Let It Snow

We had to come all the way to Illinois to get some snow. And boy did we get it.

Today the kids talked me into taking them sledding at the local park. We had a great time. Along with the fun of sledding we had some human bowling added to the mix. There were so many people climbing up the hill it was hard to miss them sometimes. Luckily there were no injuries.


Brianna decided to change her braking method after she tried this one.

Alex is trying on his angelic side. Didn't last long.

Doll Hands

Thanks to our good friends I have had to suffer through the incessant quoting of the creepiest character on TV for about two weeks. I don't see the end in sight. Mind you it's not just the kids! Kathi is equally devoted to biting at my sanity.

So as the kind person I am I'm going to share with you the source of the torture. Not that the video itself isn't funny, but 24/7 repetition and impersonation does take its toll.

Trailers Pulling Me In

I am a sucker for movie trailers. Previews as some call it. My favorite site for these is www.apple.com/trailers. Yesterday while perusing what is coming in 2010 I stumbled onto the Iron Man 2 trailer. Oh my goodness - May can't come soon enough. It looks amazing. Go to the previous mentioned site and watch it if you haven't seen it yet. Go! Now! What are you waiting for?

The thing that caught my attention the most was Mickey Rourkes character Whiplash. He looks, as my wife put it, Bad Ass! The only part I didn't like was seeing that Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Rhodey. Not that I don't like Mr. Cheadle I just happen to have liked Terrance Howard's performance in the first movie. It was like when they replaced Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. I like Maggie Gyllenhaal but thought the replacement was unnecessary as Katie Holmes performance was decent.

Both our kids birthday's are in May so we'll probably make this a family movie outing. From what I can see in the preview, this looks like it can match, if not, out do the first Iron Man. Robert Downey is definitely the key to its success; as Tony Stark he is perfect.

God is Funny

If anyone thinks that God doesn't have a sense of humor they aren't paying close enough attention.

I believe that this Global Warming thing is a sham and that later generations will look back at us and chuckle. Remember the Avian Flu or Swine Flu panic? I think Global Warming is just like those. A lot of panic for nothing. I will concede that there are things we can do to take better care of what we have been given but I've not been convinced that the world is ending.

Back to God's sense of humor. I saw this article today. The title is great - Blizzard Dumps Snow on Copenhagen as Leaders Battle Warming. I picture God in all his glory getting a laugh at those that had to put on thier ear muffs because of all this warming.

Alex Sparring

Tonight I borrowed the Flip I just purchased for the office to get a little video of the boy sparring at Tae Kwon Do. I love watching him on Wednesday nights. Sometimes he's a bit timid and backs off but he'll always go back in to fight. Tonight he took a kick to the mouth and kept in the battle. I could tell he was hurt but he didn't show it.

This video is of Alex sparring with a boy of a higher belt. Alex is in the blue pads.

Recent Thoughts

Last night I had to clean up my daughters vomit that inconveniently landed on her bedroom carpet.  I'm a sympathetic puker so this was no easy task.  Despite my gagging I got it done.

I'm liking Lady GaGa.

Shows I can't stand to miss each week thus I am greatful for Hulu are; House and Fringe.

I have come to grips with the fact that the Raiders will suck until Al Davis is dead.

I don't think people spend enough time with themselves these days.  With all the stimulus around us we are rarely alone with our own thoughts.  It makes me wonder if people really know themselves.

The Honeycrisp is the best apple ever.

I'm no longer calling my self a "Scrooge" during the Christmas season.  I've got to find another name for one who loves what we celebrate at Christmas but not what this country has made it into.

I'm disappointed that I don't journal my dreams anymore.  I've had some doozy's.

I hope that the movie Avatar is as good as it looks.

God needs to remember what a minute feels like, let alone eleven years.

I will not use the word 'ginormous' or 'phat'.  But I will use 'plethera' and 'discombuberated'.

If all the unfinished thoughts in my head were pennies I'd be able to retire today.

Funny Girl

while playing Apples to Apples:

Girly: ...but Dad, mermaids aren't real.

Me:  sure they are

Girly: then why don't you call one up on her shell phone?

