Paul McCartney released a new track from his upcoming album. The track is called 'Dance Tonight' and you can see the video here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xTNXrkBSp_o
The new album is called "Memory Almost Full" and will be released on June 5th.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Saturday, May 05, 2007
To buy, or not to buy...revisited...
Authors addendum 5/10/2007 : As I started to make repairs on the Maxima, more problem started to emerge. As I see them, I'm actually more excited about having a fun project to work on. But, I've come to realize that the maxima has to be just that..a project. Not our main family car that we rely on to get to groceries, slurpees, medicine and church. So, we're back in the market for a new car, and will plan on keeping the max unless a dealer wants to give us a decent trade-in for it. (And believe me, my ideas of decent for this car are low) .In the end, I need to have my family driving around in a car in which they feel safe, and that we can expect to last 5-10 years. And I also hope I get to keep my project car. I have a sentimental attachment to it. :)
-----------------------------------------------------------
So, it's finally time to get our Nissan Maxima through the Maryland safety inspection. Our Kansas plates run out at the end of May. I had the inspection done, and it turns out that a few things need to be brought "up to code" as they say. Namely, the following need to be replaced:
- Steering rack and pinion
- Break rotors (What?! I replaced them both last year! Might be under warranty)
- Front-right tire (Might also be under warranty)
- Some light bulb
- One of the rear view mirrors (cracked and broken)
- Parking brake(not replaced, but adjusted)
$1200? Hmmm. It's a 14 year old car with 145,000 miles on it, 100,000 of which we've put on it over the past 7 years. We seem to have that car in the shop too much lately as well. Is it worth it?
Well, to make a getting-too-long-story shorter, we looked at a bunch of used cars. Everything in our price range doesn't really work for us. And most used car places were willing to give us only $300-$500 for our Maxima!
So, we finally decided to fix it, and keep it going for a few more years. I think it's got another 50k in there. I can fix it for only a few hundred dollars, saving us a ton. It's a big project, and I'm look forward to getting my hands dirty, and keeping our savings where it belongs.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Introducing Jacksons Wepsite...
Jackson wanted to start a wepsite, as he calls them, and he asked for my help.
He eventually wants to sell the parts that break off his toys, but we're starting with a weblog. :) I typed as he dictated the answers to the questions. I added nothing.
In the center ring, I present Jackson, and his wepdamonium shadow poe.
He eventually wants to sell the parts that break off his toys, but we're starting with a weblog. :) I typed as he dictated the answers to the questions. I added nothing.
In the center ring, I present Jackson, and his wepdamonium shadow poe.
Ok fine...
For hours and hours I could...--Take Pictures.
--Have fun with Jackson and Cortnie.
--Mess around with Linux.
--Scoot.
I feel best about myself...--While camping.
--After a successful project at work, or at home.
--After taking a shower.
--Making it to work alive, on the scooter.
I absolutely cannot stand...--When people make up parking spots.
--When people don't let other people merge while in traffic.
(ok, enough traffic)
--Being "sold" on something, which leads to buyers remorse.
--Being startled, especially when it involves physical contact. (Consider yourself warned.)
I am afraid of...--Realtors.
--Deep, dark water.
--Sharks coming into my basement. (Hey, it could happen...ask me how.)
I love to splurge by...--Getting the large popcorn at the movies, and eating it.
--Buying the $6 oil filter, instead of the $3 one.
--Getting a wash with my hair cut. (oh yeah.)
I save by...--Budgeting our money.
--Buying things second-hand.
--Taking my lunch to work. (Special thanks to Cortnie, who makes it for me most of the time).
I am trying to work on...--My Maxima.
--My photography skills.
--My journal writing skills.
--My marriage skills.
--My bowstaff skills.
In high school...--I should have skipped less classes.
--I had great friends.
--I should have taken more mathematics.
--I was Mr. Viking.
In college...--I started seeing grey hair.
--Met friends that I've talked to nearly every day for almost a decade.
--Only slept 3-4 hours a night.
--Took Calculus II three times. ("...you know, a lot of people go to college for 7 years." "...I know, they're called Doctors.")
I feel I'm a good dad when...--My son is polite and thoughtful of others.
--When Jackson gives thanks in his prayers for an "Awesome dad."
--When Jackson changes the oil in the truck almost all by himself. (Like he did today!)
I regret...--Eating that double cheese burger.
--Leaving Kansas.
--Borrowing money from anyone, ever.
I could never have too many...--Draw-string bags.
--Lenses.
--Cords/Cables.
--Food storages.
I'd like to thank the academy for taking my bribes, the internets for providing most of the pictures, and of course my wife, who read and critiqued my favorites and not-so favorites as they came off the printer, draft after draft. And of course my fans...you know who you are.
xo,
Mattie
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Boy emerges from hospital, parents get some sleep...
Master Jackson had his tonsils out last Wednesday. Here are few pictures from the surrounding nonsense. Thanks to everyone to the calls, visits and well-wishes.
Pre-Surgery. Note Pirate slippers, favored Teddy Bear named "Soccer" and bag of hotwheel cars.
Post operation. Drugged to the hilt and feeling terrible.
Next morning. After bleeding WAY too much over night, doctors admitted him to the hospital. So fun.
The iv needle in his arm. He had about 15 needle holes after everything was finished. At one point he woke up from a nightmare yelling "Don't hold my arm! Let go of my arm".
Feeling better. Able to play with play dough, have some visits and cards from cousins and watch some TV.
I have a few more pics that I"ll put up. Short story: he stayed in the hospital for 2 nights so they could get his blood count where it should be, then sent him home. He's doing awesome. Staying in bed, eating the ice creat and Popsicles. Playing the games and hating medicine times.
Pre-Surgery. Note Pirate slippers, favored Teddy Bear named "Soccer" and bag of hotwheel cars.
Post operation. Drugged to the hilt and feeling terrible. 
