Where I am is a Place to Be

I've been on many a lonely car trip lately, and have allowed my mind to wander. I'm rediscovering the excitement of the small epiphanies that shoot into my mind while driving. The road has a mysterious way of clearing my thoughts and opening up a channel to reflection and deeper thought. One my drive home today, the channel opened yet again and a humble slice of knowledge slid it's way down the slope and into my mind. I realized that the place I am is exactly the Place I need to be. Not necessarily the physical place, mind you, but the mental, spiritual, and emotional place I find myself in at the current time. It wasn't so much that moment when the cosmos align and suddenly confirm to you that your life is on the right path. No, it was more-so a discovery that where I am in space, time, and spirit is a beneficial and fulfilling place for me at the present moment, and it will propel me into finding the next Place I am to be in life.
Each Place, neither necessarily good nor bad, has it's reasons. I may not know what those reasons are, but I trust that I will discover those reasons in due time.
Perhaps even more important is the realization that everyone else is also in the Place they are supposed to be. It is most likely not the same place I am, but that is ok. The place you are is where you are supposed to be, and there is a reason you are there and a reason you will move on to a new place evevntually. I am not to judge why you are at the place you are, or even judge that place itself. It is simply a place you need to be and I am a in a place I need to be.

Chill, relax, and take in everything that is the place you are. I will do the same.

J

The Storm in the Calm

I sit here, anticipating another night of sleep close on my horizon, yet lay awake befriending the roaring thunder outside. Today was one of those cloudy days that get me kinda down and I start to quietly beg the sun to come back and grace me with its illuminating presence. Yet, I fail to remember at those moments, that the night also has an illuinating presence of it's own that I often overlook. The moon is a balance to the sun, just like those energizing days of sunshine redeem the cloudy and dreary days I loathe. It reminds me of my study of chaos theory freshman year of college. I musn't forget that the storm, rain and thunder all bring a balance to the Earth, and a balance to me as well, more than I can fully understand. The sun will stabilize the clouds, and the rain will stabilze the heat, and so on. So, I will now strive to embrace the moon (and the rain), as I fall asleep. Even the worms. God I hate worms. But they need the rain, just as I need sleep.
All is in balance and forever chaos. And to that, I too will sleep.

J

The Geek in the Pink

OMG. Hello, ear orgasm! Have you heard Jason Mraz's new cd? I pine, I obsess, I swoon. You gotta check it out. What comes out of that man's blessed mouth is nothing short of vocal sex.
Double points for the fact that he's a total hottie.

Mraz is the Jazz.

Gotsta go. Peace out.

J

Holy nuggets, batman, is that a blog I see?

Yah, I'm back. It's been over a year. And what has happened in that year? Everything and nothing, chaos and calm, all at the same time. I upped and decided that my new goal-of-the-moment is going to be to pay more attention to that little voice in my head, echoing out from the dusty and dark corners, otherwise known as my neglected and unforgiving blog.

Yah, somehow over the past year it grew legs, discovered its voice, and started nagging me incessantly. Weird.

Anyways. Back to me (some things will never change). I decided that this writers block that I've suffered for so long has got to come to an end. It's not that I've lacked inspiration or idea. Oh no. It's more that these thoughts and ideas rushing through my synapses at Mach-10 oddly dissipate just as I attempt to push them from the comfort of my mind towards the outside world. Sorta like my thoughts are all sorts of new colors, shapes, sounds and scents that I recognize in my own mind but have yet to learn of the word that best define them. Either that, or my lexicon has just completely gone to shit. But I prefer the former.

So that's my story for the past year. And now I'm striving to let those ideas maintain form while finding an outlet to make them known.
That may be through song lyrics that sear from my ear directly to my blood, or a film that encapsules a story more brilliant than I could ever dream. Or even, perhaps from the unexpected introduction to a being I've never met but feel strangely interconnected with.

That, and I gotta get less wordy. More matter, less fart.

Breast Cancer 3-Day

Memory. Honor. Support. Hope. Life.

In August 2007, I'll be participating in a special event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. Over the course of 3 days, I will walk over 60 miles to raise money for breast cancer research and initiatives.

My mission:
I will walk for breast cancer.
I will walk in memory of all women who have not survived the struggle against breast cancer.
I will walk in honor of all those who have.
I will walk in support of all those who are currently fighting against the disease.
I will walk for all women.
I will walk for hope.
I will walk for strength.
I will walk for courage.
I will walk for a brighter future.
I will walk for the promise of a cure.
Because everyone deserves a lifetime, I will walk.

According to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women in the country.

That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. If you are interested in supporting my efforts, please visit my fundraising headquarters at the link listed below. Any little bit helps. Please keep in mind how far I'll be walking - and how hard I'll have to train.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=202293&supid=155336891

For your wife, your sister, your mother, your friend, and you.........I will walk.

Wow, it has been a loooooooooong time.

