For Chris James

My brother emailed me this You Tube gem this weekend. A treat for any closet Ultimate Warrior fans..and anyone who likes innuendo.

Euro 2008 Predictions 1

Speaking of Euro 2008 here is my prediction for the day, ASAT style.. I was hoping to predict the France game but I guess I'm too late :-s Winners in Red.

Netherlands vs Italy

Group D

Spain vs Russia

Greece vs Sweden

UPDATE: Netherlands thrashed Italy, Spain kicked Russia's ass, and Sweden one...so my first prediction and I'm 1 for 3.

A question of culture

I was asked last week if there was racism in the UK. I guess it was kind of strange question, but I guess they were really asking "is the racism issue as big everywhere as it is in the US". It's a question I've been asked a few times and I till really don't have an answer. Of course there is racism in the UK but I really don't remember it being an issue that is so prominent. At least not when it comes to nationalities. I've struggled to arrive at a reason for this. It could be because of the mighty British Empire of many moons ago, it may be because of our close proximity to mainland Europe and a heck of a lot of countries. It may be the flood of immigrants.

Another reason occurred to me as I sat watching Euro 2008 this weekend. Soccer is held as a national sport in England and is loved by many. What is interesting about soccer in England is that a lot of the best players are actually from other countries. I wonder what effect this has on the nation's views of those countries? Let's take Manchester United..as everyone seems to know them. In goal is Van der Saar, who is Dutch, defender Patrick Evra and Louis Saha, French, Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese, Ji-Sung Park from South Korea. This is just one squad. These international players become ambassadors for their country. In a way and the fans can be devoted to a team so much that they will respect and admire the best player, no matter where they are from.

I wonder if the NFL was built up of international players what effect it might have on the country.

D for doughnuts

Thanks to blogging buddy Redzeppelin I was reminded that it is D-day today. Commonly known as the Normandy Invasion of 1944 as allied forces attempted to liberate mainland Europe from the Nazi's during World War II. I clicked onto MSN.com as I usually do as part of my morning website ritual and lo and behold it also informs me of D-day. Doughnut day that is. And how we can celebrate National Doughnut day. If you manage to ignore the big tasty picture of a doughnut you may end up glancing below and seeing the tribute to D-day. Nice.

I had the great opportunity to visit Normandy when I was in High school as part of the school trip. It's one thing to read about how many lost their lives that day (about 2,500 allied troops..but accurate numbers are difficult to determine) and how many were causalities (about 7,500) but another thing to visit the immense cemeteries with row after row after endless row of soldiers. Stepping onto the beaches and seeing the old turrets and wall defences will be something I won't ever forget.

Insanity

Someone wise once said that insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I agree and say that insanity is also paying to work for free.

Constantly learning

Moving to America was a big shift for me. On the surface both countries (England and USA) are similar. We speak the same language, eat the same foods, watch the same movies, TV shows and believe in democracy and equality. To some extent. However, it's a constant learning curve for me. At least every week that goes by I learn something knew and have to adjust or reflect on certain things. Like eating with just a fork. Driving on the other side of the road. Using references from American culture as I talk etc. The list really goes on and on. I am trying to be fully aware of the American culture rather than be absorbed by it and that helps me understand a lot of why things happen differently here.

I guess one big issue I'm still pretty stumped on is this:

If you support Hillary Clinton for her views, personality, and experience why would you vote for John McCain instead of Obama in the election? I really find it impossible to grasp. I may not like a person's friends or their personality but if they feel the same way I do about major topics then I'll choose them. It's pretty simple.

It's like kids in the playground choosing soccer teammates. There are three players left, two player soccer and one plays tennis. The soccer player you wanted is chosen by the other side so who do you pick? The soccer player, or the tennis player? Or do you say "I wanted THAT soccer player. No fair." And go sit in the corner and pout?

OK I may have simplified it a bit but I hope you get my point. That's my one post on politics for the year. Now for something completely different...

Persistent as a mule

Persistence is a quality that is underestimated in today's world. Some may even call it being stubborn but when it comes to overcoming one's challenges, prejudices, anger, grief, fears stubbornness isn't such a bad thing. Committing to a challenge and following it through takes persistence, it takes stubbornness. Change does not happen overnight and it certainly doesn't happen without the ability to stay focused and motivated on the task at hand. Even falling several times at a task is fine as long as you keep at it, as no-one is perfect at everything first time around. By telling yourself that you will fail, that you will give up, is simply an easy way out. Its a way of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy and its a much shorter road to failure than it is to success.

I guess when I think of persistence I remember when I was 15 years old. I loved playing frisbee. I would stand out in my street tossing a frisbee back and forth with my friend Toby for hours. Literally hours. In the sun, or in the snow. We would chat about school, about "old times", about girls, movies and good old fashioned WWF wrestling. But having that frisbee to throw around gave us a perfectly good excuse to talk about all those things on our minds. Trying to learn experience from each other.
There was a frisbee club at my school. I had failed miserably at soccer, rugby, cricket and basketball but I was pretty good at frisbee and a friend of mine invited me to come play for them. Nervous and kinda excited I went along to the first practice of the season. I sort of knew the rules of the game and was confident with my throw. Then the coach told us "newbies" there was another throw, the forehand throw and that we had to learn it and that it was not easy.
He was right about that. I tried and I tried to get that forehand right. I threw it in practise, I threw it in the street, I tossed that frisbee around my room, trying to get my grip right, trying to figure out the physics of it. Six months later it finally felt right. It sure didn't fly straight, but it felt good, it felt like the proper throw. I played for my high school team for the next 3 years, we introduced the sport to the Physical Education curriculum and I had the chance to teach plenty of other kids that forehand throw. I went on to play for my university for 3 years and was invited to train with Great Britain junior team. I knew that without my persistence I never would have made it that far.

So be persistent this week and see what you can achieve.

More Spring Cleaning

My blogs list needed tidying up/editing so I took a few mins and sorted it out. There are a few new links in there, Donutbuzz, Saved by The Torso, Picture West Virginia so check them out. As I add about 3 blogs every six months you can tell how much time and effort I spend reading blogs out of my usual "circle of comfort". So if you feel like recommending a blog to me to take a peek let me know. I'm happy to stretch my circle.

Not that I'm bored with the current bloggers of course.

Memorial day

Well it's another American holiday coming up so I thought i'd do a little bit of research (i.e. check wikipedia) and find out the skinny on this holiday. Turns out it was formerly known as Decoration Day and is always the last Monday in May. It commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service. It started as a way to honour Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War and after World War 1 it was expanded to include any who died in war or military action.

So this weekend I guess I should expect to see lots of flags, lots of cookout...and lots of cars ditched along the roadside?

