Right and Responsibility

A couple of weekends ago Phil and I took an NRA basic handgun course from a friend and his two colleagues. By completing the classroom portion of the course (with flying colors, might I add), Phil and I are now allowed under Colorado law to apply for our concealed carry licenses.


When Phil first suggested to me that we take this course, I was thinking he intended for this to be a basic self-defense class and that honestly freaked me out a bit. Phil kept asking me in the days leading up to the class if I was "excited" about it. I kept telling him that I knew it was important, but I was doing it because I knew it was important -- not because I thought it would be fun. I am not generally afraid of guns because I was raised around them -- all of my friends growing up were hunters, so there were shotguns in the back of all of their truck windows (guys and girls, by the way). But, I didn't know anyone who carried a gun solely for defense, only for hunting. I've shot shotguns out in the woods with friends, but had never touched a handgun before last weekend. Anyway, I told Phil that I don't like thinking about self-defense because it makes me feel paranoid. Those of you who know me know that despite my occassional bouts of smart-ass-ness, all I really think about is sunflowers and bunnies. I told this to Phil and he said, "I think of the same thing only in my mind I'm there with a shotgun!" So, there you go -- we have similar dreams.


Anyway, the handgun class ended up being extremely fun and so incredibly informative. I feel way more comfortable around guns now because I know a little bit about how to handle them safely and how they work. Before we went to the actual shooting range at the end, our instructors jumped out of NRA mode for a few minutes and gave us a bunch of information about their experience with concealed carrying (because they all three do carry handguns everywhere they go). One of the instructors said before we consider getting our concealed carry licenses, we should seriously consider one question and only we will know whether or not there is any hesitation in our minds when asked this question: "If you were faced with a person heading towards you or someone you love with intent to harm them and, knowing if you shoot you may kill another human being, could you still pull the trigger to protect yourself or someone else being threatened?" I might have had hesitation a few years or weeks ago, but I have no hesitation at all now -- my answer is easily "yes." Especially with the shootings at New Life Church a few weeks ago and the shootings at these universities. Think of how many lives would have been saved in Illinois had one person there been trained well and carried a concealed handgun! I feel like I need more training before I'm ready to carry with me, but it's definitely something I'd like to consider in the future months.


So, now to the fun part of the class -- the shooting range. There's a really nice indoor range in Colorado Springs called Whistling Pines. Our instructors were members there so we got to go with them to rent handguns (since we don't own one yet) and try them out. The goal the first time out is to hit an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper from five yards away. Here were my first six rounds on the .22 I tried first:





Yes, that's 5/6 in the center! :o) Here's a zoom-in on the bullseye:




Phil's bragging about my shooting to everyone we know -- it's the ultimate compliment for this wife. :o) We went on to try several 9 mm handguns and a couple of .45s. The .45s were a bit much for me at this juncture, but the 9 mms were perfect. When we get guns, this is probably what I'll get. Phil might get himself a .45, we'll see. Anyway, it was a great experience and I'm looking forward to the next training we do!


I think the right to carry guns is just that -- a right. Most people who have accidents with guns are not well educated/disciplined/careful with them and most people who are committing crimes with guns are just plain psychotic and often don't acquire the guns until they're ready to go shoot someone. Those of us who are trained with guns have the right to carry them to protect ourselves and those around us and I think this country is better for it.

From Rumors to Reality

So, the sum-up from today's geekfest is that the pre-Apple-keynote rumor mills are getting more and more accurate! There were basically some updates to the iPhone (yea for the ability to text more than one person at a time!), iTunes (yea for movie rentals!) and AppleTV (which we *gasp* don't own and *gasp* don't intend to purchase ... mostly because we have a Mac Mini hooked up to our TV, and it works the same way, only it has a hard drive).

Anyway, the big announcement from Apple today was the coolest inter-office envelope contents ever, the MacBook Air. This thing looks incredibly sweet! Hopefully Phil can get some hands-on time (and maybe even pictures?) when he's there tomorrow. Meanwhile, check out the guided tour of this skinny bad boy.

