I went with Amybear's whole family to see National Treasure at the local Regal Theater down here. Amybear has wanted to see it for a while. I resisted because I honestly thought it would suck. Amybear doesn't exactly have a great record for picking winners. I was wrong it was actually quite good. A little contrived in parts and be prepared to suspend disbelief, but if you are looking for a PG movie to see in the near future its a good choice.
Afterwards we went out to Sweet Tomatoes. We talked about what Amybear was going to do after graduation. Amybear's Mom asked when we were going to officially get engaged. In response, I asked Amybear's dad for his blessing. Amybear has more details. Guess I have to really get cracking on buying her engagement ring.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Health Food
Went into a health food organic grocery today with the adopted family. It had aisle markers featuring such items as "nut butter" and "naked fruit juice". Is it organic foods or orgasmic foods? Anyway Amybear and I were snickering for a quite a while. And nothing is going to get me to buy a bottle of almond butter. It is just conjuring up images I'd rather not revisit.
On an different note, I'd like to point out that Amybear is the best girlfriend in the world. She is also reading over my shoulder as I type this on her laptop.
On an different note, I'd like to point out that Amybear is the best girlfriend in the world. She is also reading over my shoulder as I type this on her laptop.
Florida
I'm in sunny Florida right now. It was 74 and gorgeous in Sarasota today. I have to worry about sunburn and its december. I love this state. Gloat gloat. Sorry for all you people up in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Granted I post to at least one Malaysian blog, so people who live in the real tropics can feel free to gloat to me later. But right now I can be happy.
I'm starting to understand the snowbird phenomenon now. I left Philly with snow on the ground. After many hardships, which I will write a separate post about, I got to Florida with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. And people here are complaining about the cold. Spoiled geriatric brats.
The population shift is funny though. Farther north grocery baggers are usually pimply faced teenagers. Here they are the swinging youngsters of the retired set, namely people in their early retirement years. There also seems to be an inordinate number of doctors, dentists, and plastic surgeons.
Its even funnier because the status of the individual is not necessarily reflected by the individual around here. It is by what their children do. For instance Pee Wee Herman's parents live about a block from where I'm typing this. God only knows what their names are, but they have some small measure of fame around here.
I'm starting to understand the snowbird phenomenon now. I left Philly with snow on the ground. After many hardships, which I will write a separate post about, I got to Florida with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. And people here are complaining about the cold. Spoiled geriatric brats.
The population shift is funny though. Farther north grocery baggers are usually pimply faced teenagers. Here they are the swinging youngsters of the retired set, namely people in their early retirement years. There also seems to be an inordinate number of doctors, dentists, and plastic surgeons.
Its even funnier because the status of the individual is not necessarily reflected by the individual around here. It is by what their children do. For instance Pee Wee Herman's parents live about a block from where I'm typing this. God only knows what their names are, but they have some small measure of fame around here.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Division in the Church and the Endtimes
I got to church late today. It was in that no mans land between when sunday school has reached critical mass and when the service actually starts. So I can't go into sunday school school without drawing undo attention to myself, but luckily I wasn't alone. I ran across a friend named Patti who was in the same situation.
So we struck up a conversation about theology since our class is about historical christian theology. Long story short we both have a healthy distrust of philosophical christianity that doesn't root itself in scripture. Its way too easy to get down a rabbit trail.
We also talked about stupid divisions in the church. Case in point: Interpretations of Revelations. How many churches have split over a-, post-, pre- millenialism? It seemed foolish to both of us since your breaking fellowship over interpretation of prophetic scripture. It has happened yet people! Nobody will know who is right until it is too late. God himself has said he is deliberately obfuscating things so we won't find out beforehand. If only the father knows the right answer and he has said he isn't telling, why are you fighting about it?
So we struck up a conversation about theology since our class is about historical christian theology. Long story short we both have a healthy distrust of philosophical christianity that doesn't root itself in scripture. Its way too easy to get down a rabbit trail.
We also talked about stupid divisions in the church. Case in point: Interpretations of Revelations. How many churches have split over a-, post-, pre- millenialism? It seemed foolish to both of us since your breaking fellowship over interpretation of prophetic scripture. It has happened yet people! Nobody will know who is right until it is too late. God himself has said he is deliberately obfuscating things so we won't find out beforehand. If only the father knows the right answer and he has said he isn't telling, why are you fighting about it?
