Relationship Status

Yesterday afternoon, I went on Facebook to see what the word was.

With nothing of note happening on the home page, I clicked on the All Friends link which brought up my three dozen "friends". I had intended to go to Tim Smith's page to see what's been up with him lately, but stopped in my tracks when I saw that the man who my younger sister has been dating for the past 3+ years had changed his relationship status the day before. I clicked on his page to see what was going on. His relationship status had previously said "In a relationship with (her name)". Now it simply said "Single".

I'd visited my mother the night before and she hadn't mentioned anything of the like occurring. These two planned to be married one day. What was going on (and how is it that this is the second consecutive day that I'm posting about the demise of an LTR)? I went to my sister's site and instead of saying what her relationship status was, that info had been completely removed.

I quickly headed to the phone and told this info to my mother. She said she'd call my sister's sister (they're twins) and see if anything was up. Turns out there is and I'm impressed how without Facebook, this might not have come to light for weeks, probably months. My sister's former beau should've just removed the relationship status box; instead, he changed it, which sent an alert for all to see (he's since removed the box).

What The Heart Wants

A close friend of mine dissolved a relationship he'd had with a woman for the past five years this past week. For years, he complained that she didn't give him enough freedom, that she would all but cry (and sometimes even do that) if he said he wanted to get together with his male friends.

About a month ago, I was able to convince him to accompany me to Friday's (knowing what her reaction would be, he didn't say a peep about it to her). It was partially his fault. I told him countless times that he needed to put his foot down, that it needn't be this way. Despite these issues, it was still fun going out to eat with the both of them. I was certainly thrown for a loop when I received a phone call on Friday that the couple were breaking up; the first thing I said was, "Yeah, right".

The thing that finally pushed him over the edge was when a woman he's known for more than a decade said she was available. This is a girl he's always wanted to be with, but never thought would be interested. He asked what I thought of his plans. I quoted Anakin Skywalker's mother in Episode I when she said to her son: "What does your heart tell you?". He replied, "That I want to be with her". And it really is that simple.

We walked around the lake on Saturday

and he talked of how good it felt to have this freedom, to not have to hide things anymore, that he can be totally honest with this new woman (they're taking it very slow as he completes the separation process from his previous love).

After a bit of pondering, I realized why he is so happy now; it's because he can truly be himself. When he was with the other woman, he couldn't be authentic. He had to talk, act a certain way with her. The soul longs for the freedom to be what it is, which is freedom, joy, and love. And his soul is singing very joyfully at the moment. Of course, I feel bad for the woman left behind and this new relationship may not even work out, but it is great to see a loved one happy, blissful, and waking up every day with a spring in their step.

Having Fun on All Fools Day

I love how April Fools allows us to say things to loved ones that wouldn't be prudent on any other day. Case in point: on the 1st of this month, I sent a text to my best friends' fiancee' that said the following: "A** cheated on you a couple years ago". She didn't respond because she knew it was an April Fools, but the event actually happened. I was speaking the truth, but because of when the message was sent, it was disregarded.

I also sent texts to two of my wife's friends (from her phone) stating that she was pregnant. One friend said, "Congrads" while the other told my wife's sister about it. The sister called my girl back saying, "Why didn't you tell me?" My love chided me a bit, but hey, April Fools' comes but once a year.

I pulled an awesome one on my mother last year, but it blew up in my face. For background, my entire family was in the Jehovah's Witnesses faith from 1975-1984. My mom left it in '84 as she no longer believed. I followed in '85. The rest of my siblings and fathers are still in the faith. Here's the email I sent to her on April 1, 2008:

"Hi Mom. I kinda wanted to get your opinion on something. Over the last few months, I've been going to a website called the Jehovah's Witness Discussion Forum. They've posted many interesting articles that have quite frankly fascinated me. People's experiences, the rewards of going out in service, the Biblical justification for no blood, you name it. I left the Witnesses in the summer of '85 when I moved from living with Dad and the kids to living with you in that apartment on Lafayette. I was 14 at the time. I guess what I'm saying is that I've never really given the Witnesses a chance as an adult.

