The boy who lived

Leah told me yesterday that she got sad when she thought about how I never blog anymore, so here I am again.

My problem is two-fold: No time, no inspiration. But since it's been a while, I may as well post a catch up blog.

A lot of stuff has actually happened. Our record is ALMOST done. It's being mixed and I think there are something like 6 songs left to do. We took a long time to decide who was mixing it because that hugely determines how the record will sound. We originally met with the legendary Tim Palmer. We were really impressed with his past work and after meeting him at his house and talking about the record, we were sure that he understood it, both musically and lyrically. But alas, he was expensive, and we (I) couldn't justify spending the money.

Long story short, we searched though a myriad of mix engineers and it was stressful and far too time consuming. We landed on one of Matt's friends, Adrian, and began working.

We've partnered with Grooveshark.com and Rocket Science to promote this record and I'm really excited about all the things that this could potentially mean. Suffice to say that more people will hear this record than everything else I've ever done combined. Because of our partnership with Grooveshark, and the mixed feelings in the band about how the mixes were coming back, we decided that we could afford to have Tim Palmer mix the record and it would be worth the investment. And it was. Every mix we get from Tim is the best I've ever heard our band sound. I'm so excited for everyone to hear the record when it's done. We're very proud. We're still using 2 or 3 of Adrian's mixes, which are quite good, as well.

We released a video for the first single from the new record called "Fear & Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree."
We've got another one in the works for the next single, and it's animated, which is great because it means we didn't have to be awkward in front of a camera for it. I believe that it drops in August.

Anyway, lots of QC stuff happening, both exciting and scary.
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Leah and I just got back from London on Sunday. We were there for a week and it was lovely. Just lovely.
We:
-spent a lot of time with Leah's sister, Elana,
-took a double decker bus tour,
-ate lots of really great food (people told me that British food was gross and that the people were unfriendly, I found both of these statements to be incredibly untrue),
-saw some terrible theatre (Shrek:the musical, it was cheap and Leah read a good review, OK?!?),
-went to a cool Doctor Who exhibit,
-drank tasty ciders,
-napped in a beautiful park,
-saw my old friends Nathan and Ashley who are stationed close to London,
-took a quick trip on a train to Paris,
-saw the tower, the Louvre, and walked over what must've been half of fucking Paris,
-saw Ian and got to tour his laboratory,
-went punting,
-fed a duck,
-saw Harry Potter 6 hours before any of you suckers,
-saw wild foxes in the streets on the walk back from HP,
-walked around Oxford, saw more beautiful buildings (they've got them in spades over there.)
-did some shopping in Camden town
-ate Treacle Tart (and sponge w/ custard) because Harry Potter loves it, and it was delicious.
-did some other stuff, I'm sure.

All in all, a fantastic trip with a beautiful lady that I'm in love with. Lots of walking though, and my feet blisters are not healing as quick as I'd like. May be time for new shoes, after all.

Now let's talk about Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, pt 2.
It's great. Really great, and now that the entire series is finished I'm finally able to separate the books and the movies in a healthy way, view them as different things, and appreciate them both. I was surprised that the movie didn't capitalize on actually showing all the deaths of the main characters in the final battle, since it would have been the emotional equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. But I can honestly say that I loved it, and can't wait to see it again and again.

We timed our London trip with the release of this movie because I just LOVED the idea of seeing the final Harry Potter and actually being in London when I walked out of the theater. I thought it would prolong the magic, and it did. Also on the way back to Elana's flat, we saw 5 or 6 foxes prowling around the streets. I've loved foxes since I was a wee lad, watching David The Gnome. I've always wanted one, and of course, it's name would be "Swift." So that was pretty great, too.

We missed the hell out of Harper, though, and we're so glad to be back home with her. It seems that she got even smarter, cuter, and more talkative while we were gone.

In the city of the future, it is difficult to concentrate. Meet the boss, meet the wife. Everybody's happy, everyone is made for life.

If you're looking for a significantly tasty burger, Phil's Icehouse on Burnet Rd. can supply you with one, no problem. Most of the band just took Paul to eat there for his birthday and I was impressed. I'm not often blown away by burgers, and I'm not sure if the term "blown away" really applies here either, but it was pretty damn good, nonetheless.