Breschgate

Sounds like the Governor had a rough day yesterday. His helicopter had to make an emergency landing shortly after take off, WSAZ.com reports. He is safe and well and there isn't really that much to the story...but the comments are priceless. Whoever came up with the idea that the public could give their own opinion about the news deserves a medal. I was tempted to say "Engine light? It was probably low-fuel." or "If the Governor is a pilot, why is he paying a pilot to pilot?". I titled this post "Breschgate" as the comments allude to the scandal and because there hasn't been a "-gate" thrown into the stories about the scandal. Is it not the done thing over here? Perhaps it should be WVUgate. Or Free Degree gate. Though that sounds a little bit too much like these guys:

Overhearings 2: "Hello, is this Go-mart?"

Heard this morning at the Go-Mart on 16th Street H-town where gas is $3.99.9 still unlike the $4.19 in the rest of the city:

"We usually don't raise the gas price when it's a holiday....unless we get a phone call"

The Robins

Well here is an update at last on the Robins. They all ended up hatching successfully and flew off about 3 weeks ago! Anyhoo, I finally have the pictures so enjoy as the story unfolds...

Spring Clean

Well I decided to change my layout a few weeks ago. What do y'all think? I liked the other one, but the fact that I couldn't change the width of the posts was annoying me. My posts would look delicious in the preview and then fall to pieces on the blog. Although there is a lack of colour I like the spacing here so maybe I'll keep it for a while.

Ohio

The grass always seems greener on the other side doesn't it? Is Ohio "better" than West Virginia? Is life easier there? Is it nicer to live there? I wish I could tell you. Apparently the gas is cheaper there though. It went up to $3.89 today. The link is to WSAZ.com who like to post a lot about the cost of gas in Ohio but not really so much on the West Virginia prices. I suspect an intern types up the story, realises how high gas is and then their head simply explodes. You may have guessed I like to complain about gas prices. Overall I will nitpick about a lot of things but gas prices is a biggie for me I guess. I think what makes me more frustrated is that others aren't really complaining about it. Well, not to me at least. Although that could be because they don't want another rant from a know-it-all limey. I think what also annoys me is watching the CNN news ticker. The one that says "Gas prices reach a average record high of $3.xx" and the "Average price" is always about 15 cents cheaper than what we are paying here. Still I suppose that's the downside of living in one of the most affluent states. Would anyone like to invest in my rik-shaw business in down-town Huntington?

Guess the statement...

Picture West Virginia

A recommendation today for this newish blog. Picture West Virginia. The Moderator Bryan Stealey had the wisdom to use one of my submissions hehe. But it's worth checking out for more than that of course. Some really great articles from West Virginians which allows people like me to gain a better understanding on things that count, things going on, what being a West Virginian is like, hopes and fears and everything in between. For a mountainous state that is difficult to navigate even when gas is at a reasonable price, this is a great way to hear about new places and find out what's going on. Check it out.

Behind

Well I am way behind on blogging. After having an insanely hectic two weeks and a birthday I just haven't had the time or motivation to get a decent blog post out! I have a brief respite this week and then am probably going to be super busy again for the foreseeable future. Over the past couple of weeks, however, I have had time to watch Ironman. It was surprisingly excellent. Robert Downey Jr. was a perfect Stark and the improvisation he was allowed to bring to the film really helped the script stand out. It's up at about $150 million in ticket sales from two weeks at number one. Not too shabby considering there are a few big, tasty movies coming up. Including the new Indy flick May 22nd. You may not have noticed that one. However, anyone who has been to the store recently and wandered up the cereal aisle probably saw a thousand Indiana Jones faces staring back. There is even a special "Indiana Jones" cereal. I stuck with my bran flakes but I did stand staring at the box as I weighed a bag of sand in my hand.

I hope y'all West Virginians enjoy your voting today. Remember lil folks like me who are unable to vote and make a difference in my community. I don't really know who I would vote for anyway. Probably who ever had the funniest TV advert...i.e. not Menis Ketchum. Maybe that dude from the "Menace" Ketchum adverts though. Ramble over.

Note: Thanks to everyone who wished me luck with my interview. It went really well. I was expecting a group interview around a table but I coped and put on my most charming accent and threw in a couple of big, British words.

Please take a seat

I have an interview today. It's always a little nerve-racking as in my experience you never know what you are going to get. Will the interviewer be formal and ask a lot of probing questions, or will they be more relaxed and simply tell you about the position. Will they treat you with respect, or as an annoyance? Will they be friendly or keep you at arms length? I guess I've experienced all of these things.

A few years ago I had my worst interview experience. It was for a position at the local music school. Not really a big place or a large program. It was a administration job really. Not a lot to it really. So I show up and I meet the head of the program. She was real nice, friendly and seemed interested in what I had to say. She had let me know that I would be interviewing in front of her, the lady who was leaving the position I was applying for and someone from the Board of Directors that paid for the program. Fair enough. I had never interviewed in front of three people before but it actually went well. I was invited back for a second interview, which was also a new thing for me.

At the second interview I met the head of the program again and this time she is with the lady whom I will be working alongside. "Fine" I thought "I guess she'll have a few questions for me too." And she did. How flexible was I? What could I expect from the position? How motivated was I? etc.. then she says "Now we are going to do a role-play, I will be an angry parent of a child taking music lessons and you can answer the phone". "What??" I thought to myself. They were going to test me on my skills handling an irate customer. So we went ahead...and this woman was such a pain in the ass. I mean she was asking me questions that there was no way I had the answer to, like special accommodations that can be made, which suppliers we use etc... I came up with a solution but she didn't like it and I think it annoyed her. Worst interview and interviewer ever. She was on some crazy power trip if you ask me. Am I bitter about it? Yes and no. No, I'm not bitter than I didn't get the job. I suspect it was going nowhere and admin isn't my interest. Yes, I'm bitter that she acted that way and I put up with it. Still, we live and learn.

L1c3nse Plt3s

I love that you can now buy a personalized number plate for your car. I doubt I would ever get one but it's fun to read them driving down the interstate everyday.

"oh look it's "EZEE LVR" again!"

"There goes "MR MAGIK"

It seems to me that there must be two rules for a person buying a personalized license plate. 1. You must spell your desired phrase in the strangest way possible. Bonus points if you managed to substitute numbers for letters or create a phrase longer than 4 words. 2. You should in no way resemble the attributes stated on the plate. Many a time I've seen "MZ CUTIE" look like a 50 year old, grizzly man and "THE DUDE" look like "THE CHICK".

