Happy Boot-Off Day

After weeks of sitting on my butt, followed by many more hobbling around, I finally got my boot off today!

That's another big step towards recovery from this torn Achilles!

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David Sedaris' Hilarious Take on Netherlands Christmas Traditions

Am I the last person to hear David Sedaris' take on the Christmas traditions of the Netherlands?
How had this never been brought to my attention before?

Last night, Becca shared "Six to Eight Black Men" comedy skit with me last night.

We were laughing so hard by the end.

It's kinda long (16 mins), but I think you'll enjoy a listen when you have a chance.

Or, if you a more visual listener, there is a 3-video series on YouTube, starting here.

So funny.

Makes me wonder what other wacky holiday traditions there are around the world...

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Cello Christmas Tunes

Christmas music is a fun change of pace from the other 11 months of the year.

Some songs are terrible (ahem, Little Drummer Boy), but I'm pretty much a fan of any holiday tune played with a cello.

It just sounds so classy and deep and powerful.

Some examples:

Carol of the Bells (for 12 cellos), performed by the Piano Guys

Cello Christmas, performed by Noah Littlejohn

The Wexford Carol, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss

I wish Yo-Yo Ma had been featured more (or his mic were turned up), but it's still good.

Silent Night, performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Oh Holy Night, performed by Apocalyptica

Now that is some high-quality holiday music; definitely gets me in the spirit.

Any other good ones that I missed?

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Happy Birthday to Me, from The Beatles

You say it's your birthday? It's my birthday, too, yeah!

We're gonna have a good time!

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Innovative PSAs - Past and Present

Public service announcements (PSAs) can get lost in the clutter of TV programming.

So I'm impressed when a PSA can catch my attention and actually make me think about its message.
Which is why I decided to share some good ones today.

Now, I'm going to warn you up front.

If you start watching these, it could take a while.
You might not get much work done the rest of the day.

You've been warned.

First, a few classics.

This is Your Brain on Drugs (drugs, obviously)

GI Joe PSA (sunscreen)

Nostalgic for this series? Some guy has posted all 35 of the GI Joe PSAs (watch here).

Next, some using fun and humor.

Bottle Bank Arcade (recycling)

These guys also did one for littering (watch here).

What a Difference (mental health)

Dumb Ways to Die (traintrack safety)

A good one reminding adults to be more child-like.

Smoking Kid (smoking, of course)

And finally, a beautiful but sobering one.

Embrace Life (seat belts)

Let's all be smart, friends.
We have a lot left to do on this planet.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

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Celebrating SLC Community Theater

The theater is a wonderful thing.

Whether it be a big production on Broadway in NYC, a traveling company at the Kennedy Center in DC, or a 4-person cast in Midvale, UT, there is great value to be gained from their work.

And as most people who've visited can attest, Utah has got more than its fair share of theater talent.

So I was excited to see two very different shows in the space of 3 days a little while back.

Hansel & Gretel
Maybe I didn't know beforehand that Draper Historic Theatre was doing this as an opera, but I'm still very happy we went to support Marissa in her final performance as a 12-year old boy (she convincingly played Hansel). She was hilarious, and the small troupe (6 main players, as I recall) had great voices and made it a very entertaining time.

The Marvelous Wonderettes
The South Valley Theater Association hosted a sort of 'community theater review' night where groups from around the Salt Lake valley shared a few songs each from their recent productions.

Many of the groups had very strong singers, and some fun choreography as well. If only these had been previews rather than post-views (is that a word?), because now I wish I could go see the full shows.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but my favorite was of course my sister's set of the Marvelous Wonderettes.
The energy, singing ability, and humor of these 4 ladies blew me away.
(read my sister's more in-depth blogpost here)

It'll be fun to find out what local theater production I see next. Any suggestions?

Note: this event was on October 17, 2012.

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Happy Last Day of Movember 2012

Another year, another Movember.

Which means another 'stache, and (this time) a mullet to match.

I hope you all enjoyed the month's festivities, and I hope even more that you remembered the purpose behind this yearly event and maybe even discussed it with a few people to spread the message.

Men, get those prostates checked regularly and take care of your health.
Women, support your men and remind them to be vigilant in these areas.

And we'll see those wonderful/horrific/hilarious 'staches again next year!

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Another Tasty Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is a day to be extra-grateful for all that we have.

