Things are crazy around here lately. Hopefully soon I'll post about everything we've got going on.
In the meantime, watch the alternate ending for I Am Legend. I saw the theatrical release in the winter. It was mostly fun, but I hated the ending. However, the DVD has a much better alternate ending that is worth the 4 minutes. From what I understand, this ending is more true to the original story, and it gives an entirely different meaning to the title of the film. You can watch it here:
Notice: Stop what you're doing and immediately find a way to procure The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit. Personally, it's the most important album I've found in a years. I posted a video of "Head Rolls Off" recently, and while that song and video are amazing, the rest of the album is even better than that. Even if you completely disagree with my excellent musical tastes (TLAM), take a moment to listen. Consider my favorite song, "Old Old Fashioned":
Turn off the TV, it's killing us, we never speak There's a radio in the corner, it's dying to make a scene So give me soft, soft static with a human voice underneath We can both get old fashioned, cut the brakes on these fast, fast wheels
Let's get old fashioned, back to how things used to be If I get old, old fashioned, would you get old, old fashioned with me?
Put the wall clock in the top drawer, turn off the lights so we can see We will waltz across the carpet, one two three, two two three So give me the soft, soft static of the open fire and the shuffle of our feet We can both get old fashioned, do it like they did in forty-three
Let's get old fashioned, back to how things used to be If I get old, old fashioned, would you get old, old fashioned with me?
Hear it somehow. Listen to snips on iTunes. Go to YouTube. Actually, forget it. It's in my box.net widget. Click the fileshare link in the menu above, or just look for the widget in the sidebar. Tell me what you think in the comments. Their debut album, Sings the Greys, is also wonderful, but this album is perfect. Five stars.
This is weeks late now, but I wanted to post about our great trip down to Georgia to visit Shoeless Joel and his wife. You’ll have to reference back to this slideshow as you read the post:
(I was originally posting the pictures as I told the story, but the post was becoming ridiculously long. I think you can follow along, though). If the slideshow is giving you trouble, go to Flickr to view.
After a morning’s worth of hectic, last-minute packing and an evening’s drive down to Nashville, we crashed at our hotel and got some rest for a big day of exploration. We began at the mall, because I forgot to pack a belt (d’oh!). The mall was huge, a la Great Lakes Crossing…there was an awesome stingray pool in the mall, but don't ask me how I forgot to take pictures of that. Oh, wait...I remember: Jaden leaned too hard on an emergency security gate, and set of an alarm. We scurried out of there, embarrassed. The stingray pool was associated with an aquarium-themed restaurant in the mall that we had neither the time nor money for, but they had a big shark statue that the kids loved, so we took a quick snapshot. After spending way too much time at the mall, Jaden stopped for a quick round of DDR while we took a bathroom break.
Then we headed over to the Grand Olde Opry and it's respective museum. This mostly bored the kids, but I was able to drool over some great vintage dobros, Martins, and Gibsons. Worth it.
We later went to Centennial Park, which has a huge "duck" pond, a highlight for the kids. The park is home to a full-size replica of the Parthenon. Apparently the Parthenon was built in 1897 in celebration of Tennessee’s centennial. I’m still not sure I get the connection, but it’s worth checking out if you’re ever in Nashville. It was a lot of fun for Mom and Dad, but not nearly as much fun as the geese and pigeons were for the boys. We toured the museum, but Zane wasn't very fond of Athena. She is kind of intimidating.
After the Parthenon we headed downtown for dinner, and we wandered around, mostly on Boulevard Street. I couldn't believe how many bands were playing. There were spots on the sidewalk where you could stand and hear two different live bands playing in bars next to each other. I would have loved to spend more time here, but alas, the little ones were sleepy.
After a long day in Nashville, we hauled down to somewhere just outside of Atlanta. We got to our hotel at about 2 a.m. I figured I’d be able to check in and practically sleepwalk to our room, but no—there were two basketball teams that arrived minutes before me, so I had to wait nearly a half an hour before it was my turn to check in. We finally got to our room, but there was only one bed. We needed two, because my sister-in-law Tracy came with us, and we didn’t want to make her sleep in the bathtub. So I got a new room, we all migrated and crashed. We were about ready to go to sleep and we realized a bag was missing. I went back to the lobby to get a key to our first room, searched it, gave up and went upstairs to our new room. Tracy couldn’t stop worrying about the bag, so she ran back to the car where she found it. In the end, it was probably close to 3 a.m. before we were all tucked in.