Festivus for the Rest of Us

This is a special day for us nerds: it's time for Apple head-honcho Steve Jobs' MacWorld keynote speech (10 MST)! I'm not sure what will follow last year's industry-transforming, my-life-changing announcement...

...but, I'm sure it will be cool and innovative, whatever it is. Predictions and rumors are flying. The wait is almost over!

I sent my Phil off to San Francisco this week to enjoy the nerd-fest with his fun friends. He opted to not pay the money to wait outside all night to actually go into Steve's keynote presentation, but he says the atmosphere in general in San Francisco is electric. It's like St. Pat's Day in Ireland ... only it's just MacWorld week in San Francisco. Ha! Hmm ... I wonder how many people in Colorado Springs actually even know the big day is today? :o) Phil and his friends are going to visit the exhibits on Wednesday, so they'll still get to see all of the new stuff, whatever it may be.

Christmas Breeds Addictions

So, I used to tease about the things my mom put in our stockings for Christmas: a deck of cards, a pack of gum, a pancho, travel-sized hand sanitizers, a pack of travel-sized tissues, chap stick and an apple. Looking back on it, I can't complain about the contents of our Christmas stockings, because in most cases they're things I wouldn't have purchased for myself, but I've used them up over the years, so it seems pretty good afterall (except for a pile of unopened decks of cards -- those don't need to be replaced yearly at our house -- I can play solitaire online).

Well, this year was different: my mom pulled out all the stops! We had the usual practical goodies from above, plus a few things I'm completely addicted to now that I just have to share:

Williams-Sonoma Pop-Up Sponges

These little suckers are ridiculously cool and handy. they come in this flat, wafer-like format, then you run water over them and they turn into full-sized, ultra-absorbent sponges. And they're only $12/pack of 12, so it's not so bad to use one until it stinks then pitch it and get the next one. Get 'em.

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Soap

I'm no stranger to products from Bath & Body Works. With the exception of a short boycott I conducted in 1999 because of the discontinuation of their Vanilla Bean fragrance, I've used their Signature Collection lotion since middle school. I've since moved on and accepted the transition to Warm Vanilla Sugar, but it was brutal there for a while. Anyway, I do know they've been selling this hand soap stuff for years, but I had never looked at it very closely because I always assumed it was going to be extremely expensive and not practical (because of the fragrance) for bathrooms or whatever. However, I stand corrected on both fronts! It's 3 for $10, which is comparable to Dial or whatever. And, they have less-girly frangrances like Coconut Lime Verbena (which Phil now uses and likes) and Kitchen Lemon (which we now use in the kitchen).

Car Coasters

I wish I could say Mom got us these exact car coasters, but we got a set that had one ladybug and one bee. Maybe I need to order a set of these with the eaglez on them just because they're awesome. But, anyway, these are a GREAT idea and I wish I'd known about them sooner.

And, a few things that weren't in my stocking that I got addicted to nonetheless over Christmastime:

Sequence Game

Anne Perry Novels

"The Killers" Music

Guinness: It's What's for Dinner

As my astute readers have already noticed, the picture now gracing the homepage is one of Phil and me on our recent trip to the land of leprechauns and shamrocks: Ireland!

It was a special treat for my deserving husband to celebrate his 30th birthday. We don't know of Irish ancestry in either of our families, but the price was right and the sights (for Phil to photograph) were just what I was hoping they'd be. You really do drive along a country road there and suddenly come upon gorgeous ruins, most of which are at least 1,000 years old.


One spot we visited was the Rock of Cashel. Just to show you how true the "happening upon ruins" is, the picture above isn't actually of the Rock of Cashel, but it's taken from the Rock of Cashel out into a field where other random ruins lay. The contrast of the lush green with the grey stone and blue sky was simple and beautiful.