Next morning. After bleeding WAY too much over night, doctors admitted him to the hospital. So fun.
The iv needle in his arm. He had about 15 needle holes after everything was finished. At one point he woke up from a nightmare yelling "Don't hold my arm! Let go of my arm".
Feeling better. Able to play with play dough, have some visits and cards from cousins and watch some TV. I have a few more pics that I"ll put up. Short story: he stayed in the hospital for 2 nights so they could get his blood count where it should be, then sent him home. He's doing awesome. Staying in bed, eating the ice creat and Popsicles. Playing the games and hating medicine times.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Photos from trip to Palmyra NY
Over spring break we took a fun little road trip to Palmyra, NY. It was a nice 7 hour drive up in the big rental car. We saw some great Church history sites. We had planned to drive from there to Niagara falls, but the reports of 1.5 feet of show on it's way talked us into coming home early.
We loved the trip, and will defiantly go back. Highlights included the Smith farmstead and home, the Hill Cumorah and the original printing site of the Book of Mormon (Jacksons favorite.)
Here are some photos from the trip. It was really cold, so I didn't take very many. A few more can be seen here.
The Smith home where Joseph and Emma lived. Joseph Smith did some of the translation of the Book of Mormon here. They don't let you go upstairs, but the missionary there told us that when she was young, you could rent a room in the upper floor of this house.
Jackson, standing in the Scared Grove. It was cold, but we really had the place to ourselves.
My family walking from the Sacred Grove to the Smith farmhouse.
Upstairs in the boyhood bedroom of Joseph Smith. It was here that he was taught by Moroni prior to being given the plates.
All three of us in front of the boyhood home of Joseph Smith and his family.
This monument at the top of the Hill Cumorah provided little shelter from the freezing wind! Turns out you can drive to the top instead of walking if you want. We didn't know.
Jackson running down the Hill Cumorah. It seemed a little irreverent, yet fitting for the boy. He had a good time, despite the cold.
We loved the trip, and will defiantly go back. Highlights included the Smith farmstead and home, the Hill Cumorah and the original printing site of the Book of Mormon (Jacksons favorite.)
Here are some photos from the trip. It was really cold, so I didn't take very many. A few more can be seen here.
The Smith home where Joseph and Emma lived. Joseph Smith did some of the translation of the Book of Mormon here. They don't let you go upstairs, but the missionary there told us that when she was young, you could rent a room in the upper floor of this house.
Jackson, standing in the Scared Grove. It was cold, but we really had the place to ourselves.
My family walking from the Sacred Grove to the Smith farmhouse.
Upstairs in the boyhood bedroom of Joseph Smith. It was here that he was taught by Moroni prior to being given the plates.
All three of us in front of the boyhood home of Joseph Smith and his family.
This monument at the top of the Hill Cumorah provided little shelter from the freezing wind! Turns out you can drive to the top instead of walking if you want. We didn't know. 
Jackson running down the Hill Cumorah. It seemed a little irreverent, yet fitting for the boy. He had a good time, despite the cold. Monday, March 26, 2007
Drews 100 things.
Posters note:
I recently mailed Andy a print of any 100 things written by immediate family. The pages, printed in small font, numbered over 30 pages, without the comments! Today he sent these 100 things in response. Enjoy.
All right, based on the recent interest nearly my entire family has expressed in writing 100 things about themselves, I guess the time has come for me to make my contribution. Some of these might be kind of... touched by a missionary? considering my current situation, but whatever, it's still me. So, here goes.
1. My favorite color is blue (of any kind), though as a child I claimed green (blue was Matt's, Amber's was pink, Cami's was yellow).
2. I have a fear of change, but at the same time, desire and recognize the necessity of it (for example, on the one hand, I have done my hair almost the same way my entire life, and wear the same watch I wore in grade school, but also sometimes do things like grow a goatee and try really hard to lose my tummy).
3. I hate shaving, but I have to do it all the time, and recently, more than usual...
4. I have made some of my best friends ever in the last year. I am sure Elder Johns and I were desined to be BCFs.
5. My best friend in the world, however, is and will remain Elise (NOTHING PERSONAL, I love and have a special, invaluable bond with all of my siblings, for which I will be forever grateful). I owe my relationship with Harry Potter to her.
6. I am a musical snob. Sometimes, I'm sure, to the frustration of those around me. But really, I can find something I like in every genre of music (almost--as far as I'm concerned, rap is not considered music). Musical theater and soundtracks are my favorite genre, and I can find something I like about almost every musical, but get mad when people claim to be fans when they only know Phantom and Les Mis.
7. If I could make a living singing, I would. In a heartbeat.
8. I have kept an on-hand, take-with-me-everywhere sketchbook ever since Grandma Julie gave me one when I was 12 or 13.
9. Brownies are my only weakness.
10. I also make amazing cookies. It's the only thing I really bake. Though, I once made an amazing chocolate cake at Cami's house (don't you dare say it was from a box!).
11. My top 10 favorite movies are (in no particular order): The Lord of the Rings (counts as one), Harry Potter (also counts as one), The Passion of the Christ, The Prince of Egypt, Aladdin, West Side Story, The Hudsucker Proxy, Brigham City, The Sixth Sense (and anything by M. Night) and... I reserve the right to skip the 10th. On second thought, I'll add Sleepless in Seattle just to make it an even number.
12. Some crazy combination of Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, Klaus Baudelaire and Edmund Pevensie is my literary hero.
13. I was inordinately happy when the new Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD (Showtime!) was released, as well as The Testaments on DVD.
14. I can never eat egg rolls again without comparing them to Hmong egg rolls (just so much better).
15. I only eat rice with a spoon nowadays.
16. I have an unhealthy crush on Jasmine. I even currently have a Pez dispenser of her that sits on my desk. I have since given a Belle Pez dispenser to Elder Johns, and an Ariel one to Tom Strawn.