Anyway, Leah and I just got back from vacationing in Orlando, FL, a place I would probably avoid (bad drivers, bad radio, and an absurd amount of televangelists on TV) if it weren't for that little slice of heaven, The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I've had such a boner to see this place since I first heard they were building it and it did not disappoint. My only complaint is that the excessive amount of muggles crowding the streets in their wife-beaters, fanny-packs, and daisy dukes sometimes takes you out of the moment. Everything is so well done and authentic, though, that it's hard to be unhappy about anything while walking the streets of Hogsmeade or the halls of Hogwarts. Leah and I spent the better part of two days mesmerized by all things Potter, and thanks to Butterbeer, I regained 3 of the five pounds I lost the week before. Oh well, back on track now. Now we just have to figure out how to see The Deathly Hallows as soon as possible.

Leah and I had such an amazing time together and it was nice to get to do whatever we wanted as a couple without having to worry about nap times or snack times, etc... That being said, we missed the hell out of Harper and I could literally feel my heart lighten when we saw her at the airport. I know I've probably said this before and it probably doesn't make for the best blogging (but fuck you, this is my blog and I do what I want), but I love being her father so much, it's ridiculous. She's getting so smart and funny, so full of personality. I can't wait til she's a teenager and screams how much she hates me in a public place.

Quiet Company has begun working on the third record, in earnest. I have no idea when we will actually be done with it, but it's going well, albeit, slowly. Well, it's actually not going slowly, it's just taken us a long time to get started. Everyone is really excited about the new material, and I'm very interested to see how it all turns out. It's a different direction for us, focusing more on guitars and drums than pianos and synthesizers. Basically, we're just trying to pick up where Staind left off.........

Our episodes of My Generation are now available for streaming at Hulu.com and ABC.com. We're in episode 3 (though if you blink, you might miss us), and "How Do You Do It?" has a really nice placement at the end of episode 4. Episode 6 has "The Biblical Sense Of The Word" in it somewhere but I haven't gotten to watch it yet.

Really excited to catch up on our TV shows, especially The Walking Dead.

Hmm...I forgot you could tempt me with things I want

These are a couple pics from the ACL: Satellite Sets recording we did last Friday by photographer, Jonathan Jackson. There are more pics on his site.

That show was really fun and really crazy and really surreal. I just sat there thinking, "...Yeah...Ray Charles played this piano...Etta James sang on this stage....Michael Stipe sang into this mic..." I can't wait to see the final footage. The plan is to release a dvd of the show so hopefully, everyone will get a chance to see it.

My one complaint with the ACL taping is that, apparently, I am not a fan of Steinway pianos. Tommy said their action is notoriously heavy and I can attest to that. My hands were actually tired and hurting after 2 songs on that thing. Looked cool, though.

Leah got back from London on Thursday, we had to be at the ACL studio all day Friday, Leah had weddings all day Saturday and Sunday, and then Quiet Company had two more shows on Monday and Tuesday. So last night was Leah's and my first night, since she got back, to actually relax together. We went to the mall, had dinner, let Harper run around, came home, put Harper to bed, and then watched the most recent True Blood and Greenberg in bed.

True Blood was great, as usual. I could've done without Greenberg. I feel like there are a ton of indie movie directors that just got together and said, "Hey don't you hate how movies always have stories. Let's make movies without them or at least have as little change as possible take place in the protagonist's life, so much so that the audience comes away wondering what they just spent the last two hours of their life doing." I chuckled a few times during the movie but this morning I woke up thinking that I really could've used that time for sleeping or, at least, watching something where the story and/or characters develop.

So it goes.


I didn't really know what to think of the new Arcade Fire when I heard the single on NPR. I didn't think I liked it, though, and I was not optimistic for the rest of the record. However, a few days ago, I finally got around to listening to the record all the way through a few times and now I am convinced that it is easily the best record of 2010.


A close second is the new Starflyer 59 record, The Changing of the Guard, which came out last week. I've long been obsessed with this band. I'll buy anything that they put out, in fact. It's even more impressive that the band is still putting out some of their best work when you consider that this is something like their 14th record.

Harper has started saying "thank you" which is adorable, and yesterday, I think she found her first boyfriend in a little Indian boy at the Disney Store.

I'm just really glad that Leah is back and that she brought me back a replica of Harry Potter's wand. It chose me.

If a grown man "imprinted" on my baby, I'd have him arrested.

