Merry Christmas To All

Merry Christmas to all!!!

EE Cummings

I have always liked poetry. Some of the abstract stuff, I just don't get, no matter how cool some people think it is. When you think of Robert Frost's "Whose woods these are I think I know, his house is in the village though", you think about those times when you are alone and maybe even feeling alone inside. You can imagine yourself (maybe you have been there) in a woods in the winter, all alone. You can totally relate to the situation the writer is in.

When I was young, I discovered ee cummings. His use of punctuation and use of only upper case or only lower case letters is what caught my eye. After I really started to get to know his work, I admired him because he is just plain and simple a lover, totally into the woman he's with. He wrote about how he felt in bed with his love (this one is my favorite i like my body when it is with your ), or how she (who ever she was at the time) got inside his head and how he discovered himself through being with her. In the "i love you much(most beautiful darling) ", you can tell she got in his head and he was just out there looking at the world around him, thinking about it and describing it in terms of how he felt, now that he knew she was in it.
I think many of us go through that... he just expresses himself exceptionally better then the rest of us:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddg87c5z_4fcrnkwd9&hl=en

Running....

In August of 2007, my dad told me that he had started to walk (exercise walk). He told me about how great he felt. His cholesterol was pretty bad prior to this, and it just made sense to him. My dad smoked for years, so to hear him say this was quite amazing. You know how when you are a kid and you don't listen to a single thing your parents say? And then, when you get older, you listen and actually hear? (crap I must be getting old). Not sure what it is, but I heard and felt what he was saying and soon after decided to get my fat ass off the couch and start running. It was Labor Day weekend,2007. My first run was a 3 miler along Lakeshore Blvd. in Euclid. It hurt and at the same time, felt good.

You know how people tell you they used to be runners, but their knees or back or something gave? I figured if I was going to pursue this, I better figure out what works and what not to do. I looked up running on line. There is a ton of information out there about it. Half of it, I am not sure I believe. However, my son Tommy's friend's mom, Kathy Gulla and my co-worker/friend Cheryl Link were the ones who pretty much coached me and frankly, gave me some really good advice. They talke about things like the importance of good shoes, stretching, how to run, where to look on the net and in magazines for information, etc., how to increase your runs so as not to hurt oneself, and how to increase speed. Those two gals gave me a wealth of knowledge in the first year.

In September of 2007, I started to run 5 days a week. For the first three months or so, it was about 3 - 3.5 per day. My pace was about a 9 minute mile. Kathy told me several times, that I could do the Columbus Half Marathon with no problem. There wasn't a lot of time to train, so I put my heart into it and ran my ass off until it hurt... but felt really good.

By October 2007, I was running an 8:15 mile on short runs and closer to 8:45 on longer ones.

A little bit about where we live:
Columbus, Ohio is a great place to live and raise a family (not much to see as far as visiting goes, though). It's flat as it comes and there are a HUGE number of runners here. I am not sure how it came to be, but Columbus has many bike paths, but there is one in particular that is just amazing. It runs along the Olentangy River from Delaware County to some place well south of the city for miles and miles. The river is a bit more then a stones throw from our house so it's easy to take advantage of it ( about 200 hundred yards behind us).

One other thing about Columbus. In the third week of October every year, there is the Columbus Marathon. If you have never run a marathon or even a half, then I would HIGHLY advise running Columbus. The Columbus Marathon is Great. It's very flat, but more importantly, there are THOUSANDS of volunteers manning water stations just about ever mile. There are 50 some bands lining the streets (keeping you motivated). The Army National Guard flew over head in 2007 with three Huey's. There are so many people cheering you on. There are volunteers who will actually take your bags (and stuff) from the starting line to the finish line, so you can pick it up after you are done running.

When I started running, I was, 5'9 and almost 200 lbs. (50% of the 200lbs was Great Lakes Brewing Company Beer). While I was running, (on a summer weekend, I easily pass 1000 people on the path) people would run up along side of you and just start talking to you. They would talk about how many races they have been in or how they started running, or the running club they are in. At first, it was kind of weird. I felt like I was being indoctrinated into some kind of cult, but nobody but me was egging me on to join. Getting your fat ass off the couch, feeling good about yourself, really thinking about your life, enjoying the outside, etc. was what pushed me. By the way, one other thing to mention, I love beer. Even after I became a runner, I refused to stop drinking beer (if you want to give me a gift, give me a jug of Barley's Brewing Company Pale Ale or Great Lakes Brewing Companies Burning River). Remember: 1. Everything in moderation, and 2. Beer is good.

