Versão brasileira do Brokeback Mountain.

I hate compare/contrast essays. Had to write one today. Did a lot of math as well. It’s late and I should sleep now. I feel like I missed some homework today, but I don’t really care. Shan came over for the first time in a while. We made awesome bread and mom made stew for dinner, which was delicious. I gave her a ton of music and then we watched House and Lie To Me. Both, lovely shows.

Buddy came from the vet today and we’re going after his weight problem once and for all. He has reasonable arthritis but if we can get some of the weight off it should improve drastically and he needs to be retrained to a litter-box. I think he’s going to be alright though. : D

We went to Starvation Gulch this weekend. It’s basically a series of HUGE bonfires that are put together by different groups on campus and then they light them all and there’s music and we all stand around in the cold. It was fantastic. Mostly I loved the University Fire Department’s pile… shaped like a fire truck. There were five huge fires this year and the engineers fire had a wheel that came loose and rolled down the face of the mountain and into a barricade they’d set up. It was quite an event.

Anyone who was ever curious, Brokeback Mountain is an incredibly depressing story. I just read it for english class and I’ve never seen the movie. Really just heartbreaking over all. On a slightly related note: I think the fall semester blues are setting in… I think the change in light and temperature is really registering with people finally. I’m trying to stay upbeat and do fun things to fight it off. For instance, this weekend Shan and I are planning to go to Chena Hot Springs and enjoy a fantastic day in the cold. In the meantime, I should really sleep. Goodnight.

Fin du périple du début juillet… enfin, une fin qui s’est vraiment produite deux mois plus tard, au début septembre. Lors de mon voyage de retour de ma promenade Lethbridge – Cypress Hills – Medicine Hat – Cardston – Waterton (en passant par plusieurs autres bleds plus perdus les uns que les autres, comme Raymond, dont je n’ai pas parlé ici) je m’étais arrêté à Cowley, qui se trouve tout près de Pincher Creek. Mais pourquoi, vous demanderez-vous sûrement? Parce que j’ai une affection particulière pour les trous perdus? Parce que le paysage est surprenant? Parce qu’il y a un obscur lien avec quelque chose d’autre? C’est un peu tout ça.

Ceux qui ont vu Brokeback Mountain y reconnaîtraient le paysage, car c’est à cet endroit qu’a été tournée la scène d’ouverture, le long de cette voie ferrée. C’est là qu’Ennis et Jack se rencontrent au bureau d’emploi du rancher qui les enverra garder les troupeaux dans les montagnes. La documentation officielle (du moins le guide imprimé) affirme qu’il y a des affiches qui annoncent les lieux de tournage. Je n’en ai pas trouvé (malgré deux visites, dont une deuxième beaucoup plus minutieuse). Toutefois, on peut voir l’édifice qui orne le début de cet article autour duquel certaines scènes ont été tournées.

Quand j’y suis retourné en septembre, je me suis amusé à prendre des photos d’autres scènes sympathiques, comme cette église transformée en auberge ou diverses vues de l’interminable file de wagons qui se trouvait en attente sur la voie ferrée. Et comme j’étais avec quelqu’un qui partage mon intérêt pour la photographie et les choses étranges, nous avons passé là de bons moments!

Je pense que le moment est venu de vous le présenter… Depuis un mois, il y a quelqu’un qui s’est inséré dans ma vie et qui enjolive mes jours. Appelons-le Oyate, de l’un de ses noms de plume, pour les fins de ce blogue.

so where were we?  ah, yes.  back to guitar gear, i suppose.

a lot has happened since.  there was another round of the Brokeback Pedal Shootout, i started a new band with some work colleagues, bought a new guitar…  exciting times, this.

first, the Brokeback Pedal Shootout II was held on August 14, 2009.  this time around we thought why don’t we test the most popular pedal in the history of all time – the Ibanez Tube Screamer (and its variants).  we had an original TS-808 with the  RC4558P from ‘81/’82,  an original TS-9 from ‘83, a TS-808 Reissue from ‘02/’03, a new-ish TS-9 with the Monte Allums mod, a Pedalworx Tejas (a booteek clone of a TS-808) and finally a Maxon OD-808 (with some unknown mods done to it by the previous owner).  the winner of this shootout was the original TS-808, which i didn’t want to admit at first.  this holy grail of ‘Screamers was just well balanced, with the perfect amount of warmth, meat, complexity and harmonic overtones that the other pedals lacked (either by a bit or by much).  i, for one, don’t like vintage stuff.  i don’t like hype.  i like newer stuff because it’s more reliable and usually has better build quality, but in this particular shootout, it deserved the win for maximum tone.  if you do have USD500-700 to spare, this is the one to get.

