A quick google/wiki search reveals that the joke was on them because Sand Bass are not only real, they're the official state fish of Oklahoma! How 'bout that! These fish are also known as white bass.
Sand Bass
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sand Bass: Fact or Fiction
This Spring we had a visit from the Hinck family which prompted me to find out the truth about sand bass. Here's how it started (for those involved, correct me if I'm wrong). They were driving by a dry lake or pond and my nephew asked if anyone thought there might be fish in there. His wise dad and grandpa told him that there were lots of "Sand Bass" in there. Of course they were just pulling his leg but spent the next few days convincing him that sand bass were real.
A quick google/wiki search reveals that the joke was on them because Sand Bass are not only real, they're the official state fish of Oklahoma! How 'bout that! These fish are also known as white bass.
Sand Bass
A quick google/wiki search reveals that the joke was on them because Sand Bass are not only real, they're the official state fish of Oklahoma! How 'bout that! These fish are also known as white bass.
Sand Bass
Friday, July 11, 2008
BIg Night for the Nuts!
Last night I fulfilled one of my dreams and showed my family the Nuts. We had a ball! It was a pretty exciting first three innings as the Nuts came out swinging and rose to a 14-2 lead, then they just hung around the rest of the night not doing anything - in fact neither team did anything as 14 - 2 was the final score. Talk about lop-sided! Things are looking pretty hairy this season for the home team, the Inland Empire 66ers. Jordan supported the Nuts for about an inning and a half, then he lost interest and would go exploring. At the top of the seventh inning we were ready to leave because he was getting a little testy, then I heroically ran down a foul ball for him and, with his ball in his hands, he got his second wind.
Here are some Nut pictures:
Jordan enjoying the first inning stretch.
I was proud of these two pictures I took. On this one the ball is visible about 6 feet ahead of the batter. It ended up being a strike.
And in this one the ball is just below the Nut's knees. (Click to enlarge)
Wearing my Nuts hat.
My favorite pair.
The kid still gets his balls mixed up - he kept acting like it was a basketball.
Here are some Nut pictures:
Jordan enjoying the first inning stretch.
I was proud of these two pictures I took. On this one the ball is visible about 6 feet ahead of the batter. It ended up being a strike.
And in this one the ball is just below the Nut's knees. (Click to enlarge)
Wearing my Nuts hat.
My favorite pair.
The kid still gets his balls mixed up - he kept acting like it was a basketball.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Summer Vacation Slideshow!
We sure took a lot of pictures in Utah. Here are some of the good ones. Mostly they're of Jordan, but people usually like looking at him more than us boring grown ups anyway. Sorry it goes a little fast to read some of my detailed explanations but you can pause it and you can turn off the captions by clicking on the green caption bubble (lower left).
Enjoy!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
My online Fiddle Duel
As I was 6 hours into the 8 hour drive home today, I was singing along with whatever came on the radio to keep myself alert. Melissa and Jordan were sleeping and they didn't seem to mind my singing. So there I was cruising and singing when this song came on:
Pretty good song to sing along to, right? Did you know that a fiddle and violin are the same instrument - just played differently? I think I picked up that fact a few years back. Anyway, I'm cruising along singing whatever and change the station and then I get to hear this:
So naturally I get to thinking about fiddles. I noticed a phrase that appeared in both songs. In the first we hear: "Johnny rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard" and the second goes like this: "So rosin up that bow for "Faded Love" and let's all dance".
This led me to wonder what rosin is. So, to truly learn, I looked it up and am here passing along the info. Rosin is "the yellowish to amber, translucent, hard, brittle, fragmented resin left after distilling the oil of turpentine from the crude oleoresin of the pine: used chiefly in making varnishes, varnish and paint driers, printing inks, and for rubbing on the bows of such string instruments as the violin."
To "rosin up the bow" is to put the rosin on the bow in order to play.
Finally, since fiddles are associated with fiddle dueling, I've created a poll as to which of the two fiddle songs I heard today is the best fiddle song. Let me know what you think, you have a week!
Pretty good song to sing along to, right? Did you know that a fiddle and violin are the same instrument - just played differently? I think I picked up that fact a few years back. Anyway, I'm cruising along singing whatever and change the station and then I get to hear this:
So naturally I get to thinking about fiddles. I noticed a phrase that appeared in both songs. In the first we hear: "Johnny rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard" and the second goes like this: "So rosin up that bow for "Faded Love" and let's all dance".
This led me to wonder what rosin is. So, to truly learn, I looked it up and am here passing along the info. Rosin is "the yellowish to amber, translucent, hard, brittle, fragmented resin left after distilling the oil of turpentine from the crude oleoresin of the pine: used chiefly in making varnishes, varnish and paint driers, printing inks, and for rubbing on the bows of such string instruments as the violin."
