4.13.2005

And now today is my brother Ryan's birfday, so shout it out in comments if you wanna pass along some love...


Okay, seriously...I could spend hours on this site and not get bored: http://www.retrojunk.com

Commercials, toys, theme songs, etc....all from the late 70's, 80's, and early 90's. I've never seen such a comprehensive retro site. Awesome.

4.12.2005

Okay, so I've been told that I'm giving Jingles a bad reputation as a Sheltie/Rottweiler mix of sorts, which she is not. She's a purebred, and she's very friendly. See? Very innocent...



Now then, you should all understand that the only reason that she went after the little pup in the other picture was because the other puppy made the mistake of appearing weak. Therefore, Jingles was merely establishing dominance.....by means of execution.

Ha ha...only kidding!

Or am I?

I am. Seriously. She's a sweet girl, you should come visit her sometime, or else....

In other news, today is my sister Maureen's birfday.....HAPPY BIRFDAY MO!! I'd put her e-mail addy up here for you to all say hi, but it'd probably get picked up by some 40,000 spammers every 10 minutes, so just post a howdy-do in the comments below and I WILL MAKE CERTAIN SHE SEES IT. We have our ways.

4.04.2005

JINGLES.......ATTACK!!



I've done my homework, and I think I can trace her lineage back to a family of pirahnas in the Amazon.

So yeah, nice weekend here at the old D(r)acula home. Kind of windy...no, wait, VERY windy...so didn't get tons of stuff done out in the yard or anything. On Friday, Eric and some folks from Athens came over and we went to the Mall of GA to see a movie. Sin City. Wow, I'm still not exactly sure what to think about this movie. All I know is that it was a bloody, gory mess start to finish. With that said, it was really well done. The casting was really good, but not without its hiccups. For instance, Brittney Murphy should never be cast in a role that doesn't have giggling throughout 90% of her scripted dialogue. She just can't be taken seriously, and she can't act seriously. Jessica Alba also should have kept her mouth shut, not because of her acting abilities, but mainly because her squeaky little voice didn't fit the lines coming out of her mouth.

Bruce Willis was the obvious choice for his role...well, actually, it's not even a matter of obvious, it's just an impossible role for anyone else except him. Really good job there. Clive Owen was, however, maybe a little tougher to single out for his role, seing as how there are a handful of folks out there who can handle the role of revenging boyfriend. Nonetheless, he made it look good. And then there was Frodo Baggins...er, Elijah Wood. What a creepy character. No speaking lines, just....well, that'll change his niceguy typecasting.

I could go on and on about this stuff, but the real kicker was the overall set design, editing, costumes and writing that made you feel like pictures jumped off of a comic book (oh, sorry, "graphic novel") page and into your brain. Good job on that. My whole "I don't know what to think of the movie" statement has a lot more to do with the aforementioned start-to-finish death and destruction. Their redemption there was that most of the blood was glowing "whited-out," partially to complete the black-and-white effect, but I'm sure also just to get the movie through the MPAA.

This movie is by no means intended for anyone under the age of 21 or over the age of 40 (heart conditions, you know...). Really, there is about 2% of the global population that will truly enjoy this movie, and then there are film critics and aficianados that will appreciate the technical aspects. Everyone else will either boycott it, walk in the theater by accident and leave after the opening scene or just flat out never even hear of this film. If you go see it, lemme know what you think.

On Saturday, Eric and I jammed in the garage on some SCAP tunes and other stuff. Had a good time, but man did we suck. Well, I'll just speak for myself, cause Eric sounded pretty good, all things considered. I remembered most of the songs, but I just didn't play them nearly as fluidly as I used to. It's weird, because I spend a few hours a week in the mornings just playing some of the stuff on my own, but I guess playing with someone else changes the flow a little. So I tripped on some chords and solos, and forgot a verse here and there. All told, we did great. A couple of beers later, we forgot how bad we were.

And in other news, Pope John Paul II died this weekend. I'm not Catholic, but I appreciate anyone who does good works in the name of the Lord, and this guy definitely did. Say whatever you will about the Catholic church, Christianity in general, or this Pope specifically. It's plain as day that his intentions were good, his efforts thoroughly planned and genuine, and his devotion to God greater than many. I've heard people complain to no end about this Pope and some of the things he did and said. I could say my part, too. However, when you spend decades in the service of God (or anything else for that matter), you are bound to have a few missteps, if you're worth your salt. These are the exceptions, not the rules. May he rest in peace for an eternity to come.

4.01.2005

It's been interesting meeting the folks who live in our neighborhood. For the most part, everyone has been really nice. There are some trends, though, that Hilary and I have noticed....

-When most people meet us, you get an initial facial expression from them that seems to say "Are your parents home?" Obviously, we're the youngest homeowners in the area. As of yet, no one has actually asked us that question, but we know they're all thinking it when they meet us.

-Once it is established that we are "grown ups," the first inevitable question is "Do you have any kids?" Apparently, it blows people's minds that we own a big house and live in it all alone. We do have a puppy, though.

-Most people don't park in their garage. If you see a garage door opened, you can bet that it is full...just not with automobiles. Most people's stuff is very well organized, but nonetheless....it fills the space. So, if you're looking for our house, just go to the one with no cars in the driveway.

It's fun...the people really are all pretty cool around here. We seem to be acceptable to them as well. The neighbors haven't yet experienced the awesomeness that is SCAP, but I'm sure it is just a matter of time. Our garage needs a christening, and nothing but the finest SCAP will do.