I've been wondering what it'd be like to go to one of their meetings (probably a Thursday night one since I hate getting up early on Sunday morning). I haven't talked to (my wife) about it, but doubt she'll be interested in giving them a try. If I go ahead with this, it's possible that my siblings might make more of an effort to see me and that would be a good thing. I know there's no way that you're gonna go back, but what do you think about me looking into this? By the way, if you talk to (my wife) this week, don't tell her about this quite yet."

This was her surprising reply:

"You know that's kind of a coincidence. I've seen a couple of publications lately at the laundromat and at a client's house and I've been kind of interested too. Some of the things they say really make good Biblical sense. I think it would be a good idea to check it out. I have been considering attending a meeting sometime. Let me know what you think and direct me to any websites that you think might be beneficial. I won't mention it to (your wife) and I'm not ready to mention it to (my guy) yet either."

Damn, I thought she'd be dead-set against me going back, but was actually interested in pursuing it herself. Oh what a tangled web we weave. Here is a friend of mine's response when I told him about it:

"Your mom took that joke hook, line, and sinker. Oh boy. What can u do? Tell her it was a joke. Will she be disappointed?"

I did give my mom a link to the Witnesses website. She sent this to me a couple days later:

"Good morning, Tom. I haven't had a chance to look at that web site yet, but I do have a publication that I picked up some time ago that I have been reading. I can't help but agree with a lot of it. I'll keep reading it until I'm finished and then I'll look at the web site. Have a great day!"

Finally, a few days later, we got together at the Olive Garden where I confessed all. I said there was no way I'd go back to the faith for numerous reasons: women are not allowed to give sermons to the congregation, you can't question the faith once you've joined, if you're kicked out of it, members can no longer speak with you (even if it involves family members), getting a blood transfusion is forbidden, holidays and birthdays cannot be celebrated, and they believe that a creature named Satan exists. After sharing this with her, my mother came around and decided she'd stay where she was at spiritually. My joke opened up a can of worms, but it was nice to have a convo with her about the faith that was once such a notable part of our lives.

Billfold Theft

One morning, two weeks ago, I set my wallet and Friday's card on the kitchen counter (I usually do this when I know I'm going somewhere later in the day). After spending some time on the computer, I went into the kitchen and saw my Friday's card on the floor; the cat must've accidentally pushed it off the counter when she jumped up. I didn't think much of it.

A half hour later, I went into the kitchen to get my wallet. It wasn't on the counter nor was it in the drawer I always keep it in. I did some more checking until a thought crossed my mind; I had left the door to the backyard ajar so that the dog could come and go as she pleased. Perhaps the wallet had also fallen and Zoe had taken it outside (I remember once finding one of my vintage Star Wars action figures back there). I hastily got dressed. I had about 24 bucks in the wallet along with my drivers license and a few business cards.

As I headed out back, Zoe accompanied me and ran about 30 feet to where my billfold was located. She put it in her mouth and wanted me to chase her. I did and noticed that there were no green bills inside. Sheeeet. In the corner of the yard blowing against the fence, I noticed a few of them; it was a very windy day, a few more minutes and they probably would've been on another property. I gathered $23 as well as a couple of the business cards. I then grabbed the wallet from Zoe and looked to see if my Drivers license was still in it. It was, though, it had moved a tad. I went off-property and found a dollar bill that had made it through the fence.

I consider myself lucky that I figured things out when I did. The drivers license would've been a real pain to replace. I wish I coulda been out there 10, 15 minutes before. When she gets something she likes, she shakes the shit out of it. Can you imagine? Her doing that and all the money coming out? She had no idea that the wallet's contents were of value. To her, they're just playthings.

