Today's Mighty Oak

Friday of Week 6

Yesterday's nut July 24, 2009

Just cheking in with everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything here.

The July Project over at Pittsburgh Metblogs is still going strong, so make sure to take a look if you haven’t seen it yet.  I’d also like to work on some way to better link to the blogs that I read on a consistent basis, we’ll see though.  I’ll work on that in the fall, along with getting some more galleries up (including VGL and possibly Conclave).

Things at camp are going well.  We got some rain this week, which was much needed, so that was nice.  Dan left today for Botswana, I think I convinced him (or at least helped to convince him) to start a blog while he’s over there, so that will be cool to read about his experiences.  My parents sent me an awesome package of stuff, which has been keeping me entertained.

Tuesday, Ranger Ken kidnapped me at 5:30.  He came into the office, pulled me out and then put me into his car and we went to dinner and to see Harry Potter.  He has never read the books, and made some very funny comments during the movie.  We’ve also all agreed that we won’t tell him how book 7 plays out so he has to see the movies with us when they come out. 

It has been (knock on wood), a fairly quiet night, which is a nice change from this week.  I think if it stays like that I’ll head down to the dock and read for a while tonight.  That’s it for now, I’m heading across the way for dinner, catch everyone later!

Who wants concert tickets?

Yesterday's nut July 5, 2009

I have two lawn tickets to Def Leppard with Poison and Cheap Trick, this Friday at the Post Gazette Pavillion.  I won them at the Pirates game and won’t be able to make it, so if anyone wants them, let me know, first come first served.

Leave a comment and I’ll get them to you through the mail, unless you want to swing by camp of course.  This will post first on my blog, and then make its way over automatically to my Facebook notes, so leave a comment at either one, and the two tickets are yours.

Currently reading

Yesterday's nut June 30, 2009

As I posted before, I’m currently reading Infinite Jest, and in addition to that, I’m still working through The Wheel of Time (although I’m missing the book I’m on at the moment…), as well as Speaker for the Dead and Harry Potter 6 (to get ready for the movie).  However, this spectacular book arrived yesterday and has been tempting me ever since to drop everything else that I’m reading:

That’s right, the 10th anniversary of The Cluetrain Manifesto.  Cluetrain is, in my mind, the most important book about the Internet.  And that sentence itself, has so much to unpack, it makes me shiver sometimes.  Anyway, I’m trying to get through some other things first, but I already was flipping through the first part and was drawn to it.  Let’s see how this take shape, I’ll keep you posted!

Monday of Week 3

Yesterday's nut June 29, 2009

I was at home over the weekend for Matt and Melissa’s wedding, which was wonderful.  Very elegant, very classy.  I had a really good time.  It started Thursday with the bachelor party, we went to PNC Park to watch the Pirates take on the Indians, and suprisingly enough, the Pirates won!  Friday was the rehersal and then dinner, and then Saturday was the actual wedding and reception.  Everything ran very smoothly and was really a nice affair.  I almost drove off with the marriage license, but got it back to the best man, so thankfully, that crisis was averted.

Check out this awesome ad from Pringles, and keep clicking!  It actually is an enjoyable online ad.

Troop 215 is in camp this week, so I’ll be visiting them tonight and tomorrow, and probably again later in the week.  Right now though, I’m going to head off to dinner, and then playing a game of boccee on the lawn.  Not a whole lot is going on, other than me working through the mounds of paperwork on my desk.  Catch everyone soon, have a great one!

Checking in: Monday of Week 2

Yesterday's nut June 22, 2009

Just checking in with everybody.  What a crazy ride it has been so far.  But to be fair, let’s get this out of the way first:

Yes, my plant, Poe, is doing very well.  I brought him up with me from work and he is sitting on the mailboxes, enjoying the sunlight.  Every time I talk about him it also makes me want to read House of Leaves again.  Note to self: remind Kenny to finish it so I can have my copy back.

And of course, seen in the back of that picture is our flag from national inspection.  Here’s a close-up:

Yes, that is our pennant.  We fought long and hard for that one.  And when I look back and realize how much went wrong, and continued to go wrong getting ready for this summer and during staff week, I really do think that no other camp in America could have opened the way we did.  But hey, we made it, now we get to fully focus on the program…and I will continue with the paperwork and trying to keep everyone happy.

One of these days I’ll have to write down what all went wrong, changed or didn’t go anywhere near as smoothly as we expected, but that list is really way too long, and I’d rather focus on the good things anyway.