While running here in Columbus, there were folks (total strangers) on the bike path who were very encouraging. You want to stop to rest, but they were like "Keep going, just a little bit longer", "Keep up the good work"... so you just continued to run...sucking up the pain and going..maybe just another mile before you rest.
In the third week of October 2007, only 12 weeks after I started to run daily, I ran the half marathon (13.1 miles). I remember thinking about all the people that encouraged me to just keep going, especially all those I encountered on the bike path. The half was awfully difficult; by mile 12, my legs were hurting so bad, but I pushed on.
By the end of the race, I was tearful because I could not believe I did it.

I never noticed runners before I became one. Now that I am one, well, it's extremely difficult not to notice them. There is an indian/asian fellow who lives a few streets away. I noticed that he was pretty heavy when he first started to run and furthermore, was running at a snails pace. But it's amazing to see the same guy a year later, because he has definitely took off a minute per mile since then and he is about 3/4 the size.
Also, there is a tall gal who runs with a doberman pincher past my house almost daily. When I first noticed her running, she was probably running a 14 minute mile and was pear shaped. She was overweight and was working hard at it. I have no idea who she is or where she lives in our area but I know one thing, it's amazing to watch her transformation'; she isn't skinny, but she definitely lost an enormous amount of weight and today probably does a 10 minute mile.

I guess my point in this blog entry is that if you are a runner, a walker, a bicyclist then when you are out on the road doing your thing and see others doing the same, then say hello, even it's a simple wave. It's a good way to encourage others to keep moving forward.
If you are thinking about running, then do it, and don't give up. Get a really GOOD pair of shoes from a running store (where someone will actually fit you with a special shoe). Go to places like www.mapmyrun.com to get distances of your run. If you have kids and no time, then make it while they are sleeping or at school. Running is a great feeling and one that I hope many will experience.

happy running:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Crvc-dE9rklBbYokdJGHXCkxoXwmxNkUq0iMQzfbPn17aCTjIX-19XRtPIYWHP4AzKoBhHFPU-0tWWCv4HjlL48IRUOCLZhcAzJT8xQzYdOJoRnp1ww1RlUzlJskmn4UEPmePoxq50/s1600-h/papamarathon.jpg

Chuck Kozak

MATISYAHU

My friends Scott Roth and his dad Paul have an extensive collection of music. Back in the Spring of 2006, he was listening to this CD that had a Hasidic Jewish guy on the cover. I asked him what it was he was listening to. He told me Jewish Reggae...Matisyahu. I giggled a bit and borrowed the CD. I was immediately hooked... Great Stuff.

Since then I have bought the albums Youth and Live At Stubs:

This is Matisyahu - King Without a Crown (Live @ Stubbs) on YouTube:

mattrach christmas

Merry Christmas...

Mattrach is a great guitarist...

this starts off a little slow.... wait til about 53 seconds in... crack me up:

Bill Nye, the Science Guy Rocks

There aren't enough people on the planet, like Bill Nye... this guy mixes science and humor for all of those young teen minded people.

The Offspring

I like many varieties of music. For the last few years though, my favorite band has been The Offspring.

They are kind of punk, with the beat of death metal, but with the flavor of Weird Al. In general, they are just a really fun band. Arlene and I have seen them in concert here in Columbus and they are absolutely great Live.
Their music is great for running too... always a motivator when I can't get my fat ass moving down the trail.

Here's their website:
the offspring

And here's one song that I think is relatively representative of some of their work...kind of reminds me of how some people really are:

Coffee

Greeeaat Opinion Art Blog on Coffee from the New York Times

Image Illusions

8 Illusions...

Dear Future Me...

here's the story:
two fellas started this site so that you could write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date. we've all had to do them in high school and college. it's sorta cool to receive a letter from yourself about where you thought you'd be a year (two years? more?) later. FutureMe.org is based on the principle that memories are less accurate than emails. we strive for accuracy.

Well, afterwards, the fellas were approached about compiling the best for a book... and so it was:

Read some of those here:

Or read it on www.amazon.com

just read...

Elf Your Self

Have you ever seen the "Elf Yourself", brought to us by Office Max My brother in-law sent these of our kids.