I wonder if I could get into trouble naming and shaming a few bad drivers who have a personalized number plate. One comes to mind right now. I also wondered this morning as I saw "guitar plyer" (name changed to protect the owner of the car, whoever that is) whether it was a fellow blogger or not. Probably not. But it's fun to imagine.

Hibatchi South Charleston

It's been a while since I wrote a restaurant review but I thought it was worth making the effort to describe my first experience at a Hibachi restaurant. Evil Twin's Wife has blogged that she was heading to a Hibachi for her birthday and that she was happy because she knew she would get some great food. "hmm" I thought to myself "sounds like sea food and a lot of faffing around". I don't know why I had formed an opinion that it would be all sea food and uncomfortableness but that was what I was thinking. And so I had some apprehension when Ms. AllClick suggested we headed there last weekend. I always feel uncomfortable in new restaurants but I had imagined there would be extra uncomfortableness at the thought of a) sharing a table with strangers, b) getting involved in the cooking "show" and c) having to choose my meal while the cooking was going on. As it turned out it was 100 times better than I was expecting! I choose my meal from a menu leisurely, the strangers on our table were actually incredibly quiet and pleasant and the only involvement I had in the "show" was catching some chicken in my mouth. There was a ton of food and I loved it all. So, I am looking forward to going back some time soon. I guess it goes to show that even when you are hesitant about trying something new you shouldn't let it put you off.

A few issues at Marshall

A few things in the news recently have caught my attention.. especially the increase in tuition fees and the new recreation center fee. Catch the whole story here. $150 fee per semester? I wonder how much plasma I'll have to donate to pay for that.

Also of note this week is the proposed smoking ban. I'll be happy if this comes into effect to be honest. I'm tired of walking through a cloud of smoke every time I have to enter a building and tired of breathing in the smoke when I wait outside a building. Watching maintenance guys standing around campus smoking is also something I could do without.

AND...parking at Marshall. Just a complete nightmare. $140 for a student parking pass..but guess what, no space to actually park your car. The staff haven't got things much easier as majority of the spaces force staff and faculty to cross one of Huntington's busy and 3rd or 5th Avenues which flood at the drop of a hat.

I think I'm more frustrated than usual because there is a attitude of apathy among student on campus and I doubt there will really be much protest for any of these matters.

Maybe I can transfer to WVU and get me one of those free MBA's I've been hearing about.

Man, my blog posts have been ranty recently. I'll have to post something positive soon.

Perhaps about my fantastic experience at the Hibatchi in South Charleston :-)

Here comes the sun

Looks like the warm weather is finally here. True, it's going to rain this weekend and it's pretty chilly overnight but at least it should brighten up again next week. I enjoy the summer...but of course there are always things to complain about:

1. Insects - Man, I can't stand insects. I can't bring myself to kill them but really hate bees, wasps, hornets, and any other flying things that decide to pester me during the summer. I usually just go into panic mode. Same goes for ants and gnats...except the panic mode. Ladybirds(bugs) are probably my only exception for no real reason.

2. Stupid clothing - Yes, you know who you are. You in those silly shorts that look like smart full length trousers but finish above the knee. And You, the guy in those flip flops. (On a side note, have you ever noticed that whatever time of day or year there is always some guy shopping wal-mart/kroger in shorts and sandals and t-shirt?)

3. Sweating - Not that manly sweat you achieve at the gym or on the B-ball court that you show off with pride and triumph. No, instead that face or leg sweat from it simply being far too hot outside and makes you stick to plastic chairs.

4. Sunbathers - I don't mind a little bit of sunbathing. Maybe read a few pages of my book or do a puzzle but after about 30 mins it's pretty uncomfortable. Usually because of (1) and (3). But it gets a bit much when all you do is sun-bath all day. To get a tan? To show off? Who knows.

5. Gas prices - Argh. Expect to see another blog post about this rant. $3.65??

6. T.V. - Why o why does T.V. have to lower it's standards over the summer? Is it a covert plan to force people into more exercise and other activities asides from watching T.V.? There are some of us who aren't (4)'s who want some quality programmes on the tube.

7. Co-worker vacations - I'm not talking about getting to go on vacations. I'm talking about when that fellow co-worker goes on vacation for 2 weeks either without giving you a heads-up or bragging about it for weeks. And either way completely screwing over that project you were working on/that reimbursement you were waiting for/that prank you were going to do.

Funniest moment on Food Network for a while

Overhearings

A few things I overheard this week:

"I have this theory of "Billy's". All the great singers have the name Billy. Billy Joel, Billy Ocean, ...Billy Idol."

"...and if someone hands me a religious pamphlet I just tell them "F**k off".

"The board of directors said they didn't like seeing the company vechicle being used to buy alcohol"

"Is that him singing? Or is it the chipmunks?"

People are weird. If you have heard any interesting and random overhearings. Send them over here -> allclicknopoint at gmail dot com

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream Campaign Slogans

The most exciting campaign of our lifetime is currently taking place. No, I'm not talking about Obama and Hillary. Instead I refer to the battle of Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream against...well every other flavour that opposes it. The current standings and contest activity is found in it's full glory right here at the Donutbuzz.

Life on the campaign trail can get pretty rowdy and hectic. Words are said, emotions run wild. So for your pleasure I present some of the slogans overheard on the trail:

"Not voting for Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream? What are you? A commie?"

"Do you love America? Do you own a gun? Do you love democracy? Then vote for Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream. It's probably Constitutional"

"Got Milk? Then make me some Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream"

"Our children are the future. They can achieve so much. They grew upon Peanut Butter. The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches by the time he or she graduates from high school. Fact. So vote for Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream. Keep our children great."

"Peanut Butter Chocolate. Don't be hatin'"

"That's what she said...after eating Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream"

"In a world were there is so much conflict between colors, tastes and flavors why can't we just work together? Peanut Butter Chocolate does."

"Vote for Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice-cream. Hey, it's better than crack, right?"

Official Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Campaign headquarters

Tuesday night TV

Every Tuesday it always feels like it should be Ghost Hunters night. The Sci-Fi reality show based on the The-Atlantic-Paranormal-Society. I don't know why. So, I am always disappointed when I realise that the show is on Wednesday nights instead. I think the new ones start at 9:00pm and it's quite honestly the best reality show on tv. Even for the highly sceptical. I just wish they would focus more on EVP's. They always give me goosebumps. Anyway, so last night I got home and had the 'tube' on and instead of paranormal investigations I was accidentally sucked into watching American Idol...possibly the first time since the show began this season. They are down to 8 contestants...but I think the reason neither Ms Allclick or I changed the channel was because of Jason Castro's excellent performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Yer, I was surprised too! I wasn't quite convinced with any of the female performers. Syesha Mercado sounded good on the re-cap ( and no I don't know their names already...I had to look them up) but I missed her complete performance. It always makes me laugh though when it's Paula's time to comment on the performance. She loves them all! She rarely ever says a bad thing. If it were me receiving praise from Paula it would mean less than nothing. I heard she almost let a singing dog through the final.