Here's a pic I took of her (and the billfold) a half hour later:

An Evening With James Van Praagh

Last summer, I had the opportunity to hear psychic medium James Van Praagh speak before a thousand people in Chicago. Before I describe the evening, let me tell you how it was that I first became familiar with James.

In early 1998, I was working at Barnes & Noble and so was frequently up on what the best selling books of the day were. Several people came up to me over a period of a week or two asking about a book called "Talking to Heaven". They must've seen him on Larry King or something. The book wound up being a huge best-seller and was turned into a TV-movie starring Ted Danson which premiered to huge ratings.

I didn't buy "Talking to Heaven" when it was initially released. I finally got around to it when B&N had it for sale on the clearance shelfs a few years later (I bought his second book "Reaching to Heaven" the same way). Over the years, I've seen him numerous times on "Larry King" and have to admit that I am a great believer in what he does. He was apparently going to be doing some "I see dead people" readings during his workshop that evening. Should be a good time, I thought.

Shortly after 8, one of the ladies putting on the conference introduced James and out he came. He was very funny, making light of being vertically challenged ("I'll sit down now...or did you think I was already sitting down?"). He first talked about how as a young child, he became aware of his abilities, but then squelched them feeling they were more trouble than they were worth. On one fateful night, however, he was dragged to a psychic medium who told him that one day he would be a medium as well. He didn't believe it at the time, but look at him now. He goes much more extensively into this in his books.

He talked about how he came up with the idea for the TV show Ghost Whisperer or as he sometimes calls it Boob Whisperer (a reference to Jennifer Love's ample cleavage).

He said she doesn't mind when he refers to the show in this way.

Shortly after 9, James said it was now time to do readings. He had everyone close their eyes and then told the women to open their purses. He was going to do a magic trick involving money. No, some music was played and we all became very relaxed. Upon opening our eyes, James had grown 5 inches! The women swooned. The readings were everything I had hoped for. I'd never been to an actual one before. He really was on fire, getting a ridiculously high percentage of hits. It really was something to behold. The lecture was scheduled to end at 10, but James was allowed to continue for another half hour.

There was this one tough dude that came through for someone and James didn't want to say two words that were being expressed to him in regards to the dead man's family. The audience said they wouldn't mind if he said them and with that, he said sheepishly, "He's telling me, 'Fuck 'em'" There were audible gasps as many in the crowd did not expect to hear such vulgarity coming from a keynote speaker. No, they ate it up.

A lady that lives near Ground Zero said that she constantly sees spirits in the evening when she's trying to sleep. A man that had passed on expressed to his wife that he sits in their old recliner from time to time and helps her solve the crossword puzzles she works on each day. She said she was wondering how she had gotten so much better at them in the last couple years.

Around 10:30, James closed and an announcement was made that he would be signing books immediately after. Just as I did with Deepak the night before, I took the liberty of taking his pic while he was signing, but it didn't quite go as planned. I took a pic of him, looked at it, saw it was distorted, deleted it, and then took another. Same thing happened. I did this again and again and again. I took 5 pics of him and every one was distorted! I decided to take a pic of my wife to ensure there wasn't anything going on with the camera. Nope, the pic of her was crystal clear. I was going, "WTF", but then realized that if what he says is true, there must be spirits all around him. I had no such problem with any of the other authors that weekend. Course, none of the other authors were psychic. Submitted below are two of the pics:

My wife and I discussed the distorted pics with a couple female attendees nearby before heading back to our room.

Excerpted from "My Experience at Celebrate Your Life 2008"

Late Bloomer

When I turned 15, my mother asked if I'd be interested in taking drivers training (classes weren't offered at my school). I said I could wait, that I was in no real rush to learn. I liked to look at my uncle John's example; he didn't get a license until he was in his mid-20's. Course, he was in the seminary where there wasn't really a need for a car, but still.

