Blitz

I had big plans this weekend of going down to Ottumwa to help Jen and Derrick get the house in Ottumwa in shape to go on the market, but unfortunately I had a little trouble on the way to work on Friday.



That my friends, is a blown tire.


I was able to go down on Saturday and help out a bit, but unfortunately my ride for Sunday flaked on me. Oh well, here are some pictures from Saturday.






Jay



Dave



Mindi and Jen



Jen



Derrick



Derrick and Rob



Jen



Santa


It was good to see Mindi again. It had been too long.

Intermission

On New Year's Day, between the Outback Bowl and the Rose Bowl, I went over to check out the ACTORS building in Ames with Becky, Terra and Geri. Geri is actually the President or Chairman of ACTORS.

Some pictures.



Geri



Shoes



Becky & Terra



Rubber Chicken



Ham



Geri and I



Dressing Room


It was an interesting experience.

Reading for a New Year

It is a New Year and soon enough, it will be too cold to go outside and you will need to do more while you are inside than just watching the Cyclones play basketball. May I suggest reading. In fact, while I'm suggesting I'm going to suggest a few websites that are worth your time to read every now and again.

Teresa's blog about crafts: Tea Time
Jesse's website: Live Your Dreams Inc.
Lowell's website: LowellDavis.net
Dawn's poetry: Impassioned Versifier

I think you will find some stuff of interest in all of these diversions.

Foggy Night Supper Club

The day after Christmas we had a very Special Friday Night Supper Club. Robert was back in town from Wyoming and was having a hankering for a tenderloin from BK's.

Jay, Jesse, Willy, Monica, Robert, Jeff and I braved the extreme weather and made the trip to BK's.

I took some pictures of the fog.

















It was a beautiful night to be out and about.

Christmas Eve

Tonight is my favorite church service of the year. I love Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve! It is one beautiful service that manages to completely encapsulate the season of Advent for me. It is one service where I definitely can feel Hope, Love, Peace and Joy.

Plus I love the symbolism of an entire church being filled with the soft warm glow of candlelight. The room starts completely dark except for the light coming from the Christ candle. Then the Christ candle lights one candle. That candle lights another candle. Until every candle in the room is lit. All the light having originated from one candle.

When the congregation sings Silent Night, I feel that song more than any other song the entire year. I would not be lying if I told you that at the end of the service when the bell strikes midnight and it is officially Christmas I always get goosebumps.

I hope your Christmas Eve is as wonderful as the one I believe that I will have.

I wanted to share a story from Andrea's sermon on Sunday because I believe it is both funny and a story worth reflecting on during the Christmas season.

A guy was standing near a cliff all by himself. He was taken by a rush of courage and curiosity and moved close to the edge.

Then he moved a little closer.

The ground underneath his feet began to give a little bit, but then it seemed to hold.

He moved a little bit closer, just to get a little bit better look at the valley below.

The ground gave out underneath his feet and the man fell down the face of the cliff. But after only a few feet his hand caught a small root and his life was spared.

But it was only for a moment. It was a small root and it quickly began to give way as well.

The man shouted out, "Is there somebody up there that can help me? God if you are there, help me!"

Then the man heard the voice of God ask, "Do you have faith in me?"

The man replied, "Yes, of course. I have total faith in you."

"Then let go."

The man thought for a second and then shouted, "Is there anybody else up there?"

I got Mark's newsletter this week:

The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram

Merry Christmas! It is that time of year again where we can rejoice and celebrate the birth of our Savior, who brings us peace, joy, and hope. In the season of Christmas it is easy to get caught up in all of the “stuff” that we have to do or things that are going on. I pray that God would help all of us remember why we celebrate, and that in this message we would find the peace that comes only from Jesus.

Here in Taiwan, there are many activities that I am involved with during Christmas time. I know I have written about some of these in the past, including various skits, songs, and Christmas parties. Last night was my personal highlight of the Christmas season: Christmas caroling. Teachers and students who live at school went outside of the campus last night and sang Christmas songs at some of the local businesses. Then we gathered together to sing to the faculty and staff that live here on the campus of Concordia Middle School. Walking on the streets with the guitar and hearing the students joyfully sing praises to God always warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.

In addition to the Christmas caroling, yesterday the students of Concordia Middle School decorated their Christmas trees. Every December, the school holds a Christmas tree decorating contest. Each class is given a tree or large bush in the central part of campus. They then need to create a tree based on a Bible story. Some popular stories include: Jesus feeds 5,000, Jesus turns water into wine, the parable of the lost sheep, and Noah’s ark.

Students work in their free time in the weeks leading up to Christmas to create items to put on the Christmas tree. Part of the goal of the competition is for students to make the tree using recyclable materials such as boxes, cans, and paper. They also can have lights, but they are not supposed to buy fancy decorations. Yesterday morning and afternoon students were outside working on their trees, and then in the evening, they lit up the trees. It was beautiful. The competition is also a great way to get the students excited about Christmas, read the Bible and build cooperation and teamwork.

The school leaves the decorations up for a couple of days and one of my favorite things to do during the days after Christmas is to walk outside in the evening. I usually wait until about 9:00 and I bring my I-pod and headphones. I then walk around and look at all of the trees as they light up the night. I will also take time to stop by each one of my classes and pray for the students in those classes.
I thank God for the chance to do this, and I rejoice at the mission of this school. Most schools in Taiwan don’t celebrate Christmas, and in fact they have school on Christmas day (we actually do too). However, for the students of CMS it is not just another part of the school year. It is a chance to celebrate and understand why Christmas is important. I pray that the message of Jesus’ birth will change the lives of these students, and give them new life in Jesus.