17. I hate basketball. I just cannot like it. I like shooting, but I hate playing. Edit: Elder Hood has done the impossible: Not only did he get me to play one-on-one, but actually kind of enjoy it.
18. I still miss my cellphone. A lot.
19. My favorite author is Thomas Hardy (thanks a lot, Cami), though he's hopelessly depressing. I think that's why, actually. Until Harry Potter book the sixth, he was the only author to bring me to tears (in Jude the Obscure).
20. I love being at the beach but hate the summer, and I don't really care for being in the mountains but love the winter.
21. When I left for the MTC, I was DETERMINED to learn to be a good letter writer. I think I've done well so far.
22. I have an unusual admiration and reliance on the dictionary. There's even a song about it in one of my favorite contemporary musicals.
23. I spent a semester drawing on napkins, flirting with Disney characters and dodging accusations about my sexuality while serving popcorn and ice cream at the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
24. I have a BFA in animation from BYU (and it only took me six years to earn!).
25. All through junior high and high school, I could never use a planner, no matter how many I bought or tried, until now, which I currently use every day.
26. I like to think I have a relatively extensive vocabulary. This sometimes extends to my writing, making it pontificatious (might be a fake word) and verbose (which explains the length of this list).
27. I have been to Europe (Belgium and France), and adored visiting Notre Dame, Marseilles, Montmartre, The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
28. I have kissed six girls. I have (honestly) loved two of them.
29. Whenever I see a play, particularly a musical, I have an intense desire to be on stage.
30. I have a secret desire to be famous, if just for a moment. This has led me to apply for Survivor and audition for American Idol and the Young Ambassadors.
31. I love being in plays, but I hate the audition process. I have never wanted anything more (in this field) than to be Frederick in BYU's Pirates of Penzance or to make the top 12 on American Idol.
32. I have in recent months developed a desire to audition for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when I get home (you only have to be 25).
33. Although I have learned to love the Hmong people, it is not a desire of my heart to visit the Asian countries, especially Thailand and Japan. I may try Hong Kong Disneyland one day, and do a Laos/Thailand Hmong trip, but it's just so foreign.
34. I have never cared for video games, although I have in the past had mild obsessions with Minesweeper and Solitaire (on the computer).
35. I am convinced all the world's problems would be solved in the UN leaders all sat around with a nice helping of ice cream.
36. I was relentlessly teased in elementary school, which I was promised by my siblings would end when I entered junior high school. It didn't. I was promised it would end in high school. It didn't. It ended in college.
37. Mom says I have a high tolerance for pain. When I was a baby, I didn't mind having minor surgery, and I can only remember twice feeling like I was in so much pain I would I would die (both events, incidentally, having to do with my teeth). Of course, this tolerance doesn't extend to my emotions (oh, the drama).
38. In high school I joined the clogging team to get out of taking a gym class and to earn the necessary PE credit.
39. I love classical music, and think some of the best composers in the world are Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, and, more contemporarily, Gerswhin, Copland and the untouchable Bernstein.
40. I love the Oscars (shallow and petty though they are). I threw a huge party the year The Return of the King was up for everything and did a run for joy up and down the hallway of the Glenwood apartments when they announced it won Best Picture. I̢۪m still upset Beauty and the Beast (the only animated feature nominated for Best Picture) was beat by the Silence of the Lambs in 1991, and also that Shrek beat Monsters, Inc. for the first-ever winner in the Best Animated Feature category.
41. I know an exorbitant amount of Beatles music, though listening to it was rarely my doing. I fell asleep for much of my childhood to the tunes of the Beatles and the sound of a computer keyboard typing.
42. I did two Eagle projects. One counted for the award.
43. While some collected baseball or football cards, I collected Disney cards, convinced they were excellent reference material for drawing practice and that they would be very valuable one day. I never intended to sell them. I still don't.
44. I have only ever participated in minor scuffles in school. I usually ended up in trouble, though he usually started it. I'm not much of a fighter.
45. There are only a couple features on me that I am really fond of. My eyebrows and my hands. I am also vain about my hair, which may be my downfall one day. I also think I have a kind of nice voice. See #7.
46. I am slightly OCD (who isn't though, really?). I may keep a messy room, but some things I just like to be organized and in order.
47. I have recently developed an affinity for volleyball (Hmong kids love it).
48. I think Snape is working for himself, and will claim loyalty to the winning side in the end, whoever it may be (let it be written, 20 March 2007).
49. My heart of hearts thinks that Snape will be redeemed somehow, regardless of #48.
50. My experience with keeping a journal is vast and varied, from the mundane to the implicating, from the ridiculous to the sublime. I look forward to Giant Journaling again, and I am keeping regular mission journals.
51. Glen Keane's animation of Ariel changed my life.
52. My family is my most prized possession, and my fondest desire is to live with them in the Celestial Kingdom in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
53. I have a very personal witness that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and life-changing.
54. Through the years, I have had methods of always keeping a pen on my person. For a while, it was in my sock, for a while it was behind my ear, and currently, in my white shirt pocket.
55. My medium of choice has for years been what Elise would call a "delicious, blue pen", an ordinary, blue-barrel, blue-ink Papermate pen.
56. One of my favorite places on the face of the earth is Disneyland. I would rather be there than almost anywhere in the world. Some of my fondest memories (of childhood and adulthood) took place there.
57. I am very horrible at small talk. I hate trying to keep a conversation going, and I'm not really good with awkward silences.
58. I love reading, and I love writing. Part of me wants to "be" a writer. Some of this desire was realized when I spent a few months last year writing a book.
59. I like being a living mystery (20 at BYU, 26 on a mission). People will think what they think, it's just kind of fun to watch the gears in their heads turning.
60. Elder Hood says that I am a mystery in many ways (one he cites is my "quick maneuvers" in the car). He is the one person who has expressed the most, open curiosity in my past, probably ever.
61. I have tasted beer. It was an unpleasant experience.
62. I am (almost) the only person in my family that has broken a bone. It was, ironically, my right wrist, falling off a tandem bike with my cousin Cody. I had to learn to draw with a cast, then relearn to draw without it.
