Blogging Is Egotistical

Northern Europe Part II--Bergen and Norway In a Nutshell

2011-09-15T14:33:00.000-06:00

Day 5—Bergen, Norway

We headed to Bergen at about 3 in the morning (actually it was about 6, but it felt like 3). In no time we were in Bergen and were delighted with how beautiful the city was. Oh wait, before we get to the city. What the crap?! We FLEW into your country and THE LEAST you could do is STAMP MY PASSPORT!!! That’s right, they did not stamp my passport…and I am still angry. Anyway, back to the city…

We arrived in the airport and quickly jumped on the FlyBus to downtown Bergen. We were kind of sticker-shocked by the price of the bus, but what the hey, we are vacationing, right? So we get to Bergen and I take Cristie on a short (something like 2km) walk to “our” hotel. Well, it was the Bergen Basic Hotel. We were staying in the Bergen Basic Hotel Victoria…a mere 50m from where the bus dropped us! So we walked back and checked into our hotel.

Once we were settled, we made our way down to the Bryggen Wharf—basically, the fish market. There we began to truly appreciate the price of food in the good old USA. As we looked around, EVERYTHING was around $20. This is a damn fish market. You can eat at Pike Place for something like $6. Anyway, Cristie settled on an open-faced salmon and shrimp sandwich and I chose a HUGE plate of fresh shrimp! Both were really good….until about 20 minutes later when my throat started closing up and I could hardly breathe. About a year ago we figured that I was allergic to the way they freeze shrimp, and these shrimp were partially frozen, but still very, very fresh. We figure I must be allergic to shrimp. Not fair.

Death by Shrimp.

We then (because we only had one day in Bergen) decided to hit it hard and see all we could. Unfortunately, everything closes early in Bergen! We made it to Rosenkrantz’s Tower…about five minutes too late, so we just walked around the grounds. They were nice. After that, we headed over to the Hanseatic Museum, which Cristie really liked and I thought was a big waste of money (not time, seeing how there wasn’t very much to do in Bergen).

We then decided to take the Floibanen up the mountain. It is a ridiculously steep train and one that a lot of Bergeners(?) use to commute to the city. At the top, the view was very nice, but a little cloudy. Cristie and I decided to hike down the trail, rather than taking the train back and that turned into a very fun little walk.

Once we hit the end of the trail, we headed back to our hotel, but not before I stopped at a McDonalds to see if all McDonalds taste the same. When we were in Europe last, I avoided McDonalds and for good reason…yep. They taste the same. I guess “gross” is a universal taste.

DAY 6—Norway in a Nutshell

On the advice of Rick Steves, instead of flying or just taking a train to Oslo, we opted for the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour. It’s a little bit pricier, but from what Steves said, it is well worth it. You train from Bergen to Voss, then you bus from Voss to Gudvangen (which I was not looking forward to), then you take a ferry down the fjord to Flam, back on a train from Flam to Myrdal, and finally you take another train to Oslo! All in all, it’s a 14-hour trip. So you are probably asking yourself, how on Earth can it be worth it. Well, from one skeptic to another—it TOTALLY can.

The first leg of the journey was a train ride from Bergen to Voss. At first, you think to yourself…wow, look at all these beautiful lakes, but if you can believe it, you kind of get…not necessarily sick of it, but just used to it, I guess. It was still very, very beautiful.

The second leg of the trip was a bus ride and to be honest, the leg I was the least looking forward to, I mean, really? A bus? Well this was the worst assumption I made on our entire trip. The bus ride was through some of the most winding roads I have ever been on and had more than a few views that I doubt will ever be equaled. I know that sounds silly or overly dramatic, but it was simply amazing. Just look.

God must love Norwegians more than Utahns.

Is that the most beautiful place you have ever seen or what?

Very focused. What dedication to his work.

The final three legs (fjord, train, and bus) were much like the first. Non-stop beauty kind of gets old. It would have been nice to slide Wyoming in between each leg just to remind myself of how beautiful Norway really is.

We arrived in Oslo around 11pm had had to hoof it to our hotel room about 15 minutes away. On the way to the hotel, we walked past the a church. It was a pretty impressive site. There is the church yard were HUNDREDS of flowers and candles—all memorializing those lost during the awful bombing and massacre that happened only a week ago. We would later see makeshift memorials throughout the city. We guessed that it was where those killed had lived. We probably could have asked, but didn’t really feel like that was the proper thing to do. We didn’t want the Norwegians to feel like we were treating their tragedy like a tour stop, so we just tried to piece together the details on our own. Such a tragedy.

Well, like I said, we had to continue on to get to our hotel room and by this time we got there we were TIRED. We would have loved to have taken a taxi, but yeah, to drop the flag is like $50. No thanks. So we arrived to our hotel room and when we entered the room, it was a chilly 90 degrees. We thought that we were going to die. We played with the windows and tried to open them as wide as we could and WHAM-O, we found the BALCONY door! Now usually balconies are not the most common amenity in Europe—especially in “budget-minded” hotels. We had truly scored. Because of my paranoia of being robbed, we slept that night with door and windows closed. But that was enough, the rest of our time in Oslo was spent with the doors and windows open!

Northern Europe 2011: Part I-- ICELAND

2011-08-31T15:29:00.000-06:00

So friends, here is my first post in a looooong time. I apologize for being so hit-and-miss, I hope to be more consistent and I have so really good ideas for some blogs! So hopefully you will stay tuned.

The next few posts will be from our Northern European 2011 Trip. I had a hard time naming it...Scandinavia (well, parts were not in Scandinavia), Scandinavia and The Baltic States (we didn't go to all of the Baltic States...and that's a pretty long name), so we settled on Northern Europe. You don't like it? Deal with it. :)

Our trip consisted of the following countries: Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland...in that order. So that is the order I will do these updates. Probably one update a day and i will let you know on Facebook if I post a new part. I hope you find this interesting. We had a really great time and I am excited to share our trip with you!

Day 1—Travel Day from Hell

Day 1 was our “Travel Day from Hell,” now don’t get me wrong, it will be outdone by our “Travel Day from a Lower Level From Hell” on our way back, but this day was pretty brutal. We started out at the airport at 10pm. We had a red-eye Thursday night from SLC to JFK. Those are always pleasant because I can never sleep. But alas, Cristie and I slept through most of the flight! So hooray, the day was off to a bright start.

We arrived at JFK at 5:00am, which wasn’t too bad. We had checked our bags straight through to Iceland (thank you Delta) so we only had our backpacks to worry about. So we jumped on the AirTrain and headed over to good ole Terminal 7. When we go there the IcelandAir counter was closed—which actually makes sense, I mean what moron checks into his or her flight nine hours ahead of schedule, right? I mean, other than me...*blush* So seeing that Terminal 7 has nowhere to sit and nothing to do, we jumped back on the AirTrain and headed over to VirginAtlantic’s posh Terminal 4. There we ate at Au Bon Pain, and Cristie slept like a homeless person on a bench. Me? I read my Poker book and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. At 10:30, we were finally allowed to check in. Yay.

Our trip from JFK to Reykjavik was actually pretty awesome. We had emergency exit seating, which as you know, is the next best thing to business class and being able to stretch your legs out makes any flight bearable. We were both trying to stay awake because we got in at midnight and wanted to start acclimating to the new time. This was both easy and difficult. Easy because when we were getting close to Reykjavik at about 11:00pm it was still light outside and hard because whenever you are in a plane, who doesn’t want to sleep? So I watched The Dark Knight and arrived…well, sleepy.

After we taxied into the terminal and got through Customs, I had a pleasant surprise. Sitting at the airport was none other than Iron Maiden’s tour plane! I got a crappy picture through our transfer bus’s window and had a good opportunity to take a better one, when the douchebag worker at the airport prevented me from doing so. Grrrr. But I still saw it. So there.
We took the shuttle from the airport to our Car Rental place at about 1:00am. I kid you not, the name of the rental place was SAD Cars. They “specialize” in renting cars that are older and thus cheaper to rent. How cheap you may ask? Are they like the price of cars in Oakland? A mere $25 a day? No. They’re not. “Cheap” rental cars are about $98euros a day. And they suck. 4 wheels and a steering wheel? Check. Doors? Check. And that’s where the luxuries ended. Oh well….Little did that our crappy hooptie know, we were going to beat the hell out it! Yay!
We got to our hotel at about 2:30am and what do you know!? It was finally dark outside! We got to bed and counted ourselves lucky. The “Day from Hell” was more like “The Day from Cleveland” still bad, but not really “Hell-worthy.”

Day 2—Iceland

After sleeping in our cozy single beds, we awoke to the blindingly light morning light at…about 4:40am. (Remember dear friends, the sun went down around 1:00am.) We tried to sleep in and instead just kind of tossed and turned for the next two to three hours. Still, I am not complaining…it’s not like we were back in Terminal 4 (which unless you have seen that Gary Coleman movie about the kid who lives in a locker at the train station, you don’t fully appreciate….”On the Right Track” I think it was called…Man, I have never wanted to watch a Gary Coleman movie so badly in my life than right now….FOCUS!) So we took our showers in our casket-sized shower and enjoyed the fresh vibrant smell of sulphur radiating from the water. Delicious. Either way, at least it made us clean.

So we started our day off in Reykjavik and began looking for a place to eat lunch. Now last time we were in Iceland, and Europe for that matter, I wanted to eat “the food of the people” and not the tourist-y crap. So in Iceland, I had some Fish Stew, which was actually pretty damn delicious, if I do say so my damn self. This time, I was on a mission. A mission to try Hakarl. Which according to Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations,” was the absolutely worst food he has ever tasted.

After a lovely little walk in the rain, we ended up at the Islenski Barinn. Cristie ordered a bowl of fish stew similar to the kind I had tried before and a scone with smoked salmon and cottage cheese. It was delicious--much better than the treat I had in store. I ordered a smattering of Icelandic treats: a similar scone, some Atlantic Charr, smoked Lamb tartar, Lamb pate, some fish jerky (which Cristie LOVED eating with butter), and you guessed it, Hakarl. Everything seemed pretty good (nothing phenomenal), and then I went for the Hakarl.

Now if you are unfamiliar with hakarl, it is Greenland shark, which is poisonous to humans. Now for some unholy reason, the Icelanders still want to eat this shark, so they ferment it…in the sand…for six months. So what am I really eating? Rotten, fermented shark. Now when they serve hakarl, it comes in a delightful little jar with a sealed lid and a toothpick on top. Why is this? Because the hakarl is so pungent, people would be able to smell it across the room. And it smells like ammonia. Not like, "eh, that has an ammonia-y scent," more like, "oh my gosh! Someone squirted ammonia in my face!" Now, what is the toothpick for? Well, you’re not supposed to have to touch your hands. I don’t know if it’s because of the smell or because it’s “bad for our skin” but I was not leaving it up to chance. I used the toothpick.

Hakarl was not good. It was actually pretty horrible, but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected (which was kind of a bummer). Now would I ever try it again? No. It’s stinky, super moist, and decidedly, not delicious. And it is exactly the type of food I would pay my friends to eat. In fact, I tried to pay Cristie $5,000 Icelandic

kroner to eat it, but she wisely declined. Good job, Cristie. You are as smart as you look. :)

After our decidedly Icelandic meal, we ventured off into downtown Reykjavik. Our first stop was the Icelandic Culture House, which is pretty much a museum. They had on display some manuscripts from as old as the 13th Century. I know, that’s really old. The most impressive part about that, is that these were all handwritten! Pretty amazing. After the Culture House, we had a nice leisurely stroll down and around some local neighborhoods and unfortunately found ourselves in the hippie area (evidenced by all the vegetarian restaurants and (I kid you not) a sitar store. Now who in the world buys a sitar...I mean other than all those Indian in India. I will tell you who--the same deadbeat who buys a bongo drum. *sigh* Anyway, after hurrying out of this neighborhood we made our way up to Hallgrímskirkja ("Church of Hallgrimur"). My favorite place in all of Reykjavik!

Now, when we visted Reykjavik last time, I was unable to truly appreciate Hallgrímskirkja. The whole tower was covered in scaffolding and the tower was closed! It was still beautiful, but I had to use some of my imagination. This was not the case this time. It was beautiful and the tower was open! And we saw some seriously beautiful views of Reykjavik. This is still my favorite place in Reykjavik.

During this excursion, we also became aware of Cristie's addiction to Icelandic yogurt (Skyr). She had about 2 quarts a day and bought some at every opportunity. I think that the saddest memory she has is the inability to find skyr in the US....

After Hallgrímskirkja, we had one more stop we had to hit before our Whale Watching Cruise. It was a contemporary sculpture that I posed with two years ago. Of course, me being me, I posed again. Such fun. One lady was watching us and I am sure having a great time at our expense. No matter, it was totally worth it! Who doesn't pose with statues?

After the statue and I had our joyous reunion, we headed to our Whale Watching Tour provided by “The Life of Whales” Whale Watching Tour… “with over 95% sighting of whales!” Well, that is what they claimed. We saw…like two dolphins. We did have a nice cruise with some delicious hot chocolate, but other than that, it was a bust. They gave use a ticket to come back (which is good for two years!), but I just don’t think we have time this go round. Bummer, dude. Still to this day, I have never seen a whale in the wild. But hey, if you think you may be going to Iceland in the next two years...hit me up, I have a free whale trip for you.

After the cruise, we drove around looking for a fun place to eat. Cristie (being the vegetarian that she is) mentioned all of the hippy places downtown—especially a place that looked like it was serving pho (which I LOVE). Well, it wasn’t, but it was serving some really tasty soup. So we had it and it was really good. After dinner, we were kind of tired and seeing how we only had about one hours of daylight left (it was about 10:30pm) we headed back to the hotel. And zzzzzzz….

Day 3—Iceland

Day 3 began quite similar to Day 2…meaning that the sun came up around 5am and we tossed and turned to try and squeeze in another 2-3 hours of sleep—and managing to get another 15 to 20 minutes.

Today on our agenda was Iceland’s National Museum, Church, and The Blue Lagoon. First thing we did was call our SAD Car Company and told them that the GPS was not working, so we switched our little POS car for another POS car and in the process, I lost my favorite pair of sunglasses. I. am. Heartbroken. *tear* Anyway, after we got our car we headed over to the National Museum, which we both had low expectations for. But wow, what a surprise! For such a small museum, it was very well put together and had some really interesting displays. This was definitely a fun surprise for our trip.

After the National Museum, we headed to Church. Unfortunately, we were about 45 minutes early. So as the bad Mormon that I am, I tempted my wife with Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) and she quickly supported my breaking of the Sabbath…on the way to Church, no less. Anyway, the Skyr was awesome as always and then we made our way to the Reykjavik Branch. It’s funny what they say about Mormons—we brag about how church is the same the whole world over. Well, that’s true. This was just like any church service in Utah…except that it was in Icelandic and there were only 20 parishioners.

But the style was just the same. We talked to a missionary who was just about to come home and one who had almost hit his hump day. We talked to an African convert, who had lived in Iceland and was now moving to Pittsburgh where her husband would start school. And we talked to a young Icelander who said he was getting ready to move to Los Angeles to follow his dream of being a pop star. Good luck, dude (though we were both afraid for him). All in all, church was a great idea.

After Church, we headed back down to the Blue Lagoon. On the way, we decided to take a detour and see an old fishing ghost town. Sounds awesome, right? Well, after about 10km on a gravel road (in our Toyota Yaris), we gave up. Defeated. Oh well, Blue Lagoon here we come. Oh wait! We had heard a number of young Icelanders talk about how much they LOVED pizza so we decided that they were either cluelessly naïve or were eating the greatest pizza known to man. So we headed to a little place down in Grindavik. How was it? Eh. I guess they are just cluelessly naïve as to what good pizza tastes like. So off to the Blue Lagoon.

Now the Blue Lagoon is a geothermic pool with minerals and algae and all this wonderful…blah blah blah. It’s like a big hot tub. It is way, way overpriced, but it was fun. We sat around and we spread this algae-based cream on our faces and enjoyed the nearly 100 degree water. That’s about it. But man is it beautiful.

After the Blue Lagoon, we headed back downtown and walked around a beautiful lake called Tjomin. It was a nice walk. We followed this up by driving around and ended up at The Pearl. No, we are not being idiot “Losties” or whatever Lost fans are called. There is this place in Reykjavik where you can get a beautiful view of the city…called The Pearl. We were only there for about 15 minutes (too cold!).

We then headed back downtown to Höfði House. This was the place where Gorbachev pulled Reagan along (kicking and screaming) to finally negotiate the end the Cold War. ;) It was a pretty big deal. Okay fine, Reagan played a large part in the negotiations too, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he was a mediocre (at best) president! :P After this, back to our luxurious hotel….

Day 4—Iceland

Today was probably one of the best days I have ever had on any vacation. Today we embarked on the “Golden Circle” Tour led by two wonderful tour guides, me and Cristie!

We left our hotel around 9am and headed off to SADCars to return our POS car and to find out (without expecting anything) if they found my glasses. Well, it turns out our POS car has a faulty sensor (so we didn’t need to exchange it...again) and they did have my glasses! I love Icelanders. They are really awesome. The opposite of Italians. So I didn’t lose my favorite pair of sunglasses. Hoo-ray. Now off to the Golden Circle!

Our first stop was Ϸingvellir National Park. We saw quite a few cool things in this park. The first thing we saw was Law Rock, where the early Icelanders held their parliament and were “law speakers” would shout down the laws. For obvious reasons, Cristie and I both found this part interesting but it wasn’t that interesting. Too be honest, it was a rock....But we did see this waterfall about 30 feet away....

Nice, right?

Well, this ended up being like the 4th or 5th best waterfall of the day....Not bad. :)

The last thing we saw was the continental divide that separates North America from Europe, which is currently ripping Iceland apart at a rate of 2.5cm a year! We didn’t actually see it rip apart, but I am sure they would not lie to us, right?

After Ϸingvellir, we headed to Geysir. The geyser. Anyway, see Iceland is built on a bunch of volcanoes. In fact, we learned that Iceland used to look a lot like Norway but that in the 1600s all the volcanoes erupted leaving Iceland looking how it looks today—volcanic-y. Like this:

Well, because of all the activity under the surface, there are hot vents all over the island and also geysers too. Anyway, Geysir itself is now pretty inactive, but it is huge. It would have been great to actually see it go off. We did see a smaller geyser go off and I videoed it. Unfortunately, the moment I recorded it, it spouted about 20 feet. About twenty minutes later, when we were walking around it spouted about 50 feet! It was pretty awesome.

Our next stop was Gullfoss, which is a gorgeous, huge waterfall. In fact, I had wallpaper on my computer for a while of Gullfoss and my friend Boone alleged that it must be photoshopped. We arrived at Gullfoss and it most definitely was not a photoshopped picture—it was amazing. One of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. And unlike America, where everything is roped off because of the possibility of lawsuits, at Gullfoss we got right to the edge of the waterfall! It was awesome. The only downside was that after this, it would be difficult for anything to compete with this attraction on our trip!

Oh, I also had two sources (from Rick Steves and a gentleman at the visitor’s center) that said Gullfoss’s lamb stew was the best ever. I had it. It was lamb stew, whooptidoo.

So that was the extent of “The Golden Circle” and it did NOT disappoint! But afterward, Cristie and I decided to turn it into “The Golden Oval” and added Skogofoss (another waterfall) and a huge craterc alled Kerid.

The drive from Gulfoss to Skogofoss was beautiful. Little beautiful towns peppered the road and it seemed like around every corner there was something interesting enough to get our attention.

So after about an hour and a half, we found Kerid...barely. Kerid was a crater from about 6500 years ago. And it was big. This picture doesn't really do it justice. You can't see it, but there is a person on the horizon. It was MASSIVE and Cristie kept trying to fall in. Gotta love that girl. :)

After a long two hour ride we finally arrived at Skofoss and it too, was AMAZING! Unlike Gullfoss, which was really wide with lots of rocks, Skogofoss was amazingly tall. We took some pictures of it and Cristie declared that she preferred it to Gullfoss, even though in my humble opinion, Gullfoss blows it out of the water.

Cristie got too close. :)

Iceland Summary

Iceland was great! We were both really glad that we came back and that we actually had time to spend enjoying this wonderful country. Iceland is very beautiful in its own distinct way and the people are very friendly and nice. I would recommend Iceland to anyone! Iceland is my home.

Coming Soon: Norway and Denmark

Blog Blog Bloggity Blog....

2011-07-26T23:58:00.001-06:00

New blog posts, coming soon...Dang it's been a looooong time.

THE 50 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.

2010-12-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

So here it is...You are welcome to disagree, but you will be wrong. These are the best albums...ever.

50. The Doors “Waiting for the Sun” (1968)

Best Doors album. Most people gravitate to their first album, but I like "Waiting." "Hello, I Love You" is my favorite Doors track. They are a lot like Queen in that they have some BRILLIANT songs, but they do not have many albums that are awesome from start to finish.
49. Rolling Stones “Let it Bleed” (1969)
One of two Stones albums in the Top 50. "Let it Bleed" has "Gimme Shelter" which almost puts it in the Top 50 alone, but "Love in Vain," "Midnight Rambler," "You Can't Always Get...." It's just a great album.
48. Rush “Moving Pictures” (1981)
My friend Andrew said that this list would likely include "too much Rush." Well, only two albums, and no Top 50 can be without "Moving Pictures." I do find it amazing that so many manly men love Rush with Geddy Lee's shrill voice. I dunno, it just works. Can you imagine someone like Eddie Vedder singing "Tom Sawyer"?
47. Stevie Wonder “Talking Book” (1972)
Stevie Wonder is one of the most underrated singer/songwriters ever. More people know the Eddie Murphy skit more than they actually know Stevie Wonder. To me, this is his greatest album, which includes his greatest song (and one of the greatest pop songs ever) "I Believe." It may be difficult for some, due to its 70s feel, but it's a great album if you give it a try.
46. Dave Brubeck Quartet “Time Out” (1959)
I feel gross in that my favorite jazz album is by a white dude, but what can i say, I LOVE "Take Five."

45. Lenny Kravitz “Mamma Said” (1991)
This was Kravitz's second album and easily his best. His other albums seem to be channeling Jimi (and if i wanted to listen to Jimi, I would) but this one is more of a pop album. Most everyone has heard, "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," which is the best track on the album, but "Always on the Run," "All I Ever Wanted," "Butterfly" etc., there are very few fillers on this album. If you like 60s pop, you should try this album out .44. U2 “The Joshua Tree” (1987)
I am sure that some of you would put this in the Top 10, and to you I ask, have you ever listened to the second half of the album? Agreed, the first have is AMAZING, but the second half is blah. Regardless, it's a great album.

43. REM "Out of Time" (1991)
1991 marked the year that I started getting into all types of music. Up til then, it was butt rock only (metal). When "Losing My Religion" came out, I LOVED it. I went out, bought the album and it stayed in my CD Player for about a week straight. And for those of you who know me well (and know the fact that most times I can barely make it through a track or two) you know that's amazing.

42. Grateful Dead “American Beauty” (1970)
Easily the best Dead album. The Dead are one of those bands where EVERYONE bought the greatest hits and few went deeper than that. "American Beauty" is proof that they are missing out. I am sure if I were pot-head it would even be higher, but in my clear-minded state, it stays at #42.
41. Beck “Midnight Vultures” (1999)
Probably the last great album of the 90s. It seems that Beck likes to alternate between folky accoustic albums and weird-ass alt pop. This is the latter. And it's GREAT.

40. Tegan & Sara “The Con” (2007)
I was encouraged to deepen my appreciation of Tegan and Sara by my friend, Wendy. The first album I bought was "The Con." It was amazing! I had only heard a track or two ("Walking with a Ghost") before buying this album, but it's really good, especially "Call It Off" and "Back in Your Head."

39. Indigo Girls “Swamp Ophelia” (1994)
Yep, the Indigo Girls. Love them, unapologetically. I love folk and were the best during the 90s.

38. Duncan Sheik “Duncan Sheik” (1996)
You have all heard "Barely Breathing" but you are really missing out on a great album. You may commit suicide, seeing how it is one of the most depressing albums about love lost ever, but I could listen to this 1,000,000 times and never tire of it.

37. Rush “Roll the Bones” (1991)
Back to ole 1991--one of my favorite years for music, it seems. This was a pretty atypical album for Rush. Less hard rock and Geddy Lee actually sounds like a man through most of this album. This was the album that converted me to Rush. 7th grade...Good times.

36. The Flaming Lips “The Soft Bulletin” (1999)
I used to be pretty critical of the Flaming Lips (based on that song from Batman 3) until Ben suggested that I give them another try. Good suggestion. This album is great as is "War With the Mystics."

35. The Beatles “Abbey Road” (1969)
Used to be my favorite Beatles album. I still really like it and it has two of George Harrison's best songs (Here Comes the Sun, Something) so that's a plus. But really, Let It Be and The White Album are both better.

34. Smashing Pumpkins “Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness” (1995)
The Smashing Pumpkins were everything that was right with 90s alt rock. This is their magnum opus and still rocks. Just like The White Album, there is a lot of filler on here and if they weened all that crap off (like Radiohead did with Kid A) this would be a top 20 albums for sure.

33. Bjork “Post” (1995)
Bjork is an acquired taste. And that's putting it lightly. But once you do acquire it, you love it! She's just as odd as she is amazing. If you just want a taste, try "Army of Me."

32. Rolling Stones “Sticky Fingers” (1971)
Classic Stones album. What to say? Um Wild Horses is one of the best Stones songs ever. And one of two Andy Warhol designed albums covers in the Top 50. That's a neat trivia fact.

31. The Beatles “The Beatles” (White Album) (1968)
The White Album has some of the greatest pop compositions of all time...Mixed in with some of the most innane, unnecessary filler ever used. On the one hand you have Revolution 9, Blackbird, and Happiness is a Warm Gun and on the other you have Dont Pass Me By, Yer Blues, and Long, Long, Long. Really? I actually took the step to compile a version of the White Album without filler. It's a top 10 album for me.

30. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
Okay, raise your hand if you own S&G's greatest hits...Now raise your hand if you own ANY studio albums by S&G? No one? You are all missing out. Especially this one. Granted, half of the songs are on the Greatest Hits, but it is a really great album. Give it a shot. "Only Living Boy in New York" was the biggest omission from the GH collection.

29. Sigur Ros “( )” (2002)
Possibly the oddest album on the list. Icelandic art rock band that uses a made up language with Icelandic and English...and none of the tracks are titled...And the Album name is " ( ) ". But such a beautiful album. I could (and have) put this album on repeat and just listened to it for hours. Haunting stuff.

28. Vampire Weekend “Vampire Weekend” (2008)
I bought this album because I saw the cover said, "huh, that looks neat." (And no, I am not joking.) This was one of the best surprises I have ever come across. Really interesting minimalist indie rock album. And after I bought it, I said, "Oh! I know that song from "Step Brothers" and "I Love You, Man" ! It is pretty weird sounding, but good stuff.

27. Dave Matthews Band “Before These Crowded Streets” (1998)
I kind of bought this album...while I was on my mission. I felt that I HAD to hear it. So i bought listened to it about 5x and then sent it home. Do I regret it? Not really. It was good. I am sure God will forgive me. ;) With Alanis and Bela Fleck as guests on the album, you know this is a great album.

26. Rihanna “Rated R” (2009)
Only R&B album on the list other than Stevie Wonder. The problem with R&B is that is gets dated so quickly. Seriously, how many of you have listened to your old Bell Biv DeVoe album in the last 10 years (and for the record, I have and it's still pretty awesome). This album isnt the typical dancy-pop-y R&B you find on most Top 40 stations, this one's pretty dark and angry. And amazing.