Flying
I flying down to see Amybear tomorrow. I packed whatever I could think of. Now I'm playing the "what did I forget" game. I'm sure if I wanted to do the work, I could fit in a Rumsfeld quote here (we know what we don't know... blah blah blah). So far I'm missing shampoo and a belt. Oops.
The fun is really going to begin once I get to the airport. I haven't flown since 9/11 so I'm expecting to pay penance for whatever sins I have committed since then. My layover going down and coming back are both below an hour. Unfortunatey I don't think it is humanly possible to pack for a week in Florida in a carry-on bag. I tried though and if the airlines are lazy enough maybe I'll get away with it.
The fun is really going to begin once I get to the airport. I haven't flown since 9/11 so I'm expecting to pay penance for whatever sins I have committed since then. My layover going down and coming back are both below an hour. Unfortunatey I don't think it is humanly possible to pack for a week in Florida in a carry-on bag. I tried though and if the airlines are lazy enough maybe I'll get away with it.
Christmas Holidays
Christmas was at my parents this year. Unlike Thanksgiving which saw something like 8 kids and 12 adults at the house, this was a fairly quiet affair with only 6 adults and two labrador retrievers. I kind of liked it that way and I didn't feel the need to flee to my apartment to get away very often. In fact things were mostly the opposite, nobody was doing much of anything and it got boring quickly. Oh well. At least there were doggies. I miss my dog.
On a sad note one of my sister's dogs isn't doing well. He is 13 years old and has definitely moved into geriatric decline. This morning they took him to a local vetrinary hospital because he started having a rapid heartbeat sometime last night. The took time sleeping next to him during the night and nobody got much sleep. Its hard on my sister and brother-in-law since their dogs are basically their children. Amybear noticed it too when she was up, something about my sister relating to everyone according to their pets.
Hopefully Mars will pull through.
On a sad note one of my sister's dogs isn't doing well. He is 13 years old and has definitely moved into geriatric decline. This morning they took him to a local vetrinary hospital because he started having a rapid heartbeat sometime last night. The took time sleeping next to him during the night and nobody got much sleep. Its hard on my sister and brother-in-law since their dogs are basically their children. Amybear noticed it too when she was up, something about my sister relating to everyone according to their pets.
Hopefully Mars will pull through.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Merry Christmas
Well folks I told you that blogging will be sporatic and that is proving to be an honest assessment. Amybear went home today so there may be a bit more blogging for the next few days. Then I go to sunny Florida to be with her again. Woo hoo!
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Sweat Shops
Here is an interesting commentary on "sweat shop" labor policies from someone on the developing nation side of things. She basically says that rich liberals from developed nations (like the US) are busy-bodies who should shut the hell up about the plight of the worker in developing nation (like her native Malaysia). Definitely worth a read.
Dinner and Shopping
Amybear and I went out to eat at the Blue Crab Grill last night. Its in the shopping center on Elkton Road at the intersection with Rt 4 in Newark, Delaware. The prices were a little higher than I expected ($15-25 for most entrees) but the food and service was excellent so the money was well spent.
Amybear ordered Shrimp Sambuca which was quite yummy. I went with Drunken Snow Crab Legs which was also wonderful. Amybear informed me that my ability to de-shell crabs legs and extract large sections of intact meat is very sexy. Who knew?
We went shopping at Walmart afterwards. I bought some computer paper (I'm out at home) and my brother's birthday present. The place was packed, but this concludes the christmas shopping for my immediate family this year. I still have to pick up some packages from where my complex is holding them, but otherwise I'm good.
Amybear ordered Shrimp Sambuca which was quite yummy. I went with Drunken Snow Crab Legs which was also wonderful. Amybear informed me that my ability to de-shell crabs legs and extract large sections of intact meat is very sexy. Who knew?
We went shopping at Walmart afterwards. I bought some computer paper (I'm out at home) and my brother's birthday present. The place was packed, but this concludes the christmas shopping for my immediate family this year. I still have to pick up some packages from where my complex is holding them, but otherwise I'm good.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Christmas: The Great Diversion
A lot has been said about the Happiness of Holidays compared to the Merriness of Christmas. For some reason this is a big deal this season. The disposition of the various bell-ringing foot soldiers in the Salvation Army has also been brought up ad infinitum. I've written about it here too so if anything I've fall into the same folly.
Frankly my fellow members of the faithful, I think we've been duped. I think we may have fallen, yet again, for the diversionary movement of the devil. We are sitting hunkered down in our little Christian foxholes, shooting at the stuff we can see, while the whole army of hell starts turning our flank.