63. I will spend three birthdays as a full-time missionary.
64. I love TV, but I don't channel surf. I just have "shows". They are: 24, The Office, Survivor (NOT a reality show, a GAME show), American Idol, Prison Break, House, and last, but oh, so not least, LOST (!!!!!!).
65. I have been in many plays, including Pirates of Penzance (three times, twice as a pirate, once as a policeman, much more fun the last time), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, In One Basket, A Christmas Carol, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a trainwreck), and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
66. My favorite role was Charlie Brown. Although it was a shortened production with a limited run, I felt I became him on stage.
67. I love Christmas music, and had a hard time when Elder Johns refused to listen to it until after Thanksgiving (he relented a little a week or two before, with little or no pressure from me). I am willing to listen to seriously saccharine music in the name of Christmas festivity.
68. I never really thought Asian girls could be pretty until two things happened: I started watching Lost (Sun is stunning) and I served among the Hmong people. I don't think I could marry one, but I really see how some of them are quite beautiful.
69. I love both coasts of the US, for different reasons.
70. I have long since accepted the fact that I will be the last of my parents' children to be married.
71. My Hmong name means (roughly translated) "power shine".
72. I often have celebrity crushes. My most consistent include Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johanson. Also, obscure actresses like Claire Forlani (Mystery Men, Meet Joe Black, Antitrust).
73. Some of my heroes include Walt Disney, J.K. Rowling, Nephi, Abinadi and my parents.
74. I will be a first tenor forever.
75. I prefer altos. There is just something about a girl singing in her lower register.
76. I try not to take pride in my accomplishments, but in high school, I learned to play Peter J. Wilhousky's hairy arrangment of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It runs about seven minutes long and pounded it out hundreds of times at home. I was allowed to accompany the choir for it for the final concert of the year (but not for graduation, my real dream). I can still play it.
77. One of the proudest moments of my life was watching Elise as Fantine in Lone Peak's Les Miserables. I daresay I was as excited she landed the part as she was. I cried when she walked on stage and didn't stop until curtain call.
78. In junior high I had a crazy obsession with the Muppets. I had a copy of every audio recording from them available. I still laugh my head off when I watch those movies.
79. I was extremely critical of others in high school, but it was just a reflection of my own insecurities and frustrations. I have since (I hope) become much more charitable and thoughtful.
80. When I live away from home, I usually eat things that are easy to make, and come in a box or a bag.
81. I am politically outspoken, and have wound up in trouble on more than one occasion in more than one venue/forum. I was once banned from an online forum (undeservingly).
82. I have taken second place twice, and sixth place once in school spelling bees. For the first two, I still remember the words I was eliminated on (lozenge and hydraulic--Elder Johns also lost on lozenge when he was in grade school).
83. I shop too much. In the past, sometimes I would spend money I didn't have, especially online. I'm a packrat for CDs and DVDs. I'm getting better, though my church music and DVD collection is quite extensive.
84. I love horses, and have since I was very young. I hate frogs, and have since I was very young (I had a VERY vivid nightmare as a child which probably contributes to this).
85. My childhood fear is Freddy Krueger. I once saw Matt watching him one night and it has haunted me ever since. Also, don’t get me started on that one episode of The Twilight Zone…
86. I feel like I have a problem with pride, but I feel like if I recognize it, I'm on the path of overcoming it.
87. I have sustained some bad habits from my early childhood into my adulthood. I am very close to giving them up for good. (Willpower is not enough!)
88. I own a model of the Golden Snitch (thanks Elise!), a couple makeshift wands, two Gryffindor ties, and three Gryffindor scarves.
89. I claim Gryffindor as my house, mostly because Harry is in it and I relate to him.
90. I think it's weird when people claim they're Slytherins or Hufflepuffs.
91. I always pick a part in every play that I would want to be cast as, and it's not generally the lead.
92. I was the school artist my senior year. I was unopposed in the election.
93. I was in choirs and was drum major for the marching band in high school. Band camp was almost cancelled due to lack of interest and organization of the band director, but I decided to teach the band how to march instead. Also, halfway through the season, the other drum major quit. We weren't good, but I was still defensive of us. In college, I had to choose between choir and band. I decided I would rather sing. I did Men's Chorus for six years straight (except the semester I was abroad).
94. I have crashed one car, and killed at least two others. My Trooper, Moses, will forever be my favorite automobile.
95. I prefer Italian food over almost all others, though Hmong food is growing one me...
96. I have always been insecure and introspective. This has led me to a lot of trouble in the past, until I learned to rely on the Savior.
97. I speak five languages (counting Pig Latin and Mongese-different from Hmong. Ask Matt).
98. I'm a hopeless romantic. I so wanted to be in love like they are in the movies, that I had to learn and relearn what it's like to actually be in a relationship.
99. I'm very dramatic. If there's not drama going on, I usually create some or exaggerate what little there is.
100. I have recently developed a more involved interest in getting in shape, including lifting weights, although in past years I have enjoyed swimming a little, and running as well.
101 (bonus). I'm a work in progress.
WOW, that was fun. But hard. But rewarding. And therapeutic. I'm sure there's a lot more, but whatev. What an idea, who doesn't love to talk about themself?
LOVE YOU ALL,
Drew
I recently mailed Andy a print of any 100 things written by immediate family. The pages, printed in small font, numbered over 30 pages, without the comments! Today he sent these 100 things in response. Enjoy.
All right, based on the recent interest nearly my entire family has expressed in writing 100 things about themselves, I guess the time has come for me to make my contribution. Some of these might be kind of... touched by a missionary? considering my current situation, but whatever, it's still me. So, here goes.
1. My favorite color is blue (of any kind), though as a child I claimed green (blue was Matt's, Amber's was pink, Cami's was yellow).
