whom dressed like Fred from Scooby Doo) Hank and Dean, along with their bodyguard Brock.  This show lives in the ridiculous, it thrives in it.  And because of that is unbelievably funny.  Also, it throws pop culture references around like it's its job.  Examples: Jonny Quest, Scooby Doo, The 6 Million Dollar Man, Voltron, Sasquatch, 2001 A Space Odyessy, David Bowie songs, The Fantastic Four.  This show is over the top, vulgar, violent at times, certainly not for children, but man do I laugh when I watch it.

So here we are at the end of the lists.  I am sure that there are those of you out there that were surprised, especially when it came to the TV list⁵.  Hopefully none of you are offended by what made the list or didn't.  And if you are offended I would ask you kindly to get over it.  Most of all though, I hope that if there are things on this list that you have never seen or read or heard of that you would take some time to check them out, because I do think they are all worth the time.  Stories are important to me, and a well told story is a rare thing these days, but I feel like all 15 of these books, movies, or shows do just that.

Also, I'd love to hear about your top fives, so leave a comment below.
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¹Religious is in quotes here because the characters aren't the normal religious figures you may expect, some examples include: Anansi, Czernobog, Anubis, Eostre, Odin, even a leprechaun.
²Thanks Wikipedia 
³Both gingers, if you can believe it.
⁴Gaurentee void everywhere.
⁵TV shows just missing the cut off include: SportsNight, The Simpsons, 24, Firefly, Studio 60, 30 Rock

On Top Fives

In which we enter into the world of film, literature and television.  Just maybe not all at once.

For whatever reason when I got up this morning I decided that I would write today about my favorite movies, books and television shows.  I know that it is kind of a copout and not really that creative but that is how it goes.  Maybe I will try to spice things up as I go along.

Movies:

1)  The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - All the other movies on this list will be difficult to determine, both if and where they appear, but not Shawshank.  In high school I loved watching movie (I still do) my friends and I would go to the theater more often than I would like to admit, it didn't seem to matter how good the movie looked we will still go.  And other than a few notable exceptions, I'm looking at you Godzilla, Event Horizon, and Wild Wild West; I found enjoyment in even the dumbest movies¹.  Something about The Shawshank Redemption was different; there was something powerful and beautiful in this movie.  From the moment I first saw it in high school I knew that it would be something that I would never forget.  It's a movie that I know so well, and yet can watch again and again, I even wrote a paper about it in a class in college.  If you haven't seen this movie before do yourself a favor and rent it, or borrow it, or buy it, just find a way to watch it.  Or, if you live in Bloomington call me up, I'm about due to watch it again.

2)  Amistad (1997) - Historical fiction based on the real life slave revolt on Le Amistad, a slaving ship.  It's got great acting from Anthony Hopkins and Morgan Freeman as well as introduced me to Djimon Hounsou, who has the most powerful scene in the movie.  Much like Shawshank this was a movie that, upon seeing it in high school, I knew I had seen something special.

3) Hot Fuzz (2007) - Made by the same guys that did Shaun of the Dead this action comedy is a spoof of the "buddy cop" genre of action movies, but not a spoof in the sense of Scary Movie, or Date Movie, or Stupid Generic Cliché Movie (releasing summer 2010).  Instead Hot Fuzz has an actual story line, clever jokes, and great action.  If you have ever seen Bad Boys (or any Michael Bay movie) you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

4) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - I enjoy all of the Star Wars movies.  Some, though, are better than others.  Here is my order from favorite to least: Empire, A New Hope/Return (tied), Episode III, Episode II, Episode I.  It should be noted that The Empire Strikes Back is leaps and bounds ahead of the others.  Empire has got the heart that the prequels are missing, solid directing, and does not rely on Muppets (with the exception of Yoda).  It creates a real sense of menace in the villains, and has some great character development.  All of this from a science fiction movie, who would have guessed?  P.S. The prequels would have been much better if Lucas had kept his hands off of them.

5) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - So this is the point in my movie list where things get a little...shifty.  The other four movies are pretty well locked in, but this fifth spot changes more readily.  Anyway, Life Aquatic was directed by Wes Anderson, who is a very quirky filmmaker.  He is always very intentional about the choices that he makes.  This is certainly true about this film.  But the one moment that really stuck out to me was this one:

What really blew me away was the fact that they had built this giant half of a boat so that they could shoot this long continuous shot.  Life Aquatic gets a bad wrap for being a little on the slow side, but if you have the patience there is a lot of beauty to be found in it.

