So, as soon as I condemn Mashuptown for not posting a good mashup in ages, a great mashup appears in my pocasts folder the very next day. And it's a Christmas mashup to boot!! So, in an effort to help you on your way to the holidays, I give you The Ramones and the Jackson 5!
...5 cool mashups!!! Okay - I should have made that the 5th day, but I couldn't wait that long! I've long since written off my used-to-be-favorite site for fresh mashups, Mashuptown.com, since they haven't posted anything good in ages. Then I got a note from Carla in the Great White North and she linked me to Party Ben's site and a fresh, funny mash that needed a listen. While there, I discovered a number of other Party Ben creations that made my day. Here is a list:
I have been adding friends like crazy on Facebook as of late (though not as many as Jean) and have noticed that many of my extended family have blogs. "You should check out our blog" they say. So, I did. I didn't get what I expected, although maybe my expectations were not realistic.
I was going title this "Quick Thoughts", but those of you who know me know that my thoughts are rarely quick. Maybe my wit on occation, but not my thoughts. So here you go:
Just got done with casting my ballot, so I thought I would share some non-partisan thoughts.
Yikes!! Now that I write that title it sounds like either you get a treat or you get stuffed in the trunk!! Nothing as morbid as that though. Saturday night was the annual "Trunk or Treat" party at church and it was loads of fun. Instead of (or in addition to) going from house to house, everyone backs the cars up to the sidewalk around the church and kids get to go from car to car getting candy. The kids looked cute - so I thought I better post some pictures!!
I was working late last night and needed a music refresh in a bad way. Since no one was around, my cube neighbor, Lance, had turned up his collection of hair metal up and we were jamming. How did he have such a grand array of face melting rock? Turns out he didn't own it - he was enjoing the tunes via Pandora.
Been a while since I posted, and it has been even longer since I posted any music. So, it's time to get your bubblicious pop on and check out Mutya Buena. Once a part of the Brit-Pop group "Sugababes", she split from them in 2005 and released her first solo album "Real Girl" in 2007.
Sad day today. As much as the death of Heath Ledger left a hole in Hollywood, I was more saddened by the death of Don LaFontaine. Yes - you know him.
If you know me at all, you know that I have an incredible love for all things Lego. I have had Lego in my life since I was 3 starting with brick sized building blocks. (They came in a whopping 3 colors back then, but they still are holding strong as my kids play with them to this day.) In the late 70's, they introduced the Lego mini figure, and they have been a staple for Lego sets ever since. Most recently, they have added adaptations of the mini figure featuring Star Wars (I'm in heaven), Indiana Jones, and even Batman (I'm in a higher heaven).
Turns out that it is the 30th anniversary of the mini figure, and to celebrate, Lego has launched the Go, Miniman, Go website. I loved the video included (Carla - you will especially like the hockey segment):
They are even having some contests for original videos featuring the minimen and prizes include vintage lego sets. I wish I could get my hands on some full sets of the original "Space Lego's" from back in the day. No birthday or Christmas was complete with out adding to my collection.
We are full force into soccer now. All three boys are playing, and this is Chase and Parker's first year. (They are on the same team.) After the first week and a half I was frustrated with the inability of anyone on the team to put the ball into the goal, or at least to kick it in that direction. So I pulled Chase aside and told him that I would give him a dollar if he could score a goal. Less than 2 minutes later he broke out of the scrum, took it the length of the field (all 20 yards of it), and "He shoots - he scores"!!! Good thing I had a dollar. :)
I totally understand the hype behind the Toyota Prius, and would love to own a hybrid someday. The problem is they are UGLY!!! When they start making them look like this on a regular basis, I will be all over it.
One of my favorite blogs to read is "Snide Remarks" by Eric D. Snider. A California native and former Utah resident, Eric has had his articles and movie reviews printed in newspapers, magazines and on the web. Needless to say, he has some great stories about his time in "Happy Valley" and his writing is hilarious. I found this choice article about biking today and thought I would pass it on. :) Enjoy!!