It’s Prayer Time!
1. Please pray for the students at CMS, that they will understand the true meaning of Christmas and believe it.
2. Praise God that my online classes have finished and that I will have a little bit more time in my schedule.
3. Please pray for my teaching. We will end the semester in a couple of weeks and pray that God will help me to end well and continue to show His love to my students.
4. Please pray for my Chinese language learning. That God would help my stay focused and work hard as I attempt to learn the language. Pray also that He would present opportunities for me to use Chinese as a witness to Him.

I wish you all the peace of Christ this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!!!

Mark

If I don't see you before then, I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas!

Saturday Night

On Saturday Night I met Jeff and Yin in Des Moines for Supper. Although I was horribly sleepy when I got home on Saturday night two things reinvigorated me.

I took a brief 30 minute nap.
I watched the Paul Rhoads press conference. It was very refreshing to see a coach that actually showed passion and a desire to be at Iowa State. Time will only tell if he will be successful, but I already feel that he is the right man for the job.

When I got down to Jeff and Yin's place I was introduced to a couple of pretty fascinating things.

The first was Baxter.








The second was the 1935 Chevy that Jeff is going to restore.








We had a good dinner at Raccoon River Brewery. I tried their root beer. It wasn't bad, but it was no Red Monkey.

Matthew 25:40

I began this Saturday morning (12-20-2008) by rising out of bed around 5:45 in the morning. I often don't sleep that well, but on this night I purposely slept on the couch so that I wouldn't sleep well and I would get up in time.

I was getting up at this awful time of day because I had to be at the Senior Citizen's Center in Ames by 6:30 to participate in the Jaycee project known as Holiday Food Baskets.

Despite my body's best effort to stop me from getting up, I did manage to fall out off the couch and stumble to the basement and take a shower. I hit the road and made it to Ames at nearly the right time.

The process of Holiday Food Baskets isn't really worth mentioning, but there are aspects of the day that are worth noting.

But before getting to those aspects I should make a confession. Deflation and the rapid falling of gas prices has put more coin in this guy's bank account. I have often noted that deflation is great, if you still have a job.

It is a poor joke and I do have more than a basic understanding of economics to know that deflation and hard economic times for other people could eventually lead to my not having a job. I do work in what is essentially a luxury industry. Nobody's job is safe, especially people that work's for a company thats services are hardly essential.

The Pastors at my church have made doing something about the homeless situation in Boone a priority for our church. As hard is it may seem to believe, Boone County has the 5th highest rate of homelessness in the state of Iowa. What makes the situation worse is that Boone does not have a homeless shelter.

There was one briefly, but the finances were mismanaged and it is no longer in existence. Now the best that Boone has to help its homeless is the Boone Biblical College, but they only take men.

I write these things because these are things that I think about lately and it can really happen to almost anybody.

The need in Story County for Holiday Food Baskets tripled from 2007 to 2008.

Andrea told us a story about a family that seemed financially secure. In 2007 they were teaching their children to buy presents for other children through the Angel Tree program. In 2008, their children were on the Angel Tree.

The first 2-3 hours of Holiday Food Baskets is basically grunt work. It is essential, but hardly rewarding. You do a lot of moving food from place A to place B to place C. After everything is organized, then people start coming in to pick up their Food Baskets.

This is the part of the project that is rewarding and I think it is slightly unfortunate that only a handful of us that participated got to take part in this one aspect of the project.

This aspect was carrying the basket of food from the Senior Center to the person's car. It is important to put a bag or rolls or some apples in a cardboard box, but I don't think you get a sense of what all of this really means or amounts to and why it is important unless you get a chance to interact with the people that are getting the food.

It can also break your heart.

While I was carrying a cardboard box of food across a street to an SUV for a young woman she told me that this box of food was really going to help her family. They had 8 people living in the same house.

It made me feel completely inadequate and helpless at the same time. I couldn't help but look into the cardboard box. Just a few moments ago it seemed like a lot of food.

A handful of apples and oranges.
A bag of celery.
A bag of potatoes.
A bag of carrots.
A ham.
2 cans of something.
A bag of rolls.

All of a sudden I felt that I should have run in and gotten them a second box. I should have gotten them a third box. The ham was nothing to sniff at, but I would be lying if I didn't say that the ham that we had on our Christmas table that fed 9 people was at least 4 times larger than the ham we gave out. I didn't do this though. The bureaucracy of such things precluded that people had to sign in with MICA and people were designated so much food.

I just wished the young woman a "Merry Christmas" and walked back inside. It is my regret that I didn't just go grab another box for this family. It was a regret that would be doubled and then doubled again.

We had made up 200 Holiday Food Baskets. At the end of the event around 50 remained. Here is where my regret doubled the first time.

We loaded up the excess food and took it to MICA. As it turns out, MICA doesn't really have that much capacity for storing frozen hams. Their freezer was already full and they needed to make room. To do this they gave each of us a turkey.

My regret doubled again.

So now I have this turkey weighing on my conscience, but I throw it in the trunk of my car and drive off.

My first stop is Becky's. I'm supposed to stop at her place to pick up some Christmas gifts. Some for me and some for Teresa. What I learn on this stop is that Becky thinks I'm going to end up in a ditch some time in the near future.

