SoulJahs

A few buddies of mine are in a Christian rap group called, "SoulJahs of the Cross."
Chuck and Walt are some old college buddies and they've been using their music to tell people about Jesus for a few years now. I've heard them a few times and I think they're pretty good (not that my rap expertise is all encompassing). I do know that all my students love them and are looking forward to hearing them again here in Athens in February.

They are playing a concert tonight up in Gainesville, so if you are in the area, (and you are between the age of 6-14), then you should check them out.

PS. Happy New Year

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Day has come and gone. For Trisha and I, it was our first as a couple and we’ve been trying to figure out what kind of Christmas traditions we want to start as a family. But the more we think about it, you can’t really make Christmas traditions...they just start.

A forced tradition isn’t really a tradition at all. Think about it.

Did someone just decide one day to cut down a tree outside and make it free standing inside the house so that they could hang things that glitter on it year after year?


Did someone just decide that they were going to stuff little candies and trinkets in an old sock every year and hang them over the fireplace?

Did someone just decide that families would stand at the front of the church and light five candles on a wreath to represent the coming of Christ every year?

No. Somewhere along the way, these actions became traditions. These little decisions to do something different caught on. They became a part of Christmas. They weren’t forced. They weren’t declared mandatory. It was something that shaped year after year.

(It’s like my old english teacher used to tell me. You can’t have a “First Annual Fundraiser.” That makes it redundant. If it’s the first one, then it isn’t annual yet.)

There is this passage in Mark 7 where Jesus is talking with the pharisees about tradition. They are griping because the disciples hadn’t washed their hands ceremonially before eating at the marketplace (sounds like my mom). It was a tradition that the pharisees had taken part in for who knows how long and they were grilling Jesus about it. Here’s his response,

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ...Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." (Mark 7:5-9,13)

What kind of traditions do you have? What kind of traditions are starting to take shape?
Most importantly, are these traditions nullifying the Word of God?
Have you let go of the commands of God to hold onto the traditions of men?

My prayer for you is that in all of your traditions (Christmas or New Years or Easter on Monday or the third Saturday of every month...whenever) that you aren’t nullifying the Word of God.
My prayer is that the traditions you and your family take part in seek to praise the name of Jesus and that your traditions are full of honor and glory to God and God alone.

Disclaimer: I usually wash my hands before I eat...
not because of tradition, but because I’m a pretty gross boy.

Merry Christmas

We hope you remember to focus on Christ throughout the season.

Christmas Dips

I think my favorite part of Christmas is all of the parties that you get to attend and eat finger foods...aka dinner for that night. There is something so enticing about satisfying your hunger without spoon or fork...only toothpicks.

There are Sausage balls and Pigs in a Blanket and Crackers out the wahzoo.
And, oh the dips. I do love the dips.

Spinach dip. Cheese dip. Crab dip. Shrimp dip. Guacamole dip. Sour Cream dip. Lobster dip. Chili dip. Salsa dip. 7 Layer dip...shall I go on?

My party strategy looks like this:
Stay away from the nuts...who knows how many fingers have touched those nuts.
Stay away from the sweets for the most part...allows more room for the dips.
Always keep your toothpicks...you never know when you might need to ward off the occasional finger food snatcher or the inevitable spinach debris.
Find a chair close to the snack table...it allows for easier access to seconds and thirds.
Look for larger plates...they'll always try to shaft you with the coaster sized ones. Go in the kitchen cabinets if you have to.

Good luck this Christmas season...happy dipping.

Here's My Top 10 Christmas Party Finger Foods.