It's...errr.....taken me 6 months to find something worthy to post.....errrr...yah. So here it is.
TOO FUNNY! Letterman pounces on O'Reily...good stuff! I think Letterman is my new hero.

check it out here: http://crooksandliars.com/index.php?s=letterman

The Power of Makeup

A friend sent me this pic via email, titled "The Power of Makeup." I thought it to be blog-worthy.
Speaking of my blog, I have lately practically rendered my blog dead. So here's my attempt at reviving it. I've been quite busy since my last visit --- I have recently moved to St Paul in an apartment off of Grand Ave. I love this area and have thouroughly missed it since my time at St. Thomas has been over. It's nice to be back.
Maybe one of these days I will get around to posting some pics of the new pad. Until then, I'll leave you with a nice little pic of the monkey we call our president (or in this case, the horse's ass.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! May the luck o' the Irish be with you!

In honor of the day, here are some Irish jokes.

**An Irish man walks into a pub. The bartender asks him, "what'll you have?" The man says, "Give me three pints of Guinness please."So the bartender brings him three pints and the man proceeds to alternately sip one, then the other, then the third until they're gone. He then orders three more.The bartender says, "Sir, I know you like them cold. You don't have to order three at a time. I can keep an eye on it and when you get low I'll bring you a fresh cold one."The man says, "You don't understand. I have two brothers, one in Australia and one in the States. We made a vow to each other that every Saturday night we'd still drink together. So right now, my brothers have three Guinness Stouts too, and we're drinking together.The bartender thought that was a wonderful tradition.Every week the man came in and ordered three beers. Then one week he came in and ordered only two. He drank them and then ordered two more.The bartender said to him, "I know what your tradition is, and I'd just like to say that I'm sorry that one of your brothers died."The man said, "Oh, me brothers are fine - I just quit drinking."


**McQuillan walked into a bar and ordered martini after martini, each time removing the olives and placing them in a jar. When the jar was filled with olives and all the drinks consumed, the Irishman started to leave.
"S'cuse me," said a customer, who was puzzled over what McQuillan had done. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," said the Irishman, "my wife just sent me out for a jar of olives."


**A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.
"Why of course," comes the reply. The first man then asks: "Where are you from?""I'm from Ireland," replies the second man. The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland."
"Of Course," replies the second man. Curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?" "Dublin," comes the reply.
"I can't believe it," says the first man. "I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."
"Of course," replies the second man. Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: "What school did you go to?"
"Saint Mary's," replies the second man. "I graduated in '62.""This is unbelievable!" the first man says. "I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"
About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. "What's been going on?" he asks the bartender. "Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."

**One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints, and were stuck in the thick head. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer, and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink, held it out over the beer, and started yelling, "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT YOU BASTARD!!!!"

**Pat and Kyran were getting ready to go on a camping trip. The first one said "I'm taking along a gallon of whiskey just in case of rattlesnake bites. What are you taking?" The other one said "Two rattlesnakes!"

Chicago Pictures

Joe is a photographer in the making. Click here to check out the photos he took from our recent trip to Chicago. We visited Millenium park and the Shedd Aqarium and had plenty o' time to relax.

There will never be another Puck

I was one of the lucky kids -- to grow up in MN during the reign of Kirby Puckett. How could I forget proudly wearing my Homer Hanky to school the day after the Twins won the 1991 World Series? I was young and didnt care much about sports, but even I knew that Kirby's 11th-inning home run really, really meant something. It was that one amazing and pure moment in the game of baseball where you know it's more than just a game.
Kirby Puckett was the player that my generation had looked up to. For many of us, he was our hero. Kirby allowed us to see what the game was really about and how it was always meant to be played.

There will never be another Puck.

I came across some quotes of Kirby's in the Star Tribune this evening, and decided to post them because his own words mean so much more than any words I could say.

In Kirby's words:

"Boys, I have an announcement to make. You all seem quiet. Are you nervous about something? Well, don't worry. All you have to do tonight is jump on my back. I'll carry you."
-- Oct. 26, 1991, Puckett addressed his teammates before Game 6 of the World Series against Atlanta. He backed up his words with a spectacular catch in the third inning and a game-winning home run in the 11th inning.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: It might be cloudy in my right eye, but the sun is shining very brightly in my left eye. And just think how the sun has shined, right up to the doors of this great Hall, the shrine for the greatest game in the world and the greatest players in the world. "

-August 5, 2001, Puckett during his Hall of Fame induction speech.

My Oscar pics for 2006

I must admit that I have been ignoring my blogging lately. I decided it was about damn time for another post, and what better to post than my personal Oscar pics for '06?

There are so many great films, actors, and actresses to choose from this year. I have seen 4 out of the 5 films up for Best Picture, and it is one close race this year. Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, and Good Night, and Good Luck are all excellent films. (I'm only leaving out Munich because I haven't watched all of it, so I cannot vouch for it quite yet.) Overall, it's been a great year of films.

Without further ado, here are my pics (and guesses, for those films I haven't yet seen):

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain. (Although I give Good Night, and Good Luck a very, very, very close 2nd.)

Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. A simply brilliant performance as Capote.

Best Actress: Felicity Huffman, Transamerica.

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, Syriana.

Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain.

Best Direction: Brokeback Mountain

We'll just have to see how my choices hold up on Oscar night.

ummm, yeah...

I can't believe this is actually for real.....