We also spent a day driving the Dingle Peninsula, in the area where Far and Away was filmed. Although overcast, this drive was still beautiful. In general, the western coast (which we were near when we took this picture) of Ireland reminded us of Northern California, only Ireland was greener, blue-er and maybe a bit cozier.

On the last day, we decided to go out of our way and drive up to the Cliffs of Maher ...


... and MAN, was it worth it! You can't tell really from this dinky picture, but those cliffs are 650-foot drop-offs. I've never seen anything like it.

To sum up, I'd highly recommend a trip to Ireland for anyone. Although I admittedly favor simply beautiful things like ruins on a green countryside, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't be captivated by the endless supply of gorgeous scenery and some of the friendliest people I've ever met. The local pubs are primarily social hang-outs and neighborhood gathering places and secondarily places where you can have the beverage of your choice. But, if you choose anything other than Guinness in Ireland, you're crazy -- it's no good here in The States, but a tasty treat that must be consumed at least once a day in its homeland.

Tried and Trump

If The Donald says it, it must be true:

"If you want to improve morale around the office, start cursing.

According to a study by British researchers, regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff members. It’ll help them express their feelings and it’ll help develop better social relationships."

See, I called it months ago!

More Than Meets the Ears

My avid readers (or, at least those who stuck with me through my six-month hiatus) might have noticed the list of movies I've seen in the theater this year has lengthened considerably since the last time I did a movie review post. Many, many of those movies are not worth mentioning. But, I thought I'd start with my favorite of the summer and work my way down the list, as time allows.

So, my favorite movie of the year so far is:


Transformers was the surprise gem of this summer's movies for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the original Transformers show as a kid, but I do remember watching it at the bowling alley with all of the other teachers' kids while Mom and Dad were doing their teachers' bowling league after school (they each had their own balls and shoes and everything). Just the mention of Transformers brings back fond memories of piles of junk food, the bowling alley arcade which included my favorite as a kid -- the Donkey Kong arcade game, and, of course, the unavoidable stench of stale cigarette smoke that permeated that ghetto bowling alley (they have a website? What the heck?!). Actually, come to think of it, all of these things remind me of my childhood, and not just on teachers' bowling night, but I'll save those details for other posts on other days.

SO, as I was saying, I really liked this movie. Shia LaBeouf was the perfect star for this intense film. Matt said something to the effect of him being extremely good at acting uncomfortable, and that's why he was perfect in Transformers. I definitely agree. I've been a fan of his since he was in Even Stevens (yes, I do know this show was made for 8- to 10-year-olds and was on when I was 18-24 ... what of it?). But, I also thought the story was good and the visuals were amazing. It was just an energetic and fun summer movie.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention what probably was one of the biggest contributors to putting this movie at the top of my list: the soundtrack. I'm not talking the score, I mean the collection of songs by various artists that were played in part or in whole during the movie. My iPod (which is actually my iPhone, on which I actually purchased said soundtrack) has been stuck on it ever since. Predictably, the first song is "What I've Done" from my favorite (as you all know by now), Linkin Park. Then they throw in some Smashing Pumpkins, Disturbed, Goo Goo Dolls, Taking Back Sunday, an updated version of the "Transformers Theme" by Mute Math, and various other great songs from bands I didn't know before. If I start feeling recovered well enough from the gross stomach virus I've had for a month to start running again, this will be my new running music. Check it out!

Eaglez: America's Sentinels

A little over a year ago, Phil's new friend Toby was out from California to work on a project with him for a week. We were heading out to dinner and ended up behind a Jeep with the above spare tire cover on the back. It was totally silent in the car for about a minute, then all of a sudden, Toby pipes up from the back seat: "Dude ... that eagle's kickin' ass!"

Priceless.

Come to find out, this comment from Toby wasn't completely an off-hand comment. He had been noticing for a while how over-used eagles are in American society. After this conversation, Phil and I immediately started noticing eagles in all sorts of inappropriate places. Don't get me wrong -- we are all in favor of our National Bird being used in the traditional patriotic sense. But there are certain situations where the use of an eagle kicking ass is just plain ridiculous!