According to Amazon.com
Top 10 best-selling books of the decade:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling
3. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
4. Twilight -Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
6. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling
7. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
8. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
9. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Top 10 best-selling authors of the decade:

1. JK Rowling
2. Stephenie Meyer
3. Julia Donaldson
4. Terry Pratchett
5. Jamie Oliver
6. Dan Brown
7. Enid Blyton
8. Bernard Cornwell
9. Alexander McCall Smith
10. William Shakespeare

Its kind of crazy that only 4 authors make up the top ten best selling books, but I think the message here to note is: "Suck a butt Twilight!"

I still stand by my statement that the Harry Potter saga is the best work of fiction in the history of recorded story telling. And despite what Stephanie Meyer may have you believe, young ladies, being stalked isn't cool, even if its by some sparkly, neutered, vampire. It doesn't matter how charming, or shiny, he may be. Oh, and remember how a werewolf falls in love with a baby? Totes redic!

We're leaving today after I get off work to go back to east Texas. We're celebrating the holidays with our family this weekend because everyone's schedules didn't line up to do it next week. I am looking forward to seeing my family. I am not looking forward to the 4 hour drive.

Matt finished up the violins and the horns for the EP yesterday. I can't wait to hear them. We did the choir and flute tracks on Wednesday with the help of my neighbor, a few Rocketboys and some other friends. Now we've moved past the point of being "almost almost done" to being "almost done."

I'm on a new medication to cure my lingering acne but so far it seems like the idea is to burn my face off in the hopes that an acne free face will spring up in its stead. I'm really starting to question whether the cure is worse than the affliction, especially since this is the 3rd medicine to have this effect and, in the end, the other medicines didn't do shit. Its not that my acne is bad, most people say they never notice it. Its just the fact that I'm 27 years old and I have to deal with it at all that bothers me. Oh well, maybe its just my lot in life. There are worse fates, I suppose.

On the the weekend, where we shall pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

All I want for X-mas is Amazon.com gift cards.

Thanks, everyone, for the show of solidarity. I really do appreciate the encouragement.

Now let's all ask ourselves the really important question...

Why was Michael Gambon allowed to shit all over the role of Dumbledore?

"the dragon's awake..."

One of my favorite things in the world is when you rediscover records. The two records above are two records that everytime I put them in, I think "Why don't I listen to this all the time?" The first time I heard Kasabian it was on some late night show and I wasn't impressed but I picked up Empire on a whim on a trip to Toronto and it blows me away every time I listen to it. I bought GBV's Do the Collapse on a friend's recommendation and because it was produced by Rick Ocasek but, past a handful of songs, they never really grew on me too much. However, I heard Half Smiles of the Decomposed playing in a record store in Austin and had to pick it up immediately. I think it was their last official record, if I'm not mistaken, which I could be.

Today I took a Harry Potter quiz and got 75 out of 75 questions right but somehow, still didn't get on the leader board. I guess it was timed and I stopped and talked to my coworker for a while in the middle of it.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Surprised by Faith and about 60% through reading Half-Blood Prince for the 6th time. Surprised by Faith is only 110 pages but its taking longer than it should. I'll talk a lot more about it when I'm completely done with it but suffice to say that its like watching a movie that you've already seen and didn't like but the people you're with insist that its a great movie and you just need to see it again. So you go, only to find that its still the same movie and you're out another $8 and two hours of your life. Maybe he'll wow me at the end.

As always, I miss my wife and daughter today and can't wait til 5 o'clock.

Can he be president now?

This weekend started with some Friday night recording at Matt's studio, where I laid down some guitar and scratch vocals for "Jezebel," and another drum track for "Things You Already Know." Tommy had done some guitar earlier in the day but was already gone by the time Leah and I put Harper to bed and I made my way over. Matt did a rough mix of "Jezebel" and I'm really pleased. That boy's good at recording, yo! Every time we record I regret hiring Matt just a little bit less. Maybe one day I'll actually be glad he's around. I'm kidding, of course, he's easily the most talented person in the band and a real sweetheart to boot.

Saturday, Leah had to shoot a wedding (and by that I mean she participated in a drive by) so it was me and Harper all day. I got up and mowed the lawn, showered, put back on my pajamas and stayed in them for the rest of the day. Leah thought that I should be depressed after staying in my pajamas all day but how often do I get to do that? Not often. It was nice, and I was not depressed.

Harper is smiling a lot more now, which does wonders for a parent's self esteem. Whenever we go to get her out of her bed, after a nap or in the morning, she smiles really big when she sees us and it feels like we actually matter to her now. I love it. It doesn't hurt that it is, without a doubt, the cutest smile I've ever seen.


