choosing how you want to live

some strung together, somewhat related thoughts.

i don't want to allow fear to run my life. this includes how the gov't treats us, how i hear the news, how i allow myself to be marketed to.

although i have a critical (some have said prophetic) viewpoint at times, i will not become a cynic or have a critical spirit. i am seeking to enjoy life, live it to the fullest. it is the gift i've been given. i want to enjoy my family, friends, fellow soujourners in life. i want to celebrate your accomplishments and joys as well as my own.

i want to chase after my dreams, work towards them, and not give up on them just because they're far off at times. it's also nice when some of them come true.

i want to speak up when i see things going wrong, but also temper my voice so that i don't take on the personna of chicken little or the boy who cried wolf.

why yakomi school is special

i saw a headline on the fresno bee's website about an innovative elementary school in fresno unified, and the asst. dept. secretary of education visiting it. i was curious to know about the school, what they were doing that was so innovative, etc. i figured that this was the intention of the article.

nope. just a short piece about brown's visit. a mention of it being a magnet school for tech & science, which is unusual @ this level. but not much else. no story about what they're doing there, what's so innovative, or anything that fusd can really hang its hat on.

kudos, fresno bee. at least you did a vaguely positive story on our schools.

a link for adam

you like wood right?


the rest of you can feel free to look as well.

no one is twisting your arm guy

so, i saw a story about a theater owner closing his theater down for a few weeks because he didn't like the movies that were out, specifically jackass 2. the theater is somewhere in illinois. surprisingly, this guy lives just outside of fresno.

now, it's totally this guy's right to have his theaters dark. what i'm confused about is why he just didn't show movies that he did find acceptable. i don't think you're forced to show movies. in fact, i thought theaters bought the rights to show films. you don't want to show jackass or beerfest. you did show invincible. it's still out in the theaters, keep showing it.

wink wink, nudge nudge

i've updated my amazon wish list, in case anyone wanted to send me a birthday gift. the old b-day is a little over a month away. not that i really think any of my 30 or so visitors a day would actually send me a birthday gift.



(so, typing b-day made me think of bidet, and chuckle. then i had to spend a few minutes typing different spellings in google to figure out how to spell it.)

weekly pick installment

game------------------------me----------sg----------sg's wife
jets(+9) vs colts---------colts--------jets----------jets
bills(-1) vs vikes--------vikes--------bills---------bills
chargers(-2.5) vs ravens--chargers-----chargers------ravens
titans(+9.5) vs cowboys---titans-------titans--------titans
chiefs(-7) vs niners------chiefs-------chiefs--------chiefs
panthers(-7) vs saints----saints-------panthers------panthers
falcons(-7) vs cardinals--falcons------falcons-------cardinals
dolphins(-3.5) vs texans--dolphins-----dolphins------texans
lions(+5.5) vs rams-------rams---------lions---------rams
patriots(+6) vs bengals---bengals------patriots------patriots
jaguars(-3) vs redskins---jaguars------jaguars-------skins
browns(-2.5) vs raiders---browns-------browns--------browns
seahawks(+3.5) vs bears---seahawks-----seahawks------bears
packers(+10.5) vs eagles--packers------packers-------packers

last week-----------------9-5----------8-4-2---------9-3-2
season--------------------29-17--------23-21-2-------25-19-2
(i admit, i'm not sure about the 2. is that tieing the spread?)

attention monticore & ann thrope

well, this goes out to anyone that watches abc's wife swap. fresno episode.

now let's just hope it's not the one up against prison break.

gotta gotta get gotta get it right now

i'm not blaming target, but one of their lastest ads was the impetus for this post. in this ad, the song talks about wanting more, needing to have it right now, and so on. hey, it's marketing. i understand that it's their goal for me to buy things. especially things i don't need, but just want. or even things that i don't even really want, but buy because it's cheap, or that i'm just a shameless consumer.

i wouldn't say that it's fundamental to our nature to be such consumers. i want to say that it is a learned response. i think back to the ten commandments, good old number ten talks about not coveting (exodus 20:17). coveting is desiring something that others have. like, i want that new ipod because you've got it. it's wrongful desire. i gotta have it right now. so, these desires have been with us for a long time. we can't blame advertisers.