25. Ben Folds “Rockin’ The Suburbs” (2001)
Released on 9/11/01. So much for marketing this album, right? I didnt hear it for a few weeks and it quickly blossomed into one of my favorite nerd pop albums. I LOVE Ben Folds. His lyrics are funny, his music is fun and sing-along-able and who doesnt like pop that drops the F-Bomb now and again? It's refreshing. :D

24. Pink Floyd “The Division Bell” (1994)
Okay, hold on to your hats...This was my first Pink Floyd album and other than "Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2" it had the first Floyd songs that I could recognize on their own. (This was in jr. high, so give me a break.) This used to be my favorite album, but it hasn't aged as well as other albums, including some of Floyd's other albums, but still a great album.

23. Bob Dylan “Blonde on Blonde” (1966)
Most consider this Bob's greatest album. And it's good, don't get me wrong, it's actually the 23rd best album of all-time ;) But he has done better. Like most double albums that aren't greatest hits, there is a lot of filler on here, but it still has some of his best stuff like I Want You, Stuck Inside of Memphis, and 4th Time Around.

22. Radiohead “The Bends” (1995)
This is the easiest way to determine if someone is a real Radiohead fan. The casual listener probably isn't that familiar with this brilliant album. They still hadnt hit their stride like they do in Kid A, but this was definitely a step in the right direction from Pablo Honey.

21. Ben Folds “Songs for Silverman” (2005)
Name the oddest guest artist on this album...Weird Al. And no, I am not kidding. But don't let that deter you, it is a great album. A little light near the end of the album, but a great one nonetheless.

20. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
The best Beatles album ever. That's right. They went out on top. But you're probably shocked that their top album is #20. Sorry, the Beatles are great, but not the best.

19. The Velvet Underground “Loaded” (1970)
If you are not familiar with VU, stop what you're doing right now and go by this and "VU with Nico" They are the fathers (and mother, i guess) of modern alt rock. I know you've heard of Lou Reed, well he was their front man. Seriously, if you love classic rock or alt rock, check this out, you won't regret it.

18. Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA” (1984)
One of the great albums of the 80s. #1 album with seven (yes, i said SEVEN) top 10 hits...pretty impressive considering there were only 12 tracks in total. Interesting fact: "Born in the USA" which most people think of as this "go america rah-rah" song is actually a pretty cynical song about the treatment of Vietnam Vets post war. There is an alternate version on "Tracks" that is definitely worth checking out.

17. Pink Floyd “The Wall” (1979)
One of the best double albums of all-time with barely, if any, filler. Solid from beginning to end. And whereas I tend to be a David Gilmour/Pink Floyd fan, this is more of a Roger Waters/Pink Floyd album. That doesnt take anything away from it. It's brilliant.

16. Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin III” (1970)
I bought this album in 6th grade after much deliberation and contemplation....Actually it was $5 at Kmart and had heard of Led Zeppelin, so I thought I would buy it. What a GREAT album. I dont know if there is a better Track 1/Side 1 than "Immigrant Song." Zeppelin's first four albums are amazing, but this one is easily their best.

15. The Killers “Day & Age” (2008)
I don't know if I would have given The Killers a chance were it not for Cristie. She liked them, and I bought the albums for her, but it just didn't look appealing. She kind of forced it on me, and it took. Much like Bono said, I think twenty years from now, The Killers will still be well regarded. Kind of like the next generation's U2.

14. The Killers “Hot Fuss” (2004)
It's funny. One of the things I get self conscious about is when two albums by the same artists end up in order in any list. I consider it lazy. But I kept comparing Hot Fuss with Darkness and Day&Age with III and I couldnt really change it. So here they are...together. "Hot Fuss" is easily one of the best rock albums of the 2000s. "All These Things That I've Done" was the first song that got me on board and there have been times where this has been the only cd in my car for days. This will be a classic.

13. Bruce Springsteen “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978)
One of the only albums from my birth year. "Darkness" was released three years after the greatest album of all time and while not as complete as "Born to Run," there is a dark quality to "Darkness" that is hard to pin down. There are still some stadium rocking tracks on here, like "Badlands" (Springsteen's best live track) but there are also som really deep tracks as well, like "Darkness." And if you like this album, go buy "The Promise." Only the Boss could have two extra albums worth of outtakes that didnt make the final cut that are worthy of their own releases.

12. The Velvet Underground “The Velvet Underground & Nico” (1967)
One of the best debut albums ever. At the same time experimental and alternative, VU took rock in a whole new direction and music would not sound like it does today without their influence....We would probably still have crap that all sounded like the Beatles (not that they're bad, just that VU's direction was better). I was introduced to them in Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" and their track "Heroin." What a lovely introduction....

11. The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” (1966)
I kept trying to raise this album a few extra places because I love it, but it is where it is. "Pet Sounds" to me is great pop album (I have a hard time when people call The Beach Boys "rock"). Not only does this album have "God Only Knows," but it is widely known that this album inspired "Sgt. Peppers" which most people (fools) consider the best album ever. Still, it's a good album, but nothing compared to this.

10. The White Stripes “White Blood Cells” (2001)
I am a big fan of Phil Spector's production. I think the "wall of sound" made music better. That being said, nothing makes The White Stripes as brilliant as they are with their minimalism. It's stripped down, natural rock. And it is UNBELIEVABLE. I would love to hear a Phil Spector'ed version of this album just to prove myself right, but it's beauty is in its simplicity.

9. Bruce Springsteen “Magic” (2007)
The Boss is not a big fan of President GW Bush. At all. This album is basically an artist's response to the Bush era, from its overreaching wiretapping and disregard for privacy to "Last to Die" about the War in Iraq. The Boss has always been poltically, but this is his most political album, by far.

8. Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973)
Dark Side was on the Billboard Top 200 for longer than any other album ever. I attribute that to the fact that the first time anyone ever smokes weed, they kind of feel they need this and "Skeleton's In the Closest." As for me, after "Division Bell" and "The Wall" this was my next stop. Still an amazing mix of rock and jazz. "Us and Them" is the best example of this type of fusion.

7. Bob Dylan “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” (1963)
Dylan's bes complete album and coincidentally, his best album cover. (I am jealous of all of you old farts who got to buy records.) Blowin in the Wind, Don't Think Twice, Hard Rain, Oxford Town...man this album is just SOLID. Who wouldn't be a hippie after listening to this? Well, me. Hippies reek. But it's still amazing.

6. The White Stripes “Elephant” (2003)
Even better than "White Blood Cells," Elephant opens with another brilliant Track 1/Side 1 ("Seven Nation Army"). The thing that really separates The White Stripes from other bands is that they obviously still believe in the album. They care about the full listening experience and are not writing albums to release singles. Minimalist, rocking, and awesome.

5. Beck “Odelay” (1996)
I bought "Odelay" DESPITE "Loser," not because of it. I had heard good things, worked in a music store (which gave me an awesome discount), and loved "Where It's At?" After one listen, i became hooked and have been a huge Beck fan ever since. Much like Springsteen, Beck releases loud rock based albums alternatively with accoustic personal albums--and both artists nail both genres. This is one of, if not THE most complete album from start to finish.

4. Miike Snow “Miike Snow” (2009)
I know, I know...Who? I first read about Miike Snow in EW. They were talking about how they (yes, they not he) produced Britney Spears' song "Toxic" which is an amazing song. So I thought I would give it a shot. What a result. Also an amazing complete album where you don't really focus on individual tracks, but rather the whole composition. The best way to describe it would be ambient pop, i guess. Every person I have talked to that has actually heard them, really likes them. So I don't think it's just me, but even if it is, I am fine with that.

3. Radiohead “Kid A” (2000)
What can you say about Radiohead's "Kid A"? Here is a band that was wildy successful as an alt rock band and then they release this, potentially alienating most of their fans. It was an electronica/experimental album that sounded NOTHING like anything they had ever released. And what became of it? The best album of the decade...ten short months into the decade.

2. The Who “Who’s Next” (1971)
So I didn't grow up a Who fan. In fact, other than "Baba O'Riley" (I know, what song? you probably think it's called "Teenage Wasteland," I did) I couldn't name very many other songs. At least that's what I thought. So I bought this album and after listening a couple of times, I thought this was a greatest hits album. It is THAT good.

1 Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
I know, this shocks ALL of you...But seriously, it IS the best album ever. My only critique would be its length (8 tracks at 39:26). Though many think this is a Spector-produced album, Springsteen, Landau and Appel recreated "the wall of sound" on their own to create the ultra-rich sound of BtR." In fact, The Boss said in an interview that he wasnt sure how many guitars were on the title track, there were so many. Along with the title track which is the best song of all time, you have Thunder Road, Tenth Ave Freeze Out, Night, Backstreets, She's the One, Meeting Across the Rive, and Jungleland....I was only going to list the best songs, but see what I mean? They are all AMAZING. If you dont' own this album, you are missing out on one of the best experiences you will ever have.

I hope you guys liked my list. I would love to hear what you think I left off or what you agree/disagree with/ thanks for reading!

The Top 100 (part II, #51-100)

2010-12-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here is Part II, The Top 50 will be up tomorrow or the next day....

51. Alison Krauss "Forget About It" You have to love Alison Krauss's voice. It's just pretty. This is less bluegrass-y that you usually expect from her. It's more like Adult Contemporary, but it's just a lovely, nice album. "Forget About It" is by far the best track, one of my all-time favorites.

52. Daft Punk "Discovery" Half of this album would be in my Top 25. The other half it mediocre at best. But still...That good half is AMAZING. "Harder Better Faster Stronger" is the standout track. It's kind of like their album "Homework" two awesome tracks with a lot of blah.

53. Bob Dylan “Blood on the Tracks” Blood on the Tracks has my very favorite Dylan song, "Tangled Up in Blue." The album as a whole is not as engaging as some of his other albums, but it's a good one. But if somone asked me to recommend a Dylan album, this would only be the third best studio album, IMHO.

54. The Strokes “Is This It?” This is one of my favorite "The" bands and a great, simple rock album. One of the downsides is that it's only like 37 minutes. "Someday" is the stand out track.

55. Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” I thought about leaving Jazz off of the list entirely (like i did for classical) at the risk of looking like a pretenious ass. But seeing how I AM a pretentious ass, I left it on. This is Davis's best album. I love "Bitches Brew" too, but this album is how jazz should sound. Bitches Brew is a little too...experimental. This is my second favorite jazz album. "Freddie Freeloader" is the best track.

56. Radiohead “OK Computer” Let the cries of disdain begin. Sorry guys, OK Computer is only the third best album by Radiohead. Some of the tracks like "Airbag" and "Karma Police" are amazing, but there ARE better albums. "Lucky" is my favorite track.

57. Dave Matthew Band “Under the Table and Dreaming” I owe my appreciation of DMB to Jim Carper. Up to that point, the only song I knew was "What Would You Say?" which I still hate. But the first time you hear "Satellite" I just dont know how you could NOT like DMB. It's funny, I still remember debating my boss at Einstein's whether DMB or Hootie would come out on top. I won. :)

58. Jimi Hendrix “Are You Experienced?” Some will disagree, but I think if you own "Are You Experienced?" you have all the Jimi you need. This is a great rock album, period. Most will argue that "Purple Haze" or "Foxey Lady" is the best track. Wrong. "Fire" is.

59. Jane’s Addiction “Ritual De Lo Habitual” I was converted to Jane's Addiction with "Been Caught Stealing" when I was in 7th grade? I think? Anyway, I pushed this album on a lot of my friends and I have to say...It didn't catch on like I thought it would :( It's not really alt rock, not really standard rock, but it is AWESOME. "Stop" is a great "Track One." What a great way to start an album.

60. A Tribe Called Quest “Midnight Marauders” One of the finest Hip Hop albums ever. One of the problems though, and this can be said about most Hip Hop, is that it dates itself pretty easily. No one would confuse this album with, say Kanye's newer stuff. It's still good and you can't help but move to "Award Tour" but like I said, it's kind of dated.

61. Dave Matthew Band “Crash” "Crash" is a really good album. "Crash Into Me" is one of my very favorites, as is "Say Goodbye" but I just dont love the album from start to finish.

62. Lily Allen “It’s Not Me, It’s You” One of the few "Top 40" albums on my list, really biting, mean pop. You gotta respect it's uniqueness.

63. Bruce Springsteen “The Rising” Kind of a "9/11" concept album. The highs are REALLY high ("The Rising") and the lows are unfortunately, low ("Mary's Place")? Still a great album.

64. Pearl Jam “Vs.” You're probably thinking, oh this is fine, I am sure "Ten" is higher. It's not. This is a better album. "Elderly Woman..." is in my Top 25 songs of all time.

65. David Bowie “Earthling” You won't beleive this...This was my first Bowie album. Loved it, bought some of his other albums expecting the same...and they were NOTHING like this, but equally brilliant. Yay, Bowie. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is the best track"

66. U2 “Achtung Baby” Whenever I see this album cover I think, "ugh. dated jr. rock album" and then I look at the tracks and am amazed by the strength of this album. Duh. "One" is the best cut.

67. Alanis Morisette “Jagged Little Pill” Another "Top 40" album and SO complete. (If you haven't noticed, I really value albums that are strong from start to finish. This is one of them.)

68. Faith No More “Angel Dust” One of the best hard rock albums of all time. COMPLETELY underrated. If you like 80s/90s hard rock, check this out.

69. Metallica “…And Justice for All” When I think about 6th grade, I think about Metallica. And when I think about Metallica, I think about "One."

70. Willie Nelson “The Great Divide” This album kind of got ripped apart by the critics. F them. This is a good album of mostly duets. "Be There for You" with LeeAnn Womack is the best track, but really there are about 4 others that could take that claim.

71. Gorillaz “Plastic Beach” Typical weird-ass Gorillaz album.

72. Dixie Chicks “Taking the Long Way Home” This was a really brave album after they got evicerated by all the mindless country fans. I don't care if you like their politics or not, they are an amazing pop country group.

73. Brian Jonestown Massacre “Strung Out in Heaven” Do you like documentaries and music? Go rent "DiG!" one of the best rock documentaries I have EVER seen. And after, go buy this album. It was released in the 2000s but sounds like its straight out of 1968.

74. John Mayer “Continuum” Oh, shut up. I know you're probably "too cool" to like it, but it's a good album. "Gravity" and "Stop This Train" are awesome.

75. Damien Rice “O” Folky, indie rock. You have probably heard "Blower's Daughter" (in the movie "Closer") or "Cannonball" (in "In Good Company") or "Delicate" (which was in "Lost") See? You just need to give this guy a shot! You probably already like him.

76. The Mavericks “Songs for All Occasions”

77. Guns n Roses “Appetite for Destruction”

78. Kanye West “Graduation”

79. Pearl Jam “Backspacer”

80. Gnarls Barkley “The Odd Couple”

81. Missy Elliott “Under Construction”

82. Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin II”

83. Jude “No One Is Really Beautiful”

84. Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto “Getz/Gilberto”

85. Grateful Dead Working Man’s Dead”

86. The Clash “London Calling”

87. Neil Young “After the Gold Rush”

88. Dixie Chicks “Fly”

89. Beck “Sea Changes”

90. Pink “Funhouse”

91. Missy Elliott “The Cookbook”

92. Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”

93. Coldplay “Vida la Vida”

94. Beck “Mutations”

95. Gnarls Barkley “St. Elsewhere”

96. Flaming Lips “At War with the Mystics”

97. Stereolab “Emperor Tomato Ketchup”

98. Wu Tang Clan “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)”

99. Nine Inch Nails “Broken”

100. Peter Gabriel “So”

The Almost Top 100....

2010-12-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

So being the compulsive list-er that I am, last night I sat in front of my albums and slowly widdled my list down...To 150. And then I widdled THAT down to 100. So here are the 50 that almost made the Top 100, in order. (Oh by the way, I also decided to do the Top 100 instead of Top 50. Too many albums to choose from....) So here they are, in order. Enjoy! (And tell me what you think!) The Top 100 will come in the next day or two, I need to go over it a few more times and write a little about the top 25 or 50.

101. David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust”

102. Cat Stevens “Tea for Tillerman”
103. Johnny Cash “American IV: The Man Comes Around”
104. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black”
105. B.o.B. “B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”
106. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”
107. Nine Inch Nails “The Downward Spiral”
108. Elliot Smith “Either/Or”
109. Queen “Jazz”
110. Poison “Flesh & Blood”
111. Jimmy Buffett “Far Side of the World”
112. Joni Mitchell “Blue”
113. Weezer “Weezer” (The Blue Album)
114. Elton John “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
115. Beastie Boys “Licensed To Ill”
116. Massive Attack “Protection”
117. Elton John “Elton John”
118. Nirvana “In Utero”
119. Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin I”
120. Nick Drake “Bryter Layter”
121. Patti Smith “Horses”
122. The Beatles “Help!”
123. Miles Davis “Bitches Brew”
124. Elton John “Songs from the West Coast”
125. Ben Folds Five “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messener”
126. Willie Nelson “Teatro”
127. Bob Dylan “Slow Train Coming”
128. Eminem “The Slim Shady LP”
129. Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version”
130. Nirvana “Nevermind”
131. Poison “Open Up and Say…Ahh!”
132. Depeche Mode “Some Great Reward”
133. Notorious B.I.G. “Ready to Die”
134. John Coltrane “A Love Supreme”
135. Rolling Stones “Exile on Main Street”
136. Led Zeppelin “Led Zeppelin IV”
137. Bruno Mars “Doo-Wops & Hooligans”
138. Rush “Hold Your Fire”
139. Jack Johnson “Sleep Through the Static”
140. Dr. Dre “The Chronic”
141. Third Eye Blind “Third Eye Blind”
142. Notorious B.I.G. “Life After Death”
143. Erasure “Cowboy”
144. Barenaked Ladies “Everything to Everyone”
145. Garth Brooks “The Chase”
146. Tracy Chapman “New Beginning”
147. Billy Joel “The Stranger”
148. George Strait “Blue Clear Sky”
149. Regina Spector “Begin to Hope”
150. Suicidal Tendencies “Lights, Camera…Revolution”

My Thoughts on the Election....

2010-11-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Wow....so I have sucked at blogging lately. I promise I will try and do better. :( In the mean time, I thought I would do a quick blog on the election.

I don't understand this "send a message to Washington" nonsense. What message is this? That the voters have changed their minds? With electing Obama, voters knew that he would be pushing for universal healthcare, and that he was pro-big government....So what is this message?

Now I am not saying that Obama is perfect. As most of you know, I was not a big fan of the bailout or the actual form of healthcare passed. But again, I knew what I was in for (and I said it before and I will say it again, Hillary would have been MUCH better.)

And here's the other thing....for all my republican friends....If you are going to send a message, why not send a message with intelligent, moderate, and rational people. Rand Paul? Seriously? The man is a buffoon. I cannot believe he is the new face of the republican party. Marco Rubio is less crazy, but crazy nonetheless. It's not like we Democrats turned the tables by electing a slew of Al Sharptons and Dennis Kucinichs. I just don't get it. But hey, it's your funeral. I pray that Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney run in 2012. That would be awesome.

Relatedly, I saw on The Daily Show a compilation of John McCain saying, "Washington is broken. We need to fix Washington..." over the last 25 years! It was hilarious. Either he sucks at fixing Washington or he is part of the problem. Poor John McCain. Senility at its worst....

As far as local politics, I don't understand the overwhelming majority of people who voted for Gary Herbert-- nothing against him (though i am not necessarily a fan), but why did only 30% of Utahns vote for Peter Corroon? A fiscally conservative moderate who is very similar to Jim Matheson....Is it simply because his party rhymes with memoplat? I think that's most of it, but the negative campaigning didn't help. In Utah, negative campaigning works for Republicans, but not Democrats.

Matheson = Pelosi (OK)
Look at the kickbacks that Herbert has been giving to his cronies (NOT OK)

Obviously, I am frustrated. Why do the fringes matter so much to us? Why can't we govern from middle? And here is a question that I propose to you that consider yourselves "conservative": How on Earth do you consider Harry Reid to be a bleeding-heart pinko-commie bastard liberal? Give me some examples, please.

And for those of you who think that I have lost all of my sense of humor, here is a video that a friend (a right winger, to be specific) made about me. I think it's hilarious. Well done, Bruce.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7588311/

8 Reasons Why Cristie Is Awesome and I Love Her

2010-07-12T19:17:00.000-06:00

So as most of you know....Today is Cristie and my eighth anniversary! :) I know, I know....It's hard to believe. Eight long years she has put up with me. (She should get some kind of prize or commendation, right?) Anyway, at the suggestion of my awesome sister-in-law, Candice, I am going to give you the top 8 reasons why Cristie is awesome and why I love her....(get it? one for each year!)

8. Cristie still laughs at my jokes...and makes me laugh too. Now for me, this is an easy one. Even a gimme. Why wouldn't you laugh at all my jokes? They...are....HILARIOUS! Well, no one laughs at all my jokes (except for me) and next to me, Cristie laughs. A lot. I haven't really figured it out if they are charity laughs or real ones. But she makes me feel good. Either way, seeing her laugh makes me happy. In addition, she makes me laugh too. We both have kind of twisted sense of humor, and we "get" each other. That's a pretty big deal. The only times she doesn't laugh is when I say something inappropriate....(but I know she has to be laughing on the inside, right?)

7. Cristie has awesome taste in film and music. For the most part, we agree on music (unless it's jazz or Motley Crue, COME ON, CRISTIE!) and movies (unless its my Schwartzenegger or her Victorian nonsense). As I am sure you can understand, to me, that is a B-I-G deal. If I couldn't agree on that stuff with Cristie we would have A LOT of free time on our hands. One of the coolest things is that I think we have both helped each other grow in the appreciation of each medium. If not for her, I don't know if I would have ever seen Bend it Like Beckham, Pride and Prejudice, or Wait Until Dark--all really good movies. So yeah, it's nice to have a compadre. Now if I can just get her past her Rated R hangup.... ;)

6. Cristie is an awesome bird mother. You might think this is a LAME reason, but if you know us, you know it's not. She loves that bird (more than me? Who knows...I am not going to think about it) and that means a lot. I remember when we thought our bird had cancer (no I am not joking) and we were both so worried. Just seeing her care about the bird makes me happy. It's really cute....Even if I am the one who feeds the bird and changes her cage liners, Cristie and Bird have a really adorable relationship.

5. Cristie is really smart. Like super-smart. One thing that I love about Cristie is that we can have really deep conversations and she is either with me or besting me the whole way. And she knows a lot of everything. Greek mythology? Check. Shakespeare? Check. Cooking? Check. Baseball? Check (in fact, when we lived in Seattle, she could tell you the Mariners' starting lineup!). Politics? Double Check. See what I mean? The only thing she is not well-versed in are dirty jokes and hunting. And who cares about hunting? ;)

4. Cristie is a top-notch travel buddy/navigator. Let me clarify. Cristie used to be HORRIBLE. She would either sleep or get us lost. And now? She is probably the greatest living navigator. Even better than the boy on Flight of the Navigator (yes, that good). See, we don't believe in navigation systems. Half of the fun is getting there, right? So we use maps. And Cristie is amazing. It all started in Europe last year and she has just increased upon that. Cristie is also A LOT of fun on trips. See, I like a rigid gameplan--everything planned down to the "t." Cristie helps me relax and take it easy on trips. She helps me see things that I wouldnt see otherwise. That's a pretty awesome thing. I would travel with her anywhere....Well, other than another sculpture museum, I am done with those.

3. Cristie is a great cuddler. Cristie is a world-class cuddler. Since she has been gone, I get up at 6:16am every morning, regardless of when I got to bed. I hate lying in bed. But Cristie somehow tricks me into cuddling all the time. She is just nice to be around. And she smells nice. With "red death" (it's a blanket) or "the coccoon" (a different blanket) who wouldn't want to cuddle with her? And she chooses to cuddle with me. I can't blame you, but good job on that.

2. Cristie is super-duper patient. I require loads of patience. From my political rants, to my endless sarcasm, to my obnoxious joking ("which part?"), to my "I'm not touching you" moments, I can only imagine the effort she expends. But she does so, with the greatest of ease....nearly all the time ;)

1. Cristie likes me. Even more than when she cooks "Two-on-Two" for me, Cristie lets me be me and doesn't try to change me. I am not perfect (though darn close) and Cristie just loves me no matter what. Now I know I said "likes" instead of "loves," but I think it's easier to love someone than it is to "like" them. You know, that whole, "there will always be a place in my heart..." stuff. I can go along with that, but to like someone, well, that's something entirely different. Cristie likes me and I like her. And I am glad she stuck around me for so long. I love you, shube.

Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-ah-ohhhhhhhhhhh.

Top 10 Movies of 2009....Whoops.

2010-07-07T22:19:00.004-06:00

So every year I rank my top 10 movies. I literally have done this since about 1997. Why would I do such a thing? Um, I don't know. But I DO love making lists! So that is part of it, I guess. So there are still about 5-6 movies I would like to see to make this list complete (Bright Star, The Cove, Crazy Heart, An Education, and A Single Man) but that's just TFB for them because it's JULY. So anyway, (and this list is usually done in January) here it is...

#10. (500) Days of Summer.

So if you didn't know this, I love relationship movies. Not necessarily "romance" (though i love those too) but I love to see relationships. I think that is why I love Woody Allen so much. I don't think he could tell a story if it didn't revolve around some messed up couple. Anyway, so I found this story interesting, the acting very well done (though Joseph Gordon-Levitt or whatever his name is looks like he is going to cry...all the time.) The soundtrack was also awesome. So yeah, if you are looking for the 10th best movie of the year, this is it.

#9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Do I really need to expound on why Harry Potter is awesome? This was BY FAR the best of the HP movies yet, and that is saying something. Though I have to admit, the number of children's movies on my list this year is somewhat off-putting. What is wrong with me?

#8. The Hangover

Do you want to see a really hilarious movie with Andy Bernard (Ed Helms)? You do?! Well, The Hangover is perfect for that! That is unless you don't watch rated R movies, which if is the case...too bad for you, because you are missing out. This movie is AWESOME. Oh and Mike Tyson is in it, too! Did I mention that I love Ed Helms? He is so awesome. Besides, it's barely rated R, it only dropped the F bomb about 80 times, for example.

#7. Avatar

So how badly did I want to see Avatar? Was I geeking out, counting down the days, counting every second? Um....no. First of all, I hate science fiction. Second of all, I find it...gross, I guess, that James Cameron is treated like a cinematic god...Yes, I admit, Titanic was awesome. But The Abyss sucked. And everything else are good sci-fi. It's not like he's Martin Scorsese. Anyway, the only reason I saw this was because it was nominated for Best Picture. And...well...yeah, it was awesome. Unfortunately for me, I had to watch it in 3-D (which is awful), but I later watched it on blu-ray and it was even more awesome.

#6. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

So...I wasn't really looking forward to watching this. I know, I know...but it looks so cute and funny. No, in reality, I had a ticket to see this at Sundance last year and the weather prevented me from seeing it. But then it got nominated for Best Picture, so I had to see it. Anyway, I found the story really sad and super f'ed up. And then I was saying how you should not watch this movie if you are depressed and then my friend Wendy suggested that if you were depressed, watching a movie like this could possibly put things into perspective. Yeah, so stop crying for yourself, because your life could be soooooo much more messed up. But the acting in this movie? WOW. Gabrielle Sidibe was lights out and should have won the Oscar. Same for Mo'Nique (or however she apostrophe's her name). And Mariah Carey? Who cares? She was a throwaway compared to those two.