And what better way to spend it than with family.

For this holiday, I'll let the pictures do the talking for me.

Obligatory food picture

Spencer and Xan (the newest official member of the family)

Nibbling on the name holders

Glad to have you back from Germany for a few days

Megan and Zonks relaxing after the meal

Burning off some calories by running in circles on the trampoline

It was a beautiful form tackle by Zonks

Breezy rests on her favorite pillow: Zeus

Getting wild and crazy with an afternoon puzzle

Ok, with Thanksgiving now over, I guess it's acceptable for radio stations to play Christmas music...

Note: this event of course took place on Thanksgiving, Nov 22nd.

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Pie Night: Because Pies Can't Make or Eat Themselves... Yet

Another Pie Night has come and gone, full of laughter and socializing and a whole lot of calories, too.

If you haven't been to one yet, or need a refresher on how they work, I'll be happy to discuss it with you in person or through emails or over the phone or really any way you'd like.

Because I just love Pie Night and everything about it.

As Pie Night veterans know, the key is to take very small slices

Soooooooo good

The Rufeners, Megan, and Stephanie

My folks and their crew of ruffians

Dave and Dani, dapper dudes

Adam and some of his friends

Tabbi and Sarah, looking lovely as always

haha I just can't get enough of Larissa in this pic

Good to see the buddies

Next year, you're either coming to our Pie Night, or you're having your own.
Those are the only two options.

Note: Pie Night is always the evening before Thanksgiving. So the festivities were on Nov 21 this year.

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Canyons and Arches and Indians, Oh My!

The beauty of Utah's national and state parks is undeniable.

So when Becca invited me to join her down in Moab a few weekends ago, I jumped at the chance.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

With my limited mobility, we could only do short hikes and scenic outlooks. Sorry, Becca.

We started with Gemini Bridges, which kinda made us nervous with its lack of guardrails.

But the arches and views were a great warm-up for me prior to the main parks still to come.

The story behind Dead Horse Point was interesting and tragic, but the views were majestic.

Perfect timing for the Asian tourists to show up

Next up was the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands. More beautiful country!
Upheaval Dome has a couple different distance hike distances; we did the shortest.

We think the salt dome theory is more likely for Upheaval Dome's creation

You might have been wondering where the Indians from the blogpost title fit in.
Well, we stopped by Newspaper Rock along the way.

In Canyonlands, this distant view of the Needles was great with the fantastic evening skies.

Dinosaur tracks! They were trickier to reach than we'd expected, but well worth it.

Fulfilling my childhood dream to be like Indiana Jones

And a final excursion to Corona Arch, which was a kinda tough hike in my boot.

And no, we didn't use the Corona Arch like a humongous swing, like the guys in this video:

Awesome.

Just like our time spent in Moab and its surrounding parks.

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Weekend Escape to Park City

Park City is lots of fun, and it's even more fun when you're going up there with someone who hasn't been before. Plus, if they're going up for a conference and you get free dinner, that's a major bonus haha

Becca had meetings for a lot of the day, but she had a little break on Saturday, so I met up with her and we walked Main Street for a little and had lunch in a little Thai restaurant.

Banksy was here

After lunch, I showed her a couple of the ski resorts, which had snow but weren't scheduled to open quite yet. Just a couple more weeks until they do, but I sadly won't be able to ski anyway.

Later that evening, Becca's program hosted a dinner at Cisero's. Very tasty!

Fancy dinner, complete with pumpkin decorations

Since socializing is a big part of work conferences, we joined everyone in walking down to High West Distillery, and everybody had a good time. I particularly thought some of the drink names were fun.

For example:

• Dead Man's Boots
• Licorice and Smoke
• Blood and Sand
• Rattlesnake

Aren't those awesome?!

Cool branding and poster design

PS - While we were all chatting, I noticed this song playing, and I thought it was hilarious.
That Willie has a great sense of humor, and I enjoy the clever number wording.

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Back-to-Back Concert Nights: Martin Sexton, Infamous Stringdusters, Sun Parade, and Lake Street Dive

I love music, and the best way to enjoy it (in my opinion) is at a live concert.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend two shows, and in fairly small venues, which is even better.

Wed, Nov 7: Martin Sexton, with opener The Sun Parade (at The Depot)

Turns out that one benefit of being injured is the opportunity to use ADA seating.

