This is my new favorite thing:

July 17, 12:38 PM

Creed Thoughts

I’ve been trying something new lately and it’s really put a new spin on how I go through my days. Instead of waking up ten minutes before work and wiping myself down with a damp paper towel, I’ve been waking up really early and going for walks all over town. You’d be amazed at how quiet this place is without people in it. I haven’t felt this peaceful in years.

I went over to Nay Aug Park the other day at around 4am and even the geese were still asleep when I got there. I couldn’t believe my luck. It’s been a dream of mine for years to see how far I could throw a goose and this was the perfect opportunity. I’ve definitely learned that you’ve got to strike fast when dealing with sleeping animals because the element of surprise is your biggest weapon. That old wives’ tale about letting sleeping dogs lie only applies if you don’t have a plan for after you wake up the dog. With geese, it’s the same story. You wake up a goose just for the fun of it, you’ll get pecked like no tomorrow. Their beaks are painful, man. You don’t want to find out first hand.

When I saw those geese getting some shuteye, I knew exactly what to do. I picked out one that looked like it might be lighter than some of the other ones. [Side note: Can we stop feeding the geese so many damn breadcrumbs? They’re plenty fat as it is.] I decided to name it “Tosserton,” because it seemed appropriate at the time and I find that I can throw things farther if they have a name. When I was sure that Tosserton was definitely asleep and not faking it, I picked out my landing zone and went in for the throw.

Goose tossing is a hard art to master and with no means to practice, I had to rely on what it looked like in my dreams. So I got a running start, went full steam ahead, picked up Tosserton and threw him (her?) hammer-toss style as far as I could, spinning my body to get maximum torque. I was pretty freaked out about how flexible her (his?) neck was, but it ended up helping me get more distance than I would have otherwise. I’d say I got a good forty feet, which is shorter than I predicted, but still a pretty admirable toss in my opinion.

You should have heard Tosserton honking in the air. He (she?) righted herself (himself?) right before hitting the ground and ended up just gliding to safety, so I didn’t have to feel bad about hurting Tosserton. After the goose landing, I was overcome with an enormous sense of completion. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I will say this: I don’t recommend goose-tossing to anyone unless you’ve had a steady series of dreams over the last twenty years about it. If you don’t have the instincts bred into you subconsciously, then you won’t be ready to do it. Leave the goose-tossing to the professionals, people. Don’t try it at home.

This funny commerical was on during the Olympics.

Jim tells Dwight and Andy about a new Olympic sport he invented called Slap Face.

Ashley Dedin covering Alkaline Trio’s “Love Love Kiss Kiss“ on the autoharp. She was one of the winners in the Settle the Score contest. She should have been the only winner in my opinion. She took the one song I don’t like from Agony and Irony and made it amazing.

Corgis are just too darn cute.

To Write Love on Her Arms

To Write Love On Her Arms – Intro Video

To Write Love on Her Arms is a work in progress. This began with one broken girl, one painful night; addiction, depression, cutting. This is a glimpse at the five days that followed, a decision to love and to begin telling her true story. To Write Love on Her Arms is becoming something bigger, something hopeful. It’s the realization of what life can be when we commit to meeting a need. A friend of mine told me there’s no such thing as suicide prevention. This is an attempt to prove him wrong, to say that love can change a life. We can hold back the darkness. Rescue is possible. More soon to come. Join us as we continue to write this story, and as we begin to offer hope to the many hopeless who walk these dark roads. A Jimmy Eat World lyric has been stuck in my head today, “Believe your voice can mean something.”

Or visit their website. www.twloha.com

They have lots of shirts including this awesome one for sale here.

I love learning and I watch the Science Channel all the time. As a kid I remember enjoying museums – The Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium, the Kohl Children’s Museum (I grew up near Chicago) –  where I could learn stuff, and play at the same time. I’m disappointed after reading this article about the Franklin (it sounds really weird to me to call it that).

Karen Heller: The dumbing down of science

By Karen Heller
Inquirer Columnist
www.philly.com 

Earlier this year, one of Philadelphia’s illustrious cultural institutions underwent cosmetic surgery and had its name reduced.
Our largest science institution simply became the Franklin, as if it were some glistening condo development or waterfront casino.

Which is fitting, given all the sizzle, pyrotechnics and cost. Adult admission has soared to $23.25 if you want to see the current exhibits “Real Pirates” and “Chronicles of Narnia,” the latter – correct me if I’m wrong – based on a fictional world and $1 billion global movie franchise.

“Adults” happens to mean anyone over 11, a rather severe view for an organization geared toward students. Imax? That’s $5.50 extra. Audio tour? Yo ho ho, and an additional $6. For that kind of money, I left my two adults, 12 and 14, at home.