Thanksgiving!

On a serious note.

Today we give thanks to the God of all creation for all the wonderful things he does. In that thanks let us not forget those that are not sitting with family today enjoying a big meal.

Let us remember the troops who are on foreign land fighting for our freedom.

Let us remember the child on the street in Bangladesh who is begging for a meal today.

Let us remember the young girl who is held against her will to do unspeakable things for men with dark hearts.

Let us remember the forgotten who have been placed in a home to die.

Let us remember the boys who hold guns instead of books.

Let us remember the cold, the ill, the hungry, and the imprisoned.

Let us remember the least of these. Our neighbors. Our enemies.

Let us not forget what Jesus has taught us. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love the least of these.

Lord, in our comfort please make us uncomfortable.

Happy Thanksgiving

On a light note.

Often when we think of cars we think "what else can they come up with?" Okay, maybe you don't, but I do. Cars are cool. I think of them as works of art.

BMW has blown my mind with their latest work. Watch the video below and tell me it's not one of the coolest things you've seen.

Random Cellies

Today I figured out how to get the photos off my cell phone memory card.  So to celebrate I am sharing more  random pictures that have been stored up over the year.

Here is one of the girly with her puppy.  You can tell by the look on his face that he's loving it.

Where's Alex?

Alex got a treat at Sports Clips. He was in heaven here. When the guy pulled out the hot towel I was a bit worried but it ended up being his favorite part.

Sunflower at the farm.

A nice view in traffic.

Mt. Hood in the distance.

A crappy view in traffic.

The girly had to try on my new shades. I had to get a pic.

Morning Sky

This morning the sky was on fire.  I got a couple shots of it with my cell phone to share.

To the east was the sunrise which looked like clouds of fire surrounding the backlit Mt. Hood.  If you click on the photo you'll get the full size image and you can see Mt. Hood right above the car in front of me.

To the west was a beautiful double rainbow. This makes the longer commute totally worth it on mornings like this.

Movie Top Ten - Actress in a Leading Role

A short time ago I posted my top ten favorite male actors.  I had fun choosing the photos for that list.  This list is of my top ten favorite leading ladies.  The photos were harder to choose.  I did all black and white for the men and was going to do all color photos for the ladies but failed.  There were a couple black and whites of the ladies I could not resist.

Here's the ladies.

Amy Adams - I first remember seeing her in Enchanted and thought she was perfect in that role. Recently we saw her in Julie & Julia and she was perfect. She gets bonus points for being a redhead.

Angelina Jolie - Okay maybe she's not on the list for her acting abilities although I did love her in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Ellen Page - Two movies; Juno and Hard Candy. I look forward to seeing this young lady more.

Emma Thompson - Can this lady do wrong? I don't think so. There is too much good to list so I'll mention a couple I just loved. In Stranger Than Fiction you could feel her neuroticism oozing off the screen. She brought Prof. Trelawney to life. In Nanny McPhee it was visually amazing to watch her transformation.

Jamie Lee Curtis - There is just something about this lady I just like but can't put my finger on it. A Fish Called Wanda = Brilliant!

Joan Cusack - Although she's rarely the leading lady, I just love it when she's in a movie. Grosse Pointe Blank is a favorite.

Madeline Kahn - Two movies put her on the list; Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles.

Maryl Streep - What's to say about the queen of the screen? She's amazing. She pulls of leading lady, bitch, tough chick, lover, tender-heart, monster, and comedienne like no other.

Queen Latifa - Despite Taxi I put her on the list. I loved her in Chicago and I think she is just beautiful.

Sigourney Weaver - Put a gun in this ladies hands and there is no stopping her. What guy didn't love her in Aliens?

Da Punkins

We carved pumpkins last night 'cause it's fun.  Here's what we came up with.

Alex's is a vampire and Brianna's is French.  I'm not sure what she meant by that but that's what she said she was making - a French pumpkin.

Here they are all a glow.

Mine is the cyclops that looks like Mike from Monsters Inc.  Kathi's is the happy one.

