Sunday, March 30, 2008

One small step for tiller, one giant leap for sustainability!

So it may not be the most impressive thing, but i finally got started on our garden today. I've been plotting (hah hah ... like a plot of land? Get it? ... is this thing on?) a garden for a while now - one that we could use to grow lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, cabbage, maybe even potatoes or eggplant!

It was an idea for about a half a year, and it's been made corporeal (almost) this weekend! Here's a few shots of the work in progress. I really love how you can see the shadow of the house elongating ... i was out there for a while! :-D

NEways, i don't have anything specific in mind for how it's going to look when i'm done, but i drew a concept design of what i expect the finished product to look like.

Christian

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Just Random - Prepare for Excess Verbiage

Now playing: Darling Nikki - Foo Fighters

I was originally going to make this post about the nostalgia that hit me while i was categorizing my friends on Facebook, but now that i've had a moment or three to cast my eye about and let it happen upon what it will, i find myself wanting to condense my original thoughts into one succinct phrase:

"Holy shit. It's been almost 14 years since i graduated from grade school."

Now playing: Living Dead Girl (Naked Exorcism Mix) - Rob Zombie

It's really odd seeing people on FB and almost getting the feeling like they're some strange apparition from the ghost of education past. I can remember going through grade school, but i'm sure you know what i'm talking about when i say that it essentially seems like a distant dream that may have happened in some alternate reality for all i can tell.

Now playing: Dance With the Devil - Breaking Benjamin

Lolz, i have like fifty songs showing in the last ten minutes because i spent a bunch of time formatting. I swear, i type more than 2 words per minute! Though admittedly i *read* much slower than that.

There's a lot of things going on in my life but i don't know that there's anything i can make a really good story out of. So i guess i'll start with two quick reviews of games i've played:

Assassin's Creed is one hell of a ride. It may not be as "Oh, so THIS is the next generation ..." as i would have hoped, but the gameplay and storyline are solid. A very good experience overall. I like how they felt like they had to have a disclaimer at the beginning that said "This game was developed by many people of different nationalities and religious beliefs." Something like that anyways. The game itself is far from offensive to anyone (i think) and plays off of both sides of religious fanaticism with equal fervor. I just feel like the disclaimer shouldn't matter - someone who would get offended by the game wouldn't even take the time to play it, let alone read that disclaimer. No offense to the idiots out there who claim that videogames are have usurped mammon's throne and claimed the title of "Root of All Evil", but it pisses me off that the biggest vocal opponents of video games are those least likely to play one.

I won't get into that whole argument further, though - there are valid points on both side, to be sure.

Now playing: Shame - Stabbing Westward

Second on the list is PixelJunk Monsters, which is truly demonstrative of the PS3 incredible Multi-Cell Dimensional Rift Worm Hole technology. You'll see what i mean after the jump ;-)

The game itself is VERY low on rewards and has an incredibly steep learning curve. This game should be on the virtual shelf of every sadomasochist out there - it's way cheaper than all that melted candle wax, boys and girls, and let me tell you ... it burns.

Not saying not to buy it, mind you, but if you have a PS3 and you want a 10-dollar game, try this instead.

Now playing: The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - XTC

Oh man, this song has perfect timing. Let me tell you a little something about Peter Pumpkin head: He came to town, spreading wisdom and cash around. He fed the starving and housed the poor - really showed the Vatican what gold's for. But he made to many enemies of the people who would keep us on our knees. Hooray for Peter Pumpkin! We pray for Peter Pumpkin Head!

If there is one thing i have to say i've always wanted to be, it's Peter. The guy who tells the tells the truth and makes enemies of the people who would oppress us. It's the guy who would make a difference in the society that he's living in ... no, the whole world. I think we all feel like we're meant to do something. I think we all realize that within every person lies the potential to change the world.

I've often thought about how to do it - how's it possible? How can you make people act towards each other as humans, not as animals? Because that's all we are in a world where possessions are valued above anything else. Animals. Except for the fact that animals know when to let well enough alone - you don't see a lion out there with a hoard of carcasses hanging out behind him and his bitches in the pool.

