A Bald Eagle last night at the beach ...

As we were crossing the bridge back to the car last night this Bald Eagle swooped down pretty low over us. Awesome!

The same as Elvis ...

The answer to the question of life, the universe and everything ...

Not a prime number this year, but I will be again next year.

21 a 2nd time around.

Jackie Robinson.

42.

Today.

Me.

I was planning on a list of "10 Random Things I probably should have done by 42" ... but only came up with a few and tossed it. I guess I am a "doer" ... and this will be the last time I mark such a date on this blog, even though next year I am a prime number again ...

Making Some Mexican Hot Chocolate

Making some Mexican Hot Chocolate with the kids last night ...

Set in a trailer park ...

There is nothing like Shakespeare set in a trailer park on a lovely Sunday afternoon ...

Tan lines ...

This is what happens when I don't wear socks with my sandals ...

Summer School Art '09 ...

This summer I am not spending as much time at the art table and really am doing more sports anyways so there isn't as much to post as last year ... so this year I just have a couple things from lighthouse week and kangaroos week and some name tags for my locker ...

The Kangaroo Farm on 071609

Summer camp field trip today ...

Making Aunt Arlene's Pepper Jelly ...

Mmmm ... bacon!

Just because I like bacon.

If the ref said it crossed the goal line ...

... then it crossed the goal line ...

Seattle Sounders FC 2
Houston Dynamo 1
July 11, 2009
X-Box Pitch at Qwest Field

Actual chant from the crowd while a Houston player was down, "Let him die! Let him die!"

Craig Waibel, from returning homeboy to the loudest boos, all from some dirty play and petty actions ...

Let's just hope some bad goal line karma doesn't come back at us on the 21st ...

Oh, and Ianni's goal was a golazo!

More little cooking photos ...

Some home made ice cream and some home made chicken fried rice ...

The Mouse That Roared

Jason's gift came in the mail recently. He sent me an old school newspaper with a front page story about the 2nd semester school play from the 1982-83 school year. The Mouse That Roared was a rocking good time and worth noting here after reflecting on the article.

The Mouse That Roared was basically the only real time in high school that my brother Ron and I were in an activity together. Seriously, this was it. Looking back, that really was important to me at the time and I probably didn't realize it.

I hated high school. It's not that I hated my school or the people. I just wanted it to be over pretty early on and it just dragged for four years. Things like The Mouse That Roared, having the locker partners I had, DECA, and APES trip to Ashland, and soccer were pretty much the only things I really cared about. My club soccer was on a Northshore team and I worked a lot of hours and otherwise avoided many major events.

I was in Ten Little Indians later, but it just wasn't the same for me. The Mouse That Roared was it.

I had tried out for the first time and received a small part. One of the more major part actors decided to leave the production and I volunteered and got the part in mid-production. Never mind that I was 5'4" and one of the younger actors, I would be the old General Snippet. Out came my best Patton voice.

This play was crazy. We also added forays through the audience and a ridiculous number of set changes. Every night was an adventure. Of course, Jason made every night an adventure too. See, he really only seemed to consider the script to be a guideline. Oreos were crunched on stage one night. When I look at the picture of me and the Erics I can simply close my eyes and remember how all three of us would simply try our best to go with it during that scene.

One night when we went through the crowd I nearly stepped on my father. Another night I missed the top step and ended up flying face first across part of the stage. I believe actual arrows were shot at me as I hid behind a chalkboard off stage.

But, my buddy Bob really gave me a memorable moment. See, I don't think he realized that was I was crouched and lurking in the aisle that I was actually a part of the play at that moment.

"Hey Jeff!" he whispered. I do not remember the exact exchange, but basically I had to try and shush him right as the door to the theatre slammed and the soldiers started in after me. Good times.

The Mouse That Roared is a series of stories ...



The newspaper image is from Terrace Times Volume II Issue III April 25, 1983

Marvel's 18 (so far) ...

When the first X-Men film came out in 2000 it completely altered the notion of the comic book movie. Marvel realized that if you actually spend money on things like actual actors, directors, and writers that you might just make a good movie. They have generally done that in the near decade since. The made for television movie with Baywatch stars were mercifully over. The following is my ranking of the 18 Marvel Universe films of this decade with a second Iron Man film, more X-Men, more Spider-Man, and Thor in the works ...

These are my rankings based on nothing more than how much I liked each film.

1) Iron Man
- Robert Downey Jr. had you believing he was a playboy and the smartest guy in the room.

2) X-Men
- Up to this point the best comic book movies were adaptations of indie comics.

3) X2
- The cast and director were on a roll here.

4) Spider-Man 2
- This is the best of the soon to be five film Spider-Man trilogy.

5) X-Men: The Last Stand
- Even with its flaws, this is still better than most to me.

6) The Incredible Hulk
- Ed Norton channels Bill Bixby.

7) Fantastic Four
- How well they got the feel of the relationships made this work for me, but they really got Dr. Doom wrong.

8) Spider-Man
- I still have a hard time with the webs being biological and the flat performance of Kirsten Dunst.

9) Punisher: War Zone
- A little too much posing in the shoot outs.

10) Daredevil
- The leather costume really diminished a film wear Ben Affleck actually seemed blind.

11) Elektra
- As much as I think Jennifer Garner is the hottest woman lead in a television show ever, she is not Elektra.

12) Spider-Man 3
- I did not care for the ending.

13) The Punisher
- It is hard to believe that I liked this better than a Wolverine movie.

14) Hulk
- They released the excessively long version to the theaters.

15) X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Did the bullet holes heal?

16) Ghost Rider
- Nicolas Cage needs to stop pretending he is young enough for these parts because it really hurt a movie with real promise and Eva Mendes.

17) Man-Thing
- Straight to video for a reason.

18) 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
- Galactus is NOT a cloud.

My US Flag

On a day I hoped to see the USA play at Qwest for my 13th fan cap ... I will settle for posting my congressional flag instead ...

Deputy Black Belt

Seattle Tae Kwon Do
Thai Kickboxing Program
Deputy Black Belt
July 2, 2009

The color belts are done.

Can I be the third student at my school to get the double - and the first male?

I hope so.

Someone ought to tell them ...

When you properly pronounce "pho" this is kind of funny. But, unless the family did it on purpose, someone ought to tell them what this means when said out loud.