Sorry, I work for the Army so my military analogies may occasionally get the better of me.
Church this weekend featured a short video during the service about the Christmas Story. It constituted what was basically Jaywalking segment ala the Tonight Show, where a guy with a microphone and a camera interviewed people on the street about "the Christmas Story." What was it he asked? The answers ranged from little Ralphie with his Red Ryder BB-gun, to Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, to presents (thanks Eric Cartman), and then to the coming of Santa Claus with his tiny reindeer.
Finally, this guy with a big red knit hat, a big white beard, and a red Christmas tree sweater got it right. He looked a lot like Santa, but frankly he was probably a truck driver or Unix programmer. What he said went something like this:
Christmas is about the greatest gift ever. It is about a gift given unto each one of us personally to accept or reject. It is about the redemption of humanity from the shackles of death which he brought to completion at Easter. It is about Gods Gift that no wrapping paper can contain. Shout it from the rooftops! Unto us a child is born! Unto us a Son is given!
And then when you get hoarse from shouting, sit back and think about the Christmas story. The Prince of Creation born in a lowly stable because there was no room for him at the inn. Both lowly Shepherds and noble Magi coming to pay him homage. They brought gifts which Joseph and Mary probably spent during their frantic flight to Egypt in order to avoid the agents of Herod who sought the head of the newborn King of the Jews.
Its a pretty amazing story, isn't it? Now think about why God did all that. Why did he send his Son to die so that we might live? The answer can only be that he loved us. Think about the immensity of that love. Mankind, for as nice as we seem, stood condemned eternally before that day and God was completely justified in doing so. But now we have life and abundantly.
So my brothers I give you this lesson. Christmas is not a winter holiday. Christmas is an eternal thing to be celebrated and shared year round in our hearts. A big part of the reason we have to fight about the nature of observance and a hundred other things is because we keep Christmas shut up inside us way too much. Let Christmas out. Let Christ out.
Frankly my fellow members of the faithful, I think we've been duped. I think we may have fallen, yet again, for the diversionary movement of the devil. We are sitting hunkered down in our little Christian foxholes, shooting at the stuff we can see, while the whole army of hell starts turning our flank.
Sorry, I work for the Army so my military analogies may occasionally get the better of me.
Church this weekend featured a short video during the service about the Christmas Story. It constituted what was basically Jaywalking segment ala the Tonight Show, where a guy with a microphone and a camera interviewed people on the street about "the Christmas Story." What was it he asked? The answers ranged from little Ralphie with his Red Ryder BB-gun, to Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, to presents (thanks Eric Cartman), and then to the coming of Santa Claus with his tiny reindeer.
Finally, this guy with a big red knit hat, a big white beard, and a red Christmas tree sweater got it right. He looked a lot like Santa, but frankly he was probably a truck driver or Unix programmer. What he said went something like this:
2000 years ago God sent his only son to earth as an atoning sacrifice for the redemption of sins.Folks this is what I am talking about. We argue about social issues and holiday observance, but we are forgetting to tell the real story to those who don't know it. Telling the real story is our mission, to share the truth of Christmas to the world. Not just one day a year, but every day and often.
Christmas is about the greatest gift ever. It is about a gift given unto each one of us personally to accept or reject. It is about the redemption of humanity from the shackles of death which he brought to completion at Easter. It is about Gods Gift that no wrapping paper can contain. Shout it from the rooftops! Unto us a child is born! Unto us a Son is given!
And then when you get hoarse from shouting, sit back and think about the Christmas story. The Prince of Creation born in a lowly stable because there was no room for him at the inn. Both lowly Shepherds and noble Magi coming to pay him homage. They brought gifts which Joseph and Mary probably spent during their frantic flight to Egypt in order to avoid the agents of Herod who sought the head of the newborn King of the Jews.
Its a pretty amazing story, isn't it? Now think about why God did all that. Why did he send his Son to die so that we might live? The answer can only be that he loved us. Think about the immensity of that love. Mankind, for as nice as we seem, stood condemned eternally before that day and God was completely justified in doing so. But now we have life and abundantly.
So my brothers I give you this lesson. Christmas is not a winter holiday. Christmas is an eternal thing to be celebrated and shared year round in our hearts. A big part of the reason we have to fight about the nature of observance and a hundred other things is because we keep Christmas shut up inside us way too much. Let Christmas out. Let Christ out.
