All due respect to my american friends, I'm going to presume that we can all agree that this ann coulter chick is an idiot. Watch this: Now, seriously, to America. Yes, you may be bigger people wise, you may have more money than we do. Congratulations. Please though, don't act like we exist at your mercy. There are 30 million of us. I'm pretty sure we don't exist as a nation at anybody's mercy. If anything, you could say that we're dumb to sell as much as we do to you guys. A sound national economic policy would limit exports to y'all to, maximum, 10-15%. Not out of dislike for anyone, but in the name of economic freedom. I hope that most americans wouldn't agree with the pompous attitude presented in this clip. You'd have to kill at least 2 million of us to take over the country I'm pretty sure. Unless you came through Quebec. Anyway, I found the above clip disgusting and frustrating. Except for the part at the end where Caroline Parrish ripped into the crossfire guy. That was awesome. Anyway.
20041209
20041208
Christmas Shopping: not for the elderly nor the faint at heart.
In honour of the topic of the night, I'm listening to Bing Crosby croon some Christmas Tunes. His pianist—or band leader, or water boy, or something— is named Skitch. Is that Skitch Patterson? Who knows! Could be! Beauty.
So, I was out doing some Christmas shopping, and let me tell you, it's a dog eat dog world out there. Or at least, a dog eat effeminate acting sales person world out there. Christmas shopping isn't easy! You gotta figure out what you're getting people for Christmas, and darn it, it's just hard. Plus, i don't think I've ever been so afraid of toddlers and their moms. It's like the toddlers are the Storm Troopers from Star Wars and their moms... frig, who knew that the emperor could exist in that many incarnations. Tell you what, if we could control the toddlers, and harness their whining and screaming, we'd be able to take over the world. Holy cow. I just finally understood the entire toy industry!
Then, on top of that, you've got the media pressure. Canada.com is running their Holiday special. They talk about bad gifts and good gifts. Gee, thanks Canada.com, for doing that out of the goodness of your hearts. Not like the rest of the media doing it just to try to weasal more cash out of us or their advertisers. You can read that section here, then you'll at least be doing better than the 13% of Canadians who have REGIFTED in the last year. C'mon folks. Seriously. Anyway, it seems like everyone who ever gets a pedestal in culture tries to tell us what to buy for Christmas. I mean, really, who could forget The Twelve Days of Christmas from the Great White North Album, performed by Bob and Doug Mackenzie? Wait, you don't know it? Well, we'll have to remedy that! Here, thanks to the wonderful world wide web, are the lyrics to the aforementioned song. This features some classic Canadian gift ideas. Hehe. Beauty:
Bob: Ok g'day. This is the Christmas part of the album, you can play this at your Christmas partys uh, or to yourself on Christmas eve if there is nothing else to do
Doug: G'day eh? in case you thought like I wasn't on this part.
Bob: Oh i guaranty ya, you'd be on.
Ok so good day, this is the Christmas part, and we're gonna tell ya what to get your true love for Christmas.
Doug: Look out the window!
bob: Where? Whaddya doin?
Doug:Snow!
Bob: Oh it's the great white north, and it's snowin cuz its Christmas time.
Hey, hoser! heres a quiz.. quiz for Doug:
Doug: Ok, I got my thinking toque on!
Bob: Yeah, right. What are the 12 days of Christmas?
Doug: Um.
Bob: Cuz figure it out , right? Christmas is when?
Doug: The 25th.
Bob: Right, well whats the 24th? Xmas eve, right.
Doug: Thats 2.
Bob: Then , whats after that?
Doug: Wrestling day
Bob: No.
Doug: Boxing day.
Bob: Thats 3. Then whats after that? Nothin'.
Doug: New years.
Bob: 4.
Doug: New years eve.
Bob: 5. Where da ya get 12?
Doug: Uh... theres 2 sat's and sun's in there , 4. Thats 9 and 3 other days which i believe are the mystery days.
Bob:Ok, this is our Christmas song, in case ya don't know what to get someone for Christmas.
Doug: Theres lotsa ideas in here, so listen and don't get stuck. By the way , thats me on the organ.
Bob: Ok geeze.
Doug: Ok, you start.
Song Lyrics
Bob: Ok, on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
beer.
On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
2 turtlenecks,
and beer.
On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and a beer.
There should be more there, eh?
Where?
On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Oh. See? ya need more.
On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (background singers start to help)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
6 packs of two-four.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Ok.
On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
7 packs of smokes,
Nice Gift... oh.... (rushes) 6 packs of 24s
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
oh, i keep forgettin'.
whew, this should be just the 2 days of xmas, this is too hard for us!
On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
8 comic books,
7 packs of smokes,
6 packs of two-four,
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon, (background singers)
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Wow,That beers empty
Day 12.
G'day and welcome to day 12.
Yeah.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (all together)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tre-e. (Doug harmonizes)
Where did you learn to do that?
Uh, Albums.
Boy, so thats our song merry Christmas, and g'day.
G'day everybody. Happy new years.
Ok, ya know what ya left out?
What?
Donuts. I told you to get me donuts.
Oh no!
Either on the 9th day, or the 10th day or the 11th day. I wanted donuts.
The song is over merry Christmas everybody,
or the 12th you coulda gotten me a dozen donuts.
Go to the stores and get some presents.
You coulda gone down to the donut shop where you buy a dozen donuts, you get another donut free. Then it coulda been 13 for the 13 days of Christmas.
Next Christmas, get me a chainsaw.
Take off!
Boy that song was a beauty.. it moved me.
Yah , it ranks up there with stairway to heaven.
What?
As a disclaimer, I don't recommend most of those as presents, although 4 pounds of back bacon would be beauty. So, yeah, like, that's it for me. That should be everything you need to go out and do your Christmas Shopping. Or at least to get a bit of a laugh outa good ol' andymack the teetotaler's blog. :-)
BEAUTY
So, I was out doing some Christmas shopping, and let me tell you, it's a dog eat dog world out there. Or at least, a dog eat effeminate acting sales person world out there. Christmas shopping isn't easy! You gotta figure out what you're getting people for Christmas, and darn it, it's just hard. Plus, i don't think I've ever been so afraid of toddlers and their moms. It's like the toddlers are the Storm Troopers from Star Wars and their moms... frig, who knew that the emperor could exist in that many incarnations. Tell you what, if we could control the toddlers, and harness their whining and screaming, we'd be able to take over the world. Holy cow. I just finally understood the entire toy industry!
Then, on top of that, you've got the media pressure. Canada.com is running their Holiday special. They talk about bad gifts and good gifts. Gee, thanks Canada.com, for doing that out of the goodness of your hearts. Not like the rest of the media doing it just to try to weasal more cash out of us or their advertisers. You can read that section here, then you'll at least be doing better than the 13% of Canadians who have REGIFTED in the last year. C'mon folks. Seriously. Anyway, it seems like everyone who ever gets a pedestal in culture tries to tell us what to buy for Christmas. I mean, really, who could forget The Twelve Days of Christmas from the Great White North Album, performed by Bob and Doug Mackenzie? Wait, you don't know it? Well, we'll have to remedy that! Here, thanks to the wonderful world wide web, are the lyrics to the aforementioned song. This features some classic Canadian gift ideas. Hehe. Beauty:
Bob: Ok g'day. This is the Christmas part of the album, you can play this at your Christmas partys uh, or to yourself on Christmas eve if there is nothing else to do
Doug: G'day eh? in case you thought like I wasn't on this part.
Bob: Oh i guaranty ya, you'd be on.
Ok so good day, this is the Christmas part, and we're gonna tell ya what to get your true love for Christmas.
Doug: Look out the window!
bob: Where? Whaddya doin?
Doug:Snow!
Bob: Oh it's the great white north, and it's snowin cuz its Christmas time.
Hey, hoser! heres a quiz.. quiz for Doug:
Doug: Ok, I got my thinking toque on!
Bob: Yeah, right. What are the 12 days of Christmas?
Doug: Um.
Bob: Cuz figure it out , right? Christmas is when?
Doug: The 25th.
Bob: Right, well whats the 24th? Xmas eve, right.
Doug: Thats 2.
Bob: Then , whats after that?
Doug: Wrestling day
Bob: No.
Doug: Boxing day.
Bob: Thats 3. Then whats after that? Nothin'.
Doug: New years.
Bob: 4.
Doug: New years eve.
Bob: 5. Where da ya get 12?
Doug: Uh... theres 2 sat's and sun's in there , 4. Thats 9 and 3 other days which i believe are the mystery days.
Bob:Ok, this is our Christmas song, in case ya don't know what to get someone for Christmas.
Doug: Theres lotsa ideas in here, so listen and don't get stuck. By the way , thats me on the organ.
Bob: Ok geeze.
Doug: Ok, you start.
Song Lyrics
Bob: Ok, on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
beer.
On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
2 turtlenecks,
and beer.
On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and a beer.
There should be more there, eh?
Where?
On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Oh. See? ya need more.
On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (background singers start to help)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
6 packs of two-four.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Ok.
On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
7 packs of smokes,
Nice Gift... oh.... (rushes) 6 packs of 24s
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
oh, i keep forgettin'.
whew, this should be just the 2 days of xmas, this is too hard for us!
On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
8 comic books,
7 packs of smokes,
6 packs of two-four,
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon, (background singers)
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Wow,That beers empty
Day 12.
G'day and welcome to day 12.
Yeah.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES! (all together)
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tre-e. (Doug harmonizes)
Where did you learn to do that?
Uh, Albums.
Boy, so thats our song merry Christmas, and g'day.
G'day everybody. Happy new years.
Ok, ya know what ya left out?
What?
Donuts. I told you to get me donuts.
Oh no!
Either on the 9th day, or the 10th day or the 11th day. I wanted donuts.
The song is over merry Christmas everybody,
or the 12th you coulda gotten me a dozen donuts.
Go to the stores and get some presents.
You coulda gone down to the donut shop where you buy a dozen donuts, you get another donut free. Then it coulda been 13 for the 13 days of Christmas.
Next Christmas, get me a chainsaw.
Take off!
Boy that song was a beauty.. it moved me.
Yah , it ranks up there with stairway to heaven.
What?
As a disclaimer, I don't recommend most of those as presents, although 4 pounds of back bacon would be beauty. So, yeah, like, that's it for me. That should be everything you need to go out and do your Christmas Shopping. Or at least to get a bit of a laugh outa good ol' andymack the teetotaler's blog. :-)
BEAUTY
20041203
vandals... possibly in sandals
Dear friends. I'm taking this time to write to you from my grieving state. This morning, our neighbourhood, nay, our whole city, was rocked by a vandalous attack. White fluffy stuff was blown all over every inch of our city (okay, except the area in the lee of the north west area of every building). These attacks are shocking, and as a city we are standing up and saying "No" to vandalism. These attempts to intimidate us will not be tolerated. The perpetrator of these heinous attacks is asked to make a full confession, after which we can discuss the terms of the reparations. Think Versailles. Again, we will not stand for this. Cities across this nation will join the outcry.
Nah, for now, most people are going to be like, "Oooh, pretty." So, I guess I take that all back. Thanks for snow, God. Now, where did I leave that gas can? I think I need to go start that snowblower.
Nah, for now, most people are going to be like, "Oooh, pretty." So, I guess I take that all back. Thanks for snow, God. Now, where did I leave that gas can? I think I need to go start that snowblower.
20041201
indigo, celebrities, and undisciplined people
(now playing: shame on you // the indigo girls. I think they just made a swear.)
Well, I'm back. But I won't survive (sorry, everytime I say "and now I'm back...") I think of that stupid "I will survive" song. Anyway... righ...tuh. A little rusty, I apologize.
So, I've been thinking about this for a couple of days... everybody's all anti-animal-testing. Me too. As of yesterday morning, when I realized that there was something more pathetic that we could test chemicals on. Namely: Celebrities.
Now you're saying, "Celebrities? Be SERIOUS Mackay. Those people have AGENTS to protect them." And I'm saying, first of all, I've done some research, and I know can say with authority: There is a big difference between an FBI agent and a HOLLYWOOD agent. One carries a gun and the authority of George Bush. The other eats granola for breakfast, and carries the authority of George Clooney (whom I hate (Sorry George.)). Anyway, you're getting me off track. Further to my earlier point, celebrities have ALREADY set up a system whereby we can test them with their tacit approval. See, if I walk into my favorite guitar store and I want to get a new guitar, I'm expected to pay near-to-full price. If Hanson (okay, bad example) walks into my favorite guitar store (Neil Young would be a better example, since he probably has walked into my favorite guitar store. Typically he shops at Ed's more, but whatever Neil) and wants to get a new guitar, they hand it to him. He's a celebrity. He gets it for free, they get publicity.
Lets face it folks, celebrities are used to taking hand outs. We've conditioned them, what with our undeserved and undiscriminating worship of them, and the way they get handed everything on a platter, how would they be able to tell that the thing was a test product? It's all in the approach!!! For example:
Representative for Chemical company XYZ Uraniums, Bob: Mr. Clooney, Mr. Clooney, how 'bout a year's supply of our brand new, ultra-cutting edge "Face Firmer Five Billion" cream cleanser and daily facial moisturizer?
(to clarify, those product names aren't from real products, and also, I don't know what it would mean if they were.)
Clooney: Yeah, sure, why not? More free stuff from my adoring public? I'd love to!!!
later on that night...
Clooney, to self in mirror: Hey good looking! Hmm, this new daily moisturizer kinda tickles funny. I wonder what's in this stuff? Hmm, it just says "Experimental Ingredients." Must be really new wave.
The next morning...
Clooney, waking up: My face feels swollen and weird. I wonder... *Looks at self in mirror, sees Rosie O'Donnell looking back at him* Holy *%$#. I'm calling my agent!
That afternoon...
Ron Ithinkimsohot, agent for George Clooney: Bob, that cutting edge daily facial moisturizer and cream cleanser really did a number on George's face. What the heck is up with that?