Since this time, Phil and Toby and a few other guys have started capturing eagle kitch where they find it. They make a point of NOT going out to find eagle crap, but just encountering weirdness as it pops up in front of them and posting it. The results of their efforts are chronicled on www.eaglez.info.

And now because I've mentioned it, you, too will be blessed with the uncanny ability to find weird uses of eagles in your everyday journey! Enjoy it -- it's a very special gift from me to you.

What are you doing?

"What are you doing?"

No time for long, drawn-out responses, just give it to me in 140 characters or less.

Twitter is awesome. It's such a simple idea that you might be saying (as I first did), "What the heck? This is silly." But it's actually really revolutionary in its simplicity.

So, how does it work? Well, you sign up for an account (which is free). Then, you have to start posting what you're up to in 140 characters or less. You can post using the website or using IM or using SMS. You can post a different way each time. But, the fun part comes when your friends sign up and you can follow each other's posts and make snide remarks back and forth.

There are two instances where I think Twitter is particularly brilliant:

In crisis situations. The example Phil likes to use is when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed, his sister Amy (who lives in Minneapolis) could have quickly Twittered, "I'm okay!" and we would have all been notified immediately. Instead, we each had to call her or text her and she had to respond to us separately letting us know she was okay. Since Twitter pushes out updates from people you've chosen to follow, it's great for sending an update to a lot of people all at once -- and it's received by them however they'd like to receive it (you can also receive updates on your phone or via IM).

To tune into day-to-day stuff about my friends. When I'm talking to my friends and family, I would rarely mention to them about the funny bumper sticker I saw on the way to work, or that I got my hair cut. But, I would post things like that on Twitter. So, if you're subscribed to your friends' posts on Twitter, you get a good picture of what their daily lives are like. I could see how that could be scary, but, so far, I've found it to be really fun.

Check it out, set up an account and invite your friends to do it, too. You can follow whomever you like; you can even make others get permission to follow you, if you want. The more, the merrier!

Sick Days Planned

So, I know you all thought that I dropped off the face of the planet, but I haven't! I've just been really busy and really lazy, all at the same time. I do have all sorts of goodies to post on from the past six months of life. But, first things first:



I can't believe Phil and I (the self-proclaimed ultimate techno-nerds) have been missing the boat on Guitar Hero I and II, but don't worry: we're caught up now! We played GH2 at our neighborhood VS Gaming Center one summer night and became immediately addicted.

Instead of just going out to buy two guitars and GH2 for our XBox 360, Phil was level-headed enough to research Guitar Hero III first. He discovered it would be released with wireless guitars and one or more Metallica songs, which was enough incentive to wait a few months, especially since Halo 3 was released in the middle of our wait. The playlist for GH3 has been released and it's smokin' hot.

So, loyal fans of this so-long-silent blogger, the big day is approaching: Guitar Hero III will arrive this Sunday, October 28! Rock out time indeed.

4:20

Just got a message from my friend Christine:

"Hi! It's me. It's 4:20 ... ... hmm ... time to smoke pot. I don't have any. Anyway ...!"

I love her! So, NOT in that way (even though she does drive a Subaru, watch Ellen and wear Japanese Man Shoes). She likes men, too, which trumps all of those indications of stereotypical lesbianism. C, you crack me up! Thanks for being one of my bestest p-izzazz-als. :o)

P.S. - I'm pretty sure C never has smoked pot, but if she did, she doesn't do it regularly these days. Just a disclaimer for the authorities -- she's not the one you're looking for, unless you're a single, mature, good-looking man. Then, good luck -- you've got some interviews with her friends to survive first.

The Quilt

So, I know I haven't finished the post-vacation blogging yet and I hope I do someday -- it was awesome. But, since I shared about it earlier, I wanted to share pictures of my final quilt for Heidi and her husband Phil (obviously not the same Phil as my Phil, Heidi's brother).