#5. The Damned United

I know what you are thinking...What the F is The Damned United? Well, first off, it's a movie about soccer (I know, I just lost about half of you). And it stars Michael Sheen, whom I love (The Queen, 30 Rock, Frost/Nixon, New Moon). Anyway, it's a true story about one of the most storied soccer coaches in English history. And it's funny and crazy. So go rent it if you want to see a funny movie, or a crazy movie, or a soccer movie, or...um, a really good movie.

#4. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is a great movie set during the Iraq War, yet not necessarily about the Iraq War. It doesn't address the morality of the war or the politics of the war, but simply discusses what war is like. One thing that I think really helps this film move from good to great is the amount of tension throughout. I don't remember very many points where you can just relax and "enjoy" the movie.

#3. Coraline

Hey! I just thought of something! This isn't necessarily a kids' movie! It's PG-13! Yay! So that means there are only two kids movies on my list, phew! So Coraline....My friend Jessica recommended it and I was skeptical. Just reading the box and looking at it, I was like, seriously? And then I watched it. It was so good! It was a great story, with interesting characters, awesome animation, etc., etc. It's very Tim Burton-y, and that's a good thing. So yeah, not really for the kids, but you should totally pick it up for after they go to bed.

#2. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Another kids' movies strikes! Now I don't mind a good kids' movie, but the quality of kids' movies this year was just ridiculous. FMF is stop-motion animation movie about a fox...who, um, likes to eat chicken? And...pissed off a lot of farmers? Okay, I can't do this movie justice by trying to describe it, just get a load of this:
1) Wes Anderson movie
2) George Clooney "stars"
3) Jason Schwartzman is in it!
4) They use the word "cuss" for all cuss words, such as "Un-cuss-ing believable" or "Where the cuss is that?" It's cute.

#1. Up in the Air

Up in the Air was kind of a surprise. It looked good, but it did not look like it had what it takes to be #1. Well, it did. I really, really enjoyed it. If you read my book blog, you know I have an unhealthy fascination with "loneliness" as a theme. (Don't worry, I am not going to go all Catcher in the Rye and try and assassinate someone, I just find it to be the most interesting topic.) In this film, you see Clooney's character and he is pretty awesome (Clooney is awesome, pretty much always, though right?). Anyway, this movie has some really sad parts. But it also has a lot of parts that really make you think and consider all aspects of life...at least it did for me. Oh, and Vera Farminga is hot. That always helps too. :)

So there it is....Thoughts?

RIP: Robert Byrd....And shame on all of you conniving bottomfeeders.

2010-06-28T07:32:00.005-06:00

So for those of you who don't know, the oldest member of the Senate died this morning at 3AM. Byrd served his country for over fifty years and although serving in the Senate is easily the cushiest service possible, he did it because he loved his country. One of the things I have always admired about Byrd was his reputation as the expert on the Senate, its rules, decorum, etc. He loved his job. Why else would you work when you are 92? Well, I guess because he loved it and everyone he knew had already died. (Sorry, but I gotta say, there is nothing wrong with a little morbid humor.)

Byrd was also the longest serving senator (yes, even longer than Strom Thurmond) and he was famous for voting record--I don't mean the content, as much as the consistency. He had over 18,000 roll call votes. As a leader in the Democratic majorities (and minorities) he was truly a leader. He did not treat the senate like a monopoly board and was not vitriolically focused destroying others. He wanted what was best for this country and best for (if you can believe it) West Virginia. (Hey I am proud of Utah, you gotta dance with the girl that brought you, right?)

So what was my point in mentioning the "conniving bottomfeeders"? Well, many conservatives pundits will, no doubt, bring up the fact that as a young man, in the 1940s (!), Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, it's deplorable. Yes, it's embarrassing. BUT IT WAS IN THE 1940s!!!! Anyway, for the past 35 years, Byrd has admitted it was stupid and regrets ever joining the Klan. He claims it was because of the Klan's anti-communist agenda (which they do have) which I believe is nonsense. He joined it because at the time, he was a racist. Hmmm, the South....1940s....white guy....Wow, I can't imagine how that could happen. Anyway, yeah, it was a dark page of his life.

Relatedly, Byrd was also famous for a fourteen-hour filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act...which he has also stated was a mistake and has said on numerous occasions that if he could go back, he would change his vote. Some of you may be thinking...Hmmm, he still sounds like a racist...THAT WAS FORTY-SIX YEARS AGO! How many of your grandfathers (or for that matter, to put Byrd on a level playing field) great-grandfathers were racists back then? I would propose the answer is more than you think.

The great lesson to be learned for Senator Robert Byrd is that people change. You can change. Everyone can change. Here was a stodgy old Southern racist man, who turned out to be a darn good person by his life's end. How inspiring is that? How refreshing? Here is a man from whom we can all learn! But instead, I am sure the pundits and "news" anchors will lead with "Robert Byrd, Senator from West Virginia and former KKK member has died," or something along those lines. It's sad when we as individuals have learned from our lessons, repented of our sins, become better persons...and the only thing that people remember us for is our frailties.

I will remember Senator Byrd as a man who loved his country and a man who can inspire each of us to become a better person. I dare any of you to find a perfect person in this day and age. And to that point, what is more laudable than one who changed his life for the better? RIP, Senator Robert Byrd.

The Update...I Can't Believe It's Been This Long...

2010-06-20T21:16:00.016-06:00

Sooo....Looking for an excuse as to why it has been so long....Looking, looking....Hmmmm....Nope, I can't find one. Sorry. Anyway, it looks as though the last time I posted was October (!) I can't believe that. Anyway, here is my update as to what is new....(If you had forgotten, I LOVE ellipses....)

1) Going to school for my MBA. It's hard. And takes a lot of time. Blech. I am soooo sick of school.

2) Still at 1-800 CONTACTS and loving it. I work with the best people, have a great job, and truly do enjoy my work. I am a lucky man. This is from our latest ad, I always crack up when he says, "MY BRAND!"

3) Our bird is wonderful and still going strong at 6 years old! For a parakeet, I guess that's pretty darned impressive.

4) Since January 2010, I have become a runner. I will have a separate blog about that. Probably tonight. No I am not fast or skinny, I just enjoy it.

5) We bought a new car! Like, I mean really new. A 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6 Limited. I looooove it.

6) We got season tickets for University of Utah football and only two months later...WE GOT INVITED TO THE PAC-10!!! Woo-hoo! This picture is from the Press Conference where they announced. It was pretty rad. That's Larry Scott, the PAC-10 Commissioner.

7) Cristie is still "enjoying" school. She will be the Editor-In-Chief (I think that's the proper title) for the Education Law Journal. She's smart.

8) Cristie is in Seattle all summer long :( She has an awesome internship and is making sweet moolah (unfortunately, without Uncle Rico), so in the end it will be worth it, but as of now, it sucks. Because she is out of town, I have to cook for myself. On the right you will find "Fancy Eggs." (Spinach, peppers, eggs, and black pepper, all from our garden....If by "garden" you mean "Smith's".) I am a chef, I tell you. The one good thing about it is that I get to go and see her in Seattle quite a bit. And you know how love Seattle....Here we are...getting ready to "Ride the Duck." As the esteemed poet once said, "Quack, quack, quack, Mr. Ducksworth." (Can anyone name that movie?)

9) As a quasi-bachelor, I decided I would learn to play the guitar. So I bought a guitar and am now taking lessons.

10) With Cristie gone, I decided to challenge myself to read ten books from May 7 to August 7. I will blog about that separately too.

...And that's what you missed on GLEE.

Three Random(ly Awesome) Lists....

2009-10-23T09:38:00.006-06:00

So I haven't blogged for a long time, but last night in my Marketing class, I wrote down a couple of lists...Yes, that is what I do...I list...for fun. Hey, don't look at me, I am not the one who CHOOSES to be friends with a weirdo-- That's all you, I am stuck with me!

Anyway, here are two lists I came up with, and one that I decided to do seeing that it is so close to Halloween :)

TV COMMERCIALS THAT I DO NOT SKIP ON MY DVR

1. Mac vs. PC. The funny thing about this commercial is that through the years, I have come to accept that John Hodgman actually represents PCs! I know, I know...damn Apple and their trickery, but I love their simple ads...they are the kindest, sweetest attack ads of all-time...I said Mac v. PC ads, but i will also watch iPhone ads or pretty much any Apple ad.

2. Progressive Ads (with Flo). Cristie thinks I am weird for this one, but hey, I think that Flo is adorable. I know the ads are kind of lame, but they always make me smile.

3. *e-Trade. With the talking baby. And I HATE talking babies. But it's funny, what can i say, especially the golf one and the "take these broken wings" one.

4. Movie Trailers. Any of them. I will watch. I am an addict, I accept that. Okay, I DO skip the "Astroboy" ones or for that matter, any trailer geared to the "under 18" crowd.

5. Chevy (Howie Long). It started with the geeky dude with "a trucker's truck" ads. And then they just got better. Especially the "there is ONE thing that we can't compete with Honda on" commercials...

6. Tailgate Tested, Tailgate Approved! These are SO LAME, and I LOVE them for it! The "Grooler", especially. I love the old Asian couple in the audience in that one, they look genuinely shocked at how awesome the "Grooler" is.

7. Dos Exes (The Coolest Man Alive Beer Commerical. I probably misspelled it, and i dont drink beer, but if i did, I would totally drink Dos Exes (sp) just based on how cool that dude is. He rocks.

I am sure there are more, but those are the ones I remember from my list.

BONUS AWARDS
The "Please Retire this Ad, because it was awesome and is now drowning in suckiness" Award- The Geico Cavemen. Holy....crap. I used to LOVE this ad. (the first one) It is soooooooo lame now, when i see it, i phsyically become ill.

The "This Ad has sucked since its inception" Award- Congratuations Geico! You're "This is the money you could be saving from Geico" is arguably, the worst ad of all time. I HATE HATE HATE it.

The "Worst Jingle of All Time" Award- "When it's Real." By Wendys? Okay, yes, you say, if it sticks in your head it's effective. But not if i want to commit murder upon remembering it. It doesn't make me want to eat hamburgers, it makes me want to eat my face. Yuck. (Though if i didnt have this thing against cannibalism, I bet i would totally taste AWESOME.)

TV SHOWS WORTH TiVO'ing (not in order) (if you can't tell, last night's class was on TiVo)

1. Mad Men
2. Curb Your Enthusiasm
3. Dexter
4. Glee
5. South Park (when you wife stares bullets through you for watching it with her in the room, TiVo is a welcome addition)
6. The Office
7. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
8. Bored to Death (maybe? I havent watched it yet, but with TiVo...I CAN... ;) )

...The funny thing is, we don't even own a TiVo. We have a DirecTV DVR...that was kind of the point in class, that poor TiVo, which has become the universal word for "recording" (like "google" for "search") has financially, made basically nothing. Their marketing sucked.

And now....

THE TOP 10 SCARIEST MOVIES OF ALL-TIME

Now to clarify, these are not my favorite horror movies, per se, but the scariest movies. Otherwise, the list would probably be 10 zombie movies.

**Along with the ranking, I include a 1-10 scale of how rewatchable it is (will it still scare you on repeat viewings) 10 means you can totally rewatch it and it will still scare the crap out of you.**

The Ring- Without a doubt, the scariest movie of all-time. (10)
The Shining- I STILL hate going around corners in hotels. If I saw two creepy twins holding hands, I guarantee I would crap my pants. (10)
Rosemary's Baby- The premise and the ending of this movie is what is so scary. Baby of the devil? Yeah, that's pretty scary (7)
Paranormal Activity- Haunting movie. No blood and guts. I have seen it twice and thinking about it afterwards is frightening...It doesnt help that the upstairs of my house looks like theirs... (8)
The Strangers- Don't watch this while staying at a cabin with only a couple of you there...I guarantee that would freak you out (7)
The Exorcist- Ready for some blasphemy? Needs to be re-made. The SX are kinda weak, but it still scares the crap out of me. (5)
Frailty- SUCH AN AWESOME MOVIE. Great premise. Some very scary parts (4)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)- One of the best classics. Feels "more real" than the others (NOES, FT13, Halloween) (7)
Night of the Living Dead- Classic. First zombie movie and i dare you to watch it with the volume up, in the pitch black all alone. (6)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)- Not as scary as NOTLD, but still really scary. The first time you see a "running zombie" your blood will curl. (5)
Stir of Echoes- One of the most underrated scary movies. There are a few scenes where I literally jumped out of my seat! (4)
Poltergeiest- I still hate clown. I still hate trees outside my window. I still worry that my house may be on an unearthed cemetary. And TV static, thankfully, is a thing of the past...(4)
The Lady in White- Arguably, the second best non-R rated scary movie. And I bet you havent seen it. (3)
Halloween- Classic slasher flick. (5)
The Thing- Another one of those wide open places scary movies...No wonder I am an agoraphobic. (5)

Well, there it is, three awesome lists, just for you. ;)

The 25 Best TV Shows of All-Time and Why...

2009-08-17T10:19:00.002-06:00

The 25 Best TV Shows and why...
Now here is the interesting thing...For YEARS, I was a TV snob. I wouldnt watch it. I was oh so cool...Way to cool for, (*gag*) television...Okay, so I was wrong. There are some TV show that...are...awesome...Now they are not the most influencial, or groundbreaking (thought it mya help their ranking), but what I LIKE the best...So here are the TV shows that I think are worth watching....And here is why....

25. The Simpsons

I KNOW people will piss and moan about this one, but the Simpsons are just so hit and miss. Some episodes are great, others are a total waste of time. And in all honesty, South Park has supplanted them as the "social commentary cartoon".

24. Lost

Wow, is all I can say about Lost's fall from grace. I am to the point of almost not caring. Too many twists (time travel? really?) and my interest is waning. I didnt even watch last season after the first episode. Maybe I will catch up later...Who knows..but those first few seasons were spectacular.

23. Freaks and Geeks

Wow, here's a good example of people being stupid and not recognizing a GREAT tv show about high school. Now I grew up on the original 90210 (way to soap opera-y) and Cristie grew up on Saved by the Bell (just...well...way to ridiculously idiotic), but here was a high school show that was actually interesting. It had imperfect, odd characters that you cared about. I miss it. Thank goodness Judd Apatow pretty much pillaged the cast and now makes movies with all of them :) Yay, Judd!

22. 30 Rock

30 Rock is sooooooo hit and miss. And I dont just mean episode by episode. I guess you can analogize them to "Naked Gun". They take every possible joke, however lame, and throw it against the wall to see what sticks. Tracey Morgan=FUNNY. Kenneth=WORTHLESS. He ruins almost every episode. His character is TOO much and it turns the show from satire to schtick.

21. How I Met Your Mother

Sometimes the storylines can be a little too heavyhanded, but this show is so much fun! And I can't imagine how lame it would be without Neil Patrick Harris. His jokes are only bested by his....wait for it...awesomeness.

20. Roseanne

The first TV show that actually had a normal family. Working class, siblings fighting, unattractive people working in jobs that suck...And it was really funny. This was one of the bravest shows ever made.

19. 24

Too ridiculous now...I guess in the latest season there are hostages in the White House? Seriously? But I still like it. Jack Bauer could kick McGuyver's and Chuck Norris's butt with one hand tied behind his back.

18. Cheers

What ISN'T great about this show? I wish there were stronger storylines and I cant decide who i cant stand more, Diane or Rebecca, but I love all the characters. One of my favorite repeats.

17. Flavor of Love

One of only two reality shows on my list. THIS. SHOW. IS. AWESOME. It is so trashy and funny and ripe for scorn. Pumkin spitting in New York's face, women professing their love to Flava Flav after one week of knowing him, backstabbing. It's just so much fun! And all the other dating shows are just like this, but cleaned up. It's all trash, no?

16. Mad Men

My sister and Amber and BiL Eric got us on this one. It didn't really appeal to me until I watched an episode. It's highly engaging with a decent storyline and very likeable lead (Jon Hamm). Gotta catch up on last season, but this one's a keeper.

15. Scrubs

I first saw Scrubs while visiting my brother in Boston. I had never seen it-and to be honest, I had no desire to see it, but he was RAVING about it. So we watched like four hours of it and I became hooked. JD and Turk are one of the cutest couples on TV and Elliot is adorable. And who DOESN'T like John C. McGinley? Whether he is hamming it up on Office Space" or playing the perenial douchebag on (nearly every) Oliver Stone movie (especially Platoon), he is just a fun actor to watch.

14. Boston Legal

If you are watching this show to learn the day to day of an attorney. TURN IT OFF, RIGHT NOW. It's about as accurate as Scrubs, but it is FUNNY! (Which, I might add, leads to one of the most baffling questions, ever posed-- Why do the Emmys keep nominated this as a Drama?! Have they watched it? Ever?) Denny Crane and Alan Shore make up one of the best TV duos of all time. They play So well off of each other and you can really see the feelings they have for one another. You don't find many adults that would refer to another as their best friend, but these two totally would.

13. Deadwood

Um, if bad language offends you, DO NOT WATCH THIS. It made ME blush. But this is how I have always imagined the Wild West. Dirty, greasy, unkempt cowboys, outlaws, and prostitutes all trying to get a leg up. The story was compelling, the sets were great, and the characters were amazing. Al Swearingen is EASILY one of the best TV characters of all time. Between he and Tony Soprano, I dont know who is more interesting.

12. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
This is a recent addition, thanks to Jessica and my brother (again, Jer has some good taste). Jessica lent it to us, and I really didnt have a strong desire to see it. But if you want to see a show that pushes every boundary (trying to pick up girls at an abortion rally, finding a dumpster baby and deciding that he is your mealticket, or making a jihad video against your Israeli neighbor trying to evict you) and trys to laugh about everything, this is it. All the characters are COMPLETELY unsympathetic, so you will spend all of your time laughing AT them instead of WITH them. yay!

11. American Idol
I love American Idol. I do not apologize for it. It's fun and exciting and we can all whip out the completely irrational comments while watching like, "yeah, he was right, she was pitchy..." (what the HELL does that MEAN?! It doesnt matter, i have said it in the past...) If you say you dont like it, you are either lying or stupid. Sorry.

10. Pushing Daisies

Why?!?!?! WHY DID YOU CANCEL THIS?!?!?! (*TEAR*) Finally, a new VERY creative show that was fantastic (in the "fantasy" sense), it was cute, it was clever. I just dont get it. Law and Order has been like like 35 years and this only managed TWO. If you have not seen this, it's about a Piemaker who can touch people and bring them back to life, and...well, its really hard to explain. But it is really cute and quirky...And it has Kristen Chenoweth (the original Glinda from Wicked) and she is adorable.

9. Jeopardy!

The only game show on the list. I could watch Jeopardy for hours. And for those of you who really know me, you know that useless information is one of my favorite things in the whole world. And who better to receive from than Alex Trebek?

8. Seinfeld
Who doesnt love Seinfeld? Name another show that can have a whole episode of the cast walking through a parking garage. You can't. Best episode? Either The Calzone or the The one where George is where the hiking boots at Elaine's friends wedding in India (told backwards). GENIUS. George is also one of my favorite characters ever. Oh, and if Seinfeld's not in your Top Ten, I feel sorry for you.

7. The Office (I am cheating by including both)
I didn't buy into The American Office until Season 3, I think. I saw the British Office and LOVED it and then saw the American pilot and was NOT impressed. It was the same, but with a less believeable Boss. I have since accepted that they both good, but different. My preference now sits with the American Office. Why? Two words: Andy Bernard.

6. Big Love
I am still pissed about the episode I haven't seen and i have been told by some Momo friends of mine that it is not all that offensive. Sorry, still pissed about it. Relatedly, I still love the show though. I am totally infatuated with polygamists (I once made Cristie drive through Colorado City so I could gawk...and it was totally worth the grief she gave me), the characters are interesting, the story is well done, and it gives me the chance to say, "I can't believe the guy who is playing the Rulon Jeffs character just said, "Ma-roe-knee" for Moroni." Sometimes I am shocked by the lack of prep for shows...But anyway, this is a very interesting show...

5. Dexter
This show is about a sociopathic, blood spatter expert who kills people who get off on technicalities and wants to "fit in" with society. I know, I know...it sounds REALLY odd. It is. And its funny. This is one of the most twisted shows I have seen, and obviously, one of my favorites.

4. South Park

South Park is AMAZING. Although it's a cartoon, I would argue that it is one of the most socio-politically important shows on TV. It's issue-driven, controversial, and has fart jokes. What else do you need? I also appreciate the fact that everything is fair game. They don't play favorites. Was the Mormon episode harsh? No compared to the Scientology episode. Is South Park for everybody? DEFINITELY NOT. But I enjoy it. And they consistently make me laugh.

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm

For those of you who dont know, Curb Your Enthusiasm was created and stars Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld and basis for the "George Costanza" character. The best way to describe this show is "Seinfeld uncensored." It's about nothing. But nothing is REALLY, REALLY funny. There is this episode where Larry thinks he was adopted and that he is not actually Jewish, but gentile. So he starts dressing all WASP-y and golfing, etc. It is hilarious! Anyway, HBO strikes again....

2. Arrested Development

The funniest show ever. I have seen the three seasons of Arrested Development at least 3-4 times each and I laugh out loud at different parts every time. I also owe this show to my older brother. He recommended it (and after seeing the commercial for it, I guaranteed I would have NEVER stumbled upon it. But if you want to laugh. Go BUY it (Like Gobias Industries, as in "go buy us some coffee"). No need to rent. I heart the Bluths.

1. The Sopranos

From the opening song until "Don't Stop Believing", The Sopranos established itself as "The GREATEST TELEVISION SHOW EVER." BAR NONE. The story remained solid for every season, and was impossible to become bored while watching. There wasn't one character who was one dimensional, which is hard to say for a TV show that is one hour long and ran for like seven seasons. Tony Soprano is easily the most interesting character on TV. He tries to balance being a mob boss and the patriarch of his home with a headstrong wife and and a headstrong daughter and spoiled brat son. This sounds like it is going to be a comedy, but its not. There are funny parts, but its a drama.I would even go so far as to say that The Sopranos is better, as a whole, than any film I have ever seen. It's that good. If you haven't seen it. You need to. Unless you don't enjoy well-made, interesting stories with multi-dimensional characters who may die at any minute. And if that's the case, I think Full House is on DVD, go give that a try...

The TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL TIME!!!!!

2009-07-23T16:37:00.002-06:00

Now I am not saying that you need to agree with me (though you will be wrong if you don't do so) but these are my favorites. NOT the most well made. Not the most thought-provoking. Just my favs. I can't wait to hear your commments :)

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Royal Tenenbaums
3. Sideways
4. Amelie
5. Casino
6. Crimes and Misdemeanors
7. Singin’ in the Rain
8. No Country for Old Men
9. Rushmore
10. Annie Hall
11. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
12. The 400 Blows
13. The Dark Knight
14. Mystic River
15. High Fidelity
16. On the Waterfront
17. Shaun of the Dead
18. American Beauty
19. Good Will Hunting
20. Love Actually
21. When Harry Met Sally
22. Superbad
23. The Virgin Suicides
24. The Silence of the Lambs
25. Watchmen
26. Downfall
27. The Graduate
28. Fargo
29. The Truman Show
30. The Godfather, part II
31. Platoon
32. Into the Wild
33. Adaptation.
34. Philadelphia
35. Heist
36. Mulholland Drive
37. Die Hard
38. The Seventh Seal
39. Dial “M” for Murder
40. Traffic
41. To Live
42. Deconstructing Harry
43. Munich
44. Pulp Fiction
45. Full Metal Jacket
46. Titanic
47. The Departed
48. Saving Private Ryan
49. Lawrence of Arabia
50. The 40-Year Old Virgin
51. In the Bedroom
52. The Big Lebowski
53. The Godfather
54. The Squid and the Whale
55. Sin City
56. Step Brothers
57. Ghost World
58. Glengarry Glen Ross
59. I Heart Huckabees
60. Duck Soup
61. Billy Elliott
62. The Queen
63. Election
64. Zodiac
65. Yojimbo
66. Dazed and Confused
67. Garden State
68. Monsters, Inc.
69. Rope
70. The Kid Stays in the Picture
71. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
72. Fletch
73. Mean Girls
74. Fight Club
75. Amadeus
76. Great Expectations (1998)
77. Apollo 13
78. Boogie Nights
79. The Ring
80. The Descent
81. Breathless
82. The Crucible
83. You’ve Got Mail
84. Eight Men Out
85. Field of Dreams
86. The Shining
87. Manhattan
88. Ghostbusters
89. Casablanca
90. Memento
91. Amarcord
92. Se7en
93. Bicycle Thieves
94. United 93
95. Gran Torino
96. Natural Born Killers
97. The Thomas Crown Affair
98. DiG!
99. Slumdog Millionaire
100. Closer

Coming Soon: The 100 Greatest Films of All-Time...

2009-07-22T10:17:00.003-06:00

Yes, my friends...we all know that I am ridiculous when it comes to lists...I started this the other night and am painstakingly working through my list of the best 100 films of all-time.

Now these are my FAVORITES...So don't expect Citizen Kane to be #1 and dont be surprised if you see "Fletch" on the list...But what could be #1? Which films will be in the Top 10? Which of them have you seen?

I know, I know....YOU CAN'T WAIT.... ;) It will likely be up tomorrow...

The Fourth (and last...FINALLY!) of The Travel Journal

2009-06-10T14:15:00.004-06:00

(Part IV)

So, this travel journal was so I wouldnt forget our trip to Europe. I suck at keeping a journal, but for some reason, I did really well on this trip! (A little too well, if you ask me). So these entries are LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. I dont blame you if you dont want to read them, I probably wouldnt if they were someone else's, but a couple of people said they wanted to read it, so here it is...I split it up into four parts (because it's so f'ing long). So here goes...

English Countryside

Our last stop was back in jolly old England for a tour of the countryside. We got in, and it typical English fashion, it was raining. Having lived in Seattle though, we didn’t mind this at all. We made our way to the Hilton near Notting Hill, watched a little TV, and went to bed. We had to get up early, we had a whole day of touring ahead of us.

Our tour bus picked us up at 7:45am and dropped us at the station, we were excited to get this day started and were very pleased with our tour guide. He was a sixty-something little man with a cute accent and a predilection towards whistling. Now as a whistler myself, I appreciate this type of person. He was very pleasant and put a smile on all of our faces.

The first stop was Windsor Castle. One of the cool things we found out upon arrival was that the queen was there. Whenever she is, they fly a certain flag from the grounds to signify as such. Now I am not one of those that reverence the queen, in fact, I find that quite retarded, but still, she is a head of state and I respect that. But like that whole thing with Michelle Obama hugging her? GET OVER IT. That was the lamest nonsense I have EVER seen. Anyway, she was there and that was neat.

Now the one thing that I did NOT like about our tour was that we had such a limited amount of time. At Windsor Castle we had 2 hours. That sucks. So we sped through a bunch of rooms that I really would have liked more time to digest. The first notable section was Queen Mary’s dollhouse. It is this HUGE dollhouse, so life-like it would blow your mind. The cars underneath it run on gas, there is actual vintage wine in the little bottles, the books are real, etc. It was pretty amazing.

The rest of the castle, as I said, was kind of a blur. There was a room with sketches by Leonardo Di Vinci, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I; there was a HUGE armory; there was the throne room of the Order of the Garter (the highest knighthood of England; and the hall they use when entertaining other heads of state. It was awesome. In this hall, one of the coolest things was on the ceiling they had all the coats of arms for knights that had been celebrated by England. Additionally, some of the shields were pure white. These were for knights that were celebrated and then committed a crime or went against the crown. They painted them white, rather than removing them, to remind others of the shame they could attain by acting, “un-knightly” I guess.