i want to live a simple life. this is not to say that possessions are wrong. but, am i driven by a desire to have more stuff just to have it? do i spend money just because we have it? can i just get by with what i have, which is already more than enough?

so, what is responsible spending look like? here's a scenario: i currently don't have a car. when i want to get around, my options are to borrow the car from the wife, ride my bicycle, or take the bus. lately, i've been thinking about getting my own transportation. so, do i buy a used car? or some little cheapy like honda's fit? i really like the jeep wrangler unlimited, with 4 doors. to be competitive in this high gas price world, they've slashed prices. does that make it worth it? or, the option i really want, get a motorcycle.

of course, the bike i want isn't the cheapest on the market. nor is it the most expensive. but should i get a high priced motorcycle just because i need an easier, faster way to get around?

this isn't the problem. it is a symptom. and maybe the bike isn't even the best example. but, it just seems that we're always being told to desire more than we need, to reap more than we sow. i heard about a new apple phone to come on the market (something much better than the rockr). my first thought, "i want that." i told heather about it, she felt the same way. do either of us need no phones? not right now at least. do i, with my 60gig ipod need a new one of those? no. but the idea of a phone with great ipod & isync technology makes me want it. or, you got a new car, so now i want one, too.

it's easy to turn down over the top advertisers like target. it's a much different story when it's subtle stories on the internet about a product. or a desire for an expensive hobby. in a lot of ways, i'm very tired of "keeping up with the jones'es" and chasing after the american dream. if we need something, well, fine, we can get it. but let's stop allowing ourselves to be sold on a way of life that is anything but healthy.


(and no, this isn't just my way of saying i want to be unemployed the rest of my life.)

storm large and the national anthem

hey, have i mentioned that i love reality tv? especially those done by mark burnett? tonight was the 2 hour finale of the contender on espn. i enjoyed the first season of this show, and have followed the second. anyway, i knew that since it was a two hour final for 2 boxing matches, there was going to be a lot of filler. so, for the first 15 minutes, i watched part of the cbs evening news that i recorded the other night. it had stories about richard branson donating a large sum of money to fight global warming, a story about walmart actually doing something good ($4 generic prescriptions), and a piece contrasting jim wallis (red letter Christian) and tony perkins (family research council) (watch the video here). i actually taped the newscast for that piece.

so, after i was done watching the old news, i flipped over to the contender. and guess who i saw getting ready to sing the national anthem. my favorite...errrrrr...most hated contestant from rockstar:supernova...storm large. throughout that contest she had over the top antics, in my opinion poor performances, and was generally annoying. today, she took the safe route and performed the anthem in normal fashion. i thank her for this. not that i'm a big purist on the anthem, but i do prefer it to be mainly traditional. i'll give you some vocal inflection and what not, and i thought the spanish version was a noble effort, and i love hendrix's re-arrangement, but normally, i say just give it to me straight. she did, and did a fine job with it. it wasn't whitney houston good. and, i'm sure i've heard it performed better by other famous singers, but this was good. it definately didn't suck. it wasn't terrible or insulting (see rosanne barr). nor did it score on the unintentional comedy level (see carl lewis).

he's a bad bear

yogi used to steal pic-a-nick baskets, this bear decided that it wanted to engage in mass murder. sure, it was only rainbow trout, but this padington look-alike took down 2500. that's one bad mutha watch yo mouth!

art hop flyer

friday football picks

game-----------------------------me----------sports guy--------sg's wife
panthers (-3) vs bucs--------panthers------panthers---------bucs
browns (+6.5) vs ravens------ravens--------browns-----------browns
bengals (+2) vs steelers-----bengals-------bengals---------steelers
packers (+6.5) vs lions------packers-------packers---------packers
dolphins(-10.5) vs titans---titans---------dolphins-------titans
jaguars (+7) vs colts-----------colts---------jaguars---------jags
jets (+5.5) vs bills------------jets----------jets-----------jets
vikings (+3) vs bears--------bears---------vikings--------vikings
texans (+4) vs redskins------redskins------texans---------redskins
niners (+6) vs eagles--------eagles--------niners---------eagles
seahawks (-3.5) vs giants----seahawks------seahawks-------giants
rams (+4.5) vs cardinals-----cardinals-----rams-----------cardinals
broncos (+6.5) vs patriots---patriots------broncos--------broncos
saints (+3) vs falcons-------falcons-------saints---------falcons

last week-------------------12-4-------------8-8-----------11-5
season------------------------20-12-----------15-17------------16-16

i hate picking against the rams. i also want the saints to win (re-opening of superdome) but don't think they can pull it off.

