I LOVE YOU TO THE MAX

Photo Challenge Day 9

2012-02-24T09:48:00.004-08:00

Wendy

Sign of Spring

Brent

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 8

2012-02-23T05:43:00.002-08:00

Your closet.

Wendy

Brent

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 7

2012-02-22T06:40:00.001-08:00

Lent
(Wendy's photo to come after she gets some dirt on her head)

Brent

Chelsey

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 6

2012-02-20T18:04:00.001-08:00

For Mardi Gras, let's do . . . well, you get the idea.

Leslie

Brent

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 5

2012-02-20T14:04:00.002-08:00

Action Shot!

A little less conversation, a little more action please.

(Forgive me. I stepped in so much dog poop, alienated my daughter so much, and got bit so many times that I simply couldn't settle for one photo.)

Wendy

Brent

Chuck

Kent

Edith Eating

2012-02-20T06:27:00.001-08:00

While Kent and Leslie were at parades, Chelsey and Chuck and I were introducing Edith to the world of solid food.

Thoth

2012-02-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite parade of Mardi Gras. It's called Thoth. Kent took some video so I could act like I was there. Thank you, Kent.

Cults do Leonard Cohen

2012-02-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

At first I thought, this is going to be great! Then I listened and thought, well, maybe not that great. Then I decided that it was okay. Then I listened to the rest of them, and decided it was the best of the bunch.

Cults "Everybody Knows" from Columbia Records on Vimeo.

Big News!

2012-02-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hey All -

Really exciting news. These two people are with child!

Yes, they dress like this all the time.

That's right. Kent and Leslie are expecting. I gave them the opportunity to spread the word themselves on here, but they are in the midst of Mardi Gras and visitors. Kent's even riding in a parade tonight. .

When we told them we were pregnant with Edith, Kent had my favorite reaction. It was basically a half-hearted "Great." He was as freaked out as we were. Now he can be freaked out for himself. And I get to look back from kidworld, and know it's going to be ok. It's going to be great.

I'm very happy to have them join the cause of non-idiots having kids. We are out-numbered. We need your brains and taste to make it to another generation. Well done. I love you guys.

Photo Challenge Day 4

2012-02-17T06:56:00.001-08:00

One of the five elements: fire, water, air, earth, spirit. (I went with rain.)

Chuck

Brent

Chelsey

Wendy

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 3

2012-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

Chuck

Something small, tiny, microscopic. Think macro lens, if you've got one. Mine is the girl from my beloved terrarium. And she carrying . . . a camera. What?

Chelsey

Brent

Wendy

Kent

Photo Challenge Day 2

2012-02-15T06:44:00.000-08:00

A Door.

Today the assignment is a photo of a door of any sort.

Do it!

Chelsey

Brent

Kent

Chuck

Wendy

Omaha News Just Got Awesome

2012-02-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

Say hello to the future.

What about a photo challenge?

2012-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Wendy!

How about a good ole' 30-day photo challenge? We could restrict the photos to camera pics (or not), and I can choose the categories. I have a friend who's currently doing this on her blog, so I've got a head start.

I think it should be obvious that Day 1 requires a phallic photo. Because it's Valentine's Day.

Go!

Chelsey!

Brent

Kent

Chuck

I don't care about Whitney Houston

2012-02-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

Seriously?

This is weird. Usually after someone famous dies, I can pull something out of their career that has resonated in some way. Especially someone as famous as Whitney Houston. But I just spent about 15 minutes on her wikipedia page, and I got nothing. I think her first song, "Saving All My Love for You," was the highlight of her career. And that's not much of a highlight.

Her two big hits are schmaltzy crap. "I Will Always Love You" and "The Greatest Love of All" were overly sappy vehicles for her to show off her super-duper voice. And it did seem like she had a great voice. But if these were her two best efforts, maybe people need to take their mourning down a notch.

I know she had a bunch of hits and won a slew of Americal Music Awards and Grammys, but the lasting impressions just aren't there. I'm sad that she died. It seems like her life really went down a shitty path. But comparing her to Michael Jackson? There's no way.

Has Anyone Seen My Wife?

2012-02-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

As of 3:00pm today I have no idea where my wife is. The last I heard from her was at 1:28 today, on this blog. I am convinced she has left me.

My theory is that she is on her way to Reno, Nevada with a guy named Curt from the office. She's never mentioned him to me before, but a husband knows. By my estimation, she's probably about to Grand Island, NE at this point.

Maybe she'll turn around when she gets to the Rockies.

Chelsey, if you get this, I don't know why you left, but I promise you Curt will never love you as much as I do. Also, if you went, I hope you took Edith with you. I will be too broken-hearted to care for her. Also, once we burn through all the frozen breast milk and formula samples, I'm going to have to figure out what to feed her.

I hope you have a happy life in Reno. I knew this girl who was from Reno back in Oklahoma City. She lived with Dave and me, and about half-way though her time with us, she stole a bunch of money that we were saving from Lollapalooza or something. Stay away from this girl if you see her. She is trouble.

In Defense of Pinterest

2012-02-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

As most of your know, this morning I joined Pinterest. I am aware that is generally thought of as a rather distaff medium. That fact is really neither here nor there for me. Most of my friends are women, and I'm kind of a fancy pants sissy boy. All that being said, I'm surprised by how much like it. I think I have figured out why I do.
1. I like that it is a visual milieu. Obviously I'm a pretty literary guy (love books, kind of write for a living, etc.) but there's something about just trafficking in the (for lack of a less cheesy word) language of pictures. My favorite movie day was when everyone listed their dreamboat actors. I liked seeing all of the pictures of them together. That day's post, in retrospect, was a Pinterest page.
2. I like the validation you get from strangers like stuffing you put on there. Obviously we all like it when our friends show appreciation for our stuff on Facebook, but it's a unique sensation to have someone you don't know from a can of paint approve of something you like.
3. I like that I now have something to do with the random stuff I find on StumbleUpon that I don't want to loose.

Of course all of this could be the excitement of something new. Maybe I'll get tired of it after I finish doing all the lists I want to do, but I thought it would be good to share some thoughts upon first blush.

Yours in social media,

Chuck

Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon with Port Wine Sauce

2012-02-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

Fancy Ass

This is what Chelsey and I are making for Valentines Day this year. We are trying to save money by not going out and not spending money on each other. Instead we are going to try and make this fancy recipe. Of course it can't be that fancy. It's off of allrecipes.com. But look at that picture!
I can't wait to make little beds of mashed potatoes. I wish all my foods had little beds of mashed potatoes under them.

This Valentines is going to kick so much ass.

The only hiccup here is that we need an oven-safe pan. I don't know that we have one. But Chelsey just sent me this, so we should be able to figure that out as well. Now if she could just send me a link to make our kitchen big enough for two people.

A while back we decided to start using the station method. Where we each have half of the kitchen. It makes me feel like we are working at some fancy restaurant. I act like I'm the sous chef, and Chelsey is my demanding but genius chef de cuisine.

New Design!

2012-02-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

My glasses seem to get bigger and bigger.

Look everybody! It's a new design for my blog! I'm very excited about it.

The new stuff is all pretty self explanatory. I finally added an RSS follow thingy, and I was able to put a cute border around all my pictures like Chelsey. It turns out there's a lot of options in blogger. I had no idea. I made the new header in indesign/photoshop. It took forever to get the size right. Mostly because I am an idiot.

Also, today I am home sick from work. It could be that the new blog design has left me ill.

King Edith 4.0

2012-02-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

As Edith gets bigger and figures more stuff out, I'm learning heaps about child development. One thing that seems to happen every few weeks is that she becomes a brand new baby.

This baby is worth $400.

We went through this with Deuce too. But only once. It was more like for the first three weeks he didn't bark and wasn't an asshole. Then he barked constantly and was a massive asshole. And it was over. He never progressed again.

But with Edith, it's a never ending metamorphosis. She goes to bed not smiling, and wakes up smiling. She doesn't show the ability to grab things, and then she pulls down your water in a restaurant. Twice. It's amazing.

Her latest development is that she is laughing now. Which has got to be the best development a baby can make. But like everything else, it just showed up one day. Then she would only do it when Chelsey tickled her. And then last night she was just laughing away at me before she went to bed. She would just look at me and laugh. Which, admittedly, is an experience I am well acquainted with do to my squirrelly looks.

The whole thing is without parallel for me. It's so amazing to care about something so much and have it continue to grow and enhance before your very eyes. This may be the only thing that's going to get me through Edith-as-toddler phase. I have already told Chelsey, that I fully expect to propose selling Edith when she's about 2 1/2 and that she is not to do it. Even if it seems like a really good idea.

