J.M. Barrie

The Least of Us

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. - Mother Teresa

Maybe you hadn't heard, but there are people struggling out there. Maybe you hadn't heard, you can help.

The longest running Ames Jaycees project is the Holiday Food Baskets program. Last year the Ames Jaycees were able to provide 80 families with Christmas Dinner. As the economy has tanked, the number of needy families in Story County has skyrocketed.

The Ames Jaycees are attempting to provide 200 families with a Christmas Dinner this year and you can help. For only 25 dollars you can adopt 1 family and provide them with a Christmas Dinner.

Here is some information that I've taken from the Ames Jaycees website:





As you can see, we are almost halfway to our goal!

Here is the condensed version of the information:

You want to request more information? Email Grace and Melissa at: holidayfoodbaskets@amesjaycees.com.

You are ready to donate? Click the this link: Holiday Baskets Donation Form

Fill out the form, drop it in an envelope, drop in your donation and mail it to the address on the form.

I've heard from two people that are going to donate. I hope to hear from more.

Aesthetically Qualified

Because I know interesting people sometimes the beget me more interesting people.

Such as Lowell begot Bill who then begot Willy who then begot Faust.

Frank from work met a guy while working at Best Buy that is a movie producer. Well, he is sort of a movie producer. He moved out to Iowa from some place out East and is trying to raise enough money to make a movie.

He hasn't made the movie, but he has made a movie that is over 90 minutes long about the movie he wants to make. It includes lots of his theories on movie making. Lots of the sets he wants to use. Pictures of the women that are going to be in the movie in bikinis. Pictures of horses that will be in the movie. Pictures of dogs that will be in the movie.

However, nowhere in the sale pitch does he indicate what the movie is actually about. The closest you get to know what the movie is about is the discussion of the characters that will be in the movie and you can combine that with the sets that will be used for the movie and maybe get an idea of what is going to happen in this movie.

There is one exception. One little sliver of information that comes through. The producer does include 5 rehearsals of one scene from the movie. Here is the dialogue from that one scene, starring the producer as the lead character from the movie, talking to somebody that isn't there:
(Try to imagine this being said with a Jersey accent, by a guy wearing a leather jacket and gloves.)

Johnathan Sinclair
What does that mean? What you just did? I saw that.
I see women doing that? What does that mean?
You pulled your shirt down over your butt. What does that mean?
Does that mean that you think your butt's too big?
Or perhaps I'm not aesthetically qualified to give you the once over?
Or maybe I'm not financially qualified to give you the once over?
Babe, you're like a fantasy world?
Like a dream world. Like a dream world.

I don't think it is too big of a stretch to call it poetry.

It Ends

Saturday was the final home game for the Cyclones. I don't have many pictures because low light and cold temperatures do not make for ideal photographic conditions.



Faust and I were defeated 12-10.



Jesse and his reversible hat.



Faust and his beverage.



Ames Party Bus



ISUCFVMB



Senior Day



Joe



Cheerleader



ISUCFVMB Senior Tradition



Moon



Arnaud



Jack Trice Stadium



Iowa State Center


There are more pictures in the ISU vs. Missouri album in the Snapshots Gallery:


Iowa State vs. Missouri

Cardinal Mystery

In case any of you have been wondering why the Cardinal in the football uniforms...





does not match the color of Cardinal that the cheerleaders or basketball teams wear...





the Athletic Department sent out a letter explaining the reason.

Dear fellow Cyclones:

This past year the athletics department made the decision to return to Iowa State University’s traditional school colors of cardinal and gold (as adopted by the institution in 1899). Although we are very excited about returning to these colors, we also recognize this decision is not something that can be fully implemented overnight.

It is our goal to have all of our athletics teams in the same shade of cardinal and gold, that represents our proud history and tradition, as soon as possible.
The purpose of this letter is to share several updates on the transition. Nike, our equipment provider, has designated the football and men’s and women’s track programs in their “elite” uniform division which means those sport’s uniforms are custom made in the colors we want (for example, what is being worn by the football team this season).

