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?
___________________________________________________________________________________
(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
__________________________________________________________

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?

On the Sad Realizations of Life

Wherein a life is boxed, changes are made, and a question is asked.

For the last two and a half years I lived with my good friend Tim Street. In fact, since graduating from high school I have lived with Tim more than anyone else, for five years actually. Thinking back Tim was an awesome roommate, lots of fun and lots of stories. Wall pie, the naked blanket, Anne Frank memorials, and the title of the blog you are now reading...all courtesy of living with Tim.

Sadly, those times have come to an end. Tim and I have parted ways and moved on to new places. But first was the pack and clean. When we moved into our place it was super dirty and gross, but we cleaned that place up right and it was looking good. Clean apartment? Check. Packed up all my stuff? Check. Moved it to my new place..............uh, about that. So didn't know where I was headed jobwise when we moved out so I dumped all of my stuff into a storage unit in Elletsville. I would just like to point out how sad it is when your entire life can fit into a 10x10 storage unit. Quite sad. However, it did lead me to a temporary living arrangement at Hotel Felton, with my friends Tim and Carrie. They graciously offered a room while I figured out what I was doing.

Living with the Felton's has been great. They are amazing people but the best thing about the situation is the community that I have become a part of. Tim and Carrie, along with Will, Colleen and Kevin Rose (of Rose Backyard Pizza fame), have been very intentional about surrounding themselves with community. We all get together on Monday evenings and have dinner, after we spend some time talking about how we can make a positive impact on our community and those around us. We also talk about things that have been going on in our lives, our hopes and concerns, then we spend some time praying for one another. It is pretty special.

Now, before you think that everything at the Felton's is some magical fairly land where everything is perfect and wonderful, trust me, it's not. First of all there is only one bathroom, so sometimes there is what I like to call the dance of the toothbrush. Some evenings you can witness us all wandering around brushing our teeth in various rooms in the house while we share the one sink, terrible. Also, Carrie keeps bring home random used furniture. First it was a recliner (which admittedly was pretty nice) then it was a giant picnic table that is all peeling and gross. My guess is that her next find will be a half filled garbage can that reeks of decades of use. But at least she will have gotten a good deal on it. But that is not even the worst part. The worst part is that I have to live with this guy. Yeah, I can't really believe it either.

My tease for this blog promised a question, so here it is. What's next? That's what I have been trying to determine lately. I'm still looking for full-time work and while I'd love to stay in Bloomington and stay surrounded by this community. However, I am coming to the realization that this may not be a possibility. So I'm keeping my eyes open for a job, no matter where it takes me. As soon as I know, you will know. Okay, maybe not that fast, but shortly after I update my family and friends I probably get around to let you know.

Blogging, this stuff just got real.

On Bringing Italy to the Backyard

In which ovens, deliciousness and memories are made.

I'm going to go out on a limb and declare, to the entire interweb, that I enjoy pizza. I know what you are thinking, bold. But it is true, pizza is tasty. When I was a kid every Friday night was pizza night. Quickly grabbing for the nearest corner piece of the Pizza King pizza is indelibly etched into my mind. As I have grown my pizza tastes have matured. Where once I only enjoyed cheese pizza now I prefer a wider array of tastes, though you can keep your onions and black olives away from my slice thank you very much.

Last Sunday my pizza eating experiences took an exciting turn in a new direction.

For a while now my friend Will has wanted to have a pizza potluck where people come over and bring their own pizza toppings so we can make pizzas. The reason behind this desire stems partly from Will's enjoyment of community and food but mainly it stems from this------------>
This is Will's clay oven. He crafted it himself in his own backyard. To use it you build a fire inside of the dome which heats the clay walls and brick base. The heat then radiates with in the oven and you are free to put bread, or in our case pizzas, inside.

It is a pretty incredible thing to witness. The temperature will reach approximately 650 degrees. At this temp you can cook a loaf of bread in about fifteen minutes. Our pizza's were being cooked in an average of seven minutes or so. The greatest difficultly comes in getting the pizzas in and out, there are very few spatulas long and sturdy enough to be used. I think Will should invest in a wooden pizza peel, but that is just me.

As amazing as Will's oven is, without pizzas to bake it is just a mound of clay and straw. Step one was making crusts. We could have used cheap pre-made crust, or something from a tube, but that noise is for busters, and we ain't busters. So the Guff (Will's brother) make some crust for us, we had plain wheat, pesto, and basil parmesan. Hat's off to Guff because all of the crusts were stellar.

Once our crusts were flattened out it was time to make some pizzas. We had a wide range of options, but instead of going into all of them I will just tell you about the best. Mine. Now I want you to know that I'm not calling mine the best completely out of an ego trip. All of the pizzas were very good, but it seemed to be the consensus that mine turned out the best.