For now, I've got a laughing, grabbing, almost crawling baby. But who knows what I'll have tomorrow.

Our Baby is a Fat Monkey

2012-02-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

That's all there is to it.

Well this is darling...

2012-02-01T09:34:00.001-08:00

New M. Ward.

Kosterpelding YouTube Channel!

2012-02-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

Did anyone ask for this? Who cares? Now I can continue towards my plan of being that guy from the google commercial who uses all the google products to connect with his daughter as she grows up. Now to become Asian...

http://www.youtube.com/user/kosterpelding?feature=watch

This one is my favorite...

There's also some nice Chelsey cleavage if you look close.

Va va va voom!

I Don't Know How To Flip This

2012-01-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

I hope it doesn't make you all sick.

Winter

2012-01-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

Can we just for a second stop and talk about how great this song is?

It's stuck in my head almost every day. The Dodos will never have a chance with me because they will never make a song this good again. Just songs that kind of sound like this song. Which make me want to listen to this song again.

My Parents Are Idiots

2012-01-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

I guess I have long been harboring thoughts that I would one day invite my parents to view/use this blog. I don't know why. I just thought it might happen some day. So I have tried to curtail the cursing/writing about things that they might find inappropriate. But both of my parents are acting like dipshits, so I'm just going to write this. All quotations are actually paraphrased.

Mom:

Even though my mom lives in North Carolina, she continually tries to manage things in this city. She really wants me to get Edith over to see Grandma. I don't really mind this. I know I have to take her over there from time to time, and I like visiting with her, and giving her the chance to see Edith. But this is how it goes:

Tuesday:
Mom: "You should really get Edith over to see Grandma. She hasn't seen her since xmas."
Me: "Wow. That has been a long time. I'll try and get her over there soon."

Wednesday:
Mom (in with email about other stuff): "When do you think you'll be able to get Edith over there."
Me: "Oh - I'm hoping to take her over on Thursday. Chelsey is hanging out with a friend that night."

Thursday:
Mom: "Have you been able to confirm whether you are going over to Grandma's tonight? I can let her know."
Me: "Well we'll see. The temperature has dropped like 10 degrees. Chelsey might not want her going out tonight."
Mom: Completely understand. Just let me know and I'll let Grandma know."

(Mind you, at no point in all this do I have an intentions of letting Mom know so she can let Grandma know. Because that is dumb. I can just call her before I head over. She's not the Queen of England. There's nothing to schedule.)

Later Thursday:
Mom: "I went ahead and told Grandma you might be coming, depending on the weather."
Brent (in my head): "Well that settles it. We're not visiting."

And we didn't.

Dad:

While he was in town for xmas, we had talked about his getting my mom and iphone for her birthday. Nothing set in stone. No biggie. So last week or so, I follow up with an email to my dad and include Wendy and Chuck -

"Hey Dad, do you think you are going to get mom an iphone? If so, let me know. I'd like to get her some accessories for it."

This turns into a lengthy discussion about mom and technology among us siblings, with very limited input from Dad. He ends up saying "I will think about it, and get back to you."

Totally fine.

So yesterday is ten days before Mom's birthday. So I send a follow-up email. "No pressure, but it's getting close, and wondering if you've made a decision." Nothing in return.

I understand if he doesn't want to do it, or hasn't made up his mind. But not responding at all? This I do not understand.

So as per usual, I have a mom who wont leave me alone, and a Dad who can't be bothered. Idiots.

mad men

2012-01-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

I am feverishly trying to make it through all of the previous four seasons of Mad Men in advance of the new season. Going into it I had only watched two episodes, but somehow I knew enough to make my two count - I had watched the episode where they decide to form a new agency and the episode where they try to come up with an idea for Samsonite. Anyway, here are some of my opinions:

Favorite character: Probably Peggy, but I do like the Pete-centric episodes quite a bit.

Favorite episode: The Suitcase

Favorite moment: the conversation between Don and Peggy when she is in the hospital after giving birth to her baby and he's like, you gotta get out of here.

Favorite extramarital partner of Don's. The store owner in season one. I think her name was Rachel.

Hope for the future: Give Betty something to do more than just hanging out with dopey husband of hers and being mean to her kids. Also I want the group of oddballs Don meets in California to show up again.

MLK

2012-01-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

Something like this.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I started reading his autobiography. My main hesitation with that guy is that he always seems so serious. Always working on a cause. Always saying something important. I"m hoping there is some comedy in this thing. So far, no good.

Just a lot of talk about growing up in Atlanta, and being a member of a religious family and having a dad who was a badass. He also calls his father "Daddy," which I am never ready for. It shouldn't be a problem that grown men use the term Daddy. And yet it is. Unless it's in a song called "Patches."

I did find out that he did have a moment when he was like 12, when he questioned his faith. Then he got that taken care of, and he was good to go.

I'm also looking forward to quotes like this one from a speech.

Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.

Who uses hellhound in a sentence? Even when they write speeches? That guy could really put words together.

On a related note, I am reading it on my phone, having downloaded it from the Omaha Library website. Pretty cool, right? Maybe not so much. I took a solid hour to get it all configured on my phone. And you only get it for a week.

Who reads a book in a week?

King Edith

2012-01-15T08:09:00.001-08:00

I ordered Chelsey a new Saints shirt.

2012-01-12T19:17:00.001-08:00

I possibly like it better than she does.

The New Black Keys Album is Lousy

2012-01-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

Here is how The Black Keys have gone for me.

In like 2004, Chuck and I saw them at the old Sokol Underground here in Omaha. It was a tiny venue. They played their instruments really loudly. My ears rang for like 5 days after. It was probably the loudest show I have ever attended. But it was also a little repeptitive, and I don't remember wanting to buy an album afterwards.

Then I didn't listen to them for a really long time.

Fast forward. My co-worker Erin told me their show at the fancy new Slowdown was sold out in 2009. I was shocked. I had no idea they were so well-loved. So I got that album. Attack and Release. I liked the first song and a few others. But I couldn't listen to the album beginning to end, because it was too repetitive.

Then Dan Aurbach put out a solo album which was supposed to let him do stuff that was outside the confines of The Black Keys. The first song sounded exactly like The Black Keys, so I figured I didn't need any more of that.

2010 brought Brothers. Finally an album for Brent. Extra instruments. Extra parts. More variety. Terrific. I saw them again that year. But this time it was outside, and I know this is going to sound crazy, but I felt like they were kind of channeling early Elvis Presley that night. Which I'm pretty sure was almost entirely because I was reading "Last Train to Memphis," Peter Guralnick's biography about Presley's early career. Either way, it felt otherworldly, in the way I think of early Elvis.

So I thought maybe The Black Keys and Brent were finally getting it together. Chelsey liked the singer, I liked the drummer, so if we decided to double-team them, there would be no quibbling.

And then they put out this piece of crap called El Camino. I didn't really listen to it that much last year. It came out late, and I was trying to listen to a bunch of other music by the end of the year. But it really doesn't bear additional listening. It's just bad. Repetitive as all hell, and for some reason they've added female backup vocals.

Let this be a lesson for all of you. Alterna-blues rehash is only going to get you so far. Even if you are pretty good at it. But female backup singers are always a bad move. Always.

Wreckless Baby

2012-01-12T06:04:00.001-08:00

House.

2012-01-08T10:11:00.001-08:00

Saints Start Playoff Run

2012-01-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

I try not to make my blog too Saintsy, because who really cares? But the playoffs are starting. Which means I'm going to be a nervous wreck until it's all over. Here are my concerns regarding this week's game against the Detroit Lions

1) When they played the Lions earlier this year, they were helped out by a long list of Lions penalties and they didn't have Ndamukong Suh playing.

2) The Saints played really really bad in their playoff opener last year.

3) In interviews this week, the Saints keep talking about regaining their 2009 form. Whenever they did that in 2010, they lost the following game.

4) It's hard to beat the same team twice.

5) I recently discovered that I project my own mental fragility and nervousness onto the teams I cheer for, which means that I assume they are in a fragile and nervous state right now.

Last year I got major super drunk during their one and only playoff game. I'm really going to try and do better this year. But if they start to go downhill, I predict that resolution to follow right after.

Chuck's 2011 List of Books Read/Movies Watched

2012-01-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Kent and Brent's Top 20 Tracks (kind of)

2012-01-03T05:34:00.000-08:00

So Kent and I make two lists. We make a list of 20 songs that doesn't allow us to repeat artists more than once. And we make a list of 50 songs where we can repeat artists as much as we please. Kent also has some weird weighting that he does, like if we list two songs from the same artist - even though they aren't the same song - they get a bonus since we both listed them. This is the composite list of our no-repeat lists.