It is funny to me how you can go for a very long time not thinking about a particular topic, event, or idea, and then all of a sudden it pops up everywhere! I found that happening to me the last week with "The Parent Trap".
First, the kids were watching TV and the Disney Channel showed the remake of the movie staring a pre "I'm-a-bad-singing-crazy-alcoholic-nasty-maybe-lesbian" (allegedly) Lindsey Lohan opposite herself as the split apart twins. Not really a bad remake in my opinion, which also stared Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson as the parents.
I didn't think too much about it at that point, but I admit that I always start thinking about the original version staring the ever so cute Haley Mills as Sharron/Susan. One of the best things about it was the inclusion of the song, "Let's Get Together" - a song I find myself singing in my head everytime someone says, "Hey - let's get together sometime". :)
Classic. So then this week I am bumping around trying (with mad hope) to see if the Go-Go's are going to be playing a show somewhere near me this year. I never figured that out (Dang!!) but when I followed a link to their MySpace page, low and behold there was a track to be played - "Let's Get Together"!!! 'Oh - please let it be that song!!!', I thought, and was filled with giddiness when it was! Turns out they recorded the song for the Disneymania 5 cd. I immediatly went to iTunes and there it was sandwiched between The Cheetah Girls, Miley Cyrus, and Hayden Panettiere's version of Cruella De Vil. (As a side note - WHAT??? I never knew that the Heroes cheerleader sang!!)
I think that most of you know that I have dusted the old bike off this summer and have started riding to and from work on most days. The reasons for doing so range from "It is just fun" to "I'm saving the environment (and money for gas - oil jerks!!)". I gotta say the going was tough those first couple of weeks, but now it is a breeze - unless I pair up with Ken (Bro in law and super biker extraordinaire) and he pushes me until I want to puke. ;)
The time came, though, when I wanted to test my riding and what better opportunity than the first annual American Fork "Tour de Donut". Biking - and eating donuts at the same time??? Sounds perfect!!!
The rules of the Tour are pretty straight forward. First, you ride a 7 mile loop. Then you have a chance to eat as many glazed donuts as you like, and each donut you eat earns you a 3 minute deduction from your total time. Eat 5 donuts - deduct 15 minutes from your time. (And no barfing allowed!!) Then, jump back on your bike and ride another 7 miles, then eat, then ride the final 7 miles. Total time and adjusted time were taken at the end, and trophies given to the various categories.
I gotta say - my first thought was, "Man - this will be easy!!" The first 2 donuts went down with no problem, but when I came around from the second lap I could only do just one more. Errrp I more wanted to finish riding the 21 miles than I did want to eat another donut. (Now, if they had been maple bars that may have been different all together. Mmmmm.....maplie goodness...
I did finish - and not last. You can see the results here, but I finished in 77:57 Minutes, and ate 3 donuts so I ended up at 68:57 Minutes total. There are two schools of thought on this race - either race fast, or eat many donuts. The winner actually took 71 minutes to ride, but shoved down 25 freaking donuts to end up with a time of -3:47 minutes!!! (Yes, that is negative!!!) Amazing feat. At any rate - I will for sure be trying to better my time next year.
(spoiler free)
Wow, where to start. I was unsure whether to believe the hype going into the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight. But go ahead and believe it. The movie is great, Ledger's performance as the Joker is truly insane, and when a movie keeps you guessing as to what will happen, I rank it as wonderful.
I must say that this is a dark, violent movie and a PG-13 rating is just about right - I wouldn't take anyone under 14 to it I think.
I give it a full ticket price with the added review that I will probably see it again - perhaps at the IMAX.
(Note: The movie was filmed in the IMAX format and then shrunk to fit a normal screen)
Ahhh, summer. The time for sitting by the pool, camping, and fondly awaiting the latest Pixar movie for some great entertainment. Gotta say that the family and I were eager to throw down our money to catch this years movie, "Wall-e". (Unfortunately we ended up in the front row.)
The lights dimmed, and we were treated to a fantastic short, "Presto", about a magician and his overworked, underfed bunny rabbit. So dang cute, and hilarious too!! So a big thumbs up for that.