There is now a "disco" and a "country barnyard" style elf-your-self.

Mario Lanza and Opera

In the early 1990's, a very wonderful woman who had an amazing influence on my life, convinced me to go to the opera for the first time. It was Mozart's Don Giovanni. It took me a short time to realize the humor in opera. The story lines go to the extreme. Almost all of them are completely about love, love affairs, getting laid, or to the other extreme... the saddest thing you could ever think of. Also, someone always dies, even in the funny ones.

Most of the operas that are about love and love affairs are just hilarious. One of my favorites is Verdi's, Rigoletto.

In Rigoletto, the young Duke of Mantua is bumming because he can't have the girl (Gilda) because her father, Rigoletto thinks the duke is a playboy and a fool; he is. So the Duke is in a tavern drinking off his sorrows, but at the same time, being the playboy that he is, is hitting on the hottie bar maid. When left alone he ironically sings this (performed by the great crooner, Mario Lanza)



translation:

La donna è mobile, qual piùma al vento,
Woman is fickle (movable), like a feather in the wind,
muta d'accento, e di pensiero.
she changes the tone of her voice (i.e., her accents), and her
thoughts
Sempre un amabile, leggiadro viso,
Always a sweet, pretty face,
in pianto o in riso, è menzognero.
in tears or in laughter, (she) is (always) lying
La donna è mobile, qual piùma al vento,
Woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind,
muta d'accento, e di pensier
she changes her accents, and her thoughts
e di pensier, e di pensier
and her thoughts, and her thoughts

È sempre misero, chi a lei s'affida,
It is always miserable, he that trusts in her
(He is always miserable who trusts in her)
chi le confida, mal cauto il core!
who to her confides, his unwary heart!
Pur mai non sentesi  felice appieno
Yet nobody feels happy fully
chi su quel seno non liba amore!
who on that bosom doesn't drink love,
La donna è mobil, qual piùma al vento,
Woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind,
muta d'accento e di pensier,
she changes the tone of her voice and her thoughts
e di pensier, e e di pensier!
and her thoughts, and her thoughts!

translation is from here

by the way.. just like any good opera, someone has to die... and so it is Gilda,
stabbed by an assassin meant for the Duke... paid for by Gilda's father... Rigoletto.

Unnecessary Knowledge

A few friends have called me "Cliff", (while many others have called me much worse names :). ) because my knowledge of completely useless and in many cases, stupid information.

I found this site, humorous....

and absolutely love #14.

http://www.unnecessaryknowledge.com/?p=toplist



This one is pretty good... too:

Studies have shown that children laugh an average of 300 times/day and adults 17 times/day, making the average child more optimistic, curious, and creative than the adult.

hint... someone I know really needs to take this one to heart... you know who you are.

Urban Dictionary.com

The following site is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Keep your kids away too.

http://www.urbandictionary.com


These are absolutely funny as hell!!!

For example, look up "Running Start Teabag"

The Muppets' Animal Caught Speeding

from here http://gizmodo.com/5069422/the-muppets-animal-caught-speeding-driving-police-crazy
"Yes, the photo above is real: It is Animal—from The Muppets—driving a British Audi while speeding through a German road. The famous pink drummer is driving the police there absolutely crazy, because he keeps doing it again and again. Or better said, the real driver is, using a low-tech approach to take advantage of a weak point of the radar cameras. I don't know about you, but this image makes me laugh out loud. The German police, however, wasn't amused when they explained to the press how the whole joke worked and how they couldn't fine the driver because of it:

The number plate is not enough [to catch and fine the driver]. We need clear evidence of who is driving the vehicle too. But because this is a British vehicle we can never get a decent picture [because the radar cameras are designed to take photos of the passengers in the left seat, not the right]. The driver has obviously worked this out because he has placed a large puppet in the passenger seat.

This may be an example of the famous British sense of humour but it is still dangerous driving. The driver has been caught on camera on several occasions and the puppet is on the passenger seat every time. We suspect he positions the toy deliberately before accelerating past the camera."

Coney Island

Pretty crazy pick I found on Flickr of a fellow named "Johnny the priest". (Click on link or his photo to follow the story behind this guy)




Ever been to Coney Island? A few years ago, my Pal Rob and I took a trip with our sons to the Big Apple and did Coney Island along with many other great sights New York had to see. Great trip and one I hope to repeat sooner then later.