Bob: Well, it is an experimental thing. Heck, it's based on a Uranium Extract. We didn't know what it'd do, thanks for the data.
Ron: What? Experimental? Do you think Clooney's some sorta guinea pig?
Bob: Well, I was pretty convinced that Batman and Robin was an experiment in making the worst movie, so Mr. Clooney was the obvious first choice in our new celebrity program. Regardless, it was marked clearly in the packaging. Gee whiz, Ron, don't get so defensive of your client. He'll recover in a couple of days. Meanwhile, you can bill him $400 for this 20 second call.
Ron: You make a great point. Talk to ya soon?
Bob: yeah, we'll do lunch. Catch ya later, i'm off to pitch to Jodie Foster.
Think about it folks! No bunnies were harmed in the making of this chemical compound... only the people that we overpay by far to play "make believe" for a few days in front of a camera so that we can ignore each other and suspend reality for—if we're lucky—two or three hours.
Anyway, that's it for me, for now. I'll try to be more disciplined, just for you mom, since you're the person who reads this. :-)
Well, I'm back. But I won't survive (sorry, everytime I say "and now I'm back...") I think of that stupid "I will survive" song. Anyway... righ...tuh. A little rusty, I apologize.
So, I've been thinking about this for a couple of days... everybody's all anti-animal-testing. Me too. As of yesterday morning, when I realized that there was something more pathetic that we could test chemicals on. Namely: Celebrities.
Now you're saying, "Celebrities? Be SERIOUS Mackay. Those people have AGENTS to protect them." And I'm saying, first of all, I've done some research, and I know can say with authority: There is a big difference between an FBI agent and a HOLLYWOOD agent. One carries a gun and the authority of George Bush. The other eats granola for breakfast, and carries the authority of George Clooney (whom I hate (Sorry George.)). Anyway, you're getting me off track. Further to my earlier point, celebrities have ALREADY set up a system whereby we can test them with their tacit approval. See, if I walk into my favorite guitar store and I want to get a new guitar, I'm expected to pay near-to-full price. If Hanson (okay, bad example) walks into my favorite guitar store (Neil Young would be a better example, since he probably has walked into my favorite guitar store. Typically he shops at Ed's more, but whatever Neil) and wants to get a new guitar, they hand it to him. He's a celebrity. He gets it for free, they get publicity.
Lets face it folks, celebrities are used to taking hand outs. We've conditioned them, what with our undeserved and undiscriminating worship of them, and the way they get handed everything on a platter, how would they be able to tell that the thing was a test product? It's all in the approach!!! For example:
Representative for Chemical company XYZ Uraniums, Bob: Mr. Clooney, Mr. Clooney, how 'bout a year's supply of our brand new, ultra-cutting edge "Face Firmer Five Billion" cream cleanser and daily facial moisturizer?
(to clarify, those product names aren't from real products, and also, I don't know what it would mean if they were.)
Clooney: Yeah, sure, why not? More free stuff from my adoring public? I'd love to!!!
later on that night...
Clooney, to self in mirror: Hey good looking! Hmm, this new daily moisturizer kinda tickles funny. I wonder what's in this stuff? Hmm, it just says "Experimental Ingredients." Must be really new wave.
The next morning...
Clooney, waking up: My face feels swollen and weird. I wonder... *Looks at self in mirror, sees Rosie O'Donnell looking back at him* Holy *%$#. I'm calling my agent!
That afternoon...
Ron Ithinkimsohot, agent for George Clooney: Bob, that cutting edge daily facial moisturizer and cream cleanser really did a number on George's face. What the heck is up with that?
Bob: Well, it is an experimental thing. Heck, it's based on a Uranium Extract. We didn't know what it'd do, thanks for the data.
Ron: What? Experimental? Do you think Clooney's some sorta guinea pig?
Bob: Well, I was pretty convinced that Batman and Robin was an experiment in making the worst movie, so Mr. Clooney was the obvious first choice in our new celebrity program. Regardless, it was marked clearly in the packaging. Gee whiz, Ron, don't get so defensive of your client. He'll recover in a couple of days. Meanwhile, you can bill him $400 for this 20 second call.
Ron: You make a great point. Talk to ya soon?
Bob: yeah, we'll do lunch. Catch ya later, i'm off to pitch to Jodie Foster.
Think about it folks! No bunnies were harmed in the making of this chemical compound... only the people that we overpay by far to play "make believe" for a few days in front of a camera so that we can ignore each other and suspend reality for—if we're lucky—two or three hours.
Anyway, that's it for me, for now. I'll try to be more disciplined, just for you mom, since you're the person who reads this. :-)
20041104
poetical utterances
i can justify that: confessions of a north american
It's not like I'm holding a gun to someone's head,
Even my North American self-centredness couldn't justify that.
Standing by while thousands end up dead?
Yeah, sure, I can justify that.
It's not as though I held up a bank or even a corner store.
I wouldn't dare be so brash.
But stealing forty dollar software from a multi-million dollar corporation?
Seriously, they've got tons of flow.
It's not that I'd deny my total depravity
Paul would roll over in his grave
It's just, well, your sin is clearly worse
than the things that hold me captive.
Yeah, I'm a North American
I can rationalize and justify with the best.
You won't even notice; it'll happen before your very eyes
After all, it's not my fault: I'm a North American.
It's not like I'm holding a gun to someone's head,
Even my North American self-centredness couldn't justify that.
Standing by while thousands end up dead?
Yeah, sure, I can justify that.
It's not as though I held up a bank or even a corner store.
I wouldn't dare be so brash.
But stealing forty dollar software from a multi-million dollar corporation?
Seriously, they've got tons of flow.
It's not that I'd deny my total depravity
Paul would roll over in his grave
It's just, well, your sin is clearly worse
than the things that hold me captive.
Yeah, I'm a North American
I can rationalize and justify with the best.
You won't even notice; it'll happen before your very eyes
After all, it's not my fault: I'm a North American.
20041031
freakin' weekends, and other assorted things
now playing: neil young // silver and gold album. and the riff in buffalo springfield again rocks. seriously. how can you not love neil? I need to buy more neil. I only currently possess 2 neil albums. Pretty sure one doesn't count, cause it's rock, but whatever. neil's done so much. gots to respec' that.
So, today was a sunday: went to church with the p's, wrestled a toilet (more on that later), worked on some design stuff, and thought about the future. Watched some football and return to me. Learned some stuff on the guitar. I'm working on scales, I'm getting a little better. It's such a brute force thing tho. You just have to keep doing it until you're good at it. I hate stuff like that. oh well, builds patience.
Also, I started using firefox from time to time this weekend. Partly because I'm doing design stuff and need to be able to cross check with firefox. I should probably check with opera too, but I'm lazy. Let me just say though, firefox = super slick, super quick, and super hot. Me likey.
So, sometimes in life you just gotta wrestle a toilet. For example, suppose you moved into a house, and they had this nasty looking toilet seat on the toilet. and it was rusted on. And it needed to be replaced. And the nuts on the rusted bolts were plastic. The logical approach would be to cut through it, no? Welp, thats what I did. It worked out okay. Except for the part where the toilet is only 4 inches from the wall on the one side, and therefore very difficult to see up under. There I was with a utility knife and a chick's mirror (the chick being my mom)—I felt like McGuyver. It was awesome. And then the army ants came, but I blew them up with a bomb made out of duct tape, twine and a knife. Sound impossible? Possibly, but I'm McGuyver. I did win the battle, by the way. One battle down, many more to go. Tomorrow I learn lessons with drills, and soon I'll be learning lessons of snowblowers (yay! Anything beats shovelling!)
One last thing: to chase a dream? you tell me: read the part about sound reinforcement then tell me what you think. Chasing dreams? Serious decisions? So confused? MMM HMM.
So, today was a sunday: went to church with the p's, wrestled a toilet (more on that later), worked on some design stuff, and thought about the future. Watched some football and return to me. Learned some stuff on the guitar. I'm working on scales, I'm getting a little better. It's such a brute force thing tho. You just have to keep doing it until you're good at it. I hate stuff like that. oh well, builds patience.
Also, I started using firefox from time to time this weekend. Partly because I'm doing design stuff and need to be able to cross check with firefox. I should probably check with opera too, but I'm lazy. Let me just say though, firefox = super slick, super quick, and super hot. Me likey.
So, sometimes in life you just gotta wrestle a toilet. For example, suppose you moved into a house, and they had this nasty looking toilet seat on the toilet. and it was rusted on. And it needed to be replaced. And the nuts on the rusted bolts were plastic. The logical approach would be to cut through it, no? Welp, thats what I did. It worked out okay. Except for the part where the toilet is only 4 inches from the wall on the one side, and therefore very difficult to see up under. There I was with a utility knife and a chick's mirror (the chick being my mom)—I felt like McGuyver. It was awesome. And then the army ants came, but I blew them up with a bomb made out of duct tape, twine and a knife. Sound impossible? Possibly, but I'm McGuyver. I did win the battle, by the way. One battle down, many more to go. Tomorrow I learn lessons with drills, and soon I'll be learning lessons of snowblowers (yay! Anything beats shovelling!)
One last thing: to chase a dream? you tell me: read the part about sound reinforcement then tell me what you think. Chasing dreams? Serious decisions? So confused? MMM HMM.
20041027
waking up
now playing: the red sox beating the cardinals! Whoo hoo! Sox in four!
Firstly: to my friends who read my last post and commented, thank you so much. It's greatly appreciated. Danielle, your comment was poetic. I really liked Motionless Dreamer. I may embroider it on a pillow. (-: Mom, next time just say who you are. Also, no, i haven't cleaned my room yet.
So, I woke up this morning to the shreik of my alarm. My alarm sounds like an air raid siren. It's tough. It's like 1939 London... my room is dark, but man the sirens won't stop. Of course, i hit snooze like 30 times before I hit the showers, but whatever. Anyway, as I woke up to my air raid siren, I got to thinking (A dangerous pastime, I know... man, Gaston was in deep smit for that Belle chick) about how some people wake up to things like... "The mellifluous sounds of chipmunks in fall," "John Tesh sings 60's tv scenes," and "Ocean waves" featuring the saxophone of Kenny G laid over waves breaking. Yay.
I came up with a plan for something better. You know how in Sci-Fi, they're always inventing robots that'll be your friend, or run your business, or take care of your kids? That stuff's garbage. I've come up with the best robot idea EVER!!! We'll call it "The Sargeant MeetYourDoom Wake Up Robot V. CMMCCXCXVII © ® ™." Instead of taking care of your kids, or other stuff that you should be doing yourself, it'll serve one purpose, and one purpose only: getting your sorry rear out of bed. It'll scream in your face, it'll make crass comments about the shape your in. It might even curse every once in a while. All so that you get up on time. Really, it'll be great! It'll even have a few moves so that if you ever try to retaliate against it, you find yourself staring up from the floor, wondering how you ended up there.
Not only that, think about the opportunities for customization! You could have different memory chips so that "The Sargeant MeetYourDoom Wake Up Robot V. CMMCCXCXVII © ® ™" could take on the characteristics of your favorite movie drill sargeants / military personnel. The "Red Dawn" Chip makes him talk like a cuban or a russian. Every once in a while, if you shout "Wolverines!" you score a bonus 10 minutes of sleep. But only every once in a while. The "Few Good Men" chip turns it into Jack Nicholson... he wakes you up by puffing a cigar in your face, and screaming about whether or not you can handle the truth. Fact of the matter is, you can't. Always popular, the "In the Army Now" chip turns it into Pauly Shore. This is notoriously easy to ignore, until he starts talking about burritos. Burritos always wake me up.
This product is sheer genius. I'm going to buy five of them. Cause lets face it, I'll figure out some way to defeat the first four .That fifth one though, he'll get me up for sure. For now, I'll just stick to the air raid siren. And my snooze button.
Firstly: to my friends who read my last post and commented, thank you so much. It's greatly appreciated. Danielle, your comment was poetic. I really liked Motionless Dreamer. I may embroider it on a pillow. (-: Mom, next time just say who you are. Also, no, i haven't cleaned my room yet.
So, I woke up this morning to the shreik of my alarm. My alarm sounds like an air raid siren. It's tough. It's like 1939 London... my room is dark, but man the sirens won't stop. Of course, i hit snooze like 30 times before I hit the showers, but whatever. Anyway, as I woke up to my air raid siren, I got to thinking (A dangerous pastime, I know... man, Gaston was in deep smit for that Belle chick) about how some people wake up to things like... "The mellifluous sounds of chipmunks in fall," "John Tesh sings 60's tv scenes," and "Ocean waves" featuring the saxophone of Kenny G laid over waves breaking. Yay.
I came up with a plan for something better. You know how in Sci-Fi, they're always inventing robots that'll be your friend, or run your business, or take care of your kids? That stuff's garbage. I've come up with the best robot idea EVER!!! We'll call it "The Sargeant MeetYourDoom Wake Up Robot V. CMMCCXCXVII © ® ™." Instead of taking care of your kids, or other stuff that you should be doing yourself, it'll serve one purpose, and one purpose only: getting your sorry rear out of bed. It'll scream in your face, it'll make crass comments about the shape your in. It might even curse every once in a while. All so that you get up on time. Really, it'll be great! It'll even have a few moves so that if you ever try to retaliate against it, you find yourself staring up from the floor, wondering how you ended up there.
Not only that, think about the opportunities for customization! You could have different memory chips so that "The Sargeant MeetYourDoom Wake Up Robot V. CMMCCXCXVII © ® ™" could take on the characteristics of your favorite movie drill sargeants / military personnel. The "Red Dawn" Chip makes him talk like a cuban or a russian. Every once in a while, if you shout "Wolverines!" you score a bonus 10 minutes of sleep. But only every once in a while. The "Few Good Men" chip turns it into Jack Nicholson... he wakes you up by puffing a cigar in your face, and screaming about whether or not you can handle the truth. Fact of the matter is, you can't. Always popular, the "In the Army Now" chip turns it into Pauly Shore. This is notoriously easy to ignore, until he starts talking about burritos. Burritos always wake me up.
