6 Months Till St. Patricks Day!

So the wife and I, along with the Dornans went to see Lunasa this week. Not only are they a phenomenal Irish band but we got to see them in a small little pub. It was much more of an intimate and personal show than what you get in an auditorium. If you are in to traditional Irish music I demand that you pick up at least one of their CD's. You will not be disappointed.

Here are a few pics from the night. Rie has more at her blog (it's the "Bantam Menace" link to the right).


Lunasa,remember it, write it down, buy the albums, dance a jig



This is Sean. He plays the fiddle. Jenny wants to take him home








You can't tell really well from the picture but this beer was pissed! It kept foaming and there were about 10 times as many bubbles as normal. I think they were mad that Jenny ordered a Miller Light at a pub.

Friends, Burgers and High Strung Canines

I promised everyone some pictures of the new living room so here you go.















We still need to get the carpet down but that's a couple weeks out yet so we decided to move the furniture back into the room and just deal with exposed subfloor for a couple of weeks. The house is finally feeling like ours, not like an old lady's house that we are just living in.















So I'm 30 now. I don't see why everyone makes a big deal about it. Its just another year. But, to celebrate we held a little backyard shindig. I cooked up a bunch of burgers and hot dogs and made a couple gallons of sweet tea. It was a good time having everyone over and just hanging out.




























Simon seemed to have the most fun of anyone. Oh to be young enough to be fascinated by the hose under the table.

We've also recently discovered that Daisy is deathly afraid of the creaky bedroom door. It doesn't latch well and the wind can blow it open when we have the windows open. Of course, once we figured this out we started leaving it unlatched when we watch tv in the bedroom so we can enjoy the hilarity that accompanies her terror.

I mean, how do you not laugh at this? Apparently she's decided the only safe place is inside mamma's shirt.

OY!

Wow, painting sucks.

I just sent the last two days painting the living room and I can barely move. But it is totally worth it. The living room and hallway are no longer colored like a flesh colored band aid. We also no longer have gold paisley carpet on the floors, which also means the living room no longer smells like 40 years of cat pee. Well, actually still does a little. Apparently, if the previous owner of your house allows her cats to pee on the carpet for 40 years the pad under the carpet tends to fuse with the subfloor. So, I now have several large pieces of incredibly disgusting, 40 year old, urine soaked carpet pad that need to be scraped off the subfloor. Luckily Jenny to our only scraping capable tools with her to Ohio on a relief trip, so, hooray for that.

She also took the camera with her so I'll have to wait to post pictures of the new paint job.

Now, it is time to go wash away the stink of manual labor.

Hasta la vista.

Random Thoughts While Home Alone

- Did Data and his family still move to Detroit after the Goonies found all the rich stuff?



- How would you build a snowman? Would you build him tall, or would you build him not so tall?



- Have you ever noticed how a lot of the George Lucas movies reuse the same sound effects. I noticed that Boba Fetts scream from RTJ is used in all 3 of the Indiana Jones movies.




- Why did they have to go change Bristol? Now it's just a short track version of all those boring California, Texas and Chicagoland races.



- Would you name him Bill, or would you name him Beouwulf?



- Why did they have to go change The Bourne stories so much for the movies. I mean, is there a more kick ass character than Jason Bourne? Why did they have to water him down for the movies and throw him into generic car chase scenes.



- Along the same lines, when is John Clarke getting his movie? I'm ready for Without Remorse. We need more Tom Clancy movies.



- I think Andi was a complete slut. I mean after school she was riding around in Troy's convertible, later that day she was jumping all over Brand's jock then that night she licked the chrome off Mikey's braces. Whore.



- The Mines and The Cinematics, September 11th at the Intersection. Please go, support two great bands.



- What's in the boooooooox?!? What's in the f***in boooooooooooooooooox?!?



- Slider or Iceman? Iceman was way cooler but Slider had a much better tan. Wait....what? ummmm.....next question



- If the X- wing is shaped like an X, the Y-wing was shaped like a Y, the A wing sort of looked like an A, then I have one question...........Why is the B-wing shaped like a T? Come on George, you can do better than that. Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking about.



- Spadoinkle

Um.........

Now, I'm a Braves fan; Should I think this is kind of cool or should I be completely embarrassed. I mean the song is not that bad. And it's always fun to see the crazy things people do to support their sports teams.

Ah hell, Go Braves!!!

The Land Without Cable

Jenny and I have been without cable for a week. We finally got sick of dealing with Comcast and decided to go through with the plans we had been talking about for a few months. Let me say, we waited way too long to get rid of the worthless time wasters that come with the cable box.

So we've gotten out a lot more, seen more of the town and actually went to a museum! Of course it was the Van Andel so we paid $8 each for something that took less than 2 hours to get through.