I don't take Halloween very serious.  Actually if it wasn't for the kids I wouldn't do anything for it.  The pumpkins are the only part I like and I think it's because it involves knives and fire - two very manly things.  The candy was the draw as a kid but as an adult I can have candy anytime I want, which is most all the time.  I love me the candy.

Be safe out there tonight everyone.

Teshy Dreams

Last night I dreamt that I was travelling with John Tesh.  You know, former host of ET, piano playing, John Tesh.  Yep, the one and only.  I don't know where we were going or why I was with him, I just was. 

Besides the oddity of him being in my dream, nobody knew who he was in my dream.  He would get stopped by people because they knew he was famous but he would have to explain who he was to them.

After navigating through the airport we arrived at our gate and boarded the plane.  After getting in the air the pilot announced that celebrity Sean Astin was going to come up to the cockpit and fly the plane for a bit.  So I'm sitting next to John Tesh and Sean "Rudy" Astin was flying the plane.  What can I say?  When I dream, I dream big.

The hobbit turned out to be a terrible pilot and repeatedly flew threw powerlines and skimmed buildings.  At one point I was concerned for my life. Not John's.  Just mine.

Many dreams I have I'd love to know the meaning behind, this one I'd rather not.

HaHaHaHAHAHAha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Really.  For your debut this is what you came up with?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

I can hardly stand it.

Toupee or Not Toupee

Last night before turning in for the night I caught a bit of The Jay Leno Show. Michelle Obama had a charming little question session via satellite before Jay brought out his main guest, Colin Firth. I don't really know much about Mr. Firth nor have I seen many of the movies he's been in, but once he appeared from backstage my toupeedar was screaming.

Check it for yourself. Is it or isn't it? Let me know what you think.

Tree Time

I love watching the changing trees during the Fall.

There is one particular tree that I just love. It is next door to our office and I watch it change every year. It changes very fast so I only get to enjoy it for about three weeks.

This is what it looked like last week

This is what it looked like this afternoon

This is one of the many many reasons I love living in Portland and why I love the rain.  This is what beauty the rain brings to this area.

Movie Top Ten - Actors in a Leading Role

There are a number of actors (male) that I love and will see in just about any kind of movie.  I'm going to share my top ten.

These are not tabloid-junky stars.  These are men of the screen and I love their movies.  They have classic faces, memorable roles, and have stood the test of time.

 

Clint Eastwood - This man puts the 'man' in manly. With the exception of Pink Cadillac, I'd sit down for just about any Eastwood flick anytime.

Denzel Washington - Happens to be my wife's favorite guy. I am really looking forward to his upcoming movie The Book of Eli.  One of my favorites of his is Man on Fire.

Gene Hackman - The intensity he can bring to bear on the screen is amazing. Sometimes you just love to hate his character which makes him just brilliant.

Michael Caine - Hello. Don't need to say much about this guy. One thing I'll say is that his voice helped put him on this list. I love to hear him talk.

Gene Wilder - Two things put Mr. Wilder on the list - his comic genius and the love he had for his wife, the late Gilda Radner.

Bruce Willis - Say what you want but I love his movies.

Christopher Walken - Hey, he's crazy and scares the heck out of me. What's not to like?

Alan Rickman - From his first scene in Die Hard I knew I'd like this guy. When he brought Snape to life in the Harry Potter movies he confirmed his spot on this list.

James Woods - He's smug, arrogant, and a bit cocky. So. That's why I like him.

Gary Oldman - Last but certainly not least. If I have to explain why he's on the list you've never seen one of his movies. If you haven't start with Leon (aka The Professional)

Alex the Comic Genius

Last night while I suffered through an agonizing loss by the Angels, Alex was diligently working on a comic for me.  He knows my affinity for pirates so that was his theme.

We've got swords, planks, guns, canons, pirates getting eaten by sharks,  "aargs" - what more could you ask for?  Oh yeah - total annihilation!

*** Click on the Image for Full Size ***

Kids Say...

Brianna:  "Some of the men at the race today were wearing really short shorts.  They just shouldn't wear those."