After Windsor Castle we headed to Bath. Bath is famous because it is built around a Roman bathhouse from around 400 AD, I believe. There were people there before, but that is when, I believe, the bathhouse went up (originally as a temple). You see, in Bath there is a geothermic spring and the ancients thought it was a gift from God, so they worshipped there, bathed there, etc. The site is actually quite amazing, though it is obvious that they tried too hard to stretch the museum as much as they could. Pretty repetitive. Anyway, Bath is also famous for being one of the primary residences of Jane Austen. Of course, Cristie loved this, but we did not have enough time to go to the Jane Austen Centre. Poop. We will have to hit that the next time we are in England. I did get a shot of her home though, so that’s something, I guess.

Bath was an interesting little town and we were both glad that we visited it, will probably come again to see the Jane Austen stuff, but the bathhouse was a “one-timer.” Very cool, glad we went there, but really, we got all you can out of it.

Our last stop on the tour, and coincidentally, the last stop on EuroBake 2009, was Stonehenge. If one thing was relayed to me more than anything else in preparation for our trip, it was “Stonehenge is really underwhelming and will be a huge letdown for you.” WRONG (though maybe all of you who said that just helped bring my expectation down…thanks?). Anyway, Stonehenge was rad. I guess it would be underwhelming if that was the only thing you drove out there for (our driver to the airport when we left told us that he goes out about once to twice a week to take tourists…at 160 pounds a pop), but since we saw the other two places, I was happy with it. Just a nice spooky feeling. Another neat thing about Stonehenge is that within the next ten year they are going to build an underground tunnel to Stonehenge so it looks and feels like it did way back long ago. An interesting aside is that the roads that are RIGHT next to it were built by the Romans. They thought it was some Druid site and were always worried what was going on there, so they built two roads right by it, so they could see what w as going on. Neat.

After we got back to the hotel, we headed out for our last bite of the trip. About two blocks away from the hotel was the Kensington Pub. The concierge said it was a nice local pub that we would enjoy. We totally did. I had the fish and chips, Cristie had the falafel and salad and we watch the Ireland/Bulgaria World Cup Qualifier while we ate….Now how British was that? This was probably my favorite meal of the trip.

On the way home

So here we are…throughout the trip, I usually played catch up by a day or two and am now on the flight back to the states. We started at Heathrow, had an hour and a half layover in Reykjavik (which they made us go through customs for?!) and are now two hours away from JFK. You may think that we are home free, but we are not! After two more hours, we land in JFK, hurry through customs and then have an hour and a half to catch our flight to SLC. I REALLY hope we make it. I want to get home!

The trip was great. It was everything I hoped for and I think I can say the same for Cristie. It was long (I think the longest I want to take in the future will be one week) and I miss our bird, but am so glad that we made the trip. So here are my last two “top lists” as I sign off…

Top Ten Tourist Attractions
1. Coliseum
2. Versailles
3. Stonehenge
4. West Ham United Football Match
5. Berchtesgaden
6. Cimiterie Du Pere Lachaise
7. Vatican City Museums/St. Peter’s Basilica
8. Tower of London
9. Linderfof Palace
10. Blue Lagoon (tie)
Catacombes (tie)

Places We Visited (ranked)
1. Venice
2. London
3. Bavaria
4. Paris
5. English Countryside
6. Amsterdam
7. Rome
8. Bruges
9. Reykjavik
10. Bern

BONUS!!!
Things I Learned on our Trip
1. The French are not all douchebags, The Italians are.
2. I really am not into sculptures. At all.
3. American versions of European food are actually better than European Food (like how "Vanilla Sky" is actually better than "Obre le Ojos")
4. Euros are awesome. Swiss Francs are lame.
5. Europeans LOVE twin beds...Either that or they just want to F with us Americans. (They were in nearly EVERY hotel room!)
6. Europeans LOVE Barack Obama and they now like Americans...Either that or they just liked Cristie and me...which is understandable ;)
7. Iceland's worth visiting...but a two day visit is PLENTY. Everywhere else we visited warrants 3+ days.
8. Gelatiamo in Seattle is just as good as any gelateria in Italy.
9. The Autobahn RULES.

Travel Journal Part III (Okay, now I am getting bored ;) )

2009-06-10T13:42:00.006-06:00

PART III

Switzerland

First things first, Switzerland is beautiful. It is everything you have heard in regard to being postcard perfect. We arrived at 12:30pm and only had about six hours in Bern, so we had to make every moment count. Now Bern is small, so this wouldn’t be difficult, but still, we had to stay focused.

The first stop we made was to the currency exchange. After France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, which are all members of the European Union, we were loaded with Euros, and of course, had no Swiss Francs. Why would we? Actually, I think it’s kind of lame. Look, we appreciate your neutrality, but it’s really annoying. All Europeans think so, not just the tourists. And it’s EVERYWHERE. What if you just want a Coke Light in the rail station? Oh, you have to go get it changed at the currency exchange, pay the fee, and make sure you got bills because they don’t take Euro coins…Oh, and they will give you change in Swiss Francs…See how annoying that is? But it’s their country, they can do what they want… So was it a Coke Light that sent me rushing to the currency exchange? No, it was the bathroom, we both needed to go, and you can’t even pee in Switzerland without Swiss Francs. Now that’s power.

After being controlled by “the man,” we went to the attraction that most excited me in Bern—a wonderful little fountain, in the center of town, hundreds of years old, of an ogre…eating children. They just don’t make fountains of that quality these days… So after I got my photographic evidence, we headed to our next stop, the Muenster Chapel.

The Muenster Chapel is located right on, I believe, the River Lippe, but about 150 feet up. The church was very beautiful in all of its gothic glory, especially the turrets, which Cristie pointed out to me. It still overwhelms me in regard to the time and attention that went into creating these buildings. These days, we totally take that workmanship for granted. Either that or we just stop caring. It reminded me of how quickly the downtown Marriott in Salt Lake City flew up. It was literally a matter of months—compared to some of these cathedrals that took decades or in some cases, more than a century. That Marriott is not ugly, but it’s just…there. Nothing special.

After the Muenster Chapel, we needed to get something to eat, so we headed to another Lonely Planet recommended restaurant. They highly recommended the roti and as I said, I am all about eating the traditional foods of the region, so we both ordered the roti. What is roti you ask? Fried potatoes with crap mixed in. Kind of like designer hash browns. You are probably thinking two things, 1) that sounds nice, it must have been inexpensive, and 2) what was the main dish? To answer #1, nope, it was a total rip off. Seriously, hash browns? That’s like twenty-five cents of potato and in my case, one dollars’ worth of Swiss cheese and ham. It was like sixteen bucks or something. Grrrrr. And the answer to #2? Nothing. That’s it. Potatos. After that, we hit a Swiss chocolatier on the way to the Einstein Museum. The chocolate was nothing to crow about. The Belgians kick their butts in chocolate.

On the way to the Einstein Museum, we happened upon a poster for the upcoming Springsteen concert...Even in Europe, they know he's "The Boss." Nice. Good job Switzerland. Anyway the museum was set in Einstein’s apartment that he lived in while in Bern. It is significant because it is where he developed the Theory of Relativity. It was a small one bedroom apartment and kind of a rip off, but how can you turn it down based on its name? It’s Einstein. Come on. But seriously, one room and then a boring 20-minute movie that plays like an Einstein timeline, the majority of which, we either knew, or didn’t care to know. Oh well…at least Switzerland has the beauty thing going for it, because the food sucked and the there isn’t a lot to do. I am sure the Swiss just sit and talk about the weather. Do I regret going here? No way. It is still the most naturally beautiful place we have been while on this trip and easily one of the prettiest places I have ever been.

Bavaria

So originally, this was going to be called “Germany”. The one problem is that we spent quite a bit of time out side of Germany, in Austria, so I think it’s more accurate to just say, “Bavaria.” We arrived, as we do in most countries, late at night and headed straight to the hotel. After such a piss-poor hotel in Paris, I have to say, I was worried. The last thing that I wanted was another two days in Hotel Hell. The hotel was right off of a train line and when we checked in, the room was clean and quiet. Cristie claims she saw a bug, but I think she was delirious from all the travel. Regardless, bug or not, we were happy with this room, especially when compared to Paris.

We slept in the next morning and got started around 11:00am. This would turn out to be a horrible mistake, which would cost us some very valuable time in Bavaria, specifically, in Munich. We headed back to the train station and went to rent a car. We decided the best way to get a car would be to have the agencies play against each other, but on the second agency, they offered us a 2009 Mercedes B190 (not available in the US) for next to nothing. It’s a small hatchback, kind of similar to our Cruiser, but with A LOT more power, so needless to say, we felt at home and loved it. I would totally buy it if it were available in the States.

So with the help of a learning disabled GPS system, we headed straight to Bertchesgaden in the southeast corner of Germany. Bertchesgaden was the location of Hitler’s bunker and the “Eagle’s Nest,” which I guess you would call his vacation home. (For those of you who have seen “Band of Brothers, this is the place the troops end up at, very close to the ending.) It is located near the top of the Bavarian Alps with a view that is hard to describe. It’s too bad that this beautiful location has to be connected to such a retard, but what can you do.

So going back a little bit, upon arriving in Bertchesgaden, through some of the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen, you drive through this little mountain town and end up at the Dokumentation Museum with Hitler’s Bunker. The museum contained very, very little artifacts and was kind of a letdown. At the end of the museum, you can go down the stairs to Hitler’s bunker, which was very creepy and disturbing. One critique that Cristie and I had was that EVERYTHING was in German. We purchased the audioguide, which was in English, but it skipped so much and included NOTHING from the Bunker. TOTAL BUMMER.

After the bunker, we headed up to the Eagle’s Nest, another twenty minutes bus ride up the mountain, which they make a killing off of. Upon arriving at the base, you have to take an elevator up to the Eagle’s Nest, itself. Another, I believe 160 meters up through an elevator in the middle of the mountain. This was a pretty cool experience.

When we got to the top, we were both hungry and decided to eat at the restaurant. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a table with a view, so we tried to eat fairly quickly. I had a Bavarian dish of pork with Bavarian (i.e. sauce-less) pasta and a “pepsi coke” (a Pepsi, but they put “coke” on the end of everything cola, it was really cute hearing it from the waiter). Cristie had a salad and then we both had some pretty tasty desserts. After eating, we set out to see the view, it was AMAZING. Few of the views we have seen on our trip compares to what we saw. We then headed down and set out for Salzburg.

Salzburg was important to us for two reasons: Mozart and “The Sound of Music”. We arrived at Mozart’s birthplace with 10 minutes before they admit the last visitors of the day (30 minutes before close). Now of course five minutes later (still five to go), the doors to the museum closed, shutting us out moments before we entered. This really bummed us out because this was our only chance to visit Salzburg on this trip! Again, TBFU. We ended up having some horrible tea and hot chocolate at the museum cafe and then set out for the Sound of Music sites, beginning with the garden from “16 going on 17”.

We found the garden fairly quickly and it was gorgeous. Beautiful flowers, nice statues, and lovely weather. We really enjoyed it. We walked around for a while and had an adorable elderly Japanese man take our picture. It was nice and romantic and we enjoyed it.

Next stop was the Abby where Maria lived. Of course its address was nowhere to be found and the GPS had no idea what it was. Drat. After a little more than an hour, we gave up. We saw it from a distance (we think), but could not get to it. I could tell this really bummed Cristie out and I promised her that when we came back for Eastern Europe, we would go to Salzburg, if she wanted. I kinda felt gypped at Salzburg, but it was beautiful. No doubt. So we will definitely hit Salzburg on our next European trip and will fork out the bucks for the “Sound of Music” tour and budget enough time for all the Mozart sites. After Salzburg, we headed back to the hotel and had a HUGE day planned for the next day.

We woke up at 6:30am and PROMPTLY decided that we were too tired and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. When we finally got out of bed, we headed to the Romantic Road and down to see the Mad King Ludwig II’s castles, specifically, Neuwanstein and Linderof Castles. Neuwanstein is famous for being the castle that Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty’s castle after. We arrived and from a distance, it was AMAZING. This castle though, ended up like a Serraut painting, beautiful from a distance and….well, less beautiful up close. It was built in the late 19th century and it showed. It just didn’t have the same personality or character of the older castles.

The second castle we saw was Linderhof, which was originally built to be an identical replica of Versailles. You see, Ludwig was OBSESSED with Louis. Anyway, not enough room to build an exact replica because of the space issue (don’t worry, he built one later), so it became a smaller version of Versailles. It was SO amazing. Everything in it was done in an extreme over-the-top rococo style with more ostentation than you can even imagine. Along with the castle, Ludwig hollowed out a cave on the grounds so he could listen to Wagner in it. He truly was mad (and from the tour it seemed there has never been a more depressing character…ever). Visiting this castle was one of my favorite things we have done on this trip. We really enjoyed this castle and after it, headed to Wieskierche, or the Church of the Scourged Savior.

Wieskierche is in the middle of nowhere. Literally. But upon entering the church, you are knocked on your butt. It was AMAZING. The story goes that it housed this ugly statue of Jesus that began to cry one day. People started going there to see it and pray for miracles. Supposedly, they happened and they built a small church to house it that eventually turned into a massively ornate, good-sized church.

We now had very little time, still had to get to Dachau, and would have to skip parts of Munich. We had no idea that Bavaria was this spread out! We headed to Dachau and walked around for about a half an hour. Dachau was the first concentration camp and only minutes from Munich. There is a very eerie feeling while walking throughout Dachau, but it was not the experience I had hoped for. My boss told me that it’s referred to as “the tidy concentration camp” because they cleaned it up so quickly after the holocaust. But just knowing what happened there makes your skin crawl. We were unable to go to the visitor’s center (it closes at 5) but were able to walk around where the camp once stood and look at original parts of the walls and a guardhouse. I STILL can’t believe how recently all this happened…I still prefer the experience I had at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC to this experience, but think that you kind of have to visit a concentration camp to really get what it’s all about. When we head to eastern Europe, I plan to visit both Krakow and Warsaw. Again, my boss told me that they are probably what I am after.

We were now finished with our time in Bavaria and had to head back to the train station where would have an overnight sleeper, which I would regret later. In closing, I have to say one thing—I LOVED the autobahn and driving on the freeways in Germany. I am not as crazy as some, the fastest I went was around 114 mph, but it was exhilarating! My average speed was around 96 mph and it totally gets your adrenaline going. There’s just something about going fast. On the way back from the Romantic Road, I tried passing a car that summarily sped up, the car gong ot he other way was also flying, so I had to slam on my brakes and get over in the nick of time…That kind of sucked, stupid rookie Autobahn driver, right? Anyway, I didn’t die, so it worked out well. But I gotta say, I love speed, because if you’re not first, your last, right?

Venice

Remember what I said about the night train. Worst part of our trip. Bar none. For a nice, hefty price, you too can stay in a small cramped space with a bed that is 5’11 long (I am 6’1), a person’s width of walking space (no room for two) and a small crappy sink. Oh, and they throw in a stale roll and highly sugared orange juice as breakfast, for free! What a deal. Anyway, we didn’t sleep, it was horrible and because we couldn’t shower (no shower), we just had to make due with a sink. So we felt pretty gross throughout the day, and if you know me, nothing gets me more irritable than not “feeling clean.”

So we got to Venice around 6:45am and had twelve hours to see Venice. Now Venice is a very small, walkable place (no cars!). We started out walking towards the Piazza San Marco area to see the San Marco Basilica, the Correr Museum, and the Museum of Archeaology. It was great getting there so early because the Piazza San Marco was empty of people; about three hours later, it looked like Main Street Disney. Yuck. I am a self-hating tourist. Anyway, we walk up to the Basilica and there is a sign with a dude in shorts and a tank top and with a cross through it. So this pisses me off, we are way far away from the train station, where we dropped off our luggage and I was wearing shorts. So we set out to find a pair of pants for me. What, you may ask, are the stores around the Piazza San Marco? Zegna, Chanel, Versace, Valentino, etc. To which I say, no f’ing way. (I have a nice Zegna sportscoat at home, but I am not going to drop that kind of money on a pair of supplemental trousers for vacation!) So we head towards the center of Venice and find this little boutique shop. They had some jeans and some black dress trousers in my size. I have three pair of black dress trousers, so I opted for the jeans. Italian jeans. Tight. Awful. YUCK.

So we head back to the Basilica and got in line. As we are waiting in line, we get in front of the sign and I say, it looks more like they are restricting men from the 1920s in swimming attire and women playing tennis from entering. Well, as we get it, we notice A LOT of people in shorts. Well, this gets me pissed off because I am BURNING ALIVE and all these people got in without a problem. Here I was trying to follow the rules, had to buy jeans I will likely never wear again, and then I get it rubbed in my face. I got a little grumpy, I guess. So the Basilica was ok, nothing amazing, and in the treasury (additional fee), they have all these bones mixed into treasure, like a piece of vertebrae on a golden rod. It was REALLY morbid and I doubt God is very cool with it. Anyway, St. Mark is buried here, so that is why we made it a stop. Would I go there again? No way. But it was fine.

Next we headed to the Correr Museum and the Archeology Museum across the piazza. As we headed up the stairs, they had a descriptive list of proscriptions, under the same picture from the basilica, it said, “no men’s swimwear.” Now I was pissed. It was my own fault, but I thought it would silly to ask if my shorts would be okay, based on the picture. Well ½ of the definition of “assume” was played out very well. Frick. So here I was, with these awful, tight Italian jeans. Needless to say, my first stop in the museum was the restroom so that I could change back into my shorts. After this was done, we began our tour of the museum.

As I said, the pre-1800ish art really doesn’t do that for me. But…we were going to give it a go. The museum was actually pretty cool. Lots of statutes, more statutes…oh, they also had some statutes. Other than that, they had a few Tinterettos, some Titians, and a bunch of old Venetian coins. Oh, and they had some statutes.

From there, we headed back into the plaza and you wouldn’t believe the difference a couple of hours can make. When we first showed up, it was EMPTY. Then…PACKED. Cristie mentioned that it looked a lot like Disney main street…good call. We walked over to the shore and looked at the gondolas. We totally wanted to take a gondola ride and for 80 Euros (that’s a 30 minute ride) how could we turn it down? The answer was easy. Seriously? 30 minutes? What a rip. We walked around and saw all that we would have seen anyway…Besides, the gondoliers didn’t wear the hat and didn’t sing. Granted, they had the shirt, but really, I can’t justify that without the whole experience.

It was now lunchtime and we wanted to find a cute little place to eat (and rest our weary feet)! We found a nice little café off of the plazas, down a back alley. Perfect. The lasagna was good, Cristie had the spaghetti with mushrooms—it was nice to finally relax.

After lunch we headed down to plaza to get some gelato (this would be the first of four gelato trips in Venice, (all three of them were better than any of gelato in Rome, by the way). The next stop was the Palazzo Ducale or Doge's Palace, which, call me crazy, had me singing the theme song to “Dog, the Bounty Hunter” throughout the visit. The palace was pretty amazing. Lots of depressing artwork, but it was really well done. As we went further and further into the palace, we started believing that we may not be able to get out. We went further and further into the abyss and got to the dungeons…Yep. Finally, we hit the Bridge of Sighs and that was pretty cool. The story behind it, they say, is that when they took the prisoners into the dungeon, they were led across the bridge and the sighs were so audible that it became “the Bride of Sighs.” Neat, right? So anyway, the tour ended in this huge hall with Tintoretto’s masterpiece, “Paradiso”. It was MASSIVE, something like 66 meters across and 30 meters high. We were really into that.

So it was about time for some more gelato. Yum.

After that, we began on a trek for a currency exchange because a little known fact about Italy is that they do not take credit cards…ANYWHERE. After we wasted a bunch of time doing that, fruitlessly, I might add, we headed to the Galleria dell'Academia. We waited in a very long line and when we got to the front, we were like, “do we really want to do this?” And we turned around and walked out. More statues? Nah. So we headed to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which housed modern art, which we knew would be nice.

It was. We enjoyed it. It was really small though. They had a Rothko (a mediocre one, according to us) and they had a great Pollock (surrounded by lots of mediocre Pollocks). They also had some Paul Klee. Now Cristie and I have been to quite a few art museums around the world and one of the consistent themes in our art world experience is how much we hate Paul Klee. He is horrible. So if you like Paul Klee, you are an idiot. Here is an example of Klee's work. Awful, right?

Top 5 Art Museums in the World
1. Museum of Modern Art, New York City
2. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
3. Musee D’Orsay, Paris
4. Vincent Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
5. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Our next (and last) official stop was the Basilica dei Frari. This Church is famous because it holds Titian’s tomb and his masterpiece, “The Ascension.” It was good. We liked it. The painting was great, but we didn’t fully appreciate it because we were so tired! Cristie teased me because after we got up to leave, I asked her where it was, and she said, “Are you serious? We sat in front of it for 20 minutes!” I was like, oh…oh yeah.

So now we headed back to the station. We, of course, stopped to get one more gelato. We loved Venice. The fact that we were unbearably tired because of our awful night train, further supports the fact that we really enjoyed Venice. We were hot, tired, and still loved it! Venice is a place that I could visit again because of how beautiful it was. To be honest, the majority of the “tourist attractions” were okay, but the city itself was breathtaking. So we jumped on the train and headed to Rome.

Rome

Now for those of you who don’t know, Rome was the place I was most excited to visit. Through so many movies, through so many pictures, Rome was the crown jewel. We (of course) arrived late at night and headed to the subway. It totally looked shady. We couldn’t find a place to buy a metro pass and so we took a cab. It was nine Euros, not too bad, but when we left to see Rome the next morning, we found out that we were about 40 steps from the subway station, which was one stop from the train depot. Darn it. What a waste of money! Oh well…At least Rome would take cards, right? I mean come on, this wasn’t Venice.

Our hotel in Rome was AWESOME. After the craphole in Paris, I have to say, we were worried. No need. It was large, with tiled floors and a “matrimonial bed”. Aaaaahhhh….No more twins. Anyway, because of how much we loved it, we slept in (*blush*). We started our day late.

Well, we jumped on the subway and headed to the Coliseum and the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. We got off the subway across the street and upon emerging from the station, the Coliseum overtook our view. It was massive and it was beautiful. But before we visited the Coliseum, we headed to the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli is famous because it houses Michelangelo’s Moses and his (unfinished) Rachael and Leah. They say it’s unfinished, but I don’t see it…looks pretty awesome and finished to me. Anyway, it also has the chains that supposedly bound Peter when he was in prison. They are on display and people worship them or something, but it’s pretty cool. I like stuff like that. Cristie is MUCH more skeptical and doesn’t believe anything is anything. She thinks it’s all bull. I don’t care, I like it.

After the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, we headed to the Coliseum and after waiting in line for a loooooong time. One thing that was kind of cool though is that I looked right behind us and? A missionary! He was with his parents and was headed home. The missionary brought a couple that he baptized from right outside of Rome and it was really neat. Good for him, that would be the toughest mission in the world. Seriously, the heart of Catholicism? Good luck. So we got to the front and….of course, they don’t take cards! Ahhhhh! So I told Cristie to wait there and I would go back to the station to an ATM. Well, they didn’t have one. So one of the attendants told me there was one “right down the road and to the right.” So off I went. After about a mile or so of walking, I finally found one…and then I walked a mile back. Now at this point, I am praying that Cristie didn’t get too worried and head back to our hotel. When I got back, she was there, told me she was worried, and didn’t know where to go. Thank goodness.

Anyway, so we got into the Coliseum and I was less than thrilled. I told her I doubted it would live up to my expectations after my journeys, but it totally did. The Coliseum is an amazing place and one of my favorite sites that I saw on our trip. The audio guide was totally worth it and really explained it well. Along with the Coliseum itself, it also offered some killer views. The Coliseum really shows you how advanced the Romans were. Amazing.

After the Coliseum, we headed over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Basically, it’s A LOT of ruins in one place, but pretty spectacular. The best parts are Titus’s Arch and the Arco di Settimo Severo. The Arco di Settimo Severo is supposedly the best example of how Roman architecture was so much better than anyone else’s. The last place in the Roman Forum worth noting was the ruins of Tempiuo di Guilio Cesare, whee Caesar’s body was burned. That was pretty anticlimactic. At this point, Cristie was pretty tired and not that pumped about walking (which we would do a lot of in Rome).

After the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, we headed to Musei Capitolini, on the way though, we stumbled upon the last cell where Peter was held before he was killed. It was creepy and pretty cool. Cristie, again, was a skeptic…sigh….

Then on to the Musei Capitolini. Okay, at this point I had had it up to here with statues, but I didn’t want to be a butthead, so I trudged along, trying to be a good sport (I didn’t want to ruin it for Cristie). Nothing worth nothing here…Moving on…

Before we headed to our next destination, we had to get some food. So on our way, we found a side street and went in to this little café. Worst. Food. Ever. I really don’t know what people were smoking when they told us how wonderful the food was in Europe. Now as most of you know, I am not a “rah-rah American”, but really, we took their food and made it better. Go America. I had the prosciutto and mozzarella panini and it was disgusting…

Or next stop on this whirlwind day was the Pantheon. The Italian one. This too, was a breathtaking building. As you enter, its size overwhelms you and as you look up, you notice that the top is uncovered. Very cool. So we looked around, stopped at all the little chapels and then I was ready to go. Cristie told me that we missed one, and reluctantly, I turned around and headed to it. It ended up being Raphael’s tomb. It was very nice (and he was my favorite ninja turtle, so it was a double-whammy). After the Pantheon, we had some (mediocre) gelato and were on our way to the Palazzo Al Temps.

Now I had decided to skip one of our spots because we had walked past it already. It was the Torre Argentina and I was pretty beat and we still had a number of things we needed to see. Cristie talked me out of skipping it and we backtracked a little. We headed down a side street from the Pantheon on a hunch and I decided that I would check the map when we got to the main street. Well, we when we got to the main street we were at the Torre Argentina, so, needless to say, I was pretty stoked. The Torre Argentina was the location where Julius Caesar was murdered. It was in the center of town and a man wanted to build some luxury condos around four remnants of some columns. As they began to dig, they noticed that a lot of the ruins were still there and it became a protected site, too bad for that dude. It was a pretty amazing spot and they pointed out the area where Caesar was stabbed. Kind of surreal to look at it, knowing how long ago it happened. I was glad that Cristie insisted on us going.

Like I said, our next stop was the Palazzo Al Temps. Again, more statutes. I hate to sound like I didn’t appreciate them, but seriously, enough is enough. They did have a pretty amazing courtyard and a beautiful chapel. But other than that, it was fine.

Our final stop for the night was the Fontana di Trevi, made famous through a number of films. I didn’t expect it to be that amazing, because I kind of knew what to expect, but it was spectacular. The only thing I didn’t like were all the f’ing people. I hate people now, I guess. They ruin all kinds of photos. Cristie and I read about “Rome’s best gelato” being across the street from the fountain in our book, and it wasn’t. We are pretty pissed that we bought this book in February and it was two years old. How would you feel if you bought a magazine that was two months old? Everything is outdated! Anyway, their food recommendations sucked so far, so we were probably better off. We did find a place and it was good. So there. At this point we headed back for some sleep and were looking forward to our day at the Vatican tomorrow.

We set up our tickets through the Vatican online (this is the way to do it, I am telling you). We ordered the guided tour of the Vatican Gardens and then we had an unguided (with audio guide) walkthrough of the museum. The grounds were beautiful. Our tour guide told us that the Pope walks through these gardens everyday (for forty-five minutes) so they have to make sure that they look great.