2. I have a fear of change, but at the same time, desire and recognize the necessity of it (for example, on the one hand, I have done my hair almost the same way my entire life, and wear the same watch I wore in grade school, but also sometimes do things like grow a goatee and try really hard to lose my tummy).
3. I hate shaving, but I have to do it all the time, and recently, more than usual...
4. I have made some of my best friends ever in the last year. I am sure Elder Johns and I were desined to be BCFs.
5. My best friend in the world, however, is and will remain Elise (NOTHING PERSONAL, I love and have a special, invaluable bond with all of my siblings, for which I will be forever grateful). I owe my relationship with Harry Potter to her.
6. I am a musical snob. Sometimes, I'm sure, to the frustration of those around me. But really, I can find something I like in every genre of music (almost--as far as I'm concerned, rap is not considered music). Musical theater and soundtracks are my favorite genre, and I can find something I like about almost every musical, but get mad when people claim to be fans when they only know Phantom and Les Mis.
7. If I could make a living singing, I would. In a heartbeat.
8. I have kept an on-hand, take-with-me-everywhere sketchbook ever since Grandma Julie gave me one when I was 12 or 13.
9. Brownies are my only weakness.
10. I also make amazing cookies. It's the only thing I really bake. Though, I once made an amazing chocolate cake at Cami's house (don't you dare say it was from a box!).
11. My top 10 favorite movies are (in no particular order): The Lord of the Rings (counts as one), Harry Potter (also counts as one), The Passion of the Christ, The Prince of Egypt, Aladdin, West Side Story, The Hudsucker Proxy, Brigham City, The Sixth Sense (and anything by M. Night) and... I reserve the right to skip the 10th. On second thought, I'll add Sleepless in Seattle just to make it an even number.
12. Some crazy combination of Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, Klaus Baudelaire and Edmund Pevensie is my literary hero.
13. I was inordinately happy when the new Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD (Showtime!) was released, as well as The Testaments on DVD.
14. I can never eat egg rolls again without comparing them to Hmong egg rolls (just so much better).
15. I only eat rice with a spoon nowadays.
16. I have an unhealthy crush on Jasmine. I even currently have a Pez dispenser of her that sits on my desk. I have since given a Belle Pez dispenser to Elder Johns, and an Ariel one to Tom Strawn.
17. I hate basketball. I just cannot like it. I like shooting, but I hate playing. Edit: Elder Hood has done the impossible: Not only did he get me to play one-on-one, but actually kind of enjoy it.
18. I still miss my cellphone. A lot.
19. My favorite author is Thomas Hardy (thanks a lot, Cami), though he's hopelessly depressing. I think that's why, actually. Until Harry Potter book the sixth, he was the only author to bring me to tears (in Jude the Obscure).
20. I love being at the beach but hate the summer, and I don't really care for being in the mountains but love the winter.
21. When I left for the MTC, I was DETERMINED to learn to be a good letter writer. I think I've done well so far.
22. I have an unusual admiration and reliance on the dictionary. There's even a song about it in one of my favorite contemporary musicals.
23. I spent a semester drawing on napkins, flirting with Disney characters and dodging accusations about my sexuality while serving popcorn and ice cream at the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
24. I have a BFA in animation from BYU (and it only took me six years to earn!).
25. All through junior high and high school, I could never use a planner, no matter how many I bought or tried, until now, which I currently use every day.
26. I like to think I have a relatively extensive vocabulary. This sometimes extends to my writing, making it pontificatious (might be a fake word) and verbose (which explains the length of this list).
27. I have been to Europe (Belgium and France), and adored visiting Notre Dame, Marseilles, Montmartre, The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
28. I have kissed six girls. I have (honestly) loved two of them.
29. Whenever I see a play, particularly a musical, I have an intense desire to be on stage.
30. I have a secret desire to be famous, if just for a moment. This has led me to apply for Survivor and audition for American Idol and the Young Ambassadors.
31. I love being in plays, but I hate the audition process. I have never wanted anything more (in this field) than to be Frederick in BYU's Pirates of Penzance or to make the top 12 on American Idol.
32. I have in recent months developed a desire to audition for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when I get home (you only have to be 25).
33. Although I have learned to love the Hmong people, it is not a desire of my heart to visit the Asian countries, especially Thailand and Japan. I may try Hong Kong Disneyland one day, and do a Laos/Thailand Hmong trip, but it's just so foreign.
34. I have never cared for video games, although I have in the past had mild obsessions with Minesweeper and Solitaire (on the computer).
35. I am convinced all the world's problems would be solved in the UN leaders all sat around with a nice helping of ice cream.
36. I was relentlessly teased in elementary school, which I was promised by my siblings would end when I entered junior high school. It didn't. I was promised it would end in high school. It didn't. It ended in college.
37. Mom says I have a high tolerance for pain. When I was a baby, I didn't mind having minor surgery, and I can only remember twice feeling like I was in so much pain I would I would die (both events, incidentally, having to do with my teeth). Of course, this tolerance doesn't extend to my emotions (oh, the drama).
38. In high school I joined the clogging team to get out of taking a gym class and to earn the necessary PE credit.
39. I love classical music, and think some of the best composers in the world are Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, and, more contemporarily, Gerswhin, Copland and the untouchable Bernstein.
40. I love the Oscars (shallow and petty though they are). I threw a huge party the year The Return of the King was up for everything and did a run for joy up and down the hallway of the Glenwood apartments when they announced it won Best Picture. I̢۪m still upset Beauty and the Beast (the only animated feature nominated for Best Picture) was beat by the Silence of the Lambs in 1991, and also that Shrek beat Monsters, Inc. for the first-ever winner in the Best Animated Feature category.
41. I know an exorbitant amount of Beatles music, though listening to it was rarely my doing. I fell asleep for much of my childhood to the tunes of the Beatles and the sound of a computer keyboard typing.