Once I hit 16, I still wasn't up for learning. I remember one afternoon walking and seeing three of my classmates in a drivers ed car. They all appeared happy, one step closer to fulfilling their dream.



More time passed and I had yet to change my tune. I recall one day being driven home by one of my friends' mothers and knowing I was of age, she asked if I had my license yet. I said I didn't and had no plans of doing so. She seemed quite surprised to hear this. Yep, I was a real nerd. It actually became a point of pride for me. I got around by walking and biking. I wasn't unnecessarily polluting the environment or putting another car on the road that didn't need to be.

I graduated high school and decided to attend college in my hometown. Most love leaving the city they grew up in behind. Not me. The years went by and I got by just fine without a car. No car or insurance payments, no money to piss away on gas. Course, I never had a girlfriend during this time, either, but that was due more to my social inadequacy than not having a "ride".

Finally, sensing that I was fast turning into a loser, my mom said she'd teach me how to drive. At this point, I was 23. I can still remember the afternoon in which she taught me the basics. As my mom showed me how to push the gas and apply the brakes, I was struck by how small her feet were. She said that she was taught by my old man when she was a teen. We'd chosen a back road to practice on for obvious reasons. As I drove, one of my favorite songs of the time played: Wynonna Judd's "Girls With Guitars".

One thing that was hard for me to wrap my head around was why feet had to be used to drive a car. The only thing I did with my feet was walk. You'd think by the '90s, they'd have invented a car in which you pressed a button on the dashboard to get the car going; same thing for brakes. I felt like Fred Flintstone, to tell you the truth.

A week or two later, I went to the license center and took a multimedia test for my permit. I passed relatively easily. I was halfway to being a full-fledged driver. Not too long after, I finally obtained a girlfriend. Months passed and I lost interest in getting a license. I only wound up getting it (at the age of 24) because I had to in order to work as a companion with an elderly man. I was close to broke and he offered me free room and board along with $100 a week.

I set up an appointment for the test. In a great display of generosity, the older man paid for a 2-hour drivers training session for me. The instructor gave me a nice overview of all I needed to know before taking the test. I couldn't seem to get parallel parking down, but knew that even if I failed, I would be fine...as long as I did perfectly on the rest.

I was certainly nervous on the morning I took the test, but followed the tips my instructor had given and was doing good until it was time to PP. I fucked that up, but what are you gonna do? I would up with a 78, I believe (passing was a 75). I was extremely relieved that I wouldn't have to take it again and for the next couple months, I worked closely with the elderly man stocking money up for the school year.

Though now licensed, I had no desire to piss my money away on a vehicle, not while I was still attending college. My mother did let me borrow her car from time to time, however. I recall one late summer early evening hearing David Ball's "Thinkin' Problem" on the radio. I quickly turned the volume up and began singing along. Life was good.

Shortly after I graduated college, my dad said he'd like to help me purchase my first car. He knew of an auction in which dealers would sell cars to each other and since he ran his own RV business, was eligible to participate. I had just met my wife-to-be a couple months before and was more than happy to bring her along. I got a bit PO'd at her as she was late in meeting us at her place; her chiro appt had gone over. I said she should've just left at 6:15 since she had agreed to meet us at 6:30.

We headed out into the fall evening. This was my dad's first chance to meet my new girlfriend. I explicitly remember hearing Lone Star's "When Cowboys Didn't Dance" on the radio as my dad conversated with my beloved.

We arrived at the auction and had a bit of time to look over the cars before the show started. My dad asked what kind of vehicle I was interested. I said a 4-door sedan would be fine. I watched with interest as dealers raised their hand to bid on the cars. It was a very congenial atmosphere with a number of children present and lemonade being served. One of the cars I liked, an 89 Mercury Topaz, came up for bid.

