It won't go under the rug...

2009-04-08T01:27:00.002-06:00

Yep. He sure does. And now that the rest of the world has seen that other side the U.S. needs to pull up it's britches, stand up straight, and get rid of this guy before we really get caught with our pants down.

obamanation

2009-04-04T16:45:00.004-06:00

I'm so sick and tired of hearing, "Let me be clear..." and "Make no mistake..."

This clown, and his double-speak, is anyting but clear. But he is clearly a mistake.

2009-03-11T16:57:00.009-06:00

This is what a trillion dollars looks like when it is stack 2 pallets high with $100,000 per pallet...

I just though it would be appropriate to have some perspective of a small portion of what the government is going to be stealing from us working folk in the coming years.

That little red speck on the left? A human being.

2009-02-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

One of the scariest things I've ever heard:

2009-02-20T17:28:00.008-07:00

"This is our moment, this is our time to turn the page on the policies of the past, to offer a new direction. We are fundamentally transforming the United States of America. And generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was our time." --Barack Hussein Obama

Where are the smart people in the public arena these days?

2009-02-02T23:35:00.002-07:00

"People do not ask for socialism because they know that socialism will improve their conditions, and they do not reject capitalism because they know that it is a system prejudicial to their interests. They are socialists because they believe that socialism will improve their conditions, and they hate capitalism because they believe that it harms them. They are socialists because they are blinded by envy and ignorance." --economist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973)

stupid congress... LISTEN!

2009-01-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

"More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's 'lost decade' in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today." --two hundred economists in an open letter disseminated by the Cato Institute

yep... belie'dat

2009-01-26T20:55:00.001-07:00

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." --James Madison

Good ol' Gipper

2009-01-19T17:42:00.001-07:00

"To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle. ... The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. ... It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people. ... But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals. You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation? ... In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." --Ronald Reagan, first Inaugural Address (20 January 1981)

