David's Tangled Thoughts

***Spoiler Warning*** The Simpsons have finally come out with a movie ! Basically, the plot goes like this: After Springfield finally gets the gumption to clean up a local lake, Homer decides to dump a huge load of crap into it. This causes the head of the EPA to take drastic action and cut off Springfield and its pollution from the rest of the country by encasing it in a glass dome. Because it was Homer that caused this situation, the townspeople mob against him but the Simpson family find a way out of the dome and escape to Alaska where they try to start over a new life. Later, the find out that the EPA has plans to destroy Springfield and they find themselves going back to save the town. Although the movie was far from perfect it was still an enjoyable movie to watch. It kept me laughing. Although, there are segments that feel like it is one joke after another that doesn’t seem to be pertinent to the storyline. A few have said that this was very Family Guy -like. Of course, I would

This past Sunday, we had the first picking of blueberries. The early variety, the Blue Rays were ready and we already had a customer that wanted 125lbs ready by the next day. So I helped my Grandma out. When Dad was doing is last years in the Air Force, Kris and I were sent to live with our grandparents on their farm. Picking blueberries was the job that I looked forward to because I would get paid for it. Supposedly I was paid 35¢/lb but I never kept track. The money that we made was for the Berrien County Youth Fair*. We were never given the cash but Grandma made sure that we had fun and I don't have a memory of her ever saying no to something that we wanted. I think picking blueberries is a blast. Not to mention they are absolutely delicious and nutritious. Some of the best blueberries don't make it into my bucket because I'll eat 'em. It is also the one job that you can easily listen to music while doing. Yes, it's all picked by hand. No berry picking machines

<--See also: Oh! That's what he meant . People are gonna think I have something against Sen. Edwards now. I know, I know, it's a cheap shot but I had to put this video up. h/t to the Roe Conn Show at WLS , Chicago. On a sort of side note, after reading reports and viewing portions of the recent Democratic debate, I still have to say that if I had to choose between the front runners, I still have to go with Hillary Clinton. (Pardon me while I choke down my vomit.) Apologies to the Obama supporters, but the senator really did need to have a new hole torn after making that remark about sitting down with the likes of Castro, Kim, Ahmadenijad, and Chavez. I didn't have to wait for Hillary's response or commentary from the newscasters before my stomach dropped out from underneath me. I would hope that most college students that has taken one political science class would understand the terrible mistake he just made. Diplomacy is fine and dandy but you don't have meeti

This latest Harry Potter movie was the first to get me to thinking that I really am missing a lot. I could tell that there were some things in the movie that I would have understood if I had read the books. Aside from half of Chapter One of The Sorcerer's Stone, I have not read any of the Harry Potter books. No, I've only seen the movies--and most of what went on in them I've forgotten. The movie, for me, was very flat. There weren't any high points or low points. The movie just went along. I did enjoy Delores Umbridge as the latest antagonist. She kind of reminds me of another teacher that I once had, with her smiling face which she thought covered her sadistic nature. I was surprised to see that werewolf guy come back. I thought he had left for good. What was the significance of that arch thingy that Sirius fell into? Poor Cho Chang. They couldn't spare a moment for her to receive an apology? If Richard Harris was alive and was still portraying Dumbledore

... well, not an actual theater but a movie theater. Since I've been waking up lately at 0430 almost every day for a week now, I'm wide awake now at 0620 and I've got a few minutes to spare before I go to work at 0700. They offered some overtime hours this morning and I took them. After work I'm planning to go and see the new Harry Potter movie. All of my friends that live around here are not Harry Potter fans in the slightest. After some teeth pulling, I managed to get Kacey to "suffer" through it with me. While I'm not as big as a fan of Harry Potter as Herb and nowhere near as big as one as Brian *, I will watch the movies when they come out or listen to what my sister and dad have to say when they read the books. So I'm off today to see what's up. If you believed me when I said that, with the exeption of Kacey, that I couldn't find anyone to see Harry Potter with me, believe me when I say that NO ONE wanted to even entertain the thought of