Gun News: Lott Scholarship
Meanwhile in other news, John Lott's scholarship surrounding the effect of gun laws on crime rates is still under fire. A scholarly look is here.
Lott has been subject to a lot of criticism. Some of this is because he seems to argue like a dumbass. If you are the author of a scholarly work, you should not be getting down and dirty in internet flame wars with your opponents. You especially not do so by using an assumed name and pretending to be someone else.
That said reception of Lott's work has been mixed. For those not in the know, Lott's work indicates that there is a reduction in violent crime when states pass conceal carry laws. He also indicates that property crime increases as criminals retask away from involving people. Others have used his data and methodology to replicate his results with good success. On the other hand altering his statistical methodology may change the results a lot.
The truth is that the relationship between concealed carry and crime is not as strong as people on either side would like. It is a very noisy data set and strong results one way or another seem to be dependent on the outliers. Most states falling within a region of statistical insignificance. Florida strongly supports Lott. West Virginia goes the other way. Most other states are in the insignificant middle.
Frankly I'm fine with statistical insignificance since I prefer to err on the side of freedom anyway. If anything his work still debunks the Wild West assertions of the anti-concealed carry crowd.
On a related topic, Dave Markowitz has gun ownership rates for Shall Issue states here.
Lott has been subject to a lot of criticism. Some of this is because he seems to argue like a dumbass. If you are the author of a scholarly work, you should not be getting down and dirty in internet flame wars with your opponents. You especially not do so by using an assumed name and pretending to be someone else.
That said reception of Lott's work has been mixed. For those not in the know, Lott's work indicates that there is a reduction in violent crime when states pass conceal carry laws. He also indicates that property crime increases as criminals retask away from involving people. Others have used his data and methodology to replicate his results with good success. On the other hand altering his statistical methodology may change the results a lot.
The truth is that the relationship between concealed carry and crime is not as strong as people on either side would like. It is a very noisy data set and strong results one way or another seem to be dependent on the outliers. Most states falling within a region of statistical insignificance. Florida strongly supports Lott. West Virginia goes the other way. Most other states are in the insignificant middle.
Frankly I'm fine with statistical insignificance since I prefer to err on the side of freedom anyway. If anything his work still debunks the Wild West assertions of the anti-concealed carry crowd.
On a related topic, Dave Markowitz has gun ownership rates for Shall Issue states here.
Conservative Celebrity Showdown
Who is your favorite Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham. While both ladies are pretty cute, Coulter fits squarely in the "more heat than light" category. Laura Ingraham, while less famous, is that way because she is no where near the divisive ideologue that Coulter is. Between the two Coulter will win. However add a few angry liberals and all Ingraham will have to do is get out of the way while the libs attempt to physically tear Ann limb from limb. Ann knows how to shoot though, so the liberals should probably watch out...
Gun News: SF Ban
Several blogs are reporting on San Francisco's proposed handgun ban. A quick look around gives us Michelle Malkin, Clayton Cramer, Eugene Volokh, Publicola, and of course the Blogfather.
Very rarely will you hear me advocate violence against law enforcement agents or people in government. I'm not one of those folks who says they will shoot the mayor if he raises taxes again. But this really really bothers me. If someone came to my home to forcibly disarm me, I doubt I would go easily. This sort of thing gets really close to when I start to consider my government a tyranny in need of overthrow and start quoting Jefferson's "blood of patriots" remarks.
Self defense is a fundamental right. It is more important than even freedom of speech because defense is a guarantor of freedom of speech. It should not be so arbitrarily taken away. The SF ban not only bans all possession of handguns within the city limits (except for police and security personnel who are accorded a protected status). It also bans sales, transfer, and distribution of all firearms (not just handguns) as well. Which means that as the grandfathered arms wear out, it will likely transmute into a total firearms ban within city limits.
The good thing is that Frisco (not "San Fran") tried this in the early eighties when it was ruled by Diane Fienstien. For those that are into federal weapons politics, yes that Diane Feinstien. The one who opposes all conceal carry laws when she herself is one of only 10 Frisco residents with a permit to carry. Anyway the old law passed but was shot down by the courts for overstepping the authority of the city. It is likely this will fail as well. Thank God.