I know she has had this fear for quite some time. When Shannon and I went up to Cedar Falls she gave me an extensive quiz on what kind of safety equipment I had in the car in case we went in a ditch. It basically boiled down to a thermos of hot chocolate. This didn't seem to satisfy her.

She packed a gift bag full of food. Every time I would pull a new tin of food out she would tell me to "keep that in my car in case you go in a ditch."

I do not discount the possibility that I might someday go in a ditch, but the closest I've ever come to going into a ditch was in the middle of the summer and the reason why is because I was reading the newspaper while I was driving to work.*

If the weather is bad, I don't read the newspaper.

After I left Becky's I stopped at Shannon's to watch her make Christmas candy. She also bound my calendars for me.

Somewhere in between the "pink stuff" and the experimental caramel (which involved the use of a candy thermometer - who invented the candy thermometer??) the lack of quality sleep on the couch began to catch up to me in a massive way.

I bid my adieu since I was going to Des Moines for supper with Jeff and Yin and I was hoping to get a nap of Wentworthian proportions in before I hit the road.

Then on Sunday morning in church, Phil announced that a new family in Boone was homeless.

And I still have this turkey on my conscience.

*Not counting the skunk story.

Gridiron Prophets - Year 3

As a third college football season drew to a close, a third season for the Gridiron Prophets (a College Football Pick 'em) completed. For the first time since its inception, Toby did not come out as a champion. Lowell came out on top.

This year's standings:

1. Lowell Davis (The Perfect Storm)
2. Robert Henning (Bob's Picks to Win)
3. Corey Faust (A-Rob All Stars)
4. Jason Baier (Hookie Hoo-Hah)
5. Jon DeWaard (Lemon Party)
6. Mark Wolfram (Taiwan Hawkeye)
7. Dan Dill (dandydan)
8. Toby Sebring (I Love Lamp)
9. Christopher D. Bennett (Tea Leaves)
10. Jesse Howard (Cyclone Goldie)
11. Jim Condon (obscene)

I guess I need to get Lowell's trophy ordered.

Toys for Tots

I reported yesterday that I took pictures for the Toys for Tots press release for United Way of Story County. Here are a few of the pictures:


























This might have been the most fun I've ever had in a Wal-Mart.

Toys for Tots received thousands of dollars in donation on this day. I believe you can still donate, but I have no clue how. But if you are interested I could get you that information.

Burying the Lead

Sometimes I will bury the lead in an entry. Most of this time it is done on purpose because I want people to figure out what the most important part of the story is for themselves. However, I'm sure there are times where it is just another example of sloppy writing like the kind that Dan Brown foists upon us.

Yesterday I spent my morning wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart with Shannon and a couple representatives of Dr. Pepper photographing them purchasing toys for Toys for Tots.

The pictures are to be used in The United Way of Story County's press release on Toys for Tots.

That sounds like a pretty important story. It certainly sounds like an interesting story, but it was not the most important part of the event for me. I want to make sure that when I start on this narrative, the most important part of the story is in the front and center, so I'm taking what I consider to be the lead part of the story out and making it into its own entry, so it doesn't get buried under the rest of the Toys for Tots narrative.

I wrote before about how I didn't need to share the terms of my wager with Shannon with the world. I am not a person who needs to gloat. The victory itself is usually more than enough for me.

I shared with you that one of the end results of the wager was that I ended up with a sweet UNI beanie that Shannon made and she ended up with an ISU hoodie.

If UNI would have beat ISU, I would have been forced to put on the beanie immediately following the game and worn it around and through the McLeod Center and to the car.

Furthermore, I would have had to wear the beanie to the ISU-UNI tailgate in 2010.

ISU won the game and so Shannon was subject to the terms of my wager. She simply has to wear the hoodie on to the Iowa State campus and have the experience photo-documented. This trip will of course include a stop at the Jack Trice statue outside of Jack Trice Stadium.

Shannon has requested that this trip be put off for a couple of months because of the severe cold weather and her low tolerance for extreme cold weather. I have agreed to wait.

Because of this, I was not expecting to see the Iowa State hoodie until March or April.

So yesterday was Jesse's birthday. As far as I know the only thing he got for his birthday was the Big Juan and churros that I bought him at Taco Time and the dessert that Jay baked him. So maybe I got one of his birthday presents.

I arrived at 9 am at Wal-Mart. In the entry to Wal-Mart there were several shopping carts filled with toys, presumably for tots. I introduced myself to one of the guys from Dr. Pepper and waited for Shannon to show up.

After a few minutes she arrived and said something like, "See what I'm wearing."

Out of the top of the black coat I could see the distinctive color of a cardinal hoodie.

"So it is starting to grow on you?" I said while trying to cover my feeling of victory.

Shannon said that I'd get a chance to some "bonus pictures", then she quickly made up some excuses for why she was wearing the hoodie. Something about it being the only clean one that she had and she wasn't allowed to wear her UNI hoodies to work. Then she revealed that this was just a cover story by admitting that she had worn it this past weekend, but then quickly tried to cover up the reason why behind "liking new clothes".

Regardless of the motivations that she tells herself and the motivations that she tells the world, I was able to get some bonus images of Shannon in her new cardinal and gold.

So before getting into the whole Toys for Tots experience, I would like to share a couple of those images that her dad (the truck driver for the day) was talked into taking.








In a related note, Toys for Tots received thousands of dollars in toy donations on that day, but that isn't the lead story.

Happy Birthday Jesse

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesse Howard. (Partially true, we are actually celebrating his birthday on December 28, but that is another story.)