New York’s American Museum of Natural History, a superior museum, offers $17 student tickets for ages 13 through 17 that include general admission and its more substantive featured exhibit, “The Horse.” Why does the Franklin choose to financially penalize children for aging?

Pirate booty

“Pirates” is the latest in the Franklin’s succession of tantalizing blockbusters, following “Body Worlds,” and shows on the Titanic, Star Wars, and King Tut, the equivalent of a casino floor show, there to draw in folks who might find science sort of yucky.

This show makes painful attempts at diversity. Kids, Indians, former slaves, boys and even women were once pirates, too. See? Any one could grow up to be a criminal!

“Pirates” offers instructive points on torture, amputation and hooch. Did you know that “pirates drank anything they could get their hands on?” You can acquire alcoholic alchemy: grog = rum + water. The show even offers Smell-O-Vision, a wood scent permeating the tavern display. It’s a blessing no one opted for eau de scurvy.

What “Pirates” doesn’t teach is science; instead it dumbs down learning to a theme-park level. The show ends, as these things always do, at a gift shop featuring a dazzling array of overpriced junk – swords, a stuffed “pirate pup,” and skull-and-crossbones sunglasses.

Pieces of eight

The afternoon I attended, the Franklin was swarming with tourist families and urban day-campers. This seemed a smart arrangement: Full-paying tourists subsidizing underserved city youth.

The rub was that neither group appeared well-served by science. “Sports Challenge” is more Dave and Buster’s than lessons in physiology, a homage to hyperactivity where kids run around without ever stopping to learn.

“Sir Isaac’s Loft” contains one of those George Rhoads kinetic sculptures found in airports. “Sometimes you just can’t avoid science,” the caption reads, almost as an apology. “My intention is not to exemplify scientific principles,” Rhoads states on the plaque. Oh, great.

Frequently, the Franklin seems as scared of learning as it does of science. Lopping off the “Institute” is an indication. What I watched was kids dashing madly, going from one pit stop to the other, without absorbing much. There was so much insistent fun (!) and no, this-isn’t-really-science stuff that the place is transformed into just another consumer palace.

The one science at which the Franklin excels is the dismal one of economics. Inside these hallowed walls, pretzels miraculously soar from 50 cents to $2.75. Bottled water, scientifically equal to the free fountain variety, is $2.75. Though prices rival those at the ballpark, there’s no dollar-dog day. Hot dogs are always $3.75.

Start your engines, adults 12 and older. This Wednesday is “Race Car Day,” when that great organization of higher learning, NASCAR, teams up with the Franklin for a full day of science and fumes.

That last line made me laugh :)

Some crazy woman in China is claiming that her cat grew wings.

um…

Granny Feng’s tom cat has sprouted two hairy 4ins long wings, reports the Huashang News.

“At first, they were just two bumps, but they started to grow quickly, and after a month there were two wings,” she said.

Feng, of Xianyang city, Shaanxi province, says the wings, which contain bones, make her pet look like a ‘cat angel’.

Her explanation is that the cat sprouted the wings after being sexually harassed.

“A month ago, many female cats in heat came to harass him, and then the wings started to grow,” she said.

However, experts say the phenomenon is more likely down to a gene mutation, and say it shouldn’t prevent the cat living a normal life.

http://www.uniqlo.jp/uniqlock/

I’m mesmerized.

From a Rise Against MySpace bulletin:

New Album: Appeal To Reason, and Fall Tour!!!
That’s right, our new record, Appeal To Reason, has been completed and will be released October 7th, 2008. As you may know, we have once again teamed up with our friends Bill Stevenson & Jason Livermore, who produced Appeal To Reason at the Blasting Room, along with their capable team of engineers. Bill & Jason are the genius’ behind The Sufferer & The Witness and also the responsible for the re-mix of our first record, The Unraveling on Fat Wreck, as well as numerous other songs, including our recent cover of “Little Boxes” for the show “Weeds”.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve teamed up with some old friends for a fall tour and are hoping to bring it to your town. RISE AGAINST, ALKALINE TRIO, THRICE, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM. We considered giving the tour some fancy name, but then realized that nothing looks or sounds as good as those four bands together, in our own humble opinion.

See you this fall !

-Rise Against

I don’t know who Gaslight Anthem is, but after missing Alkaline Trio last night I’m glad to know they will probably be back in the fall + Rise Against and Thrice!

That makes up for the fact that today I found out I have my first two cavities ever. booo.

Update: The dates have been announced and are available on Rise Against’s Myspace page. See you at the Philly show October 16th!

Another update: Got my tickets during the presale wednesday! Also, I listened to Gaslight Anthem and I don’t get why so many people are so into them. Whatever!