now you know how he feels

i almost feel guilty about posting this link, in light of what dana's got to say over here.

you tell 'em bobby. let the chairs fly.

tis the season

ah, it's that time again...fresh, new tv shows. this is good and bad. we get to see new episodes of shows we like, get to "experiment" with some new series, and laugh at the failures (or get ticked about one we like failing).

what i don't like about this time of year is that the syndicated shows get all screwed up. for instance, i used to watch seinfeld after the news. it was replaced by the gem of a show, according to jim. wha? and it's followed by an hour of everyone loves raymond. this stinks. or, i used to watch a few episodes of magnum, p.i. every day. not on anymore. replaced by davinci's inquest and the greg behrendt show.

it's a good thing we have cable and i've got other options. or at least one other channel showing episodes of seinfeld.

october 5 2006

just a reminder to those who can, oct 5 is my art hop reception. 5 pm. salon 637. i think tomorrow i'll post a new shot of ripple. i'm really happy with how it looks. if it stays "wet looking" when it's dry, i'll consider it done. if not, i'll hit it with a coat or two of polyurethane to give it that glossy, watery look.

amazing race 10

tonight was the premier of amazing race 10. mike came over and watched it with heather and i. as with many other shows, we always try and pick the winners. we eached picked two teams and a sentimental 3rd.

heather
tyler & james - the ex druggy male models
tom & terry - fiesty boyfriends
david & mary - a coal miner and his wife

mike
erwin and godwin - brothers from sf, one went to berkeley, one to harvard
peter & sarah - triathlete training partners
kellie & jamie - former co-captains of the 'Cock's cheerleading squad

ed
bilal & sa'eed - muslim fathers from cleveland
dustin & candice - former miss america contestants
vipul & arti - the first (east) indian team ever.

and, partway through the show, i'm already screwed.
8:30 start, 9:10 bilal & sa'eed are eliminated. it wasn't a pit stop, but as with all reality shows on later seasons, got to switch things up.

winners of stage one, tyler & james
and losers of stage one, vipul and arti. eliminated.

man, i could not have picked worse teams. well, i guess if my other team had been david and mary, i would have lost 2 and had the team that is now in last.

life imitating art

a mummified body on csi:ny, another washes up on csi:miami. something fishy iis going on here...or not.




"the only thing with jurisdiction here is...the fire" - horatio

me vs the "pro" and his wife, too (or two)

so, i mentioned how i would have done last week picking nfl games compared to the sports guy and his wife. i thought about doing a blog about it, but then nixed the idea. that is, until he included a review of rockstar supernova in his picks. here's his thoughts:
1. You have to love any show where people get voted off and say final words like, "it was an honor being here, I grew up idolizing you guys, you're all legends" ... and the legends are Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and the dude with weird ears from Metallica.

2. Not only did the winner (Lucas) go from cooking chicken wings at Hooters to headlining a band of washed-up rock stars, but his original song "Head Spin" sounded like one of those haunting, Cure-like, romance-gone-bad tunes ... well, until he revealed that the song was actually about his mother. I'm telling you, stuff like this happened every week on "Rock Star."

3. The girl who should have won and didn't -- Dilana -- may or may not have been a dude. We'll never know. And frankly, I'm fine with that.

4. There wasn't a more mesmerizing summer TV presence than Storm Large (not a stage name, she claimed), who looked like the cute sister from Heart crossed with Jennie Finch, only with Mark Madsen's personality from every 2003 Lakers game thrown in. If she ever reproduced with Dane Cook, their kid would just stomp around holding its arms in the air, screaming "yeahhhhhhhh!" and making weird hand gestures until its head exploded. I am not prepared to live life without her. Couldn't she replace Elisabeth Hasselbeck on "The View"? I want to see Storm show off her pelvis tattoo to the girls, followed by Barbara Walters keeling over and falling to the ground.

