Ultimate Gift

If you are already in the market for a Birthday Gift for your's truly I have an idea.
Ferrari, you know the fast cars from Italy, is opening it's first driving school outside of Italy. It is in Canada north of Montreal. It is only $8200 for the two and a half day course. I think that's pretty reasonable ;) I would love it!
Oh, but here's the kicker. You have to be a Ferrari owner to attend the driving school. Well.......if you're in the market for 2 birthday gifts...

Tag, you're it!

I've been tagged
I've never heard of this before, but I'm game. I'm guessing you tag someone's blog and then they have to answer the same questions as the previous tagee. OK, I'll play, I'll be curious to see how many of my fellow blogger friends will play when they get tagged.
Here goes...

Four Jobs I've had
(this really should read 'four jobs that have had me')
1. Foundation crew - arguably the worst job I've ever had. I lasted about 4 weeks. It was working on a cement crew that builds basements and footings for homes. The guys, and I use that term loosely, that I worked with literally took 'pot' breaks during the day where they would smoke and then get right back up on the top of the 10 foot foundations. Yikes. Yep, it was a little scary.
2. Media Services Clerk - I scheduled equipment and media (films etc.) for professors at BYU. I also handled the sale of BYU devotional talk tapes for awhile. This was arguably my best job because it was where I met my wife.
3. Software Tester - Trying to break other peoples creativity or lack thereof. I did it at WordPerfect, Novell, Microsoft, Primus, Adobe and Sterling Wentworth/Sungard. Not sure how I ended up doing this job but it lasted 14 years. Shoulda woulda coulda.
4. Artist, author, web designer, inventor, designer, photographer, editor, publisher and chief cook and bottle washer - It's my current gig and arguably my best gig so far. Shoulda started out doing this. Wonder where and what I'd be doing now if I had.

Four Movies I can watch over and over again
1. Chariots of Fire - Brings back great memories of watching this with my late Mother. It is also very inspiring to me.
2. Far and Away - Hard to describe why. It just really does something for me.
3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles - If you don't know why, I feel really sorry for you. Guaranteed laughter even if you watch it 8 times in a row. Too bad John Candy is dead. I would love to see he and Steve pair up again.
4. The Family Man - Nicolas Cage in a sort of modern take off of It's a Wonderful Life.

Four Places I've Lived
1. Sendai Japan - Actually I've lived in about 7 different places in Japan. I served a volunteer church mission there a 'few' years ago.
2. San Jose California - Lived there 2 different times actually. I did the Silicon Valley rat race thing. Yuck.
3. Seattle Washington - Lived there 2 different times as well. Hmmm, there is a pattern.
4. Cedar Hills Utah - Live here now and lived here one time before. So, that makes 2 different times. What is up with that?

Four TV shows I Love - current
1. Battlestar Galactica - I absolutely loved the original series and I have totally fallen for the remake that is currently on the air. You gotta love those ceylons ;)!!!
2. Lost - Missed the first half of the first season but have caught up now. It's different and always keeps me guessing.
3. The Amazing Race - I really haven't been one for the reality shows but this one is special. I am always on the edge of my seat. If I have a heart attack whilst watching TV it will be during this show.
4. M*A*S*H - Yes, it is still on TV so I am counting it. I could watch BJ and Hawkeye all day long. There is something therapeutic about it.

Four Highly Regarded and Recommended TV Shows That I've Never Watched a Full Episode of
1. Boston Legal - looks trashy. Besides it has William Shatner on it. I vowed 'NEVER AGAIN' after the TJ Hooker debacle.
2. 24 - Well it isn't totally true. I have now seen 2 full episodes. Nope, I aint gonna drink the cool aid. Talk about being manipulated!!!
3. American Idol - Hahahahahahahahahahahahah. the American viewing public are such a bunch of morons. This is one I don't have to see to know it is ridiculous.
4. MacGyver - yeah I pretended that I had watched whilst talking at the water cooler but I never saw a full episode. I think it conflicted with Magnum PI.

Four places I've vacationed
Vacation? What's that? If you're talking true blue vacations, wow, let's see...
1.Las Vegas - spent several wonderful days with family at a resort hotel trying to avoid the 115 degree heat. Saw Blue Man Group. Excellent. I would do it again.
2. You know, I just can't think of another one. I either travel with business and see the sites while I'm there. I'm thinking that doesn't count as a vacation. Or, I visit family and stay with them. Maybe that counts, but doesn't seem like a true blue vacation. I need to get out more. On vacation that is...