Here's me with the whole finished quilt:


And here's a kinda-close-up of the fabric patters and hand-quilting:


This project (the "Ice Pops" pattern from Denyse Schmidt's awesome book Denyse Schmidt Quilts) has totally inspired me! I can't wait to start on the next quilt project.

Post-Vacation Blogging - Day 2 - Portland to Klamath, CA

On Day 2 of our vacation adventure, Phil and I got up early to go get our rental car from the Portland Airport. After the $2 ride on the TriMet to the airport with all of our luggage (and a very interesting conversation with a lady at the train stop who had taken a day-trip to Portland to look for a house and had her purse stolen so she wasn't able to get home to Washington -- no money, no ID, no credit cards), we arrived safely at the Hertz desk to pick out our carefully-selected vehicle.

We'd heard rave reviews of Hertz's NeverLost navigation system, so we picked Hertz entirely for that reason with our cross-country drive ahead. To shorten a long story, they didn't have any cars with NeverLost systems in them in Portland except for H2's, which they refused to give us as a free upgrade from the Ford Escape we'd reserved. So, we ended up with a Ford Edge. It turned out to be a nice vehicle except for the light-colored dashboard that reflected annoyingly every time we broke through the shade of the trees into the light. It drove nicely, though. If it wasn't a Ford, we'd consider getting one.

Another thing about this particular vehicle was there was no tape adaptor for us to hook up our iPods like we do for our usual long road trips. We determined to stop at the next Best Buy we passed to pick up an iTrip. We've purchased and returned iTrips at least three times, so we decided to keep it this time whenever we were able to get it.

Our first stop with the Edge was Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Gorge. It's an amazing area and a must-see if you're ever in the area. Here's one of the pictures a nice bystander got of Phil and me in the rain at Multnomah Falls:



On the way out to the falls, we were searching desperately for coffee and breakfast. We didn't find anything on the way there, so we visited the falls and continued our search on our way out of town. We sadly settled for McVomit's (a.k.a. McDonald's) where I decided to be a coffee snob and, therefore, was fighting a car-nap the entire morning while Phil drove. We both determined this was a poor start to the driving portion of our trip and vowed not to eat junk and fast food (and, consequently, have diarrhea) the entire time.

Our next stop of the day was to visit our college friend Darla who now lives in Eugene, Oregon. We got to meet her precious son Mars, but missed her husband Jason who was at work. Darla also took us to the warehouse of the place she's been working for the past six years, Swahili Imports. Her boss travels all over Africa and hires artists and craftsmen and women to make lots of their creations, then she imports them and sells them in The States. They have two physical stores right now, but they're also selling wholesale to suppliers like Pottery Barn, World Market and Crate and Barrel. This is one of those places where I told Phil he could go into the store blind-folded, grab something and give it to me for a present and I'd love it. :o) It's beautiful stuff and they're supporting micro-enterprise big-time in Africa.

We also grabbed Baja Fresh with Darla and Mars (our first trip there, too). I just kept laughing when she suggested it because Paulie on The Sopranos episode we watched the night before called it Baja Fresh (with the emphasis definitely on the hard, non-Mexican "J"). Anyway, we thought the food was mediocre at best compared to Wahoo's or Chipotle, so we'll stick to Wahoo's and Chipotle. Then, Darla and I got Ben & Jerry's while Phil got coffee next door. We dropped Darla and Mars back off at home and headed west to the coast!

We hit Highway 101 at about 4:00 thinking we had about four hours left to go to get to our hotel in Klamath, California. Of course, we also thought Highway 101 was the historic "Pacific Coast Highway" that went along the coast with amazing ocean views. After a little while, we realized we had to go west another mile or two from Hwy 101 in order to actually see the ocean. So, we kept driving and just pulled over somewhere in southwest Oregon for pictures using the tripod and remote, since no one was really around. Here's my favorite one:



We finally made it to our hotel in Klamath, California at about 11 pm. We thought we could grab dinner at the next town after we took pictures, but it turns there were no places open after 9:00 in the next town, so we went dinnerless. Thank goodness for the Nutter Butters we had picked up at Target on our way out of Eugene!