This product is sheer genius. I'm going to buy five of them. Cause lets face it, I'll figure out some way to defeat the first four .That fifth one though, he'll get me up for sure. For now, I'll just stick to the air raid siren. And my snooze button.
20041026
big thing // little thing
So, here's what I'm trying to figure out: how are we to look at our lives and separate the big things from the little things?
See, it'd be easy to look at the above statement and say, "Wow, this guy is desperate to sound deep." But, for once, I don't think that's the case (although I'm aware that deep inside of me, right next to my desire to be Wolverine or the Incredible Hulk, is a desire to be cool that manifests itself all the time in ridiculous ways). See, I'm seriously at that point in my life where I'm trying to sort out the important from the unimportant. Why? Well... I've been trying to figure that out too.
I think we reach this point in life where we feel the societal expectation is that if we're asked by a pretty girl, "what are you doing with the rest of your life?" we'll be able to give a logical, honest, good answer. So, we come up with plans. We become teachers and electricians and project editors. Not necessarily because it's where we think God wants us (although at times we're smart enough to let that play into it), more because, eh, it keeps people off our backs and it helps us to sleep at night.
Don't get me wrong. I'm content with my job and I feel like I'm where God would have me for this stage in my life. I just don't understand where it's going.
Think about it: I've got this song in my head called T-Shirt by Derek Webb, the first line says "They'll know us by the T-Shirts that we wear." I'm going to hijack the line from it's intended purpose (while encouraging you to BUY BUY BUY his new album), and cross apply.
My dad is the ultimate collector of shirts. He has one of my old telus shirts, an old Tim Horton's shirt, various computer and food supply company shirts, and so much CN Railway apparrel that the company actually called about the catalogue shoot. When I worked at Telus, I was easily identifiable by my uniform. When I worked at Subway, it was even easier to spot (stupid visor making my forehead look huge). As much as uniforms are the bane of people's existence, they're nice cause people know who you are from them. I have a lifeguard sweater—even though I'm not a lifeguard per se. I wear it, and people think that I was a responsible young adult (at least, until they see eye candy on the sleeve). It identifies me as something. So, following the T-Shirt analogy, what would I put on a t-shirt to identify where I'm at right now?
"Hasn't got a clue what he's doing"
"Life-goal-less"
"Spends more time on the msn messenger than developing a skill set"
"Going my way? Care to enlighten me?"
Obviously I'm being overly dramatic. But, where does it go from here? What's next on the list of things to do? I really don't know. I need to be able to establish priorities and a list of goals, but I don't know how. What are the criteria by which we do that? Any ideas? To quote Jar Jar Binks, "Any help here would be hot!"
I'm done for now. I'll give you more as I figure more out.
See, it'd be easy to look at the above statement and say, "Wow, this guy is desperate to sound deep." But, for once, I don't think that's the case (although I'm aware that deep inside of me, right next to my desire to be Wolverine or the Incredible Hulk, is a desire to be cool that manifests itself all the time in ridiculous ways). See, I'm seriously at that point in my life where I'm trying to sort out the important from the unimportant. Why? Well... I've been trying to figure that out too.
I think we reach this point in life where we feel the societal expectation is that if we're asked by a pretty girl, "what are you doing with the rest of your life?" we'll be able to give a logical, honest, good answer. So, we come up with plans. We become teachers and electricians and project editors. Not necessarily because it's where we think God wants us (although at times we're smart enough to let that play into it), more because, eh, it keeps people off our backs and it helps us to sleep at night.
Don't get me wrong. I'm content with my job and I feel like I'm where God would have me for this stage in my life. I just don't understand where it's going.
Think about it: I've got this song in my head called T-Shirt by Derek Webb, the first line says "They'll know us by the T-Shirts that we wear." I'm going to hijack the line from it's intended purpose (while encouraging you to BUY BUY BUY his new album), and cross apply.
My dad is the ultimate collector of shirts. He has one of my old telus shirts, an old Tim Horton's shirt, various computer and food supply company shirts, and so much CN Railway apparrel that the company actually called about the catalogue shoot. When I worked at Telus, I was easily identifiable by my uniform. When I worked at Subway, it was even easier to spot (stupid visor making my forehead look huge). As much as uniforms are the bane of people's existence, they're nice cause people know who you are from them. I have a lifeguard sweater—even though I'm not a lifeguard per se. I wear it, and people think that I was a responsible young adult (at least, until they see eye candy on the sleeve). It identifies me as something. So, following the T-Shirt analogy, what would I put on a t-shirt to identify where I'm at right now?
"Hasn't got a clue what he's doing"
"Life-goal-less"
"Spends more time on the msn messenger than developing a skill set"
"Going my way? Care to enlighten me?"
Obviously I'm being overly dramatic. But, where does it go from here? What's next on the list of things to do? I really don't know. I need to be able to establish priorities and a list of goals, but I don't know how. What are the criteria by which we do that? Any ideas? To quote Jar Jar Binks, "Any help here would be hot!"
I'm done for now. I'll give you more as I figure more out.
20041018
hehehe... baseball, old songs, and jackie chan
now playing: commercials in between the yankees and bosox trading off who is batting and who is pitching. Will it ever end?
Yeah, so... i'm not usually a fan of baseball, but this is some intense sports going on here... these guys are hardcore in a jack black, legend of the rent sort of way. And I respect that. And also, I hate teams like the yankees (see manchester U, Arsenal, Real Madrid, NY Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, and so on) who have too much money and not enough heart. So, i'd love to see Boston take it to 'em. Hence, I'm watching baseball for the first time in years.
Old songs... every once in a while I go back in my mind to songs I once tried to write with friends. One of my favorites is "This Silly Melancholy." Our buddy pete came up with the term, and we seriously never got much farther than having the title idea. I've tried to write it a hundred times, but i never get anywhere. Who knows, maybe I'm going about it all wrong... maybe it needs to be a rock song. Or a ballad. "That's way too fast! It's a ballad!" (Jimmy, That Thing You Do!) One day. One day.
Jackie Chan... what would I do right now if I was Jackie Chan? Here's the thing, i'd love to be a writer. I'd love to be able to write fiction, write non-fiction, write exciting stuff, write boring stuff. The problem seems to be that I have no ability at writing creatively. Seriously, Jackie Chan can't even speak english, and the guy makes all kinds of art. But then, he spent large amounts of time as a child standing on one foot in weird martial arts poses and stuff. What else would he do except come up with movie ideas in his head? Hence, the reason I'll never be a writer is North American "keep you occupied" culture. If I'd just been bored more, I'd be way more creative.
Yeah right.
Yeah, so... i'm not usually a fan of baseball, but this is some intense sports going on here... these guys are hardcore in a jack black, legend of the rent sort of way. And I respect that. And also, I hate teams like the yankees (see manchester U, Arsenal, Real Madrid, NY Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, and so on) who have too much money and not enough heart. So, i'd love to see Boston take it to 'em. Hence, I'm watching baseball for the first time in years.
Old songs... every once in a while I go back in my mind to songs I once tried to write with friends. One of my favorites is "This Silly Melancholy." Our buddy pete came up with the term, and we seriously never got much farther than having the title idea. I've tried to write it a hundred times, but i never get anywhere. Who knows, maybe I'm going about it all wrong... maybe it needs to be a rock song. Or a ballad. "That's way too fast! It's a ballad!" (Jimmy, That Thing You Do!) One day. One day.
Jackie Chan... what would I do right now if I was Jackie Chan? Here's the thing, i'd love to be a writer. I'd love to be able to write fiction, write non-fiction, write exciting stuff, write boring stuff. The problem seems to be that I have no ability at writing creatively. Seriously, Jackie Chan can't even speak english, and the guy makes all kinds of art. But then, he spent large amounts of time as a child standing on one foot in weird martial arts poses and stuff. What else would he do except come up with movie ideas in his head? Hence, the reason I'll never be a writer is North American "keep you occupied" culture. If I'd just been bored more, I'd be way more creative.
Yeah right.
20041017
days of yore
now playing: my nephew making car sounds as he moves an ugly blue school bus around. Crap, he's cute. They came to visit this weekend. It was... well, to use Code and Pyro's word... awexome. I like kids. Especially when, as another friend said, "as uncles, we get to hype them up on candy and chocolate and then they go home with someone else." Yep, that part rocks. Anyway, moving along.
So, I grew up to Boy Meets World. Seriously, it was the family show. I remember my older brother crying EVERY TIME Cory and Topanga broke up. No word of a lie. Today, I managed to catch an episode of Boy Meets World as i was chillin' with my nephews. (They're far more into Jimmy Neutron than boy meets world, but I weigh 210 pounds (yeah, lard butt), and they weigh about 50 and 30 pounds respectively... I've won every fight so far.) The whole crew was there, it was an episode from probably 97 or 98... and, well, I don't know... it'd didn't make me think anything really deep (except maybe that I'd still marry the girl who played Topanga... but that's actually not very deep at all. However, Danielle Fishel, if you're reading this, CALL ME!). But, it was good memories. TV is so over dramatic, yet not. They have a crisis every week, but then, don't we seem to have a crisis at least once a week? Even if it's just a mental one, they're there. I don't know. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. I miss good TV like Boy Meets World. The crap that's on now, well... just not worth watching.
Oh, also, as I logged in to type this post, I discovered something. You're reading the 101st post on andymack.blogspot.com. It's almost enough to make me get my own domain. When a TV program makes 100 episodes, it's a big deal. We're making history folks. Anyway, I just wanted to gloat a little. Unfortunately, I'm not as good as the Brothers Chap, so you won't find any easter eggs or anything. Maybe someday.
All right, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball. Canadian trivia for the day: in Canada, practise is a verb, but practice is a noun. So, I'm a practising doctor, but My practice is located at 222 Thiscitysucks, Belleville, Ontario. Funny, eh?
So, I grew up to Boy Meets World. Seriously, it was the family show. I remember my older brother crying EVERY TIME Cory and Topanga broke up. No word of a lie. Today, I managed to catch an episode of Boy Meets World as i was chillin' with my nephews. (They're far more into Jimmy Neutron than boy meets world, but I weigh 210 pounds (yeah, lard butt), and they weigh about 50 and 30 pounds respectively... I've won every fight so far.) The whole crew was there, it was an episode from probably 97 or 98... and, well, I don't know... it'd didn't make me think anything really deep (except maybe that I'd still marry the girl who played Topanga... but that's actually not very deep at all. However, Danielle Fishel, if you're reading this, CALL ME!). But, it was good memories. TV is so over dramatic, yet not. They have a crisis every week, but then, don't we seem to have a crisis at least once a week? Even if it's just a mental one, they're there. I don't know. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. I miss good TV like Boy Meets World. The crap that's on now, well... just not worth watching.
Oh, also, as I logged in to type this post, I discovered something. You're reading the 101st post on andymack.blogspot.com. It's almost enough to make me get my own domain. When a TV program makes 100 episodes, it's a big deal. We're making history folks. Anyway, I just wanted to gloat a little. Unfortunately, I'm not as good as the Brothers Chap, so you won't find any easter eggs or anything. Maybe someday.
All right, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball. Canadian trivia for the day: in Canada, practise is a verb, but practice is a noun. So, I'm a practising doctor, but My practice is located at 222 Thiscitysucks, Belleville, Ontario. Funny, eh?
20041010
jazz doesn't resolve
now playing: the patriot... mel gibson's about to kill the bad guy. heath already died. hmm, can't really say i feel bad about that.
Okay, so yesterday we were at the local Christian Bookstore, and they happened to have a copy of a book sitting on their shelf (precisely one copy: no more, no less). This book had been recommended to me by some very intelligent people, and I'd been very interested in reading it at that point in time. Seeing it there, all alone, and kinda wedged between two books by stupid people, I thought, I should buy this. So I did. The book is called Blue Like Jazz and it is stupendous. Very cleverly written. I identify with him... especially in that i have friends like his... one like andy the protester, and one like tony the beatpoet. I disagree with his nonuse of a comma on introductory clauses, however, I imagine he wouldn't care much, and I really don't either. He's a clever writer, and I recommend him highly. That's Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Wicked funny. Wicked Deep. Too hot for conservative Bible schools. Not really. A good Christian guy, with a slightly different viewpoint.
Thats about all I've got. Right now, I feel blue, but not like jazz... I believe it's going to resolve, eventually. Much love guys,
Okay, so yesterday we were at the local Christian Bookstore, and they happened to have a copy of a book sitting on their shelf (precisely one copy: no more, no less). This book had been recommended to me by some very intelligent people, and I'd been very interested in reading it at that point in time. Seeing it there, all alone, and kinda wedged between two books by stupid people, I thought, I should buy this. So I did. The book is called Blue Like Jazz and it is stupendous. Very cleverly written. I identify with him... especially in that i have friends like his... one like andy the protester, and one like tony the beatpoet. I disagree with his nonuse of a comma on introductory clauses, however, I imagine he wouldn't care much, and I really don't either. He's a clever writer, and I recommend him highly. That's Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Wicked funny. Wicked Deep. Too hot for conservative Bible schools. Not really. A good Christian guy, with a slightly different viewpoint.
