lewis and clark had a journal. you, beth-annie, have a diary.

Monday, November 28, 2005
Chocolate babies.
They might as well be with how you just want to eat them up. Especially supercute ones like my very first-ever nephew ever Benji. He's kind of awesome. I know most of you have seen quite a few pictures already at Matthew's blog, but these are OURS, so there.

[auntie bethy sure does have a wacky part.]

[uncle josh makes an awfully comfy pillow.]

[you gotta start 'em early.]
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Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Because laughter is the best ~~revenge~~ medicine.

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Monday, November 14, 2005
"Annoy, tiny blonde one!  Annoy like the wind!"
That ("Veronica Mars") quote apparently has a basis in fact, as that's exactly what the wind did here Saturday night.  It was so strong and so loud that both Josh and I slept absolutely horribly, constantly being woken up and then having a hard time falling back to sleep, or at least any kind of restful sleep.  Who knew that wind alone, sans any lightning or thunder, could do such a thing?  Not to mention that at times a particularly violent gust would actually scare  me -- me, who loves strong and insane weather and is rarely actually frightened by it.  I hear the straight wind only reached the 30s (that would be in miles per hour) and the gusts the 40s, but dang if it didn't sound like the windows were about to be blown through or the siding torn off the house.

In related news, the same weather system that brought us such a restless night also spawned tornadoes around Ames, at one point emptying Jack Trice Stadium of the crowd gathered for the ISU-Colorado football game and moving them into Hilton Coliseum when the tornado sirens sounded.  This won't mean as much to anyone who doesn't know Ames, but how in the world do you move potentially tens of thousands of people from Jack Trice to Hilton quickly enough for it to do any good if there's a tornado in the area?  I mean, I guess you have to do something, but...

Luckily the game went on, though a bit delayed -- not that it mattered for us, since the game wasn't broadcast until the middle of the night.  Josh did a very commendable job of keeping himself from hearing the outcome (which can be hard to do with the internet and getting scoring updates on your phone) so that we could watch our recorded-at-2am version of the game on Sunday without knowing what was going to happen.  It was well worth the wait, with lots of back-and-forth scoring and the strong wind making for some interesting happenings. Though there were a couple of dismal moments when it looked like Colorado was either going to pull ahead or tie it up late in the 4th quarter, somehow they each turned into the opposite, thanks to interceptions and fumbles that became immediate touchdowns for the Cyclones.  30-16 and ISU beat Colorado in Ames for the first time since 1983.  Yup, you read that right.  Though they would be going to a bowl game regardless, it was a must-win for ISU in order to stay in the race to win the Big 12 North and in turn have a chance to win the Big 12 Championship game and thus go to the BCS.  For now, at least, our hopes are still alive.  Now we just need to win our next game.  And have Colorado lose.  And have Missouri lose.  THEN we go to the championship game.

Piece of cake.
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Friday, November 11, 2005
In a probably futile effort to finish my Trip-o-Logue before we reach the one-year anniversary of our trip, I give you:

DAY ELEVEN:  Sat. Dec. 4.
After spending the night in Naples, FL, we took off for Sanibel Island, one of those places where it is literally impossible to find a hotel room under $100, if you can even find a place that will let you stay for a single night (most also seem to have a 2-night to even a week minimum) -- hence our not staying there.  Just driving through it, it had a very small-town feel, despite all the resorts and such, which thankfully wasn't just a line of obtrusive high-rise hotels like a lot of Florida... it had more of a Door County, WI feel than a Daytona Beach feel.  There were quiet residential streets, a cute little post office we mailed postcards from, and everything just seemed slower and less chaotic (of course, we were also there during a down season visitor-wise).  But it seemed like the kind of place that would be really nice to live someday -- except for all the tourists and, you know, the hurricanes.  Hurricane Charley had made landfall as a Category 4 just north of the island a few months before we were there, and you could sort of tell.  We didn't see much serious structural damage, moslty minor things or buildings in the middle of repair, but a lot of the vegetation still looked like a mess, with masses of tangled limbs and brush along the roads and palm trees that had been reduced to more palm trunks than trees any longer.

We went to Sanibel for the incredible shelling there, some of the best in the world.  I love shells, and the best I'd ever been able to find myself in previous trips to the ocean were just a few tiny little uninteresting ones, so this was paradise for me.  It's a place where you wade into the water and are literally standing on pure shells, thousands of them inches deep.  Josh, as usual not wanting to get his feet wet (haha), stood a few dry feet away and tried to spot some of the bigger or more colorful shells that the waves would toss around while I went in up to about my knees trying to grab them and pciking through handfuls and handfuls of smaller shells.  It was awesome.  :-)

After leaving the island, we decided on the fly to stop by Lee County Manatee Park in Fort Myers in the hopes of spotting a manatee in its natural habitat (since we hadn't managed to see any in Blue Spring State Prk or the Everglades earlier on our trip).  We didn't.  According to a park employee we talked to, we actually just missed seeing one.  Booger.