Now playing: My Name Is Jonas - Weezer

We've managed to convince ourselves that the only way to achieve the kind of "progress" that we have is to promote the ideal of "He who has the most toys wins." The reality of it is that we could still achieve everything we have today without sacrificing the majority to a life of servitude to the few.

I count myself lucky. I do. LuAnne and i don't have to worry about whether we'll have enough food to eat. About whether we'll have a place to sleep. Hell, we don't even have to worry about whether we could afford a second car. At the same time, i know that because she and i are fortunate, someone else is not. It's immature and ultimately irresponsible to believe that you could live the life you lead without someone else suffering for it. We live in a zero sum world - if you have more money than you need to survive, someone else has less than they need.

I've happened upon two books in the last few months that have really clicked many ideas together for me. Walden-Two by B.F. Skinner, and prior to that (but i'm still working on it) The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield.

Now playing: Breath - Breaking Benjamin

Now before you say anything: No, i'm not joining some weird cult. But as a student of religion and, by extension, humanity, i find it intriguing to hear my own thoughts and observations echoed in the voices of people i've never met. In the case of Skinner, by someone who wrote about those very thoughts over 60 years ago. The two books tie into each other in the way that everything does when you're willing to let them. What's perhaps the most astonishing thing about Walden-Two is the ease with which it comprehensively applies to the world today. There are, of course, things which need to be factored in having to do with technology and the advent of the global village.

Now playing: Zombie Me - No More Kings

But realistically all those things have done is made it easier to attain the goal and maintain the lifestyle of a utopian society based on and groomed by an understanding of the human condition. It's possible to give everyone everything they need, it's just a question of how to convince them that that's all that they want. Just as it's perceived as better to have loved and lost, we seem to believe that it's better to have watched HD in your living room and lost the TV in bankruptcy.

Now playing: Walk on By - Cake

As to The Celestine Prophecy, it's an entertaining book which offers an interesting explanation or two for things that students of life and humanity probably have noticed themselves at one time or another. Whether you believe in energy or not, it's hard to deny the psychological realities and applications of many of the things which are "observed" and suggested in the book.

When taken together, these two books make it almost impossible not to see the possibilities. More importantly, i feel like they make it impossible for a person with even slightly healthy mental faculties to say "We need Peter Pumpkinhead." Maybe what we really need is someone to say "Screw it - call me Peter from now on."

All music info provided via FoxyTunes.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Our Honeymoon in the Caribbean

So here's the link for the pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/xerotolerance

We haven't had a chance to fill in the captions yet, and we still have some waterproof camera pictures to develop and upload, but these are all the digital camera ones :-)

We also have some great vids, but some of them are huge.

I'm going to try to send out a CD of wedding pictures and videos as well as honeymoon ones. No promises, but if enough people want them i'll try to have it done by the end of the month :)

We have to get ready to go somewhere now, but i'll update this blog with a rundown of the places we went and things we did when i get back :-D

Monday, March 3, 2008

OMG Married

OK, so i thought i'd post a few links real quick (also on the side of the page) for everyone of the wedding!!

Feel free to go to:

My Sister's Pics

Sierra Blanco's Pics of the Wedding

Sierra Blanco's Engagement Pics

Scrapbooth Pictures

Thank you to everyone who made it!! We had such a good time - i can't even believe how much we enjoyed our wedding. You hear a lot about how fast it goes and how you have to really try to enjoy it and not get swept up in the craziness. I don't know if i succeeded in doing that, but i know that i've never had so much fun at a wedding.

Hopefully i'll find a way to get some vids up soon - enjoy the pics!! (and please remember to give credit where it is due if copying them - these folks deserve a round of applause for the awesome pics)

EDIT: Dave has some great pics, too - check 'em out!

EDIT: Also, please take a moment to vote for our vendors! We really think they all did a great job!!!

DJ/Videographer: Three Oceans Entertainment
Photographers: Sierra Blanco Photography
Caterer: Creations in Cuisine
Cake: Sugarlips
Reception/Wedding Venue: Harvest Groves
Wedding Planners/Florist: Cheval Events

There are a lot more categories to fill out before the vote counts, so if you can try to fill out the rest with something. I've included all our vendors, but it may not be enough. (they have a lot)

THANKS!!
Christian