The Myth & The Majesty

I'm taking a nice long detour down memory lane tonight and I happened across this video. And it absolutely made my day. [If there's anyone else out there like me that misses Animaniacs every now and then ... Well, then let me introduce you to a YouTube spiral that may keep you occupied for a few hours. Sorry about that!]

It's been a fairly quiet week, one where I'm starting to feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. Not, you know, a lot, but I've had some stuff on my to-do list for way too long that's finally getting checked off. Like aaaaall of my laundry and some pretty basic household things that just haven't been getting done. This also includes one not-so-important item: I'm fixing my status as a bad South Dakotan and finally watching "Dances With Wolves." [Admission: only because it's got 8 days left before it's no longer free to stream on Amazon.] So while I do that, I recommend you check out another great xkcd , this one from Monday. It's animated (so to speak) -- clicking on the picture below will take you to the proper page.

Every year, I tell myself I have nothing to say about Valentine's Day. And every year (almost), I fail miserably and have to say something. So how about ... Happy Valentine's Day, all, and enjoy the fact that this time it coincides with President's Day and most of us get a long weekend out of the deal! Oh, and go read this .

I was trying to explain to someone how things have changed since the beetles invaded, why we're putting such effort into controlling it, why we have such strange events around it -- and it was kind of hard. But thanks to modern technology (Google Earth) I have opportunities for visual aids. For the sake of clarity, I'll point out that this isn't necessarily representative of the whole region. There are areas that haven't yet been hit to speak of, and plenty of spots where the damage is minimal. But there are also places where the trees have been all but wiped out, and the Harney Peak area is one of those, partially because it started right around there. So here's that region about a decade ago. From here you're looking at roughly a mile across.  Wait. That's a terrible shot. Something was wrong with their overlay, clearly. Those arrows indicate where there haven't been trees for ... heck, possibly ever. Especially the one on the right...

The wedding day began like every other wedding day I've ever witnessed: early. The location was across the city and since we were hauling ... everything with us, Jay called for a taxi and we rode through the early Sunday traffic (read: not much of it) from the relative comfort of a vehicle made for six passengers. Upon arrival, we were ushered through steam tunnels (the park wasn't actually open yet) to our prep room. Mia Sorella got settled in right away and the guys left to find coffee instead of spending the entire morning bored out of their skulls. Mom and I stuck around to chat and kick back, reading or playing games while we waited. In other words, it was an exceptionally unexceptional wedding morning. The modern bride. Eventually, we got ready ourselves. (Note: I'm wearing something very similar to my mom's dress. I quite literally have zero pictures of myself.) Now, a few things by way of explanation. The ceremony is meant to mirror a t...

A year ago at Christmas, Mia Sorella and Jay announced that they were engaged . Plans immediately started to figure out when the wedding would actually be -- and possibly more importantly, where. After a fair bit of discussion, they decided to go with a traditional Korean wedding first, followed by an American wedding (or at least a reception) when they got moved to the States. We started budgeting and planning for a spring trip to Korea ... and then Jay suggested they just get on with it and at some point in the summer Mia Sorella emailed and asked, "What about a Christmas trip to Korea?" So it was that I found myself in Denver a couple days before Christmas and on a plane on Christmas morning. We were all flying at the same time, Shorty and I on one plane and the 'rents on another. We landed first, had a rather joyful reunion with Janette and Jay, and after some desperately needed chicken and beer grabbed Mom and Dad and headed home. With that, w...

I know, I know. I should try to stay on topic. Korea. All that. But I was sorting through some of the pictures on my computer and I came across this. Which sent me down a blogging rabbit trail. You see, this picture says a lot more than it seems. First, it tells me that yes, I have lost weight since moving here. It also shows me the people that I previously only identified as "My Brother's Friends" but now consider pretty much my friends as well. And apparently my Summer Shadow started that gig earlier than I realized. (Finally! I have a blog name for her!) But it shows something else, something I already knew to be true. Something I once thought might be shifting but ... well, it isn't. I really, really prefer my personal bubble to remain intact. It's true. At nearly thirty years old, I'm still too socially awkward for hugging. And while I know the people in this photo particularly well (I mean, one of them is my brother, for crying out loud...