On our way from Fort Myers to the Sarasota area, we drove through the area worst hit by Charley (Punta Gorda and Posrt Charlotte) and saw the worst damage of our whole trip there.  Considering that we were there in early December and the hurricane had hit in mid-August, the amount of damage still there was amazing to see firsthand.

Our next stop was a beach on Siesta Key, which I wanted to check out because of its unique, extremely fine and extremely white sand.  We didn't go swimming or anything -- it was a little chilly for that and we wouldn't have had time anyway -- but it was a really nice beach, with lots of free parking, lovely vegetation, and an impressive concession/patio/picnic area.

[i love this shot because of the fantastic colors.]

Our final activity of the day before driving to Orlando to spend the night was, of course, disc golf. We went to the course at Water Tower Park in Sarasota, and as we were afraid we would run out of daylight (it was December, remember) we started on the back nine. We still had a bit of light left after we finished those, so we decided to see how far we could get on the front nine. Then came Hole #4. Heretofore known as The Hole of Sadness. For it was here that Bethy threw her beloved Pasadena disc for the very last time, as it was eaten up by a monstrous mass of tangled bushes. We saw where it had gone in, so we really didn't think it would be that hard to find. We looked for longer and more extensively than I think we've ever looked for a disc ever. Ever. No dice. Josh even ran back to the car to get a flashlight. Yup, it was dark and we were still looking. Eventually, and much to Bethy's dismay, we had to abandon the search and hope that someone would find it and be nice enough to contact us via the email address on the back. Hasn't happened. I still to this day can't for the life of me figure out where that disc went, as the area it flew into wasn't that dense or that big. It's literally like it just disappeared into thin air. Another thing to add to our list of Mysteries of the Universe.

Yeah, and so then we drove to our hotel in Orlando. Blah blah blah. Sorry, I'm still really depressed about "Arrested Development."

You can look at my photos, but it won't bring the show back.
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Thursday, November 10, 2005
"I don't understand the [statement] and I won't respond to it."
Okay, I will.  Here we go:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Can't... breathe... Fox... cutting... "Arrested"... to 13 episodes... and pulling... for rest of November... Next season... highly improbable...

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This is not happening.  It's NOT.  If there are really only eight more episodes EVER, I will throw a fit.  A FIT!  You thought I was upset when "Ed" was canceled?  Nuh-uh.  That was NOTHING.  And don't give me any of that crap about how Fox was very patient to stick with the show this long and we were lucky to get as much of it as we have.  No.  NO.  This is a show that deserves to be on the air.  It deserves to be on the air for ten years, and anything less than five I consider a travesty.  I don't care if the ratings are in the toilet.  Do you hear me?  I - DON'T - CARE!  With the crapload of moolah you make off of "American Idol" you really can't afford to keep on the air one little half-hour show, only one of the most critically-acclaimed series EVER?  For shame, Fox.

For SHAME.
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Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Let us go right now to what's happening right now.
If your name is Matthew, Kimberly, or Benjamin, Ed and Beth-Annie could use some help with ideas for what any of you -- whether yourself, your spouse, child, mother, or father -- might like for Christmas, as they only have a little over a week to shop for you.  Preferrably, anyway.  Especially if it's something big and/or heavy.  Please email any suggestions to one or both of them.  Thank you.