I'm sure no one cares about this but Kent and I. But at least you can easily listen to them...

Brent's Top 20 2011 Tracks!

2012-01-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

In handy mixtape form! Thanks Leslie for the Everyone's Mixtape tip.

TOP 20

Name Artist Album

1. Rolling In The Deep Adele 21

2. Go Outside Cults Cults

3. My Mistakes Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer

4. The Words That Maketh Murder PJ Harvey Let England Shake

5. Sadness Is a Blessing Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes

6. Wicked Games The Weeknd House of Balloons

7. Two Cousins Slow Club Paradise

8. We Need a Myth Okkervil River I Am Very Far

9. The Last Goodbye The Kills Blood Pressures

10. Dirty Mister Dirty Generationals Actor-Caster

11. Lovers Lane Hunx & His Punx Too Young To Be In Love

12. Serve the People Handsome Furs Sound Kapital

13. Would You Say Stop? Acid House Kings Music Sounds Better with You

14. I Miss My Friend Madeline Black Velvet

15. Shangri-La YACHT Shangri-La

16. New Year's Eve Tom Waits Bad As Me

17. California EMA Past Life Martyred Saints

18. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out The Antlers Burst Apart

19. Tina Said Those Darlins Screws Get Loose

20. Mr. Know It All Kelly Clarkson Stronger

TOP 50

Name Artist Album

1. Rolling In The Deep Adele 21

2. Go Outside Cults Cults

3. My Mistakes Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer

4. The Words That Maketh Murder PJ Harvey Let England Shake

5. Sadness Is a Blessing Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes

6. Wicked Games The Weeknd House of Balloons

7. Two Cousins Slow Club Paradise

8. We Need a Myth Okkervil River I Am Very Far

9. The Last Goodbye The Kills Blood Pressures

10. Dirty Mister Dirty Generationals Actor-Caster

11. Love Out of Lust Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes

12. Lovers Lane Hunx & His Punx Too Young To Be In Love

13. Serve the People Handsome Furs Sound Kapital

14. Would You Say Stop? Acid House Kings Music Sounds Better with You

15. I Miss My Friend Madeline Black Velvet

16. Hanging from a Hit Okkervil River I Am Very Far

17. Shangri-La YACHT Shangri-La

18. Ten-Twenty-Ten Generationals Actor-Caster

19. New Year's Eve Tom Waits Bad As Me

20. California EMA Past Life Martyred Saints

21. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out The Antlers Burst Apart

22. Parentheses The Antlers Burst Apart

23. Bumper Cults Cults

24. Tina Said Those Darlins Screws Get Loose

25. Mr. Know It All Kelly Clarkson Stronger

26. Rich Kids Blues Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes

27. Do I Have Power Timber Timbre Creep on Creepin' On

28. Most Wanted Cults Cults

29. Bury Me Standing Handsome Furs Sound

30. Get Some Lykke Li Wounded Rhymes

31. Victory Dance My Morning Jacket Circuital

32. You Know What I Mean Cults Cults

33. I Promise Generationals Actor-Caster

34. Let England Shake PJ Harvey Let England Shake

35. Someone Like You Adele 21

36. Two Lovers The Rural Alberta Advantage Departing

37. Your Past Life as a Blast Okkervil River I Am Very Far

38. No Widows The Antlers Burst Apart

39. Under Cover of Darkness The Strokes Angles

40. Damn These Vampires The Mountain Goats All Eternals Deck

41. Where I'm Going Cut Copy Zonoscope

42. Shake It Out Florence & The Machine Ceremonials

43. You Say It Too Generationals Actor-Caster

44. The Curse of Being Young Hunx & His Punx Too Young To Be In Lo

45. Inn of the Seventh Ray Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer

46. Goshen Beirut The Rip Tide

47. Holdin' On To Black Metal My Morning Jacket Circuital

48. Wake and Be Fine Okkervil River I Am Very Far

49. To Have in the Home Woods Sun & Shade

50. Tell Me Tom Waits Bad As Me (Deluxe)

2012 New Years Resolutions

2011-12-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

Brent

Since I didn't accomplish this last year, I would like to put doing dishes nightly back up there.
Only eating local food.
Committing to our garden.
Finish my timeline - I'm working on a timeline that plots my life from high school to present. I'm at 1997 currently.
Be in a position to buy a new house by year's end.
Build something out of wood.

Chuck

Write some form of a remembrance of Angelique.
Increase bike riding from last year.
Work out at work.
Visit Greg McDonald.

Chelsey

Be more "pro-Nebraska."
Live like society could collapse at any moment
Use my creativity/be more creative.

Lyric Analysis with Floyd

2011-12-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

I like to talk about lyrics, and since no one wants to talk to me about them, I feel like I should be able to get this out on on my blog.

So I have been singing Tom Waits songs to Edith when I feed her, and I noticed a theme to his songs that I wanted to share. In the world of Tom Waits, the things will never be as good as they used to be, and there is no way to recapture the past.

Exhibit A:

Yesterday Is Here

The whole point of this song is that things are only going to get worse. You have to wait for "yesterday" for things to be the way you want them to be. This song is great because there's a whip sound in it.

Exhibit B:

All the World is Green

This puts a finer point on things. It's specific. Referencing a marriage where things will only be set right when the world is new again. All the damage that a couple does to each other is never going to be undone. So as the years go by your world of green that you start with when you meet and fall in love slowly becomes damaged. And it's not coming back. He says it might come back after you die, but in the meantime, forget about it. Which is kind of sad I guess. But the converse message is to make the best of what you have. Which I am a big believer in, so that works for me.

Lastly Exhibit C

Walk Away

I really shouldn't be singing these songs to my kid. This one is about doing something horribly wrong and wanting the opportunity to go back "and do it over again" - but this time do the right thing.

So there are two things going on here. Either this is a strong enough theme that may little sampling of songs I can remember lyrics to reflects a larger trend. Or subconsciously I'm dealing with a lot of regret issues.

Also, for the record I wish there was a rule that you could only include album art on youtube videos, so that the vast array of douchey Tom Waits photos could die their well-deserved death.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 31

2011-12-21T14:09:00.002-08:00

Loose Ends

First off thanks everyone for your participation. I appreciate it.

Second, if there was a topic that I missed that you wanted to weigh-in on, feel free to add it now as a comment.

Third I actually have a word document that collects everyone's answers and I'll send it out once I am absolutely sure no one wants to add a comment that they haven't gotten around to yet (Leslie's favorite movie, Chelsey's most dreamboaty movie stars, etc.).

Until then . . .

Chuck

30 Day Movie C

2011-12-21T14:09:00.001-08:00

DEATH NOTICE

2011-12-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

I got this email from my mom today. I feel like this is an accurate representation of a typical conversation with her. Just intersperse some "oh"s and "ok"s along the way. And take out the "Love, Mom."

Also, Chelsey, it looks like mom might not be able to babysit tomorrow after all. That's in there somewhere.

DEATH NOTICE (actual email subject - all caps)

Rats, Brent, I just checked the obits and XXX XXX's stuff (the cousin who died) is going to be thursday evening with funeral on Friday! the visitation starts at 4, so if Gram would be okay with just going then and staying only an hour, it would be fine with me. Less congestion etc. plus, it is at St. Thomas More Chucrch and I don't know the setup there at all for walkers etd. Still, this gal has a grandaughter with Spina bifida so I bet they would have thought of that. It's just bad timing all around! She died on Monday so i wish they would have bumped everything up one day, given how hectic this season is for everyone. Just wanted to give you the heads up about possible cancellation of thurs. babysitting and Friday shopping. I would hope gram would bow out of participating but she may expect me to go to one or the other of the major stuff. Sorry. Like I said, just bad timing, but I will keep you posted. Love, Mom PS I don't even have anything to wear to a galdarn funeral so I am going to have to go out and buy something!!!!!

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 30

2011-12-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

Favorite/Best movie

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

brent's

kent's

Wendy's

Leslie's

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 29

2011-12-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

Funniest movie

I know Raising Arizona will be voted in by someone so I'll pick my number two: Young Frankenstein.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 28

2011-12-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Favorite musical

For a long time this would have been West Side Story, but it has been usurped by Jesus Christ Superstar.

Brent's pick

Kent's pick; I can't believe this is not available on Netflix

Wendy's pick

Chelsey's excellent pick

Leslie's pick

December 14

2011-12-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

This date is special. The following things happened on December 14.