Thats about all I've got. Right now, I feel blue, but not like jazz... I believe it's going to resolve, eventually. Much love guys,
20040927
most amazing roadtrip ever
(from left to right... bottom row: garett / percussion, todd, matt, luke (canadians) top row: josh / keyboard and organ, danielle / vocals, myself and matt (canadians), jeff / bass, andy / lead guitars, vocals, and cliff / rhythm guitar and vocals)
Seriously. Most amazing roadtrip ever... this is my account, i believe it is accurate, as to how we ended up backstage with my favorite band. So, we went to the Caedmon's Call concert in Williamsville, New York. It was phenomenal... they seriously put on a great show, and i'd recommend them to anyone who happened to be within five hours of them. So, they get done their set, play their encore (phenomenal... cliff and danielle sing 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus'), and we're sitting there. My little bro goes: Well guys, lets go. Cook goes: do you think if we wait, one of them might come out? I go: supposedly they do that a lot, lets just wait five minutes. Sure enough, within 2, todd (missing from picture} comes out to start taking down his drum kit. Then cliff comes out. And, people start talking to him. Security tries to keep everyone back, but cliff basically tells them its okay. My little bro (yeah, the lets go guys kid) walks up and talks to cliff. I'm like... cool, but I'm thinking that it was cool that I got to see them, and I'm way to chicken to actually talk to any of them. Then, LukaBuka talks to Cliff... and I'm thinking... cool again! Then, after a 5 minute wait, cook is talking to cliff. And, I says to the boys (who are with me) we should get him to do a roadtrip picture with us, it'd be awesome. So, we walk over, and as cook is winding down, I say 'Cliff, would you mind taking a roadtrip picture with us?' He goes... 'sure! You want the whole band? Wait, just come back here with me...' and we follow him backstage, where we sit down with the band, and get pictures taken, and hang out for a bit. Cliff made fun of my beard (that took you what, a year to grow?), told me I look like the guy from Table for Two, turns out that Jeff is a fan of strange brew (this movie was filmed in three-b, eh), josh played Oh Canada for us... anyway, it was awesome... seriously, they're real, funny people, and they just kinda, bam... made our night. Seriously, we were like schoolgirls for the next 3, 4 hours probably.
So, thats my gloat session... but, it's super hard to gloat when you didn't do anything, and we didn't... just a coincidence... it rocked!!! by the by, their new album releases on Oct. 12th, and is going to be the coolest thing you've ever heard. Thats it for me for now! We move in 3 days.
20040926
road trip
Now playing: The sounds of my buddies sitting around matt cooks living room... we're here. caedmon's tomorrow.
So, we made it. I'm at theCook's house. We're all still up, even tho it's super late, which is dumb. But, we drove well... except for our hamilton detour... hamilton smells bad. Remember that. We're super excited, and we wanted you to share in our fun. Also, I fixed the link to matt's blog. Not bad, eh? Took all of 10 seconds. Because I love him. Anyway, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball... my foot's still cramped into a manual sort of cruise control. Peace out guys!
So, we made it. I'm at theCook's house. We're all still up, even tho it's super late, which is dumb. But, we drove well... except for our hamilton detour... hamilton smells bad. Remember that. We're super excited, and we wanted you to share in our fun. Also, I fixed the link to matt's blog. Not bad, eh? Took all of 10 seconds. Because I love him. Anyway, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball... my foot's still cramped into a manual sort of cruise control. Peace out guys!
20040924
mad props
now playing: always comes around by 7dayjesus... they rock.
Okay, real quick... mad props go out to caleb for this post regarding nickelback. Everybody -- whether you like n-back or not -- go and listen to the mp3 on this post. It's a real eye opener. Might even change some peoples minds about n-back. (by the by Caleb, I think the reason they didn't go with dimeback is that it'd be too close to dimebag, who is the guitarist for some metal band and would go nuts on them and smash their faces in with his custom guitars). Anyway, as of this post, I'm at work, then I'm road trippin'. Caedmon's or Bust... if you're in peterborough Friday night, give me a call, cause I'll be in Peterborough Friday night. Word... peace out.
Okay, real quick... mad props go out to caleb for this post regarding nickelback. Everybody -- whether you like n-back or not -- go and listen to the mp3 on this post. It's a real eye opener. Might even change some peoples minds about n-back. (by the by Caleb, I think the reason they didn't go with dimeback is that it'd be too close to dimebag, who is the guitarist for some metal band and would go nuts on them and smash their faces in with his custom guitars). Anyway, as of this post, I'm at work, then I'm road trippin'. Caedmon's or Bust... if you're in peterborough Friday night, give me a call, cause I'll be in Peterborough Friday night. Word... peace out.
20040920
car repairs, and j.gurr's jealousy issues
now playing: grace like rain // todd agnew.
So, I got the call from the mechanic today: it was no where near as bad as I thought. The rust issues under the hood revolve around the heat shield. He said (and I quote) "If it was my car, I wouldn't spend any money on that at all." So, first good news of the day: The problem wasn't the manifold! Part two... "Your tail pipe is shattered." Shattered sounds bad... "Good news is, it happened just beyond the catalytic converter. I pulled that off, and it's just fine." Phew part two... catalytic converters are expensive. He continued, "So, it's going to be 215ish." I was like... SWEET!!! It's only 1/5 of what I thought it would be. Super sweet! So, three things that really worked out well for me. I'm so happy! And relieved too. Expensive car repairs suck. The mazda returns tomorrow!
In other news... I just want to comment briefly on gurr8's jealousy issues revolving around my blog. Welp, he's... got some issues. Lets look at the facts. I start a blog on January 26th, 04. Jgurr starts a blog on... february 29, 2004 So, yeah, I school him there. Then, well... where can we go from here? I know... I became a single man again in October of 2003. J followed my path in February of 2004. How about school? Well, I decided not to go back in June of 04. J decided not to go back in August of 04. How about cell phones? I decided to buy a Telus cell phone in October of 03. J decides to buy one in July of 04. All I'm saying is, look at the evidence. Strongly in my corner! J has nothin'! I'm obviously the trail blazer. So, all these comments about our blogs... my blog is obviously better. In fact, i'd go so far as to say, superior in every way. Take a lesson from this folks... don't challenge the big man. When you do, you just end up getting hurt.
Funny, my buddy GWB just taught John Kerry that, I think.
and that shot goes out to my buddy gurr
So, I got the call from the mechanic today: it was no where near as bad as I thought. The rust issues under the hood revolve around the heat shield. He said (and I quote) "If it was my car, I wouldn't spend any money on that at all." So, first good news of the day: The problem wasn't the manifold! Part two... "Your tail pipe is shattered." Shattered sounds bad... "Good news is, it happened just beyond the catalytic converter. I pulled that off, and it's just fine." Phew part two... catalytic converters are expensive. He continued, "So, it's going to be 215ish." I was like... SWEET!!! It's only 1/5 of what I thought it would be. Super sweet! So, three things that really worked out well for me. I'm so happy! And relieved too. Expensive car repairs suck. The mazda returns tomorrow!
In other news... I just want to comment briefly on gurr8's jealousy issues revolving around my blog. Welp, he's... got some issues. Lets look at the facts. I start a blog on January 26th, 04. Jgurr starts a blog on... february 29, 2004 So, yeah, I school him there. Then, well... where can we go from here? I know... I became a single man again in October of 2003. J followed my path in February of 2004. How about school? Well, I decided not to go back in June of 04. J decided not to go back in August of 04. How about cell phones? I decided to buy a Telus cell phone in October of 03. J decides to buy one in July of 04. All I'm saying is, look at the evidence. Strongly in my corner! J has nothin'! I'm obviously the trail blazer. So, all these comments about our blogs... my blog is obviously better. In fact, i'd go so far as to say, superior in every way. Take a lesson from this folks... don't challenge the big man. When you do, you just end up getting hurt.
Funny, my buddy GWB just taught John Kerry that, I think.
and that shot goes out to my buddy gurr
20040916
Sock Conspiracy
now playing: dustkickers // zuzu's petals album. it's old school, but they're awesome.
Okay, crap. Today, I went to the great Canadian institution, Zellers, to pick up some socks. I'm not a proud man... if I need socks, I buy 'em where they're cost-effective, but not crap. (I don't trust Giant Tiger socks.) Anyway, so I'm at Zellers, and I'm looking at their extensive sock collection. I immediately decide that some aren't quite up to snuff, and so, pass them up. I move along, and I come across two fairly decent looking brands of socks, one by wilson, the other by CCM (the hockey company, not Contemporary Christian Music magazine). So, i decide I'll buy one package of each, and compare later which one lasts longer. Cause, I'm a discerning consumer, darn it. Oh yes, the best product WILL win.
So, I get home. And, I'm looking at the packaging. And, on the CCM one, I see "Made in Montreal Canada, by lamour hosiery for CCM." Of course, I think... Cool, a Canadian company, not bad.
So, I look to the second package, the Wilson package. It says "Made in Canada" too. At this point, my spidey senses were tickling... and then, my worst suspicion was confirmed... I'd been HOSED by a hosiery company!!! The wilson socks were made by... you guessed it, lamour hosiery for Wilson Sports.
It's the FLIPPIN' SAME SOCK!!!
It's a conspiracy folks. A sock conspiracy. Warn your friends. Don't be had like I was. Yes, my story is shameful and embarassing, but maybe, just maybe, if I'm open about it... someone else can avoid this horrible experience.
(-;
Okay, crap. Today, I went to the great Canadian institution, Zellers, to pick up some socks. I'm not a proud man... if I need socks, I buy 'em where they're cost-effective, but not crap. (I don't trust Giant Tiger socks.) Anyway, so I'm at Zellers, and I'm looking at their extensive sock collection. I immediately decide that some aren't quite up to snuff, and so, pass them up. I move along, and I come across two fairly decent looking brands of socks, one by wilson, the other by CCM (the hockey company, not Contemporary Christian Music magazine). So, i decide I'll buy one package of each, and compare later which one lasts longer. Cause, I'm a discerning consumer, darn it. Oh yes, the best product WILL win.
So, I get home. And, I'm looking at the packaging. And, on the CCM one, I see "Made in Montreal Canada, by lamour hosiery for CCM." Of course, I think... Cool, a Canadian company, not bad.
So, I look to the second package, the Wilson package. It says "Made in Canada" too. At this point, my spidey senses were tickling... and then, my worst suspicion was confirmed... I'd been HOSED by a hosiery company!!! The wilson socks were made by... you guessed it, lamour hosiery for Wilson Sports.
It's the FLIPPIN' SAME SOCK!!!
It's a conspiracy folks. A sock conspiracy. Warn your friends. Don't be had like I was. Yes, my story is shameful and embarassing, but maybe, just maybe, if I'm open about it... someone else can avoid this horrible experience.
(-;
20040915
wow.
now playing: i repent // derek webb, the house show version.
For those of you who are thinking Christians, especially those of you who care about art, this article will probably intrigue you, impassion you, and excite you. I know it has me stoked for DWebb's upcoming album, I See Things Upside Down. It's going to be super wicked, and super honest. So, here's another plug for good artistry, and honest folk.
thanks for reading.
For those of you who are thinking Christians, especially those of you who care about art, this article will probably intrigue you, impassion you, and excite you. I know it has me stoked for DWebb's upcoming album, I See Things Upside Down. It's going to be super wicked, and super honest. So, here's another plug for good artistry, and honest folk.
thanks for reading.
20040914
blog-o-rama
now playing: who am i // casting crowns. it's pretty.
So, how blessed am I? Next weekend?? Yeah, I'm going to see my favorite band in the whole world! I've been listening to Caedmon's Call since probably 1997/8, and now, in 2004, I get to see them live. I postively can't wait. The Cook has a countdown on his website, which is fairly exciting. Then, the weekend after that? Yeah, wonderland, Third Day. Hmm, seems to me that the last time I was at Wonderland, it was to see Third Day. How convenient! Anyway, I don't have much else to say, but I'm super excited about that. Caedmon's Call, and Third Day. (I guess Toby Mac, too... but the only way I'll care is if he actually does the rap from Jesus is Alright, so i can rap with him.) Alright, bed calls. be good. Also, alright technically isn't in the Canadian dictionary. Ask me if I care? (andymack, do you care?) NO! I'm not at work. G'night folks!
So, how blessed am I? Next weekend?? Yeah, I'm going to see my favorite band in the whole world! I've been listening to Caedmon's Call since probably 1997/8, and now, in 2004, I get to see them live. I postively can't wait. The Cook has a countdown on his website, which is fairly exciting. Then, the weekend after that? Yeah, wonderland, Third Day. Hmm, seems to me that the last time I was at Wonderland, it was to see Third Day. How convenient! Anyway, I don't have much else to say, but I'm super excited about that. Caedmon's Call, and Third Day. (I guess Toby Mac, too... but the only way I'll care is if he actually does the rap from Jesus is Alright, so i can rap with him.) Alright, bed calls. be good. Also, alright technically isn't in the Canadian dictionary. Ask me if I care? (andymack, do you care?) NO! I'm not at work. G'night folks!
20040911
go Canada go || a long december
GO BOYS, GO!!! What a game!!! MARIO!!! MARIO!!! For those of you who didn't catch it, Canada beat Jaomir Jagr and the Czech Republic, 4 minutes into sudden death overtime. Our boys rock!!!
So, what a week. It was a good one, but an odd one. I have to confess that not being in school did manage to elicit a rather strange over-emotional reaction from me, especially on Wednesday. But, i made it, and I'm content. I have a dynamite job that i enjoy immensely. I've got a good deal with my landlords (hey mom and dad), and I've got time to work on stuff htat I really want to work on.
To my friends (and family... especially to MattyMack) who started school this week. Congrats. God bless as you pursue the ability to serve Him best in the vocation/calling He has blessed you with.
One last topic in this ever-so-brief post: time management. That's where the crunch is... using time in the most effective way. And, no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to be able to get it right. Any tips here would be good :-). Anyway, a little more reading, and then I'm going to bed. Good night!
(Caedmon's Call, here we come!)
So, what a week. It was a good one, but an odd one. I have to confess that not being in school did manage to elicit a rather strange over-emotional reaction from me, especially on Wednesday. But, i made it, and I'm content. I have a dynamite job that i enjoy immensely. I've got a good deal with my landlords (hey mom and dad), and I've got time to work on stuff htat I really want to work on.
To my friends (and family... especially to MattyMack) who started school this week. Congrats. God bless as you pursue the ability to serve Him best in the vocation/calling He has blessed you with.