So, moving on, today is the first day of summer.  I’m CQ and stuck in Keystone and the Infirmary tonight, so while the kids play a game of Risk (I’ll be adding my own commentary, like any good sports caster), I’ll be starting Infinite Summer:

Infinite Summer is a where a bunch of people, from all over the world, are reading David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” during the summer.  I tried reading it once before, but school got in the way, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make it through.  I was actually given Infinite Jest as a birthday gift (well, I got to pick out any book I wanted and it’s the one I choose), so I’m really excited to finally force myself to read it.  It’s a giant book though, so I’m hoping that I can keep going and make it through.  It averages out to 75 pages a week of main story, but that does not include the end notes, which are also giant, so I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress.

That’s it for now, I think.  My parents are coming up tomorrow and we’re going to dinner, and then I’m CQ again on Tuesday, then I’ll be home Wednesday night for Matt and Melissa’s wedding, hopefully I’ll be able to post again soon.  In the meantime, have a great one!

Quick video, then gone for a bit

Yesterday's nut June 4, 2009

Sorry for the delay in posting anything, May is always a super crazy month.  Now that we’re into June, I’m heading to camp full -time (although it seems like I was already there full-time since Easter).

But in the meantime, enjoy this hilariously awesome video, and I’ll post again soon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

“I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met.”

Yesterday's nut April 26, 2009

Quick update for everyone.  I’m working on finishing up my script for Script Frenzy.  Right now I have 13 pages left to go.  I’m hoping to finish it off today, we’ll see how that goes.

Last weekend was very exciting, here’s what happened: Thursday night I went to see RENT, which was amazing.  On the way out I also saw two drag queens, which I thought was very appropriate.  The next day I headed to a wedding out in Latrobe.  I google mapped the church, and got one in Ligonier.  I asked my friend who I was carpooling with to do the same, just to double check it, and we got the same place.  So, with fondue set in hand we headed out the door.  We get to the church and see very few cars, and instead a sign for a pork dinner.  Figuring we made a mistake we get back in the car and head to Rt. 982, which as it turns out, was where the church was.  We missed the procession, but that was it.

The reception was very nice, and we found a couple other people who did the same thing we did.  I crashed on her floor in Greensburg and then work up to go to Camp Anawanna in Amity (Washington County).  My GPS apparantly thought that I should take a bunch of one-lane, dirt roads through the back of Amity.  On the first day of trout season.  So that was an adventure!  Afterwards I met a friend at Washington Crown Center for lunch at Garfields.

All in all, an exciting weekend!  This weekend I was up at Heritage painting stuff to get ready for Conclave and summer camp.  It was a lot of fun, I’ll be going up a couple more times to help out.

Two pieces of media, the first, it looks like Trident is trying to get in on the Improv Everywhere scene with this rendeition of “Single Ladies” in England:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5zphusLw

And it’s kind of done by this point, but Funny or Die put together a reaction to the Gathering Storm ad, and it not only includes Sarah Chalk (Scrubs), but also George Tikay!  I also have no idea if I spelled either of their names correctly, probably not.

You were right in front of me-a mask of silence

Yesterday's nut April 19, 2009

Media heavy update for everyone.  So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the movies, with commentary from me of course!

First up, I promised it, and here it is, a number from Silence, the Silence of the Lambs musical.  Obviously, it contains strong language and is just not safe for work (NSFW):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPnQ77a1UVk

And in an almost complete 180, here is the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (movie/book six):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDVbxop-eo

Now for things a bit more serious.  I have fun stories about this weekends festivities, and that recap will be coming soon.  For now, though, I’ll add some comments about the start to my weekend: Thursday night.  We went to see RENT, which was amazing!  I am so glad I got to see it while it was in town.  We hit up Tambalinni’s beforehand for dinner, which was very nice.

Leaving the theater, in the crowds of way too many people, i was passed by two drag queens.  Which I thought was very appropriate.  Which kind of brings me to my serious point (and more chances to put more videos in this post, I might be going for a record).

The county has been exploding (in a good way) over gay marriage the last couple weeks.  I’ve said it before, gay marriage is our generation’s segregation.  Not that I am trying to compare the two (well, I guess I kind of am), but in their own way, each is a civil right’s issue that I think defines an entire generation. Not that I think it’s an issue that needs to be forced down everyone’s throat either, especially religious organizations. They are free to make their own choices and set their own rules (hence the separation of church and state), but there are those that would (and do) go for marriage equality. And besides (another disjointed thought), many people say that a civil union is the same as a marriage. And while the government can grant civil unions, and I think they should, if they are so equal, why don’t those opponents trade their marriage for a civil union. Didn’t think so.