To "rosin up the bow" is to put the rosin on the bow in order to play.
Finally, since fiddles are associated with fiddle dueling, I've created a poll as to which of the two fiddle songs I heard today is the best fiddle song. Let me know what you think, you have a week!
Summer Break Movie Review Roundup!
Between the three weeks without school, the free and willing babysitters at home (Jordan's Grandparents) and the Clean Flick's Edited movies, it was quite the cinematic break for me and Melissa. Don't feel like you have to read about every movie, these reviews are probably more for me than for you, but here's my quick recommendations:
Iron Man
This was tied for my favorite movie we saw. It had all the enjoyable elements of a typical superhero movie (the ones that are most enjoyable in the theater with the big screen and the surround sound) plus some funny parts. I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a great job.
Recommendation: Best seen in the theater, but I'd still watch it on DVD.
The Bucket List
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are both dying so they set out to do all the things they missed out on. Along the way they get into fights and stuff and help each other learn new things. The very last line of the movie was pretty funny. Seriously though, would you want to ditch your wife to hang out with some guy you just met if you were a dying old man? Freeman did, but they made it look like it was OK because his wife was annoying him and he needed some freedom. They probably should have worked that out earlier in life and he should have taken her on his bucket list.
Me? There's just one thing I'd change if I knew my time was limited. Hang gliding. It looks so incredibly appealing to me but I don't think I could stand before my maker with a clear conscience if I risked my life like that for a few thrills. Unless, of course, the life I was risking was almost over anyway! Melissa still isn't keen on me hang-gliding even if I'm dying, but I think I could convince her.
Recommendation: Nah, go do something outside instead. Better yet, start working on your own bucket list.
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
We brushed up on two of the original three movies before we saw this one. That probably helped me to appreciate Stephen Spielberg staying true to form with this one. Had I not seen the old ones recently, I might have thought that some of the scenes were kind of dumb with how far-fetched they were.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed the originals, you should see this one.
Stuck on You
My brother picked this one up from the video store and I watched it for the second time. It was really funny for about 3/4 of it, but then I felt like the writers stopped being funny and began trying to wrap up the story.
Recommendation: Watch it late at night so you fall asleep after an hour.
Prince Caspian
In anticipation of this movie, I re-read the book. I hadn't read any of the chronicles since I was a child and was amazed at how much wisdom CS Lewis managed to put into these "children's" books. The movie was a great adaptation. The plot was changed a little bit, but the storyline wasn't any worse for it. Melissa and I agree this was a much better movie than the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Recommendation: Great family movie, definitely worth seeing.
The Kite Runner
Think Hotel Rwanda but in Afghanistan instead of Rwanda. It was a good story that drew me in and helped me better understand what that country has been through. It's not really a feel-good movie but you might be better for having seen it.
Recommendation: See this one by yourself.
The Kingdom (edited)
Before I looked this up on imdb.com, I would have bet money that this was the same director/producer as the movie and TV show Friday Night Lights. I would have won some money. The man's name is Peter Berg. He used many of the same actors and the movies have the same type of musical montages and they both end with the same sort of feeling (but I won't give it away).
Recommendation: I can only speak for the edited version, but it was pretty good.
We Own the Night (edited)
Not really an upper, but it had a good story. Joaquin Phoenix is running around with a bunch of baddies who go after the cops. Problem is, his dad and brother are cops but nobody knows that so he finds himself torn between two worlds.
Recommendation: Meh. I dunno. I enjoyed it so you might too.
Get Smart
This was the other one that tied for my favorite movie we saw. Steve Carell was funny as usual. You have to go in expecting some corny humor. We had an enjoyable time because there was a middle-aged lady behind us that would repeat the jokes to her friends. One example is when Carell's character makes a play on words by saying "thinsk" she said, for all to hear, "ha ha ha, thinsk" to make sure all her friends got it. This actually wasn't annoying but made it more enjoyable because we would laugh at the movie and then laugh at her. Double the Fun!
Recommendation: I'd see it again.
Untraceable (edited)
There was one original element to this movie: the idea of a bad guy setting up a website where the more traffic it generates, the faster the victim dies. Other than that this movie was totally predictable and I felt like I'd seen it 5 times before. Maybe the un-edited version has some surprises.
Recommendation: It's stupid.
Thank you for smoking (edited)
To the extent that untraceable was predictable, this one was equally as unpredictable. Maybe unconventional would be a better word. The story follows the charming and suave spokesperson for big tobacco as he goes about his work while at the same time trying to be a good example to his son and hive him some fatherly wisdom.
Recommendation: I thoroughly enjoyed the edited version of this movie.