Sunday, Leah and I bought a propane grill and I spent more time than I would've liked putting it together. We made plans to use it but after the frustration of putting it together, I just wanted to get away from it and more importantly, get away from this 100+ degree heat. But Leah had already started preparing the food so we went ahead with the grilling and it was pretty delicious. I'm really proud of Leah. She's really putting a lot of effort into making our eating habits better and learning to cook. With the exception of some tangy chicken last week, everything she's found and tried has been awesome, so much so that fast food is starting to look much less appealing to us nowadays. Good job, wife.

Also this weekend I watched Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire and then just to remember how good Richard Harris is at being Dumbledore, Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets, which may be one of my favorites and I think a lot of people overlook it. I also watched The Shawshank Redemption while I was home with Harper. Oh what a world it would be if every movie was as beautiful or as good as The Shawshank Redemption.

My review of the Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince film

I'm not one those people who demand that movie adaptations be 100% true to their source material. I, generally, feel that if you want the book, read the book, if you want the movie, watch the movie. The simple fact that the medium is different makes it understandable that the plot will be shaped differently according to what does or does not work on film. So I haven't had a problem with any of the changes made between the Harry Potter books and movies, thus far.

Until last night.

Its weird, I don't really know how to write this review because there are so many great things about the movie but to me the few bad things ruined the experience. I'll start with what I liked.

1. The movie looks great. The cinematography, and effects are all amazing and I love how these movies just get darker and darker to reflect the atmosphere of danger that the characters are living in.
2. The performances are the best yet. With every HP movie I feel like the kids show improvement but this was the first one that made me actually stop and take notice that, hey, these people are really great actors now.
3. Its funny. Easily the funniest Harry Potter movie and with all of the teen romance going on, it lends itself easily to comic relief.
4. Its all about character development and when you care as much about the characters as I do, its really interesting. However, the real question is will all the humor, character development, and cinematography be enough to satisfy?

Now what I didn't like:
This was the first HP where not only did they hack out huge parts of the story but they supplemented the film with completely original and almost always pointless scenes. They took a lot of liberties this time that I didn't understand the need for because everything they did was less cool than the original story. My biggest qualm is that it pulls all of its emotional punches. So at the end of the movie I'm thinking, it was funny and well made but it didn't move me at all. Its not epic, its not intense and it really should have been. Its like being handed cotton candy when you ordered a steak. Really, all of this doesn't become apparent until the end of the movie where there is supposed to be a huge, crazy battle that the movie has very clearly been leading up to and then it just doesn't happen. What you get instead is the weakest possible version of what has to happen to set up the next movie. All in all, its a great movie that leaves you completely dissatisfied. I was so disappointed and it was the first HP that I didn't leave the theatre ready to see it again as soon as possible.

Also, why did Richard Harris have to die? And why did they cast Michael Gambon as Dumbledore in his stead? Over the course of the four movies that he's had the role, he's done so many things that make me go "Hey, Dumbledore would never do/act like that." I keep thinking that he'll grow on me, and I think Order of the Phoenix is the closest he's gotten to doing so, but he never does, really. He's just not Dumbledore. He doesn't embody the kindness, courtesy, and omniscience that Richard Harris very effortlessly displayed. When I saw those first two movies, the thing I was most impressed with was the casting. Every single person was exactly as I pictured them and Dumbledore especially. Half-Blood provided him ample opportunities to show that he really got the character of Dumbledore but instead, like always, he gave a performance that really makes me wonder if he's ever read a Harry Potter book. I find myself wishing that Sir Ian McKellen had deemed it prudent to portray two white wizards in his lifetime.

So, my overall opinion is that this would have been the best Harry Potter ever if it didn't go limp in all the wrong places. Still worth seeing, still worth owning, still a million times better than Twilight.

Rejoice, all ye half-bloods and mudbloods! All ye muggles and squibs!

Not too terribly long ago, my wife made me go see Twilight. We went on opening day and ended up sitting at the front of the theatre because we only got there an hour early. At one point I turned and looked at the audience and counted maybe 5 other guys in a sea of women (we went to the Alamo Draft House to avoid the legion of 14 year old girls sure to populate the normal theatres). I don't mean to offend if you're one of those intense Twilight fans, but that movie is awful. Painfully awful, in fact. I haven't read the books but from what every person I've talked to about it says, the story is addictive but the writing is shit. I wasn't impressed with the story in the movie and I don't think I'd like to subject myself to writing that is shit even to the fans, so I've remained an active non-fan of Twilight. Anyway, as I was sitting in the theatre watching some of the worst special effects and acting I'd seen in a long time, all I could think was "I should be watching Harry Potter right now." The two movies were supposed to share a release date but HP was pushed back to summer so they could make more money.

