What I want for Christmas is for these 2 things to cease

(1) adding -ing to nouns in an attempt to create a verb, particularly heinous on twitter. I.e. Starbucking.

(2) use of the simile "like herding cats." 

Sisters: spittin' image (revisit)

Which is which, Meka or Eden or Quinn...you decide.

Happy Thanksgiving from WKRP in Cincinnati

Another Reason to be a Fan of the Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody in HD

The Might Quinn Pictures

Meka Burrito

Kutiman's "the Mother of All Funk" mashup

I read about this on Time's 50 Best Inventions of 2009. I am fascinated by mash ups and this is one of the coolest. Primarily because it's all random, mostly amateur's. 

NOW, DAMN IT!

seriously - watch TED. www.ted.com

Essential Coffee Knowledge (via theOatmeal.com) http://ow.ly/B8gH

Benny Hinn + Let the Bodies Hit the Floor = hilarious and sad.

go ted!

so, you guys may know about this but my new obsession is TED - www.ted.com. it is a nonprofit aimed at spreading great ideas - usually ideas or new ways of thinking that can make the world a better place. they host lectures and conferences with some of the greatest minds in the world. their website is a compilation of several hundred lectures, each delivered on a fascinating topic in 20 minutes or less. i listen to dozens when i have big model building sessions like i am in right now. anyway, definitely check it out. start with the lectures under the tab on the left-hand side "most-favorited all-time." you can't go wrong. scott- you would be particularly interested in the "ken robinson says schools kill creativity lecture."

alvin, simon, ted!

Guinness & John Welsey

Guinness turns 250 this year and today two tweets came through about it, both completely worthy of following:

(1) TWEAT THIS at happy hour: Guinness Draught (126 calories 10 g carbs per 12 oz). Guilt free beer--but stick to 1 or 2 to avoid a beer gut! www.twitter.com/eatthisnotthat

(2) John Wesley and Guinness beer? Thx! @SteveBeard http://bit.ly/3HCWrU www.twitter.com/LenSweet

This a MUST READ. Fascinating look at how faith can ought to shape business practices (even the beer business) and how godly character impacts GENERATIONS. Once again, John Wesley's influence is demonstrated.

And The Search for God and Guinness is DEFINITELY now on my "to read" list.

AHSM Fall Retreat Video

Edie's Birthday

Inexplicably it's a Wall-E/Kitten theme.

the builder

so, frank lloyd wright was truly amazing. he is definitely america's architect for good reason. that said, le corbusier is the rest of the world's architect and is directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of the built world we live in. in terms of his influence, he is the beatles and dylan combined in the architecture world.

anyway, i am a big fan. i did a week long precedent study of one of his buildings called maisons jaoul. seemingly very simple and unassuming but absolutely beautiful. it is a small lot with two houses on it (such a small lot that one house had to back into an existing wall) that really makes amazing use of public and private spaces. it also has a green roof and can more or less completely open up the exterior walls in some places. two different sized vaults on the inside are reflected on the outside, parking underground, built-in furniture galore, beautiful use of wood, some great double-height spaces and everything is built exactly to the human porportion system le corbusier invented based on the golden rectangle and the human body. they were built in the early '50's for an art collector couple (in 1) and their son and his wife and kids (in 2). if you get a chance, check out some pictures of this thing. here is just one picture i could find and a couple of my model i built while studying it.

Sprint Triathlon Swimming Workouts

This last summer I did a couple of sprint triathlons. Fun and addicting AND it gives me something to work towards, some motivation to exercise.  I also appreciate doing multiple sports, which is great for someone like me who has exercise ADD.
Here's a bunch of swim workouts I've done and am still working through.  Err...was working through. I'm on a bit of a hiatus as of late.

Some of these are gathered from sources around the web, quite a few of the main sets came from Scott.

CLICK HERE for a pdf of the workouts.

The Princess Cartel Deconstructed

And we buy this stuff for girls and let them pretend to be princesses?  Hmmm...

From http://contexts.org/socimages/

Furr by Blitzen Trapper | #musicmonday

Yeah, when I was only 17,
I could hear the angels whispering
So I droned into the words and wandered aimlessly about
Until I heard my mother shouting through the fog
It turned out to be the howling of a dog
Or a wolf to be exact, the sound sent shivers down my back
But I was drawn into the pack and before long
They allowed me to join in and sing their song
So from the cliffs and highest hill, yeah
We would gladly get our fill
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong
For my flesh had turned to fur, yeah
And my thoughts, they surely were
Turned to instinct and obedience to God.

You can wear your fur
like a river on fire
But you better be sure
if you're makin' God a liar
I'm a rattlesnake, Babe,
I'm like fuel on fire
So if you're gonna' get made,
Don't be afraid of what you've learned

On the day that I turned 23,
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree
When suddenly a girl with skin the color of a pearl
She wandered aimlessly, but she didn't seem to see
She was listenin' for the angels just like me
So I stood and looked about
I brushed the leaves off of my snout
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees
So I took her by the arm
We settled down upon a farm
And raised our children up as gently as you please.

And now my fur has turned to skin
And I've been quickly ushered in
To a world that I confess I do not know
But I still dream of running careless through the snow
An' through the howlin' winds that blow,
Across the ancient distant flow,
It fill our bodies up like water till we know.

You can wear your fur
Like a river on fire
But you better be sure
If you're makin' God a liar
I'm a rattlesnake, Babe,
I'm like fuel on fire
So if you're gonna' get made,
Don't be afraid of what you've learned

Thanks, Scotty, for introducing me to this wicked good band!

Nice Limbs, Tree | 8 Tracks Mix

Check out 8tracks.com, make a mix! Thanks @benphoster for tweeting it & clueing me in!

The Band | King Harvest & Long Black Veil 1970

(Thanks to Jon Lehman for the link!)

Unfortunate accident for the doll during Faith 5 family time

Lake Huron & the Gulf of Mexico

When visiting Uhaul's site, not sure why, but the only bodies of water that are labeled are Lake Huron and the Gulf of Mexico.  I guess they're in a league of their own.  Huzzah, Lake Huron!

"why burn your bridges when you can blow your bridges up"

so, in our consturction/structures class we were given the task to create a bridge that was 2 feet long, 6 inches wide and capable of holding extreme loads. But the catch was that it could only weigh 4 ounces(which is similar to 4 fluid ounces if you want to picture the weight of the last 1/3 of beer minus the can weight). There was a scale and you were disqualified if you went over. so, my friend jeff and i used balsa wood (the kind you use for small toy airplanes)on its strong side for our bridge. The class had a competition of bridge destroying, which was a helluva good time. Based on our material we decided to go with a classic arch/mountain-pass bridge with diagonal trusses and our little feather-weight bridge a monster holding over 70 lbs.

Meka & Eden: WHO DEY!

Meka Sings "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd"