Mmmm. Sacrilicious!

Warning: While I absolutely respect the individual right to worship as he or she sees fit, I also believe equally in the necessity to balance faith with a certain amount of levity.  If you are someone who takes his or her religion extremely seriously and can't appreciate some poking of fun, you'd probably better skip this post.

This morning started with a breakfast across the street at our neighbors' house: orange-pineapple mimosas, blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit, cream, and a quichey thing with an Italian name that I forget.  It was fan-friggin'-tastic.  The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day (and still is, as I write this) - perfect for wandering half a block to set up our camp chairs and watch the West Seattle Hi-Yu Parade.  And among all the usual suspects (police motorcycle formation teams, marching bands, drill teams, floats, clowns and pirates) were a handful of the local churches.  In our neighborhood, the Catholics and Lutherans are predominant, evidenced by a bajillion churches and parochial schools within a 10-block radius.

This in itself is not unusual, nor do I have any problem with a person's personal display of faith (so long as it's not infringing another person's rights).  I was raised Presbyterian, follow a Judeo-Christian moral code, have many Christian friends, and am a pretty open guy when it comes to that stuff.  But it creeped me the heck out when the Lutheran church started handing out lollipops.  Not just any lollipops.  These were large confections in the shape of various-colored crosses... on a stick.

Really??

Here's where the history geek meets the marketing guy in me and they have a brainstorm.  First of all, early Christians, is the logo you want - your brand, if you will - really the device used to execute your dude?  What happened to the fish?  When the Romans converted, were they just that much more literal?  What if Jesus had been beheaded?  Would His followers wear little guillotines?  What if He was drawn & quartered? Shot? Garroted?  Burned at the stake?  Under different circumstances, modern Christians might well be adorning their churches with a dunking chair or wearing miniature stretching racks as signs of their faith.  Point being, the Roman crucifix was an instrument of terror, torture and slow execution.  Using it as a holy symbol has always seemed more than a little morbid to me.  Not exactly the kind of symbol you want to use to attract people.  The fish is a good one, and I've seen some churches use the butterfly as a symbol of the Resurrection.  Those not only make sense, but are far more attractive to the layperson.

But that's just one (unaffiliated) person's opinion, and those of you who like the whole crucifix deal, knock yourselves out.  I am just giving my readers some background so that they can understand how bizarre I found passing out crosses made of candy to promote a religion.  Using the guillotine again, for example: "Look, kids!  They'd put someone's head through this hole and drop a heavy blade down the middle, severing it from the body!  And it's made of candy!"

Of course, the jokes started flying immediately.  Rae said her salvation tasted kind of like Pledge.  Amy found it challenging to reach hers through the tight plastic packaging.  I told her she really had to work at attaining her salvation, but when she did I assured her it would be delicious.  Someone said Jesus tasted funny.  There was no way I was gonna stick a Roman execution device in my mouth, no matter how delicious, so I took mine home to share with my readers.  Tyler was brave and volunteered to try his salvation-on-a-stick (and he finished it), but complained that salvation left a strange aftertaste.

I guess this kind of falls within the realm of "odd marketing tools".  No matter what, it made the day much more festive.

*    *    *

Work continues apace.  Editing the On And On BTS reel, and finishing layout for Arrowflight 2nd Edition.  Rae is taking me out for a dinner date tonight.  It's been awhile since we've done that.  And it's a gorgeous day to do it.  Heck, it's a gorgeous day to be alive.

And that's my mode of worship.  ;-)

Quick Update

It's actually above freezing for once. There is a very slooooooow melt underway, with more snow promised in the wee hours of the morning. We may actually have a white Christmas.

We tried to get Ruby out of the driveway this morning - a driveway packed with 6" of snow and ice in various strata. Shoveling was out, due to my bum shoulder from the wipeout yesterday. I tried blazing a trail with Sportacus, to no avail. And shoveling the expanse of graded driveway was out of the question if we were to have any energy left. Raechelle finally got a ride to work and said it was a veritable white-knuckle ballet.

The kids sledded some more, then we walked to Taco Del Mar and grabbed some lunch. Kayleigh and I watched A Prairie Home Companion, which was cute. I used to listen to the radio show growing up, but I didn't find the film particularly compelling (despite an amazing cast). It wasn't bad, it was just... meh.

I did a bunch of bookkeeping and (computer) housekeeping, and then took a second trip to Westwood, to the (God help me) post office and grocery store. Everywhere was packed with human sardines clearing the shelves of every last provision. The QFC was (get this) out of eggs.

Out.
Of.
Eggs.

I grabbed some soup and grilled cheese sandwich makings. Raechelle finally made it home after another white-knuckle trip, and we're gonna hole up tonight. Being snowed in is good for something, right?

Whoopsie Daisy.

The hell was I thinking? I mean, really. A 40 year-old, 250-pound man on a little plastic disc. Which incidentally reminds me of the Spartan shields in 300. But I digress.

This!
Is!
WEST SEATTLE!

We went down to Big 5 this morning and purchased some of these plastic human serving trays and proceeded to make our offerings to the Snow Gods. And by cracky, it was fun to begin with. As the video below (taken yesterday by Raechelle as I rode a borrowed disc) will prove.



However, all it takes is a single spill, and suddenly my uninsured ass was in bed, unable to move my left arm above my chest or turn my head more than a 45-degree left-right axis. I'm sure I didn't break anything - just some pulled muscles and sore spots. I'll be right as rain in a bit, especially since Ibuprofen, ice packs and TBFE2 take such good care of me.

It's just a bit embarrassing, being on the receiving end of care when I've usually been the one to dish it out. But I'm letting her do it, and I'm thankful for it. And for her.

The kids have had an awesome day, and with the temps in the mid 30s, the snow has begun to melt. We'll see what the rest of the week holds, what with more foul weather predicted and my grandmother in the hospital. May have to postpone our Bellingham Christmas gathering until after Raechelle gets back from WV.

Snow Day

Welcome to Seattle's SNOWPOCALYPSE '08!

Back Out

Well, it's not out out. It's just that... well, let me start from the beginning...

Yesterday started with lots of driving around. More driving around than usual. Two round trips to WSHS, loads of errands, 'tis the season and all that. I dropped off a big box of stuff at Goodwill. Then I went to the local branch of a certain credit union and opened a checking/savings/line-o-credit combo. So by lunchtime I had twice as many bank accounts as I woke up having.

Then I headed to a certain local everything store and picked up a certain couple items for a certain couple children. And one of those items was stupidly heavy. And by stupidly heavy, I mean I was stupid to try to lift it into my rig, and then muscle it into the house by myself.

Stupidy, stupidy, stupidy.

So the rest of the afternoon was spent laying on an icepack on my bed. The upside was that I got to start reading John Steakley's Vampire$ again. It's probably my most favorite horror-adventure novel, because it's so easily accessible. Steakley knows how to write action and he plops the reader right in the middle of it. I rarely read a novel more than once. I think I've read Vampire$ a half dozen times. And this particular copy of Vampire$ is very special to me. It was a gift from my friend Dave Alpern (friend of Steakley and formerly a columnist for Gamer Dad), who sent it to me after the fire, when I'd lost all three copies of Vampire$ I'd had on my bookshelves. It's one of the original trade paperbacks, and inside Steakley inscribed:

For Todd -

Hear you've had one of those years.
I know I've had 'em.
But these times do end and Alpern, whose opinions I respect, says you have more than enough MAN to come back.

God Bless

Rock & Roll!

John Steakley

Now I've owned autographed books before, including a first edition hardcover of If Chins Could Kill, the Bruce Campbell autobiography (which said, "Todd - Stay groovy"). But this is so much more personal and has everything to do with my Year of Pain (April '05 - February '06). So it was a really nice experience to crack this particular copy of V$ and re-read.

Raechelle got home at the usual time and we got ready to attend the West Seattle Art Walk. We took the kids to Elliott Bay for dinner (loves me some seasonal Noale), then poked around for a few minutes before calling it a night.

It appears I will get far less done today than I'd hoped, given that the left side of my back feels like one of the tension cables holding up the Golden Gate Bridge. I wanted to string the rest of the Christmas lights on the front of the house before the arctic front moves in (we're supposed to get snow this weekend). But if that doesn't happen, I will have to be satisfied with the company of friends and some fine holiday movies and pizza. Drat.

At least I'll get some more reading done. ;-)

I Predict... Short Back and Sides.

So this little retail space on California Avenue SW has been giving us a lot of mirth as we go past. Because the neon is in the same font, the same size, and at the same level in the adjacent front windows, it kinda looks like an all-in-one service. Especially at night.

Not sure what your hair's future holds? Visit the Psychic Barber! He'll tell you your folicular future while trimming up those sideburns.

Oh, and maybe tell you where you left that spare set of car keys.

Last Post for Friday

If you're in the greater Seattle area, make a point to come see Bullshot Crummond at Youngstown this weekend. Disregard the lame review that recently appeared in The Stranger. The reviewer was obviously ignorant of the show's history and unaware of how much the audiences have been enjoying the heck out of it (including the show he attended).

We'll be there tonight.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Saw this great sign outside the White Center Bartell's on the way to pick up Raechelle from the airport on Thursday night. Apparently the price of food is skyrocketing. Two cashews for $500, EBT accepted. We were wondering if they have a layaway plan. Because really, you'd want two nuts and not just one (that's true in most every case imaginable). They must be really good cashews, like made of diamonds and sex.

Hung out with Raechelle pretty much the whole weekend. It really made up for the time apart. Friday we ran some errands, did some shopping, ate some food, dropped the kids with Gavin for a few hours and just chilled by ourselves awhile, watched some Firefly.

Saturday we had a late lunch, Trish & Dan stopped by with pics from their first West Seattle house-hunting expedition, I picked up Rae's vacation photos at the very Bartell's featured in the pics above. If you remember, she left her digital camera at my place before she took off to WV, so she returned with a little disposable box camera. I burned her a photo CD so she could use 'em in her forthcoming recap blog post. We hustled down to the West Seattle street fair, met Rae's friends Daniela and Sergio and their (extremely cute) boys. Listened to some bands, then went to Mashiko for - wait for it - sushi. As many of you know, I'm not a huge seafood fan, nor can I actually have any kind of mollusk or crustacean - bad results, always. But damned if I didn't actually have four Alaska rolls (salmon) and another four avocado rolls. Unfortunately, the avocado rolls shared a plate with a bunch of other shellfish, and this afternoon I started feeling it.

We got home in time to pop in Batman Begins for Raechelle, as we are going to go see The Dark Knight and she wanted to have all the background. Our eyes severely heavy, we trundled off to bed.

Today was brunch at the Charlestown Cafe with Gavin and Michelle (plus the kids, Raechelle and I), then home for a badly needed rest before heading back to the street fair to catch about three or four songs from Carrie Akre's live set. Then we moseyed down through the fair, people-watching while the kids munched Hawaiian ices and read the ubiquitous Chick tracts some dude was handing out. We ended up at Elliott Bay Brewery for dinner, where I promptly felt the stored up effects of the shellfish-tainted avocado rolls. We moseyed some more, this time to Husky Deli for the ice cream the kids wanted but which we didn't get Saturday night due to a prohibitively long line. Back home for Raechelle to pack and head back to Ballard while the sun was still high in the sky (for once).

We had many in-depth discussions and even some friction over the weekend, and we're still feeling really good about this thing. As we head in on two months of actual couple-hood, we both have a lot of hope for the future of "us".

I was hoping to hear the official word from the school psychiatrist, but it appears that Tyler took some evaluation tests and scored at grade level in math and much higher in reading and composition/writing, so much so that there's really no way they can justify holding him back a year. Looks like he's going to high school after all...

Good weekend. No, dare I say it: GREAT weekend. Off to a new week!

Huzzah!

The Charlestown Cafe has re-opened! After much drama and community outcry over the proposed development of a Petco where this West Seattle family restaurant icon stands, and a fire which closed its doors for five months, one of our favorite family establishments is back in business.

Awesome!

Happy Birthday, Redux

This weekend was PACKED. And when I say "PACKED", I want you to take my full meaning.


Friday evening arrived, and so did Gavin & Michelle to hang with the kids and have pizza movie (over)night. I packed a bag and headed to Raechelle's for her former co-worker/occasional roomie Jessica's going away bash. We walked down to King's Hardware, a bar in Ballard which was crowded and very loud. Very meat-market. I had fun hanging with Raechelle and her work friends, and we proceeded to drink like a couple of adults with no kid-responsibilities. I haven't been able to just go pub crawling since the night of the fire. It was good, although there were apparently some ghosts for Raechelle, and she made a couple declarations later about not visiting certain establishments or drinking certain cocktails anymore, which I fully support.

We went back to Rae's apartment and got some sleep. The girl was a bit delicate in the morning, but I did not have any kind of hangover (blessings counted). Said goodbye to Jessica and Sam as they departed for Bellingham, then headed out to Costco to get the pies for the birthday party. In and out of Costco in 20 minutes flat, back to the apartment to shower and get dressed. Turned out to be way too hot to be wearing my new black paisley tie, but hey - I tried.

We met Trish and Dan at the Ballard Oddfellows Hall at Noon, set up for the party, hosted somewhere around 30 or so folks for Dan's & my combo platter of a 40th birthday party. Trish got movie popcorn bags and Sharpies for folks to write personal abuse to us. Dan made some beautiful remarks that exemplified why I love having him as a creative collaborator. Gavin showed up with the kids, and Doug & Ann were in fine form. Natasha Sims from OA was there, and ended up making new friends in Raechelle and Ann. Apparently there is to be some sort of shopping trip. Shoes may be involved. I find it best to not ask too many questions - just stand aside.

After we cleaned up the party, we took the kids back to Raechelle's apartment so that I could pack up and she could throw a bag together for that night. Kayleigh rode with Raechelle and Tyler rode with me back to West Seattle. We met up with Trish, Dan & Raff, chatted and worked on finishing the keg, then went to dinner at West 5 at the Junction. Back home for a movie screening: Death at a Funeral - loved it. About halfway through, Caleb & Shandalla showed up. They watched the rest of the film with us, then when it was over, everyone cleared out, leaving a very exhausted couple to hit the sack.

Went out to coffee this morning at the B&N Starbucks (I remarked that I almost felt like I was cheating on Ron - "This was our place!"), then headed to Target so Raechelle could look at some summer wear to take to West Virginia on her trip. Then back home where we just... chilled. And it was soooo nice. We had lots of good downtime, hanging with the kids and the pets, making plans and cracking each other up. Later, Rae's friend Jamie (whom I'd met previously), came out to the house, and we all piled into my rig for dinner at the Elliott Bay pub to celebrate Independence Day (aka Raechelle's first anniversary of The Breakup).

Raechelle finally left at 8:30PM. It's feeling more and more natural to have her here. We're planning dinner Tuesday night with one of her best friends (her "big brother"), whom I've heard tons about and can't wait to meet. Then Thursday night she'll stay over night so I can drive her to the airport bright and early Friday morning.

It'll be an interesting week with her out of state - I fully expect the absence will only cement things in a good way.

In the meantime, still waiting to hear back on the Duo pitch. Hold the good thought.