1) Chelsey and I met (2004)
2) I proposed to Chelsey (2005)
3) We got Deuce (2008)
4) Chelsey got her scooter (2009)
5) Edith was conceived (2010)

Which means something really badass will most likely happen today. Maybe we will get rid of Deuce.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 27

2011-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Dreamiest movies stars ever.

Mine are Grace Kelly and James Dean.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 26

2011-12-13T06:22:00.000-08:00

Favorite/best tv movie or mini-series.

I don't watch a lot of tv movies or mini-series. I've never seen Roots or the Thornbirds. I remember our dad being strangely riveted to Shogun when I was a kid. I'll pick Angels in America because there are performances in it that I found amazing, including Al Pacino's and Mary Louis Parker's.

Leslie's pick.

Brent's pick.

Wendy's pick -

Kent's pick!

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 25

2011-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

If you could make one person no longer a movie star i.e. they would appear in no more movies and their cannon of movies would disappear, who would you pick.

I have never like Michael Douglas in anything, excepting perhaps The Game. My female candidate would be Melanie Griffith, which I think would eliminate the movie Harper, which would be sad, but it would ultimately be worth it.

Three Bike Accidents

2011-12-12T06:26:00.000-08:00

This past week, my nephew (Wendy's son Jude) had a pretty crappy bike accident. I wanted to pass along my own bike disaster memories so that he could see he wasn't alone in his struggle to stay on two wheels. Here is the email I sent to Wendy. After re-reading it, I decided that I wanted it to share it for posterity. It's cleaned up a bit. In the first story, I actually racked myself severely, but figured there was not delicate way of saying that. And in the last one I was at least a little drunk. No need to share that.

First, when I was his age, Chuck and I were jumping our bikes at the churchyards in Logansport. We had a ramp set up, but I guess it was too close to a shed that was on the parking lot. I had made the jump several times, but on my last jump, I struggled to land, and ran straight into the shed. It threw me off my seat and into my handlebars. I hopped up from the wreck, and ran straight home, I was so mad and embarrassed and hurt.. Bad day.

But not the worst bike accident I ever had. The one that hurt the most happened in New Orleans. I was biking home from the grocery store in the street, when some lady opened her car door in front of me without looking. The door took out my bike and I flew straight into the side of her door. The main impact was on my shin. It split the skin wide open, and my leg swelled up so it looked like a tennis ball was underneath. So much swelling I could barely walk for the next week. I had to have the welt lanced to relieve the pain and pressure. When the sore finally healed (it took the whole summer) the scab that fell off was big and thick as a thin mint cookie. It was incredible. I still have a lump there on that shin.

Still not the worst. The worst was actually pretty similar to Jude's. I was biking home from my job on St. Charles Avenue late one night, and I must have hit something or something hit me. It was very dark. I don't really know what happened, because I lost consciousness. When I came to, I woke to the feeling of my chin dragging along the road. I had been knocked off my bike and basically landed on my face. I got to my feet, and tried to ride home. It felt like my face was on fire, and little drops of blood were accumulating on my shirt and bike on the way home. By the time I got home, my whole front side was bloody. I took a look at myself in the mirror that night, and I couldn't see any skin on my chin at all. Just blood and scab. I had a concussion from the accident, so I threw up after that. Then I went to bed. NEVER DO THIS. I WAS LUCKY. You aren't supposed to fall asleep after a concussion, but I was super-loopy from the crash. The next day, I tried to go to school, but I was in a fog. I got to class late, and everyone gasped when I opened the door. But my fellow students were very kind. They helped me get to the Medical Clinic on campus, where the staff diagnosed my concussion, and told me it was too late for stitches. When I got home from school I discovered that I had gravel embedded in my chin. I spent several excruciating minutes digging it out, but I did a lousy job. I would find little pieces of concrete in my chin over the course of the next few months. I had a very deep cut on my chin which took a log time to heal. But I also had a great story. Sometimes I would make things up when people would ask me about it. And then, when I met Chelsey, we discovered that both of us had a scar in that same spot on our chins. So maybe it was meant to be.

Best Albums of 2011

2011-12-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

Brent's and Kents! Please submit yours to me, and I'll add them accordingly...

Brent's Top 10!

10) Slow Club:Paradise - I had a bunch of albums tied for 10th, at the end, it was either this, or Those Darlin’s. Slow Club won because the first song, Two Cousins, is so good. It gets me excited for the whole album. It never tops the opener. But especially as a sophomore effort, I really think they did a bang-up job

9) Allo Darlin’: Allo Darlin’ - This came out in 2010, and has the worst name I can think of for a band. So that was two strikes right there. But it’s sweet and clever in the way that Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura can be. Horrible name. It bears repeating.

8) Adele:21 - There are some lousy songs on this thing, but it also includes two songs that could be the song of the year for me. And several others that might be in that category if they were in the shadow of the Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You. And I love the concept of Adele being a popstar who outsold like everyone else this year.

7) The Weeknd:House of Balloons - I am the last person that should be liking this album, and I’m sure I don’t get all its references, but it won me over. It sounds like 1990’s R&B to me, but I’m sure I have that wrong. Much more than the sum of its parts.

6) Hunx & His Punx:Too Young to Be in Love - Phil Spector girl-group songs sung by a gay! Where do I sign up? I loved this album. Pure joy. And then they whip out this raspy-voiced lady singer! Even better.

5) The Anlers:Burst Apart - Their last album, Hospice, was great, but sounded lousy. This album is good but it sounds great. The Antlers make great songs. Every Nigh My Teeth Are Falling Out. Come on.

4) Lykki Li:Wounded Rhymes - Any of these next three could be my number one album. Lykki Li is like 20 or something. It’s crazy how good these songs are when you consider how young she is. There seems to be a real trend of retreading Phil Spector. But her Sadness is a Blessing is the only take on it that expanded on it in any way. Love Out of Lust is going to be one of my favorite songs as long as I am in love. Rich Kid Blues and Get Some should be on the radio.

3) Cults:Cults - Okay, I take that back. I think the Cults reference the Spector sound and they do some good stuff with it indirectly. Go Outside is one of my favorite songs of the year, which is unfortunate because it was released last year. The album is 2011 however, and songs like You Know What I Mean and Bumper grew on me all year. Kent hit the head on the nail. This is next what seems to be a constant line of noise guy/girl singer bands (Sleigh Bells, Crystal Castles).

2) Generationals:Actor-Castor/Trust - I’m lopping together the EP and the album because both were excellent. I wanted like the dickens to put as my number one entry. But the only problem with this band - it’s fundamental to them and I don’t think they should change it - their lyrics don’t mean anything to me. So you have these unbelievably songs and pretty good production, but the words don’t take me anywhere. Which is a shame. It was by far the best tunes of the year in my opinion. Yes, I just said tunes.

1) Okkervil River:I Am Very Far/Mermaid - I love this band, and this is their best work since Black Sheep Boy. Also, as Kent pointed out to me last month, the Mermaid Single is a real piece of work too. Will Scheff is kind of a jerk, as I learned this year. But I will take his lyrics over almost anyone at this point. And they take enough left turns musically to make it an interesting album in that regard as well.

Kent's Picks!
http://www.elbuzzard.com/archives/2011/12/bestmusicof2011

Legitimately Good Albums

Okkervil River - I Am Very Far - After two less-than-memorable releases, Okkervil River pulls it together. They've finally got the "rock n roll" sound they were trying for on The Stage Names down, yet there is plenty of rambling woe is me Okkervil River songs as well. Pity that the best song, Mermaid, was only released as a single.
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo - Brent thought it was odd that I would like this album so much, due to its lyrics of woe, and I thought it was odd that he would like it so much, due to its guitar virtuosity. Kurt Vile does both things really well. I like that the guy has such a terrible voice (All my favorite singers couldn't sing). I like the too lazy to be punk aesthetic. I like that just about every episode of my new favorite terrible TV show, Revenge, has a song off this album in it.
Tom Waits - Bad as Me - Like Okkervil River, Tom Waits has been putting out some crummy albums of late. I suppose I shouldn't say crummy, because Tom Waits and Okkervil River's crap is way better than most other bands best efforts. Anyway, this is Tom Waits' best work since Mule Variations. I like the way each song goes in it's own direction, rather than the unified sound of Real Gone.

Good Albums That Aren't As Good As The Legitimately Good Albums, But Are Still Pretty Good.