If your name is moM or daD, we have put together some potential routes to and from Richmond, which include such possible disc golf destinations as South Carolina, Delaware, New York, and, um, Canadia.  In late November.  Are you sorry you put us in charge of coming up with routes yet?  Heehee.  More detailed information (including hotel options) to follow.
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
"I thought the woman was pretending as a monster, but she was just out of vodka."
We must talk about last night's "Arrested Development"s. Because they must be talked about. Bad. You know when a show is so good you fear it can't possibly maintain that same level of quality? After last night I think I'm going to have to officially stop worrying about that where "AD" is concerned. Because that? Was. Awesome. It's like they paid us back for the month of hiatus with some of the funniest crap they've ever thrown at us. Josh was laughing so hard at one point I thought he was going to hyperventilate (and if you [read: Matt] have seen the second episode, you know exactly which part I'm talking about. If you haven't yet, that's why I'm not using specifics). And the final reveal at the end? Oh yes, they DID go there! This show has never been afraid to be politically incorrect, but, dang! (For reference: for "good politically incorrect" see "AD," "The Office"; for "bad politically incorrect" see "The War at Home.") And after that final scene we immediately went back and watched parts of the last four episodes this season (I knew there was a reason we recorded and kept them all), and suddenly EVERYTHING MADE SENSE. Everything that just seemed so weird before, especially in the second episode of the season, was all of a sudden put in hilarious context -- and if anyone saw that coming, well, you're a lot more observant than I. "Delicious."
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Monday, November 07, 2005
Note to self:
If you see a TV show in the listings with the name "101 Things Removed From the Human Body" and you find yourself curious as to just what the hick that might mean, don't turn to it only to find out they ain't talkin' 'bout organs. 'Nuff said.
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Thursday, November 03, 2005
Because frivolity is what I do best.
I have no life-changing stories to share like some of my relatives, but here's what I (*sigh*) do have:  the remainder of this fall's crop of new television shows.  I know.  I'm sorry.

EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (upn thursdays)
Episodes seen:  6
Verdict:  What do you mean, UPN actually has two  good shows now?  What can I say?  The critics were right about this one.  It's nicely relatable in that Chris' family is actually functional  (a rare treat on TV these days) and relatively normal, but still manages to keep things interesting with things like his father's frugality and the iffy Brooklyn neighborhood in which they live.  Oh, and one other thing:  it's actually funny.

SURFACE (nbc mondays)
Episodes seen:  6
Verdict:  Uninvolving.  I've tried with this show, I really have.  Anyone who knows how much I dig the ocean and all the fascinating things living in it won't be surprised at that.  But this show just... drags.  It's not "good slow" like "Invasion," it's just "slow slow."  Stuff happens, but it feels like the same stuff that already happened on the last episode, and the one before that, and the one before that -- and it wasn't all that enthralling the first time.  I'll give it a bit more of a chance since shows often pick up the pace during sweeps, but if we haven't gotten anywhere by November's end, I'm throwing this one back.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF (abc tuesdays)
Episodes seen:  5
Verdict:  Shouldn't that title have hyphens?  Questionable grammar aside, I... well... like it.  I don't love it (I don't think it would be possible for me to "love" anything so political), but I definitely like it.  And no one was more surprised than I, seeing as I was never a fan of either "The West Wing" OR Geena Davis.  Come to think of it, I can't figure out why I ever watched it in the first place, but there it is.  Maybe it's that rooting-for-the-underdog thing I like, since she's not only the first feamle President but also has a lot of people working against her.

THRESHOLD (cbs fridays)
Hours seen:  7 (the pilot was 2-hour, so it's technically only 6 episodes)
Verdict:  Better than "Surface," not as good as "Invasion."  Okay, so that's not very specific.  This one's a toughy, actually.  The two-hour pilot was gripping and intense, but subsequent episodes haven't advanced the overall story much.  Each week's individual plot can be engaging enough in the moment, but I don't find myself that eager to see the next one.  The cast (which includes Brent Spiner and Peter Dinklage) is teriffic, though, and it still has a lot of potential.  Assuming it gets picked up for a full season, this is one I'll stick with for at least that long, unless it gets much worse than it has been.

SUPERNATURAL (wb tuesdays)
Episodes seen:  5
Verdict:  A good show, but not my cup of tea.  Funny, that's pretty much what I should have expected given the good reviews and premise description.  If I liked the horror/paranormal genre much I'm sure I'd love this one.  I like the two leads (one of which is the former Dean on "Gilmore Girls"), but on the whole the show is just a bit too "flaming-chick-on-the-ceiling" for my taste.

REUNION (fox thursdays)
Episodes seen:  3
Verdict:  Intriguing premise that lacks an intriguing execution.  Seriously.  This show could have been so good, and instead it's just... so... bad.  In part I blame the writing, and in part I blame the casting.  Both would have needed to better to make me care about the characters.  I admit I'll probably still watch it at least until we find out which one of the six friends we see in flashback over the last twenty years was just offed in the present, but after that all bets are off.

THE APPRENTICE:  MARTHA STEWART (nbc wednesdays)
Episodes seen:  2
Verdict:  I stopped watcching after two, didn't I?  Though that was actually more because they changed its timeslot from a time I didn't have anything to watch to the one both "Lost" and "Veronica Mars" occupy.  But I haven't missed it.  It's not that it was that much worse than Trump's "Apprentice," but I really only watched it out of curiosity in the first place.  Consider my curiosity quenched.