1. Sausage Balls (more sausage than ball, though)
   
2. Pigs in a blanket (usually 5 or 6 at a time)
   
3. 7 Layer Dip (I can't tell you all 7 layers, but I can tell you that it creates a party in my mouth)
   
4. Tortilla Pin Wheels (you know...they are like miniature pitas with cream cheese)
   
5. Meatballs (what a gross name for a food...but so literal...and so yummy)
   
6. Cream Cheese Dip with Salsa (the pink color adds a nice eclectic feel to the food table)
   
7. Shrimp Cocktail (I literally have vivid visions of my dad wrapping shrimp up in a napkin and stuff them in his pocket as we left parties as a kid...I do the same thing...thanks dad)
   
8. Potato Skins with Cheese and Bacon (especially with sea salt crusted on the skin...gotta follow it up with sour cream though or otherwise you'll get dried up quickly)
   
9. Celery with Ranch Dressing (this is my healthy snack)
   
10. Cheese ball with Club Crackers (It looks more like a ball of play-dough that has been rolled in a dust pile...but you can never have too many club crackers)

Did I miss any?

Wedding Videography

So...

I've been doing wedding videography for some time now (4-5 years) and Trisha and I have decided to try and put a little more promotional effort into it to try and get our name out there.

That being said, I've redesigned my website to try and appeal to those looking for Wedding Videographers.

www.brodybearden.com

Check it out. Give me some feedback. Tell me what you think. Tell your friends who are getting married. Tell your enemies who are getting married.

I'd love to be of service.

Cereal

I was eating some *Lucky Charms today when I thought about how I really wanted some Cap'n Crunch Berries instead. And then I thought about how great it would be if Cap'n Crunch Berries had marshmallows in it like Lucky Charms. So I decided to experiment.

I ate all of my Luckies, but none of the Charms (that is, I ate the crunchy stuff and left the mallows). Then I went and poured some **Cap'n Crunch Berries in on top of the mallows.

What ensued was the equivalent of a glow-stick dance rave in my mouth. It was exquisite.

*ok, they weren't Lucky Charms, they were Marshmallow Mateys, the off brand that you can buy in a 10 gallon sack for the same price and eat for decades...

**ok, it wasn't Cap'n Crunch, it was Berry Colossal Crunch...see note above for description.

&

If we made our own, then we could call it "Colossal Marshmallow Crunch."
I'd buy that.

Anna's Coming Home

(rss readers click to watch video)

My sister, Anna, has been in Madagascar since August.
She comes home this Wednesday.
We are throwing her a
"Welcome Home/Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanzaa" party.

It's this Thursday, so if you are interested in welcoming her back...then give me a shout.

Sleeping Arms

In my tossing and turning the other night, I went to sleep on my arm.
My arm returned the favor and "went to sleep" on me.

It's not very funny, nor does it feel good. The best I can describe it is that it's just weird.
I could feel the dead weight hanging off the side of the bed in the early hours of the morning.

My first response was to check and make sure it was still attached...my right hand assured me that it was.
My second response was to move it back on the bed and "wake it up."

Half asleep, I take my right hand and go to grab my left arm from it's dangling position.
I toss it back on the bed.

Suddenly, my arm comes flying towards my head and whacks me in the face...only, I don't realize it's my arm. I think that I've just been accosted.

Remember, I'm still asleep...and so is my arm. Which means, at 4 in the morning my senses aren't at their peak and without feeling in my arm, I feel as though someone has just violated me with a very fleshy foam baseball bat.

I sit up a little bit and look around the room, trying to figure out what...or who just hit me in the head.

It was then that I realized that it is way too early.
It was then that I realized that an arm asleep is really a ridiculous feeling.
It was then that I realized that I am an idiot.

A Physical

I'm no magazine model, but I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. There are a few extra pounds packed on here and there, but overall, I keep my body pretty healthy. I exercise, try to eat right, and get plenty of sleep. But I turned 26 this year and decided that it was time that I go get a physical.

Let me share my experience.

I arrive 15 minutes early to fill out paper work. Done.
I turn it in and the receptionist informs me that there is a co-pay. Ok, I expected that.
"Can I use a card?" I ask.
"No," she responds, "but we do take cash and checks."
Hmm. That caught me off guard. No cards. Just checks and cash.
"If you want to run to the ATM, then you'll have plenty of time to get back for your appointment," she says.
"I think I'm just gonna go search for coins in my car."
7 minutes later I walk back in the door with my dollars, quarters, dimes and buffalo nickels ready to pay my dues.