The following essay is by Mark Alexander

2008-10-17T23:43:00.001-06:00

"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men." —Samuel Adams
In his Inaugural Address on 20 January, 1961, President John F. Kennedy closed his remarks with these famous words: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
With those words, JFK, considered by many to be the most exemplary leader of the Democrat Party in the 20th Century, asked Americans to put country first, a bedrock principle of the Party until the last few decades.
However today, the current slate of Democrats have turned Jack Kennedy's national challenge on end, essentially proclaiming, "ask what your country can do for you, not what you can do for your country."
In 1963, Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said for all to hear, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Has his dream been realized, or have Democrat leaders divided us up into constituency groups, where we are judged by all manner of ethnicity and special interests rather than the individual and national character King envisioned?
Kennedy and King had it right, but the Democrat Party has squandered their great legacy, and betrayed us, moreover enslaving many Americans as dependant wards of the state.
This is not the Democrat Party envisioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Harry Truman, much less its founder, Thomas Jefferson, who would not recognize even the most vestigial elements of his once-noble Party. (This dramatic transition is evident in the Democrat Party Platforms from Kennedy to Obama.)
When asked why he left the Democrat Party, perhaps the most famous of former Democrats said, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me." That was Ronald Reagan, who earned the respect and support of an enormous number of Democrats during his presidency. His observation, "the Party left me," has never been more true than today.
For several months, we have heard and observed two presidential candidates, centrist Republican John McCain and liberal Democrat Barack Obama. It should by now, be obvious to all of us who put our country first, which of these candidates possess the high qualities of a statesman, and the prerequisite moral and civic virtues for an American president.
Unfortunately, too many of my fellow Americans have difficulty distinguishing these qualities.
Every four years, at the peak of presidential election cycles, we're told by the talkingheads and the party hacks that "this election is the most important in our lifetimes." This time, however, they may be right. These are indeed perilous times.
Our nation is facing crises on several critical fronts, including an historic economic disaster, the resolution of which will require the steady hand of a statesman in possession of outstanding character — character that has been honed over his lifetime, character that is proven consistent with our nation's legacy of liberty and equality.
That reformed Democrat, Ronald Reagan, wrote, "The character that takes command in moments of crucial choices has already been determined by a thousand other choices made earlier in seemingly unimportant moments. It has been determined by all the 'little' choices of years past — by all those times when the voice of conscience was at war with the voice of temptation, [which was] whispering the lie that 'it really doesn't matter.' It has been determined by all the day-to-day decisions made when life seemed easy and crises seemed far away — the decision that, piece by piece, bit by bit, developed habits of discipline or of laziness; habits of self-sacrifice or self-indulgence; habits of duty and honor and integrity — or dishonor and shame."
For the first and final word on the necessary character traits the next president should possess, let's return to our foundation, our Founders, those who risked all to proclaim our individual rights and responsibilities as ordained by God, and outlined them in our Declaration of Independence and its subordinate exposition, our Republic's Constitution.
Our Founders wrote at length about character, both of those who seek high office (or, rather, those that high office seeks), and those who elect them. Here are but a few excerpts in their own words.
John Adams: "Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. ... If we suffer [the minds of young people] to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives. ... We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ... We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections."
Samuel Adams: "Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters. ... If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation. ... [N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. ... No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders. ... Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. ... Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness."
Thomas Jefferson: "It is the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigor. A degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart of its laws and constitution. ... If a nation expects to be ignorant — and free — in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. ... The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. ... An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."
George Washington: "No compact among men ... can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and if I may so express myself, that no Wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other. ...[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted [early in life] are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous. ... The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world. ...[W]here is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths...? Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."
At the end of the Revolution, when our Founders were endeavoring "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," Founding brothers Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and our Constitution's author, James Madison, wrote The Federalist Papers, its most authentic and comprehensive explication.
In Federalist No. 1, Hamilton warned, "Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants."
Sound familiar?
In No. 10, Madison cautions, "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm," and insisted in No. 57, "The aim of every political Constitution is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers, men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous, whilst they continue to hold their public trust."
Madison's Supreme Court nominee, Justice Joseph Story, wrote, "Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them."
The Founders thus warned of the perils posed by the candidate who lacks political courage; the candidate who tells us everything we want to hear.
In November 1800, John Adams, in his fourth year as president, wrote to his wife Abigail, "I Pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house, and on ALL that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!"
We should all pray likewise, now, today, this minute.
As Adams understood, "A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."
Almost two centuries later, Ronald Reagan reiterated, "Freedom is ... never more than one generation away from extinction. Every generation has to learn how to protect and defend it, or it's gone and gone for a long, long time."
So, what of the current generation of voters, and the two presidential candidates?
On 4 November, one of these candidates will receive a majority of electoral votes, and in January, be seated as our next president. But for sure, this election is much more than a referendum on the two candidates; it is a referendum on the ability of Americans to discern between one candidate who possesses the character and integrity of a statesman, which the office of president requires, and one who does not.
At this pivotal moment in our nation's history, let's hope that a majority of us have sufficient courage and character to make that distinction, and vote on what we know rather than how we feel.
Let's put country first.
For more information on the character of the presidential candidates, link to The McCain record and The Obama record.
Please forward these insights to your family, friends and associates.

2008-10-08T21:07:00.001-06:00

"Ahead in the polls, Barack Obama used last night's debate to portray himself as a nonradical if vague agent of change. Despite John McCain's best efforts, the Arizona Senator didn't knock Mr. Obama from his cool evasion or even do much to rebut the Democrat's routine talking points. This isn't enough to change the dynamics of the race. Not that Mr. McCain didn't have opportunities. The Illinois Democrat made his by now familiar claim that eight years of 'deregulation' caused the current panic, but Mr. McCain never challenged him to explain what policies he's referring to. Bill Clinton debunked the deregulation line the other day on the public record, but the Republican never mentioned that. Mr. McCain did make a stab at hanging the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac around Mr. Obama, but without any real explanation for why they mattered or how they represent Washington's status quo... One of Mr. Obama's gifts is his ability to glide over contradictions with the greatest of ease. He spent minutes explaining that we spend '$10 billion a month' in Iraq that should be spent here in the U.S. But a short time later he was promoting what sounded like a surge in Afghanistan, and vowing to spend even more money to assist 'the economies' of Eastern Europe. He also proposes to provide free health care while claiming he'd cut more spending from the overall budget than his new ideas would cost. If Mr. McCain lets that last claim go unrebutted, he deserves to lose." ---The Wall Street Journal

Man Quiz

2008-09-18T23:09:00.001-06:00

test_your_diy_knowledge

2008-03-17T21:18:00.000-06:00

"Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness." ---Samuel Adams

2008-03-04T18:57:00.001-07:00

BYU vs Eastern Washington (2 weekends ago)

2007-10-31T00:10:00.000-06:00

Democrats

2007-10-16T22:35:00.001-06:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!The suck slightly more than Republican politicians.