Happy Birthday Jesse!

Jesse enjoying a Bob Dog. (This is the actual picture of Jesse that shows up on my phone when he calls me.)

If you want more of Jesse and less of you, I'd advise you to follow the link below:


MORE JESSE

You will not regret checking out 30 or more pictures of Jesse Lee Howard.

Don't Screw with the Gorshes

I got a call from Jen on Saturday. She told me that some of her Uncle's neighbors in Ottumwa had complained about the dumpster that was sitting in front of the house.

The neighbors understood why it was there, but wanted it removed until after Christmas.

Derrick and Jen were not about to move the dumpster. They had paid one rate to keep the dumpster as long as it is needed. To have it removed and brought back would cost them a pretty penny. A very pretty penny.

So they did what anybody else would do.

I got these pictures sent to my phone on Sunday night.











So let this be a lesson to you. You mess with the Gorshes and they just might taunt you with their Christmas decorating.

Post No. 500 - End of an Era

There was an article about an old family friend retiring in the Boone News Republican the other day.

Bob Person is a local and the best photographer in the area and he is officially retiring.

Freeze Frame
by Blair Schilling

Bob Person's impact on the community can be seen on walls in homes throughout Boone County.
A longtime resident of Boone and lifelong photographer, Person will be giving up ownership of his studio at 812 Story St. by the end of the year. Citing health issues, the impact of digital photography and the overall condition of the economy, Person is leaving Person Studio and Gallery after more than 20 years in downtown Boone.

While he may help a new owner make the transition into the portrait photography business, and is offering to sell the majority of his supplies and equipment along with the business name if a new owner can be found by the end of December, Person will not be stepping away from his passion altogether.

"When your hobby is also your business - I'm just not ready to hang it up yet," Person said. "It's going to be very difficult for me to leave."

Regardless of whether a new owner purchases Person Studio and Gallery, Person plans to continue taking photographs as a hobby. Back problems in recent years have kept Person, 68, from photographing weddings - a significant source of revenue for the business. Person also noted the closings of two photography studios in Ames as an indication of a shift in the industry with more individuals shooting their own pictures using digital cameras and fewer seeking professional photographers to capture important moments in their lives.

Person said he has taken pleasure in his job as well as his role in the Boone community.
"I really enjoyed my time down here and God blesses us in many ways. And for me, he found this neat place to enjoy my life," Person said.

For Person, a 1969 graduate of the University of Iowa, photography has always been about more than simply clicking the shutter on his camera.

"Photography is more than just a snap to me because of what your mind can bring to it," Person said. "It's like a magic trick."

Person, who majored in photojournalism at Iowa, said art classes he took at the university helped shape his approach to photography.

"In the art department they would say, as they were critiquing photographs, 'How do you feel, Bob, as you look at that?'" Person said. "It was the first time I had associated feelings with photographs."

While in Iowa City, Person worked at the student-newspaper The Daily Iowan as well as The Iowa City Press-Citizen. He covered protests and clashes between student demonstrators and the National Guard during the height of the Vietnam War. A collage of photographs Person took during a visit to the University of Iowa by Muhammad Ali sits along a wall in Person Studio and Gallery.

After moving to Boone in 1970, Person worked at The Boone News-Republican for three years as the staff photographer. He then taught photography and journalism at the DMACC-Boone Campus for 29 years and served as the advisor for the yearbook and student newspaper.
Person, who got his first camera at the age of 10 while traveling with his parents aboard a military ship headed to Europe, said he did not envision becoming a portrait photographer during his younger years.

"As I started out in this at the University of Iowa, I realized I wanted to be a photographer - I thought for a newspaper or magazine. That's what I prepared myself for," Person said. "I didn't prepare myself for portrait photography because portrait photography was boring to me being that everybody looked so formal and stiff in front of the camera."

Person said he found his calling for studio photography by taking atypical photos of seemingly routine events as well as capturing the emotion of the subjects in front of his lens.

"All I need is a fraction of a second for them to forget that they're facing a camera," Person said.
Along with his education, Person also credits his family with assisting his success as a photographer. Person fondly recalls his father helping him develop his first photograph using a darkroom kit from Sears, Roebuck and Co. He said his wife, Lisa, has provided invaluable assistance to his work through the years and Person attributes his skills in photographing children to working with his daughters, Nicole and Brooke.

"Right now, our brochures and our advertising says that 'We specialize in children' - which we do. Because, before I had my own kids I had no clue how to photograph kids," Person said.
Person said the key to good photography is lighting. He said the use of shadows, direct light and indirect light can all affect the mood of a photograph.

The local photographer said he has always drawn inspiration from Bob Dylan's song "She Belongs to Me," which echoes themes found in both photography as well as Person's career.

"She's got everything she needs, she's an artist, she don't look back. She can take the dark out of the nighttime and paint the daytime black," Dylan croons in the song.

"Those are words that have stuck with me," Person said.

Boone News Republican Article

Bob once told me how he proposed to his wife Lisa. They were working together in a darkroom. He was exposing photo paper and then she was developing it.

He wrote on a piece of paper, "Will You Marry Me" and put it in the stack of paper that she was developing.

So she was going through the stack of paper developing pictures of whatever it was that he had photographed when she put her proposal into the developer solution.

Slowly the words: "Will You Marry Me" appeared on the blank piece of paper.

Obviously she said yes.

Happy Birthday Carrie

If I'm reading my calendar correctly, and there is about a 50% chance that I am, today is the birthday of Carrie Baier.