Eventually, the nurse calls me back and does some preliminary checks since it's been a long time since I've been to the doctor. She takes my weight, checks my ears, listens to my blood pressure...all good fun.

Her first question is, "So what's wrong with you today?"
"Nothing," I respond.
"What?"
"I'm good. I feel good. I haven't been sick. I just wanted to get a checkup/physical/tell me I'm not gonna die since I have some time." I didn't really feel like I needed to justify my visit, but apparently the look of confusion on her face lead me to do so anyways.
"So you aren't sick?" She scratched her head. "Usually we have to drag people in here kicking and screaming when they aren't sick."

Neat.

The plethora of information that follows is a quick summary of any high school health class mixed in with a little Wikipedia and WebMD. Don't drink, Don't smoke, Do wear your seat belt, Do eat an apple a day.

To get good results about my physical condition, they have to do some blood tests. Since I didn't know this, she informs me that the doctor will probably get me to come back in after I have fasted for the previous 10-12 hours.

"Crap," I thought "I have to come back."

She leaves. I wait.

As I'm sitting there, I begin to think about it. Wait a second. I didn't eat breakfast this morning. The last thing I ate or drank was last night, so theoretically, I have been fasting...just without knowing it.

The doctor comes in. I inform him of my revelation. He tells me that a good weight for me to maintain is when I stand in the mirror with my profile that my stomach is completely flat.

I laugh and laugh and laugh...silly doctor.

He does the rest of the physical stuff with breathing and tapping my stomach (which sounded like an oil drum) and making me follow his finger with my eyes. There was no "turn your head and cough"...which I appreciated. He tells me it was good to see me and the results will be back tomorrow.

Nurse reenters with all of her blood drawing gear and the festivities commence.
I lay my arm across the table and she pricks my elbow pit (does that have a real name?)
I watch in amazement. The sight of blood doesn't bother me, so as it draws up into the vial, I take interest.
She fills the first one up and I start to think..."Hey, this isn't too bad."
I can feel it being pulled out and it gives me a weird tingling sensation. It's crazy how your body works.
Half way through the second vial I'm starting to feel it. I haven't eaten in half a day. I've got nothing in me and this woman is sucking my life juice out. I begin to feel like a mortal kombat character is performing some sort of fatality on me as my determination and amazement slowly turns into woozy and lightheadedness.

"Do I get a cookie for this?" I ask.
"No, but you can have a lollipop" she quips back.
"I think I'm going to deserve two lollipops when I'm done."

Vial three. "Holy crap. Are you going to take ALL of my blood? Can I keep some as a souvenir? I felt fine when I came in, but I'm going to feel like a zombie when I walk out."
These are all of the things I said...

...in my head.

"You are starting to look a little pale," she questions, "Are you going to pass out?"
"We'll see"

and done. She gets the blood. I get a wet paper towel to put on my forehead as I stick it between my legs to regain composure. The sweat that breaks out pushes me to sprawl across the doctor's table as I think about loss of blood and why that could really be a problem when people get in accidents.

I get my lollipopS (one green, one yellow).
Each of the senior office ladies decides to chime in on just how pale I look.
"Thanks." Your tan isn't what it used to be either.

I made it out alive and I was pretty proud of myself.

After sharing this story with my dad, it turns out that I'm a pretty big wimp.
Apparently, the amount of blood that they took out of my arm wasn't nearly enough to fill even a shot glass...much less provide a sizable enough donation to a blood bank.

So maybe I'm not so tough.
Maybe I'm not the best blood taker in the world.
Maybe I'm not as fit as I thought I was.

But I will tell you one thing...

I got TWO lollipops.

No Shave: Update

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

If a man grows a beard for a month, and then he shaves it, but no one even notices, was it really a beard?

