Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas, Friends!!!

First, in honor of "Jason Crisp"...



Some funnies...

"A Great Big Sled" by The Killers

src="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/1/340133/A%20Great%20Big%20Sled.mp3" loop="false"


Last, but not least...

Hopefully your Christmas morning will look like this!

Turkey & Stuffing...& Cranberry Sauce...& Potatoes...

I forgot many other foods in my title, but anyway...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Happy Halloween!

First, here's some candy for ya...just take one!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you ever heard of Darwin Chamber? Well, that's not his real name; it's a stage name. His real name is Mark Greenfield. DC/MG is well-known for his "environment" albums...you know the ones where you hear the sounds of a particular environment? He's got everything from Thunderstorms to Oceans to Rain Forests to Birds to Whales to Frogs...and the list goes on. Darwin Chamber also does trance-y electronica-type music as well.

Some of the best environmental sound effects he's done are those for Halloween. It sounds very real. If you have a good surround system, you can especially hear the sounds playing back and forth among your speakers. It's amazing and creepy all at the same time. His work is most accessible on iTunes, where some tracks are 30 minutes in length, but only cost $0.99. Well worth it.

Here's a little sample of his SPOOKY Halloween sounds...

3D 2007 Halloween Sampler

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

And, finally...if you are in the mood for some scary stories or podcasts, go here!

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

New Pictures

I've uploaded pictures from this month, including Mothers' Day and Memorial Day Weekend.

From Steve & Kathy's BBQ on Sunday, pictures at Flickr.

From Mothers' Day & Memorial Day with my family, pictures at Yahoo Photos.

Happy Halloween!

(Click to enlarge)

Easter Fun

Happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

May the Irish hills caress you,
May her lakes and rivers bless you,
May the luck of the Irish enfold you,
May the blessings of St. Patrick uphold you.

For a history of St. Patrick and the holiday, The History Channel website has a good bit of information.

While you are there, you can take an All Things Irish Quiz to test your Irish I.Q!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

(St. Patrick's Day blessing upon you)

UnHappy Valentine's Day to Me

Not only is it Valentine's Day (which already sucks when you don't have a valentine) but I have to spend it in pain, and virtually immobile. Somehow, this does not seem fair. Unfortunately, I now have a pinched nerve in my back which is causing this pain. I've never had it as severe as this...I've had back problems for quite some time now, due to being in unfortunate car accidents, but this is something very different. Usually, I just experience bad aching in my lower back, which I've learned to manage after going to physical therapy. This, however, is actually a sharp pain that stretches from my lower back down into the back of my left leg. I am worried that it could be my sciatic nerve, because it's stopping me from moving certain ways and makes me feel as though my legs will give out when I stand.

I really didn't feel anything until Sunday night when the shoveling was done. Honestly, I don't think it was the shoveling that did it, though. I think it was from trying to pull the snowblower up our driveway, or from lifting something the wrong way. I can't really be sure. It wasn't the kind of thing where I was doing something and all of a sudden, I couldn't move. It was just something that came on after heading inside for the night.

After speaking with my sister, who is an Athletic Trainer, she advised me to keep putting ice on it, to not lift anything, and to sit and sleep with a pillow or two under my knees. She also wants me to do some light stretching. I'm kinda surprised that this is happening to me now. I would have expected something like this after I was injured in an accident a few years back...but not now when I've been exercising 5 days a week and keeping up with exercises from PT specifically for my lower back. I just don't get it. I'll most likely be going to the doctor if this doesn't get better soon.

Well, anyway, enough complaining for me. I am going to go find myself some chocolate and peanut butter and try to find something on TV that has nothing to do with V-day.

Oh yeah, here are some pictures from our recent party at Tom & Jon's place. Enjoy!
[site closed - pictures removed]

Am I a Music Snob?

Okay, so if you were reading carefully in my previous post, I talked about how some family members have never heard of many music groups that I listen to. This seemed to be the general concensus on Christmas Eve. So, here's what happened. Before my cousins and I opened our polyanna gifts, the kids were playing some music on the radio. A song by the pop group Fall Out Boy came on and, immediately, my younger pre-teen cousins as well as my 17-year-old sister, Kelli, started singing along and professing their love for their music. I just kinda rolled my eyes and made some kind of noise that showed my obvious distaste...Kelli immediately starts questioning me, "What, Col, you don't like them?...What's wrong with them?"...and so on.

Now, fast-forward to about 45-minutes later...the polyanna gift-opening has begun and it is my turn to open. On top of the packages is what appears to be a wrapped CD...so, I go for that first. I have about half of the paper off when I see the words "...Out Boy" appear under the partially-ripped paper. I immediately freeze and carefully look over to my Aunt Mary who does all the wrapping for her kids' polyanna gifts. She wasn't paying attention at the time, so I lean over to my cousin Julianna (Aunt Mary's daughter) and say "Jules, is this gift supposed to be for me from Frankie, or is it supposed to be for Kelli from you?" She stammers (knowing full well that I didn't like this group) and then whispers something to her Mom. Aunt Mary instantaneously pipes up that she must have gotten my CD mixed up with the one meant for Kelli. So, of course, everyone had a good laugh at my expense...Kelli found it hilarious that I received a CD of a group I had slammed not an hour before. When I finally got the right CD, it was The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow...this led to even more snickers and questions from the peanut gallery..."What's a Shin? Are they anything like 'The Elbows?'" So, Kelli starts spouting off that I am a music snob because I like bands like Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Neil Young, Death Cab For Cutie, The Who, etc... My Dad immediately backs me up and says, "She just has good taste in music...she gets that from me..."

So, what do you think? Is there such a thing as a music snob? Am I one?

The Gifts That Keep On Giving

Usually every year at Christmas, I have a good-sized "wishlist" of music and movies that I hope to receive. My parents and other family members ask me to make a list because they always say they'll never remember the names of things I want or that they've never heard of half of the musical artists I put on my list (more on that issue later). It's not that I anticipate receiving my whole list either...I also keep the list for myself, because, many times whatever I don't get from family, I go out and buy for myself with Christmas money. Don't get me wrong, I don't only get movies and music, but ironically, my family seems to have a much easier time picking out clothes for me than some music.

So, here is my thought...music and movies are the perfect gifts for me for two reasons: 1-I love listening to/watching them, and 2-They're the gifts that keep on giving. Think about it, most music and movies you obtain as an adult (or young adult) will be ones you'll continue to go back to for years after. While I don't often reach back to my pre-teen years of listening to NKOTB or MTV Party to Go, I find myself listening to the same artists or watching the same movies that interested me starting in high school.

Anyway, here's the list of CDs and DVDs I was fortunate enough to receive for Christmas from various family members. Some were bought by me after Christmas, noted by ($):

• Batman Begins DVD
• Office Space: Special Edition with Flair DVD
• Seinfeld: Season 5 DVD
• Happy Gilmore: Special Edition DVD
  
• Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
• The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow
• Neil Young: Prairie Wind
• Audioslave: Live in Cuba DVD
  
• The Who: Tommy and Quadrophenia Live DVD
  
• Beck: Guero (CD w/DVD) - ($)
• The Who: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (CD) - ($)
• Death Cab For Cutie: Plans - ($)
• The Shins: Oh, Inverted World - ($)
• Edwin McCain: Scream & Whisper - ($)
• Edwin McCain: Tinsel & Tap Shoes - Live at The House of Blues DVD - ($)

Holiday Pictures

These are just a few of my recent pictures from Christmas and New Year's Eve. You can see all of my crazy holiday pictures in my Online Photo Albums. I never realized how many times my camera was hijacked...