Little Miss Sunshine (edited)
I picked this one up because I wanted my parents to see it. We all watched it together. I had actually seen the original version before and it was interesting to see what they took out. They managed to make Steve Carell's character not gay. He wasn't really straight, but any reference to a boyfriend was taken out of the movie. This resulted in them taking out a later seen which in and of itself was entirely clean, but wouldn't have made sense without some key events that were removed. Anyway, I'm glad they edited the language and the not-so-good grandfatherly advice because with those parts missing, this was a really enjoyable movie with a good message about how un-important the world's opinions of us really is.
Recommendation: One of my all-time favorite movies. I'll probably order the edited version for my home library when I grow up and get a job.
12 monkeys
We watched this in Melissa's Fairview cabin. We decided what to watch by reading the back covers and picked the most interesting one. This was it. It was an interesting and original storyline, but it was really weird. I'm still mixed on my feelings about this movie. After watching it, I dreamed that I was in a similar situation as Bruce Willis (either from the future or crazy, but not sure) . I should point out that Brad Pitt did an amazing performance as a crazy guy. In fact, this may be the best role I've ever seen him play.
Recommendation: It's ok to see if you're in a cabin with nothing else to watch. Otherwise, watch something else.
Con-air
Also viewed in the Fairview Cabin, the next day. Interesting story, strong and convincing performance by Nicholas Cage and the bad guy, but too much bad language.
Recommendation: See it edited if you can.
Definately Maybe
I'm watching that right now and decided to blog instead. Ryan Reynolds looks like the love child of Ben Affleck and Dane Cook. Anyway, the movie has way too many failed attempts at humor for my liking.
Recommendation: If you like movies that try to be funny but aren't, then knock yourself out.
So there you have it. Now I'm home and have to go back to school. I'll post some other stuff about our vacation soon. Also, I'm too lazy to put in links or pictures now so if you really want to, use google and imdb.com and you'll find stuff.
Iron Man
This was tied for my favorite movie we saw. It had all the enjoyable elements of a typical superhero movie (the ones that are most enjoyable in the theater with the big screen and the surround sound) plus some funny parts. I thought Robert Downey Jr. did a great job.
Recommendation: Best seen in the theater, but I'd still watch it on DVD.
The Bucket List
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are both dying so they set out to do all the things they missed out on. Along the way they get into fights and stuff and help each other learn new things. The very last line of the movie was pretty funny. Seriously though, would you want to ditch your wife to hang out with some guy you just met if you were a dying old man? Freeman did, but they made it look like it was OK because his wife was annoying him and he needed some freedom. They probably should have worked that out earlier in life and he should have taken her on his bucket list.
Me? There's just one thing I'd change if I knew my time was limited. Hang gliding. It looks so incredibly appealing to me but I don't think I could stand before my maker with a clear conscience if I risked my life like that for a few thrills. Unless, of course, the life I was risking was almost over anyway! Melissa still isn't keen on me hang-gliding even if I'm dying, but I think I could convince her.
Recommendation: Nah, go do something outside instead. Better yet, start working on your own bucket list.
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
We brushed up on two of the original three movies before we saw this one. That probably helped me to appreciate Stephen Spielberg staying true to form with this one. Had I not seen the old ones recently, I might have thought that some of the scenes were kind of dumb with how far-fetched they were.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed the originals, you should see this one.
Stuck on You
My brother picked this one up from the video store and I watched it for the second time. It was really funny for about 3/4 of it, but then I felt like the writers stopped being funny and began trying to wrap up the story.
Recommendation: Watch it late at night so you fall asleep after an hour.
Prince Caspian
In anticipation of this movie, I re-read the book. I hadn't read any of the chronicles since I was a child and was amazed at how much wisdom CS Lewis managed to put into these "children's" books. The movie was a great adaptation. The plot was changed a little bit, but the storyline wasn't any worse for it. Melissa and I agree this was a much better movie than the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Recommendation: Great family movie, definitely worth seeing.
The Kite Runner
Think Hotel Rwanda but in Afghanistan instead of Rwanda. It was a good story that drew me in and helped me better understand what that country has been through. It's not really a feel-good movie but you might be better for having seen it.
Recommendation: See this one by yourself.
The Kingdom (edited)
Before I looked this up on imdb.com, I would have bet money that this was the same director/producer as the movie and TV show Friday Night Lights. I would have won some money. The man's name is Peter Berg. He used many of the same actors and the movies have the same type of musical montages and they both end with the same sort of feeling (but I won't give it away).
Recommendation: I can only speak for the edited version, but it was pretty good.
We Own the Night (edited)
Not really an upper, but it had a good story. Joaquin Phoenix is running around with a bunch of baddies who go after the cops. Problem is, his dad and brother are cops but nobody knows that so he finds himself torn between two worlds.
Recommendation: Meh. I dunno. I enjoyed it so you might too.