We did Coney Island... It was Labor Day weekend. All the folks from the Bronx to Brooklyn took the train down for one last dip in the ocean, a ride through the fun-houses and then on to Nathan's for a world famous dog. There were some very interesting characters there. When you get the chance... do Coney Island .

Just as we were walking down the boardwalk this fella with a stogie and a speedo comes walking by... I just had to snap a pic...

Internet Radio

Been busy for a while... but back to surfin.

So I am sitting in the office, and forgot my iPod. Stumbled Upon another internet radio
station:
www.Pandora.com

(12-10-2008 sorry...fixed the link).

Put in an artist (try The OffSpring, The Phoenix Foundation, The Who, Ari Hest, ...etc ) and see the type of music that comes up.

Halloween photoshop picture contest

Very cool Halloween photoshop picture contest here.

Digital TV Signal Changing

Our friend Mary sent this.
Here's what you need to know about the digital tv signal conversion:

(Absolutely hilarious).

looking for new music? try nuTsie.

I have a friend who has a very eclectic collection of music. Ever wonder where people find all the cool music at? Try nuTsie.

or try the iTunes top100 on nuTsie

where I would like to be right now.

unbelievable...



it speaks for itself... click on image for higher resolution image.

Canon in D Minor, YouTube, jerryc, funtwo, and Mattrach

In August 2006, I was listening to a story on NPR about some of the most watched videos on the internet: The first was a video / new rendition of Pachelbel's Cannon (1680 - by Baroque Composer Johann Pachelbel ) arranged by guitarist "JerryC".

This is an amazingly difficult piece; it's hard to believe he put it together.

funtwo
As great of a version, an unknown virtuoso guitarist named Jeong-Hyun Lim, also known as Funtwo had been stealing the show, ripping through this song with amazing feriocity. Funtwo was a self taught 23 year old from Korea. In August 2006, there were 7.6 million hits on this Youtube movie. Today, 11/12/2008, there were 51.5 million hits.
Take a look:



Amazing guitarist!!!

Soon after, many attempted the same arrangment and few came close (Search You Tube for Cannon in D Minor).

mattrach
Then in October 2006 came MattRach, a young 15 year old from France who plays like Mozart, Jimmy Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen all in one. His arrangement, more like Van Halen, then Pachelbel, screams with raw, wrenching power. In my mind, this young man is probably one of the greatest guitarists of all times, a modern Mozart. Take some late Friday night, grab a glass of scotch (a'bundah ... Thanks for the bottle Todd and Deb!), go to www.youtube.com, and search for mattrach. You'll quickly learn that he plays other instruments and is quite amazing there, too.

Here are his version of Pachelbel's Canon in D Minor (6.9 million hits) followed by "Amadeaus Rock!"

Quotes from Einstein

Quotes by Albert Einstein, that hit home:

• "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
• "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

More can be found here:
http://rescomp.stanford.edu/~cheshire/EinsteinQuotes.html

Earth Lights

Click on the picture, for a much larger image.

Looking at this reminds me of how small and fragile we are... Makes me think that we are all just a bunch of busy little bugs waiting for some fat kid to fry us with his magnifying glass.

Veterens Day

To my brother Dennis, brothers in law Chris and Rick, GrandPa Joe, Cheryl, Milt and John and all other Veterens,

Thank you for the sacrifices you made for us.

Nirvana - Never Mind CD Cover

Do you remember the cover of Nirvana's "never Mind"? Ever wonder, what that baby would turn out to look like?
Me either. But if you stop for just a second and imagine it... would it be any different then the picture below????

Phoenix Foundation

Things you don't see everyday... some of it's just different....

Ever hear of the band called Phoenix Foundation?

The London Underground.

This is just wrong... funny as hell...

NOT FOR KIDS. Also, may not be appropriate for work because of foul language.. keep your speakers down/

Some Hilarious individuals did a song about the Subway/Metro drivers in London  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVJSOFZxDE

Karatedojo

Game shows in Japan are just silly. So is this one:
Karatedojo

(notice: file is a 22 mb mpeg and may take some time to download)

What time is it

What time is it?

Hava Nagila

My 11 yr. old son Tom was practicing the guitar this evening. The two songs his teacher assigned him were Auld Lang Syne and Hava Nagila. When he played them, they were barely reconinzable, so I utubed them so he could hear how they should sound.