The place we stayed in Klamath was a gem I found on Google Maps in the "find business" search function. The Ravenwood Motel was very cute, very inexpensive, and the management was extremly kind and helpful. Their website is an unfortunate display of a bad FrontPage template (what other kind is there, really?), but we'd definitely stay there again anyway.

All in all, Day 2 was a success and great fun -- especially considering we braved it with no coffee, no dinner and no iPod entertainment. It was amazing to discover we could survive in such conditions ... and still have a blast! Day 3 recap coming tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Post-Vacation Blogging - Day 1 - Portland

So, as my two readers gathered probably, Phil and I recently took a week of vacation! This was technically the first official vacation we've taken since our honeymoon 8.5 years ago. So, it was really fun to get away and see some new places and just take it easy for a week or so (if you can call driving 2,700 miles across parts of six states relaxing). We had an incredible time and saw some spectacular sights.

We basically started in Portland, went down to San Francisco and Yosemite, then headed home to Colorado on I-80. I'd be remiss to skip over the details and pictures as well as links to some of the great places we visited, so let's get started with the recap!

Phil is a Ruby on Rails developer full-time through our own business and he had a conference in Portland called RailsConf. It sounded like a neat time for him to network and be encouraged, so I'm glad he got to go again this year.

I flew out to Portland at the end of Phil's conference so we could rent a car and begin from there. When I got there, I just took the TriMet from the airport to the convention center, which was near where Phil was staying. It was awesome -- it only cost $2 for that trip, but the train is free all over downtown. We used it a lot while we were there.

For lunch the day I arrived, Phil and I took the train in to downtown with some friends and walked around to try to find a place to eat. After a little trouble finding an open restaurant on a Sunday afternoon (not many Portlanders go to church on Sundays, but I guess they don't object to a day of rest anyway), we stumbled across E-San Thai Restaurant. Being from the rural Midwest and now living in Colorado, Phil and I had never had Thai food before ... and now we're addicted! It was delicious for sure.

Then, on the way back for the last afternoon session, we stopped at what Phil calls "the best coffee he's had outside of Europe" at Stumptown. I didn't get anything because I desperately needed a nap and didn't want to be kept up by caffeine, but it smelled heavenly in there. When Phil got his latte he offered me a sip and I declined. Our friend Toby said, "Yeah, you'd better not have any because if you do, you'll get right back into that line and order one for yourself!" So, I'm sorry I missed out, but was really happy with the nice afternoon nap while the guys were in meetings.

That night, Phil and I just explored a bit and went to Powell's. Phil is an incredible photographer and he captured a few really cool shots in Portland with the sunset and everything. The picture at the top of this post was from our hotel at about sunset as the clouds were clearing. It was a gorgeous night! Knowing we had a long drive ahead, we just took it easy after sunset and watched the latest episodes of The Sopranos and Entourage -- a vacation doesn't have to be a vacation from our TV addictions, right? It was a relaxing and fun start to a busy week ahead.

More tomorrow!

Diamonds in the Rough

Knocked Up is another movie that I loved, but I can't whole-heartedly endorse. As you could expect from the makers of The 40 Year Old Virgin, there's a fair amount of trash in this movie (most of it is still admittedly funny). But, the messages in this movie are really incredible and positive and it turned out to be one of the most challenging and positive commitment- and marriage-oriented movies I've seen come out of Hollywood in a while.

Obviously, I'm not unmarried and pregnant, so I couldn't necessarily relate to that aspect of the movie. But, the approach (as far as the pregnancy) they take in this movie is against the typical Hollywood norm: she keeps the baby! They are two totally different people with different personalities and lifestyles, but they decide to learn how to make things work. They don't just up and get married to cover things up (which I think is sometimes another mistake), but they give their relationship an honest attempt, and it's neat to see. There are some doozie fights between them, but they make a conscious effort to be honest with each other -- more than lots of us can say about our relationships, even after years of marriage.