Wedding Montage

2007-10-15T03:05:00.001-06:00

It's a slide show I made (using the not-so-versatile Windows Movie Maker) for Hi-D's brother and fiance.

I think I've been "tagged" too...

2007-10-02T02:13:00.000-06:00

I just discovered that I was "tagged" to do this list that you're all doing. You can play tag bloggin? I'll get to it sometime, I'm sure. I'm just really tired...

2007-10-01T15:41:00.000-06:00

Haha

2007-09-30T23:02:00.001-06:00

Jealous much?

2007-09-30T21:56:00.001-06:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Frodo

2007-08-29T16:24:00.001-06:00

2007-08-22T14:55:00.001-06:00

"Whosoever is out of patience, is out of possession of his mind, body andsoul." ---Sir Francis Bacon

2007-08-07T17:32:00.001-06:00

Where Michael Moore is Wrong

2007-07-18T16:01:00.000-06:00

By John Stossel
Michael Moore loves government.
OK, he doesn't love a government headed by George W. Bush, but he believes that once the Democrats are in charge, government will do a better job providing health care.
In his new movie, "Sicko," he praises government-controlled health care systems in Canada and Europe. He suggests that Americans pay more for health care but have a shorter life expectancy than people in other countries because our health care is driven "by profit."
He is wrong in so many ways.
First, life expectancy is no measure of a country's medical system. Lifestyle and culture matter more, and Americans are different.
Interviewing Moore for an upcoming health care special on "20/20," I said, "In America we kill each other more often. We shoot each other. We have more car accidents. Forgive me, more of us look like ... you."
He smiled at that, but still argued that that people live longer in Canada "because they never have to worry about paying to go see the doctor. That means at the first sign of being sick they go right away to the doctor cause they're not worrying about whether or not they can afford it."
Please.
Freedom brings anxiety, but its other rewards are so superior to passive care from a smothering government
America's medical system has problems, but profit is the least of it. Government mandates, overregulation and a tax code that pushes employer-paid health insurance prevent the free market from performing its efficient miracles. Six out of seven health-care dollars are spent by third parties. That kills the market. Patients rarely shop around, and doctors rarely compete on price or service.
Moore told me, "Government can do things right. ... My dad gets his Social Security check every month. Comes not only every month, it comes on the same day through the so-called 'dilapidated' U.S. mail. ... [A]sk your grandparents what they think of Medicare. Although it has its flaws, although it may be underfunded, it's a much better program than the HMO that somebody has."
Underfunded? Medicare has a 75-year $34 trillion unfunded liability! Its costs are growing faster than inflation. Social Security has a 75-year $5 trillion unfunded liability. These are Ponzi schemes that will be bankrupt before Moore reaches retirement age. The U.S. mail manages to deliver his dad's checks, but compare its performance to FedEx or UPS. The Post Office said it wasn't possible to deliver packages overnight.
I want FedEx health care: innovation, new cancer treatments, hip replacements and pain relief. We get that from private-sector competition, not government lethargy.
Moore said, "You don't introduce profit into your city water department."
He's wrong about that, too. As I wrote in "Give Me a Break", Jersey City, New Jersey's water tasted foul and failed safety tests. City workers said there wasn't much they could do. In fact, water prices would have to be raised ... just to maintain the lousy service they had.
So Jersey City turned its water system over to a for-profit company. Within months it had fixed the pipes government workers said couldn't be fixed, and for the first time in years, Jersey City's water met the highest cleanliness standard. Taxpayers saved $35 million.
The private company could do it better and cheaper because their skills were honed by constant competition.
Private competitors innovate or die. Government workers do what they did last year. That's why I want the private sector to provide my health care. Pursuit of profit will give us our best medicines and medical devices.
I'll pay you $1,000 if you can name one thing government does more efficiently than the private sector.
Moore laughed at me, saying, "You are, like, so Thirteenth Century," but he conceded that America's founding libertarian philosophy has made us a rich and innovative country. "Look at everything we've invented," he told me. "I say to my British friends, can you tell me something you invented in the last 50 years. I mean, what have you given us?"
"Can they come up with anything?" I asked.
"No, they have a hard time. That can-do spirit served us well in building this country."
Served? It still does. And will -- if government would just get out of the way.
Copyright 2007 Creators Syndicate Inc.