That's it for me.  Okay, so I watched one episode of the WB's "Just Legal" before it was canceled ("eh"), and intended to watch FOX's "Head Cases" but never got to it before it was also canceled after a mere two episodes.  So whatever.

Now that I've gotten through them all finally (my views on the first six are here), here's the overall breakdown:

Top Tier -- a.k.a. those I really look forward to each week:
Prison Break
My Name Is Earl
Invasion
Everybody Hates Chris
How I Met Your Mother

Middle Tier -- a.k.a. those I like but am not completely in love with:
Bones
Commander in Chief
Threshold

Bottom Tier -- a.k.a. those that are on notice and in danger of vanishing:
Kitchen Confidential
Surface
Reunion
Supernatural

What's that?  You want a breakdown for the old shows as well, updated for this season?  Oh, okay, you twisted my arm.

Cream of the Crop -- a.k.a. shows I'm absotively posolutely gaga over and am convinced are the best shows on television on which point I will accept no arguments:
Veronica Mars
Arrested Development
Lost

Top Tier (of those shows that aren't superhuman like the above) -- equivalent to the "Top Tier" of new shows:
Gilmore Girls (yes, you've fallen but can still redeem yourself and rejoin your friends in the "CoC" if you play your cards right)
The Office
Everwood
Alias

Middle Tier -- equivalent to the "Middle Tier" of new shows:
House
Survivor
The Amazing Race
Desperate Housewives (boy does this show suck this season... not sure if it's actually worse or if the novelty's just worn off)
Numbers
Joey

Lower Tier -- not quite equivalent to the "Bottom Tier" of new shows; mostly qualified by statements such as "not as good as it used to be" or "guilty pleasure" (or sometimes just "guilty"):
The Simpsons
The O.C.
The Apprentice
Las Vegas
Smallville (although, in all fairness, I haven't seen any of this season's episodes yet and I hear it may be better now)

And I think this entry's about long enough.
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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The burning question answered.
"So, Bethy, did Guster do 'Two Points' at the show last night?"  Before I get to that, let me say that, having already seen them in concert a few times before,  I went into this show with the following hope:  simply that they would play at least one of two songs I reeeeeeeally  wanted to hear, one being the aforementioned and the other being a new song I love called "Dear Valentine" (which they've recorded for a new album coming out early next year, but I've already heard courtesy of the wondrous archive.org's collection of live shows, at one of which Guster performed the song earlier this year).  As long as I heard one of those two songs, no matter what else the band played, I would be happy.  And you know what?  I was.  The little buggers FINALLY played "Two Points" for me, their loyal listener and t-shirt-buyer!  By golly it seems there WAS a pattern!  And I was downright giddy.

Then a funny thing happened.  Ryan, the primary lead singer and between-song-banterer, told us they were going to play a song they only play about once every two years.  I looked at Josh.  I didn't know what was coming, but whatever it was was likely to be good.  Then Ryan said he didn't think it was a very popular Guster song because it was kind of slow... at which point the wheels in my head started turning, and the sound they made sounded something like this:  "No... way... it couldn't  be..."  Now, this is the part where I remind you of yet another Gusteriffic blog entry of mine, a weird little gem (at least after the first paragraph) where I, okay, gushed about a particular song I love but is never played live, and the rare plus-violin live recording of it I found and fell even more in love with (and which, incidentally, was recorded the last time the song was performed almost exactly two years ago).  So where was my violin last night, huh, boys?  I mean, come on, what a rip-off!  Or so I would say if I were an ungrateful little brat who didn't appreciate when a monster of a gift was dropped in her lap.  Seriously, any whining I've done about not getting to hear This Song or That Song live, well, consider me 100% silenced.  I have no right.  Ever again.

Now, about you not playing "Dear Valentine" last night...
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Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Oh, I do not know what to make of this...
On July 1, 2004, I wrote about a Guster song (my favorite, "Two Points for Honesty") that I have never managed to see them perform live (that would be in three tries) because they don't play it very often. The band just started a new tour, and in the four shows so far, they've played the song three times. And I'm confused. We're seeing them tonight in Madison (so nice to not have to drive all the way to Chicago for a concert for once), and I can't quite figure out whether to get my hopes up for them playing it or not. On the one hand, three shows out of four is a definite deviation from the norm. On the other hand, a sample of a mere four shows is hardly big enough to draw any real conclusions. On the first hand again, though, maybe it's not an anomaly for this tour and they're just doing it at most shows for some reason. On the other hand, even if that's true maybe the fact that they've done it at the last two means they're about due to skip it tonight. Ack.

I have such problems, don't I?

While you all chew on that for what I'm sure will be hours if not days, please enjoy a lovely photograph from our trip camping this weekend.

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