Four of my favorite dishes
1. Just about anything at PF Chang's.
2. The prime rib at McCormicks.
3. A double double at In and Out burger
4. Any meal I may happen to share with Mr. Guadspot.

Four sites I visit daily
1. MSNBC
2. Desnews.com
3. All my friends blogs.
4. Gmail
that's about it, I should expand my web surfing a bit. Kinda like my vacations.

Four places I'd rather be right now
1. At a luau in Hawaii
2. In an onsen in Japan (natural hot springs)
3. Azusa, CA (preferably in a movie theatre)
4. At a movie

Four bloggers I am tagging
1. Tulip Girl
2. GuadSpot
3. iPaulo
4. HockeyGuy

Well, that was interesting. It's amazing what you learn about yourself when you are forced to think about certain things in certain ways. I am off to the travel agent to find some travel brochures. Any suggestions?

Winter almost gone

Uhhhhlimpicks

Not sure about the rest of you but the Winter Olympics this time around just aren't catching my attention. They're actually kind of boring. Maybe it's because four years ago they were in my home town and I was very involved in my volunteer job. This time, we are only turning them on the TV when there just isn't anything else on. And even then we end up finding something else to watch. I could go on and on about what I really think. But, no one really cares so I'll spare you the ten seconds to read and the 2 seconds to forget what I said. So, there you go, I just gave you back 12 seconds. Don't say I never gave you anything...

Bullish on Clariticity

ClariticityFantasy Blog Stock Market

Now you too can own a piece of Clariticity! Click the link above and see how you can buy and sell shares in blogs. It reminds me of a similar virtual movie stock market I participated in several years ago. I wonder if that is still around. Anyway, I stumbled across this and had a lot of fun checking out all my friends blogs to see how much they are worth and how much they are trading for etc. I also bought some stock in some of my friends blogs.

GuadSpot
iPaulo ($68! sheesh expensive!)
HockeyGuy
and
Fille de tulipe

and then I ran out of money. Oh well, this is why I don't play with my money on the real stock market.
Anyway, you should register and claim your blog. You get a bunch of shares and some other stuff. So, this is just another way to spend some of your valuable time on something useless ;)

An Apple a Day...

Beware hackers of the new Mac OSX for intel Macs. Hackers recently found a deeply hidden message in the OS that Apple had placed there to warn hackers away from trying to steal OSX for intel to 'try out' on other intel hardware. It came in the form of a poem. Yeah, that's right, a poem. Here it is:

"Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
his existing OS was so blind
he'd do better to pirate
an OS that ran great
but found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS!
Really, that's way uncool.
(C) Apple Computer, Inc."

Ya gotta love Apple!

Apple today confirmed the existence of the hidden message.

Perspective

BREAKING NEWS!!!
This just in from Salt Lake City:
Thousands of Mormons stormed the offices of MetroWest Daily News in protest of the above political cartoon. The protest is getting heated after this cartoon was published today. Copies of the paper are being folded neatly and placed in recycling bins in protest. Hundreds of people are reportedly carrying buckets of green jello and are threatening to dump it on the sidewalk in front of the news office.
"We just can't take it anymore!" said one anonymous Mormon that had gathered here. "We haven't participated in polygamy for over a century! Why can't they just leave us alone!" was a theme heard from many of the protesters. "This is offensive to our religion and we won't stand for it anymore!!!" a woman exclaimed as she hurled a glob of green jello at the front door of the news office.
"Why can't people understand that these cartoons are hurtful and offensive? Why, they just take away my reason for living." said one woman as she tried to keep her 9 children out of the way of the protesters.
Right before the police arrived to break up the melee the crowd had started chanting, "Geez, geez, geez, take this cartoon away puhleease."
As the police started to break up the commotion a local Bishop stood before the crowd to make a statement. "If you have any leftover green jello please bring it to the Pinewood derby tonight at the 8th ward chapel, we're running short of refreshment assignments. Thank You."

Robbed!