the others were solid in their own right and stayed faithful to the Tube Screamer family in terms of tone, and you can’t go wrong with any of ‘em.  it’s just that this particular one just had that extra ‘magic’.  component drift, maybe?  dunno.  bear in mind that it’s not a very obtrusive difference.  it’s just slightly sweeter, or meatier, or more complex…  it’s love, i suppose.  as always.  the owner was reluctant to let me have a go at it with my soldering iron.  heck, i’d feel the same way if it were mine.

then what happened was, a couple of my colleagues at work were talking about how they wished they could pick up where they left off with regard to playing musical instruments.  imagine people who bought an acoustic when they were 14, played a few songs to pass the time, and after leaving it for more than 5-10 years, decided that it’ll be a good idea to pick it up again.  it ended with them convincing me well enough that they’d get some satisfaction of playing music, and it’ll be fun to just start a band.

i thought it was a crazy idea at first, but when this girl who sat across me at work overheard us and enthusiastically wanted to join in on keyboards, it sorta reminded me of why i play music in the first place,  y’know?  that feeling of joy and satisfaction when everything just falls into place nicely.  that feeling of creating something out of thin air.  it ain’t about the big solo, man.  it’s when the thundering bass grooves in with the rolling drums, and the guitars deftly surfing just on top of that, and the keyboards weaving in and out like waves of colour and light and …  okay, i’ll go slow with the ganja.  promise.

we have this sort of shabby store which was converted into a shabby studio at the office on the 21st floor.  it has some badly maintained instruments, dirty power supply, stained carpets, peeled walls and no air conditioning after 6pm (which is the earliest we can start to play).  hmmm…  sounds a bit like Nirvana’s or Greenday’s practice space before they went triple plat, eh?

to cut a long story short, i found that irregardless of your level of skill, music is music, man.  everyone listens to it.  and most people who do not even want to attempt to play an instrument are denying themselves one of the most rewarding pleasures of life.  it warmed my heart that the boys and girl were so stoked after the first jam sesh, already talking about the next one.  ladaman even said, ‘i don’t get how anyone could not enjoy jamming, man.  it’s the best siht ever!’  well, ladaman, i can name you one person, but then again i’m not bitter about it anymore. 

in terms of gear, though, this Mickey Mouse Band (as i affectionately call it for the time being having not yet decided on a permanent name for the band/project) had forced me to buy another guitar.  yup, forced me.  i didn’t want to lug my main guitar (Gladys) in and out of the office everytime we have a jam.  and i couldn’t let assman win when he got a new guitar for the purpose of these sessions.  i also wanted to be able to leave that guitar there, and not feel too bad about it if it was stolen.  after reading a lot of opinions on the forums etc, i ended up with a SX SST57 in natural colour.  okay, say what you will, but for RM490, it’s a solid guitar for what it is and i’ll stand by that.  of course it ain’t gonna beat your Fender Custom Shop Closet Classic ‘63 Stratocaster, but…

now my mind’s been wandering.  the electronics on it are shite.  so are the hardware and plastics.  but i don’t see much trouble in replacing those bit by bit.  imagine a set of Fender Custom Shop ‘69 pickups, an electronics kit from RS Guitarworks, original Fender plastics, Fender or Callaham bridge and tuners, new paintjob and nitrocellulose finish by GG’s Pro Guitar Shop, maybe shave the neck a bit as well to make it smaller, similar to Gladys…  then shield the hell out of the cavities to kill hum…  dudes, trust me on this, it’ll be awesome.

because you can’t always get what you want, but Mr. Jagger said it best that, if you try sometimes, you might find… YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED!

have a good merdeka day celebration, folks!

I don’t know if I wish I would’ve had my camera or not.  In the moment I might have gone a little Russell Crowe on the situation, so perhaps not having it was a good thing.  Then again, right now, as I type, I’m feeling like an LA paparazzi member thinking, oooh—if only I had gotten that shot. Shameful, I know.

My mission this morning was simple:  head to the mall for jeans.

Ok, ladies–I can hear you now:  “SIMPLE?!  Jeans-shopping with kids?!”  Well, I knew exactly the brand I was looking for, I knew that my local mall-carrier had then on sale and I had a coupon [chi-ching], so all that was left to do was find my size in the pile.  Should be nearly effortless.  As long as there was a changing room large enough to accommodate my huge yet stylish mom handbag, three children, and piles of jeans, I thought we’d be set.

