Robert Goulet 1933-2007

The passing of a legend is always a sad occasion.

And now, a tribute:

Charles Schultz Got It

I was watching PBS tonight and they had a special on the life of Charles Schultz. They showed a comic that really hit home for me. Unfortunately I couldn't find the strip but I did find the quote. If any one is able to find the actual strip please let me know.

Sometimes it is Charlie Brown who confides in Lucy. He approaches her in her counseling booth. The doctor is in.

Charlie Brown: I'm in sad shape.

Lucy: Good morning, Sir, sit right down.

Charlie Brown: Fine. . . I was afraid I might need an appointment. What can you do when you don't fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?

Lucy: Follow me, I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?

Charlie Brown: No.

Lucy: As far as you know this is the only world there is. . . right?

Charlie Brown: Right.

Lucy: There are no other worlds for you to live in. . .right?

Charlie Brown: Right.

Lucy: WELL, LIVE IN IT, THEN! Five cents, please.

Redonkulous!

I'm not sure if this is freakin cool or really sad. Either way its incredibly ugly. I wouldn't want to be at practice in a purple jersey on Monday.

Just Another Thursday Night in Grand Rapids

Somebody mentioned it was a Halloween show, but I couldn't tell.
Apparently the guys were re-shooting The Beastie Boys "Sabotage" video after the show.


Greg spent most of the night trying to arrange a reunion tour for The Cure.

Unfortunately he was unsucsessful and spent the rest of the night complaining to the skeleton.




















Best part of the night though? Definitely the opener, "No More Tears" by Ozzy. Un-Freakin-Believeable!

Cobra Commander Worked for Amway!

Okay, so I got a little bored tonight and decided to do some light reading about GI Joe at GI Joe Character Guide. I have to say I was shocked when I came across the following information regarding the early days of Cobra Commander:

"Traveling the country, he lived in various towns, moving from one motel to another, finding people just like him who blamed their lives' failures on everyone but themselves. He got them involved in pyramid schemes, selling cleaning products and magazines."

Pyramid schemes? Cleaning products? Is there any question he was an Amway distributor? I think not.

"If you can ssssssign up sssssssix other interesssssted partiesssssss you can make thoussssssands of dollarssssssss a year. If you can get those ssssssssix to sign up sssssssix more you can retire long before ssssssssixty!"

Yeah, This Way is Much Better

Words Do No Justice

Thanks to Jenny for Finding This One

And this one is from me.

Mathematics of a Muted Nature

I've said it before and I'll say it again, GO SEE THESE GUYS PLAY! Mutemath puts on one of the best rock shows I have every seen.

He's not part of the show but he takes decent pictures.























Oh yeah, did I mention I won tickets from WGRD and got to meet the band. You're jealous. I know. You should be.




There are more pictures on my Flickr page should you wish to peruse them.

So It Goes

So I just finished Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Wow! What a read! Short but powerful. For those who have not partaken it is the story of Billy Pilgrim, an unassuming everyman who becomes "unstuck" in time. Essentially he lives his life out of order, separated from the constraints of what we would call time. It is Vonnegut's attempt at an anti-war story. It definitely put forth some powerful antiwar imagery but I found, at least on my first read, that the real power was put behind some simple yet intense insights into our world.

One of my favorites:

"Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty d0llar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes."

Read that again. Maybe for a third time even. This book is filled with little snippets like this that just stopped me in my tracks. So many times I've been forced to read "literature" in class and made to dissect the imagery and meaningfulness of the prose. Yet Vonnegut continually packs all that needs to be said into just a few well chosen words.

So if you like science fiction, quirky stories, unconventional writing techniques or are just looking for something different, might I suggest a little Vonnegut for some weekend reading? YOu will not be disappointed.

No....No....No....No....F*&#K NO!!!!!

I will not stand for this!

And to make matters even worse:

"Smith's son Jaden, 9, is attached to star in the remake." - IGN.com


So are they going to cast Clay Aiken as John Kreese?


I'm going to throw up.

Brandy Would Like To Say Hello

OK, the weather is really starting to mess with me now. We had a beautiful autumn day today. It was something out of a good novel, the leaves were gorgeous and had littered the sidewalks, which led to a pleasant crunchy texture for our walk. The sun was shining, the sky a bright blue with nary a cloud in the sky. The only problem, the 85 degree heat with heavy humidity. I'm all for an Indian summer but number one, it needs to be cold for a while before we get it and two, I don't need it to get above the low 70's.

But that is as close to a complaint as I am going to go today. Alas, the cold and evil, fluffy white, devil precipitation is just around the corner. I will enjoy the warmth while it lasts.

So, despite the heat we got out and enjoyed the sunshine today. We had a nice little picnic at Collins Park in E. Grand Rapids and walked around Gaslight Village. It's always nice to walk around that area of town, where I can feel the disapproving glares that fall on my Walmart wardrobe from within the windows of passing Jaguars and Beamers. Plus, how often to you get to lunch next to the Yacht Club!?!

Yet the foray into "The Land of Houses I Will Never Afford" was well worth it for one reason, Jersey Junction.



We used to bike to Gaslight Village when I was a kid. I have many a fond memory of Hudsonville Ice Cream consumed on the Junction porch.

Of course, Jenny found something else besides ice cream:


I love that my wife still loves little kid's candy. She definitely keeps me feeling young.

Laughter is the Best Medecine