Unfortunately, Nike has not designated our other teams in that same category at this point, mainly due to our institution’s overall lack of retail merchandise sales. We are continuing to work with Nike on this issue and are optimistic that we can resolve it in the future.

In the interim, our other athletics teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, must select their uniforms and warm-ups from Nike's stock colors. Nike's stock cardinal color is darker than our football uniforms, and in some cases appears burgundy or maroon. In addition, Nike does not provide uniforms for spirit squads, dance teams or bands. Each of those programs has to order their uniforms from separate companies, which makes obtaining the proper shade of cardinal even more difficult for our department.

In closing, we simply ask you to have patience and understanding as we complete the transition.

Go Cyclones!
Sincerely,

Jamie Pollard

The Brandon Kahler Project: Chapter 4 - Fun with Frames

Here are a couple of special effect pictures of Brandon and a frame.








I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Brandon is wearing the tie I wore in Jen and Derrick's wedding this summer.

The Brandon Kahler Project: Chapter 3 - Day 1 Color

This is a collection of a few of the color images from Day 1 of Brandon's Senior Photo Shoot.

These probably aren't the best pictures from the day, but they are some of my favorites.









































Perhaps this is more a collection of goofy looks on his face, but they are my favorite goofy looks.

Free Shirt

Monday night was the debut of my new bowling shirt. It isn't much to look at. I freely admit this fact. But it is mine and it was free.





This is the first year as a team we have had bowling shirts. Now Patio Pros LLC, might not be the most stylish team in the world, but I guarantee you that we are the most stylish 8th Place team in any league.

I wish I could say that the debut was successful, but Corey's Uncle Daryl took me behind the woodshed. That was to be expected, I am about the worst bowler in the league. Although I seem to bowl much better when Nate shows up. I'm going to have to see to it that he shows up more often.

The Shannon After

Shannon had over a foot of hair cut off her head last Thursday. On Sunday I was able to document this joyous hair loss, but the day was not completely happy.





In the picture above you should try to look past Shannon. You may notice something. Shannon appears to be standing on an abandoned railroad bridge.

My favorite park in Ames is Brookside Park. I don't believe I would be talking out of turn if I were to guess that it is also Shannon's favorite park. We met at the park and walked to this bridge despite the cold temperatures.

The previous Saturday we met there to take her before pictures. We talked about going to this bridge on that day because she was curious about it. She had heard a wildly inaccurate characterization of the bridge from Becky. Becky and I had walked across the bridge one night after a Jaycees meeting.

On that Saturday there must have been about 20 people just hanging out on the bridge. I thought we should give the bridge another try, but it did not end up to be one of my better ideas.





If you take you gaze downward you might notice a few things about Shannon. I mentioned it was cold. The proof can be found in the coat/scarf combination that she was wearing. Although it is stylish, the gloves she is wearing are not for fashion purposes. Shannon was cold.

The particularly observant might notice a couple of other things. In her gloved hands Shannon appears to be holding a bag. The bag contains the hair that Shannon parted with so that she could make a donation to Locks of Love.

If you know this bridge very well, you might be able to gather from the trees behind Shannon, she is standing over water.

I'm sure you can see what is coming, but on this day I did not. When Shannon reached into the bag to pull out her former hair to pose for a picture with it, one of the 8 braids (I have no clue if that is the right word) escaped her stylishly gloved, but frozen hands.

It fell between two railroad ties and into the ice cold stream below.



The lost hair.


It was a heart breaker. I didn't think Shannon would want this to be documented, but she insisted that it be documented.

We managed to get the rest of her former hair put away and left that cursed bridge.

Once we got to dryish land we took some pictures of the her and her former hair.



That is lots of hair.



I repeat. That is lots of hair.


The lost hair didn't take off down the stream immediately. There was some time where it seemed like it might possibly wash near enough to the bank that we could get to it with out descending deep into the near freezing water.



Shannon watching the hair float away.


But it was not to be.

The day was not a complete loss though. There are still 7 locks to be sent to Locks of Love. A wonderful donation.