Books:

1) East of Eden (1952) - I first read East of Eden in high school for a Biblical literature class my senior year.  When we were first handed the book it seemed rather daunting, I had always enjoyed reading, but hated being told what to read.  There was something different about this book though.  Right from the very start it grabbed me, and I was hooked.  If you've never read the book it was written by John Steinbeck and follows the lives of two families from Salinas Valley California.  In the midst of this Steinbeck ponders the ideas of natural and learned behavior and whether our parent's mistakes follow us to be our mistakes.  All the while the characters in East of Eden parallel the lives of many Old Testament figures.  It is the best book I've ever read, and if that is not enough of an endorsement then I will let the author speak for himself.  "It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years." And, "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."

2) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000) - This book is ranked second on my all-time favorite list...but not by much.  The only reason that it does fall to second is simply because I read East of Eden first so it has a longer hold on me.  K&C is the story of two cousins living in New York city just before America enters WWII.  Joe Kavalier is a young Jewish boy who escapes from Germany controlled Prague to live with his family in NYC.  Sammy Clay is Joe's cousin who has huge aspirations but a bought with polio when he was young crippled both his legs and his confidence.  The novel explores themes of escapism, guilt and family through the lens of the boys' aspirations to join in on the comic boom of the early 40's.  This is a beautiful story with absolutely gut-wrenching scenes that almost always bring a tear to my eyes.  I would let you borrow it if you want, but Nick has been reading it for over a year...the jerk².

3) The Road (2006) - I still want to devote a whole post to this book, but I want to write about my reaction to the movie as well as the book.  Since the movie doesn't come out for another week and a half we will just have to wait on that.  I was talking too Carrie a month or so ago when she was trying to come up with books for a book group³, this was one of the first suggestions that I gave.  "I've heard it's too depressing" was her reply (or something to that effect).  I don't agree with this in the slightest.  It is certainly not a happy-go-lucky story of rainbows and puppies, but there is so much hope to be found in this story.  This book is, simply put, a love story between a father and his son.  Don't believe me?  Check out this great interview that the Wall Street Journal did with Cormac McCarthy, the author of The Road, here is a link for your convenience.


To be, let me finish, continued...

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¹Examples of beloved cheesy movies include both The Fifth Element (Bruce Willis at his finest) and Starship Troopers.  These movies embody the very idea idea of super-fun yet ridiculous.
²Just kidding Nick, you aren't a jerk.  At least not for this reason.
³ How's that book study going Care?

On Telephone-Pictionary

In which a game is introduced, misunderstandings arise, and Nazis stop by to say hello.


Have you ever been in a room of 8-12 people and wondered aloud, "What is an activity that we can all do and, more importantly, enjoy?"  I know when my friends and I find ourselves in this position an old standby is the wonderful game known as "Telephone-Pictionary."  This is an incredibly simple game that requires only pens, quarter sheets of paper, and your imagination¹.  Here is a quick introduction to the game.  For this demonstration imagine that there are 8 individuals playing.  Each person has in front of them 8 quarter sheets of paper and a pen.  Everyone writes a phrase of their choosing on the top sheet (often movie lines or song lyrics), once done you pass the entire stack of paper to your right.  The next person reads your phrase and must draw a pictorial representation of the phrase on the next sheet.  The stack is then passed again to the right and the next person must write a phrase based on what they think the drawing is this pattern of writing and drawing continues until the stack returns to the originator of the phrase.  Then everyone shares with the group the journey their phrase took.

A couple of additional notes.  Firstly, there are no winners or losers, so the game has a low level of pressure.  However, if you suck at drawing prepare to be mocked.  The purpose of the game is not for your phrase to make it all the way around, it is funnier when thing go awry.  Oh, and did I mention that the rounds are timed²?  Because they are, so draw quickly.

So this all may seem complicated to read about.  But no worries, I've got your back with an example from this very weekend.  Please note: all names have been changed to protect the innocent and terrible artists.