42. I did two Eagle projects. One counted for the award.
43. While some collected baseball or football cards, I collected Disney cards, convinced they were excellent reference material for drawing practice and that they would be very valuable one day. I never intended to sell them. I still don't.
44. I have only ever participated in minor scuffles in school. I usually ended up in trouble, though he usually started it. I'm not much of a fighter.
45. There are only a couple features on me that I am really fond of. My eyebrows and my hands. I am also vain about my hair, which may be my downfall one day. I also think I have a kind of nice voice. See #7.
46. I am slightly OCD (who isn't though, really?). I may keep a messy room, but some things I just like to be organized and in order.
47. I have recently developed an affinity for volleyball (Hmong kids love it).
48. I think Snape is working for himself, and will claim loyalty to the winning side in the end, whoever it may be (let it be written, 20 March 2007).
49. My heart of hearts thinks that Snape will be redeemed somehow, regardless of #48.
50. My experience with keeping a journal is vast and varied, from the mundane to the implicating, from the ridiculous to the sublime. I look forward to Giant Journaling again, and I am keeping regular mission journals.
51. Glen Keane's animation of Ariel changed my life.
52. My family is my most prized possession, and my fondest desire is to live with them in the Celestial Kingdom in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
53. I have a very personal witness that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and life-changing.
54. Through the years, I have had methods of always keeping a pen on my person. For a while, it was in my sock, for a while it was behind my ear, and currently, in my white shirt pocket.
55. My medium of choice has for years been what Elise would call a "delicious, blue pen", an ordinary, blue-barrel, blue-ink Papermate pen.
56. One of my favorite places on the face of the earth is Disneyland. I would rather be there than almost anywhere in the world. Some of my fondest memories (of childhood and adulthood) took place there.
57. I am very horrible at small talk. I hate trying to keep a conversation going, and I'm not really good with awkward silences.
58. I love reading, and I love writing. Part of me wants to "be" a writer. Some of this desire was realized when I spent a few months last year writing a book.
59. I like being a living mystery (20 at BYU, 26 on a mission). People will think what they think, it's just kind of fun to watch the gears in their heads turning.
60. Elder Hood says that I am a mystery in many ways (one he cites is my "quick maneuvers" in the car). He is the one person who has expressed the most, open curiosity in my past, probably ever.
61. I have tasted beer. It was an unpleasant experience.
62. I am (almost) the only person in my family that has broken a bone. It was, ironically, my right wrist, falling off a tandem bike with my cousin Cody. I had to learn to draw with a cast, then relearn to draw without it.
63. I will spend three birthdays as a full-time missionary.
64. I love TV, but I don't channel surf. I just have "shows". They are: 24, The Office, Survivor (NOT a reality show, a GAME show), American Idol, Prison Break, House, and last, but oh, so not least, LOST (!!!!!!).
65. I have been in many plays, including Pirates of Penzance (three times, twice as a pirate, once as a policeman, much more fun the last time), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, In One Basket, A Christmas Carol, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a trainwreck), and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
66. My favorite role was Charlie Brown. Although it was a shortened production with a limited run, I felt I became him on stage.
67. I love Christmas music, and had a hard time when Elder Johns refused to listen to it until after Thanksgiving (he relented a little a week or two before, with little or no pressure from me). I am willing to listen to seriously saccharine music in the name of Christmas festivity.
68. I never really thought Asian girls could be pretty until two things happened: I started watching Lost (Sun is stunning) and I served among the Hmong people. I don't think I could marry one, but I really see how some of them are quite beautiful.
69. I love both coasts of the US, for different reasons.
70. I have long since accepted the fact that I will be the last of my parents' children to be married.
71. My Hmong name means (roughly translated) "power shine".
72. I often have celebrity crushes. My most consistent include Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johanson. Also, obscure actresses like Claire Forlani (Mystery Men, Meet Joe Black, Antitrust).
73. Some of my heroes include Walt Disney, J.K. Rowling, Nephi, Abinadi and my parents.
74. I will be a first tenor forever.
75. I prefer altos. There is just something about a girl singing in her lower register.
76. I try not to take pride in my accomplishments, but in high school, I learned to play Peter J. Wilhousky's hairy arrangment of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. It runs about seven minutes long and pounded it out hundreds of times at home. I was allowed to accompany the choir for it for the final concert of the year (but not for graduation, my real dream). I can still play it.
77. One of the proudest moments of my life was watching Elise as Fantine in Lone Peak's Les Miserables. I daresay I was as excited she landed the part as she was. I cried when she walked on stage and didn't stop until curtain call.
78. In junior high I had a crazy obsession with the Muppets. I had a copy of every audio recording from them available. I still laugh my head off when I watch those movies.
79. I was extremely critical of others in high school, but it was just a reflection of my own insecurities and frustrations. I have since (I hope) become much more charitable and thoughtful.
80. When I live away from home, I usually eat things that are easy to make, and come in a box or a bag.
81. I am politically outspoken, and have wound up in trouble on more than one occasion in more than one venue/forum. I was once banned from an online forum (undeservingly).
82. I have taken second place twice, and sixth place once in school spelling bees. For the first two, I still remember the words I was eliminated on (lozenge and hydraulic--Elder Johns also lost on lozenge when he was in grade school).
83. I shop too much. In the past, sometimes I would spend money I didn't have, especially online. I'm a packrat for CDs and DVDs. I'm getting better, though my church music and DVD collection is quite extensive.
84. I love horses, and have since I was very young. I hate frogs, and have since I was very young (I had a VERY vivid nightmare as a child which probably contributes to this).
85. My childhood fear is Freddy Krueger. I once saw Matt watching him one night and it has haunted me ever since. Also, don’t get me started on that one episode of The Twilight Zone…
86. I feel like I have a problem with pride, but I feel like if I recognize it, I'm on the path of overcoming it.
87. I have sustained some bad habits from my early childhood into my adulthood. I am very close to giving them up for good. (Willpower is not enough!)