So the TV stayed on Fox and after "Idol" was "Hell's Kitchen" with Gordon Ramsey. I had watched the first episode of this season last week...again unintentionally and so I had some vested interest. It's the first time I've actually seen this show (including last week of course) and it's been pretty entertaining. I prefer the Kitchen Nightmare's however as at least you see Gordon being nice for a while. It feels like on HK he is being mean and nasty because his producers told him to but on KN he is able to show more of himself. Still, in the desert (or perhaps dessert) of good television right now you could do a lot worse than Hell's Kitchen.

Pay-as-you-go-go

Never has a more apt name been coined for the time of cell phone you can now easily pick-up at any store practically. The Pay-As-You-Go phone. And pay you will. This month for inexplicable reasons my credit "expired" 5 days before it was scheduled too. I'm really looking forward to the customer service call that I'm going to have to take place but it may give me some insight into what the phone company actually knows about users on the Pay-as-you-go plan. Can they tell whether it was a clerical error? Did I actually spend my credit rather than it expiring early? And how will they know? I used to have a contract phone. It was a pretty good deal. A bunch of texts and minutes and I'd get a free upgrade every time I renewed my contract. Things seem to have changed recently though with the contract phone. Apparently now you have to sign yourself up for life in order to get a contract. A year was obviously too short a time for the money hungry phone companies, now they want your commitment for 18 months, two years. What will happen when that is not enough? Pledging your cell phone allegiance at birth?

At least with my phone I don't have to go through that contract business. I do have to put credit on about twice a month though. Mainly because AT&T like to send me "free" text messages that actually cost me a dollar if I hadn't used my phone that day. Thanks AT&T. What I find interesting is the automated service for recharging my phone, or paying bills from most companies actually. Have a listen. Next time you use one of those phone services and you enter in your card number, expiration date and maybe the zip code the phone will go silent then it sounds like you can hear someone actually typing in your information. Why is that? Have they just recorded someone typing or is it live? I may try screaming for help down my phone as I hear the noise to test it.

The Ruins

Well for the first time since January Ms. AllClick and I finally made it out to the cinema. There just didn't really seem like anything worth going to see since umm Cloverfield? Maybe. It's hard to remember what the last film was that I saw on the big screen. I suppose it's due to the time of year, the fact that the oscars are so far away now or perhaps it's just my imagination. Either way I was missing the cinema experience and we thought "The Ruins" might actually be an interesting movie.

I'm not a fan of the horror genre..but I am a fan of movies based on books. I can't wait for the big screen adaptation of the Dictionary *silence*. Anyway, movies based on books seem to always have a reason. That is everything the characters do is for a reason, it has to have an explanation and it has a purpose in the plot. I guess it's because the writer (Scott Smith) probably had to revise the story several times before he arrived at the finished novel.

So, this film follows a group of 20 somethings out to Mexico and they discover some uncharted ruins and get in a whole heap of trouble. Nice premise if not terribly original. However, the story unfolds at a decent pace, the gore is expected but not over the top. There are a few scares, a lot of creepiness and a focus on the psychological. Not bad for a genre that is well worn. I found myself liking the movie while watching it and so this was a good sign. Overall I'd say 6 out of 10. Not a film for everyone but an interesting tale.

Putnam County Animal Relief Shelter

I had the great opportunity to visit the Putnam County Animal Relief Shelter a couple of weeks ago over in Winfield. It's not a very long drive from my house and I had heard about it so much that I thought I better do something productive for the community and check it out. I honestly had a great time. I had planned on staying there for two hours but after I had walked a couple of the dogs and been inducted and shown around the place only an hour had passed. So I played with the cats and the puppies and after another 45 minutes I headed on home. It can be a pretty tough experience being there, hoping that these animals will find a decent home. I would guess that when people do come to adopt the head straight for the puppies or kittens. The younger animals. I had a chance to walk one of the dogs that was certainly not a younger dog, but had way more energy than me and certainly out ran me and was such a well behaved dog. I hope she isn't overlooked because of her age. Another volunteer there said that she and her husband had visited a few times and walked some of the dogs to get the feel of them before adopting which I think is a great idea. Don't just look at the animals through the cages but walk them, pet them, play with them and spread some love before you choose one. So I recommend heading over there to spend some time with these lovely animals, adopt one or two perhaps and as Bob Barker would say "Spay or neuter your pets."

The Putnam County Animal Relief Shelter says this on their Petfinder.com website:

If interested, call the shelter at 304-586-0249. Shelter hours are M, W, F, and SA 10-3 and Tuesday's and Thursday's 12-6, so that you may have time to look and fill out paperwork- closed Sunday. Cost: dogs are $40, Cats $35.00 which includes sterilization, first shots, first worming, and if over 16 weeks a Rabies vaccination.

In the mood for music?

I checked out a great new website last night. Well new to me at least called Musicovery.com
The premise is that you select the kind of mood you are in from Calm to Energetic and Positive to Dark and then it selects a virtual web of songs to play to compliment your mood. You can register for free and select your favourites or remove songs from the list. You can choose specific decades or genres and then watch a colourful web of hits unfold. You don't have to register to just listen but you will have to register to save your playlist. It's well worth a 5 minute glance but may take a while to load up on slow machines. Here's a great song that came up in my playlist today. It's called Banquet by Bloc Party. Awesome.

My bite of the Big Apple

I have been to New York twice now and had very different experiences both times. The first time I was pretty much in awe. I was seeing all the famous sights I recognised from TV. The statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Central Park...I even snapped a pic of the steaming sewer/subway grate! I never even realised that wasn't just a special effect. Or perhaps it is something they do just for the tourists. It was a sight-seeing trip mostly so I tried to fit in as much as possible. Grand Central station was pretty impressive too!

My second trip was much different. I got to experience more of a real New York. I ate in deli's, China town and wandered through little Italy. I hailed a New York yellow cab. I went to see the Today show being filmed out in the street. Hailing a cab is certainly an experience. Especially for a self-conscious Brit. You get to stand out in the street and draw attention to yourself intentionally and uncomfortably while a thousand cabs drive past. I guess it's an experience that grows on you. Most of the cab drivers we had were great. They were fast but safe and relatively friendly. The only time I felt uncomfortably was the trip we took where I had to avoid the puddle of unknown liquid by my feet. What made it worse was that it was our longest cab ride and seemed to be completely out of the way of where we wanted to go (they have those handy digital maps in the back of the cabs now). And I didn't even get to win any money :-(.