No Shave

I've completed another year. I wasn't sure how it would go over, being married and all, but it is done. We are three days into December and I've successfully made it through another No Shave November.

In years past, my November has been full of second glances, snickers, and "They let you work with children looking like that?" questions. In fact, last year I had 3 different church members approach me with their wallets open asking me in all seriousness if I needed money to buy a razor.
Here's a picture from 2007.

This year, I thought I'd give it another go. The only stipulation for this go round was that I deemed it necessary to make it a No Shave Goatee November, rather than a full blown beard (if you could call it that). My main reasoning for this is that it would cut my white trashiness down by 50%....not completely...but 50%.

Here's a picture from 2008.

Stunning...I know.
Fact: Brody cannot grow a beard...yet.

However, a good friend of mine can. I saw him from a distance recently and I instantly began to covet his beard growing abilities. In fact, I made him let me take a picture of him before he shaved it, so that I have a goal to work towards. In the meantime, I photoshopped Jon's beard onto my face, just to see what it would be like.

Someday...

Happy Turkey Day

Eat some Turkey. Take a nap. Eat a Turkey Sandwich. Take another nap.

Invisible People

Stories.

We've all have one...it's our story...
and sometimes we just need to tell it.
I came across this website/vlog the other day and I was captivated.

http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/

Take some time and just watch a few of these clips.
They will move you.
It's an incredible idea. Unedited, Unscripted stories of homeless people straight from the streets of LA. He calls it "Invisible People" because most people look right past them without giving it a second thought.

*disclaimer* At the top of the site it tells you that there may be some offensive stuff on here...maybe so offensive that you do something about it. *disclaimer* wow.

UGA Basketball

One of my jobs is working with video stuff for UGA sporting events. That includes a smorgasbord of duties on any given day, including running replays, directing, running a camera, etc. With this job comes some pretty sweet perks...including provided meals and being paid to watch basketball...I'm for it.

Nonetheless, Basketball season is among us and that means a lot more opportunities to watch said basketball games.

Now, as to how UGA is going to be this year, I think the jury is still out. I do not claim to be all-knowing in the arena of sports, but I have yet to be impressed by the team. We'll find out soon enough. Our close games with out of conference teams as of late has been pretty lack-luster.

If I want read some good UGA sports opinions, I usually check out what Paul Westerdawg and Quinton McDawg are saying over at http://georgiasports.blogspot.com/

And here's the schedule for all forthcoming basketball games. I'll be there tonight.


***Update - After working the game last night, I came home pleasantly surprised and impressed by the Dawgs (therefore I recant my earlier statement). There is a glimmer of hope. I like the way we look when Trey Thompkins is in the game. He is good...and a freshman. We didn't play the best of teams, but we still executed pretty well.

Operation Christmas Child

On Friday night, we had a lock-in at our church for our 2nd through 7th graders. This year, our goal was to make Operation Christmas Child boxes for Samaritan's Purse. The kids had a blast, stayed up all night, and ended up making 15 boxes to donate.

Here's a little video compilation I made of the evening.

Operation Christmas Child Lock-In from Brody Bearden on Vimeo.

Time

This is my alarm clock.

I know what you're thinking..."neat."
Don't worry, there's more to it.

I've had this alarm clock since middle school. Nothing sentimental, it just keeps on working and I keep on using it. (Plus, it has really big numbers, so it's easier to read when I wake up all booger-eyed)

Recently, I've noticed something about said clock...it's fast.
Not fast as in, "I woke up late and spent the morning springing around the house like a ninja trying to get ready on time until I get in the car and see that my bedroom clock was fast and I'm going to make it on time."

Not fast as in, "If I set this 10 minutes ahead then I will trick my brain into thinking it's later than it really is and get things done."

But fast as in, "Hey...this thing is about one-tenth of a second fast."

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Really? That's it? That's what all the fuss is about, you ask?

Well here's the deal...I did the math.

My clock is .1 second off.
That means that for every minute, it is .1 seconds off.
That means that for every hour, it is 6 seconds off.
That means that for every day, it is 144 seconds off.
That means that for every week, it is 1008 seconds off.