One last topic in this ever-so-brief post: time management. That's where the crunch is... using time in the most effective way. And, no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to be able to get it right. Any tips here would be good :-). Anyway, a little more reading, and then I'm going to bed. Good night!
(Caedmon's Call, here we come!)
20040905
quiet uneasy
now playing: nothing. Yep, nothing. It's a moment of zen or something. Patiently waiting for a cup of tea, and feeling quite discontent.
You know, life is too short to live mediocre-ly. Seriously, far too short. Straight up... we get all caught up in little crap stuff that life throws our way; next thing you know, we're right screwed off track. What does that mean? I don't really know, except... WHY THE HECK DO WE WASTE SO MUCH STINKING TIME. Holy cow. I don't know about you, friends, but if you were to write a list of what my priorities oughta be, and what they are, they'd probably be polarly opposite.
*getting tea*
"Yeah, yeah, we all feel Juan, and that's great. But, lets talk about my character for a moment. I play a character named Larry. Larry's a great character... I mean, Larry's the kinda guy you carry around in your pocket. When someone says 'You and what army?' You say, 'Me... and Larry.' " — From an interview given about the feature film JB2K, which never made it through production.
Me and Larry. Word. I'm gone.
You know, life is too short to live mediocre-ly. Seriously, far too short. Straight up... we get all caught up in little crap stuff that life throws our way; next thing you know, we're right screwed off track. What does that mean? I don't really know, except... WHY THE HECK DO WE WASTE SO MUCH STINKING TIME. Holy cow. I don't know about you, friends, but if you were to write a list of what my priorities oughta be, and what they are, they'd probably be polarly opposite.
*getting tea*
"Yeah, yeah, we all feel Juan, and that's great. But, lets talk about my character for a moment. I play a character named Larry. Larry's a great character... I mean, Larry's the kinda guy you carry around in your pocket. When someone says 'You and what army?' You say, 'Me... and Larry.' " — From an interview given about the feature film JB2K, which never made it through production.
Me and Larry. Word. I'm gone.
20040903
technology for the vain
now playing: this world // caedmon's call, post derek.
Hi guys, mack here. I've got a lot on my mind, but I just haven't been up to spewing it out in bloggable form for a while. So, here goes. This could take a while. Or I could get frustrated, and give up after ten seconds. More like 20? who knows.
So, lets see, where to start, where to start. Okay, lets start with technology for the poor and prideful. See, I was playing with photoshop all day at work, and I learned some neat techniques for how to correct "imperfections". So, I decided that when I got home, I'd maybe play with some photos real quick, and see what I could do. So, I pulled up a photo that portrays one of my least favorite facts of growing older... pudgy cheeks. Yep, get the right angle, and my cheeks are huge. And, that bothers me. So, there I was playing with photoshop, and yes, in under 10 seconds, you can rid yourself of all unseemly features (Okay, not true, it would've taken longer to fix my nose, but whatever). TECHNOLOGY EXISTS SO THAT VANITY WILL BE EASIER.
That's not actually entirely true, but it's sorta true, and that sorta part frustrates me. Especially since I'm so vain! Why else would I presume that people want to read my thoughts? Isn't vanity all this blog thing is? Seriously.
Oh well, vainly we go.
Okay, another thing. Postmodernism and all its idiocy DON'T WORK! Today, on my way home from work, I drove past two girls, probably 15-16 years-of-age, each pushing a carriage. So, I turn to my co-worker, whom I drive home every night (yep, that's my mom), and say "Would you say that teenage pregnancy and all that stuff is up in the last 100 years, or is it probably that we just weren't tracking it before then? My co-worker opined that the figures seemed to definitely be following an upward trend. To that, I replied:
ALL THIS POSTMODERN LIBERATION CRAP DOESN'T WORK.
I have to confess, at first I had feminism in mind, but it was pointed out that my viewpoint was far too narrow. In reality, all that crap has failed us royally. Sure, we're all individuals... blah blah blah! We have no sense of community responsibility, so everything's gone down the toilet. Between abortion and sex-ed that's crap, we've given teenagers every excuse they need to "Do what feels good" without any regard for consequences. Great Big Sea can sing all about how great it'd be to live Consequence Free. The reality is, life features a series of decisions followed by consequences. We've taught ourselves to "live in the moment," "fulfill desires," and generally "serve whatever seems to be in our best interests." Here's the rub: what I percieve to be my best interests is probably as far off from what is in my actual best interest as it could possibly be.
Was community responsibility so bad? Hmm... my buddy David F. Wells seems to think not, especially when he refers to the way things used to be, community responsibility tied to the church.
What's it going to take to get rid of this self-centred living, and start being others conscious? Nothing short of a change of heart. Only God can change the hearts of sinful people. And man, it doesn't take much to see that we're sinful people. I'm not just saying "people do bad things," I'm saying "people are bad to the core."
In other news, yet another Caedmon's Call plug. How many other bands are trying to be missions minded? Caedmon's Call went to Brazil, Ecuador, and India to record their last album. They recorded and wrote with musicians from those countries, which gives the new tunes a very world music flavor. It's going to rock. It's music that talks about Jesus, but is in the world, aware of the state of things, and trying to improve the state of things. I don't think it gets any better than that... unless they were to play more triangle.
Finally, a salute to Li'l Mack. Li'l Mack is moving to P-Bizzo, in hopes of joining the first year class at KLBC. I'm super excited for you bro, and I'm going to miss you piles. Call often... I'll visit often. Rock some faces off.
To the rest of you, peace and grace. May we show ourselves to be intellegent, wise, and loving. I'm not going to lie to you, this life is going to challenge your head, your brain, and your mind. (-:
Hi guys, mack here. I've got a lot on my mind, but I just haven't been up to spewing it out in bloggable form for a while. So, here goes. This could take a while. Or I could get frustrated, and give up after ten seconds. More like 20? who knows.
So, lets see, where to start, where to start. Okay, lets start with technology for the poor and prideful. See, I was playing with photoshop all day at work, and I learned some neat techniques for how to correct "imperfections". So, I decided that when I got home, I'd maybe play with some photos real quick, and see what I could do. So, I pulled up a photo that portrays one of my least favorite facts of growing older... pudgy cheeks. Yep, get the right angle, and my cheeks are huge. And, that bothers me. So, there I was playing with photoshop, and yes, in under 10 seconds, you can rid yourself of all unseemly features (Okay, not true, it would've taken longer to fix my nose, but whatever). TECHNOLOGY EXISTS SO THAT VANITY WILL BE EASIER.
That's not actually entirely true, but it's sorta true, and that sorta part frustrates me. Especially since I'm so vain! Why else would I presume that people want to read my thoughts? Isn't vanity all this blog thing is? Seriously.
Oh well, vainly we go.
Okay, another thing. Postmodernism and all its idiocy DON'T WORK! Today, on my way home from work, I drove past two girls, probably 15-16 years-of-age, each pushing a carriage. So, I turn to my co-worker, whom I drive home every night (yep, that's my mom), and say "Would you say that teenage pregnancy and all that stuff is up in the last 100 years, or is it probably that we just weren't tracking it before then? My co-worker opined that the figures seemed to definitely be following an upward trend. To that, I replied:
ALL THIS POSTMODERN LIBERATION CRAP DOESN'T WORK.
I have to confess, at first I had feminism in mind, but it was pointed out that my viewpoint was far too narrow. In reality, all that crap has failed us royally. Sure, we're all individuals... blah blah blah! We have no sense of community responsibility, so everything's gone down the toilet. Between abortion and sex-ed that's crap, we've given teenagers every excuse they need to "Do what feels good" without any regard for consequences. Great Big Sea can sing all about how great it'd be to live Consequence Free. The reality is, life features a series of decisions followed by consequences. We've taught ourselves to "live in the moment," "fulfill desires," and generally "serve whatever seems to be in our best interests." Here's the rub: what I percieve to be my best interests is probably as far off from what is in my actual best interest as it could possibly be.
Was community responsibility so bad? Hmm... my buddy David F. Wells seems to think not, especially when he refers to the way things used to be, community responsibility tied to the church.
What's it going to take to get rid of this self-centred living, and start being others conscious? Nothing short of a change of heart. Only God can change the hearts of sinful people. And man, it doesn't take much to see that we're sinful people. I'm not just saying "people do bad things," I'm saying "people are bad to the core."
In other news, yet another Caedmon's Call plug. How many other bands are trying to be missions minded? Caedmon's Call went to Brazil, Ecuador, and India to record their last album. They recorded and wrote with musicians from those countries, which gives the new tunes a very world music flavor. It's going to rock. It's music that talks about Jesus, but is in the world, aware of the state of things, and trying to improve the state of things. I don't think it gets any better than that... unless they were to play more triangle.
Finally, a salute to Li'l Mack. Li'l Mack is moving to P-Bizzo, in hopes of joining the first year class at KLBC. I'm super excited for you bro, and I'm going to miss you piles. Call often... I'll visit often. Rock some faces off.
To the rest of you, peace and grace. May we show ourselves to be intellegent, wise, and loving. I'm not going to lie to you, this life is going to challenge your head, your brain, and your mind. (-:
20040822
good week / bad week
now playing: baby one more time / punk cover. it's no where near as good as I hoped it would be. it's far too serious. Ah, that's a little better... a punk cover of bad moon rising by creedence. yeah.
Hey guys. Welp, the olympics are on in the background, my dad's ranting at them (if I don't have some weird genetic eccentricities, it'd be a miracle. Actually, no, I wouldn't call it a miracle. Cause I wouldn't want it that way. I'll take all the genetic eccentricities in the world... dad's a riot! Especially when he talks about how he could take all these stinking athletes), and I'm sitting here writing to you guys.
You can go to code's blog to see a quick synopsis of how my week has been. Pretty well like that. Praise God that He opens our eyes to this stuff. It hurts, but it's good. And it's nice to know that there are other people out there going through similar stuff as us. God sure didn't make us to battle it out alone. That just wasn't His intention. That's why we have the church (for more Ecclesiological comments, purchase Derek Webb's House Show cd. It's awesome.
I don't really have anything deep to say, except that... to quote my buddy Cook, now is the time... Make the most of every moment. And don't be afraid to think and plan big, as long as you're loving God first and foremost. Also, keep in mind that most of life is lived in the inbetweens, and it'll be the little stuff that ends up making the most difference: how you raise your kids, how you conduct yourself in the job you hate, the thing you say to the grocery clerk during check out. Don't live life from one "big deal event" to the next; live in the inbetweens.
Cheat commandos. Rock, Rock on.
Hey guys. Welp, the olympics are on in the background, my dad's ranting at them (if I don't have some weird genetic eccentricities, it'd be a miracle. Actually, no, I wouldn't call it a miracle. Cause I wouldn't want it that way. I'll take all the genetic eccentricities in the world... dad's a riot! Especially when he talks about how he could take all these stinking athletes), and I'm sitting here writing to you guys.
You can go to code's blog to see a quick synopsis of how my week has been. Pretty well like that. Praise God that He opens our eyes to this stuff. It hurts, but it's good. And it's nice to know that there are other people out there going through similar stuff as us. God sure didn't make us to battle it out alone. That just wasn't His intention. That's why we have the church (for more Ecclesiological comments, purchase Derek Webb's House Show cd. It's awesome.
I don't really have anything deep to say, except that... to quote my buddy Cook, now is the time... Make the most of every moment. And don't be afraid to think and plan big, as long as you're loving God first and foremost. Also, keep in mind that most of life is lived in the inbetweens, and it'll be the little stuff that ends up making the most difference: how you raise your kids, how you conduct yourself in the job you hate, the thing you say to the grocery clerk during check out. Don't live life from one "big deal event" to the next; live in the inbetweens.
Cheat commandos. Rock, Rock on.
20040821
That's Weird
now playing: zuzu's petals, the dustkickers. what a wicked song. any song that alludes to possibly the greatest christmas movie of all time *has* to rock.
Hey guy! (Yes, that's an intentional "guy"... there's a guy in the office who calls everybody guy, and it cracks me up. Idiosyncrosies as a whole make me laugh though.) It's the weekend! I'm up late! I'm going to sleep in. And I'd like to write something tomorrow, but I don't know what to write about. I guess I have a couple of ideas. Let me share one or two with you (we'll decide whether it's one or two when we get to the end of one -- after all, it is long past midnight).
We just got done watching The Prince and Me with Julia Stiles. I like Julia Stiles a lot, mostly cause she doesn't really seem to be all about the "I need to do ultra-sleazy roles to prove my 'maturity' " thing. I appreciate that. What I don't appreciate is feminism trying to impact the romantic comedy genre. ( *Warning: Spoilers ho!* ) See, toward the end of the most recent Stiles movie I watched, she decided that she couldn't follow her heart; she had to go and do all the things she set out to do before she met the dude.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for planning, and I'm all for not just willy-nilly saying, "It felt right in my heart." On the other hand, this is a movie: it is meant to demonstrate -- in some form or another -- something that touches, somehow, the universality of love. Instead, if you check out the alternate ending especially, it appears that the director's original intention was to have the movie end with them both moving in their separate directions, cause she wanted more than just to be with him. There was no "we," there was "you" and "me." I don't know, I guess i just found it lame.
And now a confession: half way through the above, I almost stopped typing. I didn't because I thought a more interesting point could be drawn out from what I wrote above. Hokey Stink -- have I ever bought into a North American view of romance. "Cast all sensibility aside, throw your plans to the wind, and caution therewith! Love... love is all!" The universality of love? What is love? Is love, like Ravi Zacharias implies, Rebekah crossing the desert and meeting Isaac, marrying the dude, and learning to love him? Is love found one night, as in the Stiles movie, hitting on a cute bartender while slightly inebriated? Why do I buy into the Hollywood crap? You know what's worse? As soon as I condemn myself like this, my mind flits to Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, and the comments Rosie O'Donnell makes: "You don't want to be in love... you want to be in love in a movie."