This is the phrase that starts off the game for this stack of papers, it was written by "Jack."  Once Jack writes this phrase he passes to the right to "Liz."  Liz then draws...

Not too bad Liz, we've got someone leaving and the other person is crying because of it.  Liz then passes the stack to "Jenna" who looks at the drawing and writes...

Alright, I can see where Jenna is got this, she then passes the words to "Tracy" and Tracy draws...

So we've now got Tracy's drawing of the Von Trapp family singing and waving goodbye, the stack is passed and "Topher" writes...

Whooooops³, looks like Topher kind got kind of confused, looks like that Nazi flag threw him a bit.  Well nothing to do but press on and see what "Cerie" drew...

Nicely done Cerie, those are some nice looking Nazis you've drawn there.  What does "Kenneth" have to say about all of this?

Yes, that does look like a shrinking Nazi, what wonderful art can "Frank" come up with based on this phrase?

Nicely done Frank.  And there you have it, from "Can't stand losing you" to "Shrinking Nazis" in eight easy steps.  So next time you find yourself sitting around thinking what you should do with yourself give Telephone-Pictionary a try, you won't regret it.

Well, you might regret it, especially if Jecca is playing...she is a little "wang obsessed."

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¹Imagination not included.
²The times are completely arbitrary.
³

 

On Lego

In which we discuss dastardly pirates fighting chivalrous knights, cubic art, and a gift.


Growing up one of my favorite things to do was to build various Lego models.  It was always a tradition that at Christmas I would receive at least one Lego set, I would always shake the present listening for the tell-tale rattle of little plastic blocks that let me know what I was about to open.  Once we were done unwrapping all the presents the next step was to spread out on a coffee table or kitchen table and assemble the newly acquired model. I would work unceasingly until I had finished.  As I got older the models got more and more complex.  There are still a few that I assembled and put on a shelf and it is still there just hanging out.  Most of the Lego sets that I have though eventually were disassembled and put in giant tubs in our basement.  At this point is when creativity would take over.

There were always epic scenes in which pirates battle knights on horseback, racecars zoomed through airports, and space battles between robots, aliens and astronauts.  Most of this nonsense ended in crushing collisions and monstrous explosions.  In short, Micheal Bay would have been proud.  While these my creations were always lots of fun they weren't really creative in the traditional sense, I always had this grand dream to use all my Lego pieces to create something really awesome.  Maybe one day.  But then again, I am not really that artistically creative.  That's not where my creative juices flow you might say.

Some people though, man they do some cool things with Lego sets.  Like this guy (whose Flickr id is balakov) has been recreating classic photographs with Lego pieces.  Here are some examples of his work.

This is a recreation of Charles Ebbets' "Lunch atop a skyscraper" originally taken in 1932, check the original here.

Here is a recreation of Robert Capa's 1944 photograph taken during the D-Day invasion or Normandy beach, the original is here.

This is one most people will recognize, Jeff Widener's 1989 photograph of "The unknown rebel," the original is here.

Pretty impressive, these pictures certainly put my space battles to shame.  But what are you going to do.  In a slightly more functional realm of things a British man named James May designed and constructed a two story house complete with running water and an uncomfortable bed.  Unfortunately for Mr. May his house leaks, the land he built it on wants it gone, and no one seems to want or is able to take it.  An article, that you can read here, said that if it wasn't taken it was going to be destroyed.

Since this article was written back in September I am guessing that any chance for you to visit and/or own this giant eyesore was likely destroyed with chainsaws...lets leave Mr. May alone to ponder his future.

Not to be outdone in the creative realm of artistic Lego sets the Lego company began an Architecture line of Lego sets.  Taking famous architectural landmarks and building them out of little plastic squares.

While most kids would be terribly disappointed by the lack of fantastical objects found within the box I for one think that the Lego version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water is pretty amazing.  So if you have a hundred bucks laying around and you are feeling generous you could totally buy it for me.  I will be your best friend forever.  I promise.

Don't forget: the plural of Lego is Lego.

On Random Thoughts

In which we quickly jump from topic to topic, and footnotes are used for the first time.

The key when eating a foot-long sub from Subway, much like eating Chinese food, is to wait a few minutes between the first half and the second. You aren't as hungry as you think, and if you finish it all now you will feel terrible and not have dinner ready made later on.