2007-07-18T11:25:00.001-06:00

"There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts." ---Voltaire

Flight of the Conchords "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros"

2007-07-16T09:42:00.001-06:00

Flight of the Conchords "Think About it, Think, Think..."

2007-07-16T09:40:00.001-06:00

Addicted to World of Warcraft?

2007-07-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here's a way for you to cope with the real world:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/weep-for-the-future/avatar-machine-further-distances-you-from-reality-277897.php?autoplay=true

Flight of the Conchords: ''Part-Time Model''

2007-07-12T10:12:00.001-06:00

Blogging's hard

2007-06-04T12:05:00.000-06:00

Doesn't it feel a bit narcissistic to believe that my life is so awesome that I should keep record of it so that others can share in my awesomeness? Of course, I'm kidding about the awesomeness. I am far too self depricating to believe I'm awesome. But when I started my blog everybody else was already bloggng and I just wanted to be as cool as them. Then what happens as soon as I jump on the bandwagon? Everybody else stops blogging. And really, who cares about the mundane details of my life anyway? I know it's hard enough for me to care. ;)

Having said that...

Last weekend I bought a Nintendo Wii for me and Hi-D to play around on. It was Memorial Day weekend so everybody ended up at mom and dad's and we got to play. Turns out that Micquel and Jeff bought one that weekend too so between us we had four controllers. I stole the projector from work (just for the weekend) and set it up in the living room. It was a lot of fun to get everybody involved playing double tennis, bowling, and the like. Mom even played. I think that we had 4 groups of 4 on a steady rotation through the games.

The morning of Memorical Day Micquel, Jeff, Hi-D and I went to Pete's Lunch for breakfast. When we told him about the Wii he playfully admonished us for playing "sports" on a video game. "Those video games are designed for asians living in Japan and China. They don't have the space to go out and do these things for real. You live in America. You need to play outside.", he said. This is funny coming from Pete because he is a man of small stature from China speaking in broken english. We love Pete. And he makes a mean breakfast. I think I have Hi-D hooked too so I have many Saturday mornings to look forward to chowing down with Hi-D and Pete! ;)

2007-05-01T19:44:00.001-06:00

Global warming is going to kill all of us!!! ...NOT

2007-04-19T15:56:00.000-06:00

"The current alarm [over global warming] rests on the false assumption not only that we live in a perfect world, temperaturewise, but also that our warming forecasts for the year 2040 are somehow more reliable than the weatherman's forecast for next week." ~ MIT meteorology professor Richard Lindzen

Golf

2007-04-12T14:02:00.000-06:00

How's this for looking chubby and tired?! I sure had a good time playing (poorly) my first round of the season.

Muse - Invincible

2007-04-08T22:16:00.001-06:00

The greatest secret

2007-04-08T17:24:00.000-06:00

An excerpt from Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl:

We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road leading from the camp. The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbor's arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the icy wind did not encourage talk. Hiding his mouth behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."
That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.
A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth -- that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way--an honorable way--in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory."

Crazy Frog

2007-04-07T21:26:00.001-06:00

I'm posting this video again for Hi-D. She was having a hard time veiwing the AtomFilms version on her computer - so hopefully the YouTube version will work for her. Have fun Hi-D!

Obadiah Parker - Idioteque

2007-04-07T00:43:00.003-06:00

Obadiah Parker - Hey Ya

2007-04-07T00:43:00.001-06:00

The Amazing Breakdancing Toddler

2007-04-04T13:45:00.001-06:00

Now the only one we're missing is Jedd

2007-04-02T18:51:00.000-06:00

...and, of course, Moms and Pops. Wouldn't it be fun if they blogged as a collective "you" (see Kyle's blog)?