Then the feature started and we were presented with a cute little robot who had been left behind by the humans to continue on and clean up this messy little planet. Seems that we humans had consumed more and more and left things in a huge mess. As a result, the earth can no longer support life. So Wall-e goes on smashing garbage down into little squares and builds them in to huge towers of crap. But he also has taken on a life of his own, collecting odds and ends and enjoying family musicals. (Hello Dolly) Soon enough, a probe robot appears and seems to be looking for signs of natural life. A cute love story ensues, and eventually both are whisked away to a luxury cruise liner that carries the remains of the human race. Well, as human as they can be. Humans have had their every whim catered to for so long that they are all insanely fat and are totally oblivious to their surroundings due to the video screen/phone mounted right in front of them. (Cell phone anyone?) Of course there is a happy ending.
So really, it wasn't a bad movie, social commentary was pretty much spot on, characters were cute, animation of course was fantastic. The story was just a little boring - my kids were a little bored and I didn't blink twice when Parker needed to go to the restroom. (I even considered sneaking into Iron Man which was playing across the way.) I think that the action of saving the last leafy plant in existence came too late and was such a minor note that it just didn't ever capture my attention and take me for a ride. This is, after all, a summer movie.
I give it a Matinee rating - mostly for the animation and the social commentary.
Craig Sez:
Grab your lowered expectations and head on out to see "The Incredible Hulk"! Gotta admit that I was really unsure about this one - but came away pleasantly entertained. (Of course, I had to go see it by myself because Jean is still scared of the big green guy. To be more specific, she is more scared of the Lou Ferrigno version, who makes a nice cameo and does the voice work for the Hulk too. I digress.)
At any rate, the drama is not as lengthy in this one because you already know the back story, so you just buckle your seat belt and go along for the action ride. Just in case you did miss the first one, make sure you are on time because there is a 3 minute primer for you while the credits are running. Then is it where we left off with Banner hiding out in Brazil trying to learn how to control the beast and keep it suppressed. He is really working to find a way to rid himself of the gamma radiation and thus return to normal. Turns out that he may have to learn to embrace the sickness in order to rid the city of the new beast - The Abomination.
As for the CGI - it's nice to see a production company get thing right after seeing the terrible effects in Indiana Jones. Of course there is no hiding it is CGI - but that is okay because the guys that are fighting are as big as trucks. I think that where people have a harder time with the Hulk in general is because when he turns "super" he doesn't have the same personality anymore. When Iron Man goes out - he is still the same person - just with a suit and abilities, same with Spiderman.
So, my rating is "Pay full price" if you are a fan of the comic genre, or a "matinee" if you just want a good action flick.
Craig sez:
Slowly over the past few years my weight has crept up to an unhealthy 230 lbs and the usual side effects that accompany this have made me miserable. Last year some may remember that I even started to walk and play Wallyball in an effort to get in better shape. I am happy to say that my heart is healthier, and I feel like I have more energy, but the weight remains.
This year (starting 3 days ago) my company, Corda, is again sponsoring a fitness/wellness challenge. Rather than just having the normal point per mile challenge, they are trying to get everyone to achieve balance in their lives. So not only do I need to exercise, but I'm required (jokes) to take Jean out on a date once a week, drink 64 oz of water a day, limit my sodium, meditate, read (gosh!!), keep a fitness journal, and do service! There is also a list of things I probably won't do like no TV, no soda, and no junk food. I might - but it may take some doing.
So here I go, I'm proud to say that I am doing pretty well so far and feeling better about it. (Although I think I drank way to much water yesterday without eating and I wanted to puke!) I have a goal to drop to 185 lbs by the end of August which is about 3 lbs a week - doable I think if I can start eating right. I'm also starting to ride my recently refurbished bike to work (9 miles one way) 3 times a week. Anyway - you can track my progress at Fit Day if you are interested or if you just want to see if I'm slacking. Check back later for updates and to see what Jean is doing in her efforts to shed a few pounds!