But at long last, my day has arrived. Tonight, I will finally get to scratch the magical itch that has been plaguing me. I'm hoping we get good seats because, again, we'll only be able to get there an hour early. Paul and Gina will be joining us so it will be extra fun. I really can't explain how excited I am about this. I barely slept at all last night, which I don't know if its because of the movie or just because I happened to get a shitty night's sleep.

I've said it before, but for my money, Harry Potter is the single greatest work of fiction in the history of recorded story telling. Yes, I realize how bold of a statement that is. I've just never felt as connected to any fictional character the way I am to the characters in the Harry Potter series. We're already reading The Sorcerer's Stone to Harper every night at bedtime but I really can't wait until she's old enough to understand the story.

The purpose driven strife

Harry Potter week is finally upon us! Rejoice, true believers! We're seeing the movie Thursday night and I know you're all thinking what a poser I am for not going to the midnight showing on Wednesday, but I've got a kid now and that sort of thing just doesn't happen as easily nowadays. This movie looks AMAZING though, and I totally expect it to Avada Kedavra my ass.

Leah and I took Harper to east Texas this weekend. My brother and his family got to meet her for the first time, and I got to spend a lot of quality time with my niece and nephew. It was really great and Harper travelled well, which we were nervous about. But like a jackass, I accidentally left my computer, phone charger, and Harper's Baby Einstein mat at my parents house. Leaving my stuff sucks a lot but that mat is really the only toy Harper plays with so we're going to have to just buy something else for her.

A lot of you may know that I'm a huge proponent of the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, and for my money, its the single most powerful and transformative philosophy book that I've ever read. I've gotten a few people to read it and typically, there reaction is similar to my own. My brother is reading it now, on my recommendation and judging from his blog, I don't think he's going to be as affected by it as I was. Oh well. He is correct about what he says though, that the book does hinge on the reader already accepting certain facts. For instance, if you don't understand or just don't accept evolutionary theory then you will probably not agree with the rationale of Ishmael because the bulk of the ideas therein stem from humankind sharing the same humble origins as everything else in nature.

I also got my mom to read it not too long ago but I think one of the only reasons she consented to do so was so that she could get me to read a Christian book of her choosing. I'm not sure how even these scales are though: I ask her to read one book and then I have to read another one on top of spending almost 30 years obsessing over the religion of her choice. I'm kidding and I digress, I'm happy to do it. After all, if there is a viable reason out there to jump back into the fold, I'd love to hear it. That being said, if 26 years in the church isn't long enough to have heard all the arguments in favor of Christianity, then what are we doing in church so much?

The book she's chosen for me is Surprised by Faith by Dr. Don Bierle. My problems with the book start early, with the front and back covers. They advertise that Dr. Bierle is a "scientist" but never say what kind. They talk about how he studied life sciences but never say which ones; he's a doctor but what kind? It does say that he holds M.A. and Ph.D degrees in life sciences and an M.A. in New Testament studies. In the preface he talks about how much education he's had which is impressive to me, who has very little education past high school, but he also talks in detail about how devoutly religious his family was and how he was somewhat groomed for the ministry as early as age 14. And with that admission his arguments become somewhat tainted to me. He's been indoctrinated from a young age just like most religious people and that gives him a motive: a desire to return to the comforting religion of his family. I know because I feel it too, and I'm not saying that this is definitely how he is but just that it seems probable to someone like me. Somewhere between 14 and college Dr. Bierle became a skeptic and that's where he starts Chapter 1. I was actually really impressed at the beginning of this chapter because he really seems to get how I feel and understand the problems I see in the plausibility of it all. I guess he was a skeptic after all. A persons perspectives on religion and spirituality are really contingent on the question "at what point are you satisfied?" and pretty quickly, it becomes apparent that Dr. Bierle is far more easily satisfied than I am, at least on the topic of the first chapter which is, essentially, "what is the meaning of life?"

