"Dear Sister" (SNL does it again)

I'm shocked this isn't a classic. Word is that it was filmed just before the shootings at Virginia Tech, so they did not air it. I LOVE how they take a parody of "The OC" and put all the drama and ridiculousness of that show (not that I've watched a whole episode or anything) into one sketch.

Here is the OC's version (be patient, the part they parody doesn't come until the end)



Here is SNL's version



Online Videos by Veoh.com

Dude, this get's funnier and funnier every time I see it.

Trip Report: Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National Park

Alene and I needed to get out of town, so at the last minute (well, Thursday night), we decided to head down to the southern desert and visit a place I've never been before and Alene had not been since her field trip to Escalante (2001?).

Despite many warnings about the weather from everyone we knew that was familiar with the area, we decided to chance it, with a couple of back-up plans with going to Arches, or the other side of Canyonlands, both of which have paved roads running through them.

We left around 8:30am on Saturday and headed straight down to the Western side of Canyonlands (it's actually separate from the main park). We arrived at the main turn-off about noon and headed down the dirt road we were most worried about (the weather is still wet down there and the road is 30 miles to the trailhead and all dirt road, which can be really muddy and force us to turn around). Well, we lucked out. No wet weather, the road was actually REALLY dry, except for a couple of parts that were muddy for about 20', but we just gained speed in the subaru, and headed straight through it and out the other side. We were fine.

The hike was AMAZING. We were the only ones in the canyon. This canyon has one of the most oldest and largest gallery's of ancient art petroglyphs. The hike we did went about 1.5 miles down hill into the canyon, then extended another 2 miles to the main Gallery of art. Along the way we were able to see a couple of other areas of art, which were all very impressive. Some of the cool things were the fact that we had the canyon to ourselves. Also, your voice echos like crazy from some spots. The last thing that was cool was Alene bringing to my attention the fact that this is the canyon that Aron Ralston was found (well, he found the people that helped him as he hiked some 30 miles up the canyon).

The weather conditions were PERFECT, not too hot, not too cold. The only mis-hap was as we were leaving. We had already done about 1.5 miles back and were looking at another rock art panel, when we heard a VERY loud roar from the canyon (back where we were). It didn't sound like any sort of a cat or dog, but like a bears roar. Bears don't live out there, so we have no idea what it was. All I know is we picked up the pace and high-tailed it out of there.

After the hike, we drove on back, again lucky it never rained on our road (no rain in the immediate area, but there were plenty of clouds in the distance). We drove back to Green river where we had reserved a hotel room at a Comfort Inn (the nicest hotel in Green River). We ate a good burger at Ray's Tavern, then went back to crash and sleep away the hike.

Here are some pictures and videos of the trip:



The sign at the entrance of the dirt road into the canyon



The road going into the canyon



The trailhead into the canyon



Dinosaur print on the way down



Looking down into Horseshoe Canyon


Frozen part of Barrier Creek (which is the creek that runs through the canyon; the canyon was once called Barrier Canyon before it was engulfed by Canyonlands Natl. Park)


High Gallery, which is the first panel of art we see


Wind on the Sand


Cougar prints???


The Alcove Gallery


Looking away from the Alcove Gallery. It was almost in a natural half dome area.


The Great Gallery


Tyler by the Great Gallery's "Great Ghost"


Alene by the Great Gallery's "Great Ghost"


Ancient Hunters


Tyler & Alene at the Great Gallery panel


Leaving the canyon


The Road out...


The Alcove (with echo)


The Great Gallery (with echo)



Speeding down Robbers Roost Road



You can see a slideshow of all our photos here:

Horseshoe canyon slide show

I'm so excited

Tomorrow Alene and I are heading down to get a hotel in Green River and head over to Horseshoe canyon, which is part of Canyonlands national park. We are going to see the largest petroglyph rock art in all of the U.S. dating back before the Fremont Indians (7000-9000 BCE).

Alene has already been there, but I'm just excited to be getting away from this crappy weather and getting out on a hike. I'm excited to see the canyon and to try to feel what it must have been like 9000 to 11,000 years ago for the people that lived there.

Here is a picture of what we're going to see, what is called the "Great Gallery".

Song to play on my death bed

"Dogs" by Pink Floyd. It's 17 minutes long. The guitar solo (or whatever you would call it), is AMAZING and so comforting in my opinion. I think this song would totally prepare my for my journey in the afterlife.

I thought of this while sitting at my desk listening to my ipod. I'm VERY tired right now. Just when the guitar solo came up, I closed my eyes to listen to it, and it nearly put me to sleep. Not because it's boring, but because it relaxes me. On my death bed, I want to be relaxed (which I'm sure everyone would wish for and likely won't happen).

Yeah, Dogs by Pink Floyd. Check it out sometime if you're not familiar.