Note to self:  Before feeling concerned for the safety of a child presumably trapped in a runaway, homemade balloon check for the following warning signs that everything is not all that it seems. 1) The parents are nutty storm chasers who were on a reality TV show⁽¹⁾.  2) The aforementioned nutty parents named their child "Falcon."  3) Said parents also contacted new stations about their missing sun prior to contacting the police.  If one or more of these conditions apply the child is most likely safe in the attic and the parent may or may not be a d-bag⁽²⁾ who put his kid up to it for publicity purposes.


I am terribly excited for the new movie Where the Wild Things Are.  It is the first movie in many months that I would be fine seeing opening weekend and not waiting for it to be a Five Buck Club movie.  If you haven't seen the trailer yet here it is for your enjoyment.  Just watching the trailer makes me feel like a kid again, I can't wait to see this movie.


One movie that I will absolutely see opening night, and will drag along as many people as I am able, is The Road staring Vigo Mortensen.  It is based on Cormac McCarthy's book by the same title.  The book is beautiful and dark and hopeful and deserves much more than I can say in a simple paragraph so we will come back to it at another time.


If you find yourself ordering clothing online know that REI.com has the fastest turn around that I have seen on their shipping.  I ordered a sweater from them on Tuesday night and it arrived three days later.  Conversely, Amazon's Super Saver shipping is the worst, I've had items coming from Kentucky take 2 weeks to arrive.


At the request of Tim Street I will now talk about Lando Calrissian.  Lando is a good friend to Han Solo and a known scoundrel and all-round ladies man.  He is probably best know as the only black guy in Star Wars and for blowing up an uncompleted Death Star⁽³⁾.  Here is a picture of Lando in Lego form.  Calm under pressure Lando knows that Han will have that shield down, we've just got to give him more time.  Lando is in no way related to Dumbledore Calrissian who needed to return a ring to Mordor.


Sara Zimmer says, "Write about rabies."  Okay.  Rabies, not to be confused with scabies or babies, is a virus that is often carried by wild mammals.  If you have rabies right now you should probably stop reading my blog and go seek medical help, other wise you will probably die.  Apparently there are a number of countries where rabies is no longer present.  One of which is Australia (as well as a lot of Europe) at first this might not seem fair, but those guys have it alot worse...trust me.  Here are some important facts about rabies from Michael Scott, Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin.

"Myth - three Americans die every year from rabies. Fact - four Americans every year die from rabies. How many of you know someone that has been afflicted or affected by rabies? Show of hands. One, two, three... too many to count. It is truly the silent killer. No, it is the foaming barking killer."

Thanks Michael, that was extremely helpful.  Hope you enjoyed my smattering of topics.  And the footnotes.

Seriously, who wants to see Where the Wild Things Are or The Road with me?
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(1) On the terribly named show "Wife Swap," I swear some TV executives need to be slapped or thrown in jail or both.
(2) If it turns out this was all some elaborate hoax the parents should have to pay back the tax payers money that was wasted chasing that balloon down.  If they can't afford it they should be forced to watch terrible reality TV shows until their eyes fall out.
(3) And he probably killed thousand of private contractors hired to complete the Death Star.  For a discussion on the ethical implications of killing thousands of non-combatants I invite you to watch this clip from the movie Clerks (click here) please note that this clip almost certainly contains vulger language.

On Scramping

In which we make an indelible mark on the English language.

Scramp
\ˈskramp\
Function: verb
Etymology: Modern English; originated by the Guff
Date: 21st Century
1: To purposely foil someone's plans or schemes.
2: To place someone in an untenable position (as it related to the Settlers of Catan).
3: To screw someone over.
- scramper \ˈskram-pər\

Synonyms: scrimp, shrimp, scrimp-scramp, shramp, shrimp-shramp
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It is impossible to spend any time with Will, Colleen, Kevin, Carrie, Tim or I and not here the word 'scramp.' It is our own personal addition to the English language, and we use it, a lot. I think the greatest thing about the word is it's versatility. You can scramp, and thus be a scramper. You can be scramped, and thus be scramped upon. You can be scramped by a person or a situtation. You can scramp a person or an object. It's quite fun. Check this out:

"That scrimp-scramper shramped the last shrimp, I've been scramped upon."