I decided to make a barbecue chicken pizza, I figured that would be a little out of the ordinary for everyone. When I was pulling together the ingredients I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it was way better than I would have guessed. A combination of the what was on the pizza along with it being cooked early on while the oven was at its hottest led to a thing of beauty. The crust was crispy, the cheese was just starting to brown slightly, it was phenomenal.

So now that your mouths are collectively watering at the sight of this delectable morsel I'm sure you are all wondering what is in it. Well that's the best part, it was super easy and super cheap. Behold!

Backyard BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

• 1 can shredded all white meat chicken, drained
  
• 1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce (I would recommend something smoked)
• 1 red pepper (sliced)
  
• 4 slices of bacon
  
• 1 bag shredded Kraft Four Cheese Italian Blend (or suitable generic equivalent)

In a sauce pan or frying pan empty can of chicken and cover liberally with BBQ sauce, heat on low to low/medium stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes until mixture is steaming. This will help to fully coat the chicken and cook in some flavor. Move mixture to a bowl and set aside. Clean pan, coat pan with extra-virgin olive oil (how can something be "extra-virgin" isn't it just virgin or not?) and roast red peppers until they are soft but not soggy. Cook bacon until crispy and crumble.

Spoon 1/2 of your BBQ chicken mixture onto crust and spread around. Cover with cheese. Place bacon and peppers on top of cheese. Add more cheese.

Cook pizza in clay oven for 6 minutes.

Slice and enjoy. Please note, this recipe will make ~2 ten inch pizzas.

Told you that it was easy. If I make it again I will track down banana peppers, which eluded me on this run, I think it will add a great flavor.

Backyard BBQ Chicken pizza, causing friends to take cheesy self portraits since last night.

On My Jams

In which more is learned about the illustrious author, a phrase is appropriated, and a sister is most likely infuriated.

A few weeks ago, while on vacation with my family, my sister and I were talking about something. I don't remember what it was, but during the course of the conversation I remarked that something "was my jam." My sister said, "what, you can't use that phrase like that." To which I responded that I could use it how I wanted, she remained intransigent claiming that it was clearly in reference liking a song, or "jam."

This conversation was echoing in my head as I planned out what I was going write about next (yes I do think about what I'm going to write before I write it, usually) and I decided that I could kill two birds with one stone. I have neglected to talk much about myself in this blog, so I figured I could educate you all, as well as make my mark on the meaning of the phrase "that's my jam." As an added bonus I just might enrage my sister.

So without further ado, here are my jams.

1. I will not deny that the phrase "my jam" was originally meant for songs, so lets start there. My musical taste is...odd, to say the least. I go in waves as far as what I enjoy listening to. Recently I have been listening Mos Def's latest CD The Ecstatic. Most people know Mos Def as an actor however, he is also quite the accomplished musician. This is the first time that I have listen to much of his stuff, over all I enjoyed all of the tracks, some I feel are better than others. However, of the 16 tracks on the album I would have to say that number 6, "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" is my jam.

2. When I'm driving around town I usually listen to music, whether on the radio or on CD's. When I am going a longer distance (3 hours or more) I find music to be more annoying than anything. So as an alternative I like to get books on CD's. They seem to make the time go a little faster, maybe its because with 6 discs in my player I can get six hours continuous hours of listening in. I've listened to fiction, non-fiction, short stories, classics and new favorites. Rarely, have I been disappointed. It is to the point now where I look forward to long drives now, audio books are definitely my jam.

3. On my way to Nashville this last weekend I listened to Elmore Leonard's newest novel Road Dogs. It is a sequel to his book Out of Sight which was made into a movie staring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. I love Elmore Leonard's books, he is a master at telling a good crime story. Books like The Hot Kid, Cuba Libre, Out of Sight, and Get Shorty are all fantastic books (the last two were even transitioned in to great movies).
Leonard's characters seem to come alive on the pages, and any action becomes visible in the minds eye. And for those who read multiple stories you will find familiar names popping up throughout his tales as he weaves one giant tapestry. Few people are as gifted at making a thief relatable. The stories of Elmore Leonard, regardless of their medium, are my jam.

4. Thievery is a large part of the game The Settlers of Catan, a game that I have been known to enjoy from time to time with my friends. To explain the game would take too long, the important thing to know is that during the game you collect resources based on a dice roll, so from game to game some resource will be more available than others. At the start of the game each player chooses a starting position, their decision incorporates varying resources, numbers and strategies. If I'm playing and an 8-9-5, ore-sheep-wheat pops up, you'd better believe that's my jam.

5. When I am in the mood to make myself a nice home cooked breakfast there is usually one direction that I head in. I scramble myself some eggs (from the Corey's farm if I have some), throw some shredded cheese and black bean and corn salsa on top, and pop some wheat bread in the toaster. That's my breakfast jam.

6. When I need to put something on top of that toast?

Strawberry, it's my jam.