Sibling Weekend 2008

This past weekend a very rare occurrence happened, myself and my eight
siblings all got together to spend a weekend with just each other.
Yep-no spouses, no kids...just the nine of us! We rented a
beautiful cabin at Cedar Valley Resort, which is just outside
of Lanesboro, Minnesota. My youngest brother, Patrick, had
purchased a building in Lanesboro and is currently rehabbing it
for both living and opening a retail store. It's a cute little
building right off of the main street in Lanesboro, which is a
picturesque little town in southern Minnesota.

(Patrick's building is the one to the left)

It was basically a weekend of eating, drinking, playing games and just
enjoying each others company. The weather was still a bit chilly, but
at least we had no snow or rain-just cold winds and cloudy skies.

It took a lot of arm twisting to get everyone to agree on a time
to do this and some convincing that it be just us siblings...but it
turned out great in the end. Here's hoping we can at the very
least make this an annual gathering!

A Milestone We Should Never Have Reached

4,000
Men
Women
Mothers
Fathers
Sons
Daughters
Nieces
Nephews
Aunts
Uncles
Brothers
Sisters
Husbands
Wifes
Partners
Friends
Neighbors
Co-Workers...
gave their lives
for us.
At what point do we say enough?

Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home.

Aaaaah, Spring?!

Today is the first full day of spring, when warm breezes and bright sun should be a welcome sign of winters demise....think again! Today we are under a "winter storm warning" and expect to see anywhere from 5-6" before it's all done later tonight. ugh!

Here's a photo journey around St Paul earlier today. While I'm SICK OF WINTER ALREADY...it is gosh darn beautiful.

Guaranteed Enjoyment....For Free!

With all the downer stuff goin' on in our world and the seemingly endless wait for spring, we could all use a little pick-me-up! So here it is and best part-IT'S FREE! The band, The Scissor Sisters recently collaborated with some artists to create a ridiculously fun mash-up record. The result is "Da-Tah", a collection of 20 joyous mixes that feature the likes of Beck, The Clash, Little Momma and more! Even if dance music isn't your typical genre of choice, this collection just can't help but bring instant levity and joy! Go to the the link below, download it, burn it or upload it and put it on anytime you need a musical boost. Come on, it's OK to dance around the room when nobody is around. Enjoy!

http://www.idontfeellikedancin.com/

p.s.-pay the Scissor Sisters back by picking up one of their records at your local independent music store.

The World Is A Little Less Bright

Gelsy Verna
1961-2008

A talented painter, professor at UW Madison and loving mother
of 5 year old Clara. Gelsy passed away suddenly this past
Sunday and left an un-fillable void in this world.

Here are some links to information about Gelsy both past and current:

Gelsy spent many years in Iowa City, IA-here's a profile
Here are some blog entries from associates and students:

http://twocoatsofpaint.blogspot.com/2008/03/gelsey-verna-passed-away-unexpectedly.html
(has links to pictures of her studio and video interviews)

http://redismyfavoritecolor.blogspot.com/2008/03/goodbye-gelsy.html

http://weblog.ceicher.com/archives/2008/03/rip_gelsy_verna.html

The "Warm & Fuzzy" Moment Of The Week

This comes from my best and oldest friend, Irma(pictured above), who is a
zookeeper at the Los Angeles Zoo. She is pictured with a female baby
giraffe(currently unnamed) born on February 6th and is now having to be
bottle fed as her mother is disinterested in her. She is currently
7 feet tall and weighs in at 200 lbs. AAAAAAH!

Some Things To Help Get You Through The Final Stretch Of Winter

It's been a long, LONG winter! But hang in there my friends 'cause spring is on it's way...really. Heck, the Dairy Queen across the street from where we live reopened yesterday, surely a good sign winter is coming to a close. To help you make it through these last few dreary days of the ol man winter, here's a few suggestions to raise your spirits.

DVD Must-Sees:

Rocket Science
This highly entertaining little movie came and went in the theaters with little or no fanfare and that's a great shame. It is easily one of the funniest, most original movies to come along in quite a while. If you love the endearing qualities of Juno, the quirkiness of Napoleon Dynamite and the unpredictable insanity of Wes Anderson movies-you'll thoroughly enjoy this underrated gem.

This is the feature debut of director Jeffrey Blitz (director of the Academy Award nominated documentary Spellbound), the movie tells the story of a teenager (Hal Hefner-played by newcomer Reece Daniel Thompson) who "...tackles the mysteries of life, love and public speaking..." It is superbly cast, beautifully written and flawlessly directed. You will be engrossed and entertained from beginning to end, the characters are original and unforgettable.


Lars And The Real Girl
Written by Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie, the movie deals with a "lovable introvert(Lars-played by the superb Ryan Gosling) whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of almost solitude, he invites Bianca, a friend he met/bought on the Internet, to visit him." The premise is absurd and ridiculous, yet because of the superbly written script and perfect casting-will make you laugh and warm your heart all at once. Easily one of the best movies of 2007!



TV Worth Watching:
Rob & Big (MTV Tuesdays 9:30 CST)
Rob Dyrek is a professional skateboarder and Big Black-aka-Christopher Boykin is a professional bodyguard, the two met during a shoot for a skateboarding video and quickly became best friends. This reality based show revolves around that friendship and shows how two people who are seemingly opposite from each other-have developed such a close bond that at times you almost believe they could be actual boyfriends. Both guys are immediately endearing and likable, you kinda wish they could be your friends. There is nothing profound about the show, other than demonstrating the true bonds of friendship-yet you can't help but find yourself engrossed and highly entertained at their adventures and antics. It is hard to accurately describe and articulate what makes this show so damn addictive and enjoyable other than to say Rob and Big are truly a dynamic and interesting duo.

Jon & Kate + 8 (TLC Mondays 8:00 CST)
For those of us without kids and those of you frustrated with kids-this is the reality show for you. It deals with a young married couple(Jon & Kate) who through the use of fertility treatments ended up with both a set of twin girls (now aged 7) and then a set of sextuplets (3 boys & 3 girls now aged 3) and what their day to day life is like.

I know, sounds cutesy and boring-but it is such a wonderful escape from your everyday stress and bad days...really! The kids are absolutely adorable and the parents are about as "everyday" as parents can be. It is amazing to see just what it takes for these parents to raise this brood of small children day to day and how they all interact with one another...it is absolutely fascinating. Coming from a family of 9 kids myself (thankfully spaced apart in age to make it just a bit more tolerable and manageable), I have great empathy and absolute respect for these parents. Highly recommended for that warm fuzzy feeling we all like now and again.

Wii The Addiction:

I'm not even gonna go into why the Wii is the must have accessory in every household, if you don't know already-well, I'd just be wasting my breath.

For those of you 'in the know', here is my recommendation for the latest and greatest game and accessory; Wii Crossbow Zapper & Links Crossbow Training game (retails for about $19.99-24.99 for both the Crossbow Zapper controller and the game!)
The Crossbow Zapper accessory allows you to convert one of your controllers into an actual crossbow and the game(based on The Legend Of Zelda) affords you the opportunity to use the crossbow in a variety of different shooting games. It is addictive fun that will have you and your friends screaming and laughing together for hours.

Let me just qualify this by saying that I have never played Legend Of Zelda and am typically not into the whole fantasy shooting type games, but this is just shooting gallery kinda fun. It's easy to learn and understand-and easily the best game bargain for the price....I mean you get the controller adapter AND the game for around $20! Good times.