It is a ridiculous generation that examines themselves and finds that their expectations regarding the utmost of emotional expression are defined by adults playacting on a silver screen. Is romance really what we've come to believe it to be? Is it that shallow thing imbedded so strongly in pop-culture? Let's hope not. Because, unlike those play-actors, real people don't get to wipe off the makeup and go home after a long day. We're stuck with the situations we get ourselves into. And, I doubt if it'd really be all that easy to walk away from being the queen of Denmark.
Hey guy! (Yes, that's an intentional "guy"... there's a guy in the office who calls everybody guy, and it cracks me up. Idiosyncrosies as a whole make me laugh though.) It's the weekend! I'm up late! I'm going to sleep in. And I'd like to write something tomorrow, but I don't know what to write about. I guess I have a couple of ideas. Let me share one or two with you (we'll decide whether it's one or two when we get to the end of one -- after all, it is long past midnight).
We just got done watching The Prince and Me with Julia Stiles. I like Julia Stiles a lot, mostly cause she doesn't really seem to be all about the "I need to do ultra-sleazy roles to prove my 'maturity' " thing. I appreciate that. What I don't appreciate is feminism trying to impact the romantic comedy genre. ( *Warning: Spoilers ho!* ) See, toward the end of the most recent Stiles movie I watched, she decided that she couldn't follow her heart; she had to go and do all the things she set out to do before she met the dude.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for planning, and I'm all for not just willy-nilly saying, "It felt right in my heart." On the other hand, this is a movie: it is meant to demonstrate -- in some form or another -- something that touches, somehow, the universality of love. Instead, if you check out the alternate ending especially, it appears that the director's original intention was to have the movie end with them both moving in their separate directions, cause she wanted more than just to be with him. There was no "we," there was "you" and "me." I don't know, I guess i just found it lame.
And now a confession: half way through the above, I almost stopped typing. I didn't because I thought a more interesting point could be drawn out from what I wrote above. Hokey Stink -- have I ever bought into a North American view of romance. "Cast all sensibility aside, throw your plans to the wind, and caution therewith! Love... love is all!" The universality of love? What is love? Is love, like Ravi Zacharias implies, Rebekah crossing the desert and meeting Isaac, marrying the dude, and learning to love him? Is love found one night, as in the Stiles movie, hitting on a cute bartender while slightly inebriated? Why do I buy into the Hollywood crap? You know what's worse? As soon as I condemn myself like this, my mind flits to Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, and the comments Rosie O'Donnell makes: "You don't want to be in love... you want to be in love in a movie."
It is a ridiculous generation that examines themselves and finds that their expectations regarding the utmost of emotional expression are defined by adults playacting on a silver screen. Is romance really what we've come to believe it to be? Is it that shallow thing imbedded so strongly in pop-culture? Let's hope not. Because, unlike those play-actors, real people don't get to wipe off the makeup and go home after a long day. We're stuck with the situations we get ourselves into. And, I doubt if it'd really be all that easy to walk away from being the queen of Denmark.
20040818
chick punk and other stuff
Now Playing: Starspin by Downhere, by far the best song on the new CD.
So, it's another wednesday. And, it's more than half over. It drives me nuts how fast days fly by. Why do you have to go and make things so complicated? Cause, he was a boy, and she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious? The Avril was playing at the office today. She's really actually decent when you compare her with the rest of pop music.
Wow, it was such a super-un-eventful day. I think I'm going to go read, and finish the uneventful day, well, uneventfully. Have a good night guys!
So, it's another wednesday. And, it's more than half over. It drives me nuts how fast days fly by. Why do you have to go and make things so complicated? Cause, he was a boy, and she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious? The Avril was playing at the office today. She's really actually decent when you compare her with the rest of pop music.
Wow, it was such a super-un-eventful day. I think I'm going to go read, and finish the uneventful day, well, uneventfully. Have a good night guys!
20040814
the power of coffee, and the random button
now playing: this road / jars of clay (gurr, if you're out there, and you have my jars dvd... say "what what"... cause we're so ghetto it hurts, bro.)
This blog-post is brought to you at 8:49 am (as in, in the morning?!) post is brought to you in order to state one fact. I believe in the power of coffee. See, I may have planned to sleep til noon, but when those plans changed (not by my will... funny how much of life we don't control), all I needed to get me back in the game was a super big cup of coffee. Now, there is a dear lady whose husband happens to run my favorite Bible College, and she would say that I am yet again becoming an addict to this wonderful substance called coffee. That's not the way I see it anymore. Just like with a car, you have your regular fuel (food, sleep, that stuff)... but every once in a while, your car isn't going to run just right, so you throw something else in there... a little fuel line cleaner, a little octane booster, whatever... know what I mean? And in the case of coffee, well, all I'm saying is there's a definite analogy to be drawn with Nitrous Oxide. Especially if you've watched The Texas Kid react to espresso before.
Thinking back to the above, the little comment where I stated that my waking up at this point in time was not by my will: there's an interesting fact to be drawn out there: in the Realm of theology, there is a drive in some schools of thought to concedede anything in order to be able to protect the idea of a free human will. I'm not going to say that's wrong, I believe in the freewill of man, but I think it's pretty easy to see in everyday events how God's will supersedes that, and how our wills are limited by our sinfulness (or our regeneration). Take the simple analogy of me waking up this morning: did I intend to wake up at 830? Nope. Did the caller to my household intend to wake me up at 830? Nope, they were calling to talk to someone else. However, they were IMPEDING upon my free will. How dare they. I had decided to sleep in! And it's been ruined. They must not love me. They must not be fair.
That's ridiculous. And, while the analogy breaks down, I think you can probably draw some lines to a bigger plane of reality.
Take it a step further. Since I didn't get to bed til 130 last night (this morning, I guess), I was bound to stay in bed til probably 10 or 11. There wasn't any way I was going to wake myself up (just work with me here, it's an analogy). Could I have chosen to? Yes. I could've chosen to set my alarm last night, and woken myself up early, and gone for a run, and been disciplined. Given the choice, I'm always going to choose sleeping in. ALWAYS. I'm bound to. So, someone had to intercede in order to cause me to do otherwise. Should I resent that? When it's enabled me to reclaim my day? Heck no! I should be thankful for the grace shown to me.
That may be the most convoluted analogy on God's Grace that I've ever seen. But, i hope someone out there gets it. I'm gone for now.
ok, ok, in the analogy, sleeping in = sin, my desire to sleep in = my inborn sin nature, and the phone call that woke me up = grace. does that help?
This blog-post is brought to you at 8:49 am (as in, in the morning?!) post is brought to you in order to state one fact. I believe in the power of coffee. See, I may have planned to sleep til noon, but when those plans changed (not by my will... funny how much of life we don't control), all I needed to get me back in the game was a super big cup of coffee. Now, there is a dear lady whose husband happens to run my favorite Bible College, and she would say that I am yet again becoming an addict to this wonderful substance called coffee. That's not the way I see it anymore. Just like with a car, you have your regular fuel (food, sleep, that stuff)... but every once in a while, your car isn't going to run just right, so you throw something else in there... a little fuel line cleaner, a little octane booster, whatever... know what I mean? And in the case of coffee, well, all I'm saying is there's a definite analogy to be drawn with Nitrous Oxide. Especially if you've watched The Texas Kid react to espresso before.
Thinking back to the above, the little comment where I stated that my waking up at this point in time was not by my will: there's an interesting fact to be drawn out there: in the Realm of theology, there is a drive in some schools of thought to concedede anything in order to be able to protect the idea of a free human will. I'm not going to say that's wrong, I believe in the freewill of man, but I think it's pretty easy to see in everyday events how God's will supersedes that, and how our wills are limited by our sinfulness (or our regeneration). Take the simple analogy of me waking up this morning: did I intend to wake up at 830? Nope. Did the caller to my household intend to wake me up at 830? Nope, they were calling to talk to someone else. However, they were IMPEDING upon my free will. How dare they. I had decided to sleep in! And it's been ruined. They must not love me. They must not be fair.
That's ridiculous. And, while the analogy breaks down, I think you can probably draw some lines to a bigger plane of reality.
Take it a step further. Since I didn't get to bed til 130 last night (this morning, I guess), I was bound to stay in bed til probably 10 or 11. There wasn't any way I was going to wake myself up (just work with me here, it's an analogy). Could I have chosen to? Yes. I could've chosen to set my alarm last night, and woken myself up early, and gone for a run, and been disciplined. Given the choice, I'm always going to choose sleeping in. ALWAYS. I'm bound to. So, someone had to intercede in order to cause me to do otherwise. Should I resent that? When it's enabled me to reclaim my day? Heck no! I should be thankful for the grace shown to me.
That may be the most convoluted analogy on God's Grace that I've ever seen. But, i hope someone out there gets it. I'm gone for now.
ok, ok, in the analogy, sleeping in = sin, my desire to sleep in = my inborn sin nature, and the phone call that woke me up = grace. does that help?
20040808
super hero
now playing: beggarman
Now, undoubtedly everyone has a superhero. I've had several throughout my lifetime. But I'm not talking about Spiderman and Batman, I'm talking about the guys you know and love, whose advice is reliable and, sometimes, even the type to come to mind at just the right time to save your butt. For a while, I have to say, my conscience had a South African accent, in honour of PK. Well, recently I had this dream. And in this dream the only thing that saved me from a fate worse than death was the voice of Stevie Y. "Mackay, if you do that, I'll openly call you an idiot." At that point, I jolted awake, and went "wow, what a dumb dream! Steve's my hero." And now, I have proclaimed it before the whole world. Not too many people can save your life in a dream.
So, today, they showed the house we're currently in. Yep, mom and dad's soon-to-be-former landlords are selling the house. Anyway, we left at 130, the showing was supposedly at two. We got back at 330, and they were still here. So we drove around. They later claimed to have shown the house twice. I'm not going to lie to you, I know what was really up. They were sitting around playing the guitars that are around the house. That's totally what I would've done! But, whatever, let them think they fooled us.
Outside of that, just an ordinary day, with thoughts flying through my head. Sometimes, there are situations where I'm just like: Okay Lord, tell me what you want. Now, tell me again. Now, are you sure? JP reminded me this morning: DO NOT TRY TO ADVISE GOD!!!! He yelled it too. Alright, i'm gone folks. peace.
okay, i lied. I'm now editing this about 5 minutes after the initial post... I wanted to add the following, stolen from code's site (see link at side)
Last Cigarette: The other night, in the dream that Stevie Y saved my life in. Crazy, eh? And the smoking wasn't even what was going to kill me.
Last Alcoholic Drink: Funny, no drinks in the dream. Although, I almost needed one to steady my nerves when I woke up.
Last Car Ride: Home from furniture shopping with mom and pop... we even went someplace I'd never been before... beautiful countryside around here.
Last Kiss: Leaving my grandparents house, my nephew caleb was there, and he planted a big one on my cheek.
Last Good Cry: sometime in October. On the phone. With my older brother. Wait... no, Mackay men don't cry. NEVER.
Last Library Book: Something about Philosophy... i had 10 books out for a paper comparing plato and aristotle.
Last book bought: Lets go with books bought in the last month: books 4-7 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series, Lapsing into a Comma, The Copy Editor's Handbook, Shadow Puppets (O.S. Card), The Book Business, Paris 1919. I think that covers the last month. We could double it by going last two months, but lets not. We'll leave it at the fact that my Chapters privileges are about to be revoked.
Last Book Read: Currently amid Book 6 from W.O.T series (reference above), also reading "I, Isaac Take You, Rebekah" by Ravi, and "Charity and its Fruits" by Edwards. But I'm moving slow on the last two, to my shame.
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: Gonna be Manchurian Candidate, with my little brother, a week ago tomorrow.
Last Movie Rented: Cheaper by the Dozen... no, I bought that... um... sadly, School of Rock is the last movie I rented. I say sadly because I already owned a copy at the time, my copy was just 110 kms away.
Last Cuss Word Uttered: Shnike. As in: HOKEY SHNIKE, DANNY WAY JUST KILLED THAT JUMP, in the X Games 10 big air competition.
Last Beverage Drank: Pepsi, with my dinner.
Last Food Consumed: Pork Ribbets (processed pork, basically) on a bun.
Last Crush: I think it was orange. Orange crush. or Natalie Portman.
Last Phone Call: My older brother, about an hour ago.
Last TV Show Watched: X games 10 on ABC, Big Air Competition. Mentioned above.
Last Time Showered: this morning, after waking up at around 930.
Last Shoes Worn: loafers. My generation doesn't believe in loafers, but i intend to single handedly bring them back. Loafers rock. And they're comfortable, too!
Last CD Played: Bebo Norman, Myself When I am Real, while cruisin'.
Last Item Bought: Coffee at Tim Hortons. Can't go wrong.
Last Download: Some song by DC Talk, an old school one, so I could learn how to play it... "like it, love it, need it"?
Last Annoyance: This text editor.
Last Disappointment: See above.
Last Soda Drank: "Deja vu." "What'd you say?" "Deja vu... I just had a case of deja vu." "What was it?" "There was this question about the last thing I drank, and then there was this question about the last thing I drank." "Was it the same question?" "Coulda been, I don't know" "They cut the hardline, move!" (from The Matrix.)
Last Thing Written: A song about grace. Which is ultimately what they're all about.
Last Key Used: my house key, or the key of c.
Last Words Spoken: Sorry. I say it all the time, really, but yep, that's the last thing i said out loud. Or maybe it was "Head, turn of Peter, Paul, and Mary." (edit... doh. that'd be "turn off Peter, Paul, and Mary." This correction goes out to piff.) The deaf man is watching Peter, Paul, and Mary. Can you believe it?
Last Sleep: last night... 3 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. I just couldn't sleep til 3.
Last Ice Cream Eaten: A caramel vanilla ice cream bar, coated in chocolate. Pretty darn good, if I may say.
