Thursday, February 28, 2008

Cloverfield


Finally caught Cloverfield tonight. I decided that I wasn't going to miss it on the big screen, since I still haven't seen Blair Witch. It was between Cloverfield and Persepolis (which I also can't wait to see - it's also a comic book film), but I think that Cloverfield probably had more of an impact on the big screen whereas I can probably catch Persepolis on DVD and get the full impact.

But man is it intense. It took me about 30 minutes listening to Pink Floyd on the way home to relax a bit. Even then, I was sitting in the living room tonight eating a bowl of Crispix, and jumped when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Of course, it was just a piece of paper flutting to the floor. Gave Krista a good laugh.

I'd give the movie about a 7/10, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The whole thing's filmed like it's done with a camcorder, but it didn't seem to bother me. Must be all the hours I've spent in First Person Shooter games...

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Symphony

Have you ever listened to Sarah Brightman? She has this incredibly amazing voice and pulls in an wild mix of choral and orchestral arrangements into her music. She used to be married to Andrew Lloyd Weber and really became famous for her role in Phantom of the Opera, so she's probably better known for her theater-related albums. I've never been much for listening to showtunes, but she's released a number of eclectic albums, covering songs like Here With Me, Whiter Shade of Pale, Scarborough Fair. Actually, if you listened to the song (Deliver Me) that I posted a while back, that's her (good grief, I just realized that was about a year-and-a-half ago). Anyway, she just released a new album, Symphony, which I've been enjoying during my commute. Here's one of the songs from the album.



Ok, I'm not real big on figure skating either, but it was this or a clip from the Early Show, and I thought this was (a little bit) more interesting.

Next I'll be posting something showing my cool manly side, like something off AC/DC's new album (if it ever gets recorded).

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Deja Vu

What are the odds I'd get behind the exact same truck I was sitting behind last Friday? And I think it's at the exact same light.

Actually, the odds are probably higher than you'd think. Hmmm...that would be an interesting math problem.

Jim leaves work at approximately the same time as 1200 other commuters travelling in the same direction. What is the probability that he will get stuck in traffic behind the same vehicle more than once in the period of a week?

Anniversary

I missed an anniversary. No not something important like my wedding anniversary. That's in June. (Or is that July? I keep getting that mixed up with Krista's birthday.) Anyway, as of Tuesday, I've been blogging here for 3 years. *3 years.*

Wow. Who would have known I would have stuck with it this long?

Thanks for reading!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Are You Smarter Than a 5-year-old?

The other night, Krista made shells and cheese, and I asked Julianna if she wanted some. She asked what shells and cheese was, and when I explained it to her, she said she didn't like macaroni and cheese.

Finding it odd that any child didn't like mac and cheese, I teased her, saying, "You don't like macaroni and cheese? What's wrong with you?"

She replied:

"Do you like every food in the world?"

Touché.

I'm thinking this does not bode well.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Hi Tech

State-of-the-art wheelchair ramp in front of Rick's Barbecue in Florence, Al.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Politics

Just got behind this truck waiting at a light in Madison. The purple sticker on the right says, "Cthulhu for President in 2004. Why settle for the lesser evil?"

I wonder what his position on healthcare was?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

What I'm buying Krista for Valentine's

What better way to express how you feel to that special someone than with a "Love you babe!" foil balloon. With monkeys on it!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Me and Goofy

Rememember that old Disney cartoon where Goofy goes on vacation and hits traffic so bad that his lane is at a dead stop while the next lane over is flying by so he changes lanes but then *that* lane stops dead and the lane he was just in suddenly starts to go fast and goes flying by?

I feel like that every day.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Ignorance (2 of 7)

I used to think that being prideful was just about being arrogant - being egotistical or thinking I was better than someone else. So I've never thought of myself as having an issue with pride - since I don't think of myself as better or smarter than anyone else. But only recently, I've come to realize that doesn't mean I don't actually any problems in this area.

It's just that my pride is wrapped in other things.

Self-awareness is a beautiful thing. I guess this is why Socrates said, The unexamined life is not worth living.