The terminology is seeping into the lexicon of our settlers games, even to those who don't normally join us in shrimping have a tendency to deride any shramping that occurs.. Hopefully the use of scrimps will continue to proliferate throughout the ages. Don't be surprised if one day your kid has to spell "shramp-nar" on a spelling test.

Feel free to try it out in your daily life. Next time you feel like you've been scramped let those shrimp-shramps know it. It will make you feel better, I promise.

Shrimp'in ain't easy.

On Immersing Myself Into the World of Literature

In which blogging re-commences and book reading is discussed at length.

So apparently I fell into the black hole of not writing that many bloggers find themselves in. After the move I was without internet, and without any type of idea or motivation to write. But fear not, I have returned, hopefully on a more consistent basis. And what, you may be asking, leads me to believe that I can write more consistently now than I had been? Well my job plays into that factor quite a bit. When last we met, which is to say when I last wrote anything, I was looking for a job. Well, I eventually found one. I am the in-school suspension room monitor for Jackson Creek Middle School here in Bloomington. What does that mean? That means that I hang out with kids who have gotten in trouble and are in in-school suspension or lunch detention. It also means that I have a lot of free time because the students just hang out and work on their homework that they have. Is this a job I am excited about? No. Is this a job that I am looking forward to having long term? No. Is this a job befitting of someone with a Masters degree? Well, maybe a philosophy major or something. However, it is a job that gets me in the school system working with students and administrator, and it pays the bills. It also means that I have time to write this blog more consistently (see I'm bringing it back around). But more than anything else I spend most of my time reading. Like a stupid amount of time reading.

As I was sitting here today I started thinking about blogging again, and figured that I could talk about some of the books that I have been reading. So far I have had this job for six weeks. During that time I have read: Timeline (Michael Crichton), Angels and Demons (Dan Brown), The Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling), The Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling), The Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling), The Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling), The Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling), The Deathly Hollows (J.K. Rowling), The Relic (Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child), Genesis (Bernard Beckett), Out of Sight (Elmore Leonard), The Blessing Way (Tony Hillerman), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austin & Seth Grahame-Smith). So that's thirteen books, although I am still working on the last two on the list. It has been neat to have the freedom to read so much. I figured that I would spend a little bit of time talking about some of these books.

Angels and Demons is a book that I wouldn't have read if it wasn't on my roomate's bookshelf. I got The Da Vinci Code for Christmas a few years ago and thought that it was terrible. It was extremely cheesy writing that was very predictable and disappointing that it was on the best sellers list for so long when so many good books go unread. I thought that, even though it was all fiction, Dan Brown made a lot of leap with his theories about Jesus that it became absurd. So it is safe to say that my expectations were remarkably low for Angels and Demons, and when all is said and done it was an enjoyable read. It was a generally compelling mystery and I had a fun time reading it. It certainly wasn't great literature, but then I don't think that is the type of book he was going for and I'm all right with that. He did a much better job of giving an even handed view of the church than in The Da Vinci Code, which I appreciated. Although the book still telegraphed it's plot twists pretty clearly. I would give this book a B if I was grading it. So if you are looking for something quick and easy to read check it out.

I also read six of the seven Harry Potter books. There is not much to say that hasn't been written about these books already. But here are some thoughts anyway. I enjoyed them a lot more than I thought that I would. I have seen all the movies but never had read the books. I enjoyed the books more as they went along, and appreciated that The Half-Blood Prince was more than just relationship nonsense like the movie was. Here are the top five things I learned from reading these books:

5) I enjoyed the last book the most, probably because it was the only one that I didn't know what was going to happen.
4) When I would g-chat with people in the midst of reading I would have to make a conscious effort not to use words like "prat."
3) Harry Potter is a huge prat.
2) Most of the supporting characters were more interesting and likable than Harry, Ron and Hermione.
1) Ginny Weasley is a certified bad-ass and was woefully underused in the seventh book.

Last thing. I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It is interesting how the author incorporates new text in with the old. However, there is still a whole lot of Jane Austin so I am thinking about giving it up. Otherwise I am likely to fall asleep at work, and that probably wouldn't be good.

Any book suggestions for me?