In truth, to tribute Carrie I should post a picture of a lighthouse, but I don't have such a picture in my arsenal. I should look into that. She deserves a lot of respect for marrying a Chiefs fan.

Plus Five

About a year ago I posted a comment on Shannon's MySpace page where I was apologizing in advance for what Iowa State was going to do to her UNI Panthers IF Wesley Johnson played in the game.

Wesley Johnson did indeed play in the game and he played well, but UNI came into what was once the toughest building in the nation to play in and beat Iowa State rather soundly. Most disappointing about the game was the fact that ISU seemed to quit in the second half.

It was McDermott's second team and for the second straight season he had to completely rebuild the roster in the offseason. It was a disappointment, but in retrospect it was to be expected.

Then in early January I was at the Jaycees Year End Banquet. I believe on that same night Michael Beasley was personally destroying the Cyclones.

I believe that it was at this point that Shannon made a rather snide remark about the Cyclones. I had to stand up for the Cyclones and we agreed to attend next season's game with a friendly wager to boot.

It is a little known fact that I rarely lose wagers. In fact it has been about 5 years since I last lost a wager. I knew that I had, 11 months in advance, secured a victory for the Iowa State Cyclones. Don't believe me?

Check the archives: I guarantee an ISU victory over UNI! (You will have to scroll past the pictures)

Or I can repost the pertinent part of the blog:

The first event occurred while I was talking to Shannon. Somebody came back from the bar side of the American Legion to announce that my beloved Cyclones were losing by 25 to Kansas State. Although it was sad news, it was to be expected. The simple fact of the matter is that they have Beasley and we do not. That fact alone will decide quite a number of games in Kansas State's favor this season.

At this point Peggy (the 2008 Jaycees President with questionable taste in college sports teams) came over to point out that her Kansas Jayhawks also thumped Iowa State earlier in the week.

I responded that I wasn't so sure that wasn't to be expected. Right now Iowa State is held together by spit, baling wire and a walk-on point guard.

Shannon added that "He will defend Iowa State under any circumstances."

What she said is undeniably true, but the way she said it indicated that she thinks that there was another way that it is acceptable to be.

Then she took it too far. She wandered down a road that is going to end poorly for her. Even though that road won't officially end for several months.

She brought up that UNI had beaten ISU this season.

It is a fact. I can't deny it, but I can make bold proclamations.

I made this bold proclamation:

"I guarantee that we beat UNI next year."

There I said it. I got it out there. I might have went into some details about how next year's Cyclone team would be essentially the first team in 3 years that wasn't going to be built from scratch that offseason.

Then she made the mistake.

"That sounds like a wager." Those words escaped her lips. I think she knew that she had a mistake as soon as the words had finished reverberating around the American Legion. Yet she gamely continued on and did not back down.

The terms of the wager have not been set, but I can hint at what I'm leaning towards. Let me just say that I think Shannon is going to look good in Cardinal and Gold.

Wednesday was indeed the night that we made our way up to Cedar Falls to witness the game.

I don't think I need to go into details about the game. UNI fought their hearts out. They were able to force overtime, before the Cyclones were able to finally secure the victory by 5 points.

My impressions of the night are that McLeod Center is an impressive building. It gets surprisingly loud in there. UNI's program is way better than Iowa State's program, for the same price. It has pages. Iowa State's program is a page. Their scoreboard is a little strange. It is split into two separate scoreboards, so it is a little difficult to find the score of the game. It was quite an experience.

I don't want to go into the details of the wager, because I am not somebody that needs to gloat... but I would like to share that one of the outcomes of the wager was my acquisition of this sweet beanie that Shannon made.





On a related but unrelated note (that might have been the equivalent of using the nonword irregardless)a fellow miner by the name of Schmidt (I have too many friends with the first name Cory) has designed the ISU Basketball equivalent of an Advent Calendar. We figure that Iowa State needs 20 wins to make it to a tournament this year.

He has placed 20 post-it notes next to his desk in the Mine. Every time ISU wins we take down a post-it note and celebrate with some candy.

Shannon probably won't be happy that I share this fact, but when we were looking around the UNI Book Store for a food item that would be Panther related for the Cyclone Advent Calendar we failed. Then she noticed that there was a purple package of M&Ms (dark chocolate) and a gold package of M&Ms (peanut) she suggested we use those. In fairness she also said it would be a moot point.

Well, it was not a moot point...





... it was an excellent idea. Panther candy was tasty!

We are planning on celebrating our victory Saturday over the Oregon State Beavers with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Mmmmm.... I wonder what Jayhawk is going to taste like.

Roland, Iowa

Monica contacted me a month or so back about coming to Roland to take pictures of couples for the Roland American Legion Auxiliary during their annual Christmas Party.

Monica is the Co-President of the Roland American Legion Auxiliary with her Aunt.
The basic idea was to take pictures of couples and print the picture on site. Then place the picture inside a folder and sell the pictures for 5 bucks. All of that money would go to the Roland American Legion Auxiliary.

This was a job that was larger than one person. Lucky for my my Top Photo Assistant was available. Thanks to Shannon, the night went pretty smooth. She is slightly more organized than I am.



Test Shot of Shannon for Camera Settings



Co-Presidents



You might be wondering why this guy has that look on his face. See picture below...





It was a great night!

Willy's Birthday

On Willy's Birthday I got a couple of unique photos of some friends.

Willy joined Jesse, Frank, Vest and I for lunch. In honor of Willy's birthday Jesse donned the shirt that Jay made to honor Willy. Then he posed with Willy.