For one thing, I see how pride is directly connected to my anger. When I get really frustrated at something, it's mostly about me being inconvenienced. Like last night when that guy was sitting in the long line of cars at the light in the right-hand lane, and seeing the left lane open, he cut me off by switching into my (fairly empty) lane, even though I was tooling down that lane doing about 55 mph. I can pretend that I'm righteously indignant at his display of poor judgment and how he was endangering lives. But we all know I just wanted to be pissed off because I had to hit the brakes and drop my speed by about 20 mph. He inconvenienced me.

Of course, when something like this happens, the first words that pop in my head are stupid moron. Well, the language in my head is at times a bit more colorful, but that's confession for another day. I guess I'm pretty judgmental. Not in the way I normally think of people as judgmental. I don't tend to be like that from a moral or religious standpoint. It's more like the above example. Or, I'll think someone's stupid if they take 20 minutes to make me a coffee at Books a Million, or give me cheese and no pickles instead of no cheese and extra pickles on my hamburger in the drivethru. It's sad, really, because the ironic thing is that I think that I come across as judgmental in a completely different way. I know I'm often perceived as overly critical and condescending (and that I think I'm smarter than other people). For example, just the other day Krista was sending out an e-mail to a friend in Jackson, Tennessee who lives close to where all those tornados hit. But in the e-mail, she spelled it "tornadoes". I wanted to tell her it was wrong - that there was no "e" in "tornados". I mean - I'd want to know. Wouldn't everybody? I think when I'm in that kind of mode - the "helping people by correcting their spelling or their grammar, or their mistaken grasp of the facts" that people think I'm condescending. Or that I'm somehow smarter than them. I'm not trying to be - I'm really just trying to help. But I know how it comes across. (And, by the way, I've since looked it up and found that both spellings - tornadoes and tornados - are acceptable. Sorry, Boost.)

I can also see how pride is wrapped up in my attitude. I can be negative at times. I'm sure it's not something Krista's ever really noticed. I hide it well.

Not really.

But a complaining spirit totally focuses on myself. What annoys me? What do I not like? What can I not stand? I actually tried to stop complaining for a day or two. A while ago, some good friends gave me one of those Complaint Free World bracelets. I had to take it off after a day - you're supposed to stop complaining, but you move your bracelet to the other arm when you do. I gave up moving the bracelet after about an hour because moving the bracelet every few minutes just got annoying. I think I'm going to have to dig that bracelet out again.

This came as a surprise to me, but I think even being wracked with self-esteem issues is a pride thing. What - you think you're prideful because you have a negative self-esteem and you lack self-confidence? Well, yeah...mainly because when you have a negative self-esteem, you're thinking about yourself way too much. This is why I don't think thinking positive about myself is the right cure for thinking negative about myself. They both involve thinking of myself too much.

So pride, for me isn't about being boastful or egotistic. It's about being a little too self-centered and self-focused when it comes to my daily life. So maybe I can change some practices during this season of Lent and be more focused on others, and more focused on God.

OK, this post went way longer than I planned. I guess this really is an issue for me in more ways than I thought...

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Florence is Sleeping

Up early today. And I still seem to be hitting every light on Cox Creek Blvd - what's up with that?

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Did they just advertise for the Superbowl during the Superbowl?

A little while ago, we were watching the first half of the Superbowl, and they advertised the half time show.

I realize they want to keep everyone sitting there and not getting up to refill their drinks or take bathroom breaks, but it just struck me as odd...

Weird Stuff on the Web

The internet is a wacky place.

Take a look at this web site for a Dutch department store. Let it load, and just sit and watch. Pretty cool.

And then there's Publisher's Clearing House. They've made the transition to on-line, too. I've been subscribing to MyPoints for a while (have you heard of it - you accumulate points by clicking on web sites or shopping on-line and you can trade the points for stuff like gift cards; pretty cool). Anyway, I signed up for Publisher's Clearing House to get a few more points. I clicked on one of the e-mails they sent today, and they're still trying to get people to buy crap nobody wants. Take a look at this ad below.




Yup. No DVDs or CDs here. The "How to Play Harmonica" comes with a VHS videotape, and the "How to Play Guitar" comes with a video and a cassette tape. Yeah; they're trying to pawn off this old junk that's sitting in a warehouse somewhere collecting dust. How many people don't even own a VCR or a cassette player anymore? We're not on the cutting edge of technology (as much as we'd like to be), but we don't own either of those. Just one more great use for the internet.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Ah, Friday

(Insert witty comment here.)