Tuesday, November 29, 2005

A different perspective

"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare -- at least with photography," C. S. Lewis wrote.

"Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy."

Monday, November 28, 2005

Another One Bites the Dust

The BigRedHammer puts on his black mourning clothes. My good friend is dying. He gave me the gift of movies and music for free. We only knew each other several years, but it was a good friendship. I'll miss dear Kazaa very much.

For those of you who are in the dark:

The operators of the Kazaa file-sharing service have until December 5 to update their software with a filter to screen out copyrighted material or else face the rospect of being shut down.
The filter will prevent users from trading files containing 3000 keywords selected by record companies, including the names of popular artists and songs. The filter can be updated every two weeks to include the latest and most popular releases, the international Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a statement.

But in the battle of pirates versus the media industry, you can expect to have casualties. We've lost Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, Napster, among others. But the good thing is I've already moved on to LimeWire Pro. It actually is a much better system than Kazaa. I have no doubt that it eventually will fall to the evil lawyers too. So keep your eyes out for more P2P programs.

BigRedHammer throws his rose onto Kazaa's grave.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Saturday!

Yesterday was an excellent day! That morning my friend Aaron came over. We were planning to play Capcom vs SNK (which is a Street Fighting-esque game). But we ended up watching The Goonies instead. I'd never seen it before. It's a fun movie. I imagine it would have been especially nice as a 10 year old boy. We made some lunch and then I headed to work. I was only scheduled for three hours, but I ended up only having to work two hours. They sent us home early. That made me very happy. I would have enough time to make my scalloped potatoes for the Murder Mystery. So yes, I went to a Murder Mystery. I was Rogan S. Coundrell, a rich millionaire who made his fortune through blackmail and thievery. I won't tell you who the murderer was, in case you play the game. However I did not guess correctly. We had a great time though! After that, some of us came to my house and we watched Return to Oz. I'd never seen that either. It stars the girl from The Craft. She was way young in Oz. That movie was very interesting, very different from the original. It was a little darker and a little more realistic. I liked it.

What an excellent day!

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Vacation! (2)

I'm here in Morgan Hill, California. It is awesome! Let me tell you, the weather could not be more perfect. Mid-seventies and blue skies have been the norm. Yesterday we drove south along Route 1 which follows the beach. I saw beautiful scenes, waves crashing on the rocky coast, driving along a beautiful cliff, and then at the end seeing the sun set over the water. It's so cool, it's light much longer after the sun goes down because there's no mountains blocking it. Just ocean going on forever. Way cool. We also went to this apple orchard and got fresh apple pies. Let me tell you, that stuff is way good. Just the right amount of tartness and sweetness. I am having a great time.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Vacation!

So this Friday at 9:05 AM I will be flying out of Salt Lake City Airport to San Jose, CA. I'll be staying with my friend Chris till Monday night. Well, I just looked at the forecast for that area: a high of 72 degrees! We currently have a high of 39 and a low of 23 here in Provo! I just walked home from work (5 blocks) and it's COLD! But in a few days I will be nice and warm, shirt sleeves and the like. *grin*. I will also be doing fun things like visiting the Bay, going to Muir Woods Park and walking among the redwoods. You know, when I planned this vacation I didn't really need it. But I was invited out and it was cheap, so I did it. Now... I need it. I need a break from the mundane and the repetitive. I know it will freshen my outlook. I still have a lot to do be ready, but it will be done.

Yeah for sunny and warm California!

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Et Cetera

It's Saturday night. It's cold outside. But I'm feeling warm and comfortable sitting here in my hoodie. (This is the first hoodie I've ever owned.) I have some food in the oven. It will be ready to take out in about 12 minutes. It's penne pasta with marinara. Mmmm.

A few recommendations:

Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance
The song has energy! And as the song suggests... Dance! I only know one other Fall Out Boy song, "Sugar, We're Going Down" and I recommend both for download. They have a unique sound.

Erasure - Breathe
The song is soft and slow. I'm sure you could do some kind of zen meditation with it in the background. (As if I knew anything about zen meditation.) I'm going to be downloading the other Erasure songs from the same album. I've high hopes.