I've gotten some more reading done. I need to get some new material, I started several books the last few weeks but none of them have grabbed my attention. I've started put together a model car, so that's been kind of fun. I've had to relearn a nice little thing called patience, something I typically don't have a lot of. I'm also getting a lot more practice time in on my guitar. I really can't believe how much time we wasted in front of the boob tube.

So today we got to take the nephew to John Ball Zoo. For those that have been there before let me tell you they've added quite a few more exhibits. It's actually worth a visit. And it doesn't smell too much like monkey piss anymore!

Well that's what we've been up to. Now the real test is coming. Can I get through college football season without cable? Time will tell.



And Finally, here's some video that falls under Mr. Chris' "Things that Make Me Feel Silly When I Say 'I Can't Do It'". Thanks to Newmyer for the link

Don't Worry, I'm Not Dead

Wow, I have been away for far too long. I'm sure I wasn't missed too much. Things have been pretty calm on the home-front. After the holiday things calmed down to a pretty slow pace; pretty boring actually. We've been exploring our fine city from our new dwelling, located conveniently close to downtown. I did however get to see The Mullet a week ago. Always good to run into old friends.

I've picked up the guitar again for the first time in 6 years. I want to kick myself for getting away from it for that long. It's like I parted ways with my best friend then crossed paths with them again years later. I didn't appreciate the experience at the time but now that I'm back on board I can't believe I let it get away in the first place. Unfortunately I now have to relearn about 3/4 of the stuff I learned back in the day. I've picked up a few good blues licks this week though and I'm torturing Jenny with a couple of lead licks that I've been practicing every day.

I almost hate to admit it but I finally got run over by the Harry Potter bus. I had conveniently avoided the books and movies all these years until I got sick a couple of weekends ago. TNT had the first 3 films running on a marathon and since there was nothing else on at the time I took a gander. Now I'm hooked. Perhaps I'll even get to see the new one at the theater. I doubt it though. And speaking of movies, DO NOT watch "The Number 23" with Jim Carrey. If you feel the urge to do so have a friend or family member lock you in a dark room full of spiders and shards of broken glass for two hours. It will enrich your life much more than said movie.

Well, I guess that's enough for my boring life update. Hope things are going well out there in the land in which my friends dwell.

Oh yeah, one more thing. We went to a Whitecaps game with the Dornans and my sister recently and you'll never guess what happened.

WE CAUGHT MARIE LAUGHING!


I know, it's rare but it happened. You can see for yourself:

I Just Watched The Original Star Wars Movies Again and Something Doesn't Make Sense

Thunder in the Sky

Hello.










So the beautiful wife and I spent Saturday at the Battle Creek Air Show. It's become something of an annual event for us. 5 hours of beautiful sun and the marvel of mechanized flight.






One thing I can't figure out though; every airshow I've ever been to has 4-5 of the aerobatic prop plane
demonstra-
tions, yet after seeing 1 or 2 you've seen everything they have to offer. Why do they need so many? Saturday was one of the worst. There were 5 different aerobatic acts, two of them flew twice and two of the invidual planes flew a second act together for a total of 8 aerobatic segments. I mean i can only see so many hammerhead turns and snap rolls before it all runs together.








Luckily the day culimated with the Blue Angels. I have now seen both of the U.S. precision jet teams, the Canadian team and the Italian team at various airshows and I have to say, the Angels are my favorite. Sorry Dougie, the AF Thunderbirds are phenomenal but there is just something a little extra about the Blue Angels show.




All in all it was a good day of airborne testosterone. Have I mentioned that I love summer? As usual, there are pics of the weekend at the Flickr banner to the right. As an added bonus, I will treat you to my first ever attempt at video documentation.

Let's Talk About Music

Wow, I think I'm gonna remember this summer. I've been floored a couple of times lately with some of the new tunes out there. I feel like the world has suffered from a dearth of good old fashioned rock the last few years but that seems to have rectified itself this year somewhat. Let's just say that Ike is happy.



So, on to my recommendations.



#1 - The White Stripes: Icky Thump

These guys have slowly grown on me album by album. I've always enjoyed the idea behind their music (no fluff, no extras, just a dude, a chick everyone thinks is his sister {she's not, they're actually married, he took her last name} and some straight up rock). However, the first album didn't really hit home for me. The next couple started to inch their way into my playlist but now they have kicked down the door and announced their new gig as my house band.


I'm now on my third or fourth time through the album and I can't pick out a bad song. It's an incredibly eclectic grouping of songs and styles, even for a weird band like this. Everything from a celtic ditty, some country and good old rock. It makes my heart glad.

The title track is pretty durn good but check out "Prickly Thorn" and "Catch Hell Blues" too.