On the tour, along with the gardens, we saw some of the outer wall, the governor’s mansion, and other parts of the city. I really enjoyed the worthless facts that the tour guide added, you know me and my worthless facts…

After the gardens, we headed in, had some lunch and started on the museums. They were, again, old, depressing, and very well done. When we got near the end, we went down this hall of tapestries which was amazing. We also went through a very short section of modern art. One of which was Van Gogh’s “Pieta”. I had never seen it before and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend looking it up. I am not a huge fan of religious art, but this one’s a keeper.

Finally, at the end of the tour was the Sistine Chapel. It was so-so. Just kidding. It was amazing. Listening to the audioguide really helped me understand it and Michelangelo better. We were told to not take photos in the Sistine Chapel (surely because of all the idiots who use their flash), but I snuck a shot (of course without flash) of the Creation. Sorry, usually I am kind of a “Dudley Do Right” but I had to have it. We stayed in the Chapel for quite a while, seeing that there is so much to see…I kind of wish we had spent some more time there, but my neck is glad I didn’t.

Our last stop was St. Peter’s Cathedral. We had feared a loooong line, but it went by very quickly. Our first stop was the tombs of the Popes. There were really only two I was interested in seeing (John Paul II and Julius II (?)), but it was fun to walk through them. (Is “fun” really the right word? Probably not.) John Paul II’s tomb was very nice. He was such a great man and reminds me a great deal of President Hinckley (for you Mormons). He was just so great at reaching out and making you feel loved, regardless of your faith.

After the tombs, we headed into the main part of the Cathedral. Obviously, this would have had a greater impact were I Catholic, but it was still amazing. The top draw, of course, was the Pieta, and it was everything you could hope for. Again (I know I sound like a broken record) I am not that into religious art, but this was magnificent. After that, we walked around the Cathedral where that had some glass-walled caskets of other Popes, some statues that people rubbed, and beautiful small chapels. (Again, being Catholic would have really helped out here.) On our way out was the Chapel of the Virgin Mary and there were some priests praying. It was very nice. I think that Mormon bishops should wear a robe, personally. I think it would stand them out and make it easier for people to know who they are and what they do. I know I am in the minority on this one, but I don’t care, I kind of like all the robes and stuff. Our stuff is so…puritanical.

Oh! I forgot to mention…on our way in and our way out, we saw the Swiss Guards. That was cool. They have the lamest outfits but it’s weird, when you are such a buttkicker, like the Swiss Guard, you can make pansy-looking outfits look tough. Sweet.

Our last stop of the day was the Castel Sant’Angelo, but we bailed on it. We were tired and had to get back to head to the airport. I will say this though, Rome was good, not great. And going further back, Italians compared to the French are major a-holes.

Part 2 of My Travel Journal....(are you bored, yet?)

2009-06-10T13:00:00.011-06:00

(PART II)

The Netherlands

The ferry was mediocre, but the price was right and the experience was meant to be had. Crossing the English Channel by ferry is kind of a fun experience. Well, we arrived in Rotterdam around 7:45am and after getting our new stamp (yeah! European Union!) We got on a train heading for Amsterdam. We knew that we had a lot of sinning ahead of us…

Amsterdam was a very fun city and for the first time, I really felt like I was “in Europe.” I don’t know, London is just so...”city”. The architecture, the language, the people, etc. in Amsterdam just made me feel like an outsider. It was a very cool and very fun experience. Our first stop would be the Rijks Museum, which according to our travel book, was not to be missed. We arrived by taxi and were told that the museum was largely under renovation (of course it was!) but that they still had “the greatest hits” on display. Now wouldn’t you think that one would expect to pay a “greatest hits” price and not a “complete catalogue” price, right? Wrong. Full price and to be honest, not that impressive. At the end of the museum, we saw “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt and again, other than its size, it was not that impressive…Maybe I just don’t get the Dutch.

Further down the street was a museum that we really enjoyed—The Vincent Van Gogh Museum. Now other than the fact that they had t-shirts, posters, and cups with Starry Night EVERYWHERE (it’s in MoMA, in New York), the museum was great. They set up the museum in chronological order and it was really fun to see how Van Gogh progressed and changed throughout his career.

On an interesting aside and completely unrelated to Van Gogh, one of my favorite things to do is to find a food or drink item that is available worldwide, but has different flavors to appeal to the local crowd. It all started when I was watching NatGeo and they had this special on McDonald’s in mainland China and one of the things they did was offer a burger with Szechwan beef. So anyway, I love to try anything like that, and one of the main food items offered that way are chips. Here in Amsterdam, they had Paprika Lays, in Paris, and I am not kidding, Turkey and Gravy.

My top 5 Chip flavors
1) Lays Ketchup Chips (from Canada, holy crap they are good)
2) Doritos Taco Flavored
3) Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips
4) Doritos Salsa Verde
5) Barbeque Baked Lays

Anyway, back to Amsterdam…After the Van Gogh museum we headed back to town to see the few remaining tourist sites that we had to visit: The Old Church, The New Church, the Red Light District, and Anne Frank’s House.

Without planning it, we mixed saints and sinners during our next stops. First we stopped at The Old Church, which was kind of depressing (as was the New). Both the Old and New Churches were built pre-16th Century and neither one was in current use. Now that’s not the depressing part, I understand that new and more convenient churches can and are built, the depressing thing was the way that the churches were kept. First of all, the operators and attendants in the churches do not treat the buildings as anything special. We saw more care and respect for the attendants at our Hotels than we did the attendants at these churches. It was the exact opposite of what you would find in London.

Like I said, we first visited the Old Church. Yep, it was old. It did have some beautiful woodwork, especially on the…crap, I forgot the word, where the pastor or priest goes up and sings/preaches from. Anyway, I took some pictures of it, it was awesome. The organ too, was amazing. Very ornate. But going back to my previous complaint, the other half of the Old Church was displaying photographs in some competition, many of which were extremely violent. Now you know that it’s not because I am a softy or that I can’t handle violence, but I just don’t think it’s that great in a church, call me crazy…Well, unless you like those really awful crucifixes with blood and everything all over Christ. I don’t. At all. But I will give them a pass. To each his or her own.

On our way from the Old Church to the New Church, Cristie and I walked past “The Original Bulldog” Coffeeshop. Now you may not know this, but in Amsterdam, “Coffee Shop” means a place that you can legally buy and smoke weed. Just pop in, buy a bag and light up. Totally legal. So I got a picture in front of the place and as we walked by this or any of the numerous coffee shops in Amsterdam, the smell of weed fluttered out into the street. Not used to that in the states…except for when I lived in Chicago, that was kind of common I guess.

Very close by, Cristie and I stumbled upon the Red Light District. It was surreal! Now this isn’t like the Red Light Districts that you find in most cities, which usually consists of a porn theatre, strip clubs, and dirty bookshops, this Red Light District is famous for prostitutes renting out windows (like window displays) and standing in them. The prostitutes (as far as we could see, we didn’t gawk or stop and stare, it was of a quick walkthrough) just stand there in the windows, with neon lights surrounding the windows, in bikinis with what looked like a bed behind them and a curtain that they draw (I am assuming quite a bit here, like I said, we were pretty quick walking through). It wasn't as sexy as that picture...believe me...not that that picture is anything to crow about.

You may think it sounds sexy, like if you were walking past a Victoria’s Secret window in the mall, but I assure you—not sexy. It was a lot tamer than what Cristie was expecting (what was she expecting?!) and a lot skanky/skuzzier than I was expecting (I thought it would be like the Victoria Secret’s windows). I guess the product sells itself, they don’t have to do much work—Kinda like Nutella—you never see any ads for it, the packaging looks like it was thought up in 1982, but everyone buys it. Yep, prostitution is like Nutella.

After our interaction with potheads, adulterators and fornicators, we headed to the New Church (late 15th century…real new, right?) to get right with God. You know Cristie and me…we are TROUBLE. The New Church was like the Old Church, except no photograph display, instead, there was a bookshop. Not really much to add.

Our final stop in Amsterdam was the one I was most looking forward to—the Anne Frank House. It was as interesting and amazing as I had hoped. The presentation was as simple and easy to understand as you would expect or want and the subject matter was second to none. I don’t know, seeing where it happened makes it all that more real. I still can’t believe this all happened less that seventy years ago. We both really enjoyed the museum and for me, it was the highlight of our Amsterdam adventure.

Then we headed back to the train station. We had Bruges ahead of us, and little time to doddle. Needless to say though, we both loved Amsterdam and plan on returning. Now, on to Bruges!

Belgium

We arrived in Bruges around 11:30pm. We took a taxi to our B&B and went to straight to bed. The next morning, we were excited to eat the B&B food and had high hopes. We got down to the dining room and our breakfast consisted of sliced meats, toast, cold cereal, hard boiled eggs, and room temperature yogurt (I still can’t get over the fact that nearly everything in Europe is room temperature!). To stay the least, it was a major letdown. TBFU.

Our first stop in Bruges was….the Laundromat. Yep, we were out of clothes and spent about two and a half hours washing our clothes! The machines sucked, the price was unreasonable, and it ate up a chunk of our day…but what can you do? We did find it funny though, listening to the radio (nearly all stations in Europe play American/English music) that they don’t censor music. It was funny, this song came on by Lilly Allen where the chorus is just “F*** You” and there it was, we had a good laugh and it made our waste of time and money go that much more easily.

After we got back from laundry, we left the hotel and had a list of the places that we needed to see. The first stop was to eat some real Flemish food. We always try to find authentic cuisine in the countries we visit and had heard great things about Belgian food. I had the Belgian stew (beef cooked in beer). Cristie had a vegetable quiche and to top it all off…I had frite et mayo. Yep, mayo and fries. You don’t need to try it, it’s pretty gross. I just don’t get it. But Belgian food is awesome.

Next stop was the Bruges Belfry in the center of the Markt. This is the most famous landmark in Bruges and a must see. After 362(?) very narrow steps, you end up in the bell tower with a beautiful view of….well, everything. We were really up there. Still, we thought the hike up St. Paul’s was brutal. Compared to this, St. Paul’s was a cakewalk. The view was amazing though. We loved it and it was totally worth it.

We then set out to visit the Berg, another area downtown. We got sidetracked when we saw a couple eating waffles with strawberries and cream on them, so we stopped and asked where they got it, and got some ourselves! It was awesome. I have to say, waffles as a snack are very tasty! Good stuff. So after that extremely healthy snack, we decided that the best way to make up for it would be to…go get some famous Belgian chocolates! We went to a shop called Dumon and it exceeded our expectations for Belgian chocolates. We had some hot chocolate, ate some chocolates, and took some with us. I have no idea how Belgians stay so skinny!

After the chocolates, we headed back to the Berg and down to the canals for a boat ride. The boat ride was relaxing and a nice change of pace (from all of our walking!), but one thing I didn’t care for was that the guide did three languages…on every tour. So we had to sit through French, German, and then English for each thing we saw..and to be honest, it sounded like he was skirting English quite often. 1.5 minutes of both French and German followed by ten seconds of English? I wonder what he left out! But we saw some cool things on the boat ride, such as: the smallest window in Bruges (on the old hospital to look out for people, I think he said), an explanation of which churches were which, the oldest bridge, and a crappy little ugly house for sale...oh it was only 600,000 Euros because it was right on the canal! Seriously, I don’t think I can ever complain about housing prices again!

We then wandered our way back to the hotel and waited for our taxi while chatting with the B&B owner, Paul. One thing that was very interesting during our conversation was the rigors of being a small businessperson in Europe. Everyone always makes it sound so perfect to have such a state-controlled system. Now I still favor socialized medicine and everything, but it’s not that simple. Once more, that retard Michael Moore, acting so smugly and shocked in his ridiculous documentary left out key points, such as the fact that a small businessman like Paul had to pay the Social Security for his employees (he employed two chambermaids) and on top of their pay, they had to pay a nearly identical amount to the government to cover their equivalent of social security. Not very cool. It was a very interesting conversation and I always seem to end up talking politics with people from other countries, I think it’s the most fascinating subject, what can I say.

Well, we had to say goodbye to Bruges. It was a cute city and we liked it a lot. Paul was very helpful and made sure that we got our train reservation (which we didn’t know we needed) and then emailed me the next day to make sure everything went well! He was great, if you ever go to Bruges, stay at the Hotel Fevery. Other than that he subpar breakfast, it was great.

France

Thanks to Paul, the train trip was great. We sat in a silent cabin on the way, which was nice and quiet (as opposed to the cabin I am in right now with a 6 year old commenting on any and everything, all in the same volume—loud). One thing that I LOVE about the Eurail trains is that many of them have outlet plugs. Additionally, something that I did not know, most of our electronics and things you bring on a trip can be plugged into European outlets. On each appliance’s plug, it has like 110-220v on it. Sweet! So now I get to charge my laptop, listen to the Boss, and type my travelogue, hooray!

We arrived in Paris around 11:30pm and headed straight for the Hotel. The pictures on Le Pavillon Republique’s website did not do it justice. According to the website, we would be staying in a 3-star hotel that looked quaint, clean, and conveniently located. In actuality, the hotel was dingy, poorly made, dirty, but it was convenient—so it wasn’t all untrue. We hated it. The best part of this little story? We booked it for three nights. Based on the website, this was the hotel we thought we could relax in… (sigh) Oh well. After stripping the beds (yes, two doubles) of their nasty comforters, we tried to get some rest. The bar across the street made this difficult, but we managed.

Our first day in Paris began with my leaving the hotel while Cristie got showered. I went out and walked down the boulevard to find us some breakfast. I found a cute little bakery and bought us an assortment of pastries and then stopped at the supermarket and got us a 1.5l bottle of Evian (for 1 euro, take that!). The part I am most impressed with is that I did it entirely in broken French, never resorting to English. So a pat on the back for me…Anyway, after we finished breakfast, we then really began our day.

We headed to the Metro and headed to our first stop, the Bastille Place. We failed. We jumped on the wrong train and headed the wrong way. We jumped off on the first stop, turned around and decided that since we were at a transfer station for our second destination, we would just hit Bastille Park later. So we were on our way to Cimetierie Du Pere Lachaise. I know what you are thinking, a cemetery? Really? Yes, really. First of all, every Doors fan must visit Jim Morrison’s grave if he or she is in Paris, it’s kind of required. Additionally, we saw that Camille Pissaro’s grave (my favorite painter) and Fredric Chopin’s grave (for Cristie) were also there and decided that we had to visit them too. Lastly, it is a gorgeous, historic cemetery this is worth visiting for no other reason. Much like New Orleans’ cemeteries, which were based after France’s, nearly all of the graves are above ground, many of them hundreds of years old, and the work that goes into each of them? Wow, is all I can say. Cristie wasn’t that excited to go, but afterwards, she agreed it was totally worth the visit. As far as Morrison’s grave? Underwhelming, oh well. I am glad that I did it.

Next was The Catacombes. The Catacombes is arguably the creepiest place I have ever been. Cristie enjoys teasing me about the fact that I enjoy visiting morbid and macabre places (for example, I once dragged her around a cemetery outside of Chicago for about two hours looking for Al Capone’s grave). The Catacombes are bunch of tunnels underneath Paris where some monks decided to “bury” a lot of people. And when I say, a lot, I mean A LOT. So the first two-thirds of the tunnels are just quarry tunnels and you think to yourself…Oh wow…really scary. But then you hit the bones. One of the creepiest moments of my life, just rows and rows, rooms and rooms, all arranged as creepy as you could imagine. I have pictures, because really, you can’t describe it.

After being creeped out for the morning by lots of dead people, we decided to brighten things up and go the Pantheon..which of course, is full of dead people. Regardless, of the continuation of the macabre, it was amazing. I had seen pictures of it before, but did not expect it to be so huge or that it would house crypts, whoops. The crypts were very interesting, it read as a “who’s who” of French history—Voltaire, Rousseau, Madame Curie, Victor Hugo…Yeah, I had no idea they were all buried here. So that was quite the bonus.

It was at the Pantheon that Cristie and I purchased our Paris Musee Passes. The person working thought we were wasting our money because the day was half over and we only got a two-day pass, but along with our friends Nick and Anna, we believe anything can be seen in a day (or two). So we got the passes (and got more than our money’s worth).

Down the hill from the Pantheon was Cathedrale de Notre Dame. We got down there and could not believe the lines—huge. The nice thing was that the line moved very quickly. It was free, so everyone took advantage of that. Cristie and I hated that. We would rather pay and have less people…What snobs, I know, but seriously, there is nothing worse than freeloaders making a lot of noise and snapping shots at every turn. The Cathedral was beautiful, but again, way too many people, and one thing that we straight up hated was that the people did not treat the Cathedral with any respect. In London, there were more people in Westminster Abby, but it was SILENT—hushed whispers and light steps. Here, it was like Madame Tusauds. That was too bad. We were then going to go up to the belltower, but you should have seen that line. So we thought, yeah, we will find great views of the city elsewhere…like, oh I don’t know, the Eiffel Tower.

The next step was the Centre Pompidou—the black eye of Paris. Now if you don’t know, I HATE HATE HATE Frank Gehry. I hate him. Hate his birthday, hate his parents, hate his mail carrier, hate any pets he may have. So needless to say, I hated this building too, but I had heard that this was a great modern art gallery, so we had to go. Much to our dismay, it was mediocre at best. Which is too bad, because neither one of us saw many pieces that we liked and we supported a Frank Gehry building, yuck.

Next was the pearl of Paris—The Louvre. Again, with our passes, we skipped the lines (we did everywhere, if you go to Paris, GET IT). Can you guess where we headed straight to? That’s right, the Mona Lisa. It was fine. On the way though, we saw the Winged Victory of XXX. That was beautiful. I was kind of surprised how much I enjoyed it, I can say confidently that it is my favorite sculpture I have yet seen. I am usually not a big sculpture guy, but it was so beautiful. It’s one of those works of art that everyone has seen, but most can’t name. So after we stood around and enjoyed it, we walked over to the Mona Lisa and were expecting super long lines. Luckily, that was not the case. The ones were reasonable and we got to the front in less than five minutes. It was nice. What else can I say? If it weren’t famous, the average joe would walk past it without looking twice.

After checking it out, we went and sat down in the hallway and planned our visit. The Louvre is hard for us, I will explain later, but we planned it out and jumped to it. Despite the fact that our bodies were fighting us with all they had. Before starting our plan though, we went by the Mona Lisa one more time, don’t really know why, just wanted to see it again. I still don’t get it. Yeah, it’s nice, but better than Van Gogh’s Starry Night or Pissaro’s Boulevard Montmarte, or Jackson Pollock’s Lucifer? Not in my book. Sorry guys, it’s just not my thing…

Now the thing about the Louvre is that if you enjoy classical art, you will love it, it’s like your Mecca—all the 14th-18th century art you can handle. But as I stated, Cristie and I are not really in to that. So the Louvre was impressive, no doubt, but it’s like if you told me you were taking me to the best Ethiopian restaurant in the world. I am sure it’s great, but I still hate Ethiopian food. Same thing with Brie cheese, you can give me the best, I still won’t care for it. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the Louvre, it’s just not my first, second, or third choice. So yeah, the Louvre was nice and big and the Napoleon III apartments were cool, but not my cup of tea. Oh yeah, we saw the Venus de Milo too, it was fine. Good work on that one.

After the Louvre, we headed out to eat at one of the restaurants recommended in our Lonely Planet book. Based on the recommendation, we went to this quaint little restaurant that was so memorable I can't remember its name. It was very French. Small, claustrophobic, and cute. We used our best French (which is comparable to a French two-year old child’s French) and struggled through the menus. Cristie had the sea bass and I had the lamb. Sad to say, it was good, but not great. Our appetizers were really good though. Cristie had a salad and I had the escargots. Seriously, best escargots I have ever had. For dessert we had crème brulee and caramel crème custard. They were both fine, but like I said, kind of a letdown. Crème brulee is my favorite dessert and I don’t know about you, but I need a good solid layer of caramelized sugar on top—like in Amelie, breaking the top is one of my favorite things. So for a place that was decently expensive, that far off the beaten track, and not a touristy place at all, we expected more. Oh well, we survived. Well, as our first day ended we didn’t know if we had enough time to fit the rest of Paris in with one day left—regardless, we would sure try!

The next day we awoke early…only to fall back asleep and then finally got out the door around 11:00am. We hit the same bakery and headed straight to Ste. Chapelle. On the way, Cristie reminded me that we still hadn’t visited the Musee d’Orsay. This museum was one of the places I most wanted to visit. They had a huge impressionist collection and catered much more to the style of art Cristie and I both enjoyed. So we abandoned Ste. Chappelle, Ste. Sulpice, and the belltower of Notre Dame…It was a bummer, but we did not have enough time, plain and simple. Luckily for me though, and to be completely honest, I was kind of “churched-out” from England, so I didn’t mind skipping these few churches.

So as I said, we dropped everything and headed to d’Orsay. When we arrived there, we of course, skipped the lines, headed straight in, and instantly felt at home. Of course there were plenty of Pissaro and Monet, so I was a happy camper. Additionally, nothing makes me happier than discovering an artist on my own. Instead of relying on what a book, article, or recommendation says, I did it, and that feels good. Anyway, the artist found this day was Alfred Sisley. After seeing a few of his paintings, you can pick him out from Monet and Pissaro, but his style is very similar. (It reminded Cristie of when we were in the Art Institute of Chicago and I first fell in love with Pissaro. We would enter a new room of the museum, and I would look from a distance and say, “oh, I love that one,” and we would look and it would be Pissaro. That happened a lot in Chicago with Pissaro and a lot here with Sisley.) So he was great. Go check him out on Google (and while you’re at it, Google "Pissaro" if you haven’t seen his work yet, especially the Boulevard Montemarte series, he did quite a few and are some of my favorites).

Probably the most well known painting at d’Orsay was “Whistler’s Mother”. Again, it was fine, but nothing that knocks you on your butt. This was our last art museum in Paris, and as an aside, here is:

my five favorite artists of all time:
1) Camille Pissaro
2) Claude Monet
3) Vincent Van Gough
4) Jackson Pollock
5) Alfred Sisley (may be knocked down later, but as of now, makes the top 5. Good for him.)

From here, we jumped on the train and headed to Versailles, and for those of you from Kentucky, like you Jen, that’s” VER-SIGH”, not “VER-Sales”. Hehe. Versailles was a royal palace about 30 min from Paris if you are unfamiliar with it. Even if you are unfamiliar with it, you have likely seen it. It was magnificent. We again, skipped the lines and because it was the weekend, we were able to see much more of the interior than weekday visitors. The interior was very impressive, very similar to the Napoleon III apartments, but an afterthought when you compared the interior to the grounds. They were amazing. Breathtaking is the only word that comes to mind. You have to pay an additional fee to go on the grounds and it was money well spent. Beautiful fountains, topiaries, lawns, monuments, sculptures…I could go on. The only downside was the refreshments. Worst. Ice cream. Ever. But that’s what I get for buying ice cream at Versailles, right? A soft serve strawberry ice cream doesn’t sound very regal. Anyway, Versailles was totally for Cristie when we headed there, but by the time we left, I am sure I enjoyed it as much as she.

Now we didn’t have a ton of time left in Paris and I am sure you have noticed one glaring absence. So we jumped on the train and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We sat by some Americans college students on the train and talked about how great Paris was; it was nice to visit with folks from the states. Shortly before we got off the train, the students warned us of the horrific lines at the Eiffel Tower and truer words were never spoken. We waited in line for 1.5 hours to get to the “second floor” which on its own was impressive, and then another 30 minutes for a ride to the top. All of this was for what? Fifteen minutes at the top? Well, we did get some great shots, but really? Two hours? Never again. Had to be done once, and once was enough. Probably my favorite part was watching a street performer. He was dressed like a pilot of one of those old bi-planes and would run up to women and scream, “Maria!” with his arms wide open, or he would follow people and copycat them without the victim knowing. It probably sounds lame, but it was nice, pleasant, and took our minds off of the line.

After the Eiffel Tower, we had to head to the train station and pick up our tickets to Luzern. Well, this was a problem because they no longer had tickets to Luzern (seriously?). I guess we waited too long and the train to Luzern was booked completely. So we altered our trip slightly and were now headed to Bern, which we hear is a nice city. So that was Paris. Great sites, horrible hotel room, and overrated food…oh I have one more thing I want to talk about…

I really don’t know understand the beef Americans have with the French and particularly with Parisians. We were warned soooo much of douchebaggery that would be found in Paris. We both felt the French were very pleasant, very helpful, and extremely polite. I would put them against any other country we have been to thus far. Neither one of us have used French since high school, but we tried to speak the language (which usually lasted 3-4 words) and they would smile and would answer us in French and then English, so we wouldn’t feel stupid. They also helped us out with any words we struggled with. So as far as the French being rude and arrogant with a strong hated of Americans, I just don’t know where that could have stemmed from…my bet would be Americans walking around with attitudes that the French should all speak English fluently and in preferential order to French, that they should still worship us and act like they owe us everything for WWII (come on, it’s been fifty years), and mostly from the entitlement and arrogance that many Americans are guilty of exhibiting. How would you feel if a tourist from India or China came up to you while you were working in a deli or clothing store, and expected you to speak their language? More people in the world speak Chinese and Bengali as a first language than English. And then to add that “something special” that we Americans are known for, imagine that these same tourists ended up getting pissed off at you because you didn’t speak their language, in your country. So thanks, Parisians, we’ll defend you; you aren’t the bunch of douchebags we were expecting.

Part One (of Four) of My Travel Journal...

2009-06-10T12:37:00.005-06:00

So, this travel journal was so I wouldnt forget our trip to Europe. I suck at keeping a journal, but for some reason, I did really well on this trip! (A little too well, if you ask me). So these entries are LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. I dont blame you if you dont want to read them, I probably wouldnt if they were someone else's, but a couple of people said they wanted to read it, so here it is...I split it up into four parts (because it's so f'ing long). So here goes...

Getting There

Our day started pretty early. Though our flight wasn’t until 9:00am, I did all my last minute packing the morning of, which made for a pretty hectic start. Cristie, in her infinite wisdom was ready to go about two days before. Then we were off to Salt Lake International and the first leg of our journey. The flight was fine, I guess.

The flight from New York JFK to Reykjavik was fully booked and the seats were uncomfortable and hard. To make matters worse, the headset jack for my seat, where I could have watched a free movie or learned Icelandic phrases was broken! So as Cristie jammed out to Moulin Rouge…I enjoyed…nothing! I guess I shouldn’t complain, we all know that given the chance, I would have watched, like three back-to-back movies and arrived in Reykjavik even more tired than I ended up being (which was pretty darned tired). We touched down in Iceland at 6am Icelandic time (that’s midnight, Utah time). So to this point, we had been travelling for 15 hours straight. Not fun. So it would be nice to think that we got a lot of rest on the flight, but again, the seats were really uncomfortable and it was packed, so no dice. (Also, like I said, Cristie watched Moulin Rouge! I tried to sleep…and failed.)

Iceland

So by the time we arrived in Iceland, we were exhausted. I was dreading Customs but to be honest, getting through Customs was very easy, the line moved quickly and it only took us about 20 minutes. Now Cristie and I had to put on our “game faces” because we had decided to skip sleep, and see Iceland on the one day we were there. From the Icelandic airport in Keflavik, we rented a car and drove to Reykjavik which is around 40 minutes from Reykjavik. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there was NOTHING between Keflavik and Reykjavik other than very small rural communities and endless fields of volcanic rock. Cristie knew that Iceland was a volcanic island, but I did not. As we made the drive, I kept mentioning how at first, I couldn’t get over how ugly it seemed, but then, as I kept being distracted from the road, it just became beautiful. I actually kind of miss it. Miles and miles of these volcanic fields—they just went on forever. It was amazing.