Race Time

Most Saturday's are sleep in days for us.  Today we were up early.  First, we had to take the van in to have the power steering looked at and our appointment was at 6:30.  AM people!  A frigging M!  On a Saturday!  What can I say it's what we could get.  After dropping the van off we grabbed the kids to be at Cook Park by 8:30 in order to help with the Catalyst Challenge 5K/10K run.  This was a first for us.

First I have to say that the weather was a total blessing.  It's October in Oregon so the forecast was for rain on and off all day.  We showed up the same time the blue sky did.  It was awesome.  We donned our race shirts and folded up our hoodies and put them aside.

We've participated a couple times in charity walks and fundraisers but never a run.  It is way more official and serious than a charity walk.  These runners take it very serious.  Some more than others but they were into it nonetheless.

Our role was to help at the end of the race by collecting the runners tags after they finished the run. A guy was set up with his three laptops and a printer to track and post the results and we stood off to the side to wait for the runners to come in.  As they came in we gathered the tags and put them in order on a tether.  I guess this was to help the time keeper verify the order later but I'm not really sure. Some runners knew what we needed some we didn't and would have to chase them down.  Others had tore off the tag or left them elsewhere.  So much for verification.  All in all it was interesting to see and be part of the process.

The weather throughout the race was awesome.  Everyone was just loving it.  Towards the end we got word there was only a couple people left on the course we began to tear down the equipment.  Right then a couple sprinkles came down.  The second to the last runner came in and a few more drops came down.  We moved the electronics under cover.  Then the rain started and the last runner came in.  We grabbed her tag and BAM!  Thunder and lighting.  It was spectacular.  The change from the earlier blue skies to this massive rain was amazing.  We stood under the shelter debating if we should walk through it or wait.

As we debated I hear Alex calling me as he was running down the path.  Leave it to the eight year old to get the most out of the rain.  He and his buddy were soaked and loving it.

We decided to not wait it out.  We grabbed our things and booked it to the main area.  Not long after we get there the rain lets up.  So were a little wet - we had a good time, met some great people and helped a good cause.  Kathi has been inspired to train to do a run next year.  I think I might join her.

Stair Fun

I found this very clever. But maybe we could just take out the escalators. That would guarantee 100% stair usage.

Now... further down the road

After writing this post, I googled "itchy chin" because I was just wondering.

The number one link contains this from Yahoo - UK:

Question by sarahlou212
Itchy Chin???
you know when you have itchy feet it means new ground, and itchy hands mean you are going to lose money or come into money, well my chin has been itching like mad, any ideas what that means?

Answer from jugglermatt1
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
We used to use the expression itchy chin when I was at school.I think it means that we dont believe what someone is saying,or they are exagerrating too much.It comes with its own mime(essencial).Maybe , someone is telling you porky pies.

Porky pies? Well that calls for another google...

From WordWeb online we get:

Noun: porky pie
Usage: Brit

1.A trivial lie
"he told a porky pie about eating his spinach"
- fib, story, tale, tarradiddle, taradiddle, porky [Brit]
Derived forms: porky pies

Type of: lie, prevarication

Gotta love the Brits.

Now

Right now I just poured myself a fresh cup of coffee, my computer is not protected from a lightning strike, my chin itches, Ghost Train is playing on my Marc Cohn Pandora Station, I have eleven cents in my pocket, my back hurts, I've got a Word document to edit and an email to send to some tardy-pant Brits. And I don't think this would fit on the Twitter account that I don't have.

I'm living in the NOW.

Watch This - Please.

Manning Overload

Don't get me wrong, even as a Raider fan I love Payton Manning. He's an upstanding guy, good at his job, and has a sense of humor about himself. The question I have is - why is he in the Sony commercial for their book reader product? Why? He just sits there. No lines, no dialog, nothing. He is just present. Sitting there. Being Payton. I just don't get it. How much was he paid to sit there, say nothing, and be Payton Manning? The speed reader talks, the lady who wrote a book talks, even Justin Timberlake talks. Why not Payton? Is it his accent? Is he so floored by the awesomeness of this product that he's speechless? What?

I'm mystified.

Uhg! It's Begun...