The rationale behind these things is flawed. The idea is that when a cop sees someone carrying a firearm they will be able to react proactively and arrest them for possession before anyone is hurt. The problem is that there aren't and won't ever be enough cops around for this to work. Most "civilians" don't see the gun until it is pointed at them. Furthermore (1) most criminals do not have guns legally and (2) the carry rate in California is low so (3) they can already use this tactic now. People are realizing this and so the lawmakers are hedging their bets by adding suicide and public health to their rationalizations. Both are poor arguments by the way.
When are we going to realize in this country that this sort of legalism is not the answer? Freedom is the answer. You have to trust that the good folks will outnumber the bad folks and you have to empower the good people to protect each other.
Very rarely will you hear me advocate violence against law enforcement agents or people in government. I'm not one of those folks who says they will shoot the mayor if he raises taxes again. But this really really bothers me. If someone came to my home to forcibly disarm me, I doubt I would go easily. This sort of thing gets really close to when I start to consider my government a tyranny in need of overthrow and start quoting Jefferson's "blood of patriots" remarks.
Self defense is a fundamental right. It is more important than even freedom of speech because defense is a guarantor of freedom of speech. It should not be so arbitrarily taken away. The SF ban not only bans all possession of handguns within the city limits (except for police and security personnel who are accorded a protected status). It also bans sales, transfer, and distribution of all firearms (not just handguns) as well. Which means that as the grandfathered arms wear out, it will likely transmute into a total firearms ban within city limits.
The good thing is that Frisco (not "San Fran") tried this in the early eighties when it was ruled by Diane Fienstien. For those that are into federal weapons politics, yes that Diane Feinstien. The one who opposes all conceal carry laws when she herself is one of only 10 Frisco residents with a permit to carry. Anyway the old law passed but was shot down by the courts for overstepping the authority of the city. It is likely this will fail as well. Thank God.
The rationale behind these things is flawed. The idea is that when a cop sees someone carrying a firearm they will be able to react proactively and arrest them for possession before anyone is hurt. The problem is that there aren't and won't ever be enough cops around for this to work. Most "civilians" don't see the gun until it is pointed at them. Furthermore (1) most criminals do not have guns legally and (2) the carry rate in California is low so (3) they can already use this tactic now. People are realizing this and so the lawmakers are hedging their bets by adding suicide and public health to their rationalizations. Both are poor arguments by the way.
When are we going to realize in this country that this sort of legalism is not the answer? Freedom is the answer. You have to trust that the good folks will outnumber the bad folks and you have to empower the good people to protect each other.
New Harry Potter
Evidentially Book 6: "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" will be coming out this summer. Woo Hoo! Give us all something good to read. Hopefully this one will be a bit better than the last one, where Harry was just a little too petulant for my tastes.
Some Christians don't like the Potter books, usually for stupid reasons. I enjoy them a lot and their tone always struck me as very similar to C.S. Lewis. The dry wit and sense of just desserts the characters received was very similar. They don't have Lewis's biblically based symbolism of course, but I'm ok with that. They aren't Christian works, they are secular works.
When many of these same folks started complaining about Tolkien because of the prominence of the Lord of the Rings movies, I knew they were fools. Tolkien was a Christian and a major Christian influence on C.S. Lewis and others. Labeling the Lord of the Rings unchristian is utter foolishness. Again its a secular work, but it shouldn't be compared to devil worship.
Some Christians don't like the Potter books, usually for stupid reasons. I enjoy them a lot and their tone always struck me as very similar to C.S. Lewis. The dry wit and sense of just desserts the characters received was very similar. They don't have Lewis's biblically based symbolism of course, but I'm ok with that. They aren't Christian works, they are secular works.
When many of these same folks started complaining about Tolkien because of the prominence of the Lord of the Rings movies, I knew they were fools. Tolkien was a Christian and a major Christian influence on C.S. Lewis and others. Labeling the Lord of the Rings unchristian is utter foolishness. Again its a secular work, but it shouldn't be compared to devil worship.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Dialects: Soda/Pop/Coke
Matthew Yglesias is writing about linguistics. Virginia is a "soda" state not a "coke" state like the deep south.
No big surprise because, frankly, Virginia is not a deeply southern state. Amybear figured this out by going to school in North Carolina which is a lot more southern. But North Carolina isn't a coke state either. Evidentally Pepsi is big in eastern carolina near where Amybear is going to school, so around Greenville you get Pepsi for all soft drinks not Coke.
If you want to look at maps for all these sorts fo things you can try here. It has not only coke/pepsi/soda, but pill bugs and number of other linguistic comparisons.
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds is posting on it too.
