This blog stuff is getting interesting.
I've learned how to link to other Web sites and post pictures in the last 10 days. By my own assumption, I've moved beyond the basic "1.0" understanding of Web logging.
Now if only I had something important to say...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Out of my gourd (phase)
Carving up the great pumpkin used to be a big deal. Getting to create an obnoxious face was far from a spooky tradition growing up in Coeur d'Alene.
I'd relish the thought of creating a jack-o-lantern that was both good enough to display on the front porch, and bowl down the street.
But just as trick-or-treating became more of a habit than an adventure, so did the enthusiasm of putting an orange orb under the knife. After I moved out of mom and dad's house, it seems I unconsciously put a squash on the whole pumpkin-cutting tradition. I've carved a pumpkin once in the nine years since I moved out.
I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow Halloween shifted more to a costume party holiday than a sugar-high one. I've been clad in plenty of good "Disco Stu" and gnome costumes to help me revel in all the merry good cheer that only a holiday can provide. But all the revelry has come at the price of going without an orange-faced snagletooth, complete with hanging pumpkin guts.
I think it's because holidays tend to sneak up on us as we enter adulthood. There's no midterm or semester to guide us by. I wouldn't even know Christmas was coming if department stores didn't start playing holiday music in July.
But there is one pumpkin tradition that won't fall out of favor no matter what autumn I'm in: Pie. Jack may have lost its place on my front porch, but I'm sure there are plenty of other pumpkin pastries I wouldn't mind holding onto.
And, if memory serves, those pumpkins are carved up too.
I'd relish the thought of creating a jack-o-lantern that was both good enough to display on the front porch, and bowl down the street.
But just as trick-or-treating became more of a habit than an adventure, so did the enthusiasm of putting an orange orb under the knife. After I moved out of mom and dad's house, it seems I unconsciously put a squash on the whole pumpkin-cutting tradition. I've carved a pumpkin once in the nine years since I moved out.
I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow Halloween shifted more to a costume party holiday than a sugar-high one. I've been clad in plenty of good "Disco Stu" and gnome costumes to help me revel in all the merry good cheer that only a holiday can provide. But all the revelry has come at the price of going without an orange-faced snagletooth, complete with hanging pumpkin guts.
I think it's because holidays tend to sneak up on us as we enter adulthood. There's no midterm or semester to guide us by. I wouldn't even know Christmas was coming if department stores didn't start playing holiday music in July.
But there is one pumpkin tradition that won't fall out of favor no matter what autumn I'm in: Pie. Jack may have lost its place on my front porch, but I'm sure there are plenty of other pumpkin pastries I wouldn't mind holding onto.
And, if memory serves, those pumpkins are carved up too.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Talk about flip and flop
It's starting to become a joke.
The television networks prance out their own group of "undecided voters" during the final presidential debate to bring in gimmick-thirsty viewers and highlight their own credentials of objectivity.
But after a presidential campaign that has lasted almost four years, the most amazing fact of all is that some voters still characterize themselves as undecided. Would these voters have a tough time punching a ballot on a popularity contest between puppies and kittens?
Granted coverage of issues hasn't necessarily been comprehensive in news reports of the presidential race, but both independent research groups and the two candidates themselves have placed policy statements on their Web sites available for anyone to study.
Aside from the generic "change" statements spewing out of the mouths of both campaigns, the funniest thing about debate coverage is the ability of network news anchors to find undecided voters.
Do network news producers walk door to door? Or do they just place an ad in the classifieds, alongside that free front porch couch or the $500 pickup truck that's still stuck in fifth gear.
I look at these news segments with cynical eyes. Either these voters just want to be on television, or they spend six hours in the grocery store every week looking for the perfect watermelon.
If these voters are still "on the fence" come Election Day, then the next president will likely have to do quite a bit of "fence mending" once he takes office. And unless I'm wrong, neither Obama nor McCain have the ranch-hand experience of their predecessor.
But wait, maybe that didn't work out as well as we thought it would. Maybe I'm starting to flip-flop a little bit myself.
The television networks prance out their own group of "undecided voters" during the final presidential debate to bring in gimmick-thirsty viewers and highlight their own credentials of objectivity.
But after a presidential campaign that has lasted almost four years, the most amazing fact of all is that some voters still characterize themselves as undecided. Would these voters have a tough time punching a ballot on a popularity contest between puppies and kittens?
Granted coverage of issues hasn't necessarily been comprehensive in news reports of the presidential race, but both independent research groups and the two candidates themselves have placed policy statements on their Web sites available for anyone to study.
Aside from the generic "change" statements spewing out of the mouths of both campaigns, the funniest thing about debate coverage is the ability of network news anchors to find undecided voters.
Do network news producers walk door to door? Or do they just place an ad in the classifieds, alongside that free front porch couch or the $500 pickup truck that's still stuck in fifth gear.
I look at these news segments with cynical eyes. Either these voters just want to be on television, or they spend six hours in the grocery store every week looking for the perfect watermelon.
If these voters are still "on the fence" come Election Day, then the next president will likely have to do quite a bit of "fence mending" once he takes office. And unless I'm wrong, neither Obama nor McCain have the ranch-hand experience of their predecessor.
But wait, maybe that didn't work out as well as we thought it would. Maybe I'm starting to flip-flop a little bit myself.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Way off base
You've got to be kidding me.
The (Devil) Rays could soon be headed for the World Series. That's the Tampa Bay Rays.
As of Tuesday night the perennial loser of a team was one win away from waltzing into the big game, showing the world what a year of craziness 2008 could be. First the stock market does a tumble-style limbo dance, then a team that had been the butt of jokes for a decade makes baseball fans do a double take.
What happens next. The No. 1 rated college football team takes a tumble.
It all should be pretty fun to watch.
The (Devil) Rays could soon be headed for the World Series. That's the Tampa Bay Rays.
As of Tuesday night the perennial loser of a team was one win away from waltzing into the big game, showing the world what a year of craziness 2008 could be. First the stock market does a tumble-style limbo dance, then a team that had been the butt of jokes for a decade makes baseball fans do a double take.
What happens next. The No. 1 rated college football team takes a tumble.
It all should be pretty fun to watch.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Late to the party
I've never been good with my personal time.
My friend Andrew would say I've never been on schedule for anything in my life. He's not without good reason, I've often waited as long as 90 minutes after a phone call telling him "I'll be right over."
So it shouldn't be any surprise that I'm starting a blog today, in 2008. Haven't they been around for like 15 years. Haven't the tech-savvy started keeping their friends up to date on their lives via cell phone. My girlfriend has had her own blog, chronicling life's events from her keyboard, for something like a bienium.
Even members of my parent's non-computer savvy generation share their thoughts online, and I still have to help my mom switch on her computer.
But let's not allow my tardiness to ruin what could be a pretty decent experience. Better late to this party than too early for another.
I don't really have any plans for this space, but sometimes those are the best kind of plans to make.
My friend Andrew would say I've never been on schedule for anything in my life. He's not without good reason, I've often waited as long as 90 minutes after a phone call telling him "I'll be right over."
So it shouldn't be any surprise that I'm starting a blog today, in 2008. Haven't they been around for like 15 years. Haven't the tech-savvy started keeping their friends up to date on their lives via cell phone. My girlfriend has had her own blog, chronicling life's events from her keyboard, for something like a bienium.
Even members of my parent's non-computer savvy generation share their thoughts online, and I still have to help my mom switch on her computer.
But let's not allow my tardiness to ruin what could be a pretty decent experience. Better late to this party than too early for another.
I don't really have any plans for this space, but sometimes those are the best kind of plans to make.
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