so, before you were famous you did what?

today, we were watching the ellen degeneres show. i really enjoy ellen. i think she's a funny host, has a good positive energy, and tends to get pretty good guests. and, she tends to get her guests to open up, be themselves and do stupid things. like, someone came out one day and did a cart wheel. i forget who, but it was pretty unexpected. anyhow, back to today. evangeline lilly was on the show. evangeline lilly. she's on the hit abc show Lost. now, that i've used enough key words, (evangeline lilly lost), i'll move on. good interview, and as they're going to break, ellen says, we'll show some of evangeline's early work when we get back.

what's that early work? it turns out that my wife is a genius. on several occasions we've seen an ad for a service called live links. it's a number you call in, talk to other singles in your area, and so on. heather said one night that she thought the girl in the advert was evangeline lilly from lost. i was like, hmm, maybe. i checked on imdb.com, but it didn't list any commercials. so, i couldn't confirm or deny. so yeah, they come back from the commmercial break by showing that commercial for live links. pretty funny. so, evangeline lilly is talking about how people would come up and ask if it was really her on the other end of the phone. stupid, it's not a 900 number or something. it's one where you call in and talk to other people in your local area. it's not her. heck, it's not any of the girls or guys on any advert you see idiot.

so, yes, evangeline lilly is the girl on the live links ad.

(then later i flipped by oprah, whom i detest, and she had on nba player karon butler. he did jail, solitary time even before he got famous.)

ankle biters

you thought you'd never hear about it. here it is, a story about a police officer attacked by chihuahuas. and a burgler adding "erotic indian art" to a woman's computer. what's going on in fremont, ca?

a few days left

odd five is almost over. this year has flown by. that is, up until this week. this week seemed to creep by.

so, what am i up? tonight, heather and i will take my dad out to dinner and a show for xmas. we're seeing something called forever plaid. hopefully it will be good. maybe i'll blog about the show. i think it's a 4 man show, songs and stuff. but we'll see.

let me ask you a question. for this dinner & show, we bought tickets in advance. this doesn't cover drinks and stuff. anyway, what's the appropriate tip for our waiter? again, we've already paid for the meal and stuff. and that cost includes the show. the ticket price was like $35 each.

is the war over yet?

here's a funny clip from the daily show

what you talking 'bout willis?

ah-nold, they don't want you around any more.

nevermind that our guh-vah-nate-orr enjoys low approval ratings here in ca., he's doing even worse in his hometown.

see, most of the civilized world has discarded the practice of capital punishment. gov had the chance to pardon a soon to be executed prisoner (he still has even more chances upcoming!). he didn't. some people in his hometown were pretty upset by this. they talked about removing his name from a public stadium. guvah struck first though. he demanded that they take his name off it, and returned a ring of honor that they'd given him.

i don't think they'll be throwing him any parades soon if graz.

mr or mrs 3000

on wednesday, july 27th @ 3:27pm i started blogging. here were my goals:
1. post at least once a weak, but not multiple times a day. (ok, i break this one but you love it)
2. show pics of my art, family, friends (check. now more with my flickr account, but check.)
3. complain about tv (check.)
4. interact with your comments (and how!)
5. whatever else i want to do (double check)

i think i'm doing alright with my blog. well, on august 11th i discovered the sitemeter. so, i've been tracking you. i finally reached my 3000th hit since then. so, here's what i know about mr or mrs 3000:

Domain Name comcast.net ? (Network)
IP Address 67.187.237.# (Comcast Cable)
67.187.237.29
ISP Comcast Cable
Location
Continent : North America
Country : United States (Facts)
State : New Jersey
City : Mount Laurel
Lat/Long : 39.9559, -74.9173 (Map)
Language English (United States)
en-us
Operating System Microsoft WinXP
Browser Internet Explorer 6.0
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
Javascript version 1.3
Monitor
Resolution : 1400 x 1050
Color Depth : 32 bits
Time of Visit Dec 26 2005 9:01:22 am
Last Page View Dec 26 2005 9:01:22 am
Visit Length 0 seconds
Page Views 1
Referring URL http://chrisbrown.blogspot.com/
Visit Entry Page http://edwardstewartartist.blogspot.com/
Visit Exit Page http://edwardstewartartist.blogspot.com/
Time Zone UTC-8:00
PST - Pacific Standard Time
PDT - Pacific Daylight Saving Time
Visitor's Time Dec 26 2005 9:01:22 am
Visit Number 3,000


good times. for being #3000, you win happiness and guilt free cupcake eating.

i'll try and keep up the good work.

a year ago

a year ago (dec. 26th) around 200000 people passed away. for many others, life will never be the same. if you will, take a moment of silence today in rememberance of these people.

i love adverts

so, i saw a commercial. i had no idea what it was about after it was over. but, they prominently displayed their website. i think it's worth checking out.


also, i advise you to be on the watch out for the lastest commercial for children's pepto. let's just say that "children's pink does more than you think" should never be your slogan.

happy endings

i heard this quote today, found it to be provocative, "happy endings are stories that haven't finished yet."




it reminded me of another quote about how irish stories end.