My dad raised his hand and the fun began. There was one other person who was also bidding, but he gave up fairly easily. The car went for around a thousand or so which was within my price range. My wife was very excited, almost as if it was gonna be her car. My dad had his mechanic do a few repairs on the car to get it into ship-shape condition (alignment, etc.) before handing it over to me. He said it would be a good in-town vehicle. Two months later, I moved to a city an hour away and for the next year would make frequent trips back and forth between the two towns. Oh well.

One good thing about learning to drive late is that I'm probably not as car-fatigued as others who started at the age of 15. Others my age have been drivers for well over 20 years while I've only been at it for 13. I can't say I'd really do anything differently if given the chance, well, other than voting for Clinton instead of Bush I in the fall of '92.

2 Movies & A Dick

The Mrs. and I made it to "Adventureland" on opening day. We were pleasantly surprised to be the only ones in attendance at the afternoon show. It's a great feeling, as if you have your very own screening room in which you need not be concerned about talky patrons or anyone kicking your seat. Like "I Love You, Man", the film wasn't quite as funny as I'd hoped, but more than made up for it with a lot of heart. It had all the period details of the 80's (including the first time I've heard the word "nimrod" used in at least a decade).

This past Saturday, I went with a friend to a midnight showing of "Fast & Furious" (The Fast & The Furious Part 4).

If you liked any of the first three, you're sure to enjoy this one. In 2001, I went with my best bud to the first installment. He said he wanted to sit in the very front row so as to feel that he was part of the action. I wasn't so ambitious, so sat in the very back. As showtime approached, I began to think I might not like the movie; I wasn't a big fan of cars and this looked to be car porn.

I went out into the lobby and saw that Reese Witherspoon's "Legally Blonde" was about to start in the theatre's biggest screening room. Unsurprisingly, the audience was heavily female. Though there were no belly laughs, I chuckled a few times. Once "Blonde" ended, I went back to where "Furious" was playing (I hadn't told my friend that I'd gone to another movie). Two minutes after I sat down, the credits rolled and my friend came up to me, pumped about what he'd just seen. At first, I just agreed that it was a good movie.

Once in the car, I told him what I'd done. He didn't seem to mind much. I did eventually catch the original on video and felt it to be a solid B movie. Vin Diesel was very charismatic (I was first introduced to him in the summer of 1998 when I saw "Saving Private Ryan"). Other than a cameo in Part 3, Diesel hadn't been a regular in the series since Part 1, so it was good to see his return in 4. Try to catch it on the big screen if you can. The action sequences are really good and I love how the ending tied in with the scene that started the film.

This weekend, I plan to see Seth Rogen's "Observe & Report". My wife caught it yesterday with a friend and said I'd like it. A few hours later, she mentioned that the film showed a male penis. Dammit, I said, I'd rather be surprised at such an occurrence rather than knowing such info ahead of time. A minor spoiler, I suppose, unless the guy's really hung. One thing I like to do when seeing cock onscreen is to whistle. Any guy can whistle when they see a woman exposing her goodies at the movie show, but it takes a very secure one to do so at the sight of another man's parts.

Walk Hard

I've not been on the treadmill for several weeks, but have found another way of getting exercise that is relatively painless. I stumbled on it a number of months ago quite by accident; when a friend or family member calls, I get up and start pacing around the house while conversating with them.

My mom called yesterday wanting to discuss some things about her upcoming wedding. As we exchanged our thoughts for about 15 minutes, I strolled around our fenced backyard. The funny thing is she was also walking while on the phone. Though I'm against hunting, this really kills two birds with one stone (I get a quarter-hour of exercise in while at the same time catching up with loved ones).

I brought this strategy up to my significant other some time ago, but she's been able to get out of it since spraining her knee. I'm not sure why I've been less impelled to go on the treadmill. It could be that my body wants to actually walk, to cover ground, not just walk in place (which is what being on the treadmill basically is).

Auto Tuning from Casey Donahue on Vimeo.

