DC Talk

I meant to type "trip" in the title, but it just turned into "talk." Anyhow, I got to hang out in D.C. this past weekend as I was in town for my friend Aaron's bachelor party. I saw plenty of famous sights (the WWII memorial was a beautiful tribute), but the best part was just hanging out with FDR's famous dog, Fala.


While crossing a seemingly innocent little bridge, I also caught sight of this inexplicable nightmare fuel:



My dreams will never be the same; I will pass through life a damaged person now.

I was watching the Netherlands vs. France in futbol the other day. When the Netherlands had the game won by a couple of goals, the commentator shouted, "It's a Dutch oven, and the French are toast!!" I laughed a lot.

Last week, B&I went to Black Hawk State Park, and we took papparazzi-close pictures of the flora and fauna there.

We saw flowers.



We saw moss.



We saw bees.



We saw gnome umbrellas.



We saw fuzzy vines.


What kind of gnarly dagobah crap is this?

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately , to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." --Thoreau

I also went to the woods because I had to pee. It was a long scooter ride to get there.

The Fist of Spring

I believe it is safe to say that spring is here. Of course, right when we say that, winter slaps us in the face again one last time with a gelid open palm.

This week and next week is my spring break, so I am going to try to write more.

Beth and I went to see The Prenzie Players' production of The Taming of the Shrew. All of the action took place right in the midst of the audience, and that was my favorite aspect of the show. The actors all did a great job, too. It was nice to get out and spend eight dollars on something less passive than a movie. I would recommend checking out future shows by these players.

My dad gave me his review of No Country for Old Men today. He said that it should have been titled "There Will Be Blood." My mentor teacher said that he wonders how much people are beginning to see violence for violence's sake as good art. He has yet to see the movie, though, and so do I. Once I see it, I will share my opinion.

I went on a post-rock/math rock binge on eMusic. I downloaded albums from Saxon Shore, Couch, Del Ray, and Piglet. All of it sounds really promising so far, but I haven't been able to listen to them much yet.

Too pretty to fly?

You be the judge.
These two young ladies claim they were discriminated against on their flight because they were too aesthetically pleasing. "No one else on the plane that looked like us except us." Unbelieveable.

The store I work at now carries Sugar-Free Peeps. Wth? Has the whole world gone crazy?

miscellany

I'm doing well with my student teaching. The only issue I have is being somewhat spineless when it comes to discipline. It is evident that I'll need to overcome that problem soon.

Beth now has an Etsy page! She has been quite industrious lately. Check out the fruits of her labor at http://bettyround.etsy.com

Do you watch Lost? Well, why the hell not? It is a bright spot in the morass of writer's strike era reality show chaff.

I enjoyed watching the Giants this postseason. They played some of the most spirited football I have seen in a long time--especially the defense.

Apple iTunes will no longer take my money since I still run Windows 2k. nice.

Mixtape 2: The Vengeance

Side B:

1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead -- "Wasted State of Mind" Why don't you like this band? I will make you a "best of" if you want.

2. Bloomsday -- "Blush" Remember those cd clubs back in the day--the 10 discs for 99 cents crap? Well there was a Christian one, and my gf at the time didn't know what cd to get for her 10th pick. I picked out Bloomsday's The Day the Colors Died. Probably the only good album in the whole damn catalog.

3. Califone -- "Our Kitten Sees Ghosts" I need to get some of Califone's other albums. I like the brief, ethereal nature of this song, and I find "The way you shatter/When you hit the water" going through my head all the time.

4. Jejune -- "Morale Is Low" Sort of a jarring transition... I've been digging out the old "emo" to see how it stands up now. The answer is pretty well in some cases (Jejune) and not so well in others (Braid).

5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- "Maps" I love this song. I'm not usually a huge fan of tom-heavy drum stuff, but it does it for me here.

6. Sunny Day Real Estate -- "How It Feels to Be Something On" So effing intense... Pull out this album again--it is really good.

end Side B