So Kyle jumped on the blogger bandwagon on Friday. I removed the link to his spaces blog and replaced it with his new one - guessing that his intent is to hang with us on blogger from now on. His his first post has a beautiful picture of China in it. Check it out! His second post contains a picture of a beautiful blond with a long neck running naked - except for what I guess are long yellow socks? - through a cemetery... Watch out! (don't worry, it's safe)

Makes me want to visit him while he's there. We'll see how things pan out this summer...

Wait, who's the luckiest?

2007-04-02T18:49:00.001-06:00

So I posted this video. But it's not really a video. It's a great song, but I couldn't find any good videos that also had good sound - it was always one or the other. But this "video" is a great copy of the song. Props to Ben Folds for writing this one.

I bet you can't guess who makes me feel like I really connect with this song? :) I tell her she's way too cool for me, and that makes her sad. But it's true and it'll never change. Which is why...(click play below ;)

Crazy Frog!

2007-03-28T13:54:00.000-06:00

I'm posting this video for my friend Hi-D. It's been a popular one with my neices and nephews since I discovered it a couple of years ago. Have fun sharing it Hi-D!

War of a thousand cuts

2007-03-26T17:32:00.000-06:00

I heard a guy use that phrase yesterday, and I really liked how simple and expressive it was. He was speaking in reference to the constant battle we are in to defend our standards and values.

It is easy to guard against a large and well defined threat. And not so easy to withstand an onslaught of a thousand little nicks and cuts. Especially when we might dismiss them because they are so little that they are not percieved as any real threat.

Gotta love a good Saturday

2007-03-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, I have a new best friend.

Her name is Hi-D, and when we have the chance, we have a ton of fun being together.

We were both free this weekend and we decided to make great use of it. And since I've got so much free space here on what is sure to be an under utilized blog - I thought I'd give you a way too detailed play-by-play (as everybody who knows me knows that I'm prone to elaborate on, rather than over simplify, details - right)

We started with some excellent food at the Bombay House for dinner on Friday (mmm, coconut kurma.) And lucky for me, my favorite friend loved the eats too.

After dinner we decided to gather up Hi-D's snowboarding gear because the big plan for Saturday was a day on the slopes at Park City (Hi-D's been itching to use some passes that she's been collecting at work.) Knowing that we wanted to get an early start on Saturday Hi-D decided to just put together some things and crash at my parent's house.

When we got home we started watching Garden State (definitely one of my favorites.) But it turns out the my mind had been glazing over some of the language in the movie, and we decided that Hi-D didn't really want to watch it. It was also getting pretty late and we wanted to get up and go on Saturday. So I tucked her in and crashed on the way-too-soft bed in the extra room down the hall.

In the morning we started off at a much easier pace than we had planned. It was great because Hi-D got to chat with mom and dad while I took a shower. Then we were off to Pete's Lunch for a hearty breakfast. Good ol' Pete. He sure liked Hi-D. We'll have to bring her back there some day.

After a good breakfast we were off! On the way to Park City we listened to the first mixtape I made for Hi-D back in October of '06 (which she had never before heard because when it came to giving it to her I chickened out.)

Now it was time to carve up the mountains. Or, as it turned out, ride some waves. It was slushly and tiring - but sooo much fun! It ended up being so warm we were both both overdressed. We rode until we were too tired to go on. Perfect. We capped off the evening in Park City with some great grub at a place Hi-D knew about called Baja Cantina.

Then, of course, on our way home we listened to the 2nd mixtape I made for Hi-D just after Christmas (which she had also never heard before - thanks to Micquel for hanging on to copies for me.)

Too bad every Saturday can't be this good...

When you're under the influence life feels different...

2007-03-19T18:29:00.000-06:00

I was going to say life is different, but it's not. It just feels that way.
And when I say under the influence I'm not referring to any illegal or regulated substances.

Under the influence of whatever. "Whatever" skewing our perceptions in such a way that we see/feel things differently than we otherwise would.

I believe we are all under the influence in some way or another all the time.

Can you always choose what influences you and what doesn't?

What of emotions? As humans we are very emotional beings. Are our emotions fully under our control? Emotion can be very powerful and influential.

Am I weak to acknowledge that I am being influenced by emotion and then choosing not to free myself from it?
Obviously, influence can be positive or negative. But is it always so easily categorized as one or the other? Especially when it comes to emotional influence...

What are emtions? And what do they mean to us?