Here's one of the first hits's that I got back from Hava Nagila... this put me on the floor, rolling:

Hard Days Night Hava Nagila


or




by the way, the english version of the words are simply "Let us rejoice and be glad".
Lyricsfly

World Sunlight Map

How cool is this.... a world sunlight map

(click on picture to go to link)

Paul Peel

A few years back, we took one of many trips to Toronto and visited the
Ontario Museum of Art...

They have a collection of an artist from the late 1800's, named Paul Peel. He's from London, Ontario which is about 70 miles north across the lake from where I grew up. Later in his short life, he lived in Philadelphia and then in Paris, France.
The majority of his work are children in their daily lives. We have purchased and framed a few of these prints. I love the young biologist (bottom). The little guy has a wonderful smile on his face. He stares grinning at the toad, quietly and secretly holding a bucket... waiting for the catch so that he may further inspect.

The images are "After the bath" (1890), "The Modest Model" (1889), "The young Botanist" (1888-1890), and "The Young Biologist" (1891)



On a separate but similar note:

November 11, Veterans Day in the U.S. is nearly upon us. ("observe one minute’s silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month each year to remember those who died or suffered for us.. ". :On Nov. 11, 1918, at exactly 11 a.m., the guns fell silent on the Western Front. World War I had officially ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month").

Paul Peel painted a picture called "The Beach at Normandy". It was painted in 1887 where he vacationed with his family at Étaples France. Anytime I see or think of this photo, I don't think of it at all, but instead of the 150,000 men who stormed the beaches there, 58 years later. Considering the location of Etaples and the proximity the beaches that the troops stormed, one would have to think that the beach may be one in the same. I can't imagine what those men went through, but I know if I were in one of there shoes, I would be somewhere else in my thoughts to try to escape the fear and intensity. I wondered more about this, about the men in their Higgins boats, coming ashore, waiting for what might be. If one of those men were from Detroit, Northern Ohio, Ontario, Buffalo, etc. they might be familiar with Paul Peel's work and to escape the rush and anticipation of the sacrifice they were about to make, did their thoughts take them elsewhere? Did they too wonder, of the painter and the lovely lady in white, under the red umbrella who sat and read on those same beaches...

Toronto...

Arlene and I have been to Toronto many times. It's an amazing town.

The city is so hip, so clean, and we always get a sense that things are a bit safer there then other major cities. I think the first time we were there, we were riding the subway around 9:00 PM and sat near a teenage school girl. It happened a few more times during that trip. We were so surprised that people felt that comfortable.





Some pretty cool time lapse pics:
http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/flash/cntower_timelapse.swf

Back in the 90's and all the way up to 2006, because of the strength of the US dollar, it was financially advantageous to go to Canada on vacation for 4 or 5 days. We would go almost every year, even if we were doing a week at the beach during the summer. We'd stay at a wonderful hotel like the Delta Chelsea. I love staff at this hotel. They turn and talk to you in English, and move on to the next customer speaking Japanese and then German.

There are so many great places to dine. We were there last fall and ate at a place called Alice
Fazooli's. Food was amazing. I had a flight of martini's....awesome.


The dollar has started to get stronger again and well.. it's time for a trip..

Zombie Walk of Toronto

Things you don't see every day:
Every year, a few weeks before Halloween, Toronto has a Zombie Walk It's pretty spooky.




Also check out the Flikr Site:
ZombieWalkPics2008 ZombieWalk2007

Picture surfin

It's hard to believe how many amazing photographers are out there
This is a regular..
[daily dose of imagery]
or

Kleptography (also definitely read the Tsunami Journal...unbelievable)

or

Illusions ( also Check out the China pics from March 2008)


or
What the Heck???

or many many more here:

CoolPhotoBlogs

Street Artists work

Some very creative artists...

Over the rainbow..

Every hear the version of "Somewhere over the rainbow"?

It's been used in so many commercials, tv programs and movies.

Here's the source:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PL-uL2M3xvM

Water Bridge

Water Bridge in Germany.... What a feat!
Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!


This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.To those who appreciate engineering projects.....
Also, more from the company's website:

http://www.dillinger.de/dh/referenzen/stahlbau/01057/index.shtml.en

and
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg_Water_Bridge