The One I've Been Waiting For

Adventureland

I love it when two movies I want to see open on the same weekend. It really makes me count down the days til Friday. Such was the case a couple weeks ago when I went to see "I Love You, Man" on Friday afternoon and "Duplicity" the following day. I actually preferred the twists of "Duplicity" over the fun of "Man". The latter just wasn't as funny as I hoped. Still a good movie, though.

This weekend, the two on my plate are "Adventureland" and "Fast & Furious". I've been looking forward to seeing "Adventureland" ever since I first heard about it a few months ago. The director of it directed my favorite movie of 2007, "Superbad". It also takes place in the 80's (1987, to be exact) and regular readers know what a big fan I am of the decade. Much of the movie takes place at an amusement park, one of my favorite places to be. The Tomato reading right now on "Adventureland" is 92%! I highly doubt I'll be let down by the flick the day after tomorrow.

The Main Man

The Best Sexual Euphemism I've Heard in a LONG Time

My Sense of Humor in a Nutshell

Last night, me and my significant other were perusing the menu at a local restaurant. The waitress came up to us and noticed the cast on my wife's right hand. She said to her, "Wow. What happened?" Before my beloved could respond, I said, "I accidentally pushed her down the stairs."

You Like a' the Juice?

To celebrate my graduation from college in May of 1996, my mother took me and my girlfriend at the time to the Olive Garden. The nearest location was more than 30 miles away, but the one who birthed me felt it would be well worth it. I'd never been there, but was up to giving it a shot. I've never been a fan of pasta, so opted for the pizza. It wasn't bad.

A few months later, I was newly dating my wife-to-be. We loved driving to LaCrosse that summer; going to a movie and the Italian eatery. One afternoon while there, I saw that they had white grape juice. Wondering what it tasted like and thinking it might be good, I ordered it and found it to be delicious. They served it in a small glass, so I typically ordered two refills while there. My beloved started calling it our love juice (insert joke, if you're so inclined).

There was an older waiter who frequently took our order. He became part of the tradition of our visits there. One weekend in 1997, I asked our favorite server for another hit of white grape. A moment later, he came out with the following in his hand:

My jaw dropped somewhat. Here I'd thought it had been some exotic brand, not necessarily from Italy, but certainly not a confection made by Welch's. My partner admitted surprise that our "love juice" could be bought at any major grocery store. After that, the juice lost its luster a tad though it still tasted the same. The item is no longer on the Olive Garden menu.

$1 Entree

It's that time again, time to save a few bucks at my favorite restaurant in the world, Friday's.

Leave a note in the comments and I'll email you a coupon good until April 30th for a $1 entree with the purchase of one at the regular price. It can be used over and over again. As a bonus, you'll also get a coupon for any appetizer you want for one cent as long as you sit in the bar and order a beverage. I ate there earlier this evening and it should surprise absolutely no one that their chicken strips taste even better priced at a meager dollar.

Caged

A friend of mine and I were talking this afternoon about the career arc of Nicolas Cage. He has a new movie out today called "Knowing" which looks about as compelling as most of the other films he's been in over the past 4 to 5 years. Ten years ago, he was at the top of his game starring in one of the best action movies I've ever seen, "Face/Off", and showing dramatic chops in films that easily could've been crap ("City of Angels", "Bringing Out The Dead").

He was still good in the early '00s, most particularly in "Adaptation" in which he played twins who were writing screenplays. Since 2005, his films have been downright intolerable. Not that I've seen many of them, but a quick look over at RottenTomatoes will tell the tale. Here are a few of the ones I'm referring to: "The Wicker Man", "GhostRider", "Next", "Bangkok Dangerous", and "National Treasure 2". My favorite movie columnist was discussing this very issue in a piece I came across a half hour ago.

Will the Cage of old ever return? Probably not, but thankfully he made a minor masterpiece about 5 years ago that I was lucky enough to see on the big screen. It's called "The Weather Man" and I highly recommend it.