"The Check is in the mail."
That's what the caption should read for this joke of a Superbowl. I absolutely HATE it when the officials play such a significant part in a game. They should be invisible, not even noticed. It was soooo bad that John Madden and Al Michaels were laughing about it. BUT, and this is a big BUT, nobody seems to be saying anything about it today. Hmmm. These days if you're a player or a coach and you say just about anything about the officiating you get fined or suspended. So, basically no one can say what they really feel or think unless they want a chunk taken out of their paychecks and their names splashed all over the media for being suspended etc. I think Mike Holmgren should do what a whole lot of other people did last night, stand up and say "BULLSHIT!"
Normally I don't care much about the game. I didn't follow the season at all this year, but after spending a few years in Seattle and the fact that it was their first time to the big game I was rooting for them. Too bad it wasn't about the play on the field. Those stinkin refs and their little yellow hankies. Hey, wait a minute, weren't there about a bazillion people in the crowd waving yellow hankies too? Hah, so the refs ARE Pittsbooger fans!!!
Oh, and BTW, the commercials were kinda blah this year. I think my fav was the "Might as well face it your addicted to LOST" montage. That was fun. Oh, and BTW#2, I am soooooooo sick of beer commercials. I'll bet you $20 that if a person from another planet ever does land here and starts analyzing us they're going to think that beer is what we use for our money. They're going to think it's the most precious commodity on earth. Well, they'll think that until they run into a bunch of Pittsbooger fans drunk off their butts on Budweeeser and they'll get back in their little spaceship as fast as they can and head home laughing their asses off.

Liar liar

Ok so I fibbed a little.
There is actually one thing in this years Oscar nominations that has some good to it.The Chronicles of Narnia was nominated in three catagories.
Achievement in makeup
Achievement in soundmixing
Achievement in visual effects
So there. I stand corrected.
There is 'some' good in this years Oscar race. Still, I don't think I'll 'waste' 4 hours of my life holding my breath for this one film to win anything. Especially since I'll have to endure all the fawning over the Gay Cowboy debacle.
Cheers!

Blogging from the dead

When I was looking over the entire list of this years Oscar nominations I ran across this...
The Death of Kevin Carter...
Scared the piss out of me. How ironic this was. I am boycotting the Oscars this year because, well, because there is absolutely nothing "virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy" (quoting the LDS 13th article of faith) in sight in the nominations this year. I was looking through the nominee list and saw my name pop up. Yikes.

World's Fastest Indian

The World's Fastest Indian

I LOVED this film. I can't say enough good about it. You have to see it. Maybe even twice. If you don't love it then you're dead or your soul's too far gone and you might as well be dead. I have waited a long time to go see a film as good as this one. It was extremely well done. It was beautiful. Anthony Hopkins was AWESOME and his supporting cast was amazing. I wish I were independantly wealthy so I could rent out a theatre and bring all of my family and friends together to see this.
Will it change your life? Maybe not. But it could. Did it change mine? Yes. Any really good film that I thoroughly enjoy changes my life.
Now, Hollywood should sit up and listen. It is this film that should be receiving 8+ Oscar nominations and not the filthy garbage/refuse/trash that was served up to us this last year. We'll see if this film gets any notice from Oscar next year. Maybe because of Mr. Hopkins it will. I hope so.
Am I exaggerating? Am I overcompensating because I'm seething with rage over this years Oscar nominations? No and No. This film was really that good. I enjoyed every single minute of it.
Now, I'm off to buy a lemon tree.

The Good Old Days

Most of you have probably seen this or something like it. It tends to float around the internet and from time to time I get it again. This time I wanted to share. Mostly because this is only a slice of how I feel about how far our current society has gone downhill since I was a kid. Yeah sure technology has cured a bunch more diseases and things are 'supposed' to be made easier by some 'progress' we have made in the last few decades. But, looking back, I would love to have another summer day when I got up had a bowl of cereal and bolted for the door yelling goodbye to my Mother and knowing that I wouldn't be back till the porch light blinked right after sunset. Me and my pals went all over the place and did oh so many things that nowadays would cause Mothers to scream in horror and could possibly even end up in jail time. What changed?

--------------------
My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same
cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to
get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw
sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a
brown paper bag, not in ice pack coolers, but I can't remember getting
ecoli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of
a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a
pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE... and risked permanent injury with a pair of
high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training
athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I
can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell
us how much safer we are now.

Flunking gym was not an option...even for stupid kids! I guess PE must
be much harder than gym.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem,
and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative
attention.

We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system
we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was
allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station,
Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got
that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant
construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent
bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting
like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked.

Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a
$49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the
contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was
such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we
got our butt spanked there and then we got our butt spanked again when we
got home.

I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks
on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know
that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and
swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they
were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that?

We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes? We
were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even
notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we ever
survive?