Beautiful morning sky.

I'm just trying to get home. Can you not drive five miles *under* the speed limit? *sigh*

Another pic taken tonight, slightly askew. How cool is it that I posted these from my phone?

Tonight's sunset.

Marketing

The other day, we were driving in the car. From the back seat, out of the blue, Julianna's little 4-year-old voice floated forward:

Mommy? You remember that movie, Barbie and the 12 Dancing
Princesses? Well, it's coming to video and DVD.

As I've mentioned before (almost exactly 2 years ago), it strikes at them at a young age.

I think what annoys me most is when advertisers try to evoke an emotion completely unrelated to the product they are trying to sell. I realize this is supposed to work, but who does it work on? I don't know if it's the mathematician in me, but when they try to take a 30- or 60-second commercial and come at you from visceral level, it makes my skin crawl. Yes - I believe that Uncle Ben's Wild Rice will make my sex life more spicy. What is that all about?

Now, I do like the current Plavix commercial. Have you seen it? It starts out showing Jim the Firefighter, with the words,

Jim is a formidable man.

I can go along with that. Though I think Krista likes the last line better:

Because no matter how formidable you are, you're no
match for a Dangerous Clot.

Sounds like a bad comic book.

And I'm not sure how I feel about my favorite classic rock songs being used to further our horrible addiction to consumerism. But, sad to say, I guess I can fall prey to these things, too. Personally, I've always preferred Mercedes over Cadillacs - not that I'm going to be getting one any time soon - but when they started using Led Zeppelin songs in their commercials, Cadillacs suddenly became way cooler. I guess it depends on what pushes your buttons.



Rock 'n' Roll.

I've always like Jags, and Sting singing over those Jaguar commercials is pretty darn cool...

Have you seen the Smoke on the Water Dodge Avenger commercial?



Pure genius.

However, there seems to be something innately wrong with using an 80's rebellion song to hawk medicine for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.






Or is it just me?



But, I think if I was in marketing, I could still come up with a better prescription name than Vagifem.







And yes, that is a photo of a stirrup cozy in an OB office.



Yeah, I do hate marketing...

Mad Max

Because you demanded it!!

Pictures of Max.

Death in Absentia

Well, not just a ton of time to post in between sleeping, working, not-sleeping-when-Max-is-up, and everything else.

And I'm not even here to post a picture of Max. Apparently, we haven't uploaded a picture to the computer since March 17, and I don't even know where the camera is. I'm a crappy dad.

Anyway, in lieu of a picture of Max, I'll post something nearly as cool. OK, not nearly as cool as my newborn son (sorry, Jason), but pretty stinkin' cool, anyway.

A friend of mine recently made a short film. It's an awesome accomplishment; I was really impressed - it's pretty creative, especially for a first-time endeavor. I thought it was extremely creepy, so if you're not a horror fan, you might want to pass it by (though there's no gore or anything). It's a lot more fun if you watch it in the dark.

Here it is (gotta turn in so Max can wake us up in about 15 minutes):




If you get a chance, go to YouTube and leave a comment for Jason about how great his first film is....

Milestones

I figured out how to e-mail myself pictures I took with my cell phone.

Well, that's actually not the milestone I'm referring to.

As most of the folks who read this blog probably know, last Wednesday, my first son, James Maxwell (Max), was born.

Here's a picture of him with his big sister (that I took with my cell phone).

Life of Jim #3

[click for a better picture]

Sunset Over 565

click for full size

Top Ten Signs of Getting Old

10. Grey hair.
This has been going on for some time now.

9. Clothes are for comfort, not looks.
I can't even think of a reason not to wear this old ratty t-shirt with my pajama bottoms to the grocery store.

8. You begin to realize that you're old.
You pass a pretty girl, and think, "She's cute." You wonder if she's thinking, "He's old." Then your wife brings you back to reality with, "You're not even on her radar."

7. You can't eat what you used to.
I love dairy. I used to live for dairy. I could drink a 1/2 gallon of milk, or polish one of those giant blocks of cheese in one sitting. Now I have to pour soy milk on my Crispix. As one of my older family members is wont to yell out in restaurants: "Can't have cheese!!"

6. You can't do what you used to.
I used to could stay up all night (you can tell I live in the south now). Now I'm starting to nod off about 9 pm.

5. You start to think about life.
Starting to realize that this life is the means, not the end.

4. The world around you starts to fade away.
I can begin to see it now. I'm in the car or in a store, focused on what I'm doing, nigh-oblivious to what's going on around me. I hope I can reverse the process before I'm like the guy in Toys R Us this past Saturday who waited until he was at the cash register with a line behind him to have a conversation with his grandson about whether or not he really wanted the DVD he was buying.

3. You have strange and unexplained aches and pains.
I can't get out of bed or stand up out of a chair without limping around.

2. You open your mouth and your parents' voice comes out.
Don't make me come in there! I don't care who started it! Settle down! Go ask mommy...

And the number one Sign of Getting Old:

1. Someone mistakes you for a grandparent.
I'm in Martin's in Florence, AL not long ago with my daughter on my shoulders. This worker - who was probably in her 60's; not some kid half my age as I'd expect - says, "She's cute. Your granddaughter?" Wonderful. My daughter's 4 going on 14; I'm 35 going on 53.


Quote of the Day
Did you have a good world when you died? Enough to base a movie on?
-Jim Morrison

Out of the Mouths of Babes

The other night, we were sitting, eating dinner, and my daughter told me she knew what I was going to say before I said it.

How, I asked?

Her response is the:

Quote of the Day
I can read your brains.
-Julianna, 4 years old

*Update: I have since been corrected; I guess I have bad memory in my old age. Since I don't have time to post anything else, I'll just note that Julianna's actual quote contained the word brains, not brain. As Krista noted, the actual quote is much funnier.

El Laberinto del Fauna

Guillermo del Toro never ceases to amaze. I specifically didn't read or watch too much about Pan's Labyrinth - I didn't even know it was a Spanish-language film.

Taking place in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, it's a fairy tale with a touch of horror and a bit of violence. Extremely intense. It draws you into another world, and by the time it's over, you feel like you need to come up for air.

And there's the fascinating allegory of denying self, defying what you're supposed to do (as expected by everyone around you), and following your true nature. At least that's what I got out of it.

Quote of the Day

Hell hath no fury like a vested interest masquerading as a moral principle.

Quote(s) of the Day

Ridicule is often used as a substitute for reason.
-Frank Mills (28 January 2007)

When you are moving forward, making progress, and involved in revival, there will always be opposition, criticism, distractions, discouragement, those who feel threatened, those with different opinions, [and] those who resist change.
-Frank Mills (28 January 2007)