I enjoyed the big city but I don't think I could ever really feel at home there. The rush of crowds on every single street, the distrust and air of underlying mild frustration that lingered on people, the 12 Starbucks on every block. The fact that everything is open late was great but it just wasn't me. I have to say though that New York has some kick-ass cheesecake. I'm yet to find decent cheesecake in West Virginia. So please let me know if you find some.

Easter...a time for eggs

Well Easter has come and gone and thankfully the Easter bunny dropped off a load of Easter candy for me. Cadbury's mini eggs by the bag load. Yum! Strangely enough the mini eggs I received this year looked incredibly like smaller robins egg. I would happen to know this because outside of my front door there happens to be a robins nest perched quite happily on a broken lamp on my neighbours stoop. I had the chance to take a couple of snaps which I'll get around to uploading at some point and the nest is really incredible. It looks man-made if you could see how neat and tidy and well made it is. I was impressed! Hopefully those little eggs will hatch sometime soon and maybe I can snap a couple more pictures. I have to say I'm pretty excited and feel a little like Bill Odie. Which only adds to my excitement.

Great movie death scenes: Alien

Remember when you watched this movie for the first time? I'm not sure if I do. But everytime I think of the movie I love this death scene. The whole film is fantastic. From the slow and suitably quiet camera pans throughout the ship to the real spacecrafty looking spacecraft and vague but tremendously scary aliens themselves. The whole cast are fantastic. You'll spend the first 30 minutes screaming at the movie "Don't do that!! It's an alien! no!!" but then as this scene rolls around at last you have the smug satisfaction of "I told you so". Brilliant and look at those very real reactions ;-)

A return from the city: Amtrak.

Well I spent the last few days chilling out in the Big Apple. Well actually I didn't get to do that much chilling. But I had a great time. I'll probably write some more on the experience in a few days time when I'm caught up on sleep. I travelled by train and here are some train related revelations from my trip:

1. If you go by train you can travel through 7 states in one day.

2. Getting a chance to sleep laying down, in the dark, in the quiet, on a bed on a 13 hour trip is great.

3. Train food ain't that bad.

4. Train bathrooms are.

5. The most scenic part of the journey is here in good ole WV (of course).

6. After leaving the train you'll spend at least 12 hours feeling like your still rocking.

7. Having a toilet in your train room sounds like a better idea than it is.

Lunch choices and why I dislike change

Well I just got back from having lunch "out" today. It's something I like to do at least once a week as it's a nice break from eating home made sandwiches and a good chance to socialize. I have to say that I don't like change. I'm a creature of habit. And this will even affect my choice of where I like to eat. I choose Husson's pizza today. It's somewhere I'm familiar with but it's not just the actual building and layout that I need to be aware of. It's the whole process. From where you order, what payments they accept, the likely cost, the choice of drinks, how you get your food, and where the restroom is. Knowing all of these things allows me to relax and feel at home in such a place.

I have a real limit sense of taste in that I dislike a lot of food. I've probably mentioned it before but it kinda annoys me when I'm referred to as "a fussy eater". It's not that I CHOOSE not to eat certian foods, it's that the taste is just incredibly unpleasant to me. The worst part about it is I can actually taste the pickle/tomato juice even once it's been removed from a sandwich/plate. Most of the time it's likely to be in my head I'm sure. So my taste in food often has an impact on whether or not I try new places but not more so than the familiarity.

So when I do go to a new restaurant (such as the excellent Thai House in Dunbar) I feel like I can't relax. I'm constantly analyzing the culture of the place. How often are the servers coming over, what condiments are there, where is a good place to sit, what's the lighting like, what the heck will my tip be....the list goes on.

This week I'll be getting a great opportunity to try a lot of new restaurants so that should be pretty fun. It's a good job that even change won't put me off my appetite.

The Wal-Mart Cometh

The day has finally arrived. The Hurricane Wal-mart is apparently open today. Ms Allclick alerted me just now that wsaz.com is reporting it opened this morning at 7:30am. I was pretty sure it was going to open Saturday. Hmm I guess when you are nearly a year late opening that one day doesn't really make much difference. Perhaps we'll go up there this weekend and check it out. I'll give you all the skinny when I get back. I expect it will look, smell, sound and taste like every other Wal-Mart but you never know.

While I'm rambling about Wal-Mart it reminds me to mention that the store is supposed to bring other businesses to the area. Now, the Hurricane/Teays Valley/Scott Depot area has an incredible need for some decent sit-down restaurants. It's like a barren wasteland. So with the new Wal-mart I was hoping for something a steak house, decent burger place, somewhere for ribs or wings. Turns out that the only food place opening is a Rocky top pizza which I've never even heard of. They are also building another car lot up there.

If there is anything Hurricane doesn't need it's more pizza places and more car lots.

Just for my own amusements heres a list of places to get a pizza in the area of the top of my head:

Gino's, Fox's, Monty's, Papa John's, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Graziano, Kali's, Subway, Schlotsky's and probably a few more that I'm forgetting. So, please someone build some restaurants in Putnam. We're starving up here.

New movie Countdowns

If you scroll down my page a bit you will find some new countdowns to a couple of the most anticipated films of the year...in my opinion. The new Indy film and the new Batman film. Awesome. If you haven't checked out the new Indiana Jones trailer then go find it. If you can't find a better version then here it is for you in tiny widescreen.

Who opened the flood gates?

No I'm afraid I'm not about to report on the flooding of the Grand Canyon recently. I'm still not really sure what that was all about, I mean it must take an entire ocean to fill that baby up! In fact I'm talking about my blog. I like to watch the stats on my blog. It's just plain interesting to see the amount of people who accidentally and intentional visit. Sometimes it even gives me a little boost of enthusiasm and makes me put extra effort into my posts. Sometimes it just makes me wonder why the heck so many people are searching for "irrational thoughts".

My usual daily total is about 30 peeps. I'm happy with that. More would be great but I'd probably feel more pressure to have some decent posts. So you can imagine my surprise yesterday when I discovered that about 372 visitors viewed my blog on Wednesday! I really couldn't understand it. Had I written something that was coming up in a search engine a lot? Was there a sudden demand for reading a Brits views of West Virginia??

Turns out it was none of those things. But instead the website http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/ had a link to my incredibly insightful post about Tudor's Biscuits. I hope those 372 visitors are enlightened now with the knowledge of my love for Tudor's. Thanks for the name drop Passiveaggressivenotes.com and thanks for stopping by.