It has been a number of years since I have had to get up so early on a regular basis. Not since having to report for PT (Physical Training) did I have to get up before the rising summer sun. A few days ago I bought some coffee to kick start the day. I wouldn’t say that I am a coffee person. I like the taste of it but I never really had the desire to make it. Now I am doing it solely because of caffeine. I bought a bag of Beaner’s . I know, I know, I could have gone for the cheap stuff but this was an almost nostalgic purchase. Let me tell you a story. Back in university, before I had the ability to avoid 8 o’clocks, I used to have to sneak out mugs of coffee from the cafeteria. Technically, you weren’t supposed to remove anything from the cafe, but no one followed that rule. Miss. Fannie who was the ticket checker fully knew what I was doing and never cared. (One of the many reasons why she made my stay at MASP a pleasant one.) In later semesters when I started going to c

Word around the political water cooler brought up the story that Senators John Edwards and Hillary Clinton want to cut out the stragglers and make their debates a more... intimate affair. From an AP article: They were caught by Fox News microphones discussing their desire to limit future joint appearances to exclude some lower rivals after a forum in Detroit Thursday. Edwards says, "We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group." Clinton agrees, saying, "We've got to cut the number" and "they're not serious." She also says that she thought their campaigns had already tried to limit the debates and say, "We've gotta get back to it." And then from Brietbart: Both Edwards and Clinton were asked about the exchange Friday, and offered different explanations. In New Hampshire, Clinton seemed to lay responsibility on Edwards. "I think he has some ideas about what he'd like to do," she said, adding she liked participa

<--See also: Yeah I'm in that one scene... (you know-- the post preceding this one) As I indicated, I got this Simpson avatar idea from Bob. But as I got done with my own and then saw a few more, I noticed the green shirts. I also noted that the only ones I had run into were wearing green shirts. What was with the green shirts I wondered. Had I hit upon a fashion trend and not know about it? Hmmm... Of course the last two I saw just prior to making this post ruined it for me with purple and gray so they don't get a mention. :oP So these are the other cats that I saw with the green shirts. I remember seeing two more but I can't seem to remember their sites. So with linkin' love we have: POTUSOL , Bob , QuakerJono , and North Dallas Thirty . UPDATE 07/14/07 @ 2253: Making his fashionably late entrance with another lovely green shirt is Herb ! --I'd squeeze ya in right next to Bob but it's so close to bedtime. :-)

After seeing what Bob did on his site , I couldn't resist. Man I am stealing things left and right tonight. I'd say that I'm somewhere in between these two. Hell, I'll just say it's the before and after David. To try it yourself, go here .

Michigan State University is increasing tuition by a gut wrenching 9.6% this year. This is just another consequence of the ongoing mess in Lansing. Of course, the MSU Board of Trustees are happy to point to the legislature and say that it's "their fault." As much as I am furious with the Michigan government, the decision to raise tuition rests with the Board. Trustee Faylene Owen said the decision to raise tuition was the right thing to do. For one, the increase was necessary to compete for the best faculty and to conduct the best research, she said. And then, Owen said, it would put the responsibility for the increases on the state Legislature. "These politicians say they want more and better higher education to advance the state's economy and to benefit our young people," Owen said. Faylene Owen really got my blood going. I really hate the argument that you have to charge students sky high tuition to attract the faculty and research. That's not en

I was watching BBC America when an announcement came up: Not even British people can follow the British accent one hundred percent of the time. Therefore... you, like me, might want to use closed captioning. I smiled. My set's CC was already activated.

Laurie, if you're still reading, you might get a kick outta this. I had an interesting dream this morning. I don't know if it should be classified as a nightmare but I sure woke up in panic mode. I usually don't remember anything I dream and what I am about to write is probably less than a tenth of what actually went on. Back in high school there were a few times that I thought that one of my classmates liked me. (Uh huh, Laurie) Now don't get me wrong, she wasn't a bad person. She just wasn't my type, obviously. So I was back in the Philippines visiting for the third time. The first being my real study abroad experience in 2003. In this dream, I had returned to the Philippines after a previous trip. And as before, I was going to be there for a few months. I was pretty happy as I was able to escape from the States and the people there. You see back in the States, this former classmate was hanging around me. Not quite like a stalker but almost just as

I think that I am done with Doctor Who for a while. While Doctor Who ended its season in the UK recently, that same season just premiered here in the US. I got around to watching both “The Rundaway Bride” and “Smith and Jones.” Throughout both, I felt like I was being dragged through the mud. I’ve come to the realization that Doctor Who version 2.0 is too different from the original series and I haven’t been able to bring myself to fully liking it. –“It’s not you, it’s me.” It wouldn’t be fair to say the show is complete shit. There are plenty of good bits that I’ve enjoyed but there are points that I can’t get over. Mainly, can we get away from Earth? Please, take me away from London and companion families. I want to see alien worlds where they look like humans. How about giving the humans a little more credit instead of magnifying their “capacity for self-deception?” Maybe I'll check on it later down the road.

