Sunday, February 28, 2010

.5

Megan and I were going to celebrate our 1/2 year anniversary, but we realized there is no February 29th! Not until leap year that is.

So, here is my favorite "bad" photo from our thousands of photos. I have no idea what is going on, I must just be pointing to something in the grass, but it looks like I am viciously scolding her bouquet.

I also need to get our photos on line for people to look at too! So many projects, but I will get to this one soon.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Banksy video



Banksy the hedgehog at his finest. I suggest clicking on HD and then going to full screen for the maximum effect!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Europe?

Megan and I are planning on taking a trip to Europe after she graduates as an extra honeymoon/post-graduation celebration/pre-internship hullabaloo. Basically this is our chance for some travel, and we are going to grab it!

But, we have no idea where to go. I know we can fly into London and out of Amsterdam for a good price, and we are thinking about spending time in the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. With additional thoughts about Prague, Italy, and well... everywhere else. I want to get to places where we can rent bikes to tour, and am looking for great food. Megan likes historical sites too.

So let us know if you have any great insights!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Match Day!

Congratulations to Megan for getting an internship in Tucson Arizona! It sounds like a great hospital, with a great program and we are very excited to learn more. Megan's first day would be June 16th, and the program goes for a year and a week. The photo on the left is downtown, with the hills behind on one of their rare snowy days. I could have put up a photo of the many cacti but I am sure you will see many of those in the future! (Average high, 100˚ in June)

So if anyone knows anything about Tucson, let us know. So far I have learned:
  • how to spell "Tucson" (Not Tuscon)
  • that rent is cheap
  • It gets hot in the summer, and they have a monsoon
  • but it is still a desert climate due to its high evaporation rate
  • the surrounding hills are very pretty
  • it has a big Wiki page that I am going to read up on
Congratulations!

Superbowl ads

Great Superbowl last night. The Saints played inspiring football!

But the ads this year were odd, and not too many good ones. I was struck by how explicitly many companies are attempting to define what a man should be this year, and of course align their product with that identity. The Dove commercial treats male suffering as a comedic and heroic triumph - so buy girls soap because you don't need to show off in the shower! The Dodge commercial is the opposite, and treats suffering as inevitable and petty - so buy this car to escape your troubles. Sure it is supposed to be tongue-and-cheek, but I find it incredibly depressing. It is probably effective marketing too. Everyone - from politicians to car companies - are taping into some boiling rage in America where you are being victimized by everyone and can trust no one. See Tea Party et al. Anyway, watch the clips yourself and see what you think!




Monday, February 01, 2010

The Plow Man Comith

Lastnight Megan and I saw "9" in wich humanity has been wiped out by robots, save for a few rag-doll creations who are tormented by the self replicating evil robot brain. It was based off a great short film by the same name, that you can watch here.

So big mechanical apocalyptic robots chasing small little creatures around and trying to eat them.

Then, later on we encountered one of the downsides of our apartment perch. Sure nice men from the city of St. Paul (I think) with huge machinery will come and plow your sidewalk for you for free. But, you don't get to decide when they do it! at 12:00 they rumbled in, with a huge plow, a little bobcat, and a few plow trucks to clear off the bus stop and corners. They would draaaaaaaaaaaaag their shovels over the pavement and BANG them down again, shaking the whole building! Needless to say, we thought that the giant robots had come to smash our house down and eat us. I shot some video of their work, which was quite interesting to watch.