Jesse donning Lone Wolf Gear with Lone Wolf


On Wednesday Andy, Melissa, Becky and Grace set up in front of the Fareway in Ames and Nevada to raise money for Holiday Food Baskets.

While I was sitting at Okoboji Grill having lunch, my phone rang (incidentally I was more popular than my mom last month, I had more used minutes on the cell phone bill!)and it was Shannon. Andy and Becky were setting up in Nevada and Grace was hoping I would be able to go over their and get their pictures.

I was not able to do this because I was celebrating Willy's birthday.

However, while I was sitting at work later that day I got a text message. The number was not in my contact list. Every time that I get a text message from a number I don't know it is pornography.

I'm not what you would call a fan of pornography. I understand why it exists (to demean women) but if I were a fan of pornography, I would make certain that I was sending it to a person I knew for sure. But hey that is just me and The Bennett Text Messaging Pornography Policy.

It ends up that the text message was not pornography, but a message from Melissa wanting to know if I could come down and take a picture of she and Grace at the Ames Fareway.

As it turns out, I could.



Melissa and Grace


Incidentally, you can still donate to the Jaycees' Holiday Food Baskets and help feed 200 families Christmas Dinner in Story County.

Visit the Ames Jaycees Website for more information.

Happy Birthday Willy

I've been a bit busy in the last few days and I've been negligent. So I apologize. It was Willy's birthday on the day before Thanksgiving.





We took Willy out on Sunday night for dinner and then to lunch on Wednesday for his birthday.

I think I won a Photo Contest once with that picture of Willy.

The Turkey Trot

I have to admit that I'm kind of phoning this one in. I'm going to copy and paste and email I wrote about the Living History Farms Run on Saturday.

You just need to know that there was some confusion about whether or not we would be able to watch Willy and his friend Kristy participate in this race.

Turkey Trot

The LHF Run ended up being a piece of cake from a spectator perspective. Jay and I left Boone about 7:45. We got down to Des Moines at about 8:30. A line of traffic began to form on Hickman (correct me if I’m wrong) underneath the interstate bridge. This gave me some cause for concern, but it was wasted energy. We pulled into the LHF parking lot and they had people directing traffic. We got a choice parking spot right next to the road.

In the morning it wasn’t that cold. In fact, Des Moines didn’t get nearly as much snow as Ames or Boone. We hung around the starting point for awhile, but could not find Willy in the middle of the mass of humanity of 7500 runners and maybe another 500 or so spectators.

We walked maybe a quarter of a mile down the course and set up. The hope was that when the crowd started to move we could pick out Willy and Kristy. When the racers did reach our point it was fairly impressive to see 7500 people running next to you. It took in the neighborhood of 6-8 minutes for all of them to run by us.

We were unable to pick them out. It was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles, plus we didn’t know what they were wearing.

After the runners passed we cut up through the town to watch the runners go by again. By the time we got there, the group had spread out, but I still didn’t think that we would see Willy. As luck would have it Kristy and Willy saw us and waved to us. I’m not sure how they saw us, because we were standing behind another group of people and Willy just isn’t that observant of a person.

After they passed we followed a group of spectators to a part of the stream where the racers would have to cross it and then climb up a hill using ropes. We set up near there. I was at a spot in between the ropes and the creek. Down in the little valley it was actually pretty warm because there was no wind.

What I did not count on was that the ground I was standing next to was going to turn into mud after a few hundred runners came out of the stream.

While I was standing there. Annie Buchmiller came running by. She stopped briefly and said, “Hi.” Then she ascended the hill.

As runners ran by me I got covered in mud. At least my jeans and winter jacket did. Some groups of people started picking up mud and throwing it at each other. One girl threw some at the guy she was running with and he ducked and it hit me.

She looked horrified and she came over and apologized.

I said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal. It’s my fault for standing this close to the action.” I do believe that.

Eventually Willy and Kristy came through the stream, but they didn’t cut the way the course was supposed to cut. They didn’t go up the ropes. They went over the side, so I didn’t really get a very good picture of either of them. Actually I didn’t get a picture of Kristy at all.

After they passed we walked out of the stream valley and made our way towards the finish line.

Here is an example of focus.

The runners began to get backed up pretty far from the stream. We had to work our way up the pack to find a place to cross the course and head back to the town. While we were walking alongside the race course a bunch of girls that were kind of stopped because runners were backed up at the stream that we were walking by asked, “Aren’t we cute enough?”

At first I didn’t realize they were talking to me, because I was 100% focused on getting to the finish line before Willy.

So, I kind of responded off hand, “You’re cute enough.” And kept walking.

Jay said, “You get that a lot don’t you?”

It was then that it dawned on me that they thought I should take their picture because they were “so cute”.

“I guess it has happened twice this year.”

While we were walking back to the town it started to snow and the wind picked up. The temperature must have dropped about 10 degrees.

We watched them cross the finish line and I got a picture of Willy and Kristy.

At this point, Sara called and asked if we were still on for lunch. I told her that I was covered in mud, but we were still on for lunch.

Jay and I stopped by Christian Photo to pick up folders for December 1 and the Roland Christmas thing.

When we got to Sara’s she loaned me a pair of pants that didn’t really fit, but as long as I held them up while I walked it was okay. At least better than being covered in mud.

We ate at Los Laureles. It was excellent. They serve their meals with 3 different types of salsa. I’d say their only drawback was that they serve their soda out of cans, therefore there are no refills. Maybe the best refried beans I’ve ever had.