Generationals - Actor-Caster - Generationals make a strange kind of music. It's nostalgic pop, but with a synthesizer twinge. It's like they have taken samples of old music and stitched them together. The guitar sounds like it is straight out of the 60s. The production is great, and they have a great ear for adding odd instruments to the mix without overdoing it. I had 3 chances to go see them this year, and did not make a single one, and I regret that. I think their biggest accomplishment is being a New Orleans band that doesn't sound like a New Orleans band.
The Antlers - Burst Apart - Once you make a great concept album, I feel like you have to keep on making concept albums. It just seems weird to not over-analyze an Antlers album as a whole.
Other Lives - Tamer Animals - Apparently they have another album that sounds just like this one. I must have had it at some point, because Brent has it. Apparently it didn't survive the yearly purge of crappy music. The three song stretch of Tamer Animals, Bust Bowl III, and Weather is just fantastic reverb-y goodness.
Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress - I love a lo-fi sound. I love recorded loops. I love harmonies. Naturally, I really enjoy Yellow Ostrich's weirdo album. All the songs are pretty much the same, but the sound is fantastic.

Albums that have one or two really good songs on them, and a bunch of filler.

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
EMA - Past Life of Martyred Saints
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

Albums with a great sound that don't have any great songs on them

Wu Lyf - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain
The Dodos - No Color

Album that would have been on this list had Kurt Vile not come around
and said "This is how you do it"

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 24

2011-12-09T07:19:00.000-08:00

Best/most memorable experience watching a movie in a theater . . .

I was going to say seeing Pulp Fiction the night it debuted in San Francisco, but then I remembered that I got to tux it up and attend the premiere of Vincere when I went to Cannes. The movie was meh, but the experience was pretty cool.

Brent's finest hour

Kent's Lucky Apple experience:

Wendy!

Chelsey's pick

In the Event of my Untimely Death

2011-12-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

I would like to be buried in my seer sucker suit. With a white button-down shirt, and and my brown tie that a has narrow white designs on it. I would like to be wearing my Andrew Jackson lapel pin, and have my New Orleans Sains zippo in my inside jacket pocket. I would also like my Lombardi Tropy included somehow, and if possible I would like "Chelsey" tattooed over my heart. I don't know if they tattoo dead people, so someone will need to find that out.

30 day movie challenge day 23

2011-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Scariest movie you have ever seen . . .

The Grudge, The Exorcist, Ju-on, and most recently Insidious make the list but I'll say The Shining is still the scariest.

I think part of the reason this stuck with us so much is that we had a brief membership to HBO or The Movie Channel when this was making it's way onto cable. I remember I had to leave the room with this would play.

Kent's choice

Here's a song I had forgotten about.

2011-12-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

Chuck remember how you loved these guys? I put my favorite one below. The Jeweler. So serious. So important. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I liked that song so much...

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 22

2011-12-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry, for the delay. I have been swimming in it at work. I think maybe I listed my favorite foreign movies on facebook and so did Kent, but hey . . . let's all do it!

My favorite foreign movie is still Pan's Labryinth, but I really like rules of the game, 2046, Chungking Express, Nights of Cabria etc.

Wendy's choice

Brent's pick

Leslie's pick

Kent's pick

Chuck, what happened? Where did the movie challenge go?

2011-12-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

On an unrelated note. I'm so lucky to be married to this person.

Look at that hair!

Music Reviews

2011-12-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/16098-el-camino/

Every so often I read a music review like this one, and I never know what to think.

Part of me wants to roll my eyes at how they have used the release of a fairly popular record to show everyone how creative they can be in the context of a review. That part of me doesn't really care to read their assessment of the band up to this date, or where they fit with a Chrysler commercial. Just tell me what you think of the album. I don't relate to you metaphors. They may be well-conceived, but they don't seem very universal. And I don't care.

The other part of me thinks that this is exactly how I might write this type of review. Take an interesting angle. Make it not so conventional. Start paragraphs with "The Lyrics!" All that sort of stuff.

My conclusion from all this is that I kind of hate myself. Which I guess I knew already, but here is further proof.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 21

2011-12-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

Movie that you have seen most often:

When we were kids we had the tv version of The Blues Brothers on tape and we watched the hell out of it. I'm not even going to put a trailer for the theatrical version on this post because it would minimize the specialness of the tv version experience. Anyway, Blues Brothers is the movie I have watched the most and I haven't seen since I was 17.

Chelsey's choice

Brent's choice, I remember when this came out and played at the Dundee during my senior year at Creighton. None of us had any idea how huge it was going to be.

Here's Leslie's. I went with Star Wars.

Kent's pick

Wendy's pick:

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 20

2011-12-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

Movie that you had high hopes for and were disappointed by.

For some reason I had very steep expectations for Ang Lee's The Hulk. I think I expected him to tap into the sadness within rage. He did not really go there. I tapped into the sadness within disappointment.

I am right there with you on your pick Wendy. Man did i want it to be funny. In fact just watching the trailer make me think, maybe I should watch it again.

Agree with Brent's pick too:

Kent's pick:

GLEE AWESOMENESS

2011-12-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

So Chelsey and I still watch this television show. Last night Finn sang Girls Just Want to Have Fun. And it was awesome.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 19

2011-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Best/favorite line in a movie . . .

It's hard to pick just one I'll go with, "And that's how you play get the guest" from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xqc3r3uKJY

Brent's

http://youtu.be/Nx7vZL6BBDo (embedding isn't allowed. You should really watch the whole clip, but 2:13 is where it gets good).

AM I NOT YOUR GIRL?

2011-11-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 18

2011-11-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

Movie that you used to like, that you no longer care for and are kind of embarrassed by:

I used to really like the movie The Crow. I remember making Wendy watch it with me when I lived in San Francisco. I still like some parts, but it's really, really cheesy.

Brent:

Leslie's pick, which I have never seen

Wendy's pick which I have also never seen:

Kent's pick

30 Day Movie Challege Day 17

2011-11-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

Best/favorite acting performance in a movie. I'm going to think about this one a little bit before answering.

Kent's pick

my pick

Wendy's choice

Brent's pick

Thankfulness

2011-11-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

Killing time at work!

Top 20 things I'm thankful for:

King Edith - my compass spun when she came on the scene. I have no idea what was important to me before she showed up. Now every single decision I make starts with her. She is beautiful and I love her so.
Chelsey Erpelding - My beautiful wife who kept King Edith safe for nine months, and delivered a beautiful baby without any complications. I can't believe how someone who needs sleep so badly suddenly operated on like four hours a night without showing any ill effects. She made the most graceful transition to motherhood, and she will always be the love of my life.
Side Door - Chelsey's dad put a new door on the side of our house this year. It's so great. Not as great as the baby, but pretty darn great.
Weekend football - Every weekend I get to watch football with my brother while he holds Edith. It's a scene I never ever imagined we would participate in, but it's become a weekly ritual that makes me happy to have such a great brother.
Presents - So many people did such great things for us in advance of King Edith's arrival. Hand-made blankets, cute outfits, lots of Target gift cards. And then after we arrived, having in-laws help take care of her, or bring us sustenance when we were too tired to eat. Nice families. Nice friends. Amen.
New Tom Waits and Okkervil River albums - two of my favorite artists made two great albums this year. Hallelujah. Now I just need the Silver Jews to get back together.
Trip to Logansport with siblings - this should be way higher, but this trip to our old hometown was really special. Seeing stuff I barely remembered. Seeing stuff I remembered very well. Getting to spend time with my siblings again. Eating Noble Romans pizza. A wonderful trip that couldn't have come at a better time.
The two weeks of FMLA I got to spend with my mom and Edith - I don't normally get to hang out with my mom for that length of time. We were able to visit museums and malls and eat breakfast together. Obviously it would have been nicer if she wasn't going insane over grandma at the time, but realistically what would the likelihood of something like be?
My new computer at work - My old computer hated me, and then I hated it. And then we hated each other at the same time for a while. And then it would lock up. My new computer has two screens and hurts my neck, but it's still way better.
My dumb dog - Deuce has tested the limits of what is lovable this year. Acting like a dick, needing expensive surgery, getting up in the middle of the night. Sometimes that dog can be a real pile of garbage. Yet there is something unsinkable about him. He serves as a constant reminder that chaos rules in our house. He hates everything but us. And he loves us so much it's annoying. I don't know what we'd do without him.
All the people who reached out when Angelique died - I was blown away by how many people who did and said kind things when we lost Angelique. Amazing. Humbling.
The Superfriends Movie Club - I like watching and writing about movies. Finally there is a group for me.
The Cake Gallery - this year we found a bakery that makes the most delicious cakes. Giant, five-layer, knock you over, super-moist cakes. They are super expensive. I love them.
H&M opening in Kansas City. What great news this is. Now I can buy my dress shirts (the only ones I've found that fit me right) without having to go to Chicago.
Adele - I'm so happy that everyone likes Adele. I hope she gets her voice fixed. I hope she keeps making albums that everyone likes. I hope she keeps naming them by her age at the time she makes them. Conversely, I wish Katy Perry would stop doing whatever she's doing immediately. Are you aware that her album is now tied with Thriller for having the most #1 records. What god would allow this?
I Love Toy Trains - When we got Direct TV I was excited to watch two shows - I Love Toy Trains, and The In Crowd. One is about Toy Trains. The other is about high-society homosexuals. Predictably the trains proved to be more entertaining. This is the format of ILTT - in the 1990's this hobby store decided to shoot video of all these sweet toy train set-ups. That's it. They even have a camera that fits in the engine, so you can see these set-ups from the train's point of view. I watch it every week.
My sister's recent visit to Omaha - few and far between that I can hang out with my sister in Omaha without a 92-year-old grandma in-tow. This should also be ranked higher. This year I got to eat at the Radial Cafe with both my mom and sister. Talk about great!
Kent Woynowski and his ever-expanding music library - This should definitely be higher. Thank god for Kent, and his willingness to join me in wading through lots of crappy music each year, in the hopes of finding the good stuff. And then we talk about it. And get mad. It's the best.
Omaha - while I dream of leaving someday, it's pretty great living in a town that has the following: a) great farmers market b) cheap everything c) no traffic ever d) pretty old buildings e) nice people f) good bands coming through and g) lots of trees. If it had less hills and white trash, it would be perfect.
Tragedy and Elation - I walk around this world largely unconnected to the emotional overtures going on around me. Emotions embarrass me. They make me go in the other direction. I don't understand how to interact with them. Which is why the extremes appeal to me so much. I get them. It's obvious. So I'm thankful for the humanity I feel during both. They remind me that I can be a human, just like the rest of you.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 16