Pixar's new animated movie, Ratatouille is pretty decent. But I won't pretend to be a critic, food or film. Pixar always has been hit or miss with me when it comes to their movies. I liked A Bug's Life and I loved Finding Nemo . Ratatouille ranks in there right below A Bug's Life. But... you don't have to take my word for it. dah duh dah For those of you living under a rock or on the other side of this third one from the sun, Ratatouille stars this rat that has a gift for the culinary arts. This passion for something so human makes him stand apart from his rat colony. Remy the rat finds himself in Paris and in league with a no-talent "chef" in order to practice his art and save his friend's ass. To anyone who has seen this movie, did Ian Holm's Skinner seem like a French- Ferengi - hobbit ? I thought that Patton Oswalt was the perfect actor to voice the rat, Remy. I can't believe that Brad Garrett voiced the dead chef, Gusteau. His vo

Would you believe that I've never possessed my own key to my family's house? Never.

<<--See also: " Celebrating 230 Years ," and " My Fourth of July Celebration " This year I didn't make any special plans for Independence Day. I suppose I could have seen what Erin or the rest of the gang were doing but I didn't feel like spending some cash this year. So it was back to basics which is just as great. When I was younger and living in Niles, we would go and see the fireworks being set off near the airport. Then when we moved to our current location, we started going to the one in Baroda. A friend of my Dad's lived there and right on the edge of the field where the fireworks were set off. So we had a great party place to be. Honestly, I think that Baroda has the best display in the county. While Saint Joe has an impressive display, it is short and flashy--a lot of stuff thrown up in a short amount of time. Baroda does theirs more slowly. Instead of Bang, Bang, Bang, you get a Bang -Pause- Bang -Pause- Bang . Also, there's

Does anyone else like to eat their subs after they've had a chance to sit for a little while? I think they taste better that way.

I've been selected to do a temp job for a company. So earlier today I had to go in for a drug test. I wasn't sure if I could... preform. What? I hate having to pee on demand. Out of habit, before I left, I did my business and I wasn't sure if I had, well, anything left. Fortunately I gave them a window of an hour of when to expect me so I decided to walk over the park. See also: "By the river in SB." So here's some more pics of My World. Also a short clip at the end. As always, click on the pictures for an enlarged version. Walking under one of the bridges on East Race, I spotted a homeless person's camp. I don't know what the general feelings is amongst New Yorkers or Chicagoans but seeing something like this is still shocking. But the problem is well known considering the news stories about the homeless. The recent manhole murders come to mind. Back in the days two channels were dug alongside the Saint Joseph River to provide hydro power.

A little over two weeks after this post , Dad breaks out his specialty. I think it was a little sweeter this time around.

This is where I used to live before moving to my current address. 4 bedroom, 2 bath, and it even had a receiving room. My neighbors told me that it used to be a drug house. You know the expression, "wrong side of the tracks?" It was true in our case. The train tracks were one block west of us and really was the beginning of the "bad neighborhood." Seeing as we were only a block away, I could believe this house had been a base. About three streets north of us lies this "estate." This house along with three others on the block take up about three or four lots each. I suspect that the reason was because at the time these houses were built, they lay on the eastern most edge of Niles where it began to go back into farmland. Over time, though, the housing built up around them so that the edge of town moved further over by about a mile and half. I suppose the thing that I like most about the hood is that architecture of the the houses can vary wildly.

<--See also: It's Here My cell phone is about to celebrate its one year of activation in a couple days. Up until a couple minutes ago, it looked like it wasn't going to make it. It made me so mad because about a week ago it refused to charge. I'd end up fiddling around with it for a good ten minutes before the connection would be made and the charge-up began. One night night it wouldn't charge at all and I gave up. I took some electronics degreaser and and rubbed it on the connectors. I hoped that it wouldn't make things worse. It has appeared to have solved the problem. The two times I've done it, the connection and charge was immediate. This damn phone better last me another year when my contract is up. I love my phone by the way.