Then we hit the Juice Company. I had the Orange-Carrot-Banana. It was very good. I think in the future I might go with the smoothie so it is cold. I can’t remember what Sara had, but the name might have had Aloha in the title. Jay didn’t have anything and he seemed confused as to why anybody would pay 5 bucks for 24 ounces of juice. Sara liked it and is going to go back to try their wheat grass at some point. She also like the atmosphere because it was a lot less “snooty” than Fresh.



7500 Runners



Kristy and Willy



Jay



Mud



Annie Buchmiller



One of my favorite runners.



Climbing the Rope



The Brides



Willy



Willy



Kristy and Willy



After the Finish Line



The squirrels in Sara's neighborhood have been eating her pumpkin.



Sara with her drink from The Juice Company



Styling in my loaner paints.


All in all, it was not a half bad day.

Happy Birthday Suzie

This past Saturday was the birthday of Suzie.





Happy Birthday Suzie!

Something Beautiful

I've been working on the Friends Album in the Snapshots Gallery lately. I've added close to 100 new photos of friends.





If you would like to check those new photos out, just follow the link:


Friends


Also, I would remind you that if you "Register" to become a "User" in the Galleries, you can do some cool things like "Favorite" pictures, "Comment" on pictures or "Rate" pictures.

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.

Decline of Sports Journalism, Part Deux

My friend Russell wrote this about sports media and I think it is brilliant. Even if you don't like sports, you might find it interesting if you have had the sideline "bimbo" conversation with me.

Decline of Sports Journalism, Part Deux

As defined by the online journalism dictionary, Color commentator:"The color commentator provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy and injury reports, on the teams and athletes..." From dictionary.com, Analysis: "A person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis."

A small apology: in a critique of sports journalism, I'm going to make a slight stretch and include sports commentators and analysts in the journalistic field, after all they are supposed to report information about the game, use coaches and players as resources, and provide the public with necessary information.

I know, I know.

I'll admit I'm not the brightest cookie ever, and neither are most Americans. We just aren't. Too much TV, too much beer, too many conversations on telephones that probably should have never happened, freaking out when Janet Jackson shows her breasts or the new Harry Potter comes out, but turning a blind eye to Darfur, Haiti, and a thousand other world crises. I'm not condemning America, for I too am guilty of bypassing world news for an entertainment sound bite and of watching a reality television show or three.

But come on. The sports know-it-alls have been phoning it in for a good four, five years now. The problem isn't that we don't want to hear them, it's that they are continuing to say what we already know. It's becoming the equivalent of going over addition and subtraction in a high school algebra class. The problem isn't that America has gotten smarter, it's that after telling us the same things five years running, hey, we've got it.

Here's the kind of stuff that I mean. See if any of these sound familiar and I'll just use football:

A certain team has bad running game: "The defense is going to sit back in coverage force them to throw underneath."

Certain team has bad passing game: "It's time to put eight or nine in the box, and force the weak quarterback to beat you."

Certain team is good in all phases: "What makes it so tough is, you can't defend these guys at all. You put eight in box, they go over the top with great wide receivers, if you sit back they'll run in down your throat."

Certain team sucks in all phases: "This team struggles in all phases of the game, and it starts with head coach. (or if head coach has unquestioned credentials, "It starts with the players.")

My favorite, the pick for Super Bowl, or Bowl Game: Pick the two best teams from each conference, almost always, or pick a team that has won before. Though it seems obvious, the facts say otherwise: Since '79 #1 seeds in college basketball have won the title just 55% of the time, since 2000 3 wild card teams have won the Super Bowl, same for baseball since 2002, of ten BCS champion games the #2 ranked team has won half the games. ). The point being playing it safe and going with the fav only gets it done about half the time.

When player says the wrong thing: "(Player's name) is selfish and doesn't care about the team."

A athletic (certain cynical writers would throw race in here) quarterback is doing pretty well: "He's a dual threat, uses athletic skills to buy time in pocket!" If he fails: "Relying too much on his athletic ability, needs to be more patient and make better throws."

An un-athletic QB: "He goes through his 2nd and 3rd reads, and he is patient in pocket." If he sucks: "He needs to move around in the pocket, he holds on to the ball too long."

It drives me nuts if I keep going. (It's a bit more fun translating these to common life, like say, the Researcher struggles with women: "He needs to be more aggressive and open up the offense a bit more." Or on Obama: "This guy was the underdog at one point and he was counted out, but on the big stage, that's when he demonstrated his heart and his leadership.")

I put up with it for a while, I think we all did, because we were starved for sports highlights and information about our beloved teams. But with the inundation of sports shows and games, on like eight different networks, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING NEW.

Good thing they have a four-day camp put on by the NFLPA and NFL to teach ex-athletes a career in broadcasting. I'm surprised it lasts four days.

It's frightening to me that ex-coaches and guys 15 years in the league who read playbooks 600 pages deep and know every nuance of the game can't seem to give us anything but the same stuff I discuss with my dad at home. If anything, I could use the help beating him during our sports arguments.

Are they afraid if they educate us too much they'll be out of the job? As if Joe Six-Pack (when he's not plumbing) is going to rise off the couch, quit his job and take over a head coaching gig (insert your Raiders joke here)? But seriously, can this really be all they took from the game?