In parenthood there are certain milepost's along the journey that are inevitable. Today the inevitable arrived on somebody else's time frame.

Alex is eight. Eight year old boys start to hear things from other boys. Today I overheard in our front yard another boy who was playing with Alex saying "this is a vagina and here is my penis... uhn... uhn.. uhn...". It has begun.

We knew that the "talk" would soon be coming and I knew that I would be the one to handle it with Alex. Kathi had the "talk" with Brianna about the time Brianna was eight.

Upon hearing the above I called Alex in the house and had an introduction conversation to the topic of sex and sexual nature. Let's just say it was Sex Talk 101.a with a side discussion about lewd talk and decency. I finished up by telling Alex we would talk more about it, which will be Sex Talk 101.b through Sex Talk 401.

The poor boy just looked at me with his jaw on his chest and his arms folded just under his chin. I think he was mystified by my ability to hear through solid walls in addition to the fact that I used the words sex, penis, erection and vagina all in the same conversation.

This will be an interesting milepost to get through. I want to do it right and do it in a way that doesn't scare Alex in way that keeps him from talking to me about it whenever he has a question in the future.

For my mom

Mom,

In reference to your facebook comment on this post I submit the following.

I know you'd never buy the CD or download the song so here is a link that you can listen to it: just click here.

Love you,

Brian

Rain / Sun

Tonight I got to experience one of my favorite things. Rain and sun at the same time.

Since I've been laid up all day with a sore back and bursitis in my elbow I decided a walk was in store. I can't let myself atrophy on the couch can I?

I decided to walk. The timing was perfect. Above me were dark cloud dripping their moisture on me as to the right was the sun leaving us for the evening. As the rays passed through the droplets, the droplets sparkled. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, and one of my favorite things.

Because of the beauty the walk was extended. I went all the way to the used bookstore and the game store. I say my friend Joe drive by on the highway - Hi Joe! He honked. Then I hit 7-11 for a PowerBall ticket. Who knows? Maybe I can travel the world looking for rain and sun.

The Bag Man Cometh

Last night I had a dream that I was a bag man for a drug runner. It was one of those highly detailed dreams that seem to last a long time.

The dream started with me and my partner pulling two bags out of the trunk of our car. We had a backpack and a rolling carry on. With the bags unloaded we headed into the hotel. We bypassed the check in clerk and headed straight to the room. Inside the room we were met by two others. My job was to empty out the contents of the bag and refill them once the exchange was done.

Much to my surprise, we were the buyers. I had to load the bags with pouches stuffed with drugs. In this case I think it was cocaine as it was solid white. Once the drugs were in the bag I then began covering the drugs with clothes and other items to help disguise them in the case of a search. In most dreams there are points of the dream the become weird and make little sense. This was the first part of the dream that had the weird moment. While I was putting the clothes in the bag I looked under the bed to find more and under the bed were a couple knit hats I knew my daughter had made. What those hats were doing in this hotel room I had no idea. I stuffed them in the bag and zipped them closed.

As I got the bags up on the bed ready to go there were only three of us in the room. Me, my partner, and one of the sellers who was now putting on gloves. After he got his black leather gloves on he pulled a gun and pointed it at my partners head and asked him a question. My partner shook his head and the gun swung towards me. The seller then asked me a question, of which I don't remember hearing. Taking the cue from my partner I also shook my head and the gun went back into his jacket and we were free to leave.

I had the bags walking through the lobby when a tour guide stopped me and said, "Brian, the police are at the car because somebody saw something in it." He warned me. I didn't know who he was, but he was in the know. At this point I was still calm. I knew they didn't know who to look for, just that something had gone down because somebody saw something in our trunk. What that something was I had no idea.

I calmly walked out of the hotel and was thinking I had to dump the red bag. I guess the red bag had the drugs. I stopped by some bushes and dropped down pretending to tie my shoes. My plan was to stash the bag. As I scanned the area I noticed that there were police all over looking through the bushes and garbage can for something. I guessed that they were looking for what I had. My plan had to be scrapped as they'd see me dumping the bag.