88. I own a model of the Golden Snitch (thanks Elise!), a couple makeshift wands, two Gryffindor ties, and three Gryffindor scarves.
89. I claim Gryffindor as my house, mostly because Harry is in it and I relate to him.
90. I think it's weird when people claim they're Slytherins or Hufflepuffs.
91. I always pick a part in every play that I would want to be cast as, and it's not generally the lead.
92. I was the school artist my senior year. I was unopposed in the election.
93. I was in choirs and was drum major for the marching band in high school. Band camp was almost cancelled due to lack of interest and organization of the band director, but I decided to teach the band how to march instead. Also, halfway through the season, the other drum major quit. We weren't good, but I was still defensive of us. In college, I had to choose between choir and band. I decided I would rather sing. I did Men's Chorus for six years straight (except the semester I was abroad).
94. I have crashed one car, and killed at least two others. My Trooper, Moses, will forever be my favorite automobile.
95. I prefer Italian food over almost all others, though Hmong food is growing one me...
96. I have always been insecure and introspective. This has led me to a lot of trouble in the past, until I learned to rely on the Savior.
97. I speak five languages (counting Pig Latin and Mongese-different from Hmong. Ask Matt).
98. I'm a hopeless romantic. I so wanted to be in love like they are in the movies, that I had to learn and relearn what it's like to actually be in a relationship.
99. I'm very dramatic. If there's not drama going on, I usually create some or exaggerate what little there is.
100. I have recently developed a more involved interest in getting in shape, including lifting weights, although in past years I have enjoyed swimming a little, and running as well.
101 (bonus). I'm a work in progress.
WOW, that was fun. But hard. But rewarding. And therapeutic. I'm sure there's a lot more, but whatev. What an idea, who doesn't love to talk about themself?
LOVE YOU ALL,
Drew
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Monkeyberry Mattie....
I'm sick of this writers block. This is an attempt to overcome it.
This song is reaching me today, and I don't know why. Over and over it's playing.
Monkberry Moon Delight by Paul McCartney
http://themdg.org/music/MonkberryMoonDelight.mp3
Maybe I feel sore from the crack of an enemies hose, as the lyrics say.
/me shrugs.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
It's a sad day....Costco gives in...
Today is a sad day. Well, yesterday actually.
Costco has changed their return policy. Before yesterday, they allowed returns for anything except computers (which had a 6 month return window) forever.
As stated on their website, the policy is now as follows:
Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.I talked to them yesterday. For purchases before 2/26/07 they'll still honor their old policy, as they should. But no more.
Travie put is perfectly when he said "it feels like a girlfriend of 6 years has walked out on me without a word."
While I rarely use this return policy, this is the only reason I shop at Costco. With BJ's and Sams Club much close, I might have to make a change. Without the forever giveback policy, why would I go to Costco to pay higher prices for the same gear I can get elsewhere?
So you know, you can return your membership at any time.
Sad...sad day.
(A lone trumpet plays taps...slowly.)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Book Tag, from Elise..
My Sister tagged me.
Rules of the Game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.
My Entry:
Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card (returned by a friend today, who was borrowing it)
xOXxOooOxoxOXXx,
Mattie
Rules of the Game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.
My Entry:
Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card (returned by a friend today, who was borrowing it)
And when Mother and Father had announced to them that they were leaving the city to move to North Carolina, of all places, Valentine knew that they never expected to see Ender again. They were leaving the place where he knew to find them. How would Ender find them here, among these trees, under this changeable and heavy sky?I taggest The U2 Girls, Richard and Jordan (and/or Amber)
xOXxOooOxoxOXXx,
Mattie
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Hooray for restored power and cable...
Three cheers for the power and cable guys who have restored power and cable to our house.
More on this later.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Help! We need money!
Did I get your attention? Good, because we need some help, though not the kind you might think.
We need help finding these. Read on for the full story.
A few years ago, McJackson started a coin collection. We started putting them in coin collecting folders. We still enjoy getting out the magnifying glasses and going through coin rolls from the bank. It makes for a good DJT. See the photo of his current collection below.
Most coins are fairly easy to find, but one coin in particular is proving to be very difficult! The Eisenhower dollar, minted between 1971 and 1978 are becoming less and less common, but they're still in circulation and still worth...you guessed it...$1
What can you do? The only way to "find" these things really, is to ask the teller at the bank. They banks usually only have them if someone brings them in. So many times I hear "Oh man, I had 10 of those yesterday, but someone bought them all." We've been lucky enough to find 1 so far. (See the lower left part of the picture...the largest coin there)
When you go to the bank, if you're not already looking for these coins yourself, would you mind asking for us? I'll gladly pay you for the coins and postage to send them to us. Ask for "Eisenhower Dollars". Sometimes you have to describe them as "The old bigger coins, sometimes referred to as silver dollars." It's an exciting day when we find one of these for our collection.
We also look for Susan B. Anthony dollars, but they're relatively easy to find. Most of our coin books are well stocked, and we're starting to look for old coins there...which is where the fun begins. :)
Thanks in advance for anyone that can help us find some of these.
We need help finding these. Read on for the full story.
A few years ago, McJackson started a coin collection. We started putting them in coin collecting folders. We still enjoy getting out the magnifying glasses and going through coin rolls from the bank. It makes for a good DJT. See the photo of his current collection below.
Most coins are fairly easy to find, but one coin in particular is proving to be very difficult! The Eisenhower dollar, minted between 1971 and 1978 are becoming less and less common, but they're still in circulation and still worth...you guessed it...$1
What can you do? The only way to "find" these things really, is to ask the teller at the bank. They banks usually only have them if someone brings them in. So many times I hear "Oh man, I had 10 of those yesterday, but someone bought them all." We've been lucky enough to find 1 so far. (See the lower left part of the picture...the largest coin there)
When you go to the bank, if you're not already looking for these coins yourself, would you mind asking for us? I'll gladly pay you for the coins and postage to send them to us. Ask for "Eisenhower Dollars". Sometimes you have to describe them as "The old bigger coins, sometimes referred to as silver dollars." It's an exciting day when we find one of these for our collection.
