Volcano Pics

Via Sullivan at The Big Picture. Stunning images.

Volcano Video

Pretty amazing footage of the volcano in Iceland via The Guardian's blog on travel disruptions.

From The Onion Sports Section

Running down a list of memorable "Presidential First Pitches", The Onion writes about the highlights. My favorites:

1944: FDR laboriously rolls his wheelchair out to the pitching mound, then stuns the crowd with a 100 mph fastball.

1833: Although the popularization of baseball is still decades off, Andrew Jackson begins the tradition of welcoming in the spring by hurling things at Indians.

Quote of the Day

From Kate, last night, during the second half of the Butler v. Duke game commenting on the obsession among the commentators and Butler fans with the movie Hoosiers. She wasn't even watching it, but working in the kitchen. Mind you, we were already a little fired up for other reasons:

I'm getting tired of all these references to Hoosiers. Get over it. It was a goddamn movie.

From Satellites

The first full length album from Ask You In Gray is available to buy or download. This is the group my great friend Trey is half of. The music is electronica/dance, so not up everyone's alley, but it's seriously good if you like that stuff. Personal favorites: I Can't Dance, Reckless, Farlands, Elaborate Betrayal, Break It Down, and From Satellites. That is more than half the CD. If you like it, buy it or download it. It is super cheap and you will be supporting two great guys from Colorado, Chicago, and now Portland.

Listen to the music at askyouingray.com

Follow the links on that site to get your copy.

Get to the choppa!

The search is over. The best YouTube video ever.

No TV, No Problem

Parting with TV for Lent has been great. It isn't easy to say on here what exactly I did with the time I wasn't watching TV. I am sure I read more in the last 44 days than I would have. I am pretty sure that I wrote more too. And, I've had to rely on the internet and the newspaper even more than I previously had for staying up to date with current events. On the flip side of that, I felt delightfully out of touch with current events at times and it is hard to feel that way unless one is backpacking.

It has been very nice to not watch the NCAA tournament. I never really care who wins or goes far in the tournament, but if I watch I have the tendency to pick some favorites and then I get really upset when they lose. It is stupid. I am happy Duke has made it to the Final Four. I am also proud that Butler, a Horizon League (Milwaukee's conference) team, has made it to the Final Four, but since I haven't watched previous rounds of the tournament I am not nearly as invested in their outcome. Honestly, even though Lent ends today or ended on Thursday (I'm not exactly sure when Lent ends for Presbyterians), I don't plan on watching the games tonight. I might tune in to the last few minutes, but I don't even know if I'll have the TV on tonight.

The one show that I missed the most was The Daily Show. It gives me a substantial dose of humor and journalism (yes, I believe it does) before bed. It reminds me daily why I have become disillusioned with politics after having spent a summer working for a politician. It reminds me of how crazy the media is. It reminds me that it is best to stay moderate in political views, or at least independent of political factions, because the Democrats often don't have the balls to get anything done and the Republicans, in all seriousness, are freaking crazy right now. Of course, anyone who listens to Sarah Palin and thinks, now that's a great candidate for President of the United States of America, could be found medically to be insane. It also reminds me that I don't really connect to the Democrats either. I don't know if I have anything in common with Nancy Pelosi. I'm not exactly sure we are the same species. It's hard to tell after that plastic surgery, but I think we were both for health care reform.

That's about it probably.

The USA Today

I am about to finish up Bill Bryson’s Neither Here Nor There. I thought I would complete the book before pulling some of my favorite quotes and putting them up on the blog, but this one can’t wait. The following passage is from the chapter on his time in Austria:

An old boy, who was dressed more like a housepainter than a waiter, brought me a cup of coffee without asking if I wanted one and, upon realizing that I was an American, began gathering up copies of USA Today.

“Oh, no, please,” I said as he presented me with half a dozen, “put these on the fire and bring me some newspapers.”

God bless you, Bill Bryson.