When I saw the car we arrived in it was surrounded by police cars and police personnel. I saw no sign of my partner. At this I decided to just walk on. With bags in tow I turned the corner and headed towards some fast food restaurants. I decided the best course of action would be to hide the red bag in the ceiling of one of the bathrooms. I had a choice between Wendy's and Burger King. This is the point which the dream faded.

Anyone want to analyze this one?

An Artist on the Rise

Here is the latest offering from our young artist on the rise. Brianna is really enjoying art class and it shows with the wonderful work she's been doing. Keep it up Girly!

All Around Me - Flyleaf

This song is covered by David Crowder on his new CD. The original is by Flyleaf. It is a wonderful song.

My hands are searching for you
My arms are outstretched towards you
I feel you on my fingertips
My tongue dances behind my lips for you

This fire rising through my being
Burning I'm not used to seeing you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

My hands float up above me
And you whisper you love me
And I begin to fade
Into our secret place

The music makes me sway
The angels singing say we are alone with you
I am alone and they are too with you

I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

And so I cry
The light is white
And I see you

I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

Take my hand
I give it to you
Now you own me
All I am
You said you would never leave me
I believe you
I believe

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healed

The Tea Party

For my ladies 40th birthday I threw her a tea party. Thanks to Krista for the help and supplies and my mom for the beautiful flowers the party turned out well.

This was a first for me. I know it's hard to believe but I've never thrown a tea party before yesterday. I did some reading on the web for hints to what needs to happen to have a successful tea party and the reading paid off.

The teas served were: Precious White Peach, Matevana & Rooibos Chai, Jasmine Dragon Pearls for the hot teas and Southern Sweet Tea for the cold tea.

The foods served were: cucumber sandwiches, avocado/tomato/mozzarella English muffins served hot, Russian Tea Cookies (by Krista), chocolate chip cookies, Skittles, and Dove chocolates. For the cake I made lemon cake with strawberry-vanilla frosting topped with crushed white chocolate crumbs.

Here is the spread.
Presenting the birthday girl with her cake. I spared her and our fire alarms the 40 candles.

Thank you to all the ladies that came to make this a special day for Kathi. We love you all.

Remember

Dual Screen Necessity

This is cool.

Look what's coming. I think I'm going to need one of these.

I have two 24" monitors at work and can't imagine working again without them. I figure the more work space the better. One monitor is for my email and database information and the other is my working desktop for active programs. The bummer about using laptops is that this is much harder to achieve. This new invention will be huge and will change the face (literally) of the laptop as we know it.

The Batman

Lately I've taken a break from the heavy reading and have been enjoying some Batman comics and graphic novels. I'm not a huge comic book reader but I've always enjoyed Batman. His humanness and uniqueness as a superhero makes him my favorite.

Where most superheroes rely on a supernatural power or object of power, Batman relies on his intelligence and physical ability. Yes, he's got toys like the Batmobile and Batplane but these are man made creations. His skills as a detective are top notch and his fighting abilities would put him on top of the UFC.

The reading I've done has brought me from the simple beginnings of Bob Kane's art and Bill Finger's story telling to the brilliance of David Mazzucchelli's art and the darkness of Frank Miller's writing. Of all the stories I've read thus far Frank Miller's are my favorite. From "Year One" to "The Dark Knight Returns" to "All Star Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder". Jeff Loeb comes in a close second with the Hush series. The only one that I've read that I didn't care for much was "Batman - Arkham Asylum (A Serious House on Serious Earth)". Not only was the story dull but the artwork was odd and not in a style I care for.

One thing that is interesting about Batman is that he doesn't apologize for who he is. As the Justice League is frustrated by him and his exploits that leave a black mark on the name Superhero, he continues on. His methods are born from Man's desire for punishment on those who do wrong and from his own desire to clean up the city that he loves. He is harsh, dark and unconventional and that is why he is intriguing. Each writer has their own take on these traits but each holds true to the fact that although Batman fights against the bad guys he is not neccessarily a "good" guy.

The more I read, the more I see the complexity of Batman. Superman has his strength and ability to fly, Green Lantern has his ring, the Hulk has his Hulkiness, and others have powers that have been given to them through accidents, aliens or whatever, but Batman has his anger, money, dual identity and drive. This keeps him going and makes him more interesting than the others.