Also, I have to say, if I had to pick any rock star I would want to be I would have to say Meg White, just on the fact that I think it is somewhat attainable for someone with my talent. I mean, I could almost play the drum tracks to every song they have ever put out. Yet somehow the incredibly simple drums are extremely effective and she's married to one of the most talented musician in quite some time. I mean the dude produced an album for Loretta Lynn at her request. That's cred, I don't care who you are.


My second and final recommendation for the day is a single. And let me tell you I am giddy about this one. Ladies and gentlemen, at #2 I give you:





# 2 The Smashing Pumpkins: Tarantula (Zeitgeist)



Welcome back Billy!!!!! Oh how I have missed thee; and not just from the layoff between records, I've missed the Billy Corgan of Siamese Dream and and Gish. I may be overreacting to my joy at a great, straight forward, ass kicking offering from the guitar gods but this one may rank at the top of my Pumpkins play list. Great guitar licks, driving rythym and those creepy Billy Corgan eats small children vocals. Billy, after all these years you once again have my undivided attention. Please don't let me down again.


Well, that's it for now. Fell free to argue my points. That's the great thing about music. It can be so many different things to so many different people.





Oh yeah speaking of rock, for those of you that know The Todd, I found him on Wikipedia this week! He's listed as the drummer on the page for Big Fil. Yes, Big Fil has it's own Wikipedia page! It's one of the benefits of having the next Billy Graham as your lead singer.

Restless Musings

I'm picking my way through Donald Miller's
"Through Painted Deserts" (Thank you Chris and Rie). It's really hitting home in a way I had not anticipated. I've really been struggling lately with a restlessness about life in general. Moving into this house has stirred something deep inside, something that has tired of the repetetive day to day grind of work, eat, sleep, repeat. There is something more out there for my beautiful wife and I. Something more than 20 minute commutes and reruns on the boob tube. Just the simple act of moving into a new home with the accompanying chores and responsibilities has brought this into sharp focus. We've been in a rut lately; no we've been in a rut our whole lives. How many of us just cruise through the week waiting for the weekend, only to waste it in front of an electronic box that provides meaningless, fleeting entertainment. How much more is out there?

I've lived my entire life between imaginary boarders, the Mississippi river to the west, the Carolinas to the east. Only twice in my entire life have I ventured outside the boarders (and actually, the trip to Jamaica fell inside them, just further south). I want to see more. I want to know more of God's creation. I want to meet new people, seek out new civilizations, boldly go where.............sorry, I got carried away, but I think you get my point.

So hopefully I'll have the nuts to act on these urges. The first step was getting into this house, experiencing the joy and responsibility that comes with the house, the yard etc (hooray for lawn mowers!). Next stop, who knows?!? It's kind of exciting, this venture towards the unknown. Maybe someday I'll get as far west as Iowa!!

(P.S. - Dougie, I'm going to climb a mountain with you buddy. If I have to inch my homebodied, midwestern ass to Colorado, I will climb a mountain with you. I swear this on the name of my father Domingo Montoya......er......Dennis Wade.)

All Moved In!

Thanks again to all of you who helped us move in. Also, thanks to Chris for helping me change toilets.

Well, the last week has been eventful. We had no water all week. The water company came out Tuesday and switched out the cracked meter. Of course once we got the water turned on we found several leaks in the pipes. The plumber couldn't make it out until last night but we finally have running water. Huzzah! Of course, we also have a nice hole in the bedroom wall courtesy of the plumbers attempts to access the frozen pipes.

We spent the day in the yard with Jenny's parents. We are slowly getting all the weeds out of the flower beds and getting the grass under control. We're also starting to make the place feel like our own. Jenny has done a heck of a job getting everything unpacked and sorted out. She definitely has some interior designer in her blood. I would hate to see how the place would look if I were to decorate it.


So the plan for the summer is to get the upstairs painted, get some new window dressings and lay some new temporary carpet in the living room. If anyone wants to help just give me a call. I'm offering beer and burgers as incentive.

As usual, more pics can be found at the Flickr button to the right.

Good Evening

Today's Mood - Exhausted
Today's Music - Kings of Leon "Knocked Up"

Hello everyone. Just a quick post to let you all know I'm still alive. Jenny and I moved in to the new place Saturday and it's been a crazy couple of days. No water, no gas and we just got the phone and internet hooked up today. The toilet is cracked in our bathroom so I'll be replacing the toilet as tomorrow so we can actually use it once the water comes back on.

All in all though we are exstatic to be in our new house. It's small but it sure beats the heck out of a small 1 bedroom apartment. We're looking forward to reapainting all the rooms and putting our own touch on the decor.

If you are looking for something to do this summer stop on by. I'm sure we can put you to work. Don't worry I'll cook you some of my famous hamburgers. (Doug - is that enough to get you to visit again or have you perfected the recipe yourself?)