Last Chair Sat In: Argh, this computer chair that is tilted funnily. Makes me feel like I'm slouching funny.
Last Web page Visited: well, there's actually two: www.desiringgod.org, which is a good web site to visit. Go J.P. And, http://ruthcook.blogspot.com/ which is hilarious. We love you Ruth!
could that post have been vaguer or more unclear?
and now I'm really done.
Now, undoubtedly everyone has a superhero. I've had several throughout my lifetime. But I'm not talking about Spiderman and Batman, I'm talking about the guys you know and love, whose advice is reliable and, sometimes, even the type to come to mind at just the right time to save your butt. For a while, I have to say, my conscience had a South African accent, in honour of PK. Well, recently I had this dream. And in this dream the only thing that saved me from a fate worse than death was the voice of Stevie Y. "Mackay, if you do that, I'll openly call you an idiot." At that point, I jolted awake, and went "wow, what a dumb dream! Steve's my hero." And now, I have proclaimed it before the whole world. Not too many people can save your life in a dream.
So, today, they showed the house we're currently in. Yep, mom and dad's soon-to-be-former landlords are selling the house. Anyway, we left at 130, the showing was supposedly at two. We got back at 330, and they were still here. So we drove around. They later claimed to have shown the house twice. I'm not going to lie to you, I know what was really up. They were sitting around playing the guitars that are around the house. That's totally what I would've done! But, whatever, let them think they fooled us.
Outside of that, just an ordinary day, with thoughts flying through my head. Sometimes, there are situations where I'm just like: Okay Lord, tell me what you want. Now, tell me again. Now, are you sure? JP reminded me this morning: DO NOT TRY TO ADVISE GOD!!!! He yelled it too. Alright, i'm gone folks. peace.
okay, i lied. I'm now editing this about 5 minutes after the initial post... I wanted to add the following, stolen from code's site (see link at side)
Last Cigarette: The other night, in the dream that Stevie Y saved my life in. Crazy, eh? And the smoking wasn't even what was going to kill me.
Last Alcoholic Drink: Funny, no drinks in the dream. Although, I almost needed one to steady my nerves when I woke up.
Last Car Ride: Home from furniture shopping with mom and pop... we even went someplace I'd never been before... beautiful countryside around here.
Last Kiss: Leaving my grandparents house, my nephew caleb was there, and he planted a big one on my cheek.
Last Good Cry: sometime in October. On the phone. With my older brother. Wait... no, Mackay men don't cry. NEVER.
Last Library Book: Something about Philosophy... i had 10 books out for a paper comparing plato and aristotle.
Last book bought: Lets go with books bought in the last month: books 4-7 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series, Lapsing into a Comma, The Copy Editor's Handbook, Shadow Puppets (O.S. Card), The Book Business, Paris 1919. I think that covers the last month. We could double it by going last two months, but lets not. We'll leave it at the fact that my Chapters privileges are about to be revoked.
Last Book Read: Currently amid Book 6 from W.O.T series (reference above), also reading "I, Isaac Take You, Rebekah" by Ravi, and "Charity and its Fruits" by Edwards. But I'm moving slow on the last two, to my shame.
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: Gonna be Manchurian Candidate, with my little brother, a week ago tomorrow.
Last Movie Rented: Cheaper by the Dozen... no, I bought that... um... sadly, School of Rock is the last movie I rented. I say sadly because I already owned a copy at the time, my copy was just 110 kms away.
Last Cuss Word Uttered: Shnike. As in: HOKEY SHNIKE, DANNY WAY JUST KILLED THAT JUMP, in the X Games 10 big air competition.
Last Beverage Drank: Pepsi, with my dinner.
Last Food Consumed: Pork Ribbets (processed pork, basically) on a bun.
Last Crush: I think it was orange. Orange crush. or Natalie Portman.
Last Phone Call: My older brother, about an hour ago.
Last TV Show Watched: X games 10 on ABC, Big Air Competition. Mentioned above.
Last Time Showered: this morning, after waking up at around 930.
Last Shoes Worn: loafers. My generation doesn't believe in loafers, but i intend to single handedly bring them back. Loafers rock. And they're comfortable, too!
Last CD Played: Bebo Norman, Myself When I am Real, while cruisin'.
Last Item Bought: Coffee at Tim Hortons. Can't go wrong.
Last Download: Some song by DC Talk, an old school one, so I could learn how to play it... "like it, love it, need it"?
Last Annoyance: This text editor.
Last Disappointment: See above.
Last Soda Drank: "Deja vu." "What'd you say?" "Deja vu... I just had a case of deja vu." "What was it?" "There was this question about the last thing I drank, and then there was this question about the last thing I drank." "Was it the same question?" "Coulda been, I don't know" "They cut the hardline, move!" (from The Matrix.)
Last Thing Written: A song about grace. Which is ultimately what they're all about.
Last Key Used: my house key, or the key of c.
Last Words Spoken: Sorry. I say it all the time, really, but yep, that's the last thing i said out loud. Or maybe it was "Head, turn of Peter, Paul, and Mary." (edit... doh. that'd be "turn off Peter, Paul, and Mary." This correction goes out to piff.) The deaf man is watching Peter, Paul, and Mary. Can you believe it?
Last Sleep: last night... 3 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. I just couldn't sleep til 3.
Last Ice Cream Eaten: A caramel vanilla ice cream bar, coated in chocolate. Pretty darn good, if I may say.
Last Chair Sat In: Argh, this computer chair that is tilted funnily. Makes me feel like I'm slouching funny.
Last Web page Visited: well, there's actually two: www.desiringgod.org, which is a good web site to visit. Go J.P. And, http://ruthcook.blogspot.com/ which is hilarious. We love you Ruth!
could that post have been vaguer or more unclear?
and now I'm really done.
20040807
big families
now playing: Cheaper by the Dozen // a movie. watching it with mom and dad. And yes, I bought it. And no, contrary to what the girl at the movie store said, I don't have a crush on hillary duff.
Even when a big family is falling apart on the big (or not so big) screen, I still think that I'd like to have a big family. Even with the numerous challenges it would bring. Definitely I think it'd be worth it. I've never regretted being from a mid-sized family, and I'd imagine a big one would be at least as much fun. Also, as much as people knock the idea of hand-me-downs, the only time I ever looked like I had a semblance of style (unless jeans and a hoody now counts as style) was when i got hand-me-downs from my older brother. (Oh yeah, that does mean that, again contrary to popular belief, a mackay male can have style. Although most of us don't... and I quote "Dad, did a blind person design that shirt?")
Caedmon's Call. New York. September 26th. There's talk... There's rumours... you never know. it is only 226 miles.
Aww, Steve and Bonnie are duking it out... yeah, I imagine there's stress in families - especially if you have 12 kids. Probably more than this movie depicts, even. But, it'd be worth it.
"Nice move, Fedex"... I'm out for now.
Even when a big family is falling apart on the big (or not so big) screen, I still think that I'd like to have a big family. Even with the numerous challenges it would bring. Definitely I think it'd be worth it. I've never regretted being from a mid-sized family, and I'd imagine a big one would be at least as much fun. Also, as much as people knock the idea of hand-me-downs, the only time I ever looked like I had a semblance of style (unless jeans and a hoody now counts as style) was when i got hand-me-downs from my older brother. (Oh yeah, that does mean that, again contrary to popular belief, a mackay male can have style. Although most of us don't... and I quote "Dad, did a blind person design that shirt?")
Caedmon's Call. New York. September 26th. There's talk... There's rumours... you never know. it is only 226 miles.
Aww, Steve and Bonnie are duking it out... yeah, I imagine there's stress in families - especially if you have 12 kids. Probably more than this movie depicts, even. But, it'd be worth it.
"Nice move, Fedex"... I'm out for now.
20040806
thoughts regarding my previous post
Equal to the Fall // Satellite Soul, whom I love.
Hi kids, Mack here. So, I've been thinking. My friend matt the cook is a pretty devious man. I have always known that he was powerful, however, this really takes it up a step. You see, yesterday I posted my rave reviews about the two new Caedmon's Call songs I'd heard. Indeed, I posted my acceptance of them, in spite of their integration of world music of an Eastern Variety. Indeed, it seemed for a while that I would have no problem accepting it. And I am sure that, somewhere in the niagara region, if you listened closely, you would hear maniacal laughter. Okay, more maniacal laughter than normal.
But I've got words for you, The Cook. YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME THAT QUICK. See, what I realized was, and I know this'll be hard to hear but I'm going to say it anyway, the world really does revolve around me. Caedmon's Call's newest CD is nothing more than an attempt by Matt Cook to suck me into his Eastern world.
Yes folks, he managed to somehow manipulate the members of a rock band to submit to his will. What is more disturbing is the measure of guile used in composing his plan. See, he knew I was partial to south american beats, so he had them work some of those in so I'd be rendered unsuspicious. Oh, but I caught on.
It is obvious that something must be done to stop this menace. And I mean to do whatever it takes. Even down to sniping at him from my blog.
In other, more serious news (yeah yeah, we all love The Cook, I love The Cook, he rocks)... today was, no joke, the perfect day here in Belleville, at least weather wise. It was like a high of 16 degrees, a little overcast-y, just the kind of day I love. The sort of day where you can wear a hoody, and totally get away with it. Hoodie. Hoody. Huh d. Yeah, something like that. Anyway, now it's for a weekend in belleville. Whoo hoo. Here's to fun times. Make the most of the time, peeps. Next time, maybe I'll tell you about my newest super hero. He looks like wayne gretzky, and he even saves me in my dreams. (-: Anyone who guesses before I tell wins a prize.
y eivets s'ti ay ay
Hi kids, Mack here. So, I've been thinking. My friend matt the cook is a pretty devious man. I have always known that he was powerful, however, this really takes it up a step. You see, yesterday I posted my rave reviews about the two new Caedmon's Call songs I'd heard. Indeed, I posted my acceptance of them, in spite of their integration of world music of an Eastern Variety. Indeed, it seemed for a while that I would have no problem accepting it. And I am sure that, somewhere in the niagara region, if you listened closely, you would hear maniacal laughter. Okay, more maniacal laughter than normal.
But I've got words for you, The Cook. YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME THAT QUICK. See, what I realized was, and I know this'll be hard to hear but I'm going to say it anyway, the world really does revolve around me. Caedmon's Call's newest CD is nothing more than an attempt by Matt Cook to suck me into his Eastern world.
Yes folks, he managed to somehow manipulate the members of a rock band to submit to his will. What is more disturbing is the measure of guile used in composing his plan. See, he knew I was partial to south american beats, so he had them work some of those in so I'd be rendered unsuspicious. Oh, but I caught on.
It is obvious that something must be done to stop this menace. And I mean to do whatever it takes. Even down to sniping at him from my blog.
In other, more serious news (yeah yeah, we all love The Cook, I love The Cook, he rocks)... today was, no joke, the perfect day here in Belleville, at least weather wise. It was like a high of 16 degrees, a little overcast-y, just the kind of day I love. The sort of day where you can wear a hoody, and totally get away with it. Hoodie. Hoody. Huh d. Yeah, something like that. Anyway, now it's for a weekend in belleville. Whoo hoo. Here's to fun times. Make the most of the time, peeps. Next time, maybe I'll tell you about my newest super hero. He looks like wayne gretzky, and he even saves me in my dreams. (-: Anyone who guesses before I tell wins a prize.
y eivets s'ti ay ay
20040805
New Caedmon?
now playing: Caedmon's Call: Before There Was Time LIVE / from Chronicle. Best hits baby.
Over the years, I've made it a goal to introduce as many people as possible to Caedmon's Call. I'm not going to belabour my point tonight. A new Caedmon's Call record comes out Mid-October (I think it's the twelfth). They went to India, Brazil, and Peru to record the cd with indigenous musicians. It's gonna be an awesome meld of classic folk and world music. Now, those of you who heard about my time living with matt, and the assault of eastern music might be thinking, "AndyMack is going to hate this cd." Well, I've heard a couple of the tracks, including one called Mother India, performed live. And I loved them. I would invite you to watch with me, but the company that had a 2 hour concert on their website (272 kb/s quality, no less) took it down. I presume that the Caedmon fans must've overloaded the server. Bummer. Oh well, suffice it to say, there's a full on Hindi style vocal solo, and it's AWESOME. Alright, that's it for me, for now.
that's never really all, though. It never ends. It's never done.
Over the years, I've made it a goal to introduce as many people as possible to Caedmon's Call. I'm not going to belabour my point tonight. A new Caedmon's Call record comes out Mid-October (I think it's the twelfth). They went to India, Brazil, and Peru to record the cd with indigenous musicians. It's gonna be an awesome meld of classic folk and world music. Now, those of you who heard about my time living with matt, and the assault of eastern music might be thinking, "AndyMack is going to hate this cd." Well, I've heard a couple of the tracks, including one called Mother India, performed live. And I loved them. I would invite you to watch with me, but the company that had a 2 hour concert on their website (272 kb/s quality, no less) took it down. I presume that the Caedmon fans must've overloaded the server. Bummer. Oh well, suffice it to say, there's a full on Hindi style vocal solo, and it's AWESOME. Alright, that's it for me, for now.
that's never really all, though. It never ends. It's never done.
20040728
looking for a place to sit and to read
now playing: Faith My Eyes // derek webb, from the house show album.
But if I must go,
Things, i trust, will be better off without me
And I don't want to know
Cause life is better off a mystery.
And that is why I'll be a Derek Webb fan till the day I die. Deep. Real deep.
I just got off the phone with Luke. Phone calls from old friends can make me feel like I'm alive again. And God plans things. Just when i'm feeling down, my phone rings. And it's The Texas Kid. I think when we have our own superhero movies, it'll be AndyMack and the Texas Kid. And I want to state that I did try to put The Texas kid first, but it just wouldn't work. No matter how hard I tried. Maybe Texas and the AndyMack Kid. That could work, but I don't think The Texas Kid would settle for just Texas. Heck, I don't think he'll even settle for The Texas Kid.