Also, we learn lots from the marriage of the main character's sister and her husband. They're also going through rough times around the 10-year mark of marriage. My favorite part is when the husband (played by Paul Rudd) says that all of his fights with his wife are because she loves him so much that she wants to spend all her time with him and he can't believe he's fighting with her about that -- he should be thankful! I thought that was pretty profound. We do need to give each other space, though, too ... so finding that balance can be really hard.

I know you're all shocked because I seem to like everything, but this was a great movie, too. I'd actually like to see it again. The relationships were accurately portrayed as hard work, but so worth it.

Here's another interesting review (thanks to Instapundit.com for the link).

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Okay, so my heart is actually still with me, but WOW -- San Francisco is a place we must return to visit (or live in!)! I thought Portland was a compelling and intriguing city, but the feel of San Francisco is so different from any other city we've ever visited. It's hard to explain, but it feels comfortable. It's not dark, dreary and oppressive like most cities (including Portland, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis and Denver -- all cities I actually like a lot ... or thought I did). :o)

We didn't spend much time doing things in the city in our 24-hour visit, but we had a great time with our friends who just moved here and would like to check out more of the touristy spots next time around. Even from the billboards they run all over town, we can tell it's a different city. How many billboard ads do you see for iPods in Colorado? How about upcoming movies like Ocean's Thirteen? Yeah, I don't remember any either. We did pretty good in our 24 hours, though with a quick visit to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Lombard Drive hill, The Stinking Rose (Garlic Restaurant), IKEA, In-N-Out, The Apple Company Store, now we're at Peet's then headed to Yosemite here in a bit. This is the most fun week I've had in a long time! Thanks, my Phil! :o)

Calm Flushing with Discernment

I just arrived in Portland and have already encountered a couple of things that are definitely different from Colorado:

First, the Sloan Flushmate toilets in the bathroom. They encourage you to pull up to flush #1 and push down to flush #2. Gross, but probably not a bad idea. I always flush with my foot in public restrooms and it was a little tricky to pull up with the toe, but it worked.

Secondly, Portland so far is so incredibly quiet! If you've been to DIA, you know it's loud. With little or no sleep a headache comes on really fast. But, I didn't hear any airport announcement or other noises when I was walking through the airport -- it was just peaceful. Same for the ride on the MAX LiteRail to the hotel -- just a peaceful 20 minutes with 30 strangers. A few people struck up conversations with their neighbors, but even those were quiet and calm.

Hopefully the rain clears up so I can see Mt. Hood before we cut town tomorrow. Portland is one of the cities I'm curious about -- I like it because I think Phil and I "fit" here, but don't "fit" here. The local equivalent to the Colorado Springs Independent was here and I read through it. I think it's hard to see Jesus really working in a city like Portland, but I also think this is exactly where he would be just loving on people and caring for them no matter what they're going through. This is something we talk about doing as Christ-followers today, but I just plain don't do it -- I'm too comfortable in my cozy suburbia tract home with my little VW personal bubble. I wonder if my attraction to Portland is curiosity or God laying it on my heart? Regardless, it's neat to be here.

From Barber to Midnight

I went the other night to see the broadcast of The Barber of Seville from The Metropolotin Opera in NYC straight to my local movie theater in HD!

I would consider myself a fan of classical performances and operas like this, although I wouldn't want to see operas every day. I've been to probably ten in my life and enjoyed most of them. Madama Butterfly my sophomore year of high school was a stretch, but the others were really interesting. I'd recommend this particular performance of The Barber of Seville to anyone, though. It was really well-done and very, very fun to take in.