1008 seconds. That's 16.8 minutes.

How did I figure this out? I set it the correct time 2 and 1/2 weeks ago.

My clock tells me it's 12:30...but it's really 11:47

What would you do if you lost 16.8 minutes of your life every week?

(probably buy a new clock)

Blue Prints

I love messing with photos and tweaking images and such. Last night I was on the prowl and came across a tutorial about how to turn an image into a blue print, so I had to try it out. I thought I'd share the results.

Here's the original:

Here's the Blue Print:

Pecan Pie

Trisha and I went grocery shopping yesterday.
I've come to a conclusion. We are different shoppers.
When I go to the store...I buy a lot...and by a lot, I mean if I don't come out of there with a 3 digit bill, then I will fill like a failure. But it lasts me for a month...sometimes 2.
When Trisha goes to the store...She buys a little...and by a little, I mean if she can't carry her groceries in her hands in one trip, then she's splurged. That lasts her a week...maybe 2.

Our worlds collided yesterday when we walked through the bakery.

I spotted my favorite...a fresh baked store brand pecan pie. I began to evaluate the pros and cons (aka. "counting the cost" in Christian world).
A few aisles* over, the end display had an Edwards' Pecan Pie mocking me on eye level.
So I stopped and stared...Trisha just laughed as she pulled me away to continue shopping.
On our way to checkout, there was a center display with those little bite sized pecan pie nuggets tarts. I took that as a sign from God that we were meant to be together and I tried to nonchalantly put them in our basket...but to no avail. Trisha informed me that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I should wait until then when I can eat all I want.

So, all that to say this:

Pecan Pie, I'm putting you on notice. Your uppance will come...Soon.

* I seriously spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out if aisle is spelled right, how to pluralize it, and ultimate making phonetic noises trying to say it...what an awkward word.

Auburn Trip

Trisha and I went to Auburn for the weekend. We got down there on Friday and just spent some time driving around on the campus and walking in the downtown area.

We went to Toomer's Corner and walked across the street to check out Toomer's Drugs. Trisha got a milkshake (apparently the thing to get there is the lemonade, though).

For the rest of the weekend we hung out with my cousin Sarah, her husband Neal, and their baby...Paige.

Here's me being a good second cousin, feeding her.

We also got to experience her first partaking of mashed potatoes.
I wish I could eat like that.

Georgia vs. Auburn was....a win. I'll take it.

(A win helps to lessen the amount of harassing that I get from my Auburn cousins)
I did get to check out the video equipment setup down there. AUHD (Auburn University High Definition) is their crew and it is a pretty sweet show.

You can see it here in the picture of the stadium.
(And this is all the way across the field and it still looks good)After the game, Trisha and I got a "We won" picture.The guy that took it was an Auburn fan. I don't think he appreciated it very much.

Adam and Eve

Every Sunday I get the chance to sit down in front of the church and have all the little kids come up for a "Moments with Brody." They gather around and I share some spiritual truth based off of an object that I have with me.

While growing up, I had a "Moments with Uncle Bill" every Sunday at my home church where I would do the same. It's where I learned what I know about Children's Sermons.

Today I got an email saying that "Uncle Bill" was in the hospital and not doing well at all. So I went and sat and talked with the family for awhile. One of the topics that came up was Children's Sermons that Uncle Bill did.

Molly (Bill's Wife) shared one in particular and it made me laugh...so I thought I'd share an excerpt.

Uncle Bill: Adam and Eve were the first man and woman on Earth. They were in the Garden of Eden and they took care of it. God made Adam out of dirt. God made Eve out of Adam's rib. Why do you think that God didn't make Eve out of dirt, too?

Kid: Because God didn't want to waste anymore dirt.

That's classic.

Let's Talk

I've got a serious question to pose...and I need your input...

How do we feel about hard shelled tacos?

I mean, seriously, what's their deal?