It seems today my visitor count is back into my comfort range again so thanks to my "loyal" readers also!

March Madness

Well I haven't posted a single blog post in March! And here we are on the 6th already. Whilst waiting for an appointment to begin I thought I would check in with my blog and at least have something new to look at when I load up my own page. I have been pretty distracted thinking about a bunch of different things and idea and activities and have had less time to make witty observations about the world, America and West Virginia which is a shame.

I was reminded this week that a new experience for me since I entered the states was the "visit to the vet". Now I've never had any pets before. Both my brothers are terrified of cats and dogs and so that kinda ruled out any pets that needed any significant attention. We had a couple of goldfish I seem to remember and a hamster called "Harry" that lasted less than a year and was surprisingly unfriendly. But I've always loved animals and so am delighted to spend time with my current adopted cats. So, going to the vet was a new one to me. I have to say it's probably the most entertaining waiting room I've ever been in despite smelling the worst. We waited for about an hour as other pets went through like the young cat who had lost most of its ears from jumping into an oven and then having the burnt parts nibbled off by it's mother and giant dogs called "Thor" who really didn't want to be there.

It went fine which was a relief for us. And the cat got a treat for going too.

I can't really report whether culturally it is any different. The people in the waiting room were friendly but I suspect that that is usually due to a animal loving personality rather than anything else. Still that's one more new experience to add to the list. Now I just need to find me a "hollow".

The Mean Green

Have you ever tried listening to this song while you balance your cheque check book? It's very liberating.

Bad news for Prozac

An interesting article today on BBC news. Turns out that antidepressant medication isn't actually doing you a whole lot of good. Well, it may be helping but not due to any substance within the drug but instead because of the placebo effect.

The researchers found that the drugs did have a positive impact on people with mild depression - but the effect was no bigger than that achieved by giving patients a sugar-coated "dummy" pill."

Unsurprisingly the makers of Prozac and GlaxoSmithKline disagree and state that they helping in reducing depression.

I think the most important aspect of this article is that it emphasizes the need for talking therapies. Whilst there are much harder to evaluate than say drug studies they are effective and can be individually designed for a specific person. I would say that depression is often caused by a number of environmental factors in a persons life and that taking medication might relieve some of the symptoms but actually getting those things off your chest, discussing some solutions and learning how to carry out the solutions has got to be a better option. In England 3,600 new therapists will be trained to increase patient access to talking therapies. Seems like a low number but at least it's a start.

Mental Health America found that West Virginia ranks 50 (out of 51 including DC) on depression making it the second most depressed state in the country. One of the factors they highlight is access to treatment and so I hope these findings can have some kind of effect locally.

Simple things...

I really hope no-one was seriously hurt in this very serious accident. But I couldn't help but smile a little when I read the headline of this local news story.

Shoes

I like talking about the mundane sometimes. But this is a kind of weird topic for me. I went to the mall the other day and obtained a great pair of "sneakers" aka "tennis shoes" aka trainers. Trainees as they up north. I hadn't been planning on it really. I still have a fully functional pair of "trainees" on my feet. Shoes really aren't my thing. I have been known in the past to wear shoes until they have a hole in them and then just keep going until my feet get too wet. I mean they still serve the purpose they are designed for. Yes, they inevitable end up looking pretty crappy, but these are the items that we wrap our feet in for walking on the ground, right? So having a clean pair is kind futile to me. They will just get dirty tomorrow. That's not to say that I don't keep the bottom of the clean but that's a heck of a lot easier.

Do you remember the film "The Shawshank Redemption"? Morgan Freeman "Red" says " I mean, how often do you look at a guys shoes?". That kinda sticks with me. I never look at anybody's shoes and if I do I rarely take note of them. My experience is that other people DO look at people's shoes. And they make opinions about them from the shoes. Strange but true. Well I'm still wearing my old shoes at the moment, I wouldn't want to get my nice clean ones dirty yet ;-) but they are clean (thanks to prompts and advice from Ms. Allclick) and I have brand spanking new (and very white) laces. If you are blinded walking around Huntington it's probably just from my feet.

Tudors Biscuit World

Well what can I say about Tudors? I'll start off by saying that it is now one of my all-time favourite places to eat. A Tudor's breakfast is a treat for me and a great way to start the day. Once upon a time I used to eat Mcdonald's Egg McMuffin for breakfast. As a treat of course. I'd been insane to eat that everyday. It was nice, greasy though, and left me feeling bloated rather than full. Then one sunny, early morning in 2006 I sat upon the steps in Marshall Stadium and tasted my first Tudors. I think it was Dottie..but i'm probably wrong. From then on I didn't need much persuasion to indulge in a "biscuit" (nothing like a digestive) from Tudors or any other place for that matter. I've been to several now across the state and my only complaints are that sometimes they use the messy cheese (It's a) messy and b) a little salty for my liking), and sometimes it looks like they assembled the biscuit in the dark. Apart from that I can't complain and I snap up all the coupons they send to me. The one in Hurricane is a good one, and does have light and fluffy biscuits. I have to say that the one I stopped at just outside Winfield was even better though. Almost a work of art and tasty to boot. My favourite biscuit from Tudor's you ask? Well, anything with cheese, potato and egg gets my vote. Is that the Ron? Answers on a postcard please.

More Wal-Mart news...(not pictured)

After mentioning the new Hurricane Wal-mart it seemed apt to go up there and take a look at the progress. I was very tempted to take a few piccies but decided I would look incredibly uncool. Plus there were a bunch of trainees up there...erm..training I guess. Looks like the main building is complete now and there are actually signs of a few items inside. I saw the banner today that said "Food center opening soon" so am not sure what that means. Anyway, the parking lot looked nice. Nearby, there is a row of empty shops at the moment. A Dollar Tree will be moving in up there to one of the bigger spaces but the rest look pretty vacant. I have my fingers crossed for a decent restaurant around there somewhere. You'd think that a Longhorn, Outback, or any other steak house would do great business just off the interstate and in one of the most affleunt areas of this part of the state. Mind you, I'd settle for a Wendys right there too. You gotta love that chilli.

A fine line

Well I guess I've been away for a bit. Not from a lack of insights I assure you but simply too busy to blurt my mind out onto a computer screen. I thought I'd make a effort to address Valentines day tomorrow. After asking a few colleagues, friends, and family it seems like everyone has almost discarded the day. Written it off as just one of those "commercial invented days to scam me out of money". Well, yes it is getting very commercial. But it always has been in my experience. I'm most amused at the offer that Hallmark is running at the moment in which you must buy three cards. Three valentines?? How many sweethearts can have one at one time? Anyway, the response of doing nothing seems to be a little drastic. I say that you can either plunge head deep into the commercialism and buy the chocolates, cards, flowers, balloons and toys or express your love in whatever way suits you best. Either way it's a nice excuse to spoil and be spoilt even if you don't spend a dime. So, wear a little red and enjoy the day!