He poses the question "Do we have a purpose in life?" That's a good question, and I say "yes." He agrees but he thinks that the only way to have a real purpose in a finite universe is to have an infinite god give you one. I disagree. He postulates an analogy which essentially says that all the world exists for humankind's eventual benefit and therefore an infinite god must exist. Because there's soil, and soil's only purpose is to grow grass, who's only purpose is to feed cows. And why do cows exist? It can't possibly be for the sake of existing because that doesn't go along with our romantic idea of human purpose. Cows exist to give us meat, but don't tell the cows, they'll just lose all hope. I'm oversimplifying and paraphrasing, of course, but I think I'm giving you the broad strokes. I think that its far more reasonable to say that because soil exists, its possible for grass to grow, and because grass grows, its possible for cows to eat, and because cows die, its possible for grass to grow, etc. Its a system that sustains itself, see?

In the first chapter, for Dr. Bierle, he's satisfied with a god as long as it meets two requirements:
1: God must be infinite.
2: God must be personal.

He has to be infinite because he's the one thing that is OK without a purpose and he has to be personal because he has to be able to reciprocate affection. Why we NEED god to be personal to be relevant, he doesn't say. "Eastern" religions' gods are infinite but not personal and "western" religions' gods are personal but not infinite but there is one bowl of proverbial porridge that's just right. Somehow, just because Christianity meets the needs that this "scientist" has laid out for himself, that is proof that it is the religion that 3 out of 3 celestial beings prefer.

I'm only about 1/4 of the way through this book and I'm not sure if he's building evidence for a big picture or if he's attacking skeptical issues one by one. It certainly seems to be the latter as all the chapters are titled and geared towards a particular problem. So far, the section "What am I here for? The Crisis of Purpose and Meaning" fails to make any headway in proving or rationalizing anything other than the fact that the good doctor can't fathom a world where things simply exist.

I know that there are religious people out there who live every day like they're on a mission and spend their time and their money working towards a better world, and they feel like they're doing god's work and believe that god gave them purpose in life and rightly so. Most people I know aren't like that though. They get up, go to work, come home and hopefully spend time with loved ones or work on whatever it is they're passionate about...or maybe just veg out and watch TV until its time to do it all over again. This is the day to day for people of faith and people without any, alike. If god gives us purpose, I have a hard time seeing what it could possibly be, unless its just to do this: exist. I said that I believe we have purpose, but I believe we make it for ourselves. I love being a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend and I love making music. Those are the things I'm passionate about and I feel like those are the things that give my life purpose. It really makes me sad when religious people that I love say that without god we'd have no purpose.

We'd still have each other.

No, as a matter of fact, I don't think "Harry Potter & My Left Nut" is an appropriate title for a book.

Maybe its because we're a week away from the movie or maybe just because we've been reading The Sorcerer's Stone to Harper every night, but either way, I've fallen back into my Potter addiction. I've spent all day reading The Half Blood Prince and looking at fan sites. I don't know what the point is, really. I know, generally, everything interesting there is to know about Harry Potter. I think I'd give my left nut to be a wizard for a day. I'd probably start that day by using my powers to regrow my left nut, though.

Another thing I did today was take a Bible quiz. Its made by the Freedom From Religion Foundation so obviously, the questions are cherry-picked to make the scriptures look strange and sick. That being said, those things are actually in there and sometimes the scriptures are just strange and sick. So it goes. Chalk it up to cultural relativity if you want, but, unfortunately, there's only so much you can account for with that explanation.

I did really well on the quiz (48 out of 50 questions correct), but I'm really curious to see how well the people that read this blog would do, particularly the Christians. The trick is, when you don't know the answer, just pick the weirdest one. I had to do that a few times.

Lastly, this is a reminder that if you haven't called your state senator about Cynthia Dunbar yet, you really need to. With Don McLeroy, it was all about Evolution vs. Creationism, the right vs. the left. But I think that, in Cynthia Dunbar, we've all found a common enemy (assuming that we all care about the education of our young people). This is a woman who openly hates the very idea of public education. To borrow an analogy, its like hiring an arsonist to be fire chief. For Liberals, she represents a lot of what we hate about stereotypical conservatism, for Conservatives, she's an embarrassment, making ignorant statements on par with a drunk Sarah Palin. The fact that she's even on the board of education is gross, the idea that she could be put in charge of it is flat out depressing. Find your senator, tell them what you think. Let them know that globally competitive education is important to you and your tax dollars. THINK OF THE CHILDREN.