2011-11-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

Favorite/best (your choice) scene in a movie.

I was thinking about this while I was walking Birdy last night. I considered the Get the Guest scene in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, or the Christopher Walken/Dennis Hopper scene in True Romance but I'm going to go with the scene between Frank and Donnie Darko in the movie theater in Donnie Darko. It breaks my heart every time.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 15

2011-11-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

Half way home on this deal.

Favorite documentary:

I like Hoop Dreams, Stevie, Lake of Fire, Inside Job and many others, but I'm going with When We Were Kings.

Brent's choice

Trailer provided by Video Detective

Kent's pick

Wendy's pick

Brent's List of 2011 Music that isn't any good

2011-11-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

Hey All -

I am starting to pare down my music so I can start making my best of lists. The first step is to eliminate the stuff I could never get into or appreciate. Here is that list. Please let me know of any songs or albums that deserve a further listen for any reason:

Cass McCombs
Death Cab for Cutie
The Decemberists
Fergus & Geronimo
The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian
Guillermo Sexo
I'm From Barcelona
Iceage
The Low Anthem
Man Man
Micachu & The Shapes
Noah & The Whale
Quitron
Smith Westerns
Toro Y Moi
tUnE-yArDs
TV On The Radio
Wilco
Youth Lagoon

DVD Commentary done right.

2011-11-22T05:44:00.000-08:00

Maybe some of you have already seen this. My friend Jon posted it on FB this morning. There's some unfortunate editing here, and it goes on quite a while. But still funny.

30 Day Movie Challenge 14

2011-11-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

Favorite animated movie

I like the Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Spirited Away and a many others, but I am voting for WAll-E

Brent, your American Pop is my Jesus Christ Superstar.

Kent's pick

Wendy doesn't care for Asian cats

Leslie's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge 13

2011-11-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

Movie that lots of other like minded people like that you just don't get.

Brent, Kent and I have talked about this already, but I get almost nothing out of Oh Brother Where Art Thou. It seems so mannered, as to be emotionally empty.

Kent's pick

Brent's pick

Wendy's pick

In your face.

2011-11-17T20:02:00.001-08:00

Workaholics

2011-11-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

Last night Chelsey and I watched the most recent Workaholics. This scene has been making me laugh ever since. My guess is that you have to be a fan of the show for this to be as funny as it is to me, but just in case I'm posting it. You have to watch to the end to get the full effect.

Workaholics

Tuesdays at 10:30/9:30c

Preview - Karaoke Song Selection

www.comedycentral.com

Comedy Central

Funny Videos

Funny TV Shows

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 12

2011-11-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

Movie that you have watched and really disliked.

This is an easy one for me: Crash.

Chelsey's choice

Brent's choice

Wendy's controversial pick

Kent's pick. Insanity.

Leslie's pick along with Kill Bill Vol I.

I know this is kind of unsufferable...

2011-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

But it also kind of makes me happy.

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Eleven

2011-11-16T06:02:00.000-08:00

Favorite classic movie.

I'm going to arbitrarily pick a cutoff date of 1960. So anything from the 1950's and back. Feel free to chose your own cutoff mark.

Here are some I like - Rope, Rules of the Game, M, Harvey, The Last Dictator

I'll ultimately go with 12 Angry Men

Brent's pick

Here's Wendy's

Kent's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day 10

2011-11-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

Movie that has the best soundtrack:

I'm not sure if it's the best, but the soundtrack that I most fully embraced was Until the End of the World. I think I've owned like three copies, but I kept buying it because I liked it that well.

Brent's selection:

Wendy!

Kent's pick. You forget how good this movie is.

Leslie's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Nine

2011-11-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

What movie comes the closest to being a perfect movie. Maybe it isn't your favorite, but it seems the best done.

My vote is for The Exorcist. That movie just seems to have no bad or extraneous movies in it.

Brent's pick. I'm not putting in the Shawshank Redemption due to the whole helping the whole young hood get his GED section.

Leslie's pick

Kent's pick.

Wendy's pick:

Achtung Baby In Review

2011-11-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Kent was nice enough to get me the newest reissue of Achtung Baby. This used to be my favorite album. For years and years. I like U2's entire body of work, but Achtung Baby came out when I was like 17 years old and I thought it sounded like the future of music. Embarrassing, I know, but that's what I thought.

So in the years that followed, I gained some perspective on all this. U2 got worse as a band, and I began to seek out a rougher aesthetic to my music. I favored more do-it-yourself production. And music made from weird instruments. And lyrics about things less grandiose than who was going to ride my wild horses.

Achtung Baby became something that represented a more naive time in my musical appreciation. It was so sincere, and in some ways, a one-note album. The same guitar is seemingly used throughout the album. The Fly and Ultraviolet light are essentially the same song with different lyrics. All those things seemed like sins to me.

I always knew I would love the album, but in the same way I love Star Wars. I know it's flawed. I like it anyways. But the re-release on its 20th anniversary brought me a little deeper perspective on the album.

First, it made me feel old. Everything seems to make me feel old. Players I cheered for in college back then are all retired from the pro careers now. They all look like old men. Bobby Hurley looks like a gramps. But I'm okay with this. I'm old. Whatever.

Second, I think I had a bigger appreciation for where this hit in U2's progression as a band. I don't think I had any idea how much people thought they were dopes for putting out Rattle and Hum. I loved that album, but failed appreciate how over-the-top it was in terms of U2 taking themselves seriously. Whatever punk credibility they had going into that tour was gone by the end. They were dopes. I had no sense of this. I though Rattle and Hum was the best thing since sliced bread. All that earnestness, all that Americana, all those duets with choirs. I ate it up.

Thirdly, given the new-found appreciation for where the band was at when they made Achtung Baby, I am really impressed that this is what they came up with. So many bands struggle to get back their magic after it's gone. Few do so successfully. I always hear that U2 decided to poke fun at their former image on this record, but more than that, they did so while making a really good album. I would say their masterpiece "One" is on there, and some of Bono's best lyrics - which admittedly is not saying much.
Lastly, I think I have a greater appreciation for the overarching themes of the album, and I think it's solid. It starts with all this appeals for the band to stop being so U2-y. And then goes on this journey to find out what's there in the absence of being socially conscious nerd bottoms. So the trajectory of the album goes from the sort of high-energy songs that explore love and religion and generally lofty pursuits. But it slowly bogs down again under its own weight. Heaviness returns, but it's not the social injustice variety. It's the heaviness of the aftermath of self-discovery. The weight that follows those bursts of freedom. Coming down. I feel like Love is Blindness captures that aptly. So it's journey into what happens when you set yourself loose, and find that you can't outrun your own demons. That's pretty cool.

So I just want to publicly apologize to U2 for turning my back on this album for so long. They made a really nice album. It was good when I was 17. It's good at 37. You made some real crap after Zooropa, but this here is a solid record.

So far this month I have apologized to gutter punks and U2. Who is next?