They are hard to fix because they won't stand up straight.
They don't cooperate when you are trying to divulge in their succulent insides, spewing meat and lettuce and salsa everywhere.
They can only withstand one bite before the entire shell crumbles like a saltine cracker.
Their best us is to be crunched up and make a Taco Salad.
They are no match for the far superior snugness and flexibility of the soft shelled brethren.

To me, the closest comparison that I can relate this to is the flat head screwdriver.They are hard to use because they won't stay in the slot.
They don't cooperate when you are trying to use them in hard to reach places.
They can only withstand one twist, if that, before they go slipping off the screw to poke you in the eye.
Their best use is to open up paint cans and pry gum off of your shoe.
They are no match for the crisp snugness of their counterpart...the phillips.

Don't get me wrong. I love Mexican food and hand tools as much as the next guy, but something has to be done. I make a motion that we ban hard shelled tacos and flat head screwdrivers.

All in favor?

Viva

For our wedding gift to each other, Trisha and I bought tickets to see Coldplay in Atlanta.

Tonight was the night.

It was a pretty incredible concert. The band Sleeper Car opened for them from 7:30 - 8:05.
Then at 8:45, Chris, Jonny, Will, and Guy took the stage...and the audience by storm.

There were lights, lasers, big inflatable balls full of video, rock ballads, pianos, butterflies, guitars, scarves, love ballads, giant video screens and everything in between.
They are entertainers...and they lived up to that. They used the entire stage...they even came out and did a few songs on an extended stage right in front of our seats (Section 4, Row 3). Before the night was through, they even did a song back in the back of the arena. I loved it.

On one of the songs, blowers right above us shot paper butterflies all over the crowd.

They really did captivate the audience from start to finish. It was a constant barrage of music that you couldn't help but sing along with...Viva la Vida, Fix You, The Scientist, Clocks, Speed of Sound, Cemeteries of London, Lost...I could go on. Before I know it, I look down and it is 10 till 10 and I know our time is coming to a close.

When they were through, the proverbial cheer for the encore began. It started with clapping and slowly developed into a concise, "Yell-O, Yell-O, Yell-O"...

They came back out...and the encore...Yellow, was performed.

We had an incredible night. We got to hang out with Brad and Cat and rock out to Coldplay.

PS. We also got to eat Buffalo because we went to Ted's Montana Grill and I had Bison Meatloaf.

Autumn

The colors are incredible.
The picture is actually a scan of a leaf here in Athens.
I do love this time of year...perfect weather.

Election Tuesday

Today is election day... and I voted...here's my sticker to prove it.
Ok, so I actually voted last week as a safety precaution...but I do think there is something very American by waiting till the actual election day to place your ballot. Nonetheless...here's to a long night of political commentary, very large computer maps with colors, and a whole lot of people that have a lot to say about things they don't know anything about.

Cheers.

Halloween

Halloween is a whole different world in downtown Athens. If you've never been, on Halloween night there are some of the most creative, thought-out, hilarious costumes that you will ever see. This is the kind of thing that people watching is made for.

Trisha and I went downtown to witness this last year and we've decided to make it a tradition. This year we took some friends with us and again spent the entire night watching and laughing.

This year, we dressed up though.
I was Todd Palin. Trisha was Sarah Palin.I even made some campaign stickers.This is one of my favorite shots from the night. Mrs. Bearden getting ready.And here we are as the couple.Any resemblance?We probably saw about 5 or 6 other Palins downtown along with a barage of other characters.

My favorite part of the night was that we came up with the idea to play Halloween Bingo.
You make your own Bingo card full of costumes that people might be wearing and as you see those particular ones, you mark it off.

My Bingo card included: Michael Phelps, Ninja, Stewie Griffin, Michael Scott, Witch, Pirate, Mark Richt, Batman, Phillies Phan, Sarah Palin, Maid, Jim Halpert, Spiderman, Johnny Knoxville, Hulk, Joker, 3 Hole Punch, The Male Anatomy, Anchorman, UGA VII, Meatwad, Gas Prices, Ape, and the 3 Stooges.