Adaptation

I signed up to get emails from Obama late last summer. Back then, I read virtually every paragraph of every message. Now I look at the first sentence or so and then delete them. I don't have the heart to unsubscribe (yet). My mother purchased Obama's second book "The Audacity of Hope" for me last November. I made it through about half before getting bored with the dryness and all the talk of America's founding fathers. Last week, I replaced the Obama button I had on my jean jacket with one that says, "I am the Hope of Humanity" (I got it at the Ashland retreat). I've really not paid much attention to what Obama's been doing since he was inaugurated a month and a half ago. I feel that he's doing the best he can and am not too concerned about the details (though the porkiness of the stimulus bill is a cause for concern). Overall, I'm very happy he was elected, but it's fascinating how fast he went from something fresh to same ol', same ol.

About a year ago, I upgraded from a 96 Neon to an 05 Elantra. I felt like King Shit for quite a while, but now it's just my car, nothing overly special. Same thing for the 08 Accord that my wife has. These things speak to how fast we adapt. Even those who win lotteries eventually go back to the level of happiness they had before. Is this good or bad? It's hard to say, but such is life. It's quite possible that we adapt more slowly to losing things than we do to gaining them. I know it took me a great deal of time to get over the loss of my first dog. When a long-term relationship ends, it can take an incredible amount of time for one to gain true acceptance.

In sum, I'd say it's best not to jump to conclusions that you'll be forever happy if you obtain this or that.

It may make you feel that way for a time, but it's not gonna last. Like the best orgasm, it will be over before you know it. Best to enjoy what you have and leave it at that.

Doody Balls

I woke up yesterday morning feeling constipated, but certain that with a bit of fiber, I could bring my creation to full fruition. After taking my morning meds, I ingested a few fiber capsules. With that, I was set and evacuated for a short time. I knew there would be more to come, so walked a bit around the house knowing that exercise is a good way to "get things going".

I'd already go through all three of the weekly rags I get, so was perusing Billboard's Book of Number One Hits while on the throne; It devotes a full page to every number one hit from 1955 ("Rock Around the Clock") to 1988 ("Together Forever" by Rick Astley). I bought the publication close to 20 years ago. You know you're pretty hard up for reading material when you start looking over CD liner notes.

As luck would have it, I was off work for the day, so was able to spend most of my time in a bathrobe. In the end, I probably ingested about 8 FibCaps. I've said it before, but those things are miracle workers.

When I feel like I have to go, but can't quite get it out, 2 tabs makes everything alright. They're like InstaLaxatives.

In the early evening, I dug around the basement for a couple pages I'd written back in '05 about Brandy, our Saint Bernard. I found both pages and had a chuckle being reminded of things I'd forgotten about:

"I remember when it would snow hard, I'd go in the front to shovel and Bran would sit there eating as much snow as she could."

I know I could drop some more friends off at the pool this evening if I just took a couple more tablets. Destiny awaits...

I Love the 60's

In the latest issue of Newsweek, there's an article about a concert recently put on by early 90's relics, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.

One of the more interesting points expressed is that most of the people in attendance were only just being born when the two were at the top of their game. In other words, they weren't the kids who initially bought the albums, but who came to the music later through VH1 reruns or listening to an older siblings music collection. They're nostalgic for the music of a prior generation.

I've done this myself. In 1986, at the age of 15, I grew dissatisfied with pop music and began purchasing cassettes by 60's Motown artists. After a few months of collecting the greatest hits of the Supremes, the Temptations, the Jackson 5, the Four Tops, etc, I moved on to the Beatles.

I started with their greatest hits and eventually obtained every one of their major recordings. While others in my class were listening to Bon Jovi and Whitney Houston, I was spending my spare time reading all I could about the group from Liverpool that changed the world. Though they broke up shortly before I was born, their music is so much a part of me that it really does feel as if I grew up during the 60's (when their albums were initially released).