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Eight

2011-11-11T06:41:00.001-08:00

What is the movie that you are most inclined to watch to its completion when you see its playing on t.v.?

I have a few of these - The Matrix, Remember the Titans, but I'll go with Constantine.

Brent, I applaud your actually choosing good movies.

Here is Chelsey's pick.

Here's Kent's pick. I picked the trailer for third movie because it's my favorite and super gay.

Here's Leslie's pick. Leslie, we are only as sick as our secrets. I applaud your openness.

Wendy's choice

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Seven

2011-11-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Favorite movie with your favorite actress in it.

Right now I'd say my favorite actress is maybe Parker Posey?? And my favorite movie with her is probably Dazed and Confused. But my favorite movie that she is the star of is probably The House of Yes, which I haven't watched since it came out but I remember really liking.

Here's Chelsey's choice

And Brent's

Kent's choice, which evidently has the great Charles Napier in it.

Wendy's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Six

2011-11-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite movie with your favorite actor in it? Tomorrow we will do actress.

My favorite actor is probably Paul Newman and my favorite movie with him is probably Cool Hand Luke.

Brent's pick

Here's Kent's pick

Leslie's pick

Wendy's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Five

2011-11-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Favorite love story in a movie. . .

I'll go with In the Mood for Love, although I considered Moulin Rouge and Remains of the Day.

Chelsey's pick

Wendy's pick

Brent's pick

Kent's pick

30 day Movie Challenge Day Four

2011-11-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

Name a movie that makes you sad.

A movie that I really, really like that also make me sad is Dancer in the Dark.

Kent, it is terrific that you have seen this movie at all, let alone have clearly seen it multiple times. I also love the movie Mrs. Miniver.

Brent's pick

Wendy's pick

Leslie's pick

Chelsey's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Three

2011-11-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

What is a movie that make you really happy when you watch it?

Okay, this is an odd choice, but I'll pick Jesus Christ Superstar. I could write a lot about this movie but I'll control myself. I am a non-believer, but I love this movie until hell won't have it. I wish I was watching it right now.

Chelsey's pick

Brent's pick

Kent's pick. I have also never seen The Goonies. I thought if you watched the movie Gremlins you didn't have to watch The Goonies. Turns out I picked the wrong one to watch.

Wendy's pick

30 Day Movie Challenge Day Two

2011-11-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

What is the most underrated movie in your option?

A while back I checked the rotten tomato scores for the movies on my best of the last decade list. The Way of the Gun may have been under 50% at that point, so I'll go with The Way of the Gun. I don't understand why it is so lightly regarded.

Brent's pick

Kent's pick

One day before I die, I will watch Bamboozled.

Leslie's pick

Wendy's pick

Discoveries

2011-11-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I figured out that Edith fits just about anywhere in a song where Jesus used to fit. I figured this out singing "Edith Gonna Be Here" in lieu of Tom Waits's "Jesus Gonna Be Here." That led to "Chocolate Jesus" being reinterpreted as "Chocolate Edith." I liked that one because I was able to change

"When the weather gets rough and it's whiskey in the shade, it's best to wrap your savior up in cellophane."
to

"When the weather gets rough and it's whiskey in the shade, it's best to wrap your daughter up in cellophane."

I am now taking suggestions for other Jesus songs.

Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
One Day at a Time (Sweet Jesus) - Kris Kristofferson
Jesus Fever - Kurt Vile

Just for Leslie:

30 day movie challenge?? Now wait a minute.

2011-11-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

I found a movie challenge on Stumbleupon. We all liked the music one right? Well, maybe we'll like this one. Wait shouldn't this be on our movie facebook page? I don't know. And I don't want to think about that.

First Question: What is the best movie you have seen in 2011?

For my purposes I'll answer it as my favorite movie that was released in 2011. I have not watched many of the best reviewed movies of 2011 yet, but of the movies I have seen, I'll go with The Tree of Life. It's super indulgent in places and very long, but also moving and very prettily shot.

Brent's pick.

Kent's pick.

Leslie's pick.

Wendy's pick.

Because it's important

2011-11-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

Kent and I got into an argument about our favorite Tom Waits songs the other day. Neither of us is pleased with the other's choice. But it's stronger than that. Upon relating our favorite song to the eachother we both set about suggesting other songs for the other to pick instead. That led to a debate about whose song was more of a "classic" in the Tom Waits cannon. (I'm not sure if I'm using the word cannon correctly there).

Anyways, here are the two songs. I know none of you are huge Tom Waits fans, but from an outsiders perspective, which one sounds more like a Tom Waits classic?

and

A Story

2011-11-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Since this blog is dedicated to fixing my memory problems, I just had a memory that I need to write down.

It was Lundi Gras in New Orleans. As per usual my friends and I were going to take drugs and go down to Frenchmen street. We did this every year. I don't know why. We just did it one year and kept doing it every year for like 5-6 years. Which is why I don't know which year it occurred.

But this is what would happen on those evenings. We would get dressed up in some Uptown apartment. Lots of glitter. Lots of eyeliner. Painful stuff. Then we would take in a healthy amount of alcohol and marijuana and pile into the back of a truck or something. The truck would stop at a spot on the St. Charles parade route where the interstate goes over the street. This creates just the right reverberation to be awesome. Especially if you are on drugs. Which we were.

Once the parade was over we would walk the rest of the way to Frenchmen. The walk was my favorite part. Going down through downtown, through the French Quarter, down Decatur street was something to do. And I always like to have things to do.

When we got to the Frenchmen area there were a lot of street drums and hippies. I hated it. And we would literally hang out there until like five in the morning, so it was always a long night. Which brings me to my story. (So far this hasn't been the story).

What would happen on Lundi Gras nights on Frenchmen is this: Dancing, Drum Circles, Rowdy Hippies, Rowdier Hippies, Stuff Gets Set on Fire, Fire Department Shows Up, We All Go Home.

This happened every year.

So on the night in question, knowing that it was going to be a long night, I found a place to sit. It was a couch in the middle of the street. There were always couches in the street on Lundi Gras. I don't know why, but they were always up in flames by the end of the night.

So being on acid, I made it my mission to protect this couch this year. I sat on the couch and drank my beer, and made sure that anyone who wanted to sit on the couch would not be setting it on fire anytime soon. This was my night. And as I mentioned before, I like to have something to do, so it brought be great joy. No dancing. No hippies. Just Brent and a beer and a couch that was not on fire.

Over the course of the night, I began to identify my enemies: people who would try to light my couch on fire. There were a few hippies or gutter punks or whatever that were eyeballing my couch, and had already set some other shit on fire that night.

Finally they approached. They tried to be nice, but I just told, flat our "Look I know why you are here, but you can't set the couch on fire."

They agreed, and in less than five minutes half the couch was ablaze. I ran over and dumped my beer all over it, and said "Look! I thought you said you weren't going to set it on fire!"

Too late. The rest of the couch was on fire. I sat there. Disgusted. Smoking a cigarette.

I went to tell my friends about it. I was still worked up. They didn't care. It was a hard thing to explain, and all my friends were more the sort to set things on fire.

Soon after, the fire was out of control, and we all got sent home.

I have always thought of this story as a indictment of the hippies that night. These tender fucking hippies who had no integrity whatsoever. But while I was showering today, I realized that probably those fucking hippies hauled that couch out of some hippie apartment so that they could set it on fire. And here some guy plops down on it, and tells them they can't light it on fire.

I guess I'm trying to say that I was out of line. And I'm sorry.

Welcome Back to Work!

2011-10-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

Today is Edith's first day of childcare. Likewise, I return to work from a 2 week sabatical, and Chelsey returns to full time employment for the first time since Edith showed up. This is a sad day in the Kosterpelding house. The kind of day that makes you reevaluate your life.

For instance, what sort of cost-cutting measures would allow one or both of us to stay at home? We don't need our badass cable or our badass cell phones. There's $200 in savings right there. And who says you need utilities? That's another $100. Anyway I add this up, it's not enough.

I have tried to talk Chelsey into going off the grid. This seems easy enough. Sell both our cars. Take the money. Go to Bolivia. Disappear. She points out that this plan is no good, as we don't have the title for either of our cars. She is right. The only option is to cash out our 401k's. There's a good-sized chunk of money in there. We don't have to worry about the taxes because of our new "off the grid" lifestyle. This could work.

In the meantime, I'm reading about how when Tom Waits had his first kid, he was in the process of taking over his management, and finding out he was broke. He was also moving to New York, and completely changing his musical style to something that his label told him would not sell. They ended up dropping him over it. That album turned out to be Swordfishtrombones, which restarted his career, and turned him from lounge act to what he is today. Of course he did all of this at the prodding of his wife, Kathleen Brennan. Thank you Chuck, for the fine book.