UPDATE2: The dialect servey has moved from Harvard to U of Wisconsin, Milkwaukie here.
No big surprise because, frankly, Virginia is not a deeply southern state. Amybear figured this out by going to school in North Carolina which is a lot more southern. But North Carolina isn't a coke state either. Evidentally Pepsi is big in eastern carolina near where Amybear is going to school, so around Greenville you get Pepsi for all soft drinks not Coke.
If you want to look at maps for all these sorts fo things you can try here. It has not only coke/pepsi/soda, but pill bugs and number of other linguistic comparisons.
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds is posting on it too.
UPDATE2: The dialect servey has moved from Harvard to U of Wisconsin, Milkwaukie here.
Artificial Life
I'm glad I'm not the only one weirded out by this. Joshua Claybourn thinks this is straight out of Mary Shelley.
Frankly I'd just like to take this opportunity to state my opinion on bioethics. It sucks. I trust the moral judgement of a bioethicist about as far as I can throw said bioethicist. This is because a few people I know from college wanted to go into that field and they were some of the most morally judgemental yet morally inferior people I know. Basically they were both haughty and bossy. Granted this is a small sample of the bioethicist profession, but it basically formed my opinion and everything I have heard from the field confirms it.
Long story short, I'd love to hear a bioethicist step up and say "we should not pursue this avenue of research, it is highly unethical and immoral". Instead what I usually hear is "well if you do the following ethical sommersaults, this is perfectly fine." Great. Basically bioethicists seem to be in the position of providing convenient justifications for the use of questionable technologies. They are not ethical auditors, my experience has been that they are professional rationalizers and enablers.
My experience is also that this is what happens when you talk about ethics without talking about morals. Ethics is a code of action. It doesn't have anything to do with right or wrong. That is morality's area of expertise. You can be perfectly ethical (an have integrity too by the way) and still be a perfectly horrible person. You just have to be consistent about it.
Frankly I'd just like to take this opportunity to state my opinion on bioethics. It sucks. I trust the moral judgement of a bioethicist about as far as I can throw said bioethicist. This is because a few people I know from college wanted to go into that field and they were some of the most morally judgemental yet morally inferior people I know. Basically they were both haughty and bossy. Granted this is a small sample of the bioethicist profession, but it basically formed my opinion and everything I have heard from the field confirms it.
Long story short, I'd love to hear a bioethicist step up and say "we should not pursue this avenue of research, it is highly unethical and immoral". Instead what I usually hear is "well if you do the following ethical sommersaults, this is perfectly fine." Great. Basically bioethicists seem to be in the position of providing convenient justifications for the use of questionable technologies. They are not ethical auditors, my experience has been that they are professional rationalizers and enablers.
My experience is also that this is what happens when you talk about ethics without talking about morals. Ethics is a code of action. It doesn't have anything to do with right or wrong. That is morality's area of expertise. You can be perfectly ethical (an have integrity too by the way) and still be a perfectly horrible person. You just have to be consistent about it.
Iraq
Is it just me or the Iraqi "insurgents" being referred to as "rebels" more in the media. Perhaps this is because the Iraqi government has developed an air of legitimacy?
Ill Weather
Its cold in the northeast today. When I got in my car to go to work it as 8 degrees (F), but -12 with the windchill. My girlfriend says that makes it mega butt cold. Frankly butts aren't that cold anyway. I think to progress downward to "feet cold" myself.
Kazu Kibuishi
He draws several comics which can be found on his website. If I come across a copy of the Daisy Kutter sci-fi western in trade paperback, I will definitely be picking one up.
Wedding Bells
Ike (Izzy) and Liz got hitched this weekend. Eventually the official pictures will be up here. I have a couple pictures I took, but I need to shrink them down and host them somewhere before I can put them up on this site.
The wedding was very nice. Ike didn't run and Liz looked great. Amybear came up so she could go with me and Amy was tearing up (as was the bride for most of it). Liz's side of the aisle was slightly fuller than where Amy and I were sitting on the groom's side. Everything was Christmas seasoned because the church was already decorated as was the reception location. First time I saw a nativity scene next to the dance floor at a wedding reception though. The couple also had a brand new red Pontiac GTO on loan from friends at Harco. Ike really liked the car. I have some pictures of it too.