Get Smart
This was the other one that tied for my favorite movie we saw. Steve Carell was funny as usual. You have to go in expecting some corny humor. We had an enjoyable time because there was a middle-aged lady behind us that would repeat the jokes to her friends. One example is when Carell's character makes a play on words by saying "thinsk" she said, for all to hear, "ha ha ha, thinsk" to make sure all her friends got it. This actually wasn't annoying but made it more enjoyable because we would laugh at the movie and then laugh at her. Double the Fun!
Recommendation: I'd see it again.
Untraceable (edited)
There was one original element to this movie: the idea of a bad guy setting up a website where the more traffic it generates, the faster the victim dies. Other than that this movie was totally predictable and I felt like I'd seen it 5 times before. Maybe the un-edited version has some surprises.
Recommendation: It's stupid.
Thank you for smoking (edited)
To the extent that untraceable was predictable, this one was equally as unpredictable. Maybe unconventional would be a better word. The story follows the charming and suave spokesperson for big tobacco as he goes about his work while at the same time trying to be a good example to his son and hive him some fatherly wisdom.
Recommendation: I thoroughly enjoyed the edited version of this movie.
Little Miss Sunshine (edited)
I picked this one up because I wanted my parents to see it. We all watched it together. I had actually seen the original version before and it was interesting to see what they took out. They managed to make Steve Carell's character not gay. He wasn't really straight, but any reference to a boyfriend was taken out of the movie. This resulted in them taking out a later seen which in and of itself was entirely clean, but wouldn't have made sense without some key events that were removed. Anyway, I'm glad they edited the language and the not-so-good grandfatherly advice because with those parts missing, this was a really enjoyable movie with a good message about how un-important the world's opinions of us really is.
Recommendation: One of my all-time favorite movies. I'll probably order the edited version for my home library when I grow up and get a job.
12 monkeys
We watched this in Melissa's Fairview cabin. We decided what to watch by reading the back covers and picked the most interesting one. This was it. It was an interesting and original storyline, but it was really weird. I'm still mixed on my feelings about this movie. After watching it, I dreamed that I was in a similar situation as Bruce Willis (either from the future or crazy, but not sure) . I should point out that Brad Pitt did an amazing performance as a crazy guy. In fact, this may be the best role I've ever seen him play.
Recommendation: It's ok to see if you're in a cabin with nothing else to watch. Otherwise, watch something else.
Con-air
Also viewed in the Fairview Cabin, the next day. Interesting story, strong and convincing performance by Nicholas Cage and the bad guy, but too much bad language.
Recommendation: See it edited if you can.
Definately Maybe
I'm watching that right now and decided to blog instead. Ryan Reynolds looks like the love child of Ben Affleck and Dane Cook. Anyway, the movie has way too many failed attempts at humor for my liking.
Recommendation: If you like movies that try to be funny but aren't, then knock yourself out.
So there you have it. Now I'm home and have to go back to school. I'll post some other stuff about our vacation soon. Also, I'm too lazy to put in links or pictures now so if you really want to, use google and imdb.com and you'll find stuff.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
My UFO experience
Last night I caught the second half of a UFO documentary hosted by Peter Jennings on the National Geographic Channel. Then Melissa and I saw the new Indiana Jones move (review coming soon) so it turned out to be a pretty alien-oriented evening. It got me reminiscing about an experience I had earlier this year that I haven't shared with anyone but my wife.
There I was, driving after sunset on a Sunday night. I was on my way to drop off some cookies my wife made for a few families in our church. For those of you familiar with the Loma Linda area, I was northbound on Anderson street on the uphill side of the bridge that goes over the railroad tracks.
Driving along minding my own business, I glanced out the window and just above the new anatomy building being constructed, I saw a glowing yellow saucer-shaped aircraft. I did a double take and tried to keep my eyes on the road but also get as good a look at this thing as I could. Because I was moving, I could gauge that it was about 500 yards away from me and probably 40 yards from end to end. It appeared to be angled such that I was seeing the underside of it. It didn't appear to be moving very quickly, if at all. The whole thing was a glowing yellowish color and had a bright light on the top center and one on the bottom.
I began thinking about how weird this was and about how I can't be the only one seeing this thing hovering over the inland empire. I started thinking that when the news reports came in I could tell people "I saw it too!" and recount my eyewitness description. As I kept driving, and glancing back and forth at my new discovery, something odd happened. The thing started changing it's shape. This didn't really phase me because I suppose alien spacecraft can do that. As I examined the new shape of my UFO, it turned into an IFO. Yup, an Identified Flying Object. I had positively identified the flying object as a blimp. I was probably thrown for a loop because I snuck up on the blimp and didn't notice it until I was pretty close and viewing it from a funny angle.
There you have it, and now you know why I haven't shared this experience with anyone besides my wife. In my own defense, if you scroll back up to the illustration at the top of this post, you can see how blimps and saucers might get mixed up, right?
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