We also look for Susan B. Anthony dollars, but they're relatively easy to find. Most of our coin books are well stocked, and we're starting to look for old coins there...which is where the fun begins. :)
Thanks in advance for anyone that can help us find some of these.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
RacketMaster...
Check this out. I'm planning "The Ultimate DJT" (which stands for Daddy Jackson Times). Monster Jam seems like a perfect event. So I went to buy 2 tickets to Monster Jam for my son and me. Ticketmaster is the only way to get the tickets without driving to the arena in Baltimore. The tickets are reasonably priced though. $20 for me, and $5 for the boy.
But wait! Don't forget about the following fees:
Convenience charge x 2, building facility and order processing. All together making my $25 cost $40! That's over 60% increase!
Three words: For...Get...It.
Just for the principle of the thing, I'll drive to Baltimore and get tickets at the Box Office. I still pay a $2 building facility fee there (give me a break), but at it's not $15.
But wait! Don't forget about the following fees:
Convenience charge x 2, building facility and order processing. All together making my $25 cost $40! That's over 60% increase!
Three words: For...Get...It.
Just for the principle of the thing, I'll drive to Baltimore and get tickets at the Box Office. I still pay a $2 building facility fee there (give me a break), but at it's not $15.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Driving over everything... (Jacks 100 things)
With all the Hundreds-Of-Things flying around, I thought I'd write one for my 6 year old. However, he ironically came home from school the other day telling me that he needed to paste 100 things on a paper vest for school. We let him decide what he wanted to use, and he came up with 100 cars. Mostly Matchbox and HotWheels cars.
So, we had a good time watching him pick out his favorite 100, and then arranging them while I took the pictures. Looking at them up close is a special, almost sacred thing to me. I feel like I'm looking into my sons soul. I think this is how he sees them...down on the level of the carpet, with his eye 2 inches away from them while making the sounds. I can remember me doing the same thing as a child (and today actually, with him.)
Above you can see the collage of the cars that Picasa produced, which I think is neat. But below you'll see a few that are definately worth 1000 words. A few of them have had me laughing all day. If you skip the rest of these, check the yellow and red trucks. They are something.
My Man with "The Three Herbies."
Click on this one to see the large image. It says: "Griffin. Where Eagles Will Not Dare". How great is that? They will not DARE! Read this with a Monster Truck announcer voice.
Ok, the other hillarious one. Click this one too, to see the enlarged one. On the side it says "Power Panel. " On the Door it says "Ride Hard Race Fast' and near the wheel it says (are you ready) "Real Trucks Drive Over Everything". I can't take this one. I'm laughing right now. This should also be read with the announcer voice.
Given to McBlackson by my dear friend Eric while I was in School. It's been through doublehockeysticks.
Look at this one up close. It's the math police. Check yourself.
Another one that's seen better days. It's a bit rare to find these cars with opening parts these days. I brought this one back from England a few years ago.Those are just a few. After seeing these like this, I think I'll photograph the rest of the cars and his favorite toys, and him with them. Who wouldn't love to see their old toys 20 years later. What a trip that would be.
I'm totally looking for more trucks with sayings on them tomorrow in his cars box.
#105: I have been to where the Eagles Will Not Dare, and I lived to tell about it.
I'm totally looking for more trucks with sayings on them tomorrow in his cars box.
#105: I have been to where the Eagles Will Not Dare, and I lived to tell about it.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Say the word, and be like me....
Some time ago, I was asked by a good friend to create an essential Beatles playlist. I thought about it for a few days and decided that the only way for me to do a fair job is to actually listen to each song. Below is the result.
I'm basing these on the US cd's, which are actually made from the British LP's. So, the included tracks may be different than those included on the American LP's.
Please pardon the images. I'm linking them straight from Amazon.com, so some have sales pitches on them.
I'm basing these on the US cd's, which are actually made from the British LP's. So, the included tracks may be different than those included on the American LP's.
Please pardon the images. I'm linking them straight from Amazon.com, so some have sales pitches on them.
Album: Please Please Me
- Twist and Shout
Album: With the Beatles
- It won't be long
- All my lovin
Album: A Hard Days Night
- If I fell
- And I love her
- Tell me why
Album: Beatles for
sale
- Baby's in black
- Rock and Roll music
- I'll follow the sun
- Mr Moonlight
Album: Help!
- You've got to hide your love away
- Ticket to ride
- It's only love
Album: Rubber Soul
- In my life
- Norwegian Wood
- Girl
Album: Revolver
- Elenor Rigby
- I'm only sleeping
- She said, She said
- Good day Sunshine
- And your bird can sing
Album: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
- Fixing a hole
- Lovely Rita
- A Day in the Life
Album: Magical Mystery Tour
- I am the Walrus
- Your Mother Should Know
- Baby You're a Rich Man
Album: The Beatles (The White Album)
- Dear Prudence
- Oh bla di, Oh bla da
- While my guitar gently weeps
- Happiness is a warm gun
- Blackbird
- Rocky Racoon
- I will
- Julia
- Sexy Sadie
- Helter Skelter
- Cry baby cry
Album: Yellow Submarine
- All Together Now
- Hey Bulldog
Album: Abbey Road
- Come Together
- Something
- Because
- You Never Give me Your Money
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
- Her Majesty
Album: Let It Be
- Two Of Us
- Across The Universe
- I Me Mine
- I've Got A Feeling
Others:
These are some tracks that didn't appear on the albums above for one reason or another, but are still included in my favorites
- Lady Madonna
- Don't Let Me Down
- Free As a Bird
In addition, the new album entitled "Love" (2006) is fantastic. It's a cool mix of a lot of their songs. Not to mention all the Anthology and outtake Cd's etc. But those mostly don't belong in this list.
#104: I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me.
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