hypnotic

Just a quick post. There are two YouTube videos that I keep going back to watch in the past few weeks.

The first is a Honda commercial which my brother turned me onto, which I have never seen aired. According to Micah it was all done in one shot and took something like $200,000 to film and 14 days (I probably just really butchered his quote):


The Second is a short video done by someone/something called Animusic. I didn't really research it on the internet about who they are but this is quite a cool musical video, very Pixar-esque:

Also, is anyone having trouble viewing the video I embedded in the "whispering pines" post. I made it a private video on YouTube and that may have caused some problems. Please let me know if you can't see it. Thanks.

photoxpressions 03

I figure if my back is still sore then I have just cause to make other's suffer through a few more pic's from the move. Now I promise to move on to other topics.

whispering pines

Hey all; the migration is complete. We arrived in Ellensburg, Washington this past Sunday late in the evening, on what we would later find out was the hottest day in recorded history for the town. My air conditioning stopped working in Colorado since my truck didn’t want to pull a U-Haul trailer and power the A/C, so I drove the last three days of the trip in relative misery. To break up the monotony of the trek I tried to keep a log of pretty much anything I could think of. Below is my portion of the log.

Trip Totals:
Days: 6
Miles: 3300.4
Tolls: $53 (that's just PA, OH, & IN....rotten scoundrels)
Driving Hours: 60.5
Gallons of Gasoline: 258
Roads Traveled: 76→80→280→680→81→135→61→70→25→90
Coffees: 7
Dr. Peppers: 9
Bags of Sunflower Seeds: 3

Playlist:
Alexi Murdoch
Belle & Sebastian
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Beta Band
Blind Melon
Bob Dylan
Cake
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Counting Crows
Credence Clearwater Revival
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
David Gray
DJ Dangermouse
Faith No More
Fiona Apple
Gillian Welch
Jack Johnson
Johnny Cash
Josh Garrels
Josh Rouse
Kasey Chambers
Kathleen Edwards
Led Zeppelin
Lucinda Williams
Marvin Gaye
Modest Mouse
Neko Case
Nirvana
Over The Rhine
Queensryche
Radiohead
Redbird
Shelby Lynne
Soul Asylum
Soul Sides Compilation 1
Sufjan Stevens
Talking Heads
The Allman Brothers Band
The Band
The Beatles
The Boy Least Likely To
The Shins
Toots & the Maytals
Violent Femmes
WILCO
Willie Nelson
Zero 7

Scientific Discovery Moment: Rachel initiated research in Wyoming revealing that it takes approximately five minutes for a Lemonhead to dissolve in your mouth without any excessive sucking on the Lemonhead.

Further research to support the hypothesized “five minute law” will explore if multiple Lemonheads in your mouth will change the dissolve time and if every mouth is consistent with a universal five minute law will be completed on future road trips.

Trip Claps & Slaps: (my cheesy section to doll out rants and thanks)

Claps:

- Ultimate clap to The Lord for providing us with save travel, no speeding tickets, and some of the most amazing country to drive through.
- Supreme Clap to the unnamed tow-truck driver/mechanic in Belleville, Kansas who towed my truck (with the trailer attached) to the Chevy dealership and then started working away on trying to fix it….on a blissful 113 degree day in Kansas!!

Slaps:

- A Slap to the fuel pump which caused the above mentioned breakdown on that 113 degree day.
- Another general all encompassing Slap (with a flying elbow) to the heat wave which plagued us the entire week we were traveling.

Overall the trip was an exciting adventure which let us see some extremely beautiful country:

And also play with electronics while I should of been driving:
Back at Whispering Pines we have been very busy the past week with unpacking, assembling Ikea furniture, and settling to our new home in the Pacific Northwest. Our house is surrounded by tall pine trees which whisper as the wind sails in from the Cascade Mountains, hence the new name of our house. The breeze also fills the house with the scent of evergreen trees and makes me feel like I’m camping in the mountains. I found out last week that I passed the national certification for Physician Assistants which was a huge relief. I start work on 7.31 and a new chapter in my “adult” life. Tonight Rachel and I are going to enjoy the latest movie by M. Night Shyamalan, Lady In The Water. This weekend is also “Jazz in the Valley” so we may explore the town more and possibly catch a concert. Enjoy your own weekend. More to come soon.

goodbye PHL

Tonight, I sit on the eve of a trans-continental trip from Philadelphia to Washington state. I've recently completed my training as a Physician Assistant and am moving to start my new job as a fledgling PA.
I write this with excitement, apprehension, and sadness all bundled tight in my gut. Tomorrow is the beginning which I have been working towards for the past four years. During that time I have grown fond of my in-law's and bonded with new, now seasoned, friends, both of which will be missed greatly.
I've also learned the pathways and uncovered the "diamonds" of Philadelphia during my downtown excursions. So, I dedicate this post to AKA Music, WXPN, WHYY, Big Jar Books, Chink's Steaks (great cheese steaks, however un-PC the name is), Rita's Water Ice, Philadelphia Pretzel Factory, Pod, El Vez, Fork, Reading Terminal, The Mutter Museum, Philadelphia Art Museum, Tin Angel, The Electric Factory, World Cafe Live, and The Kimmel Center. I leave with philos in my heart!

world cup woes

Just wanted to document my world cup withdrawl and post the final minutes of Zidane's career. Quite a disappointing way to close this chapter of his legacy. If the story is true though, Materazzi most likely deserved this little "love tap".

happy 4th

celebrate freedom & liberty.

old charter

Celebrate with our friends the Brit's and some Old Charter. They're good blokes and not at all miffed that we won our independence from the crown they're still under. With Old Charter bygones are bygones......

i love ESPN

Just a quick note on how much I love ESPN. For those of us left in the world without cable TV we can still catch live streaming coverage of the world cup games via ESPN360 online. Wish I had knew of this earlier in the tournament! At least I'll be able to see the two semi-final games without the crappy ABC commentary.

I was bummed to see England lose today to Portugal. I really wanted to witness Crouch doing his post-goal dance . The Portugal keeper, Ricardo, seemed to be clairvoyant during the penalty kicks blocking 3 of the 4 pk's.

Back to online coverage of Brazil v. France. I remember watching these two teams play in the 1998 World Cup final onboard the USS Wasp during my last Mediterranean Deployment in the U.S. Navy. The deployment was during the summer of '98 and all of Europe was intent on the World Cup in France during our tour. It was quite an experience to see just how much football/soccer is a global sport. Too bad the majority of U.S. seems to close-minded to embrace soccer and support the national team on a higher level. Well, back to the game....thanks to ESPN!!

Author's Note: France upsets Brazil 1-0!! Sorry, Timmy but your countrymen didn't look like they had the legs that the French did. Zidane put on quite a show with his amazing footwork. Also, is it me or does the French keeper, Fabien Barthez, look like Moby?