Plus, Shannon does have a great new hair cut!


I also gave this beanie to Shannon. I hate to part with anything that Teresa makes, but I don't think the colors are for me. Everybody seems to say that the hat looks better on her than me any way. It is probably because it is hard for me to give the badass vibe that I normally emanate when I'm wearing that beanie.

After the photo shoot Shannon helped me to write a CPG for the Ames Jaycee website that I redesigned. I won't bore you with the details, if you aren't a Jaycee you really wouldn't be that interested.

Then we joined my Mom, Carla and Teresa for supper at Jeff's Pizza. If I haven't written about it before, I love Jeff's Pizza. I'm a particularly large fan of their Gyro Guy pizza and their Clones. Clones are pizza rolls and they are fantastic. Better than Gumby's used to make before Gumby's went terribly downhill.

The meal was pleasant despite the fact that the large amount of females at the table insisted on ordering a Chicken Alfredo pizza. I'm going to tell you flat out, chicken does not belong on a pizza. Even the gourmet pizza wizards at Jeff's Pizza could not sway my opinion. I will freely confess that their Chicken Alfredo pizza was the best chicken pizza I have had to date, but it still wasn't a pizza I would want to sit down and take to town.

Thankfully, we ordered a Gyro Guy pizza as well, so I didn't wither away.

The conversation was relatively polite until it inevitably turned into gossip hour about my friends. I was able to put the smack down on that though. We gossiped about Teresa's friends instead.

Truth be known, I don't gossip.

After dinner Shannon and I went to Stephens to see the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. It was the first professional symphony orchestra concert I have ever attended. They played 3 pieces of music including a piece by Bernstein and a piece by Copland.

The lights never fully dimmed. This was something I wasn't expecting. Another thing I found odd was that they opened the show by playing the Star Spangled Banner. I've gotten to the point where I only hear the National Anthem at sporting events, so that was a nice little surprise. They followed the Star Spangled Banner with the playing of what I'm going to assume was the Israeli National Anthem.

They concluded the show by playing two encores. Before the encores the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra spoke to the crowd and praised people from Iowa. I guess that was the classical music equivalent of "You rock Ames, Iowa! We wish we could take you with us."

It was a very enjoyable show. I will gladly go see a Symphony Orchestra concert again in the future.

So the night ended on a high after the low of losing the hair. An excellent day at the aggregate level!

The Future of Boone

When Sara and I went to Ottumwa I think we might of had a glimpse into Boone's future if it becomes the proud home of a Juice Bar.

I should start out by pointing out that on our way to Ottumwa Sara got pulled over and issued a speeding ticket by the nicest State Patrolman. He even started out with a joke:

"What are you doing today, besides fast?"

Sara and I ended up in downtown Ottumwa. I snapped a couple of pictures of Boone's Future. We actually went downtown so I could get a picture of the Adult Theater because Derrick did not believe me that it existed, but I found a couple other sweet things. For some reason Sara would not get out of the car and join me.



Right across the street from the Adult Theater - Strip Club!



The Salty Frog is located right next to the strip club. A couple of women came wandering out of The Salty Frog while I was nearby. They looked like the type of women that would come out of a bar called The Salty Frog.



So it goes... Adult Theater, Chinese Restaurant, Abandoned Store Front, Christian Community Outreach Center. Well played Ottumwa. Well played.



Jen described this picture as "The Buddy Jesus".



Cinema X. They lose points for the name. They might as well call it Cinema Generic.



Sara's View



Apparently such a landmark that they built a parking ramp around it.



A better look at the parking ramp.



I might as well end with an Arty Picture.


I'm sure I will be returning to Ottumwa again in the next few weeks. Hopefully, I will get to take in even more of its majesty.

Incidentally, I will be asking some of you to come to Ottumwa with me to help Jen work on her Uncle's house. You have been forewarned. Unless I already asked you. Then you already know about this project.

If you need more than just an altruistic motivation to get you to help out, Ottumwa has a Breadeaux Pizza. Mmmm... Breadeaux Pizza.