The Invasion - Movie Review

Thanks to all those who offered their views on which movie to see last weekend. I was impressed that some even managed to work the phrase "turd-shaped monkey balls" into their response. In fact I didn't end up going to the cinema in the end. But I appreciated the input all the same! Instead, Ms. AllClick and I rented "The Invasion" starring Nicole Kidman as a Psychiatrist who discovers that an alien virus is sweeping across the globe more or less taking over people's minds and bodies. It's a remake of Invasion of the Body snatchers but from what I can I gather has a different approach. The original movies tended to be more of a horror flick. Creepy and suspenseful. This movie is more of a sci-fi/thriller flick so don't be surprised if it lacks the scares and cheap jumps. It is much more about the fundamentals of human nature. I thought it was pretty decent. Better than I was expecting but not amazing. Worth a rental on a saturday night if you have nothing better to do.

If I lived on a tropical island...

If I lived on a tropical island...sounds a bit like an essay title from when I was 7. But I've been thinking this over for a while. I guess election fever is beginning to have an effect on me. I'm somewhat bemused by it all, especially the solid divide between Democrats and Republicans. Politics has never been my forte though so perhaps I'm missing something. I'm not really sure which group I would fall into but maybe someone can tell me when I reveal what I'd want if I lived on a tropical island.

I think I would love to live on an island as part of a tribe. Just think about it for a second. You could choose the piece of land you wanted to live on and build your own house. It would be yours. Education and medicine although basic would be free or perhaps an offering of some fruit. You could get organic food and water. Lots of fresh air. No doubt a leader would be chosen. If you didn't like them, just move to another part of the island. You would keep physically fit and no doubt speak to your neighbors and family for most of the day. Sounds pretty sweet, although a little...homogeneous. And the Hut Tax would probably coconut and banana me to death.

When is that new Wal-mart ready?

Well, Wal-mart is finally coming to Hurricane. March 8th I think. It looks almost finished from the interstate. I have mixed feelings about it. It will be great that I'll have a store to pop into on the way home without going too far out of the way. It will be nice to have a cheaper alternative to the other supermarkets and hopefully it will encourage the growth of other stores around the area and restaurants in which we need. Having watched 20 mins of a Wal-mart documentary over the weekend (Wal-mart: The high cost of low price) though i'm a little concerned. Especially about the impact it has on smaller stores i.e. putting them out of business.
I think the best part will be having an alternative to the Kroger store in Teays Valley. Despite having a bunch of cool British products it is frequently out of stock on the sale items, or has a poor selection of items I have coupons for. It's usually way more expensive than Wal-mart. Despite this, I went shopping there over the weekend. I was mildly excited to have a coupon for $3 off a sheet cake. Excellent. A sheet cake will go nicely with some Super Bowl super snacks. We picked out a sheet cake, which was Super Bowl themed, and had a few cupcakes around it. When Ms. Allclick and I arrived at the register we were informed that "This isn't a sheet cake. It's a ..small cake with cupcakes around it." I looked down at the label which clearly said "sheet cake" and looked back up at the manager. "If you want to get another cake you can". Err no thanks. I'll get one at Wal-mart next time. The cupcakes were pretty squished anyway.

Actors I never know the name of: (1) Steve Zahn

My memory sucks. I watch a lot of movies and get to see many actors. Many of them I forget consistently. Steve Zahn is one of those. So, having watched Daddy Day Care at the weekend and mastered his name and face I present a salute to the man. Here are some interesting facts:

Mother's name is Zelda Zahn.

Lost 40 pounds for his role in "Rescue Dawn".

Has two children, Henry and Audrey, with wife Robyn Peterson.

Is an avid fly fisherman. Owns a farm in Western New Jersey.

Is an accomplished singer/guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang in "That Thing You Do! and played guitar and sang in Saving Silverman.

Weekend Conundrum

It's mid week but I'm already thinking about the weekend. One has to plan ahead! This time of year always seems to be a lull at the movies and this week is no different. I plan on seeing a matinee but I'm left with few options. I have narrowed it down to four:

1. Juno - Comedy/Drama - Tipped for a few Oscars and gets a great rating on imdb. Plus: It's a comedy. Minus: It's a drama.
2. Untraceable - Crime/Thriller - Looks like an average thriller. Should be a good pace but has had questionnable reviews.
3. Strange Wilderness - Comedy - Saw the online trailer for this movie with Steve Zahn and laughed hard. The TV advert isn't so hot. It has Steve Zahn in though. Probably going to be incredibly silly. Steve Zahn features.
4. The Eye - Horror/Thriller - A remake of a Chinese film should spell success. I'm not so sure Alba can pull this one off though. Has a great premise but I really doubt this will deliver.

So, please, I'd like to hear suggestions. I'm leaning towards Juno (so I can be more prepared to shout at my TV during the Oscars) or Strange Wilderness so I can laugh a lot.

Thai House - Dunbar, WV

I had heard of the Thai restaurant in Dunbar a while back. I think it was probably through the old West Virginia Bloggers board. As far as I can remember it had some pretty good reviews, so on a trip back from Charleston a little while ago Ms Allclick and I decided to give it a try. A spur of the moment kind of thing. Our only problem was that we didn't know where the heck it was. Just that it was in Dunbar.

"Well Dunbar isn't that big" I said with a smile "Will we find it easily."
So, we drove through what I presume is the downtown area looking for it. On our first and second pass we found nothing so we pulled over at a hotel. One of those big chain things. I ran in and spoke to the *ahem* charming, older lady at the front desk. She looked like she may have never left the hotel in at least 40 years and had spent most of that time frowning.

"Hi, I'm looking for the Thai restaurant in Dunbar, do you know where it is?" (they surely isn't more than one Thai place in Dunbar so I thought she would know immediately.
"Let me get the phone book out, son" she wheezed in between cigarette pulls.
"Well I"m not sure of the name of it so I don't think the phone book will help." I said.
"You sure you are looking for a Thai place? We have a Chinese buffet just over there. That's it for Asian food."
"I'm certain it's a Thai restaurant."
"Son, there are NO THAI RESTAURANTS IN DUNBAR. We got a Subway, Mcdonalds, Captain D's and that Chinese but there are NO THAI RESTAURANTS IN DUNBAR."
I thanked her for her time and left.