Axe - Touch
Sounds like a heavy metal hair band doesn't it? This acutally is not a song... but a deodorant bodyspray. You've probably seen the commercials. Well let me tell you, it's almost more of a cologne than a deodorant. And well, women love it! So men, here's the BigRedHammer's recommendation! (And the bottle is red too. Perfect.)

So that's all I have to say tonight. Here's the BigRedHammer signing off.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Salute to Elder Evanko!

My roommate Kyle left for the MTC this afternoon. Tonight is his first night there. In fact, he's probably headed to bed right now. (What a difficult transition that must be for Kyle!) He would often stay up later than I did. And I'm sure the shock and loneliness could be there tonight as he lays in bed. Wow. Just thinking about all the transitions a teenager has to go through to become a missionary... it's mind boggling. But he will be there two months. People who have been there 4 weeks will seem like old timers to him. He'll be there Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It's like the group right before me in the MTC. I hope he has good teachers and does his best. I know he'll do very well as a missionary.

Here's to you Kyle!!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Happy Birthday!

Well, Sunday was my 2xth birthday! Now those of you who don't know how old I turned.... quick, take a guess. Got it? Well, I just turned 27. Two days before my mission I was at work and talking to two girls. I mentioned that my birthday was soon. They asked how old I was turning. I told them 27. The one girl next to me said "No way. I totally thought you were pre-mission." The other said she wouldn't have guessed I was that old either. *grin* Other people have guessed 23-24. It's good to look younger than I am. Though a preemie... hm, that's kinda out there.

So here is how my birthday went. Being on Sunday as it was, I wasn't expecting much to happen. My parents wouldn't be coming down till Monday and I hadn't planned a party or anything. So I figured I'd just have a quiet birthday. That morning my friend Aaron called me and woke me up to wish me happy birthday. I also talked to my mom on the phone, my sister, and my nephew Shane (who turned 11 that day too. He was born on my 16th birthday.)

Later, my friend Kristen asked if I was going to the CES Fireside that night. I did go to that. President Monson gave an excellent talk. He's great because his stories really illustrate his points and he has a great sense of humor. Anyway, when we came back the house was decorated! Kristen had made me a cake as well. It had homemade chocolate frosting that was wonderful. Amy came over and had made an apple pudding cake that was incredible too. :D Amy also gave me real Romanian chocolate! Mmmm!

After that my friend Mike came and picked me up and brought me over to his house. He and Robert had baked me a giant cake. It was shaped as a ying yang. One side was chocolate and the other white cake. heheheh, the thing was huge! Some more friends came over and we hung out and played Settlers of Catan. I lost the first game and won the second. *grin* We also watched "The Interpreter". The movie was pretty good. Though it was pretty confusing too.

Monday I got to spend time with my friends again. We went to an Italian restaurant on Center St. It was waaaay good. We also went miniature golfing and to the movie "The Fog". I had a great time. Then they dropped me off and I went to the Olive Garden with my mom and dad. Mmmm, the chicken paramgiano I had there was so good. And filling. We came home and I opened my gifts. I got a really nice coat and new shoes too. So it was a really great birthday! I'm happy to be 27! Menace nothing!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Halloween Aftermath

So this Halloween was a success. A grand success. This weekend I went to a Halloween party that was a blast! There were so many incredible costumes. There was an ethnic Albanian costume, plenty of cowboys, devils, and angels. Let me tell you wings are so overdone. I am so tired of being poked by those stupid wings! I didn't actually know about this party until it was underway, so I didn't get to dress up. But, they did have a pool and hot tub. So half-way through we went and got our swimming trunks and soaked in the tub. That was fun.

Monday I was in Preston, ID for annual haunted garage/barn. My brother, sister-in-law, two nephews, mom, dad and I were in it. We scared 100 something kids from the neighborhood. I used my air horn from my own haunted house. It was really cool. In my haunted house I didn't get to use it myself. When you use it right, people jump two inches into the air. I was very glad the weather cooperated. Often it's already snowed in Preston or actually snowing as we scare. It can get so cold. But not this year, it was a clear night and relatively warm. I got by with just a fleece on. The foggers were a very big success too. They give such atmosphere! For whatever reason, there were less adults that went through the house. I think that adults can be more fun to scare. The best though are pre-teen and teenage girls. They scare so easily and we love to hear their screams.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!