However, as any mall-going mom will tell you, you have to set the tone early with your expectations.  Therefore, we went in with clearly articulated rules:

#1.  If you can behave yourself during the jeans-shopping portion of the morning, you will get to play in the mall play-topia.

This was met with shouts of joy and personal accolades.  Great.  On to #2.

#2.  If you can behave yourself during the jeans-shopping portion of the morning AND a brief trip to Costco, you’ll get the play-topia AND a movie on the way home, courtesy of our sweet new van

This was met with shouts of joy, personal accolades, and a parade in my honor.  Splendid.  I’m the greatest mom ever.  On to #3.

#3.  If you CANNOT pull it together long enough for me to find some booty-shakin’ jeans and/or find sanctuary in the beauty that is Costco, your rewards will be taken away one by one.  Poof and poof.

Can you guess what happened?

The scattering of brownie crumbs on the kitchen floor this morning should have tipped me off.  Some might call it a reality check, others, a foreshadowing.  The feet scuffing and door banging in the mall restrooms might have been another hint.  [M had to pee the exact moment I touched my first piece of merchandise at the mall.  Thee very instant--"Mom!  I have to pee!"  Love that.]   Locking me out of my changing room was another ominous cloud in the skyline of our day [they lost the play-topia for that maneuver].

But you’d think that after losing the first reward and seeing the quiet, yet seething dragon lady emerge–they’d get a grip.  Maybe a light bulb would illuminate their dark little worlds.  A bright flash of realization that things could get ugly if they didn’t change their behavior. If they wanted to mess up their day–fine with me.  Strip away my kindness!  Force my hand!  I’m ready to play.

Being the trooper that I am, I forged ahead, undaunted, armed with consequences and the balls to follow through.  If Sacajawea could walk through the Rockies in the winter–wearing moccasins with her infant child strapped to her back–I could get through the mall, doggone-it!

But it was really the wrestling that got my goat.

The last straw.

My camel’s back?  Broken. Brokeback Camel.

I stood at the cash register asking for a price check on a lovely fall jacket designed, I’m sure, by Tim Gunn [it was Liz Claiborne].  I had a few coupons left and thought maybe I could swing an extra purchase if there weren’t too many zeroes.

The boys started getting crazy, so I instructed them calmly and authoritatively to sit on the floor next to me, in front of a display of shirts.

While I stood trying to do mental math on my discounts, I turned my head just ever-so-slightly enough to notice them writhing on the floor, locked together in some sort of wrestling move.

Oh. Nelly.

M was laying down on his back with his 7 year old brother J on top of his face.  J’s head was facing M’s feet and was now migrating down to M’s stomach while he yelled, “Stop it!  Stop it!”  M had his little paws clutched around J’s neck–a surprising feat for a 3 year old, but with this kid, it’s no surprise.

“Get up!” I hissed.  “We are leaving.  You just lost your movie and if you can’t get your act together, your bikes will be gone for the rest of the DAY when we get home!” The yellow-sweater clad grandmas behind me gave me the “loser mom” stare and I was cooked.

I marched ahead of them, leaving a waft of smoke in my trail.  My poor daughter, who really did do a great job [thanks, A!], trotted a step behind me trying to point out how she successfully evaded trouble.

Now I know some people get into this–martial arts and whatever.  I even know some closet cage-fighting fans.  But you heard it here first:

Mall wrestling is not fun for moms.

———-

assman: “so any interesting plans for the weekend?”

me: “nothing particularly interesting.  i have this meetup with a friend from uni days, that’s about it.”

[long pause]

me: “owh!!! [excited]  me and a few guys from this online guitar forum are going to have some sort of a ‘pedal party’ on Friday night.  we’re going to bring our own delay pedals and meet up – have a kind of a ‘delay pedal shootout’!  i’m looking forward to that!!”

assman: “owh, you mean one of those online forums?  like one of those Battlestar Galactica-ish, nerdy online bulletin board things?  but instead of spaceships, you guys discuss guitars?”

me: “err… yeah, well.  i suppose…?”