Well, I'm off to enjoy my new house. Ya'll have a great week!

UPDATE: I just came across this clip. I have not laughed this hard in a long time

Why I Love My Wife

For some strange reason I bought a can of sardines today. I talked Jenny into trying it with me and she proceeded to reenact Tom Hanks part of the above scene, sneezing, newspaper and everything. She even made me nod my head in reassurance before she would take the pretzel off the plate I mean I'm supposed to be the dork that does stuff like that.

Impressive. Most impressive.

By the way, sardines taste just like salmon. It was quite a tasty snack. Just in case you were dying to know.

Hapy Birthday!

30 years ago today, God reached down from the heavens and gave us the second Greatest Story Ever Told:










Most uneducated humans will tell you that George Lucas was the one responsible for this Sci-Fi masterpiece. But recent evidence (i.e. Episodes I, II, and II) has proven conclusively that Mr. Lucas is just another delusional egomaniac that refuses to see his role as a mere tool in God's great plan to bless the nerds of this world with the greatest villain of all time.



So, on this holiday weekend, take a minute to thank any vets who cross your path, have a spirited discussion with a friend about the ramifications of Luke's creepy, incestuous kiss with Leia and throw down a couple of Colt 45's for Lando.

May the Force be with you. Always.

Warning, If You Press Play Your Brain May Explode

Someone Call Child Protective Services!!!!

Their parents should be thrown in jail for allowing this to happen.

We're Moving!!!!!

Yes folks, it's true. As of June 1, 2007 Kung Fu Christmas will no longer be headquarted in Kentwood, MI. We will be moving further into the bowels of the great city of Grand Rapids. We thought we would share a few pics of our first house with our friends. If you want to see more click on the Flickr banner to the right.






These gorgeous hardwood floors run through the entire upper floor.















The lady who lived here was bit of a pack rat. Jenny's aunt inherited the house when she passed away so there is a bit of cleanout to do.















This my friends is an incenerator. Yes, Dwight will have access to an incinerator. Let the carnage/good times begin!

Spider Man Can Kiss My Ass (Sorry Chris)

OK, here's a litte pet peeve of mine. It was brought to the forefront this weekend with all of the reports of Spider Man 3 "shattering" box office records with the money it took in. Every summer we get a report of another "record setting" box office draw but there is no mention of ticket sales or prices adjusted for inflation. I mean, Pa Ingalls could buy a horse for $1, does that mean horses are more expensive today? No, of course not. Yes, Spider Man 3 made a bazillion dollars last weekend, but you can't compare the $8.50 I paid for my ticket to the miniscule prices people paid in the past. So I decided to do some checking. Do you know where the original Spider Man ranks among movie earnings adjusted for inflation? 27th, that's where. Spider Man 2? 35th. What about Titanic? Supposedly the highest grossing movie of all time? Only 4th. In fact, of the top 25, only 3 have come out since 1990. Just for fun's sake here is the list of the top 5. Pay close attention to #2.

List of highest-grossing films (adjustedfor inflation)

1Gone With the Wind (1939) $4,399,710,937.01

2Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) $2,652,849,500.35

3Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $2,425,862,786.99

4Titanic (1997)$2,292,444,182.33

5The Ten Commandments (1956)$1,452,133,080

And here's some Jimmy Fallon / Star Wars just for fun

Guilty Pleasure Alert

I have a confession to make. A deep, dark secret that shames me to my core.


Are you ready?


OK, here we go.


I've been listening to Petra.






I know, it's devastating. I can't believe it happened. I mean I didn't mean to but they had a song on a compilation album I picked up cheap. You know the kind, a bunch of Christian Rock bands played at some festival somewhere and they made a promo CD with singles from each of the bands that played. I bought it for the Kutless and Thousand Foot Krutch songs a few years ago. Then, last week I let the whole thing play through and when I got to the last song I heard this really cool guitar lick, and I'm just a sucker for a catchy guitar lick. Then it happened. Those cheesy 80's lyrics with the crappy rhyme scheme and the faux Robert Plant voice. I was hooked. It was just too damn fun. I couldn't turn it off. Then, before I could stop it, my hand reached down to push the rewind button and it started all over again. I knew it was wrong, but DAMN it was oh so fun. I mean, it's Petra man. PETRA! I felt like i was 10 again. Of course if I was 10 I probably could have written better lyrics but I'm not here to judge. I'm here to sing the guilty pleasure praises of that bastion of "Christian Rock". I mean come on, they had a keytar and everyone knows that's just awesome.


OK, now I feel better. My secret is out. If you never talk to me again I'll understand. But at least I'll have cheesy 80's God Rock to keep me company.