Anyway, God is faithful, and I just wanted to point that on. Good friends are hard to come by. don't let go of them when you have them.
But if I must go,
Things, i trust, will be better off without me
And I don't want to know
Cause life is better off a mystery.
And that is why I'll be a Derek Webb fan till the day I die. Deep. Real deep.
I just got off the phone with Luke. Phone calls from old friends can make me feel like I'm alive again. And God plans things. Just when i'm feeling down, my phone rings. And it's The Texas Kid. I think when we have our own superhero movies, it'll be AndyMack and the Texas Kid. And I want to state that I did try to put The Texas kid first, but it just wouldn't work. No matter how hard I tried. Maybe Texas and the AndyMack Kid. That could work, but I don't think The Texas Kid would settle for just Texas. Heck, I don't think he'll even settle for The Texas Kid.
Anyway, God is faithful, and I just wanted to point that on. Good friends are hard to come by. don't let go of them when you have them.
20040725
calling all bloggers
First person to tell me how to set it to be small size text by default wins a prize. i don't know what that will be, but definitely a prize... I digress...
now playing: Bus Driver - Caedmon's / Derek, the last time they were in the studio together. Possibly the last time ever. Until the reunion tour, anyway :-)
Calling all bloggers, calling all bloggers. At least those of you whom I know and love. Code, Jag, Pyro, Jade, Matt, Sickens: Where my dawgs at? I understand it's summer, and you're all very busy, but throw the world a bone, say something. Tell us you love us. Something. ANYTHING! Guys? GUYS?
In other news, i'm going to go see Bourne Supremacy this afternoon with my dad, my little brother, and his girlfriend. I'm pretty stoked.
Oh yeah, yesterday was a wedding. Jay and Amy, I salute you. I've now been to four beautiful weddings this summer. It's been pretty cool. I'm totally stoked for my married friends. I've also been reading a Ravi Zacharias book called "I, Isaac Take You, Rebekah." Let me tell ya, it is pretty darned good, especially as far as books on relationships go. Ravi don't mess around none. The nice thing about it is, neither is he super Radical, or trying to start a revolution in dating. It's down to earth solid advice; the kind of stuff that we maybe know or think we know but could stand to hear again. And again. And Again. Highly recommended. Even as a single person, who thinks he might be single for a while (or not, I'm not going to lie to you my friends. The Lord has not seen fit to tell me what His plans are... which leads me to a point from another book, whose name I cannot remember. That's okay, it'd take me far off track if I could. Suffice it to say, there's a far difference between God having a plan for us before we were born (Biblical Truth), and God being compelled to tell us what that plan is), this book holds a great deal of good truth to be reminded of. Ravi Rawks.
Alright, i'm gonna go now. Keep on rockin' in the free world.
now playing: Bus Driver - Caedmon's / Derek, the last time they were in the studio together. Possibly the last time ever. Until the reunion tour, anyway :-)
Calling all bloggers, calling all bloggers. At least those of you whom I know and love. Code, Jag, Pyro, Jade, Matt, Sickens: Where my dawgs at? I understand it's summer, and you're all very busy, but throw the world a bone, say something. Tell us you love us. Something. ANYTHING! Guys? GUYS?
In other news, i'm going to go see Bourne Supremacy this afternoon with my dad, my little brother, and his girlfriend. I'm pretty stoked.
Oh yeah, yesterday was a wedding. Jay and Amy, I salute you. I've now been to four beautiful weddings this summer. It's been pretty cool. I'm totally stoked for my married friends. I've also been reading a Ravi Zacharias book called "I, Isaac Take You, Rebekah." Let me tell ya, it is pretty darned good, especially as far as books on relationships go. Ravi don't mess around none. The nice thing about it is, neither is he super Radical, or trying to start a revolution in dating. It's down to earth solid advice; the kind of stuff that we maybe know or think we know but could stand to hear again. And again. And Again. Highly recommended. Even as a single person, who thinks he might be single for a while (or not, I'm not going to lie to you my friends. The Lord has not seen fit to tell me what His plans are... which leads me to a point from another book, whose name I cannot remember. That's okay, it'd take me far off track if I could. Suffice it to say, there's a far difference between God having a plan for us before we were born (Biblical Truth), and God being compelled to tell us what that plan is), this book holds a great deal of good truth to be reminded of. Ravi Rawks.
Alright, i'm gonna go now. Keep on rockin' in the free world.
20040721
real rock and roll
now playing: house show // derek webb
Yep, I now have it. My very own copy of House Show. How killerly exciting is that? Derek is definitely one of those people in the world who "gets it." This CD is highly recommended. HIGHLY. It features not just great performances, but Derek's explanation of why he says what he says in his songs. It's awesome. Rock, Rock On.
So, in other news... how about all those doctrines that take one verse and develop some thought, some idea, that was never actually there in the text? God's three fold will in Romans 12:2? WHAT IS THAT? Paul used three adjectives, similar ones even, and so now he's broken down God's will into a tripartite division? Let's not be absurd. Argh.
Here's my problem: we're convinced that somehow, since we're standing on 2000 years of Biblical studies, we're far more advanced than the Apostle Paul could've been when he wrote Romans, or than Pete could've been when he wrote 1st and 2nd Pete. Here's the thing though... brace yourselves, it's shocking:
WE DON'T EVEN
COMPREHEND THE SURFACE
MEANINGS OF SCRIPTURE
We've got no business trying to find meaning in little hypothetical ideas we superimpose over passages when we can't even talk and live like we comprehend the basics. Back to basics.
/end rant.
And I leave you now friends, while Derek sings a one vocal, one guitar version of This World. Good night!
20040720
blogger gets an update
now playing: everything i hate // smalltown poets
I want to start out by pointing out that this is the first time that I've used Blogger's fancy shmancy text editor. If you look back through history, you'll note that AndyMack had colour back when no one else had colour. Now, I have to admit, it wasn't quite as easy to use as this. However. If you read the source code, you'll find that my previous method produced some very decent HTML. Google's (yes, google is the owner of blogger) method, on the other hand, creates some really gross looking code. However, it is a WYSIWYG system (what you see is what you get, duh!) and as far as that goes, it does a pretty good job. So, kudos to google. Six times a Google is? Six google? Nailed it!
I want to start out by pointing out that this is the first time that I've used Blogger's fancy shmancy text editor. If you look back through history, you'll note that AndyMack had colour back when no one else had colour. Now, I have to admit, it wasn't quite as easy to use as this. However. If you read the source code, you'll find that my previous method produced some very decent HTML. Google's (yes, google is the owner of blogger) method, on the other hand, creates some really gross looking code. However, it is a WYSIWYG system (what you see is what you get, duh!) and as far as that goes, it does a pretty good job. So, kudos to google. Six times a Google is? Six google? Nailed it!
Secondly, I want to point out that... aw crap, there goes the kudos, look at the difference in the text style, and all I did was hit return. C'mon guys!
Ok, now I think I've got it. How's that look? Good stuff. Anyway, as I was going to say, I've decided that Blogger's default text size is WAY too big. I wouldn't have thought that a month ago, but since I started working with book layouts, I've realized that you really don't need super huge text, all you need is an easy to read layout. I think I have that. Anyway, there's some snooty book stuff for you all. I now believe that the printed word will never die. Also, for those who care about how the html code for this is actually produced — all two of you — it appears that the wysiwyg engine doesn't end the span command with the /span until the return key is hit, which then inserts however many /span commands are necessary to close off any new style moves opened within the paragraph. It'd be easier to close each off when a new one started, although it might come at the expense of... wait, no it wouldn't. This is a dumb implementation.
Alright, I'm sure I wanted to do more than critique Blogger's new text editor, but I guess that as far as this post goes, what you see is what you get. Gotta confess, i love the text colour changing abilities. But it cheapens the hours of work I put into getting 10 different colours to work consistently for me back in the day. I guess it's not all about me.
Okay, I'm gonna go, but to those people who got e-coli from uncooked meat, the moral of the story is - Salisbury Steak isn't meant to be raw! DUH.
20040713
the mystery
now playing: secret / audio adrenaline from bloom
Sitting here ripping cds that we thought had been killed by abuse. Musicmatch works wonder. It's worth a shot, I've recovered well over 20 cds that I thought I'd have to buy again. I'm all for paying if you're going to use a whole albums worth of songs, but shoot, i'm not all for paying twice! anyway...
Ah yes, THE MYSTERY OF ThE bAtHrOoM cLoCk . In most bathrooms, you will find a time peice of some sort, a little clock or something, to remind occupants of the fact that they must be at work in a certain amount of time. Phrases bandied about regarding such a time piece may include "bane of my existence" or "clock from H.E.Double Hell, if you don't mind the expression." But, I digress. The fact is, these clocks are necessary. They remind us of where we need to be, and when.
Ah, but I had used the word mystery, hadn't I? And a mystery in deed it was a few mornings ago when I stumbled into the bathroom for my morning rituals (those are a mystery too, but we won't get into them... three things: rain dance, animal sacrifice, and tooth paste. Ask no questions.) Where was I? Oh yeah... so, I stumble into the bathroom, and look at the clock. And, seeing the time as 7:55, and needing to be out by 8, I panic. I hop through the shower, towel off (wet-head... take off hoser), and run out so as to clear the way for whoever else needed to make their way through. As I grabbed my cup of coffee (in the kitchen, of course... why would we have a coffee pot in the bathro... wait a second! Why WOULDN'T we have a coffee pot in the bathroom? That's brilliant... now back to the story), I looked at the time on the microwave. And I says, "que?" Now, for those of you who "no speaka spanish," that roughly translates to "What the heck?!" The clock read 7:45. The bathroom clock read 8:05 when i was done. Where had the 20 minutes gone? Had I developed time travel? For a minute there, i thought for sure I was about to be rich.
Unfortunately, reality always has to kick in. At that point in the morning, I remembered something my mom had mentioned once. About needing to have some way to psych herself into being ready on time. Apparently, that clock was her way. See, she set it forward 20 minutes. That way, she'd look at it, and feel the urgency of having to get ready. "What a brilliant plan," I thought to myself, "and she even managed to fool me in the process!"
Fair enough, right? Some people need a method by which to motivate themselves. Its all good. I would prefer bullhorns and drill sargeants, but maybe I respond best to external stimuli, and she to internal. But, I thought i ought to check on the results. So, i asked her. Possibly not the most objective method ever used, but hey -- it works for me. And yeah, lo and behold, it has NO IMPACT on her morning. Sure, it may make me rush around like an idiot, but not her. See, here's the problem: men, we can trick ourselves like that -- we're too dumb to notice. Not women tho... at least, not this woman. She looks at in, and clues in to the twenty minutes, and works it all out in her head, so that she's as cool as jello, realizing she has twenty minutes more than the clock claims. ARGH! Moral of the story: You can do your best to try to psych yourself into morning prepared-ness. But mostly, you'll just freak someone else out.
insert hidden comment here
Sitting here ripping cds that we thought had been killed by abuse. Musicmatch works wonder. It's worth a shot, I've recovered well over 20 cds that I thought I'd have to buy again. I'm all for paying if you're going to use a whole albums worth of songs, but shoot, i'm not all for paying twice! anyway...
Ah yes, THE MYSTERY OF ThE bAtHrOoM cLoCk . In most bathrooms, you will find a time peice of some sort, a little clock or something, to remind occupants of the fact that they must be at work in a certain amount of time. Phrases bandied about regarding such a time piece may include "bane of my existence" or "clock from H.E.Double Hell, if you don't mind the expression." But, I digress. The fact is, these clocks are necessary. They remind us of where we need to be, and when.
Ah, but I had used the word mystery, hadn't I? And a mystery in deed it was a few mornings ago when I stumbled into the bathroom for my morning rituals (those are a mystery too, but we won't get into them... three things: rain dance, animal sacrifice, and tooth paste. Ask no questions.) Where was I? Oh yeah... so, I stumble into the bathroom, and look at the clock. And, seeing the time as 7:55, and needing to be out by 8, I panic. I hop through the shower, towel off (wet-head... take off hoser), and run out so as to clear the way for whoever else needed to make their way through. As I grabbed my cup of coffee (in the kitchen, of course... why would we have a coffee pot in the bathro... wait a second! Why WOULDN'T we have a coffee pot in the bathroom? That's brilliant... now back to the story), I looked at the time on the microwave. And I says, "que?" Now, for those of you who "no speaka spanish," that roughly translates to "What the heck?!" The clock read 7:45. The bathroom clock read 8:05 when i was done. Where had the 20 minutes gone? Had I developed time travel? For a minute there, i thought for sure I was about to be rich.
Unfortunately, reality always has to kick in. At that point in the morning, I remembered something my mom had mentioned once. About needing to have some way to psych herself into being ready on time. Apparently, that clock was her way. See, she set it forward 20 minutes. That way, she'd look at it, and feel the urgency of having to get ready. "What a brilliant plan," I thought to myself, "and she even managed to fool me in the process!"
Fair enough, right? Some people need a method by which to motivate themselves. Its all good. I would prefer bullhorns and drill sargeants, but maybe I respond best to external stimuli, and she to internal. But, I thought i ought to check on the results. So, i asked her. Possibly not the most objective method ever used, but hey -- it works for me. And yeah, lo and behold, it has NO IMPACT on her morning. Sure, it may make me rush around like an idiot, but not her. See, here's the problem: men, we can trick ourselves like that -- we're too dumb to notice. Not women tho... at least, not this woman. She looks at in, and clues in to the twenty minutes, and works it all out in her head, so that she's as cool as jello, realizing she has twenty minutes more than the clock claims. ARGH! Moral of the story: You can do your best to try to psych yourself into morning prepared-ness. But mostly, you'll just freak someone else out.
insert hidden comment here
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