After the drive, we arrived in Reykjavik at around 7:30am. To our dismay, Bjork was not there. Bummer, though it did look a lot like “Dancer in the Dark”. We teetered around Reykjavik, driving through downtown, trying to burn through the hour until our Puffin Island Express Tour was ready to begin. Oh yeah, it was f’ing COLD. Now I was told that it wouldn’t be that cold and that especially at this time of year, it wouldn’t be bad at all. Of course we show up during a rain storm and summarily head straight to the ocean. Brilliant, I know.

So we left on the Puffin tour around 8:45am with one other couple…did I mention that it was freezing cold and raining? The tour was led by two young men who had moved to Reykjavik from small fishing villages in Northwestern Iceland. They said that each of their hometowns had a population of around 300! So for them, the 150,000 population of Reykjaik was massive. To give you an idea, that is like a Salt Laker moving to a city with 500 million people. That kind of put it in perspective for me, anyway.

We got to the Puffin Island after a 15 minute boat ride and were about 150 feet from the Island. Both we and the other couple thought we would get quite a bit closer. To be honest, they could have been mechanized. Too bad for us. Over half of the entire population of puffin live in Iceland, and on this particular island, they estimated around 30,000. According to the tour guides, we unfortunately arrived when a lot of them were out to sea. We could see them, but we couldn’t really appreciate their beautifully colored bills and all round weirdness. If you are unfamiliar with puffins, take a trip to the grocery store, there is brand of cereal called Puffin, with a picture of the bird right on the front. So the tour was pretty underwhelming and disappointing. The tour guides offered another tour the next day for free, but of course, we would be gone by then…Too bad for us. And despite the bitter cold, the boat ride was still fun. I do wish they had given us some highlights of the skyline though.

Top 5 Favorite Birds
1) Parakeet (how could I choose anything else?)
2) African Grey Parrot
3) Owl
4) Raven
5) Macaw Parrot (the HUGE ones)

After the Puffin Tour, we quickly checked into our hotel, the Loftleider Hotel, and then headed to the nearest mall. As I stated, I was going to die a very Icelandic death if I didn’t get a coat—oh, and we needed to eat! We arrived at the mall and you wouldn’t believe what we found as we walked in the door---Sbarro….and no, I am not kidding. Next to Sbarro? McDonalds, a Subway, and then a few Icelandic fast food chains promising burritos, Chinese food, and other typical mall fare. I guess a mall is a mall. We settled on a place that seemed kinda French and hopefully Icelandic. I don’t know what else we could expect, but we ended up eating the worst crepes ever made! Literally. Part of it was my fault, Cristie has told me at least a thousand times that I hate leeks, but the the crepe I ordered had a ton of them. YUCK! So I nibbled around and ate the crepe itself, but left most of it untouched. I will tell you what though, they had some amazing pastries, so yeah! Pastries for breakfast! This would be a reoccurring them on the trip. And who could complain about that?! We then found a couple of jackets and headed to the Blue Lagoon.

Before we planned the trip, we didn’t know what the Blue Lagoon was. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermic mineral pool in the middle of all those volcanic fields. It is supposed to have some quack healing power nonsense, but it was fun and it was refreshing, remember we were going on practically no sleep! So the pool was HUGE, and to call it a pool is kind of a disservice, it was a bunch of rocks with a sandy bottom, so don’t think like YMCA pool, wrong idea. It was very mineral-y with this algae that grew inside of it that you rub all over your face and arms. They sell this stuff for a ton, but when you are in there, obviously you get it for free. You kinda look lame, but you have to do it right? The lagoon also has tons of hot spots. The map said in certain areas it was about 104 degrees (and in some unmarked areas, it was like 64 degrees! Brrrr!). We both needed the Blue Lagoon at that moment and were very glad we did it.

So I know it’s usual to discuss the changing areas, but after coming out of the dressing rooms, Cristie noted that compared with the shy and modest “cover up at all costs” culture of American women’s dressing rooms, the women’s dressing rooms at the Blue Lagoon were polar opposites. Everyone just walking around, as naked as could be. (But from American teen movies, you would think that is how all dressing rooms are though, right?) Anyway, it was kind of funny because the male dressing rooms were very similar to American dressing rooms. Yeah, there were naked dudes walking around, but most were covered up or at least attempting to do so. I just thought the comparison was interesting. Anyway, we enjoyed the Blue Lagoon. It was a lot of fun! And if you know me, and my HATE of swimming-related activities, that is saying something.

After the Blue Lagoon, we headed back to downtown Reykjavik. There is this church that I found when we were planning our trip and in my opinion, it is one of the prettiest churches ever. Now before we left, I knew that the church was undergoing renovation, but I was hoping that most of it would be completed. This was not the case. The entire spire was under scaffold and there was no view of the church that was unobstructed. It was a pity and I guess I can always look at the pictures and remember what the inside and other half of the outside of the church looked like, but dang! Too bad for me, but I am still glad that we visited it.

Cristie and I then set out to find a “good Icelandic restaurant”. This ended up being a more difficult task than we were expecting. So relying upon our puffin tour guides recommendations of a “real Icelandic restaurant with real Icelandic food,” they directed us to a restaurant called “Tapas”. We were hesitant based on the name, but trusted them—they said it was “very Icelandic.” Of course, as the name indicated, the restaurant was Spanish…and we were left on our own to find an Icelandic restaurant. After walking up and down the streets of Reykjavik, we settled on Hressingarskalinn—come on, the name alone was proof enough of its authenticity, right? So we went in, and I ordered a fish stew that the waitress assured me was “very Icelandic, very Viking.” So I expected, I don’t know, stew, but it was a mashed potato-y concoction on top of fish in a bowl. I had to eat it with a fork (not very “stewlike” right?)! It was actually pretty good! Yeah for Cristie and me finding a real Icelandic restaurant. Cristie got a pasta with olives…very Icelandic, Cristie (wink). But again, the problem she was ready for was that in Europe, they don’t really “do” vegetarian, in fact in our guidebook it says that most countries consider vegetarian to mean “no red meat,” so she has to make do.

After eating, we headed back to the car and then back to our hotel, which was conveniently located next to the non-International Reykjavik Airport. So the next time you are in Iceland and need to fly into Reykjavik, the Loftleider is the one for you…It amazed me that they would even need a domestic airport. Anyway, the room was very European—kinda small with twin beds, but it fit our criteria—clean and cheap. We had to wake up early because our flight to London was around 7:00am. Let me remind you once more…we still hadn’t really slept since Salt Lake! So we hit the hay around 7:00pm!

The next morning, we woke up around 5:00am, jumped in the car and headed to the airport. That was Iceland. We were both glad that we visited Iceland, but I can say pretty assuredly, that I doubt either one of us will ever feel the need to visit again…That is, after we connect in Reykjavik on our way home!

London

We arrived at Heathrow Airport in London and from the many warnings, we expected a looong time to get through customs. After about fifteen minutes, we were done! It was very painless and the customs agent was very pleasant. We received our second stamp on our passports (yeah!) and after getting our luggage, we headed to the “Tube”. The Tube was awesome. It is a very well laid out public transportation system that beats NYC subways by a mile. Chicago is close, but again, Chicago’s is about half the size. We arrived in London in about fifteen minutes and jumped on another train that dropped us off about 100 meters from our hotel. I would love to say that this was planned from the outset, but it was not. We were lucky.

The hotel was called The London Bridge Hotel, which was next to the London Bridge Train Station, which was next to the Tower Bridge…Go figure…The hotel was nice but the room was nice, but again, very small, little did we know that we would need to expect this from all future hotels!

After getting situated, we decided to head out and get something to eat. We did some research online and found a lovely looking British restaurant with very strong reviews that was only down the street from our hotel called Ball Brothers. We showed up and it was closed…it looked like it was closed for good, and at the very least, despite what their website said, it was closed when we arrived. Total bummer. Now one thing that you need to know about Cristie is that she is a very pleasant, very “fun-to-be-around” person, as long as you follow two rules: 1) Keep her fed, and 2) Keep her well-rested. Now she was less than well-rested and I was in danger of breaking the other rule. Therefore, we went to the closest, busy restaurant called…wait for it…the Café Rouge. Yep, a French café. What can I say, we needed to get her fed! The food was fine. The crème brulee was good.

After eating, we headed to our very first football match, because really, can you go to the UK and not see some football? And being the snobs that we are, we had to go to a Premiere League match. A fellow at 1-800 CONTACTS who is from Nottingham, Chris “something”, looked it up for me before leaving and found that there were two clubs playing in London and neither of them were Arsenal. Tough cookies. So the club we decided to support ended up being West Ham United. We arrived a little late to the match, which was packed, but still managed to get two tickets in whatever you would call the endzone of the field. They were actually great seats! The match was very exciting and I have to say that I kind of converted to soccer. I would never abandon baseball or American football, but I can say confidently that soccer would be #3. And of course, like any new fan, you become a fan of the team you first attended…therefore, Go HAMMERS!

Top 5 British Words
1) Bollocks
2) Right… (They use it like Americans use “uh huh” or “yeah” in a conversation, to show they are listening, usually “right….right…”)
3) Cheers (but ONLY said by an Englishman/woman. Americans who say it are annoying and lame)
4) Queue (instead of line)
5) Sod and Bugger (as in “Sod off”, though I hear they’re really offensive, but still funny)

The game was against Middlesborough and we learned it was a very important match. West Ham was in the middle of the standings, but if Middlesborough lost, they would be relegated. The Premiere League is very interesting in that every year, the bottom three teams are replaced by teams in lower divisions. If MIddlesborough lost, they would be in the bottom three. As we were buying our tickets, the crowd roared, we asked what was happening and the ticket attendant told us that West Ham had just scored. Bollocks! We knew that scoring is usually low in soccer, had we just missed our only chance to see a goal?! We found our seats, which were right on top of the people behind us and the same for those in front of us. VERY squished. Our section was only two away from the Middlesborough fans, which added some excitement to the match. You see, soccer fans cheer, sing, taunt, chant, and harass the other side’s fans. You would not believe it. Well, Middlesborough scored and tied it up and we returned the favor and ended up winning 2-1. Our team song, is about “forever blowing bubbles”….I am not kidding….and it totally sounds like a drinking song. But the fans love it, so what are you going to do? Regardless, it’s fun to sing. There were TONS of F-bombs, too, not that I care, but just watch out for the little ones if you go in the future. Pretty salty, but totally hilarious (at least the parts you can understand). Upon leaving the stadium, I of course, needed a jersey and so we made our way down to the pro shop and got one. Then, back to our part of London. It’s funny too, as a Utah and Chicago White Sox fan, I have grown accustom to sometimes being embarrassed by my fellow fans…well, West Ham is no different. They have been traditionally know for having hooligans as fan. Famous for it actually, movies, books, etc. So I sure do know how to pick ‘em.

Later that evening, Cristie and I decided to walk over to the famous Clink. It is a museum of the old prison system that was supposed to be super creepy with torture devices and old cells that you walk through. On the way, decked out in my West Ham shirt, we were approached by three Middlesborough fans that began to yell about how West Ham sucked, F them, F their fans, etc. We had a very good laugh at their expense, seeing that at the time, I couldn’t even name one player on my team! I could understand their frustration though, their team was just relegated, I would be pissed too. Throughout the night, we received random congratulations and inquiries regarding the score…These people take their football seriously. It was a blast. Anyway, back to the Clink. Again…regardless of what the website said, it was closed…I was heartbroken. This was one of the attractions that I wanted to see most!

Brokenhearted, we headed back to the hotel. On the way, we found this Malaysian restaurant and decided to give it a go. Heck, neither of us had had Malaysian before, so why not now? We had heard that the best London food was immigrant food anyway. Cristie had some vegetable concoction and I had skewers of chicken with peanut sauce, rice, and vegetables, along with a fruity salad that was pretty awesome. After that, we were beat—remember, we were still going on like 9 hours of sleep along with the time change!

The next day we awoke with plans of a massively PACKED day. We jumped on the tube and stopped at a booth similar to TKTS. There were a number of musicals we wanted to see, but the revival of Oliver! was playing and Rowan Atkinson was playing Fagin! Now Cristie is not a huge Oliver! fan, but she knows I am, and agreed to go…But then no tickets were available together. Darn. So we settled on Hairspray with Michael Ball (formerly of Les Miz) playing Edna. That could be good, right? We liked the movie (except for John Travolta who was PATHETIC.)

After the tickets, we headed to the National Gallery. It was free, we love art museums and it was right on Trafalgar Square, Combo Bonus! We went in and I took a snapshot of the dome. A lady raced over and told me no cameras, not even without flashes turned on. Oh well…So we looked around for about 45 minutes and felt bad for the English. Most of their good stuff was either in the States, France, or Italy…too bad for them…They did have a couple of Pissaro’s (my favorite), a few Picasso’s (eh), but nothing that really grabbed us. It was short visit, but we got what we needed.

As a side note, Cristie and I are pretty quick in art museums. We know what we like and breeze past things that aren’t to our liking, seriously, I don’t care how long I stand in front of a gruesome religious painting, I still won’t like it. So there. And portraits? Unless they are self portraits of Van Gogh or Cezanne, or something like the Mona Lisa, I don’t really care to look at them.

After the Gallery and the obligatory photos of Trafalgar Square, we headed to Buckingham Palace. I forgot to mention that Cristie and I are notorious for (unfortunately) going to places during their local holidays or festivals. This was no exception. The same day as Memorial Day in the US was some holiday in the UK. They had some kind of 5k in the city and it blocked a lot of where we wanted to go! So we went around the path and of course, the race ended at Buckingham Palace at the statue of the Queen. Lucky us. So it was super crowded and the changing of the guard was not scheduled for today. Bollocks. Anyway, we saw the guards marching around, were not that impressed by the palace, and quickly exited towards Parliament and Big Ben. The White House was much better, go America (wink).

We decided to walk to Parliament because it was a beautiful day and heck, we wanted to walk (and we didn’t know where the closest Tube Station was). The walk wasn’t too far and on the way we saw one of those delightful red phone booths which can be found all over London. Of course I wanted my picture taken inside of one, so I stepped in, and the smell of urine almost knocked me out. Thankfully, Cristie quickly snapped the shot so I could escape the urine-tinted air—gross.

Before hitting Parliament and Big Ben, we walked down the street to get a look at Number 10 Downing Street, that’s where the Prime Minster lives. You could only see his door from the side and it wasn’t that impressive…which made it all the more impressive. It looked like a very modest home, good for the PM. Parliament was next and it was pretty rad, Big Ben was also cool, but it really bummed us out that we couldn’t go in. Something about not being a British citizen or something…and it was the holiday…what a bummer. But we walked around and got some great pictures. We were also really hungry. The only British restaurant around was close to Number 10 Downing Street, so we headed there afterwards and couldn’t believe the prices. We had heard that London was the most expensive city in Europe and just based on food alone, its twice as expensive as anywhere else…We learned later, you just have to find where the locals eat, that’s where the prices are manageable. So we bought some chips and water and decided to find a place later. I was failing at keeping Cristie well-fed.

Across the street from Parliament was Westminster Abby, which was one of Cristie’s top destinations. I would have gone there anyway, but it was very high on Cristie’s list. I have to say, it was amazing. Very beautiful and with a disgusting amount of history. I was pretty tired and ready to pack it in until we got to Poet’s Corner. There one can find tombs and monuments to some great…let’s see…poets? It was exciting. Additionally, we saw the tomb of Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth, a bunch of Henrys, and the throne they sit on when they are coronated. Really cool stuff.

After Westminster Abby, Cristie agreed to do something with me that I had ALWAYS wanted to do…go to a wax museum. So we hopped on the Tube and headed to Northwest London. It was in the silliest, tourist-y trap parts of London. We stopped and ate in a small café that promised English cuisine and to be honest, Van Kamps Fish and Chips were more authentic. And it was expensive. So it was a double whammy. After that awful meal, we headed to the mother of all wax museums, Madame Tusaud’s—London. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but for 15 pounds each, it was waaaaay overpriced. It was modestly fun, but I can tell you one thing, I am glad I don’t have to wonder if a wax museum is worth it anymore…because it’s not.

From the wax museum, we stopped down at the Tower of London to see if we could get tickets in advance (we could not) and then ended up getting some Ben and Jerry’s…It’s funny, out of all the people in the shop, I think two were not American! What can I say, we love our ice cream. From there we headed up to the theatre to watch Hairspray.

Upon arriving at the theatre, we were kind of unimpressed. Let’s just say that it had nothing on the Capitol or Paramount. When we walked in, we noticed something…Michael Ball was not performing that evening…nor was the woman who plays Tracey…or Seaweed….Again, lucky us. But fortune smiled upon us and we had a really good cast! We really enjoyed it and thought that the backups did great, and the woman who played Penny was especially great, she was by far the best of the group. Better than the movie? Eh, not the original, but better than the remake. If we could recast Travolta, I think I would prefer the movie version. But that was it for day two.

We knew that day three in London would be HECTIC. We had to wrap everything up because when we came back the day before heading home, we wanted to take a tour out in the country. So we started very early.

First stop was the Southwark Cathedral (it is pronounced South’erk). This was the neighborhood where we stayed and upon walking by it earlier, we noticed that it had been there forever and had some very famous congregants, most notably, John Harvard, founder of Harvard University. He was actually baptized there! So we toured the cathedral, and a very nice attendant told us about its history and showed us some 15th century covers for the bolts in the ceiling. One of which, Cristie and I both liked. It was the devil…eating Judas. And the way the attendant said it was just hilarious. Well, the church was great, but we had to move on…

Next was the Globe Theater. Now the fact that Cristie is from Cedar City should clue you in on the fact that Cristie is a Shakespeare junkie. We showed up at the Globe and they were only running “Silent Tours” with no photos because of a rehearsal! And we should pay 20 pounds each for that? No way, Jose. So we just took pictures, looked around and planned on getting our fill at the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar…So there, take that London.

Down around one block later was the Tate Modern. Now as I stated, Cristie and I love modern art. We were excited to go to the Tate Modern—and it was free! So we went in, Cristie sees some Rothko, I see some Pissaro, and we are both happy. They also had some pretty weird stuff too, like a lawn furniture quality Venus D’Milo holding up a pile of clothes, a bunch of silver pressed into 30 pieces, all of which hung from the ceiling, a super large table and chairs, and an exhibit that was behind closed doors because it was too sexual in nature…That we didn’t see, neither one of us really were up for “extreme sexual content” that day, if you can believe it. Well, Cristie was, but me being the angelic creature that I am, refused. But don’t worry we did see a film (or at least part of it) with a nude man and woman throwing and catching a ball and simultaneously doing a somersault off of a couch. Lame-O. See, it’s things like that that push people away from art, especially modern art. It’s fraudulent, if you ask me…It’s crap like that that drives people to Thomas Kincade, and that, my friends, is a crime.

Our next stop was the St. Paul’s Catherdal. It was awesome! One of the things I love about the cathedrals in London, is the respect that people show them, and a lot of that respect comes from the attendants and the fact that you have to pay, if you ask me. Anyway, it was nice and quiet and amazing. We walked around the Cathedral and admired the craftsmanship. After that, we went up to the “Whisper Gallery.” After 166 steps, we get up and you can look down and see the nave of the floor, it was breathtaking. We sat there for a few minutes, caught our breath, and headed to the top, which was outside and offered some great views of London. The downside? Another 150 some-odd steps. So we climbed them, got to the top and thank goodness it was cold and windy. What a great way to cool down! So the Cathedral was large and beautiful and they let you climb all the stairs to the top. What else do you want from a cathedral? I still don’t know if the church was Anglican or Catholic? Too embarrassed to ask.

Now it was time for the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Now to be completely honest, I wasn’t that familiar with the Tower of London before reading about while prepping for our trip. You see, this used to be the King’s home. It had a moat, lions, a torture chamber, a private execution spot, and of course, the crown jewels. The tour was great with each group being led by a Yeoman. Now we just thought that a yeoman was like a regular tour guide…They are not. A yeoman is a former military man or woman and a guard of the Queen. They live next to the Tower and it is a very great honor for them. So at the end, when some retard took a picture in the King’s private chapel, after the Yeoman told us at least 5 times to turn them off, he got super pissed. Made a fool of the guy and made him delete the picture on the stop…Go Paul, the Yeoman!

As I said, the tour was great and ended in the King’s private chapel. Therein, Anne Boleyn and many others were buried, it was really neat. I totally want to learn more about this chapel and the Tower in general. After the tour, we went on our own to the crown jewels which were amazing but to me, a huge waste of money. Oh, also during the tour, our Yeoman let us know that the beautiful little garden that Cristie and I stopped to take pictures in before heading over to the Tower were the former execution grounds. Lovely.

We then walked across the Tower Bridge and back into Southwark. We found a very cute little pub, and I ordered Toad in the Hole and Cristie ordered Fish and Chips—both very English dishes. The price was low, the food was good and we were glad that we had a chance to eat real British food, and let me tell you, there is a reason they are not known for their food. I mean, you gotta try it, but it’s nothing to write home about. I wish we had found this pub earlier. We would have eaten there every night.

Now that our time in London was ending, we headed to the Liverpool Station to catch our train to Harwich. This is where we would catch the overnight ferry that we would take to Rotterdam.

(And that's Part I...I told you it was long. (*blush*)

Don't worry...I am not dead.

2009-03-26T14:23:00.004-06:00

So I am sorry that I haven't blogged in forever...I KNOW that you sit and wait...and check...and check again...hoping that I blogged something, right? Right?! Okay, so maybe not. So this will be a two-parter: 1) The Eleven Greatest TV characters of all-time and 2) My latest updates.

Part I: The Eleven Greatest TV Characters of All-Time:

I was going to get pretty deep into this, but then this blog would be too long, so here is the short version:

1) Tony Soprano. The only way you would disagree is if you havent seen it. James Gandolfini is AMAZING. Does this surprise anyone that I picked him?
2) Al Swearengen. From "Deadwood". Again, if you have seen it, you will love him.
3) Sam Malone. Ole "Mayday Malone" from Cheers. Awesomeness.
4) Andy Bernard. LOVE the Nard Dog. I argue with people on a daily basis over him. Screw Dwight, screw Jim, and screw Michael.
5) Larry David. Sorry Seinfeld fans. George was edged out by the REAL George. Larry David, playing a version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm is so awesome.
6) Cartman and Butters. They share this spot because they make each other better. The best South Park episodes are where they play off of each other.
7) Micheal Bluth. In honor of the WHOLE cast of Arrested Development. But he is best! Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious.
8) Dexter Morgan. No one has made serial killers more endearing...
9) Barney Stinson. Legen....wait for it...dary. I LOVE How I Met Your Mother.
10) Carmela Soprano. Edie Falco is AMAZING as Tony's counterpart and nudges out Pauly Walnuts for spot #10.
11) Jack Bauer. Though he doesn't have time for the Bill of Rights, he is still a bad a**. and so resilient!

Several updates...
1) I bought stock. And it is sooooo much fun! Now dont worry, I am not investing our whole future in it, just a dab. But it is rad. Cristie thinks I am evil because I invested in AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, and an iron ore company called Cliffs Natural Resources...a few others too, but those are the ones that she give me grief about...And they are doing awesome, if you care...

2) I applied to the University of Utah MBA program earlier this year and found out yesterday that I got in! Hooray! So i will start that in the fall and Cristie and I should finish at the same time. More school...really? How stupid can I be?!

3) We might get a new car now that Cristie will have to drive (at least to the ParknRide) at least three times a week. We are planning on keeping the PT and then getting a 2005ish car for me (maybe a BMW X5?).
I am excited. There was a short while (ok, a long while) where I was fighting for a brand new BMW X3...Cristie talked me down from the ledge and made me think more practically...She is awesome. I love her tons!

4) I have seen The Watchmen...twice. I read the "book" and though I hate comic books, it was really good. I hesitate to recommend it, it's not for everyone, especially because one of the characters walks around naked for most of the movie...his blue junk out in the breeze... But whatever, it makes sense in the grande scheme of the plot and if you can get past the idiotic patrons snickering like 9 year olds school boys, its not that distracting.

5) This isn't really about me, but I am really proud of Cristie! She made it on the Trial Advocacy Team at BYU-Law! She is doing such a great job I am so proud of her. For those of you who dont know, Trial Advocacy is a competition where you compete against other schools in simulations of litigation. It's really competitive, so it's right up Cristie's alley! ;)

6) I love to use ellipses...alot...It's how I speak so I type them allllllll the time...Don't like it? Don't care.

7) Cristie introduced me to the most AMAZING hand lotion I have ever encountered. It's called Eucerin Plus--Intensive Repair Hand Creme. A...mazing. I HATE lotion, but its not greasy and it smells nice without being girly.

8) It's my birthday next Friday. #31...Yep, you forgot to wish me a happy birthday on my THIRTIETH! HOW DARE YOU?! I love my birthday, they usually are fun, and i like to get things.

My Top Five Times of Year (no particular order):
1) Sundance Film Festival
2) My Birthday
3) Thanksgiving
4) Our Anniversary (we go on trips almost every year)
5) Our Oscars Party (which is kind of funny, because in the 40-year old Virgin outtakes, two of the characters are teasing each other by saying, "You know how I know you are gay?" and then say things like, "Because you macraméd yourself a pair of jean shorts," or "because you like Coldplay" etc. Anyway, in the outtakes one of the reasons is "Because you host an Oscar Party every year."

So that is what I am doing these days... I will try to think up a good topic for my next one. BYE!

I So Big Loved You...

2009-03-09T16:21:00.004-06:00

So there is this show on HBO called Big Love. If you are Mormon and haven't heard of it, you have been living under a rock for the last few years. It is about a polygamist family living in Sandy, Utah...and it was really good!
My only qualm was that if a Mormon character is introduced, he or she has some huge, glaring inconsistency or flaw with their character (closeted homosexual, Zoloft-addict, Bigot, etc.) Since Season One, there havent been any "normal" Mormons on the show...Well, I can live with that. Even though we aren't ALL freaks, there are a lot of freaks (just like you would find in any group this large). Anyway, I digress...
So this Season has been good, but it has been more critical of the Church than past seasons. Again, I don't have a problem with this. The Church has skeletons in its closet and they are what they are. In fact, I hate that we sugar coat a lot of our past. We are not perfect people. So this season has been critical, as I said I am fine with that...to a point.
This week, according to the TV Guide (I got a link from Shannon, like I would ever seek out the TV Guide), the show will have re-creations of the Temple Ceremonies. Now I guess the plot is focusing on Barb's (the first-wife of the main character) excommunication. Well, as much as I love Barb. She is a polygamist and that will get you excommunicated, last I checked. Addressing that? Fair game. But why the need to exploit the Temple Ceremonies? Other than shock value, there is NO reason to do so. What isn't shown could be implied. Right?
Now I am not going into the whole secret/sacred thing that has been discussed a thousand times before. To me, it's just about respect. The writers know how we feel about this...But it just doesnt matter to them...and I find this just plain sad.

So what do you do?
For me, it means cancelling HBO and not watching it. I really like it. But there comes a point where you just have to "stand for something" as Pres. Hinckley said, and I am standing for this.
Now one may ask, "why would they do such a thing?" Well, its kind of obvious. The show, in my opinion, has been a metaphor for homosexuality in America. The writer is an gay ex-Mormon who has an axe to grind, and with our latest political battles, we have supplied the flint. Now I am not saying I agree with their tactics (obviously...I have just written a bunch about it), but I can see where they are coming from. They are hurt and they want to hit back where it will hurt us. They picked a soft spot and have thrown a body blow.