assman: “hmmm…  well, have fun at that Tupperware party of yours, mate.  i’m going home to my wife.”
———-

don’t even ask me where we got the name for this particular shootout series from.  it was a case of one joke gone too far, and that was that.  the idea behind this concerted effort stemmed from the fact that ‘buying’, ‘trying’, ‘disliking’, ‘re-selling’, and ‘buying something else’ is a long, painful and expensive process when you’re out to hunt for the perfect gear.  so a dude that goes by the name of moderneagle on one of the local guitar forums i frequent said, ‘hey, i’ve got an extensive pedal collection and i bet some of you do too.  so why don’t we pool our resources together and hold a shootout for the benefit of others who want to know?’  and with that, born was the mocked Tupperware party in all its glory.

we decided on the monumental task of comparing (get this) analogue delays for our first assignment.  of course we could’ve gone with the easier option of testing overdrive/distortion pedals, but where’s the fun in that, eh?  the pedals tested were as follows:-

1. BOSS DM-2
2. BOSS DM-3
3. Analogman AR20DL
4. Maxon AD9 Pro
5. Maxon AD900 (dual MN3005 chip version)
6. MXR Carbon Copy
7. Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man (with Analogman mods)

EPIC FAIL #1:  no one had a video camera so more often than not, all 9 of us would be huddled in a circle in front of the amp, each with his own strong opinion on which pedal should be heralded as King of the Analogue Delays.  arguments sometimes got heated, albeit sweetened with the odd lame joke being thrown in to keep everyone’s cool.

the whole setup was a bit chaotic at first.  we didn’t have a set of parameters to test for.  we had no clue what we were doing.  the above is a shot of the Brokeboard, where we argued on technical aspects of delay characteristics such as signal decay and BBD chip noise.  ultraman_cosmo even showed me an alternative way of wiring a 3PDT switch to minimize popping.  after about 20 mins of this, we decided on a set of test parameters and went about with it.

i won’t go into the details of the outcome of each test.  but suffice to say that you can do a whole lot worse than the MXR Carbon Copy, considering it delivers righteous analogue delay tones at a price, size and availability that’ll put a smile on anyone’s face.

what i realised that night was this, though – it doesn’t matter who you are, what race, religion or colour.  it doesn’t even matter if you’re rich or poor.  each one of us who came that night didn’t share anything else in common, except for our love for great guitar gear.  heck, we didn’t even share the same taste in music (trust me, it’s hard to convince someone who plays a Les Paul that Strats are better).  but when we started talking about gear, it was as if everyone automatically assumed their designated role in an ensemble band.  and everyone was playing their role.  in tune, on time.

i’m blessed to have friends who write and play music, and i’m equally blessed to have friends who, even though i doubt knew my real name (other than calling me murg) for the better half of the night, were kind enough to let me be part of this circle of trust.  so this one’s for you, mateys!  may we have more Brokeback Pedal Shootouts in the days to come.

I believe there was a movie wherein someone was advised: Put down your haterade and embrace your inner broke back.

But that’s neither here nor there. No the really good news is they have discovered a substance that turns laboratory mice Blue. Oh heavens, your ship has come in. That which you have waited for all these long years has come to pass. Scientists have found a way to turn the ears and paws of itty bitty mouses blue.

And there is this uh, side effect. The substance reduces spinal injuries. And, wait there’s more. It’s in candy! So, I know you were prepared eat Tarantula droppings if only some scientist some where said there were health affects to be garnered but at least for now, you don’t have too. Just eat so many Cerulean M&Ms that your skin turns blue and you are covered!http://waitingonthenewmoon.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

Broke Back Rats returned to health by M&Ms and Blue Gatorade!

Brilliant Blue G

Moving Ratz

Blue M&Ms

Wired Rats

A different kind of diet

Delicious Monsters

Lying is an Art

Probiotics and Prebiotics

@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beer and Burgers Diet

Etiquette

Artsy Fartsy

H1N1:  Swine Flu

I believe there was a movie wherein someone was advised: Put down your haterade and embrace your inner broke back.

But that’s neither here nor there. No the really good news is they have discovered a substance that turns laboratory mice Blue. Oh heavens, your ship has come in. That which you have waited for all these long years has come to pass. Scientists have found a way to turn the ears and paws of itty bitty mouses blue.

And there is this uh, side effect. The substance reduces spinal injuries. And, wait there’s more. It’s in candy! So, I know you were prepared eat Tarantula droppings if only some scientist some where said there were health affects to be garnered but at least for now, you don’t have too. Just eat so many Cerulean M&Ms that your skin turns blue and you are covered!

Broke Back Rats returned to health by M&Ms and Blue Gatorade!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• ***************************

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Find a Job

Alternative Job Hunt

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• ***************************************************************

Flower of Life

• ***************************************************************

pink moon

Moon Signs

• ************************************************************

Runes and Moons

Zazzle!

