She Talks!

Well, it is actually more of a babble but still, only 4 months old and she is already trying to mimic us.


It is nothing short of amazing. You would not believe the joy I get when I come home and she smiles at me. Makes a bad day bright. She is also starting to play with toys, sort of, she mostly just holds them and tries to shove them in her mouth, but still. We still need to work on her tummy time and try to get her to sit, she already has a very strong neck and she can stand with minimal support but i guess for developmental reasons they should actually crawl before they stand, don't ask me why.

In beer news I have recently began to try Barley Wines. It was something that I never tried because I was under the impression that it was a fruity lambic "wine" type of thing. But when Flat Earth Brewery said they were coming out with one and gave it a small description it did not sound like I imagined (imagine that). So I got a small bottle of Victory Brewery's Old Horizontal and I was very happy with it. Malty, some hops, nothing too strong though but what is strong is the ABV. 11 for the Old Horizontal but I guess that can be on the low end. The clerk at the store said that this is a good beer have on a cold winter night next to the stove. Which I did not do, I drank it outside in 10 degree weather grilling a steak and I drank it fast so I really didnt get to enjoy it like I should have but it was still very good. I thin I may have to swing by the old Liq tonight and pick me up a 6'er of some Barley Wine.

Unbelievable!

Well, it appears a blatant push for a theocracy is a good thing to win the G.O.P. nomination. Huckabee blows away the competition. A ten percent lead... damn! Obama won with a good 7, which I am glad, he may not be what I hope but I think he will be a breath of fresh air. But Huckabee? I really don't think he stands a chance in the national election, that is if it is still Obama. Obama would be able to bring together voters from all over the spectrum. Hillary is too polarizing, which is not her fault, but she is and if she is the candidate I fear a Huckabee presidency, which I cant fathom but then again, they guy who started the greatest military blunder and presided over the greatest attack on the U.S. won against an actual war hero, so anything is possible.

New Years

Welcome 2008. Not really much to say on this end. Just got over a cold and a stomach flu which pretty much incapacitated me for the past two weeks. Though I did have some good days mostly they have been rather blah. Been skating more and biking less, which I guess is a good trade off but hopefully some of this snow will melt and I can get back out there.

Today I will leave you all with a link of my friend Luke's yearly wrap up, enjoy.

http://www.specialexport.net/pages/12302007.htm

War on Christmas

Why is it that every year I have to put up with hearing people get so upset that stores and companies have "holiday" parties and greet you with "happy holidays?" I was always under the impression people were asked to say that because, and this may come as a shock, not everybody celebrates Christmas. OH MY! Yes, it is true. Of course a lot people in this country do celebrate something this season so why no include everybody with your greeting and wrap it up with happy holiday? And of course New Years is in there as well. I have my opinions on why this is such a big deal. Mainly it is the pundits and spiritual leaders ruffling the feathers of their flock because if you feel you, or your faith in this matter, is threatened you will become more vigilant to stand up and fight for it. Or maybe they really do feel or believe that it is under attack. I mean the recent events of Nativity scenes and Ten Commandments being taken out of public places would be seen as something they are not pleased with. But they are not meant to exclude them but to include other faiths in our country. But it is probably a mixture of both. It took an event like 9/11 to get a lot of people back into the churches. Maybe a whole slew of mini "crisis" would help galvanize them into place so they don't stray too far.  

Whatever the case is, christians should not at all feel threatened. Because, after all, christianity is the number 1 religion in this country. Probably 90% of its leaders are of some demonation of that faith and there is no way in this modern time that a person can become president without believing in god. This country is run by rich, white and christian conservatives.

Christmas time is many things to many different people. I remember, as I kid growing up in a agnostic, secular household me and my mom and grandma went christmas lights searching up in my hometown of Duluth. We had a map of the best place to look at lights and there was this one street where every house was lit except for one. My mom and grandma said they must be jewish and I asked why does that make a difference and they said because jewish people don't celebrate christmas. I felt sorry for them but then I came to learn that they celebrate hanukkah and they still got presents (remember I was still a kid then). And now I look back at that moment and wonder, if we were not christian or faithful for that matter, why did we celebrate christmas? Well, I think this time of year is different for a lot of people, yet almost identical. It's a time for families to get together. It is a time for giving. A time to reflect on the year and welcome the new one. A time for feast. A time for presents. A time for children getting that school break. It is a time for everybody to cherish this time of year. Nobody wants to take that away from anybody, but then again, nobody want to feel like this time of year is strictly for those who worship the same as them either.