5. Tommy Lee can't be calibrated on the Unintentional Comedy Scale anymore. It's impossible. Every time he decided to sit in on a performance and play drums, I couldn't handle it and had to leave the room. I'm not kidding. Watching him reminds me of being tickled as a kid, then the tickling going on for about 15 seconds too long, until you almost feel like you're going to throw up if it doesn't stop. That's Tommy Lee drumming for me. I can't handle it. Back to the column.


man, funny stuff. and, some similar stuff as what i've put here, and heather's had to hear me rant about at home. i was especially appreciated his comparison of storm large with mark madsen. speaking of madsen, does anyone else remember him at the lakers championship rally, translating who let the dogs out into spanish? and doing the cabbage patch?

so, since i wanted to include that, i figured i'd do a post as well about picking games, with a handy little matrix.

game------------------------------------me-----------s.g.-----------sg's wife
RAVENS (-11) over Raiders----------ravens-------ravens-------ravens
BENGALS (-10.5) over Browns------bengals------bengals------browns
DOLPHINS (-6.5) over Bills---------dolphins----dolphins-----dolphins
COLTS (-13.5) over Texans----------colts----------colts-----------colts
Lions (+8.5) over BEARS------------bears---------lions---------bears
EAGLES (-3) over Giants------------eagles--------eagles-------giants
VIKINGS (+2) over Panthers--------panthers-----vikings------vikings
FALCONS (-5.5) over Bucs----------falcons--------falcons------falcons
PACKERS (-2) over Saints----------saints----------packers------saints
SEAHAWKS (-7) over Cardinals---seahawks------seahawks----seahawks
JETS (+6) over Patriots-------------patriots--------jets-----------patriots
BRONCOS (-11) over Chiefs---------chfs(on the pts)broncos------broncos
CHARGERS (-12) over Titans--------chargers-----chargers------chargers
Rams (-3) over NINERS--------------rams-----------rams-----------rams
Redskins (+6) over COWBOYS------cowboys------redskins------cowboys
JAGS (+1) over Steelers---------------jags-----------jags-----------steelers

last week -------------------8-8(no pt spread)-----------7-9-----------5-11

i think the hardest picks of the week are the redskins/cowboys and the chiefs/broncos. both the skins and cowboys looked decent last week. but, the cowboys qb bledsoe is a sack-a-matic, and throws plenty of bad passes for int's (soon to be a qb controversy). the skins star rb was questionable last week but still played decent, but this week he's out. and, this game definately feels like it comes down to a field goal. but, despite what i've just said, i think the cowboys win by a touchdown.

in the chief's game, they've got one of the top 3 rb's in the league, and that's about it. i've also got said rb in my fairytale football league, so i hope he has a great game. the broncos looked terrible in their loss last week to my beloved rams, and it looks like they've got a qb controversy on their hands. always good in week 2. throw in their three headed rb monster, it's hard to know exactly what they're going to do. well, i think denver might win, but really think they'll lose. i definately don't think they'll win by 11 or more. so, the points it is.

idiot update

the other day i posted a story about a t-ball coach on trial. verdict is in.

rockstar finale

bottom 2 at some point included magni, toby and lucas. it ended up being magni and toby. wha? the best two? people are silly with their votes.
magni performed "fire" by hendrix for his song.
toby performed "white wedding" by billy idol for his song.

both did well, and neither should be in the bottom. these are the freakin top two. the band said this one was a hard one. probably because they figured this was the final decision. and magni is the next to go. toby better win. this all happened in the first 15 min.

then the final three got to pitch their case, and perform one last time.

lucas did "bittersweet symphany". jay hated it last time he did this song. i didn't hear it that night. but i hate it tonight. warbly, sounds like he's trying to do a punk version of the song.

dilana did "zombie". imagine me singing this song at kareoke. and there you have it. now, i'm kareoke fool, and i think i sing well, but if you've heard the cranberries do this song you know i wouldn't do it justice. and neither did dilanna. she sounded like a small dog barking on the end "oh oh" part.

toby did "somebody told me". toby doesn't sound terribly different than the killers lead singer, so he sounded pretty good. and he knows how to involve the crowd. (i'm impartial right?)

toby voted out next. nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo you idiots! worst move ever.

and after a commercial break, it's lucas. i thought he was an early favorite, but i thought his star dwindled over the competition. but at least dilanna didn't win. i don't know where this band will go, but i don't think it will be to the top.