This guy does a pretty good rendition of the solo I'm talking about:

Alene's belly is growing

She's so cute. We got back from the gym last night and she was pointing out how it just sticks out now, like she can't even suck it in. I think she's the cutest pregnant girl ever, but she thinks she's going to look like a fat blob because she's not 6' tall. No matter what she thinks, I know what I'll think.

This morning she sent me an e-mail about how she is totally feeling the baby move around inside her now. It made me SOOOO happy. Whenever I ponder "life", I think a child being created and developed in the womb is the most amazing thing ever. I can't WAIT to go to the Dr. with Alene again. We are going to schedule the ultrasound so Caiden can be there. I'm so excited.

I was inspired.....

After reading Amandas blog post about Brock building a snow fort with Johnny and Tommy, I decided I better be a good dad and do the same with Caiden. It took us a good hour or so and I was very tired afterward (and sick).

Brock, sorry for being such a poser. I had to do it.

This man is a PERVERT!!!

I love this poster. If you're a fan of the office, call the number on the flyer. It's hilarious.

I hate our educational system

and i know that my whining won't do anything to make it change (like the republican and democrat parties, they'll always rule, even though there are better parties to join).

For instance, I'm taking Biology 1010 to fulfill the "diversity" requirement for my associates degree. Besides this class, I only need a college algebra class and I'm done with slcc. I understand the reason for "diversity" requirements because it gets you to explore other things you may not know about, then become interested in so you can change your major. Well, 6 weeks into this class and I'm still pretty sure I don't care for Biology, nor do I care to get some career centered around it. I HATE BIOLOGY!! I don't need to know the function of a cell. I'll leave that up to the Dr's and those doing research to find cures for cancer. I'm not one of those people, nor does it excite me one bit.

I guess I should just be thankful for the teacher we have. She understands that most of us don't care for it and has a somewhat dry sense of humor about things when she teaches.

Did I say that I hate Biology?

The Beach Boys

Why do I like them? I have no idea. I'm not fanatical about them, but I guess I might know more about them than the average person.

I remember growing up and going to classic car shows with my dad. Anything from HUGE expo's, to small town shows (they would close off the main street and people would park their classic cars up and down the street to show them off). During these shows they were always blasting music from those cars eras and often you would hear The Beach Boys playing.

I remember my dad listening to them a lot and singing along with them. I always thought if my dad were a Beach Boy, he would be Mike Love.

As I got older and started to appreciate music, I have no idea why I've always been drawn to the Beach Boys. First, I know I like Harmony and the Beach Boys were great at including it in their music. As I found out more about them, I never lost respect for them, but it did make me chuckle to think that they had this image back then as "surfers" when in fact that only one of them actually ventured into the ocean (drummer Dennis Wilson). Nowadays a band like that would be labeled "posers" and probably boo'd off the stage and had tons of negative publicity/web sites dedicated to them. However, I gained more respect for them, mostly Brian Wilson, as artists. They started off as bubble gum, fun-loving, party music, and eventually got into more serious (obviously drug-induced, but still good) stuff.

I think it also has something to do with the Americana thing of early rock and roll music. Back then, there was only one kind of music: Rock and Roll. There wasn't alternative, or goth, or emo, or punk, or metal, or electronic, or folk-punk, and all that other stuff (which is all great), but it was all so new and it seemed like everyone was having fun with it.

I dug up a few youtube videos that I love of the beach boys. To some, they may look lame the way they dance, or the way they sing, or even dress, but I LOVE it because this is what was cool back then and even if it makes me want to laugh at how different it is, I still have to respect it because of the influence it had on music.

I love how silly they look when they dance/move (almost kind of tight, like it wasn't OK to loosen up back then), but that is how it was. Watch the drummer (Dennis) and how he flops his head around as he drums. He seems about the most loose out there and I love his attitude on the drums.

One last note, it's so sad to know of their break-up and the near bad-blood between Mike Love (who continues to tour as "The Beach Boys) and Brian Wilson. They are both cousins, but from what I understand, have pressed lawsuits against each other multiple times. Both Carl and Dennis Wilson (Brian's brothers) have passed away. Al Jardine, the only somewhat original (he replaced David Marks, who was with them originally, but left shortly after they became big) non-family member tours with his son doing beach boys covers, but not officially as the Beach Boys and Bruce Johnston, who was added when Brian Wilson didn't want to be a touring member and only write music for the band, still tours with Mike Love. Watching their videos and how it seems they used to have so much fun back then, makes me sad to see how much disdain they now have for one another, most likely over money.





This one is awesome. It shows David Marks on guitar and the dude is only 15 (this was 1963).





I love the late 60's/early 70's video effects. Carl Wilson has a great voice and Mike Love looks baked.





Finally, besides Surfs Up, this is one of the greatest Beach Boys songs ever. Again, Carl Wilson singing lead.