another funny thing

Christian wrestling. okay, morality tales are an age old technique, but man, fake wrestling?

don't forget, tonight (tuesday) barbara walters will tell us all where heaven is, and how we get there. it's surprising, fascinating & provacative. 9, 8 central.

watch this video or else

Apparently, snl hasn't completely forgotten funny. just most of the time.

call me a cynic

but i just don't trust these guys.

i was watching cheney tonight on nightline. he was answering questions about the wiretaps that have recently received a lot of attention. cheney, like the prez, assures us that is all legal. that it's within the rights of their job.

hey, i don't know if it is or it isn't. what i know is that there are just as many government officials that are saying that it isn't within the right of the executive branch to just authorize wiretaps of u.s. citizens. these others feel that there needs to be approval from @ least one of the other branches of gov't.

i'm not really looking to discuss whether or not the prez can singlehandedly authorize it. when they revealed they were doing it i wasn't surprised. was anyone? really, the goverment is monitering things? shocking.


then they started the torture question. the interviewer asked cheney if the u.s. used 2 specific methods- mock executions & water boarding. his answer, "i'm not going to talk about specific methods." well, he just had talked about how it was debatable what was cruel and unusual treatment. who doesn't think it's cruel and unusual to do a mock execution in front of a prisoner, and then tell them they're next if they don't talk? Waterboarding, that's a fun little one where you blindfold a person, elevate their feet, cellophane is wrapped over their face, and pour water over them. in about 14 secs, their gag reflex kicks in, they think they're drowning, and will do & say about anything to live. yessir, that sound humane. it's debatable whether or not that is cruel or unusual in the veeep's mind though.

and, for another point of reference, Torture is defined under the federal criminal code as the intentional infliction of severe mental pain or suffering.

end of a long weekend

yeah, it's been a little while.

sorta finished the semester. my prof gave me another week. i requested it. the paper i wrote was okay, had some flaws, and need to have some fat trimmed at some points, and beefed up at other.

then, we had our going away kareoke for tim. we'll all miss that guy. he's kept me sane @ seminary. but, i understand that life changes, takes us different places. and tim will really enjoy returning to work he loves, in a place he loves. and we'll see him when he visits in february.

today, sunday, was just about as hectic. in the morning i preached at my old church. it went really well. then, i had to come home and prep for our church tonight. i team taught w/matt, our pastor. it was different and fun. your "standard" church service is music, message, closing. basic formula, nothing wrong with it. we use it sometimes. but, we also like to try different stuff. so, tonight, basically no music. we did one song, at the end. we combined the 4 advent themes into one message. matt and i alternated back and forth, teaching and then providing different ways for people to respond to the message.

then, we had a little going away type thing for tim after church. simple little gathering, another chance for another group of people to say goodbye to our good friend.

finally, tim came back to my place. his dad is flying in @1am, tim will pick him up @ the airport and they'll begin the long drive across country. in the meantime we worked on a powerpoint presentation. tim's wanted to put together a presentation to use @ a few speaking gigs he has coming up. it's a bunch of pictures with a recorded narration. the narration is me scratchin and cutting up some songs. it starts with "it's the end of the world as we know it" by rem, goes into an instrumental of "how i could just kill a man" by cypress hill, then into an instrumental of "broken tape decks" by l.a. symphony, had "the one i love" by rem mixed in. worked out pretty good, just took a while to get it all together right.

so, we're chillin and waiting for tim's dad to call when he arrives in the 'no.

about freakin time bushy

you finally signed the anti-torture bill. good job.

i don't know if it will actually accomplish this, "Senator McCain said the law would help win "hearts and minds" in the fight against terrorism." but still, it's the right thing.

tv haiku's for tonight

another rerun
this week again on lost show
what will i do now?




watch trading spouses
white princess in bad places
fox still sucks most times

nu blu p. tu

here's step 2 of my really big canvas. eventually, this should look like a drop & ripples type idea.

amazing race finale

so, on tuesday, sept 27 i wrote about the first episode of this season of the amazing race. it included a fun conversation with tim over text.

at the bottom, i said, "so there it is folks. the family that i labeled as the favorites (3 brothers + sister) finished second to last today. but it's only the first week so they can come back."

tonight was the finale.

guess what, they won. booya! it's too bad i didn't have anything on it.

where are the calls?

some catholics called for john kerry to be denied communion because his political stance did not match the official church doctrine on abortion.

are those same people calling for schwartzenegger to recieve a similar ban? last i checked, the catholic church took a very aggressive stance speaking out against the death penalty. (okay, i'm a little fuzzy on whether not the guvuhnator is catholic. i think he is. his wife is.)

shameless plug

hey, i've put a temporary link to my amazon.com wish list underneath my myspace link. so, if you want to see what books, cd's & movies i'm interested in, feel free to click on that link.



oh yeah, holiday sale is still on! at least 25% off all paintings. buy them now and save some cash!

monday morning

ah, monday. i usually try and start the blog week off on sunday night, but didn't. i just didn't feel like writing last night.