Well, I think the best way to handle this is to:
1) Cancel HBO and tell others what you did and why you are doing it;
2) Write a letter to HBO. Tell them why it offends you without acting like an a-hole. Basically, share your testimony of the sacredness of the Temple;
3) Try to see their point of view. When you are hurt, do you fight back? Possibly, take a cheap shot?(If this were just HBO execs it would be a different matter) How would you feel?
4) Love those you disagree with and pray for them.
5) Avoid being a jerk about it. You just escalate the problem. Don't call anyone to condemnation or get into fits of rage and anger. Stay levelheaded. If you are being a douchebag, the Spirit cannot abide with you.

Well, that's all I have to say about that...it's too bad, I really, really, really liked that show :(

My Favorite Albums of All-Time

2009-02-26T23:36:00.004-07:00

So I was on RollingStone.com the other day, its a great site. One of my favorite features is that you can search their archive and read reviews of each album they have reviewed...Why is this awesome, you may ask? Well, when ESPN.com requires their membership for any half-interesting article, its refreshing to see things like this for free...
So on rollingstone.com, they have their "500 Greatest Albums of All-Time". While this is a very good list, and if you are not all that into music, I suggest it. It can give you some great recommendations...ANYWAY....They break one of my cardinal rules for lists...and as you know I am kind of an authority on listmaking. What rule was so egregiously broken? The inclusion of Greatest Hits albums and compilations of course! It seems kind of fake that they break this rule--consistently--yet they dont have GH albums at the very top. Can you honestly argue that "Sgt. Pepper's" is better than the "Blue Greatest Hits" by the Beatles?
Now I believe strongly in "the album." I hate the new iTunes generation where basically, all that matters is one good hit. I like the way an album works together, and I don't just mean concept albums...In fact, I am not the biggest fan of "Tommy" (though I LOVE "The Wall").
Now up until this very second I was going to list (succinctly) my top 50 albums of all-time...Then, I had an epiphany...Rather than that, I will list my Top 25 albums and 10 albums you should check out. The reason I came up with this is because the album I am currently listening is not in my Top 25, but you should listen to it...So I will keep my thoughts short...SO here they are....

My Top 25 Albums of All Time (not "the best" but my favorites...no live albums, no GH's.

1. Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run" (1975). Perfection.

2. The Who, "Who's Next" (1971). First time I heard it, I thought it was a greatest hits album.

3. The Beach Boys, "Pet Sounds" (1966). Inspired the Beatles to do Sgt. Peppers...and it's still better.

4. Radiohead, "Kid A" (2000). I bought it expecting "OK Computer"...best missed expectation ever.

5. Pink Floyd, "The Division Bell" (1994). Introduced me to Floyd. Very Gilmour-and I love Gilmour.

6. Beck, "Odelay" (1996). Amazing ability to mix genres and retain accessability.

7. The Velvet Underground & Nico, "The Velvet Underground" (1967). Ever wondered where Alternative Rock originated? This is it.

8. Pink Floyd, "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973). If only I did drugs, this might be #1.

9. Bruce Springsteen, "Magic" (2007). Great poppy-Rock album. Converted Cristie to the Boss.

10. Bob Dylan, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" (1963). One of my favorite album covers...and the songs aren't bad either.

11. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida" (2008). Best arena rock album out there...so much better than any U2 album.

12. Rush, "Roll the Bones" (1991). Kinda of "easy listening" for Rush, but I totally dig it.

13. Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the USA" (1984). 7 Top Ten singles, out of 12 tracks...

14. The Beatles, "Abbey Road" (1969). For the longest time, this was the only Beatles album I would listen to. So good.

15. Radiohead, "The Bends" (1995). Everyone overlooks this one. Solid from beginning to end.

16. Pink Floyd, "The Wall" (1979). Best concept album ever.

17. The Doors, "Waiting for the Sun" (1968). Very underrated.

18. Bruce Springsteen, The River (1980). Yes, the best two albums of the 1980s were both by the Boss. This one is such a great album for its rawness.

19. The Rolling Stones, "Let it Bleed" (1969). The Stones are one of my favorite bands, but very guilty of using fillers. All of their albums have AMAZING songs...and total duds. This is the most complete.

20. The Smashing Pumpkins, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (1995). Chuck full of great songs...if only the Stones would be this selective.

21. The Beatles, "The Beatles (The White Album)" (1968). The Beatles are.

22. Bob Dylan, "Slow Train Coming" (1979). Not one of his most popular albums, it when he was in his "Born-Again Christian Phase". One of the best religious albums and a great rock album in its own right.

23. Bruce Springsteen, "Nebraska" (1982). Considered by many to be the Boss's best. Haunting.

24. The Flaming Lips, "Soft Bulletin" (1999). So weird, but so amazing. I was turned on to these guys in Seattle and was amazed that I turned my nose up to them after the Batman song.

25. The Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967). Great album.

Ten Albums You May Not Have Heard Of...But are awesome (not in order)

1. Sonic Youth, "Dirty"(1992). One of the great alt rock albums. (this is what I was listening to)
2 The Velvet Underground, all their albums. It amazes me how overlooked they are. They are AMAZING! Start with "The Velvet Underground" (the one with the banana) and then work your way around...
3. Faith No More, "Angel Dust" (1992). During the death rattle of heavy metal, FNM put out this album and it blew me away. Very solid.
4. Marjorie Fair, "Self-Help Serenade" (2005). Kind of Pink Floyd-y and Radiohead-y. So yeah, good.
5. Nick Drake. He only recorded three albums so just pick up all three. Folky, akin to Cat Stevens...Good stuff.
6. William Shatner, "Has Been" (2004). No, I am not joking. It is a GREAT album. Produced by Ben Folds...so get it.
7. The Stone Roses, "The Stone Roses" (1989). Great, but uneven 80s album.
8. Brian Jonestown Massacre, "Strung Out in Heaven" (1998). Got into them from a movie called "Dig" (Best rock documentary EVER).
9. Massive Attack, "Protection" (1994). Everybody talked about how "Blue Lines" was amazing...well, this album is better, especically track #1.
10. Missy Elliott. Musically, there are few hip-hop artists that "create" like this. Just listen to "On and On" on the "The Cookbook". I still can't get over how good that song is.

*NOTE* As pointed out by Cristie, "Dark Side of the Moon" is most definitely a concept album and I didnt point that out. Therefore, Dark Side is the best concept album ever, "The Wall" is second.

My Man-Crush on Ben Affleck.

2009-02-24T16:29:00.004-07:00

(my hero)

So I have this unhealthy obsession with Ben Affleck...I can't really explain it. Do I think he is the world's greatest actor? Nope. But do I see every single one of his movies, regardless of premise or title? I have to say yes. It's not even that his movies are that great...most of them anyway...but I just can't get enough Affleck. So in honor of this non-gay crush, I have compiled my top 10 Affleck Movies...as I have told you before, I like to list stuff. In fact (oughto, Tony's gonna take us on a tangential waste of time again...) when I was, let's see, in seventh grade, I started making lists of my favorite cassette tapes. Each week, religiously, I would lie down in front of my stereo and rank my then favorite albums. They changed each week and I had an ongoing list where I would have the album, its current rank, and how many places it moved up or down...other than a very select few of you, I have never divulged that fact...it just makes me sound...well, mad as a hatter. Anywho, (oh, and I still have those lists in some manilla folder somewhere) Here is my:

ODE TO AFFLECK

10. Paycheck. A surprisingly good sci fi thriller. Its in the future, Affleck had his memory erased and he left himself clues to figure the story out. I think John Woo directed it. Totally worth seeing.

9. Armegeddon. Yes, Armageddon, so screw you! Quit making fun of me, I dont need to explain this one because I know all of you have seen it.

8. Mallrats. Affleck plays an a-hole who works in a mall. If you like Kevin Smith, you will like this, but its not for everyone...lots of naughty words.

7. Boiler Room. Okay, Affleck is in this movie for about 17 minutes, does an OUTSTANDING job that should have had him nominated by channeling Alec Baldwin from "Glengarry Glenn Ross" Seriously, his performance in this movie is AMAZING...If you can suffer through a movie anchored by Giovanni Fricking Ribisi...blech...

6. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Really bad words in this one, but it is so funny! I like Kevin Smith (not a fanboy, but I do like his stuff). He basically plays two past characters from old Kevin Smith movies with a really funny scene with Jay and Silent Bob.

5. Changing Lanes. Another good overlooked Affleck movie! Affleck plays a lawyer who gets in this way over the top "fight" with a working class Sam Jackson. I dont know about repeat viewing,but it was good the first time...maybe this one should have been lower...yeah, make it #7 and move the rest up.

4. Hollywoodland. This movie is AMAZING and Affleck was AWESOME. He plays George Reeves of Superman fame and it is all about his mysterious demise. Very understated. I think he was nominated for a golden globe...he should have been nominated for an oscar. (yes, by our count that is TWO oscar noms he should have had according to my list...love him.)

3. Dazed and Confused. Affleck is awesome at playing an a-hole. Here he plays a high school bully of sorts and he is hilarious. If you have not seen this movie, there is something wrong with you. One of the best high school movies of all time and a who's who of young hollywood at the time.

2. The Sum of All Fears. One of my favorite action movies and the best Jack Ryan story. Affleck rocks.

1. Good Will Hunting. This is truly a great film and Affleck DID win an Oscar for writing on this one...One of my favorite scenes is when he is harassing Casey about putting the burger on layaway and when he tell's Will that his favorite part of the day is hoping Will isn't there in the morning. A great job all around...

OK, so there was my crushing on Affleck. So now feel free to give me crap, I am expecting it.

Random Thoughts from an Unarmed Man

2009-02-23T15:56:00.007-07:00

I have a lot on my mind today, so I thought I would just throw out my random thoughts...Why? Well, if you have ever talked to me, you know that I am a Tangential Wizard of the 33rd Degree. So rather than tackle one issue, and tangential you (yes, i just used that as a verb) a hundred times, I thought I would just give you the tangents without the "one issue." So here's whats on my mind:

1) We watched the Oscars last night and not to sound cocky, but I kicked butt on my predictions. I beat Cristie for the second time in three years (and after her five year streak, it feels good :) ) I like movies. Alot.

2) I had a California Roll from Harmons today. It was a bad choice. I don't feel so well...Should you feel bad for me? I wouldn't. Isn't that the dumbest thing you have ever heard? Buying sushi from a Utah grocery store? I am such a moron...

3) Chris Buttars is still a retard. When told that the gay community would like an apology he said, "well, they ain't gonna get one." One thing I forgot to add was that in regard to Brown v. Board of Education, you know, the case that integrated schools, Buttars said that the Supreme Court got it all wrong...What a retard....

4) To rub salt in the wound, Howard Stephenson, another senator in the Utah Sentate, said he and many of the other Senators agree with Buttars on almost all of what he said...so what was it that you didn't agree with? Well, at least in Utah we have Governor Huntsman. I seriously love that guy. I am glad I voted for him :) In fact, when it comes to governors, I have only voted for a Democrat once in four times...interesting fact.

5) I saw this shirt that had a picture of Bruce Springsteen and underneath it said, "The Only Boss I Listen To." Classic. I think I may just buy it.

6) So I bought the Sugar Bowl on DVD from the Sugar Bowl...It was $25. I was in Costco on Saturday and it was $15. That pissed me off.

7) It's fairly warm today. I don't like it. I want it to be 42 degrees from September 29-March 29, and then from March 30-September 28, I want it to be 65. I hate hot.

8) On Friday I felt like wearing shorts to go and get lunch with Cristie. I decided against it and then saw a guy in shorts. He looked like a complete douchebag and I am so glad I didn't do it.

9) I want to buy a new car. I think that I will buy American. We have an American car right now and I dont know, it just kinda feels good. I am thinking either a Lincoln MKZ or a Ford Five Hundred. Speaking of the Five Hundred, it was discontinued in 2007 and was "replaced" by the Taurus (they took the Five Hundred, put a new name on it and trashed the old Taurus...) I like them both..Oh and the Chrysler 300M. So maybe one of the three...

10) I hate playing Sudoku on an easy level...after like five seconds, I get pissed that I am not solveing the puzzles quickly enough...at least on the hard levels you have a reason to be wasting time...

11) "Shakespeare in Love" kinda sucks. The fact that it beat "Saving Private Ryan" for Best Picture in 1998 is lame as crap....Talk about getting it wrong....

So that's 11 random thoughts...and you should feel bad, that is how I think constantly...talk about ADD...I can't stay focused for longer than...what were we just talking about?

*NOTE: The picture is of a baseball card I had when I was like 9? I was so impressed that his name was "Bake" that I traded away a Gary Carter rookie card for it...Bad trade? Maybe. But I still have that card. Pretty random I guess.

Tony's Oscar Predictions and Best Films of 2009

2009-02-20T14:39:00.005-07:00

And now for something completely different....

As some of you know, I got my undergraduate degree in Film Studies-Theory and Criticism (yes, you can actually major in that). I know it sounds worthless, and if I didn't to law school, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. That being said it was the MOST AWESOME MAJOR EVER! So if you didnt know, I am the world's biggest movie geek. Every year I try to make it up to Sundance and every year I try and see all the Oscar contenders...I still have about 5 movies to go for my "Best of" thus, it might change, but I had a triple-header last night to make sure I saw the major oscar contenders(yikes!) but I feel pretty confident that most of my list won't change...So here it goes...First, the
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED and RESPECTED Tony Bake's Top 10 Films of the Year, followed by Tony Bake's Sure Fire Oscar Predicitions

TONY BAKE'S TOP 10
10. Step Brothers. No, I am not kidding. I know that NO ONE else like this movie and usually I dont have alot of popcorn movies on my top ten, but I really liked it. I laughed A TON. It is not for everyone, but if you like crass, 8th grade humor, you might just like it. If you have seen it, the last scene where Ferrell is singing and Reilly chimes in with "Boats and Hos" I almost lost it.
9. Changeling. I am a Clint Eastwood whore. He is one of the great filmmakers and this just furthers the argument. It was interesting, stuck to the facts, and goes perfectly with another period piece "L.A. Confidential" Jolie was good and the story was very interesting. Kinda long, suffered a little with pacing, but still worth seeing.
8. Frost/Nixon. Cristie loved this. I thought it was really good. Not really Best Picture caliber (and a lot of fine films were snubbed for it) but well worth seeing. Frank Langella is amazing as Nixon.
7. The Wrestler. I had very high expectations for this based on the director and my fanboy status for Mickey Rourke. It was very well done. Rourke was amazing. This movie is not for everyone, but I still recommend it. PLUS Springsteen does the final song. Arguably one of the top three oscar snubs this year.
6. Doubt. Didn't want to see it. Saw it. Really enjoyed it. The acting is top notch, arguably the best from a cast this year. As much as I love Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep NAILED this, as did Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Amazing show that Cristie and I discussed into the night.
5. Burn After Reading. What happened with this movie? It was totally ignored. No one talked about it. And I loved it! Granted, I am a big Coen Bros. fan, but I cant believe people didnt get behind this! One of Malkovich's best performances (along with his role in Changeling this year).
4. Slumdog Millionaire. AHHHHH!!!!! I know!!! What is this movie doing at #4!!?!?!? It was really good. But sorry, there were three better films this year. Danny Boyle did a great job, the kids were excellent, the story was nice, and we got some Bollywood dancing at the end...but stilll...
3. The Dark Knight. The Second biggest snub of the Oscars. The fact that this wasnt nominated for best picture is a shame. Just because its a popcorn movie, shouldnt negate the fact that everything about this film was amazing. And yeah, yeah, yeah, Heath Ledger is getting a lot of pub because he died...well, he was still PHENOMENAL. He was screwed for Brokeback and will get his just desserts here.
2. Milk. Upon finishing this film, I knew it was one of the best, but not necessarily #2. Upon further reflection, its power is amazing and so relevant for today. Penn is amazing as always and has the best chance of upsetting Rourke (either one would be a good choice). Marsden is fantastic and a polar opposite from Pineapple Express (where he was also awesome) and the film was shot in a very seventies flavor. I am not a fan of Gus Van Sant, but he did a great job here.
1. Gran Torino. I has EXTREMELY high expectations for this film and I didnt think it could live up to them. But it did. Again, Clint Eastwood has the ability to take great stories and then film them in a way that we are intimate with the stories and the characters. Look back at some of his other films and you will see he consistently does this: Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, and one my favorites Mystic River. EASTWOOD. Other than the priest, the acting in this film is great, the music is excellent and of course, it is the best film of the year and the #1 Oscar Snub.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture- Slumdog (Gran Torino was snubbed, and Milk was better)
Director- Danny Boyle, Slumdog (He deserves it)
Actor- Mickey Rourke (he or Penn would be fine with me)
Actress- Kate Winslet (should be Meryl Streep)
S. Actor- Heath Ledger (Hoffman was the next best)
S. Actress- Penelope Cruz (Tomei was AMAZING and I think she should win)

Orig. Screenplay- Milk (The fact that Wall-E was nominated is a joke)

Adapt. Screenplay- Slumdog

BONUS!!

Most Overrated Film of the Year: Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Worst Movie I paid to see this year: You Don't Mess With the Zohan. (Darn you, Ebert!)

Films I haven't seen yet, but could make a dent in my top ten:Australia; Blindness; Body of Lies; Che; Choke; Defiance; Frozen River; Revolutionary Road; Seven Pounds ;Valkyrie; Vicky Cristina Barcelona

AND THE GREATEST OSCAR OUTFIT EVER: Of course, this goes to Bjork...I love that little nutjob!

DISCLAIMER: I don't mean to offend anyone. Sorry if I do, I still love you. :)

2009-02-20T10:17:00.001-07:00

Chris Buttars and Utah. Two Peas in a Pod?

2009-02-20T09:19:00.005-07:00

So I had the chance to look the devil in the eye and his name was Chris Buttars...And who could be a better example of unrighteous dominion....

When I interned at the State Senate in 2002, Buttars was there and it's interesting to note, people treated him like was the schitzophrenic girlfriend that you have to walk on eggshells for, because she might throw a tremendous fit in public. At the time, it was hard to say that he was respected, it's more correct to say he was feared. Make no mistake, Chris Buttars is just as big a douchbag in person as he is on TV. No one is maligning his character, to paraphrase Popeye, "He is what he is."

But this post isn't about Chris Buttars. But to remind you, here are his "Greatest Hits":

He's a racist

--In regard to a bill: “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.”

-- “How do I know what words I’m supposed to use in front of those people!"

--“I thought … the first couple days, ‘Well you’re getting beat up but you deserve it, you made a mistake.’ But then they started getting meaner and meaner and meaner to the point it is just a hate lynch mob.” [I love that he doesn't believe in hate crimes...unless they involve him being the victim.]

He hates gay people

--"[G]ays are the greatest threat to the country, ever."

--Gays don't want "equality, they want superiority."

--"It's the beginning of the end...Oh, it's worse than that. Sure. Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide."

--(I dont have the quote, but Doug Wright was talking about how the only reason gay people become teachers is to recruit)

But again, this is NOT about Chris Buttars...Its about Utahans. Especially in regard to the remarks regarding gays. Most of us act shocked, act like we can't believe he would say it...but a lot of "us" agree with it...and that is sad. Chris Buttars is an example of what "we" support, actually looks like. "We" agree with him. So why do "we" want to punish him? Especially in regard to the whole Proposition 8 debacle, "we" pushed:

1) Gays ruin families

2) Gay marriage is the "beginning of the end"

3) Gays are immoral

So why do you care? Is it because it embarasses "us," as Utahans, on a national stage? Well, it should. IT IS EMBARASSING.

[And now I am listening to the Senate President regarding Buttars losing his chairmanship. He emphatically stated it was NOT punishment. Buttars is STILL well-respected. Waddoups also said that, "alot of his fellow senators agree with him on most issues." PATHETIC.]

I find it really sad that Latter-day Saints, and also a vast majority of Utahans can't see the obvious similarities between polygamy in the early days of the Church and gay rights right now...but now that we are part of the majority (at least we think we are, most Christians still hate us and think we are going to hell, but they sure dont mind our support on political issues and our $$$), we have no problem discriminating in the same methods with which we were once discriminated...

I dont know...I know I am kinda ranting here. But it just pisses me off. Out of all the political issues, gay rights is one that i believe very strongly in. How will gay marriage "ruin the family"? Are you going to leave your spouse if it becomes legal? How will it negatively affect your life if gay partners can go see one another in the hospital? I seriously would love to hear the "breakdown of the marriage" debate, I would LOVE to debate it with them...I want to say I respect the other point-of-view, but I don't. To me, this is like racism. And I just. dont. get it. If you feel that way (anti-gay rights) please share them with me and we can discuss them.

Mark my words, any of you who fight against gay rights, fight against gay marriage, or supported Proposistion 8, you are going to end up feeling like our grandparents...You're grandkids will ask you about "the other Civil Rights movement" and you will be on the wrong side of history.

Gay rights have NOTHING to do with being a Mormon. If all but sealed marriages end at death, then what does it matter if gay people are married for time, too?

It just makes me sad...ok, and angry...gotta be honest.

Episode I: American Idol

2009-02-19T09:45:00.004-07:00

So the first round of 12 (0f 36) was on two nights ago and I was sooo busy I never got to blog on it! So here is my short little round up (i feel like a fraud doing it after the fact though)...
Sometimes, I feel that I must be retarded. I watch American Idol and with my well-trained ear (one year of junior high choir and one-year of high school choir,so I know, preeettyy impressive) determine the skill and quality of the contestants...
Since this is after the fact, I will only talk about the extreme highs and lows...
Jackie- One of my favs...HORRIBLE song choice, HORRIBLE clothes...too bad.
Stevie- WOW. That was AWESOME! Probably the worst performance I have EVER seen this far...oh wait, there was Sanjaya...the SECOND worst performance I ave ever seen.
Anoop- Great job, should have gone through.

The ones that made it to the (real) Top 12:
Alexis- She was awesome. Great voice. But she DOES look like a 12-year old prostitute with her new look. Yuck.
Danny- He was a gimme. With his unique voice and dead wife, America loves him. That may be a bit blunt, but its true.
Michael- Had no business taking Anoop's spot. You get those redneck viewers and they have to pick on of their own. He's a roughneck, congratulations. But that doesnt mean he can be a pop star.

...And there there was Tatiana...the most annoying person to ever grace the stage...and wow, she had a great voice. I thought it was one of the best performances. Too bad she's a wack-a-doo.

So I know that is a less than stellar blog, but I am too busy and just wanted to get something down before it was next week...oh, and Steven's performance of MJ was offensive, how dare he ruin, "Rock with You."

Stay tuned for Episode 2: The Buttars Strikes Back!

American Idol Predictions...Because I am lame like that.

2009-02-13T10:15:00.004-07:00

So as some of you know, I was out of town for the last few days at the Wal-mart world headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas for work. It was pretty amazing...If you think you have any idea how big it its, you're not even close! It was pretty cool...

Anyway, seeing that I was out of town, I had to DVR American Idol, *blush* So Cristie and I watched it last night. I don't know if any of you are American Idol fans, but Cristie and I watched Season 2 religiously and after that watched here and there. This is our first season watching it from the very beginning...So...here are my favorites/predictions...obviously, I am not doing all of them, only the top 12! (from 12 to 1).

Now again, these are my FAVORITES, at the end I will give my predictions.

12. Steven Fowler- He's got a really nice soulful voice. When he botched that song twice in a row, I thought he was done for sure. I am glad they gave him another chance.
11. Taylor Viafanua- Gotta love the Utah girl and she is really comfortable on stage. That's awesome for how old she is. And she is from Hurricane...how many times will THAT be mispronounced this year?
10. Matt Breitzke- His voice, look, etc. remind me of a white Darrell Rucker, the lead singer for Hootie. Now you may think that is a bad thing...and if you do, you are wrong. Remember how much you loved Hootie, originally? This dude's good, though he has no chance of winning.
9. Megan Corkrey- I liked her audition, don't remember anything else from "Hollywood Week" Another Utah girl.
8. Michael Sarver- This guy just looks like a country star. But wow, does he have the pipes. When he sang off with Matt, I was blown away.
7. Matt Giraud- I missed his audition, but since then, he was pretty awesome. And he rocks on the piano. His last performance won me over, he wouldn't have made my top 12 without it.
6. Lil Rounds- Probably the overall favorite. She has a story, a great voice, and the judges love her. I hate the backstories though...This isn't Extreme Singing Makeover. I don't care if they have AIDS, one leg, and captured Osama bin Laden single-handedly. THIS IS A SINGING/POP STAR COMPETITION!!! Let it be decided on talent and "the look"
5. Alex Wagner-Trugman- Love the geeks. I really liked Clay Aiken (before he went all Michael Jackson on us) and I like this kid. He just looks totally oblivious. But he does have a good voice too.
3.(tie) Danny Gokey- Okay...your story is really sad...but again...ITS A SINGING CONTEST. I don't care in the slightest. But instead of being JUST a story...he has a really awesome voice...It's not like Clay Aiken or Anoop, its unique and if you look at the artists I usually like, they all have unique, unconventional voices. I guarantee he will have a recording contract when all is said and done.
3.(tie) Anoop Desai- Anoop is the opposite of Danny. Very awesome, conventional voice...but at least we didn't have to listen to some heartbreaking story to learn to like him...though his parents will probably think he is a failure...even if he wins...WHAT?! NO MD?!
2. Jackie Tohn- Jackie has a great, soulful, rough voice and seems to have a pretty awesome presence. She may overtake Jasmine as the show progresses. She is so good and so interesting.

1. Jasmine Murray. She's got the pipes, the stage presence, and she's a cutie. What else is there for this competition? The first time I heard her sing, I turned to Cristie and said, "wow, she could win this all." She is my favorite :) Though as I just stated, she has kinda peaked out... what else is she offering? But can i see her as a popstar? You betcha.

MY PREDICTIONS (what America will decide): Top 5 Finish in order:
1. Lil Rounds
2. Danny Gokey
3. Scott Macintyre
4. Jasmine Murray
5. Adam Lambert

My "I Cannot believe they made it this far...Wow, they are terrible" List (from worst to least offensive)

1. Tatiana Del Toro: Simply awful. Annoying. Ridiculous...Reminds me of "Hottie" from Flavor of Love...Calling her a Train Wreck is a little too harsh on train wrecks.

2. Nathaniel Marshall: From the files of "I am sad your life has sucked so badly...but I still can't stand you", Nathaniel has a really good voice and of course, the story, but really...would you buy an album from him? Every time he opens his mouth, I want to punch him in the face...and I am a pacificist!

3. Scott Macintyre: I don't know what it is most...the fact that he has put out four albums already...the fact that his audition was AWFUL and out of tune...or the fact that American Idol is relying on his story to get him places and raise ratings...Seems like a nice guy with a bad haircut, but he hardly compares to anyone on the show...even a duet by Tatiana and Nathaniel would be better.

4. Norman Gentle: I admit, I laughed when he did that song from Dreamgirls and he has a fairly good voice...but unless they are looking for the next Weird Al, he is a waste of a space. HE TOOK JAMAL'S PLACE....grrrrr.

5. Adam Lambert: They said he was in Wicked...I am guessing as Elphaba's understudy. He has a very high, very theatrical voice that does not lend itself to pop music...Think of Clay Aiken...but with more of "Cats" pumping through his veins...Get thee back to the Wicked Chorus.

So that's that...tell me what you think!