The answer is clear. I need to develop some sort of artistic and start to get paid handsomely for it. Then Chelsey is going to have to come in and make it like twice as good. Then we move to New York.

You Fool!

2011-10-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

So today I was over at the Goodwill store that's connected to our offices. I was taking a picture of some poorly installed graphics when a woman drove up in a SUV. Being the enterprising employee that I am, I didn't stand on ceremony. I greeted the woman, and started unloading her car. This of course is not my job, but I didn't want to explain that fact. Instead I grabbed the first thing she handed to me and went inside to find a donation attendant.

I spotted one immediately and told him that there's a woman in the donation lane "with a lot of crap." He grabbed a cart and ran out to help. I followed him and finished taking pictures. I even exchanged a friendly look with the lady on my way back out.

So I go back to my desk, and email the pictures of the crappy graphic to our installer. A moment later the store manager shows up and tells me the woman heard me call her donations "crap." Which I totally did, but I meant "crap" as in "stuff". And when I said it I was inside the store. Like inside the doors, and around a little barrier behind the doors. I have no idea how she even heard me.

But I apologize to the manager, and offer to come apologize to the woman in person. The manager laughs it off and says that the woman has already left, and that the donation attendant (whom the woman told of hearing me) had already smoothed it over. (Apparently the woman said, "Well, maybe it is all crap" and left.)

I'm so dumb.

Sing me a song

2011-10-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

I want to learn a song to sing to Edith. I need suggestions.

It needs to be somewhat easy to learn as I am terrible with remembering lyrics and it needs to be easy to sing as well as I am not gifted with a lovely singing voice.

Go!

What do you do with a cute baby like this?

2011-09-30T12:45:00.001-07:00

I am at a loss.

I get to go home and hold this baby.

Which is good and bad.

Good because holding this baby is all I want to do.

Bad because I don't give a shit about anything else.

Especially the last two hours of this fucking work week.

Congratulations, its a confusing novel about WWII era rockets and se-ual deviation

2011-09-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I have no idea what it was about, but I read every word. And what I mean by that is not that I didn't understand the greater themes, but the actual what's happening plot wise within the book was completely lost on me for large sections at a time.

Also I took me longer than Chelsey's pregnancy to read Gravity's Rainbow. I did also read a number of books over the course that I was reading it, but there is not a chance I could have read it straight through. It would have probably ruined me for reading forever. Anyway, if there is an extra fancy heaven for people who have struggled through difficult works of art, I believe I may have secured a place in it.

Happy Birthday Wendy!

2011-09-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Can you tell all the days are running together for me? I didn't realize it was your birthday until I went on facebook. I'm sorry you have such a dick for a brother.

Also - we got your package yesterday. So damn cute. Thanks!

Self Discovery

2011-09-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

So I have been doing this informal study of people who laugh at their own jokes. MY hypothesis going in was that I did not like people who laughed their own jokes. It makes me uncomfortable. I immediately look at the ground and wait for it to end.

I did this study so that I could have a quick litmus test as to whether I would like someone or not upon meeting them. But the results were surprising.

Once I started paying attention, I realized that many people I truly like laugh at their own jokes. Kent Woynowski laughs at his own jokes. This led me to my first conclusion:

I only dislike people who laugh at their own unfunny jokes.

Very interesting. I had no idea. But I dug a bit further, and discovered the following nuance.

The amount I don't like people who laugh at their own joke depends on how loudly they laugh at their own jokes and how much eye contact.

Eye contact is the worst part of this. I am incapable dealing with someone who is laughing at their own joke and looking at me while they do it. Unacceptable.

I also discovered:

Laughing as you tell a joke or funny story is no problem at all - it's just the post joke laughing I don't like.
Smiling while you tell a joke is fine
Laughing after a pun is fine. As long as you don't look at me.

I'm learning so much about myself.

5 years of marriage by the numbers

2011-09-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

1 baby
1 dog
1 scooter
1 house
1 apartment
1 graduates degree (Chelsey)
1 trip to Holland
1 Chuck Koster smoking cessation
1 Lombardi Tropy
1 stress fracture
1 retaining wall
1 Tom Waits show
2 digital cameras
2 Mardi Gras
2 TV's
2 blogs
2 sets of stitches (one set each)
2 half marathons (Brent)
2 trips to the beach
2 birds (dead)
3 Neko Case shows
3 lawnmowers (and 1 snow blower)
3 computers
3 cars (Hyundai, Versa, CR-V)
4 couches
4 jobs
4 Okkervil River shows
5 bikes
6 trips to New Orleans (3 including Chelsey)
7 cell phones
7 ipods (4 Brent 3 Chelsey)
7 email accounts
7 credit cards (currently 3)
8 pairs of Chuck Taylors
9 glorious days with Edith

Birth By Music

2011-09-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

We were about a third of the way through the pushing, Chelsey made a request.

"Can we turn the music up?"

I had prepared a delivery mix, full of songs that I thought might help Chelsey relax during delivery. They had been playing most of the afternoon, but I think she just needed them louder for delivery-distraction purposes. What she couldn't have known is that it ended up providing the perfect soundtrack to our meeting Edith. I was able to skip backwards through the playlist afterwards, and here are some highlights of what came on in the moments leading up to King Edith.

Right after we turned up the music this song came on. In between pushes we the nurse said to Chelsey "This is kind of your song", which was funny because Wendy had said the same thing about herself on this blog during the music challenge. It was also funny because I had never thought that before, but it completely made sense when she said it.

Jason Anderson - Thanksgiving

I don't have a youtube video for this song, but it's linked, you can click on it if you want to hear it. Jason Anderson is a singer Chelsey introduced me to during a trip to Chicago. She kind of new him through someone from Omaha, and we saw him at Schuba's, where we had seen Wolf Parade the night before. Wolf Parade was crazy good. I had low expectations for Jason Anderson. Which turned out to be dumb. He is one of those people - similar to Monotonix (for those of you who saw them with The Silver Jews) - who just has so much positive energy when he performs it overcomes all the jadedness in the crowd. And there is always plenty of jadedness at an indie show. It was a great show. And it felt so right that one of the few optimistic voices in my music catalog was singing my daughter into the world - albeit with a sad song.

I happen to know that Chelsey loves this song. Partially because of its tie-in with Twilight. Partially because it's a real beauty of a song. My ipod could not have picked a better song for her.

We never listen to this song. I have no idea why I put it on the mix. But it has such a good feeling. And it came up as we were getting really close to the end. And I remember thinking "What is this? It's perfect."

Speaking of perfect. Well, maybe not so perfect, but whatever. At one point Chelsey had to stop pushing, because our doctor wasn't there yet, and Edith's head was going to come out if she kept going. So imagine, if you will, being forced to wait with a baby's head wedged between your legs. Not comfortable. Actually really shitty. It was also bizarre, in that we were like five pushes away from having a baby, but we had this weird opportunity to stop and consider the fact we were like ten minutes away from being parents. There's nothing about New Slang that really speaks to that situation, but it's just good background music for contemplation. I'm sure Chelsey was just like "get this fucking baby out of me" the whole time, but for me this was the most emotional part of the delivery. Sitting there, listening to New Slang, and thinking how close we were to having a daughter.

So the doc finally shows, and we start pushing, and to the best of my knowledge this is what was playing when Edith made her grand entry to the world. It was either this, or a cover of "Papa was a rodeo" by Bright Eyes. Let's go with this, since it's much more inspiring for the moment of birth.

There are a few songs I remember from the aftermath, "Godspeed" by Jenny Lewis, The Good Times Are Killing Me" by Modest Mouse, and "Random Rules" by the Silver Jews. But this is the one that got the doctor's attention. The album version of it just has that piano line for a very long time, which confused her. She finally asked what that sound was. I told her it was a song, and she said "Oh, this music has been great. What are we listening to?" To which I tried to explain it was a mix, though not very successfully.

This is the second to last song I remember. This is a song Chelsey and I spoke about in detail a month or so ago. I finally took the time to look up the words to it, and I forwarded them to Chelsey saying I was surprised how such an avant garde artist wrote such a straight forward song about love. I think it's such a beautiful song about how bringing someone into your life makes you stronger - makes your life better. I completely agree with that point of view, but until Wednesday, it hadn't even occurred to me how much it applied to Edith. This is the song that I will take from the day she was born.

This is the last song I remember hearing in the delivery room. After that it was all cord blood donations and pictures. I'm so glad that I was able to recreate the sequence of these songs, so I can revisit that moment as the years go by.