We didn't even ask, but since there weren't any open seats on the ground floor, the workers at The Depot let us sit in the crows nest and we had this sweet view:

The Sun Parade, with bonus percussion and vocals friends

I hadn't heard of The Sun Parade before, but they were good. Very upbeat tunes, yet chill, if that makes sense. Here's a video of their biggest song:

When The Sun Parade finished their set, it was Martin Sexton's turn.

He didn't disappoint.

The man does it all, and he does it solo. Guitar, singing, and making all sorts of instrument sounds with his mouth and various parts of the guitar.

With skills like his, Martin doesn't need any other band members

Surprisingly, many of my friends hadn't/haven't even heard of Martin Sexton. That is a shame, because he's a very creative singer/songwriter. He sings serious songs, and he throws in some silly songs for good measure. I even saw him referred to as a serious Jack Black once.

His song "Hallelujah" hooked me, and its YouTube video is a good demonstration of how he is in concert.

To see more of his in-concert vocal stylings, this "Gypsy Woman" YouTube video is excellent.

And this is "Glory Bound", which I also really like.

Thurs, Nov 8: The Infamous Stringdusters, with opener Lake Street Dive (at The State Room)
Another night, another incredible concert. This one was a marathon, not a sprint.

We'd never heard of the opener, but Lake Street Dive had an Amy Winehouse kinda vibe, but without the slutty attitude. So we were able to like them for their quality and not have the trashy negatives.

Lake Street Dive, making us swoon

We tried to guess where they might be from, but we were way off. This quartet is from Brooklyn, NY.

Just check out this sound:

Very cool, right? Just another example of how there are bands with incredible talent, still out there waiting to hit the big time. People say that, right? "Hit the big time"? I don't even know anymore.

Anyway, Lake Street Dive was a perfect warm-up for the night's main event.

After a brief break for changing the set, The Infamous Stringdusters hit the stage.

And it was not just some 90 min set. We estimate they played for almost 3 hours.
When the headliner of a concert actually takes an intermission, that is serious determination.

Now how do I describe how good these 5 fellas are? Ah, yes, here's how:
Becca is from Tennessee, and she was so happy just listening to an authentic bluegrass band all the way out here in the Rocky Mountains. Seriously, she had a major case of perma-smile.

The Infamous Stringdusters, rocking the scene

That's one of their tame songs, but it shows how good The Infamous Stringdusters were.

I'd gladly see any of these four bands when they come through SLC again.
And you're all welcome to join me for those or just about any other concert!

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Happy Veterans Day

Especially on a day like today, I'm so proud to have military veterans in my family.

Our US soldiers serve with honor and distinction, and I consider my dad and grandpa to be heroes.

My sister posted two great pictures of them on her blog today, and I'll share them here as well.

Pops in his fancy Naval clothes

Grandpa holding my sister

I wrote a post about my Grandpa's WWII service here, if you're interested.

Both men are/were great patriots, as are all of our beloved service men and women.

God bless them!

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Angry Birds + Star Wars? I Blame Disney

I read this CNN article today, and I'm a bit dismayed by it.

Really?! A Star Wars version of Angry Birds?

Has Disney already started bastardizing the Star Wars brand, barely over a week into its ownership?

Or maybe I just don't like Angry Birds, and I'd rather they made a Star Wars version of Carcassonne and/or Settlers of Cataan instead...

Aw, who am I kidding?
It's got Star Wars in the title, so I'll at least give it a shot.

You win another round, Disney.
But some day I'll have will power... some day.

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Raking Leaves, A Fall Tradition (Pun Intended)

My cousin Emily mentioned raking leaves on her blog a few days ago, so I thought I'd do the same, sharing my Utah-learned method for excessive leaf quantities.

Because sometimes there are so many leaves that it's a two-tool project.

1) Use a rake to gather all the little kamikaze tree jumpers.
2) Use a snow shovel to pick them all up and put them in the yard waste can.

3) If by chance you have way, way, way too many leaves to fit in your waste can(s), then a good method is using the snow shovel to smash down the leaves. You'd be amazed how many more will fit.

4) Wait a few days for the rest of the leaves to fall from the trees, and repeat steps 1-4 until it snows and all the un-raked dead leaves are buried until springtime.

Any tips you'd add from your local experience (wherever local may be for you)?

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