So we ventured out again, driving away from the center of Dunbar. Ms Allclick spotted a gas station and suggested as a last long shot we asked for directions. I hopped out again (a little more slowly this time) and enquired about the elusive Thai restaurant.
"Ohh, sure honey. It's just up the road. Take a right just there" She pointed to a road I could see out of the window. "It's 'bout a mile down there and over the ridge".
Sure enough, there is was. A Thai restaurant in Dunbar.

It looked like a cozy joint from the outside and the inside. We soon discovered two problems. One you really should have a reservation for the place and two you really should have cash to pay for your meal. We waited nearly an hour for the table but it did give me a chance to learn some interesting new songs playing on the TV in there. The food was fantastic. Authentic, tasty and a good portion and price. The service was a little slow as they only have two front staff and one staff in the kitchen. I believe it's a Husband and Wife who own and operate the restaurant. The wife is the chef and the husband handles the phone, seats people, serves food, drinks, takes orders and everything in between. They had some help from a younger kid and I believe they were missing one member of staff that night. But the service wasn't bad enough to deter us going back. With a reservation.

On the way home I considered dropping off a take-away menu at the hotel but I doubt even that would have convinced her.

Who needs sleeping pills?

I seem to struggle for good, witty, clever titles with my blogposts of late, but despite that i'd like to talk about sleeping pills today so it's fairly apt. It was a pretty surprising thing to me, turning on the TV here and finding adverts for prescription drugs. It's probably one of the few things that is advertised on television that you can't actually just go out and buy on your own. It's banned in the UK but I don't really think it would take off much anyway as doctors aren't bothered by pharamacutical drug reps. they just use what the literature says. I suppose. I'll have to ask one. Anyway, I have seen a whole host of these adverts now. Viva Viagra always makes me smile. One I saw recently for sleeping medication kinda bothered me though. Especially as someone interested in the mental health care profession. I wish I could remember the name. It wasn't Advil or Tylenol PM. Something stronger I'm guessing. The advert shows that it doesn't matter what is keeping you up late or causing you problems sleeping, just take this pill and you'll go right to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

Now I'm sure that some people really do just have trouble relaxing and getting to sleep without any environmental factors. But I believe that a large majority of people are probably up because they have problems to worry about, concerns, or issues. Simply taking a pill to help you sleep won't make these problems disappear overnight and I think that is what the drug company is praying on. The quick fix. My suggestion would be to try some relaxation techniques, stop putting pressure on yourself to get to sleep then own up to and accept your issues before you try and deal with them. Happy sleeping!

Cloverfield

It's been a fairly long time since I went to see a big movie on it's opening night. There tends to be more of an atmosphere when you are in a crowded cinema. Every funny moment has a louder laugh, every scare has a louder jump. Cloverfield had a surprising amount of the former and less of the latter. The plot is basically that a monster has appeared in New York trashing buildings and attacking people. For all you monster movie fans out there you won't be disappointed. The monster aspect of the movie was terrific. The human storyline to the film is not as good. But in this type of movie it's not supposed to be. The camera work does make you a little dizzy by the end as your eyes struggle to focus constantly but it adds to the "realness" of the movie and is a great way to tell the story. Ignore the plot holes, the name of the film and the lengthy intro and go see a great modern monster movie.

On another note. Arthur's in Downtown Huntington is terrific. Put some nice clothes on, make a reservation and head down there. Especially if you like fresh seafood.

8 days

Wow, 8 days since I made a blog post! My apologies! It's been a hectic week so please forgive me. I'm sure next week will be busy too but I aim to get a few more posts completed before at least the end of January. Perhaps I should have added "more blogging" to my list of new year resolutions. That would also have to include reading blogs as I have also neglected this over the last 8 days. I hope I didn't miss anything too important.

You will be pleased to know that my resolutions are still going strong. Well at least some of them are. I'm 90% through my first short story and am taking part in more exercise that I did 19 days ago. I hear it takes about 4 weeks for a routine to stick so I better keep at it.

Till next time.

A Blogging New Year

Thanks to all my readers. Both all of you are much appreciated! I like to take time out now and again to promote my fellow bloggers. So everyone who commented on my first post of the year now gets a sales pitch from me. I don't know if that is a dream come true for you or your worst nightmare. I know that I rarely click on others list of blogs on their sites so here are some i'd like to highlight:

Destination Unknown - Yes, I have mentioned this blog a few times but it's still a staple in my early morning routine, almost as important as brushing my teeth and eating cereal. Red Zeppelin says all the things I want to say but in a much more interesting and articulate way.

The Film Geek - If you live in West Virginia and you haven't heard of this blog then you should be deeply ashamed of yourself. He sometimes talks about movies, but usually reveals great stories about himself and his experiences and then ties it all into a meaning...of some sort. I'm almost certain it was mentioned in the State of the State.

Jennyville - For some reason I haven't add this delicious blog to my blog list! It's a great blog to read. Candid, honest, and downright funny. She usually has some awesome pictures of animals as well....you'll see what I mean. Check it out....wait, i'm not on her blog list either!

The Glamorous Life of a Hausfrau - I normally wouldn't read a blog that is so descriptive but this has so much charm and personality to it I just can't help myself! It's not too wordy and each post is well thought out and considered, with plenty of humor and great observations.

A Sour Apple Tree - Chris James writes this tremendously funny blog. Sometimes he talks about food, other times it TV. Football is mentioned a lot... and politics. End result? A great mix of topics and opinions but in a very witty way. He puts effort into his posts that is rarely seen including his cooking experiences, awards, and state slogans. If your stopping by his blog, ask for the small towel...

It's difficult to sum up an entire blog and by extension a bloggers "personality" but I hope I did y'all justice (well at least to some extent). Happy New Year!

New Year - New Me

Well it's 2008. A year that seemed somewhat futuristic to me not long ago. Yet still no flying cars. What's the deal with that? I hope someone is working on it. My title says New Year - New Me. I guess it really should say "New Year - Same Me saying new things". I've got a few plans on how to change this year. I'd like to be fitter, richer, smarter, better read, and more organized, motivated, and challenged. I feel optimistic at the moment despite my almost complete lack of action thus far. Being back to work will help I'm sure.

I think one of the hardest things is that making New Year resolutions are easy. The making part that is. All of us know ourselves the best and can think of at least one thing they would like to change. So that part is healthy and helpful. Sticking to the resolutions is the tricky part and it's the issue of accountability that makes it so. As I'm the one making the changes I only have myself to answer to. And sometimes I can bargain with myself and get out of exercising or saving money. So, maybe this year I'll try and get someone else to report to. Like a personal trainer for the soul. I'll add it to my growing to do list...

Plans for this year:

Write a short story

Exercise regularly

Find an internship

Read more non-fiction.

That should do it for now.