Why I Like the Dixie Chicks by Tony Bake

2009-02-10T09:43:00.005-07:00

Okay, so I posted my Top 30 Artists of all-time. Of course the Boss was #1...he should be in every heart and mind ;) But the artists that got the most comments, and mostly of the negative persuasion, were the Dixie Chicks. Was I shocked? Appalled? Nay, I tell you...I kind of expected it, though I do not understand it. So today I ask you dear friends, to hear my case for the Dixie Chicks. You may hate them, and if you do because 1) you dislike country or 2) you do have any taste, then you really don't need to read this post, but if you hate them for ANY other reason...please, read below...it could just save your life....Okay, maybe not, but still...

The Case Against the Dixie Chicks

- The Dixie Chicks:

1) Are Entertainers. They should have just shut up and sung.

2) Are un-American. They hate America and embarass me as an American.

3) Should have realized that their base of fans were very pro-war, pro-America and should have lived by the saying, "dance with the one that brung ya," and they didn't.

4) Can THINK it all they want, they shouldn't have said it, and they shouldnt have said it on foreign soil.

I think that's about it...If I am wrong, let me know and I will address your "case against the Dixie Chicks." So basically, it all boils down to patriotism. Right? So before we get to my "Case FOR the Dixie Chicks, let's point out what the controversy was about...

On March 10, 2003, in London, Natalie Maines, the lead singer for the chicks, said,

"Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."

That was it...OK, so here is my response....

The Case for the Dixie Chicks

1. ENTERTAINERS. I AGREE WITH YOU! THEY ARE ENTERTAINERS! So why does it matter what they say? Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite actors and directors. I will watch anything he does (sans Bridges of Madison County)...and he is a hardcore Republican and gun nut. I love Charleton Heston movies! Also a hardcore Republican and Gun Nut! I own three Toby Keith CDs! (Don't need to explain him)

THEY ALL ENTERTAIN ME! So what do I care what their political beliefs are? Now it would be one thing if they were like that awful, awful Micheal Moore (whom I detest...if you can't tell). His entertainment IS his politics. But you show me one song by the Dixie Chicks that even sounds un-American...You can't do it.

Now I know that alot of you haters USED to like the Dixie Chicks (there is a reason they have, what? 12 top ten hits?) So really, are you going to deprive yourself what you like on a (non)principled basis such as this?

Additionally, if you prescribe to the Sean Hannity belief that "they are just entertainers and shouldn't make ANY poltitical statements"...then why is Toby Keith okay to voice the opposite point of view? Or Charlie Daniels? or Gary Sinise? Or any of the Republican celebrities? Or for that matter, Sean Hannity...what does he have that you don't? A political science degree? NO. A career in politics? NO. Experience in the private sector regarding the economy? NO. He has the same credentials as "Mean Gene" Okerlund (the former WWF announcer), that is, a journalism degree...HE IS AN ENTERTAINER TOO!!!! So is it only okay to take a stand if its the popular thing to do?

2. Simply, look at what she said. Look at the words she said. There was nothing anti-American, nothing anti-supporting the troops, nothing offensive...unless, you, yourself, are George W. Bush or a close family member. She plainly said, she was ashamed that the president was from Texas...Heck, I am (and was at that point) ashamed that GW is an American. People treat her statement like she said, "I am ashamed of being an American and I hate my country..." Now she should still be entitled to that point of view (I wouldnt be defending her at this point though), but at least then there would have been a reason for the controversy.

Additionally on this point, how many of you, your friends, or your family members have said similar (or worse) things about President Obama?! I mean, personally, being called a Socialist and Communist is worse than having someone say they are ashamed of you, no? And with President Obama, he has only been President for like 50 days and hasn't started a controversial war!

3. Whoreism. This has been alluded to before and it will be after, but say what you will the Dixie Chicks are not whores...After 9/11 they released a beautiful version of the Star-spangled Banner...for free. That is the extent of the money they whored for from 9/11. Compare that with this....

and this....

In fact the only two country musicians I remember making patriotic music BEFORE 9/11 was Lee Greenwood and Aaron Tippin. The Dixie Chicks could have made MILLIONS whoring themselves out to the pro-America crowd. They didn't.

4. Bravery. Do you think she didn't know what she was getting into? She was taking a very controversial stand (with which now a VAST majority of Americans now agree) and said it in a forum that she knew would have a backlash. She probably didn't expect this big of a backlash, but it was brave. And what happened to freedom of speech? As Toby Keith, Aaron Tippin, and Charlie Daniels were making money off of 9/11, and knew that ripping on the Dixie Chicks would increase sales, one brave country artist didn't. Merle Haggard said, "I don't even know the Dixie chicks, but I find it an insult for all the men and women who fought and died in past wars when almost the majority of America jumped down their throats for voicing an opinion. It was like a verbal witch-hunt and lynching." And if you know Merle Haggard, that is kind of shocking.

It was brave. It's brave to stand up for what you believe in. Even when it's unpopular.

In conclusion, it's music. If you like it, like it! Don't apologize for what you like. Don't stop liking someone because Toby Keith or Sean Hannity tells you its not cool. Be your own man or woman. If you are a lapsed Dixie Chick fan, I dare you to put in their latest album and try not to enjoy it. It's a great CD.

The Top 30 Greatest Recording Artists of All-time

2009-02-05T11:30:00.010-07:00

Now some may think that this list is inherently subjective. Not so. I have done:

1) The requisite research (listened to all of them and many that did not make the list...lots);

2) Analysis (by a thought out comparing of who I like better); and

3) An unbiased set of perameters (my good taste).

Throgh these strict methods, I can determine...an unbiased...fair...ACCURATE...list of the greatest recording artists of all time (along with where I first heard them/discovered them).

Please read, enjoy, comment and discuss!

Just missed the cut: John Mayer, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Nirvana, Rush, Metallica, Jude, R.E.M., Cat Stevens, Bjork, The Beastie Boys....

30. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The first time I heard Tom Petty was on MTV for the video "Don't Come Around Here No More". It was all Alice and Wonderland. Very cool.

29. David Bowie. Now I have a habit of sometimes "discovering" great artists later in life, as you may see later on...The first Bowie song I heard was, of course, "Under Pressure" which I did not, at the time attribute to him. So my first "Bowie experience" was "EARTHling" an album that came out in about 1996. It sounds NOTHING like Bowie, is very techno, but I really dug it. Then I discovered Ziggy Stardust and wow...

28. Dixie Chicks. I first heard of them on my mission, saw the album cover and was like, "really? they aren't even that hot." After I got home, I ignored "Wide Open Spaces" and then "Fly" came out, which I consider one of the best pop-country albums of all-time. Then I opened the floodgate. Natalie Maine's voice is one the best I have ever heard. I have since seen them twice in concert.

27. Jimmy Buffett. I got into Jimmy Buffett in about 2001, while working at the Little America. Two guys I worked with, Gary and Ray, both listened to him and I gave it a go. What a fun recording artist! I love it all now, have seen him once live, and still listen to Buffett when I need to mellow.

26. The Who. If you can believe it, my first Who album was "Who's Next" in 2005. "Baba O'reilly" was already my favorite song (since about 1998) but I could never find "Teenage Wasteland" on any album...until i looked like a fool and found out what it was really called. Now I have most of their albums and although "Tommy" is WILDLY overrated, The Who is great.

25. Bob Marley and the Wailers. I probably would have never gotten into Bob were it not for Nate Jones in jr. high. He was a great friend and I miss him ( I have no idea where he is) But he introduced me to "Legend" in 1992 and I have always enjoyed listening to that album.

24. Alanis Morissette. Say what you will, Alanis is GREAT. One of the best pop singers ever. I first bought an Alanis CD because this girl I went on a date with looked EXACTLY like her...so without ever hearing it, I bought it and have become a big fan of all of albums except "So Called Chaos." First heard her in about 1994?

23. U2. First heard U2...maybe from Chris Sumsion in junior high? It was definitely 7th or 8th grade--Rattle & Hum, NOT the Joshua Tree. They are pretty awesome but have fallen off something fierce since "Pop."

22. The Indigo Girls. Yes, the Indigo Girls. I first heard them from a single off of "Swamp Ophelia." That was around 1994? I didn't hear "Closer to Fine" until about my jr. year of high school! But I love folk rock and they rock.

21. Barenaked Ladies. Who says you need to be serious all the time? In fact, when they are serious, they kind of suck. My stepbrother, Brian Parkin, was the first person to introduce me to them, back in 1991, but I thought they sucked back then. I became a fan in 1999.

20. Duncan Sheik. I bought his self-titled album in 1997, with "Barely Breathing". I LOVE THAT ALBUM. It also got me through a bad breakup (though it has some of the most depressing songs ever written.) Ithink of Duncan as a more commercial Elliott Smith.

19. Sammy Davis, Jr. I LOVE Sammy. I first heard him sing on my mission (*blush*) singing "Me and My Shadow" with Frank. His voice is just...velvety...LOVE IT.

18. Missy Elliott. Probably the most creative, inventive, AMAZING hip hop artist ever. Some of her songs are a little too vulgar for me, which is saying something, but sooo creative. Check out the song "On and On."

17. Johnny Cash. I have no idea when I first heard Cash...Oh wait, it was on U2's Zooropa album! (Seriously). I love his voice and he is such a fantastic storyteller. Best song: "When the Man Comes Around." Haunting.

16. The Doors. Began as something of a bandwagon experience. When Oliver Stone did the movie, in...I want to say, 1990, I went and saw it in theatres and loved it. Then I bought all their albums. Best album is "The Soft Parade".

15. Queen. As most people my age, I was introduced to Queen through "Wayne's World." And it was all downhill from there...I remember buying the "Live at Wembley" album in about 1992 and hating it...I hate most live albums.

14. Led Zeppelin. Really good band. When I say the term "Classic Rock" they are who I think about. First became a fan in about 1993, junior high era...."led Zeppelin III" for me.

13. Smashing Pumpkins. Yes. I STILL like them. Mellon Collie...was an AMAZING double album. The only albums I couldnt get into were "Gish" and "Pisces Iscariot" But even their newest, "Zeitgeist" was great.

12. The Beatles. "This low," you may ask? I was a late bloomer with the Beatles. I have considered "Abbey Road" and "The White Album" as two of the best albums ever, but other than that...didn't really feel them. Until (*blush*) "Across the Universe". I really started to enjoy early Beatles from that movie. As for solo work, I favor George.

11. Dave Matthews Band. Credit goes to one person for DMB, Jim Carper. Jim introduced me to more than "What Would you Say?" When we went repelling up Farmington Canyon in about 1996. That was fun and DMB grew on me. They were my fav for a while, now I just really like them. "Before These Crowded Streets" would be my favorite.

AND NOW FOR THE TOP TEN!

10. Frank Sinatra. The voice, the phrasing...Gotta love Ole Blue Eyes. I have the "Reprise Collection" its four discs and although I would like more, this is plenty. Fan since 1998. Fellow Missionary, Paul Black, got me into him...right around the time Frank died.

9. Beck. I have been a Beck fan ever since the first time I heard "Odelay" back in 1996. Wasn;t a huge fan of "Loser" or pretty much anything on "Mellow Gold." In fact, it would be one of my least favorite albums that I own. But "Odelay" is one of the best. Beck is creative, and weird and keeps you on your feet with his wide variety of albums.

8. Ben Folds. Whether with the Five (actually 3) or solo, Ben Folds is one of my favs. I really liked "Brick" when it came out, but I didnt know who it was. I became a fan with "Army". It was funny, and fresh, and I loved the piano. All subsequent albums were either better or equal to "Rheinhold Messner." Favorite track would be "Philosophy."

7. The Beach Boys. Man, do i love the Beach Boys. I have almost all their albums and they are my calming music...even more than Buffett. My first concert ever was The Beach Boys (besting Poison by a matter of weeks). "Good Viberations" is probably my third favorite song of all time.

6. Radiohead. She probably doesnt know this, but Shannon is the reason I got into Radiohead...she raved about them and so I bought "Kid A". If I remember she didnt really like that album (as it was a pretty extreme departure from their traditional sound) but I LOVED it. It's easily one of my top 5 albums of alltime.

5. The Velvet Underground. Many of you may say, "who?" But they are one of the most influencial bands of all-time. I became a fan in 1990 when their song "Heroine" was included in the movie, "The Doors." There is just something about VU that really sets me off...Go buy "Velvet Undergound & Nico" (it has a banana on the cover). You will love it if you have any taste at all.

4. The Rolling Stones. The more I listen to the Stones, the bigger fan I become. I first became a fan when "Steel Wheels" came out in 1989. JD Moss, a friend from elementary, was big into the Stones and the Beatles, (and had very cool parents who got him into them). Favorite album: "Exile On Main Street" favorite Track: "Street Fighting Man."

3. Bob Dylan. I first became a fan of Dylan in college, when everyone should/does become a fan. My lit professor was a huge fan and was a great influence on me, in many ways. He got me into Dylan through "Greatest Hits Vol. 3" (if you can believe it) and now I own most of albums. Favorite song is "Tangled Up in Blue." So fresh it feels like it was recorded last year.

2. Pink Floyd. I got into Pink Floyd (and all of you music fans will laugh at this!) through "The Division Bell." Yep, their last album! I was at Millcreek Jr. High and got peer pressured into buying it...and then i couldnt stop listening! My friend Janice borrowed my tape and loved and commandeered it, so i had to rebuy it. I am now on my third copy. I can listen to that album 100 times a year. I also love "The Wall" and "Dark Side..." I am an unapologetic David Gilmour fan, so all of you Roger Waters fans (and both of you Syd Barrett fans) cand scoff all you want...Gilmour rules. Favorite song: "Us&Them" If I smoked weed, this would be the song i would smoke it to.

AND NUMBER #1......

1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND. Not a surprise to probably any of you. I LOVE the Boss. It began like the most of you, "Born in the USA" but my loyalty hit its climax around "The Rising" in 2002 and has remained there. "Born to Run" is the greatest song and album of all time. No questions.

So there it is...it took me longer than I expected and some of you may not care about my thoughts...but it was nice to go back down memory lane...Again, this is not a subjecive list. So write it down...buy the albums and enjoy! Oh! and discuss! I love reading your comments!

If someone offered me $4.00 to stand in line for an hour, I would tell them to go fly a kite.

2009-02-03T15:35:00.005-07:00

I CANNOT believe all the people that wasted over an hour today to get a frigging Grand Slam breakfast for free! Now if you were one of the luckys who got right in, good for you. Congratuations on receiving your mediocre meal.

I mean, COME ON, I realize that we are in a recession, but I couldn't even get a deacon in our ward to shovel the walks for $4 an hour...I think its funny how we place such a emphasis on "free" or any "great" deal for that matter. Now I am not saying the Bake Clan is innocent from these types of ridiculous exercises, I have many a family member who would gladly shell out 1/2 price for a horse-shoe-ing kit or would jump at the chance of buying a those awful Dutch shoes for "Buy one, get one free." Heck, I even bought "Battlefield Earth" because it was $1.99 on DVD. So I am not immune either, but WOW I wouldnt have stood in line wasting an hour to get it for free!

I remember a really good point my My Aunt Cindy made a few years ago. She said that for any activity, break down the cost, and if you don't feel it would be "fair" to pay yourself that wage, farm it out. Good advice, I think. For example, if it takes you 30 minutes to iron a shirt properly...because you truly suck at ironing shirts, then paying your roomate $3.00 a shirt to iron them is a good business move. I like it.

I can't believe how cheap we are in Utah...In fact, Cristie is at BYU Law, as most of you know, and when vendors set up booths, the school had to place signs instructing the students to only take one at at a time and to only take one if you are interested in what the vendor is pimping. She said during her first week kids were walking by taking handfuls....Pretty embarassing, considering these aren't 4-year old Sunbeams...These are law students....Wow....But then again, they are Cougars! ;)

Happiness is a warm....star wars action figure.

2009-02-02T13:26:00.005-07:00

If you are expecting a funny/quirky post this time, sorry, just not in the mood. But I was thinking this morning about how content I am with life right now and how I am just "happy." Kinda that feeling after Thanksgiving Dinner, where you feel "full," you know what i mean?

It made me think of another time when I was really happy. It was about a week before Christmas 1983 or 1984, so I was 5 or 6. The only present that I really wanted that year was a Gammorean Guard from Return of the Jedi. Shown to the left.

Now I have never been a huge Star Wars fan, I LIKE it, but not like to the point of setting my clock to when the new Episode would come out. I think that the main reason I wanted this figure so badly was because my older brother, Jeremy, DID set his clock to everything Star Wars. He had the sheets, the toys, he knows EVERYTHING. [In fact, he gave me my only piece of Star Wars trivia to stump other people: "What is Jabba the Hut's father's name? ZORBA THE HUTT.] So I am guessing that the reason I wanted it so badly was to be like my older brother. (Which isn't a bad thing, he was and is awesome).

So like I said, this toy was THE ONE thing that I wanted that year. Everything that came out of my mouth around Christmas was how badly I needed it. And I, being the rotten kid that I always was (and still am), found out where my mom hid the Christmas presents...The Sewing Room. So one day, about three weeks before Christmas, I went searching the room for my loot. Hoping...Praying...for a Gammorean Guard. After days of searching, I found it. Still in the bag, hidden under the Hide-Away Bed. It was as close to pure joy as I can remember.

So for the next few days, I would bring my other figures, an assortment of GI Joes, Star Wars, and any other like-sized figures up to the sewing room. They would meet with "The Boss" who would be breaking out of "jail" in a few weeks. He would give them things to do and assignments--in fact, I think I played with it more still boxed up, than I did when it was out of the packaging. It was awesome.

To make a long story short (too late), I was really happy. That is how I feel today. I am just so happy with life in general. I have been so blessed with a great wife, a terrific job, lots of "toys", an awesome family, and great friends.

I don't even need that Gamorrean Guard anymore...life is that good.

TONY & CRISTIE'S EUROPEAN TOUR 2009

2009-01-29T09:43:00.005-07:00

I love to vacation. It's fun. That being said, I am not the type to park my butt on a beach and drink (non-alcoholic) margaritas and look at the water. Whooptidoo. Its wet and it looks like the same water in California, so why would I want to travel halfway around the world to sit on a beach? Why not just sit on the beach of the Great Salt Lake (with a noseplug). It's lame and if you disagree, I love you, but you're wrong.

I am not a huge fan of cruises either. I have been on two (#1- Grand Cayman and Cozumel, #2- Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada). I mean don't get me wrong, they were fine, but for example, our shore time in Grand Cayman was a whopping 6 hours. Ridiculous. Plus, on each cruise I had about 5 ice cream cones a day...and that's a bad thing. I MUCH would have rather flown to Grand Cayman and really EXPERIENCED it than getting a taste.

See, I'm a traveler, or tourer, or whatever you want to call it. I love to see and experience and go out and "do." Sometimes, to a fault. You see I suffer from Clark Griswold Syndrome, or CGS. I try to plan out my time to the quarter-hour (seriously) and I try to see as much as humanly possible. Remember when Clark looked over the Grand Canyon, took a deep breath and said, "okay, lets go," or when he wanted to go two hours out of the way to see the World's Largest Ball of Wax? I understood.

Now Cristie and I are headed to Europe. The land from whence we came. Now I am asking you, my friends, to help make sure that we see what we should truly see...PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW and help me set up an awesome trip. Now it may look like we are squeezing a lot in for only two weeks, but you should have seen my first draft of the trip. Along with the below we had Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, and the capital of Slovenia (Dj...something)...So really, I am proud of myself for holding back! So here is where we will be and how many hours between 10am and 10pm we will be there (beacuse really, who is going to go do something at 7am or stay out past 10pm...we are Mormon (also known as boring)). So if you see 25 hours, its two days and three hours there, and again, please comment and let me know what are "can't miss" experiences/attractions and "would'nt go back for free" experiences/attractions....THANKS!

Location Hours between 10am-10pm we are there

1. Reykjavik 12
2. London 17
3. Amsterdam 12
4. Bruges 7.5
5. Paris 31
6. Lucerne 7
7. Munich/Salzburg 24
9. Venice 8.5
10. Rome 21.5
11. London (yes, again) 14

Zombies and Sock Garters...

2009-01-28T09:46:00.009-07:00

Okay so here is the weirdness...the two things that I got the most IMs, messages, and emails were about either zombies or my sock garters. I DID have one brave soul mention the peanut butter, pickle, and mustard sandwich, and Kathryn was brave enough to say that she would give it a go...kudos to her!

Now first I will address the sock garters, for which my listing it was a "coming out of the closet," if you will. Very few knew...and those that did...mocked. So here's the deal. My socks fall down. Alot. I hate it. When I worked at Brooks Brothers (the finest haberdashery on Earth) I sought them out, and have never looked back. They are a dream come true. Here is what they look like...though Ihave never worn them with "Suit shorts" nor do I own any "Suit shorts."

The reason for the inclusion of this picture...over others...was because it was the least...well, Scottish or feminine.Now do I regret sharing this information? Probably. But see, I am a straight shooter....whattaguy...Anyway, That's that for the sock garters...On to the zombies...

Zombies scare the crap out of me. Well, REAL zombies. Let me explain. In some movies you see zombies like this...
If you see a zombie like this? Don't fret, dear friends, you are dreaming.
That's not a zombie..that's just ridiculous.

What about this? You may ask... ---------->

Lucky for you, this too is a dream...Try to imagine that one as a real person....In the words of Eliza Doolittle, "not bloody likely."

A real zombie looks like this...

See how much scarier? Okay so here is what you need to remember about zombies...
1. Of course all of you know to either "remember the head or destroy the brain." So don't just shoot haphazardly, aim instead.
2. Don't run. Jog instead. Remember they are slow amblers, so if you run, you will get winded, just keep a good pace. If they are "running zombies, ala Dawn of the Dead remake, you are going to die anyway. So my advice is worthless.
3. Hole up. Find a place with few windows that is elevated and that you can cut off the doorway with furniture and whatnot. The best food to have is rice and wheat and stuff like that..in the big 5 gallon containers...So if you are Mormon, count yourself lucky. All that food storage may come in reeeeeaaaalllly handy.
4. If one of you gets bit, just kill them. Its the start of every zombie tragedy. You can't save them. If its me, just let me go outside to turn. I'm cool with being a zombie.

These nuggets would be my primary pieces of advice.

To clear things up, Zombies dont eat brains, nor do they say "braaaaaaainssss." They cant climb walls and do not have superpowers (the remake of "Day of the Dead" was one of the WORST movies of all time...) Can zombies run? Who can say, though the Godfather of Zombie flicks, George Romero made a good arguement that given their state, if zombies ran, they would break their ankles and just fall down.

Anyway, to conclude, here are the top eight zombie movies of all time. (After these eight, the rest fall off...........badly)

1. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
2. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
5. 28 Days Later (technically not a zombie flick, but I will allow it.)
6. Day of the Dead (1985)
7. Land of thd Dead
8. Diary of the Dead

I TOLD YOU I WAS A GEEK ABOUT THIS STUFF.

25 Random Things About Me...

2009-01-27T15:10:00.004-07:00

Okay, so I had this sent to me on Facebook and it was fun. So I am posting my 25 things here. Sorry if you dont care, but if you dont care, what are you doing here?

In the spirit of this post, here is a random picture from the BYU Utah game. I am the circled one in the BYU section, proudly wearing red.

1. I have no problem crying in movies or tv shows...Pop in Field of Dreams and here comes the waterworks

2. Cristie and I have a bird. Her name is Beatrice. And we love her to death!

3. When I am "around the house" I wear my socks hanging half off my feet...I dunno why, I have done it all my life.

4. I hate hurting people's feelings. It REALLY bums me out...it's one of the only things that depresses me.

5. I like Yanni. Seriously, I was just listening to him.

6. I am a spendthrift. I CANNOT hold money. I HAVE to spend it. Thank goodness for debit cards!

7. I consider myself a "Moderate" but in actuality, I am REALLY liberal on some issues and pretty conservative on others.

8. Even though sometimes I don't look like it, I am really self conscious about the way I look and what I am wearing.

9. I miss hanging out with my friends--Those from Seattle and those from HS and beyond.

10. I drive a Royal Blue PT Cruiser. Her name is "Old Blue" even though she is pretty new.

11. I compulsively write out lists: favorite albums, databases for my movies, goals, itenararies, etc.

12. Related to #11, I compulsively re-organize my DVD/BD/CD Collection. For those of you who know how big my collection is, its a big deal...It sometimes takes days. Cristie hates it.

13. Joe Walton introduced me to the Peanut Butter, Mustard, and Pickle sandwich in 1994...and it is STILL one of my favorite sandwiches (don't knock it if you haven't tried it)

14. I really want to know how to play the guitar or piano (though I can't be bothered with learning them)

15. One of my biggest regrets in life was not traveling more while i was in undergrad...I made good money and just blew it.

16. Sometimes I will go days without water because I will just drink diet pop...I am getting better at not doing that lately though.

17. Sometimes I will take a hardline position and then even if I realize I was wrong I will continue to defend it...out of shear stupidity/stubborness.

18. I am a grade-A sulker. If my feelings get hurt I can sulk for hours.

19. I wear sock-garters almost everyday. (Again, dont knock them if you havent tried them, my socks are ALWAYS up) This is easily the nerdiest thing I do.

20. I can tie a bowtie and wear one to Church about every month.

21. The first R-rated movie I remember watching was "Die Hard" with Scott Dunford in his basement in Woods Cross. Great then and great now.

22. I love zombies. Sometimes I will think of good escape routes when I am around town or at work if there was a zombie outbreak. I know its lame, but it entertains me.

23. I think teaching is the greatest calling in life. I look up to and respect teachers that really care...two come to mind for me- Mr. Briscoe and Ms. Jacques, both from high school.

24. I love going to the Sundance Film Festival. It is one of my favorite times of year.

25. Being a primary teacher was by far my favorite church calling.

So there's my randomness.

Working on a Dream...

2009-01-27T10:35:00.002-07:00

Okay, so most of you know, I LOVE Bruce Springsteen. I own everything he has ever done. I would love to meet him. My love for him is the closest I will ever come to being gay (not that there is anything wrong with that). Yes, even more than my non-gay crush on Ben Affleck...wow...I didn't really want to go down that road....OK, moving on!

So I bought this album this morning on my way to work. I was stoked. I really like Magic, I think its one of his best albums, and I heard this was in the same vein--kinda poppy, upbeat, etc. It is. For the most part. But do I LOVE it? Eh. I like it. It's about a middle of the roader for me. There are some really strong tracks, some good tracks, and some filler. The best songs on here are "The Wrestler" (still pissed that it was not nominated for Best Song for the Oscars...simply mortified), "Working on a Dream," "Kingdom of Days," and "My Lucky Day." I was going to do a whole review thing...Which I may do in the future, but for now, that is all you get.

You may ask, "Well, then Tony, what IS a great Springsteen album?" Glad you asked...Here are my top ten albums by the Boss...and for those of you that know me...I LOVE lists. LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I write them up for fun...because I am lame. You will see LOTS of lists on this blog. So here they are...

1. Born to Run
2. The Rising
3. Born in The U.S.A
4. Magic
5. Devils & Dust
6. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
7. The River
8. Tunnel of Love
9. Hammersmith Odeon London ‘75
10. Live in New York City

If you are a purest, and you don't believe that "live albums count," (which is a fair argument), then put

9. Darkness on the Edge of Town
10. Nebraska

And there it is.

Starting Up Again...

2009-01-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

So I have been a very, very naughty blogger. Meaning, I haven't blogged forever. I DID blog on my political blog back in November, but now I will be a little more consistent.

That is all for now. But expect more.