Iceland Photos

158 photos are up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/analogallday/sets/72157625711108170/

Spent the day driving around the country...saw landscapes that were most certainly different planets...we named them Mars, Mercury, and Venus. Justine got more excited about the Geysers than she's ever been about anything in her life. Finished the day with wonderful Spanish Tapas, and went to the local Irish Pub to listen to a band play some of the most ridiculous covers of American pop standards that you could imagine. It's day three now, we're about to find delicious lunch and maybe some art museums downtown. Happy New Year's Eve.

Iceland day two

Quick update...the past 18 hours have been loaded with adventure. I will get pics up tonite and update with the day's happenings.

Iceland, day one, part two

The sun comes up at 11am local here...and we timed our elevator ride up a several hundred feet tall steeple just right that I was able to shoot about 100 photos of the sun coming up over downtown. We spent a bit of time exploring, popped in a few shops, and had Greek food for lunch. I'm excited about the pics I got this morning, and hope to post them later tonite. After dinner, we are taking a Jeep ride to see the Northern Lites...so...hopefully more excellent photos there. A few notes: All the sodas are 40's, all the taxis are Mercedes, and all the satellite dishes point down about 15 degrees. -chall

Iceland, day one

Perfect trip over...all flites on time...very well run airline and airports, successful bus trip to downtown, Justine used her ipod to guide us right to the hotel front door, they had breakfast waiting on us. The room is very nice and spacious, the wifi is fast, and the shower water is very hot. We did lose power at the hotel for about 15 minutes...we're pretty sure it was Justine's fault. We've been up for almost 24 hours, but are going to try and stay up another 16 or so to acclimate to the local time (GMT). Not sure yet what we'll spend the day doing...but, we're probably just about to get out and explore. Weather is perfect...T-shirt with light jacket if you're gonna be outside a while. Everything is dandy so far. -chall

My weekend.

Sometimes it's worth it, taking all those pies in the face...and some days you just stand there, waist deep in pie.

Fireworks

The bible says: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and,
behold, it was good". When did good become not good enough? At what
point did we decide that we needed amazing? The creator finishes up
making this place and says: "it was good"...not amazing. So people go
looking for something "amazing" while passing over the thing that is
"good"...problem is...amazing can only be amazing for a short time...A
firework is amazing...but, it's only amazing for a few seconds...then
dark. The firework is an impressive, sexy thing...that doesn't last. I
see so many people looking for fireworks in a relationship...and as
soon as the fireworks dim, they're gone...looking for the next blast.
A plant is good...it's something that takes work...watering, sunlite,
shielding from the cold, compromise, etc... All the firework takes is
1 match...no real work. 1 match and it goes off...it's
impressive...and requires little effort...but then it's gone...and you
want another. The plant is something that if cared for properly, can
produce fruit and last forever...it has deep roots that have a good
hold of the ground. It's something you can rely on if you're willing
to invest the effort.

Politics

If you know me, you know that I almost never discuss politics...but...John Moss sent me this article...and it made me very happy. I love Mo Tucker.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2010/10/moe_tucker_interview_2010_politics_tea_party_velvet_underground_video.php

-chall

Middle School Dances

I was chatting with a friend recently...and the subject of middle school dances came up...and I briefly sketched out for her a rundown of how middle school dances went (she was Baptist and wasn't allowed to dance). Thought I'd share.

Everyone would bring their cassette singles of their favorite slow dance songs...the dances at least up until late high school were usually at someone's parent's house...in the living room...usually one of the wealthier kids...they would push the furniture to the wall...I would usually bring the stereo if the house didn't have one...no CD's...it was always cassettes. So, the guys would put on too much cologne, their braided belts, their best polo shirt and khaki Dockers pants...a bit of mousse in the hair to keep it in place. The girls...usually too-tight acid-washed jeans, high heels they couldn't walk in...frilly tops, waaaaay too much perfume...and we'd all stand around the perimeter of the room against the wall for a while. Guys on one side, just chilling...looking too cool..the girls would be whispering and giggling

We'd take turns putting the tapes in...usually some Pearl jam, some Spin Doctos, etc...for a while...there'd be chips and onion dip, Coke AND Pepsi...and maybe M and M's...if we were lucky...to cover up the onion dip breath

So, after maybe 30 or 40 minutes, someone would get up the nerve to get a slow dance tape out of the pile and put it in.