We woke up later than planned, but finally trucked our way to Brunswick. We beat Amelia home, so Joel showed us around his new house. The bathroom redesign is even nicer than the pictures he posted. We waited a bit for Amelia to get home, and they took us to the beach. Joel also showed us his school, which looks more like a southern villa than an actual school. The crazy janitor had just waxed the floors and he wouldn't let us in, so we had to take Joel’s word for it that his classroom has bean bag chairs instead of desks, each kid gets a laptop and an xbox, and he has the ability to dim the lights and do laser light shows to classic rock songs by the likes of Pink Floyd and Steve Miller Band. Sounds fishy to me…
The highlight of the visit was meeting my turtlegänger, Dylan. Dylan was a “straggler hatchling” rescued from a nest that emerged August 26, 1998 on Jekyll Island. Dylan is also a girl. We also enjoyed the adorable baby turtles. Joel had fun educating my kids (Jaden lost interest apparently), but I was a little worried that Amelia already had her fill of my kids, because I’m pretty sure I caught her in the act of trying to feed Zane to the Loggerheads.
Also, since waterboarding a turtle is a very ineffective way to extract information, the "rehabilitation team" at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center resorts to another form of torture: freezing lunch in a giant block of ice. I’m telling PETA. The last creature we saw wasn't a turtle (hint: it was a raccoon). Apparently even the wildlife is backwards in the south. Someone should tell this guy that he's nocturnal.
Later we had lunch and then headed to a great driftwood beach. I took off and ditched everyone behind (that's the photographer in me). Everyone eventually caught up, though. The kids were enjoying the beach so much that they eventually started disrobing. I think I'll save those pictures for the home slideshow though. On our walk back, Amelia noticed an awesome halo around the sun, and I was surprisingly able to get some decent pictures of it.
The next day the guys hung out at home while the girls went shopping for "a little bit." We mostly played with Finn. Did I mention Finn? Finn is awesome. After “a little bit”, we were just about ready to start our 14-hour drive home, but first we all headed up to Savannah for the afternoon.
We probably should have planned our afternoon in Savannah a little better, because the weather got a little chilly and windy, and we mostly wandered around trying to figure out where to eat. We eventually ended up in one of Savannah’s finest dining establishments, though, so it was a successful trip. Savannah seems like an awesome place. In fact, Tracy is seriously talking about moving down there on her own. We’ll see if she actually does it! I’d be surprised, but the town is appealing. The river walk area is a lot of fun, and it seems like a great city.
We survived the drive home, amazingly. We left Savannah around 10:30 pm, and we got home the next day around 1 p.m. We drove straight through the night. Zane was the only one who got a little fussy. Our kids were troopers.
Shoeless Joel and his family were awesome hosts, so if you have the chance, visit them. They took us to a couple of great local restaurants while we were there, and we also had some Guitar Hero battles (I wish I had pics), and board games. A good time was had by all. It's been a few weeks and our kids are still talking about Joel, Amelia and Finn. Well, mostly Finn.
Also, I have plenty more artistic pictures, so hopefully I’ll get around to posting them later.
Have you heard the new Raconteurs album? If you haven't, you should. Go now! It's spectacular.
I'm having this strange sensation I've never felt before. The White Stripes/Raconteurs, or Jack White basically, is coming very close to the #1 spot in my favorite bands list. Pearl Jam better do something and do it quick.
Also spectacular:
Black Mountain - In the Future (This is so 2007. I'm late to the game, sorry kids). Hot Chip - Made in the Dark (if you know me, it will make NO sense whatsoever that this album is in my current rotation). Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning (this guy sounds nothing like his dad, but I mean that in a good way). Black Keys - Attack and Release (I'm seeing them in a couple weeks. Woot!)
Tomorrow we're off to Nashville for a day, then down to Georgia to see Joel and Amelia. Woot! Right now I'm totally excited, completely ignoring the fact that I have a lot of work to do before we leave, including getting ready for an open house and packing for the trip.
My awesome sister-in-law, Tracy:
...volunteered to come with us and help out with the boys. She's going to watch them a bit so we can actually hang with our friends in an adult fashion, so that's cool. Plus, it will make the drive better to have someone else entertaining the kids.
