Booyor's BLOGgh!

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My wife and I beat the new Super Mario Bros. game, so if you have any recommendations for a good co-op Wii game (in short supply, surprisingly enough) send them my way. The good thing with Mario is that you can keep going back to any level and still have a considerable amount of fun.

While searching for details about LEGO Star Wars III, I’m annoyed that I fell asleep during 30 Rock last night:

Let’s hear it for Hulu.

What? You can watch episodes of the Clone Wars online? When did this happen? I’m so behind. Not that I’m an uber fan of the cartoon, but it would have been nice to know after the third time in a day watching the Don Knotts episode of the Muppets. (If you listen to the podcast there’s a reference to Sweetums. That’s not on accident.)

My grandma’s memorial service will be at 2pm this Saturday at Lakeview Methodist:

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Thank you to everyone who sent support through texts, e-mails, and phone calls. I’m also thankful that I could send out a Twitter/Facebook update and not have to re-tell everyone over and over again. So, thank you for stalking me, I think.

I’ve learned some lessons, some that I can share here, others that you’ll need to talk to me in person about. What was really interesting/comforting is that Saturday morning I was helping J write a script for a video about Easter – along the lines of “Jesus Lives – So What?” (J is better about wording things so they don’t sound sacrilegious).

Saturday morning I was looking at 1 Corinthians 15, specifically:

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

I finished typing up my thoughts, e-mailed them to J, and then got my dad’s call to put on my shoes and race to the west side of town.

My grandma lived a life of serving others but it was not for this life that she was investing. All of the teaching, listening, baking, flower arranging, and generally being a good friend was because she cared for people, cared for the people in God’s church. Not that those acts earned her way into Heaven but that those signs of love are evidence of a faith lived out.

The end of 1 Corinthians 15 is the best, mixing in ideas from Hosea, Isaiah, and Revelation:

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?

One thing that broke me down, though, was an unopened card I had delivered on my first visit to the hospital. My grandma never recovered enough to be able to read it. I’m keeping the envelope in my car to remind me to seize the opportunities I’m presented with.

On that train of thought, this past Friday I started the first of many Dad-Daughter Days:

Yep. Pink Bear. Darth Vader Armor. It came with a plush lightsaber, too. I am proud.

And to the wonderful ballet teachers, thank you for your time and know-how. Also, thanks for something fun my family could go to:

Tonight’s Chuck was great. Expect no spoilers other than that from me (although I will say that Jeffster songs get stuck in my head).

The irony of all-out Nerf warfare on the show did not escape my sense of timeliness.

Okay, so maybe some spoilers from me, but Nerf is not integral to the plot.

Or is it?

Thanks to everyone who listened to my beautiful wife on the radio. I’m proud. And for those that may wonder if celebrity has caused her to ignore the little people, she still helps us out:

This is how my wife clamped down the lining for my orthopedic insert for the glue to dry.

Video game news: If you haven’t gone to Gamestop yet to get your free demo disc of Monster Hunter 3, you need to. I initially set out to play a Final Fantasy-esque protagonist with a giant sword:

but the camera angle (which doesn’t rotate with you…unless it’s an unseen option) couldn’t keep up with the hunt.

I’m not too proud to admit that I switched to the hunter with the shotgun. Those poor herbivores never saw it coming.

On the topic of Final Fantasy, FFIV (or II if you were like me and bought the original cartridge back at Babbage’s) released on the Virtual Console today. Airships and dragoons are always fun additions to the party. I didn’t pick it up (since I still have the original cartridge) but I’m holding out for the actual FFII and III for the Virtual Console. Is it sad that I’m more excited for those than the big release of Final Fantasy XIII this week? (And yes, Dad, I know that since there’s 13 of them, Final is not an appropriate adjective. Don’t get me started on the Crystal Chronicles spin-off.)

When that comes, we’ll have cannons and Russians.

Like in traditional bloggh format, we’ll celebrate today’s posting achievement with a song:

Seriously. Who knew politicians were so entertaining? And applause for rhyming “preterite” with “Connecticut”.

This came across my e-mail today:

Choreographing all of those middle schoolers is actually pretty impressive. I also would love the compliment of some kid holding up my book and screaming while pointing at it.

The related videos on the “district appropriate video service” (YouTube being completely blocked) made me laugh:

In video game news:

Did you see the kid who created a strategy guide for Zelda – for people who can’t see?

The impossible is only the untried.

Also – the Playstation Smartphone should debut sometime this year. This year will also see Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M.
What is Nintendo going to release for Christmas? Probably Zelda.

Finally – You’ve gotta love Yahoo tech blogs.

Regardless of it’s sales, it’s still fun to play.

Which it’s is it, people?