The casting was excellent: the barber was lovable and silly, the hero was lovestruck and sappy, the damsel was beautiful and in distress, the caretaker was strict and smart, and the matchmaker was crafty but bribe-able. I had not seen this opera before and I had only a vague idea of the storyline, so I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I'd love to go to The Met live in NYC someday, but I'll undoubtedly take in another performance at the local movie theater in the meantime.


On the opposite end of the spectrum musically, the new Linkin Park finally came out this week! Minutes to Midnight is really revolutionary for my favorite band for a few reasons:

• It's their first totally new album since 2003.
  
• They take some opportunities to express some of their political views and frustrations for the first time in a main-release LP album (the ones with Jay-Z don't count in my mind since most of the lyrics on those were his, not theirs). I might not agree with all of their political expressions, but it's still interesting and the music still rocks regardless of the words.
  
• I think this album is much more musical than the past two main releases. They are definitely pulling in some vibes from the newer Coldplay and U2 work, especially on "Leave Out All the Rest" and "Shadow of the Day." But it is still a unique LP sound.
  

Don't get me wrong, they're still freakin' loud and rockin' like always (maybe even better than before in some cases), so they haven't turned soft at all, but their sound is really fresh on this new album and I'm addicted to it. I'm afraid to see how many times I've played the whole album since I got it on Wednesday morning, and I will neither confirm nor deny allegations that I've burned it to CD to listen to quickly in the car on around-town driving. :o)

One word of warning this time around, though -- if you're a pure Linkin Park fan (not a LPJZ fan), you do have two options for Minutes to Midnight -- clean or explicit. Phil pre-ordered it for us from iTunes and when I asked him which version he got he may as well have said, "Explicit! DUH!" Seriously, we don't throw them ourselves, but there's no denying Phil and I are not afraid of a few f-bombs here and there. And LP does throw 'em with joy here.

Bottom line, Minutes to Midnight is an excellent album -- buy it and listen to it like crazy!

Back in Black

Go see Spider-Man 3! It is worth every penny, especially in IMAX. This is the first can't-miss summer movie this year, so get on it. You might want to buy tickets online in advance, though -- word at our local theater is they're still selling out almost every show.

Three is just as good as the first two Spiders. As expected, Peter Parker becomes more torn between being Spider-Man to help others and being Spider-Man to avenge his uncle. There's a great bit in the middle when he's wearing the black duds and having a grand old time dancing along the streets like Adrien Brody in the old Diet Coke commercial. And, he was wearing eyeliner. But it turns out by doing things that just make him happy or make him feel good, he's destroying the relationships with those he loves most.

It reminded me a lot of something our pastor said once a few years ago about how you can gauge whether or not you're seeking God in all you do by examining your relationships. If your community is crumbling, you're most likely seeking to fulfill yourself, not to serve those around you. Spider-Man 3 demonstrates this really clearly (accidentally?) while still being funny and compelling and full of good fight scenes. And there's a great message of forgiveness and commitment.

OF COURSE, you should see it! You'll be entertained to the extreme, as I was (and Phil has been twice already)! If you're going to see only one of the #3 movies coming out this summer, skip that Pirate junk and go see this Spider!

No Spin Zone

A girlfriend of mine pointed me to this link from Always.

Seriously. Some things you can't spin, no matter how hard you try.

I am normally a positive person, a sometimes-over-the-top optimist, but this is not how I feel when Aunt Erma is visiting. I can guarantee you I will never, no matter how many times Always tells me to, "have a happy period." I think what they mean to say is, "We're happy you're having your period so we can make a recurring $20/month profiting from your misery, the misery of your husband, friends, coworkers, children, the dog, and the poor person at the grocery store check-out." I will never be thankful for my period. It's a curse of the fall and just plain torture on my poor husband.

There are only three times I can think of "happy" and "period" being associated for a woman:

1 - When maybe it didn't come because it was intercepted (and this is not always a happy discovery).
2 - When it's over every month.
3 - When the key word of "not" comes before either "happy" or "period."

I'd like to see my hero at indexed make this into a postcard for all womankind to agree with.