I did not win, but the costumes were great. Here were the best:

1. Reno 911 Cast - 2 Guys, one had the short, shorts on and the other had the high and tight haircut.
2. Sarah Palin - (my wife's was the best) but there was one Palin that was campaigning for Obama...I thought to be funny
3. Michael Phelps - I'm pretty sure the guy was about 5'3" and 200lbs...he was also wearing a speedo...priceless
4. Cowboy - this is the one where the guys top half is the cowboy and the bottom half is the front legs of the horse. Then fill in the rest with stuffed legs for the cowboy and back legs of the horse...makes me laugh everytime. It's like an Ansel Adams picture.
5. Dorothy and Tinman - There was one couple that was out and about that had to be in their 60's dressed as these two. I support their effort.
6. Clark Kent and Lois Lane - Lois Lane had her press pass and Clark Kent's shirt was half opened revealing the S underneath. I thought that was a good couples costume.
7. Dominoes - There wasn't much to it other than all black and a few white dots. The guy was the double 6. The girl was the double 4. I liked this one because I'm an avid fan of Chicken Foot...a dominoes phenomenon.
8. Joker - There were a few out and about, but the one I liked the most was the guy in the nurse's outfit. I thought that was clever...especially having liked Dark Knight so much, I really appreciated this one.

Any other ones stick out?

Deep Fry It

Fact: When you get married you get a lot of wedding presents.
Fiction: The man will love and use every single one of those presents.
Fact: 1 in 25 of those presents will be cherished by the man.

That 1 in 25 for me was the Deep Fryer.
Trisha and I have been married for almost 4 months now and last night was the first night that we broke out the Rival Cool Zone 3L Deep Fryer.

And Frying, did we.

We didn't have enough Canola Oil, so I had to go to the store to buy some more (apparently the stuff is pretty expensive...somewhere between $7-12 gallon...put that into perspective when filling up on gas).Then the Fry Party began.
We fried Chicken.
We fried Okra.We fried Corn Nuggets.
We fried pickles.
And here's our finished product...a heap of artery cloggers...and man was it delicious.I had planned on frying some snickers too...just because, but after we ate all of the other food there was absolutely no room left in the inn to put the snickers. So we decided to wait and take that venture on another day.Not really sure what brought on our urge for the fried foods, but I do know that it did not help my weight goal by the end of October.

Big Brother

I haven't seen Eagle Eye yet, but the concept behind big brother has been with me since I read 1984 in the 8th grade. Either way, this is what this picture reminded me of...except for Big Brother has a dirty mustache.

My Wii

I'm a big supporter of the Wii. Not that I play it all the time, but I must admit that I do enjoy a little Mario Kart Wii every now and then...This morning, though, I saw a video linking to a new game coming out. It's called "Wario Land Shake It." I probably won't buy it, but it might will be the neatest youtube video you watch today. Seriously, it's pretty cool. Watch it.Click Here

An Apology

Dear Atlanta Braves,

I am sorry. I've neglected you. It wasn't intentional, but it happened. Somehow I got swept up in the Bulldogs being # 1...and then # 2...and then # 3 that I just forgot that it was baseball season. It may have had something to do with you being half a season out of first place or the fact that this will be the 3rd year that you haven't gone to the playoffs, but nonetheless, that is no excuse. I am still a true fan. It's been a rough year and you've broke my heart once again...but that's ok. I'll be back again next year...and the next...and the next. I never meant to overlook you. Please forgive me.

Tomahawking Forever,
Brody

PS. To make sure that my apologies were felt, I attended the Braves game against the Rockies with my Dad last week.

It was Bobby Cox Bobble Head night which made it worth while.

The game ended with a walk-off balk (the first I've ever experienced) and the Braves won.

The Ted even showed me her appreciation by giving me a foul ball (my first ever).

I love the Braves (losing or winning...but preferably winning...NEXT year).