It was a fairly traditional evangelical wedding. Groom and company were up front, bridesmaids process in followed by the bride who is escorted in by her father. The used a unity candle ceremony I had seen before. If you aren't in the know, a member of each family lights a candle and then they use those to light a single large one to symbolize two becoming one. There were of course vows and rings, although the bride and groom weren't wired for sound, so it was a little hard to hear exactly what they were saying. The kiss and then present the bride and groom and everybody processes out to the receiving line.
The reception featured good food at a restaurant right next to the C&D canal. It was really funny because you could see these huge ships moving down the canal a few hundred yards away from where you were eating. They have to pass under a bridge and a particularly big ship builds a sort of dramatic "will it hit tension" that distracts from the wedding festivities a bit.
Oh and one of Ike's groomsmen bought 20 cases of Cheerwine from a distributor in Virginia. That was great because Ike loves cheerwine (its a cherry soda found mostly in the south) and everybody at the reception got to have some from coolers they had lying around.
Ike and Liz are also intimidatingly good dancers when that part of the party got going. Ike even flipped Liz during a spirited swing number. Yes evidentially aerials were allowed on the dance floor. *Insert head-over-heals joke here*
Amybear and I had a few thoughts regarding our eventual nuptials. First, we want to get married in warm weather, especially since we will probably be having the ceremony outside. Ike and Liz chose winter because neither is done grad school and they wanted some time off together following the wedding, which meant Christmas break. Second, Amybear wants to go for a princess look with her wedding dress. Liz was more sleek and modern. Third, we want one big room for the reception. Ike and Liz had two adjoining rooms. They had the dance floor in one room (an enclosed porch actually). The other room had the couple's table and the food. They balanced the two rooms well because at some points in the reception the focus was on the wedding couple's table/buffet, but at others it was on dance floor festivities. I'd like one big room if I can help it though, not being able to see the best man when he gave his toast was really annoying. It also took all the fun out of ringing your glasses.
UPDATE: Michael Dean was there with his wife and he has a picture of the limbo contest at the reception up on his site.
The wedding was very nice. Ike didn't run and Liz looked great. Amybear came up so she could go with me and Amy was tearing up (as was the bride for most of it). Liz's side of the aisle was slightly fuller than where Amy and I were sitting on the groom's side. Everything was Christmas seasoned because the church was already decorated as was the reception location. First time I saw a nativity scene next to the dance floor at a wedding reception though. The couple also had a brand new red Pontiac GTO on loan from friends at Harco. Ike really liked the car. I have some pictures of it too.
It was a fairly traditional evangelical wedding. Groom and company were up front, bridesmaids process in followed by the bride who is escorted in by her father. The used a unity candle ceremony I had seen before. If you aren't in the know, a member of each family lights a candle and then they use those to light a single large one to symbolize two becoming one. There were of course vows and rings, although the bride and groom weren't wired for sound, so it was a little hard to hear exactly what they were saying. The kiss and then present the bride and groom and everybody processes out to the receiving line.
The reception featured good food at a restaurant right next to the C&D canal. It was really funny because you could see these huge ships moving down the canal a few hundred yards away from where you were eating. They have to pass under a bridge and a particularly big ship builds a sort of dramatic "will it hit tension" that distracts from the wedding festivities a bit.
Oh and one of Ike's groomsmen bought 20 cases of Cheerwine from a distributor in Virginia. That was great because Ike loves cheerwine (its a cherry soda found mostly in the south) and everybody at the reception got to have some from coolers they had lying around.
Ike and Liz are also intimidatingly good dancers when that part of the party got going. Ike even flipped Liz during a spirited swing number. Yes evidentially aerials were allowed on the dance floor. *Insert head-over-heals joke here*
Amybear and I had a few thoughts regarding our eventual nuptials. First, we want to get married in warm weather, especially since we will probably be having the ceremony outside. Ike and Liz chose winter because neither is done grad school and they wanted some time off together following the wedding, which meant Christmas break. Second, Amybear wants to go for a princess look with her wedding dress. Liz was more sleek and modern. Third, we want one big room for the reception. Ike and Liz had two adjoining rooms. They had the dance floor in one room (an enclosed porch actually). The other room had the couple's table and the food. They balanced the two rooms well because at some points in the reception the focus was on the wedding couple's table/buffet, but at others it was on dance floor festivities. I'd like one big room if I can help it though, not being able to see the best man when he gave his toast was really annoying. It also took all the fun out of ringing your glasses.
UPDATE: Michael Dean was there with his wife and he has a picture of the limbo contest at the reception up on his site.
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