A Litttle Diddy

For the past four years I've been on a journey. I truly believe that the Holy Spirit has prompted this journey in me and many others. There is a swelling of people in the Church that are questioning the status quo. In essence there is movement. People are moving. The Church is moving.

I first recognized my journey for what it is after reading Blue Like Jazz (thank you, Sarah). I was reading the book thinking "yes, this guy gets me. There is more out there. I want to be a part of it." Since then I've come to the knowledge that I was unsettled in my place in the Church. I was no longer fine with the way I was trained to think of church. I felt compelled to go beyond what I know.

I think the institutional church is in need of revolution and repair. What has been is in need of adjustment and repair.

I don't have the answers nor do I think I am the poster child of Christianity. I am just one on a journey that is filled with 41 years of experience. I feel like I've been there and done that but still feel like there is more out there for me to be part of. I think Jesus wants more from me.

At http://researchingforjesus.blogspot.com/ I am journaling my experience. I'm not sure if it will go any where or mean anything. I just feel like it needs to be written out. My goal is to go as long as I can, as far back as I can remember, and as truthful as humanly possible.

Star Wars Humor

Star Wars fans will get it.

AAAGGGHHH!!!

Brianna had the perfect opportunity to kill me tonight. Literally.

While I took Alex to TaeKwonDo our friend took Brianna to the library for a stage makeup demonstration. I didn't know about the subject of the library time until after I got home.

Alex and I had pulled up to the house and I was saying hi to a neighbor when Brianna came out of the house calmly saying "hey, Dad! look what I had done."

If she would have come out of the house holding her face and crying I would have keeled over from a heart attack.

Owen's Nemesis

Behind our house is a wooded area. When you have a wooded area you have critters. These critters have become Owen's nemeses.

On occasion I'll cut Owen loose to rid the backyard of the intruders. I think it makes him feel like the big dog. As a ball-less poodle he probably has some masculinity issues and this is probably good therapy for him.

Pink is Out

I guess nobody likes the strawberry very much. When I returned to the office on Friday most of them were still there.

I think I'll hoard all the orange for myself.

Starburst Experiment

Work has been a bit crazy lately and my stress level has been a bit high. Today I decided that I needed a distraction. So I made one up.

At work I am the candy guy. I have a dish (actually it's a record) that is filled with candy most of the time. Currently it is a mix of Starbursts and Willy Wonka goodies.

The experiment goes like this:

1. Fill the bent up bowl shaped Barry Manilow record with equal amounts of each color Starbursts.
2. Let the Starbursts get consumed by el co-office inhabitants.
3. See which is the last color standing.

My experiment was a success.

In order here are the favorites.

#1 - Cherry

#2 - Orange

#3 - Lemon

#4 - Strawberry

Not only was Strawberry last, not a single one was taken.

Since I am off tomorrow to help my sister out with a project in Washington I decided to further my experiment. I took a bunch of the strawberry flavors out of the bag and filled the dish with them. I want to see how many, since they are the only flavor, will get eaten while I'm gone.

My bet is that most will still be there. More to come...

Rain, Rain, ahhhh

On my ride home tonight it started raining - it's Oregon, what do you expect? Well I love it. I'm sitting here now listening to it come down. The sound is one of my favorites in the world. There are days at work when I drive down to the river just to sit in my car and listen to it. The sound is pure and cleansing.

It is random yet consistent. It isn't too loud and doesn't have volume control even if it was. I love it.

People I talk to at work from all over the world often comment on the amount of rainfall we get here in the Northwest and they are always surprised to hear that I enjoy the rain. Why not love it, it's what makes this place so green and beautiful.

Next week it is supposed to be back in the 90's but I have no fear... the rain will return.

Wendy's Fright

Have you ever tried to eat while you are scared? It ain't easy let me tell ya.