Maybe "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor

or

"Winds of Change" by The Scorpions

or

Maybe "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

About halfway into the first verse, one guy would get up the nerve to go across the room and ask a girl to "slow dance"...another would follow, etc...until all 6 of us guys were "slow dancing" with a girl.

We had 6 guys and 12 girls...so, we had to work twice as hard to make sure everyone got danced with an equal number of times throughout the nite.

"Slow Dancing" consisted of being at arm's length from each other...arms stretched out...hers would be around your neck...yours on her hips...but not too low...that would be scandulous...and not too far back. So, we'd do a few slow dances, then everyone would migrate back to the walls for some Stone Temple Pilots...and after awhile, it would start all over again.

Usually, by the end of the nite, there would be a new short-lived couple formed

For some reason, these memories are VERY vivid...these middle school slow dances.

The high school dances do not stand out as much.
At some point, the dances started being in the cafeteria at school...and we'd have DJ's that would play the top dance hits...it was about the same though...there was less cologne, untucked shirts, and the slow dances were much closer. Every once in a while, one of us guys would get a wild hair to bust a move...but, being that we had no black kids, it wasn't a good move...and it didn't last very long.

Thank goodness

I think that's all I have to say about it. That went on way longer than I thought it would.

Y2K

I have a comprehensive knowledge of how the world worked up through 1999...not sure what happened after that...maybe I'm not Y2k compatible?

IKEA

IKEA furniture is under 30 newlywed furniture...for assembling after you get home from your honeymoon. A lot of it takes 2 people to put together, it comes with these cute little diagrams, and you're supposed to put it together as a couple, in your first new home together...you can make cute home videos, laugh a lot, maybe have a food fight, take artsy looking Polaroids, etc...I know this movie scene. Young (he's 28, she's 23), shabby chic couple (he has emo hair of course, she has an ironic T-shirt), on the floor in their bare living room of their first married apartment, putting together this fake furniture (that they bought on their budget...he's a graphic designer for an indie music website, she works in a coffee shop...local, not corporate), getting things wrong, laughing hysterically, listening to Sufjan Steven (Michigan album), making first memories together, they probably ate an appetizer of chocolate covered edamame and mint tea beforehand. That's what IKEA furniture is for.

2009?

Well, we're done with this odd-numbered year...and now on to a nice, even-numbered one (I always do better in the even years). Here's a few things that I liked about 2009:

1. I got a dog...his name is Marcellus Wallace III, his favorite bands are Tears for Fears and Wovenhand, and his favorite activities are throwing small tennis balls, sitting in the laps of hot girls, and licking things...yeah, his life's pretty good.



2. I got a regular gig playing drums. I have had MANY regular gigs on guitar or bass, but only a few on drums (Waxheads, MRU, Leftovers). At the beginning of 2009 (3 days into it actually), I backed my old friend Patrick Morales on drums for a show at The Submarine opening for Corduroy Road. For some reason, that show just ignited something in me that made me wanna play drums every week...so I went out and found me a gig. In 15 years of playing in bands...I've never had to audition before. I've always either started the band myself, or been asked to join by someone I knew. In January of 2009, I answered an ad to audition for the drum seat in a band called matt.james. That gig has taken me to some great venues (Smith's, The Nick), some not so great venues (won't list those here), but more importantly, I've made loads of excellent new friends...which leads me to number three...



3. New Friends...I think I've made more new, great, friends this year than any other year I can remember. James, Chris N, Libby, Zack, Sara Duff, Chrissy Sara, TiBo, Chico, just a few that come to mind. Thank you amazing people.



4. Concerts: The standout concerts of the year were as follows:

Stryper in Tarpon Springs, FL
Mutemath in Atlanta, GA
U2 in Tampa, FL
Tears for Fears in Henderson, NV

These 4 concerts will go down on the books as some of the best I've ever seen.



5. The wedding of the year award goes to James and Mandy Hughes. The most fun I've had at a wedding in many years.



6.Memorable trips...St. Paul of course, went to Vegas 3 times this year...the summer trip was the best by far, the Stryper concert trip to Lakeland/Tampa, and the matt.james fall tour.



I will probably add more to this list in the coming days, but I just realized I am late for an appointment. Welcome to twenty-ten!!

-chall