Have a good time.

Hockey and a Head Cold

After years of not dropping the puck my cousin Joel and I hit the rink on Saturday. Of course when I woke up that morning I was feeling rather ill, but I went out anyways and now I feel even worse so tis will be a short post because my thinking is not very sharp. You would think my legs would be in great condition due to my daily commute but biking uses different muscles that skating I am rather sore today. Personally I dont think I did too bad seeing that I have not played hockey since I was 13. Of course we were playing with a bunch of kids and they took us to the shed. But it was fun anyways. Here is Joel.


I also have to throw in a couple of beer updates. St. Paul's own Flat Earth Brewery has a few of their beers in store. Element 115 and Belgian Style Pale Ale. Both are great but I prefer the Element. Of course due to my cold I wont be drinking either any time soon. So have one in my name.

The Commute

Here I am after my day. Lets see, it was about 8 degrees when I woke up, about 5 when I left for work. I bike about 3 miles to my Park and Ride, which is not so bad but they dont reallt clear off the shoulders on the road so I either ride on the white line or I trudge through the snow, which I dont really like to do being that it is rather compacted and a bit glazed. But once I get to the park and ride and put my bike on the bus rack that is in the front of the bus (I will take pictures of that soon). People always ask me if that is safe and so far, no problems (knock on wood). It's about a 15 minute drive to downtown Minneapolis where I get off there and about another 3 or 5 miles till I get to the U of M where I work. I used to get off alot closer to my job but since the bridge collapsed we have to go about 10 or so miles around, but it is still not too bad, I like to read and it is the perfect time to do so.

I usually dont bike when it snows. I find it to be too dangerous, especially in downtown Mpls, and the snow is too much of a pain to see through. Plus my bike, as you can see, is not much of a rugged truckster. My bike is a Redline 9.2.5 single speed and fixed gear (fliphub). I have big plans for it so I will keep you all updated on when I retool it.

So far I still go just about everyday. I missed all last week due to the daily snow dumps we got but other than that the only times I miss are when it pours or snows. This spring I plan to just bike straight to work, it is about 10 miles one way, I know I can do it, I just have to do it, know what I mean.

Old School Gift

Remember back in the day when you were a child and you made your presents from scratch. Usually the macaroni christmas tree or a dradle. Not that I am pining for the days of old but last spring I painted this and my mother in law really liked it.

Of course I like it very much (the camera doesnt do it justice) so I decided that, being the great son in law that I am, that I would paint her one quite like it. I went with a bigger canvas for this one, about 36 x 48, because she has a huge wall and I never painted a picture this big before, I plan to go bigger in the near future. I used colors that would match the room it will be placed in and went to town. First try I did not like, I tried to match the style of the one above but to my dismay it was not working out so I brought it back into the studio and tried a second time, this time, perfection.

Again, the photograph doesn't do it justice. I need to find a way to get better photos of my paintings. With these painting I use a mixture of acrylic paints, some glossy varnish, lots of water and some coarse pumice. I first lay a coat of white over the whole thing then I lay the pumice down in random spots. When that is dry I dump on the colors that are really diluted near the other colors so they blend psychedelically. The first draft of this had the green go up to the top left corner but the color of the green didn't work well for me and the placement of it seemed forced. It had the look of a land and sea so I brought it back in the studio and layed some more blue, a different shade of green and some brown in the middle to act as a separator, and give it kind of a beach look for the sea. When the colors are still wet I use a straw to move it around or I pick it up and let it flow off the canvas. The pumice gives it a texture that the colors form around and makes it look sort of mountainish Of course with abstract art like this it is almost a crap shoot and trying to get it the way you want doesn't always work. But I find that once I start painting the image forms in my mind with the paint, like it is not just me painting but the paint and canvas as well. Part of me wishes that it stayed in my home but after all I am a great son in law and I have to keep up the position.