Today Brianna and I stopped at Wendy's (her choice) for a bite to eat before heading down to Dayton to visit with family. We ordered and sat down in the back to eat. I chose the back because no one was there and we could eat in peace. It's kind of like walking into the movie theater and finding the best seats that aren't near anyone. We had those. I had finished my jr. bacon cheeseburger and was starting on my value menu chicken sandwich when a shadow fell across the table and I knew our space had been invaded.

Invaded it was. Sitting perpendicular to us was the intruder. With all the empty seats and tables available this was a peculiar choice for the invader. Again with the movie theater analogy - it is like sitting in an empty theater and having someone come in and sit right in front of you. Odd. So I peeked over. It was a quick peek. Very quick. GAH! I didn't know what to think. I know this is somebodies mom and grandma but I was scared. This lady had on makeup that was scary. More scary than Mimi from the Drew Carey Show.

I notice that Brianna had looked too because she was now facing the window trying to quickly swallow the bite she just took and to avoid eye contact with me. We both knew. It was time to go.

"Briannna, are you almost done there? If you want you can take it with you and eat in the car."

I looked again. She was staring at us with the face of a scary clown. I know you think I am exaggerating but I'm not. She was staring. Let's just say that metallic blue eye make up was nothing, even though it covered half her face, it was the lip makeup that did it. She had painted exaggerated black lines around the edge of her lips with something that probably resembled a Sharpie pen. Scary! Black on pale pink - not a good combo.

After was seemed like an eternity being stared at by Scary Clown Lady, and 50 questions to Brianna about the state of her food in like 30 seconds - "are you done" "are you sure you want those fries" - and the offer to have her eat in the car she relented. "Dad, maybe I can finish this in the car." "YES, you can." Whoosh. Off we went leaving Scary Clown Lady to stare at our empty seats.

Phew. Safe. The moment we passed the threshold of the front door and with the knowledge we couldn't be heard we turned to each other and said simultaneously "DID YOU SEE THAT?" and burst out laughing. I know I'll be punished for laughing but it was the kind of laugh you have after a fright that could take your life and I couldn't help it.

Mom's Glad I Never Did This!

Extreme Pool Jump - For more amazing video clips, click here

Beer. Mmmm...

Yesterday I attended the Oregon Brew Fest down on the Portland waterfront. The weather was hot, the crowd was large, the music was rock'n and the beer was flowing.

My pallet votes best in show a tie between Rogue Ales Latona Pale Ale and Widmer's KGB. These beer's were very different from each other but both were outstanding.

My pallet votes worst in show as Terminal Gravity Brewing's Festivale. This was not a good beer. It was a brown beer that tasted like something brown was put in it. Sorry Terminal but if I was to drink a full glass of that I think I would have been terminal.

In fairness I will say of the 80 plus beers on tap I only sampled eight or so. It was disappointing to see how many breweries ran out of their featured beer so early in the day. McMenamin's Concordia Breweries featured beer was Hot for Teacher IPA which was out by the time we got to their tap and was replaced with their Ruby which is a very fruity beer I won't drink.

The crowd was typical Portland. Which means a bit of everyone and everything was there. The one thing that surprised me was how many people brought their kids. Granted there were some stands for craft soda's which would be fun for the kids, it just didn't seem like the place to take a kid. The crowd for the most part was on its best behavior which helped make the experience better.

People in line were very friendly and most wanted to talk about beer which is good because that is why we were there. Over the years my appreciate for beer and what it takes to make it and the variety of flavors has grown. The beauty of living in Portland is that there is no shortage of fine crafted brews.

Goodbye 40, you were good to me.

Hello 41, you need to be better.

Sparring

For Alex's birthday we bought him some sparring gear for his Tae Kwon Do class. Last night was his first night to participate in the beating session and he loved it. I totally enjoyed watching him and the others and wished that I could have joined in. When we can afford to I think we'll have the whole family in the class. For now I'll live vicariously through my little butt kicker.

Here's Alex all geared up before class. What you can't see is his favorite part (the cod piece). When we bought the gear he had to try it on which embarrassed him thoroughly.
Here he is delivering a fine front kick.
The boys he was sparring with were all higher belts than him and he held his own. Here he is defending against a side kick during free sparring.