I have literally seen more than a few games when a commentator, doesn't matter the sport, begins literally drawing a picture or writing words on the screen. Come on. That's all you've got? I mean, show us why the deep post route freed up the crossing route, why his 3rd read was outside of the 2 second window a QB has to throw the ball, why the matchup zone slows a point guards passing skills, why drawing an infield in effects a pitcher's selection of throws, something that makes the average fan feel like...oh, I don't know...he's getting only a slightly lesser quality experience than someone attending the game. That's really what television is for. You've got cameras everywhere but up the quarterback's you know what, HD quality pictures, and then you've got some huge guy in a suit saying "They really need to step it up here, Al. This is an important play." Thirty seconds on the clock in a playoff game, ya think? Stuff like that makes me put on the mute button and cry, and when sports shows come on, I now watch only the highlights and then turn away.

If I want I can get similar analysis from drunk fans at the game. For instance "That coach is douche bag!" (Analyst: "I really just don't like that call, Dan, post-play, of course) or "Come on Defense, get a stop!" (They need to buckle down here, John and get a stop.") "Your mother looks like George Foreman!" ("He's got to stay focused and stop letting his emotions get the best of him.")

I also have an issue with these sideline reporter people, aka Something we found the pretty girl to do because what if they're as good at us men at sports?

So-and-so is injured. Awesome. If it's not a major player, we don't care. If you don't have information, we don't care. Don't tell us the hurt player is being evaluated in the locker room. We know, because it's why he went in the locker room. (Unless it's Manny Ramirez.) If the team is depressed or the coaches are trying to get people fired up, guess what? America could give a crap.

America would like to know, sideline girl, what adjustments are being made, to a specificity, if someone is being kept out of a game and why, or maybe if two players get into a fight. Truthfully, most guys really just like watching Erin Andrews smile because the information (which she has said she's worked on all week) amounts to diddly-poo.

I don't understand the great fear of giving America too much information. I have yet to hear a sports show labeled "too intelligent for me." I have yet to hear a sports fan say, "I'd just like four guys who laugh a lot and speak in general, simplistic terms." In an age where people have access to more information than any point in history, why is the sports shows and TV producers prefer we have the opposite? From Peter King of Sports Illustrated:"..I don't mean to harp on ESPN for burying the State Farm NFL Matchup Show, but here's an example of what I'm talking about when I say it's the one pregame show that should be essential viewing for the real fan, and how ESPN is foolish for putting it on...at 3 a.m. and 7: 30 am ET. "

Now, I've seen the show, and I'll admit I found it a bit nerdish. The two commentators are a bit too eager to break down, of all things, tons of game film. It's kind of like being in a film session. But I got stats, in depth video replays and a host of terms I had never heard before. Some might call that expert analysis.

There are good commentators out there, and I've heard excellent analysis of the NBA by at least two female commentators (who seem to be intentionally stepping up their game because people are waiting for them to screw up). And certain commentators bring a homey feel to television, John Madden, Dick Vitale, Bill Raftery: guys who don't have too much to say but seriously appear to enjoy the game, the idea of optimism being contagious. No major beef with them.

I read a quote recently and since I'm not a quote guy I'll paraphrase horrifically: the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. In saying that, you might think I'm alright with another player whose done enough drugs and alcohol to fill the Atlantic Ocean giving me simple tidbits.

But I'm not. In my quest for more information and better viewing pleasure I may find nothing but misery, but there's not a damn thing wrong with letting America feel smart. And if they do try and it fails miserably, I'll be the first to eat crow and go right back to watching Erin Andrews.

From Russell Kennerly AKA The Researcher

Jen's Uncle

Jen's Uncle Jon passed away last Tuesday. He was laid to rest on Saturday.

Below are the words that Jen wrote to be read at his funeral. They are painfully beautiful.

To the world, Jon was introverted, shy, reserved, quiet --to me he was just “Jon”. Maybe if prompted to describe him in a few words I would say, “Jon’s not the kind of guy you can get to know just by meeting him.”

So as far as uncles go, Jon was the best. He was the uncle who was never too tired to drag the sled up the hill for another ride; who could spend all day at the swimming pool; who never tired of constructing forts in the basement. He knew the rules to every game (from chess to tennis) – and was always joyfully defeated by his seven and five-year old opponents. Days spent with Jon were full of fun and adventure…and if the night skies were clear, he would pull out his telescope and tell us the name of every star and crater in the moon.

Jon knew everything about everything. He knew the name of each flower, of every tree. He could tell you the variety of grass of every house along the street, as well as the seasonal pros and cons of each hybrid. He always knew the answers that “stuck” me on crossword puzzles (even at hospice on a morphine drip…and he could spell it!). Those of us who got to know him, knew he was funny, at times plain silly. Sometimes we just sat and laughed about nothing in particular. That’s the Jon I feel privileged to have known.

Jon loved classical music and Gilbert & Sullivan operas. When he wasn’t applying the subplots from HMS Pintafore to contemporary times, he was talking science. He could talk ad nauseam about thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations. In a recent discussion regarding my rowing team, I had told him that our goal time for a 3 mile race was 24 minutes…without hesitation he replied, “That’s an 8 minute mile or a little more than 11 ft per second.” Dumbfounded, I asked “why would you know that?” He just shrugged. I checked the math – he was right.

Jon has given me more than an thirst for knowledge or an appreciation of parabolic curves– he’s given me priceless (although sometimes painful) lessons in perseverance, strength, patience, hope, and faith, as well as countless other gifts that will only be clear with hindsight. It is for those bits of wisdom, gained by Jon allowing me to share in his journey, that I will always be grateful.