I thought about scanning a photo today. Said photo was taken by a staff member. I almost scanned it but then realized how many other teachers were on the basketball court, too.
Let’s just say it was not the most flattering photo of me. I don’t remember the photo being taken; my eyes were shut but I was baring my fangs.
Here’s a simulation of the photo:

The other photo had me with some decent air separating my feet from the court.

If you heard rumors that the first draft of my current writing project is done, those rumors are valid. It came in at 56,000+ words, which is more than book two of Ally Carter’s Gallagher series. Right now I have my two most trusted editors reading through it to make sure it’s readable. Then it will be time for the second draft.
I think it’s a good sign that I’m excited for other people to read it.

I am indeed waiting for a phone call right now. My grandma went in for a triple bypass surgery today. It’s something like this.

Usually when my dog barks, it’s for a very good reason. Like, oh, kids starting fires in the alley…hypothetically speaking. So when Indiana was standing next to the screen door looking up and barking, I came to the most logical conclusion.
The aliens from Signs had jumped on my roof.
Then I heard the hot air balloon ignite some fire to rise up. I appreciated this, since I wasn’t ready to host an airship crew, no matter how close they flew to my home.

Other odd highlights from today:
Two unrelated people spoke the same line from my life’s script. “You’re a librarian? That works. You can reach the highest shelf.” The first person had initially said that I was too tall to be a librarian until the shelf epiphany hit. The latter person (I’m the ladder person, I guess) was at the Apple store.

“You need a new power cord for your MacBook? Let me get the…nevermind.” I pulled the box down. I had to stand a little on my tiptoes – a truly tall display.

Did you see talkinturkey’s exciting MacBook news? Very exciting, to say the least. I should have had the Apple Geniuses/Geniusi etch a giant lumberjack on my MacBook.

And Mike, you will be proud. A conversation teaching my youngest to use the word “rear end” instead of what she was saying devolved into the four of us singing Mr. Roboto in the kitchen.

1. You may sing “It’s the Year of the Tiger/It’s the thrill of the fight” and pose with fists raised at the top of the steps of any government building for the next year.

2. You may argue that curling is a real sport. I, for one, understand its intricacies.

3. You may go to freedom.fcov.org/podcast and see if you recognize any voices.

Whenever I watch the Olympics, my eyes get heavy. Snow is counter-productive to my writing process. How did I ever survive NAU?

Whenever I turn on Pandora, I write. A lot. Many thanks to James Horner and John Williams for their compositional efforts. The final stage is set. The confrontation between good and evil will play out to its end sometime this week while I’m at work. (I’m talking about my book, if you didn’t catch that.)

Today I also got a certain bachelor party planned, a certain bachelor party involving lasers and teen wolves. My brother is getting married on Saturday. If you’d like details as to where and when, message me. It’s low-key, so I don’t want to invite the whole Interwebs.

Like that “i’mnotbettywhite” person that keeps wanting to comment…

Add in the poison spraying I did in the yard and I’d say it was a very productive Monday. Nothing says “Remember the Presidents” like gallons of Ortho coating ragweed and dandelions.

In a recent posting of The Bloggh, one of our contributors (namely, me) referred to Queen Elizabeth as the Queen Mum. This was a misnomer: the Queen Mum was a queen consort versus Queen Elizabeth is a queen regnant.

I’m glad we got that cleared up.

Queen Mum is a name for a widowed queen consort (a queen dowager). Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the current Queen Elizabeth’s mom) had an interesting rise to the throne. Her husband, Prince Albert, was not next in line – his older brother, Prince Edward, was. Edward abdicated and let Albert transform into George Super-Saiyan Level 6.

Seeing where the trend of votes are leaning, an “always prepared” Princess Elizabeth changing a tire makes a lot of sense:

Queen Mum is of the same long-livingness lineage as the current queen, so the qualitative assessments should not have too large of a margin of error.

All this talk of Elizabeths has good timing, I guess (Elizabeth being the name of John the Baptist’s mom). Today is Candlemas, a church holiday celebrating Luke 2:22-35. Simeon says, “I’ve been waiting for this. Now I can die a happy man. This kid is going to do awesome stuff.” (I paraphrase.)

I just thought that February 2 was Groundhog Day.

It’s the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club that announces Phil’s divinations. The Inner Circle? Because we don’t want the Outer Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club getting too uppity, right?
Every February 2 should have a subtitle of being Bill Murray Day.

Phil: There is no way that this winter is *ever* going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.

I’m going to be playing in the staff basketball game next month. Jean Claude and I have one thing against us when trying to revisit athletic competition (at least I actually played my sport).

We’re both old. As I’m looking at our team’s roster, I’m hoping the other school’s staff is just as decrepit. I have a torn ligament, this guy just got done with knee surgery, this woman just had a hip replaced…

Remember when they called Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson old at 33?