Love

NoBullArt

Angelic Verses

DeviantArt

Rumors of Angels

LuLu

Valentines

CafePress

Luck

Squidoo

Digital Art

Angel Sightings

Cyber Rainbows

How to Buy a Rainbow

Selling Rainbows

• ************************************************************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How to Find a Job

Alternative Job Hunt

Job Search for the Older Worker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Flower of LIfe

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In a sobering interview with C-SPAN, President Obama boldly told Americans: “We are out of money.”

C-SPAN host Steve Scully broke from a meek Washington press corps with probing questions for the new president.

SCULLY: You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt, a national deficit of $11 trillion. At what point do we run out of money?

OBAMA: Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we’ve made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we’ve seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades.

THE BUBBLE (ARTIFICIAL PUMP – PREDATORY LOAN SHARKING) & HEDGING FOR THE BUBBLE BURST (DUMP – KNOWING LOANS WOULD DEFAULT – NOT ENOUGH ECONOMY FOR REPAYMENT) GEORGE SOROS! This was done so next administration would have a phony excuse to DILUTE America with $Trillions of Dollars. This is to weigh America down – Like putting on a 500Lb Back Pack to soften America for Socialism!

So we’ve got a short-term problem, which is we had to spend a lot of money to salvage our financial system, we had to deal with the auto companies, a huge recession which drains tax revenue at the same time it’s putting more pressure on governments to provide unemployment insurance or make sure that food stamps are available for people who have been laid off.

So we have a short-term problem and we also have a long-term problem. The short-term problem is dwarfed by the long-term problem. And the long-term problem is Medicaid and Medicare. If we don’t reduce long-term health care inflation substantially, we can’t get control of the deficit.

So, one option is just to do nothing. We say, well, it’s too expensive for us to make some short-term investments in health care. We can’t afford it. We’ve got this big deficit. Let’s just keep the health care system that we’ve got now.

Along that trajectory, we will see health care cost as an overall share of our federal spending grow and grow and grow and grow until essentially it consumes everything…

SCULLY: When you see GM though as “Government Motors,” you’re reaction?

OBAMA: Well, you know – look we are trying to help an auto industry that is going through a combination of bad decision making over many years and an unprecedented crisis or at least a crisis we haven’t seen since the 1930’s. And you know the economy is going to bounce back and we want to get out of the business of helping auto companies as quickly as we can. I have got more enough to do without that. In the same way that I want to get out of the business of helping banks, but we have to make some strategic decisions about strategic industries…

SCULLY: States like California in desperate financial situation, will you be forced to bail out the states?

OBAMA: No. I think that what you’re seeing in states is that anytime you got a severe recession like this, as I said before, their demands on services are higher. So, they are sending more money out. At the same time, they’re bringing less tax revenue in. And that’s a painful adjustment, what we’re going end up seeing is lot of states making very difficult choices there…

SCULLY: William Howard Taft served on the court after his presidency, would you have any interest in being on the Supreme Court?

OBAMA: You know, I am not sure that I could get through Senate confirmation…

Drudge Report

I have a special spot of hatred in my hear for Crash. 2005 was a great year for films. Even the Academy did a great job picking the Best Picture nominees. If any of the four other nominated films won – Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich, or my personal pick Capote – I would have been thrilled. But instead, they went and chose Crash.

But apparently Paul Haggis thinks it was all a mistake. Haggis told the Chicago Tribune, “I love the Oscars; I just think they are the best thing in the world, but if you asked me if it was the best film of the year, I’d say, ‘Of course not.’ “

We can agree there Paul.

He continued: “I happened to like my second film [In the Valley of Elah] better than Crash, but no one went to see it.”

That’s where we can’t agree. In the Valley of Elah defied my expectations and was even worse than Crash.