so, i've got this knot in my stomach. partially because i'm hungry (it's coming up on lunch time) and partially because of the paper i've been lagging to start. it's for my hebrew class, and is on the word go'el. that word refers to redeemer, like in the book of ruth. the redeemer concept is often linked with the concept of the levirite marriage. anyhow, i've doned reading, written another paper this semester that really helps me in this one, but i just can't get started. so, i'm getting a little nervous.

i've also got to work on a sermon. i'm preaching this sunday morning @ friends community. it's nice to be asked to "come home" and preach there. we haven't been back since we were sent out to be a part of tower mosaic. i've been in the building a few times, but haven't been on a sunday. so, it'll be odd. i'm sure we'll get tons of questions, general update variety. and i'm sure people will tell us that we should visit more often. these are nice, i appreciate the sentiment. but, i still haven't settled on scripture to preach. as an educator, i firmly believe that you should teach to your class. you know who they are, what they need to learn. so, i'm against mandated materials, scripted teaching, orders from the district that say you should be on a certain page, certain line @ a certain time. how does this apply to my current sit.? well, i'm not a part of that congregation. i really haven't followed what they've been doing since we left. yes, we still have family and friends there, but i have almost avoided discussing friends. i've always hoped that the church is doing well, that they're growing and maturing in faith. i don't want to know or dwell on troubles that they may be having. so, i don't know who they are any more. i don't know where they're at, what they've learned in the last 2 years. so, i'm really trying to be sensitive to the Spirit, and preach a message that is needed for them, and not just whatever struck my fancy to speak about.

finally, this no car thing is biting me in the rear today. i've got to go to a meeting @ a friends house. he lives way out north. i need to be there @ six. heather will be @ yoga and have the car. it's important to me that she goes, gets some stress relief. she hasn't been able to go lately (timing) and today's the best opportunity. so, i've got to figure out how to make quite a trek. i've thought about borrowing a car, bumming a ride, or riding my bike. i thought about the bus, but i don't know how/where the bus system goes in reaganville.

some new links

i've added two new links in my list on the right.
one is steve, the uber one. he's sorta back in the bloggin game. but is a good read.
the other is sara. she's new, has a head of steam for blogging. read her stuff before she peters out. (ha ha, peters out. her name is woody. peters, woody, i can't believe how funny i'm not.)

congrats to prez bush

here it is folks, an honest congratulations to president bush. really, i'm serious. he sent out his annual holiday card. that's right, holiday card. seasons greetings. it's paid for by the rnc. the bushes, who are Christians, are now on the defensive from, that's right, so-called Christians. the bushes are stressing that this card is sent out to people of all faiths, and they wanted to send out a holiday greeting without offending anyone. oops, the conservative right is riding in on their high horse. they're offended.

see, i remember something in Jesus' words about humility, a gentle spirit, love. i also remember Him condemning a critical spirit. (for more information, see the sermon on the mount in matthew 5-7) sending out a pleasant greeting, attempting to not be a problem, see that seems xian to me. now, constantly whining for attention, accusing everyone of being against me despite the fact that i'm the freakin majority in this country, crying that they're taking away my holiday because it's becoming less commercial, these aren't Christian things to me.




on another, more pleasant note, i've added another few pics of paintings to my flickr account. so, click on the art photos + friend photos link to the right. then click on the art photos set. you'll see some more new work.

interesting thought on pricing

so, say there is something you wanted to buy.

it cost $1.60.
if you made some subtle variation to it, it now cost 1.70.

not bad, you'd probably pay the difference right?

now what if it was 10.60
and the variation was 11.60?

still buy it?

what about 160 and 170?
1600 and 1700?

16000 and 17000?

finally, 160,000 and 170,000?

when does that small difference become a deal buster for you?

is 10k really that big of a difference on a home loan?
is 1k really that big of a diff on a car payment?
is $10 that big of a diff on something that costs around 160?

holiday sale!

hey, you know what a good Christmas present would be?

art.

by art for someone you know.

and you could even support a local artist.

so, in the spirit of that, i'm declaring a sale on my artwork

everything that i'm selling is marked down 25-33%!
click on my flickr link (to the right) and check out the artwork section
contact me to buy!

white elephant

so, i like being with friends & family during the holidays. if you don't remember, go back and read the post about thanksgiving with friends.

the other night, some of our friends brought up the idea of a white elephant gift exchange. you know, give someone a gift that costs less than $5, in a random exchange.

so, i've been thinking if i want to participate. and i've decided. i don't. but i might. here's my question, why should we exchange a cheap gift? is it so we feel like we're giving something to each other but can't afford to buy good gifts? or can't afford to buy gifts for everyone? or don't want to feel awkward about giving a gift to someone but not others?

i'm not ripping on the suggestion, i'm just trying to understand why we'd do it. i know, it's sorta fun to stick someone with an odd gift that you picked up for cheap. but then again, i don't know if i want to keep that junk either.

really, i just want to enjoy your company. why don't we all buy a bottle of wine that costs around $5, and we'll spend time opening those?

long week

as you've noticed, i've been inactive on the blog this week. i will pretty much stay that way until i turn in my final paper for my OT theology class. it's due friday @ 3, so see you after that.