So what I find amusing, is now that Vermont, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Seattle have made progress, the crazies start coming out.  Case in point, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM, which always makes me think of the lol cats and anytime they eat something going, “nom nom nom.”).  You’ve probably seen their storm ad that is floating around.  I’d like to bring your attention to some parodies instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mQVT2SC3M0

Not bad, kind of dry in the delivery, but a fun spoof nonetheless.  Even better however, is this one from the Colbert Report.  Ok, I think I got it to embed. But no promises.  Follow this link just in case, it’s worth it!

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Colbert Coalition’s Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

In the original, NOM talked about their 2M4M campaign (Rachel Maddow has a great clip looking at that phrase, as well as teabagging). And what really cracks me up, is that they started that campaign, without securing the domains!  So now, 2M4M.org is a site supporting equal marriage rights (also running on Joomla by the way!).  I like the justice of that.  Here is their funny little sketch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CkFGe3JJDc

I think it’s this video, but I could be wrong, that brings up one of my favorite arguments about gay marriage.  Opponents will often say that gay marriage will make straight marriage less meaningful.  Very sarcastically, I like to agree.  That yes, allowing gay marriage will totally make Brittney Spears’ 55-hour Vegas marriage less meaningful.  Sigh. So I keep coming back into this post to add things (and clean up and fix the code), and I just want to interject one more thing in here, because now I’m all riled up. I think the travesty is the fact that a straight couple can walk into a courthouse, flat out say they don’t love each other and are just getting married for monetary purposes, but my gay friends can’t get a marriage license when they finally find the person they want to settle down with. Again, sigh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dKMhYSX20

Ok, I’ve been up on my soapbox for too long.  And have posted way too many videos (I lied, there’s one more coming up).  Of course I’m biased, so this post obviously leans one way.  I do think it’s an important issue, and it’s exciting to see the tide turning.  In addition to the states and cities listed above, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that other countries around the world support marriage equality, including South Africa, Norway, the Netherlands and Spain (I think I got that list right).

So anyway, this was my little bit of activism.  It’s not very often that I do and public protests of any kind still scare the crap out of me.  Quick aside, when asked if I was going to go to the March for Life in D.C., I replied no.  Which was responded to the fact that they get counts ahead of time so that the city knows how many people to expect.  Which in my mind is so they can have enough tear-gas on hand.  That’s just how my mind works, and I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon, so I’ll stick to this blog for now.

And a bit lighter fare, today’s title comes from a song from the Daredevil soundtrack by The Calling (a favorite band of mine) called For You.  I’ve really liked this song for a while, I think a big part of it is the full orchestration.  Anyway, check out the video below if you want to listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FDoIsOcuzY

That’s it for now, thanks for reading.  Catch everyone later!

Good Friday, 2008

Yesterday's nut April 10, 2009

Ok, quick post for everyone.  More is coming, including a Lego rendition of one of the numbers from the Silence of the Lambs musical.  I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.  Hurts a little, doesn’t it?

 I headed to Maundy Thursday service, which is my favorite day of the liturgical calendar, and it was very nice, and ended with a chilling chanting of Psalm 22 during the stripping of the altar.  I got home and found out that another classmate from high school died.  I had a couple classes with him, and he was always very kind to me, but not someone I really hung out with.  Sad nonetheless, we’ll see what comes of this.

And, as promised, here is my typical Good Friday picture:

How’s THAT for sarcasm? What, too much?

Yesterday's nut April 4, 2009

Quick update as I sit here in Panera Bread. First off, they actually got my order correct! This might be the first time it has happened here at Miracle Mile. I would have liked something besides the chips, but that’s ok.

I’m here working on my script for Script Frenzy. For our book club, we decided to do a writing a la carte month, and three of us are doing Script Frenzy. I really don’t like writing scripts, but it’s all in good fun, and I promised Jim that I would do an insane writing task with him. I haven’t been able to find any kind of progress meter like there is for NaNoWriMo, but I have this cool icon:

 

 

So for April, I’ll be writing a 100-page script. I’m going to be writing the script for a web series, taking a look at the ten commandments, and what the world be like if there were 11, and everyone actually followed the eleventh.

I just got my transponder for EZ Pass, so I’m very excited to try that out, I just need to find out if it will work on Rt. 66.

Other than that, it’s been a very productive weekend so far, and it’s not even halfway done! I’ll be meeting up with friends later this week, which will be nice, and more work on my script. I’m hoping to have 25 pages done by the end of the Sunday (right now I’m on 14), so we’ll see how that goes.

The only other thing really going on is over at Metblogs, I’ve been posting a lot lately, so make sure to check it out, you can see my posts over in the widget on the left.

One more thing, I’ve been following the craziness over at Slog, and they’ve picked up the story about the crazy 9.12 project.  Well, Stephen Colbert has his own project, which I fully support, the 10.31 project!  Not much there yet, but we’ll see what comes from it. 

That’s it for now, have a great one everybody!

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