“Blaze Of Infamy”

[Cowboy SmithX:] “You are not the Creator.”
[Ernie:] “Why don’t you pull out the master cassette and find out”

I wake up at the Bridge Inn
And I raise my heavy head
I’ve got an old double cassette deck
And the mic and mixer from my friend
I don’t know where I’m going
Only Michael Anthony knows where I’ve been
I’m a dj on the run
A parody spinner
A signal in the wind, yeah

Wanted Dead or Alive

Well I came into Brocket
with a pen and paper by my side
Nilesh with a camera tells me
Cowboy SmithX wants me to fry
Well Cowboy says I’m wanted
Yeah, I’m a wanted man
I’m a Clayton to Perline
I’m a shot both sides
Cowboy catch me if you can

I’m going down (down) in a blaze of infamy
But I think you should know the truth
I’m going out (out) in a blaze of infamy
I’m not Clayton Magnet, nor Persey Claw
I’ve got an old chevy car, call me Ernie Scar

You ask about my reasons
for this Native Parody
You ask if I’ll apologize
for this insepidy
You say that I’m a racist
You say that I stole your land
And I hope you’ll understand
Brocket 99 was only truly meant
only for a select few hands

Shot down (down) in a blaze of infamy
Take me now but know the truth
‘Cause I’m going down (down) in a blaze of infamy
I’m Persey Klaws father-in-law
Call me Ernie Scar

[Guitar solo]

Each night I drink away
Krishna watches over me
His eyes open and the universe begins
Will his eyes close to this native radio parody?
Nilesh and Cowboy I have to tell you
You, Burnstick, and others
owe their careers to me
I’m a Grandfather’s laugh
I’m a pankster in the sky
Let Cowboy catch me if he can

Staring down a tamahawk

Shot down (down) in a blaze of infamy
Take me now but know the truth
I’m going out (out) in a blaze of infamy
Krishna, I never joked first but I’m seen as the worst
I’m the trickster crow, call me Ernie Scar
I’m Ernie Scar, yeah
Ernie Scar, yeah…, Ernie Scar

OETA broadcast a documentary about Okie Noodling.  I thought it would be a cooking show.  Who doesn’t like noodles?  Five seconds into the program, I find I’m wrong.  Noodlers are fishermen that catch catfish with their bare hands.  I have one question.

What the f*** is wrong with you people?

Who in their right mind would crawl through a dirty river, place their  arms in holes, and hope they find a fish?  I know who, Neanderthals in acid-washed jeans.  I’d like to welcome you to the 21st Century.  Dark jeans are in and you can buy fish at Walmart.

One of the interviewees said, “I caint git enuf.  Itz in my blud.”  No, what’s in your blood is the venom of the copperhead that bit you, which probably caused hallucinogenic visions of giant catfish.

“I lost this finger from a beaver,” said another interviewee.  The only three words that should be associated with beaver are Davy, Crocket, and virginity.

The documentary featured several shirtless men with their arms under water saying, “it takes a man,” “this is a good one,” and “come in the hole.”  Normally these phrases are followed by prison gangbangs.

The slogan of the noodler is “No Worms.  No Wimps.  No Worries.”  How about no fingers, no toes, no accidental hand jobs?  Is this Okie Noodling or Brokeback Swamp?

Since 2000, Pauls Valley, located in Central Oklahoma, has hosted the Okie Noodling Tournament.  The Oklahoma Department of Health reported an outbreak of syphilis among teenagers in Central Oklahoma.

Another danger of noodling.

You can read my full article on The Brick but it’s a huge day for DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

Some of my personal favorites on the docket today:

Happy-Go-Lucky (DVD only)
Milk
Pinocchio Platinum Edition
Synecdoche, New York

Other important releases…

Brokeback Mountain (Blu-Ray)
Let the Right One in
Rachel Getting Married

Well, I think I’m going to start going through the second half of 1 Thes. 5 the next couple days because it would be a mighty large post to cover all of it in one go. Feel free to read ahead though, and have some awesome comments prepared…
hint hint

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
This first verse sort of goes along with yesterday’s actually. “Recognize those who labor among you,” is pretty hard for a lot of people I think. I know that I could honestly name maybe 3 people that have worked in churches I’ve attended in a less than “noticeable” way. I think this verse could really be an encouragement to say “thanks” to the people that set up all the chairs in your church. Actually say hi to the ushers. Write something nice on a card for the worship team, and dump it in the offering (along with a million dollars preferably)
The verse seems to suggest that the Thessalonians didn’t have much respect for the people that worked in their church, and that’s a real bummer. We need to respect our pastors, especially if they’re doing their job right and they “admonish you.” A lot of pastors these days are a little skittish to tell people when they’re wrong, because they don’t want to risk people leaving the church, but that’s a pretty big part of the job description. You have a responsibility also however, to not be a jerk if they do. This will go a long ways towards being “at peace among yourselves.”
Summary:
Respect your leaders, be nice to the people that work in your church, and the only man it’s ok for another man to love is Jesus
Comments, questions concerns?

In honor of the the word ’fuck’ being used 105 times in Patrick Swayze’s classic police-drama Point Break.