So I completely redesigned Heather and Adam are Totally Rad! Instead of using Dreamweaver templates and static html, I went with my beloved WordPress. I customized the design by styling a child Thematic WordPress theme. I’m really happy with the result. It’s not nearly as busy as the last site, but it still is pretty freakin cool looking IMO. I even snuck in some of the dreaded Comic Sans font. Take that, professional graphic designers! Don’t worry though… the logo is in Helvetica. Calm down.

It starts with you
on a mattress in your parents’ old room,
clipping your toenails into the room
like the room will fade
and you will move
onto other rooms
and you will go
to other places.
Then the wedding,
Then the woman passed out
in the driver’s seat
at the order board at White Castle.
We woke her up and she went
’round to the pick up window
like she knew exactly where she was.
Then I wept
with my face in your night shirt,
trying hard as hell to say
“until death separates us,”
loosening the skin on your breastbone,
I painted your nails
and you sleep
while I write all this down.

You know my build.
You know my size.
The degree to which my eyes
are astigmatic.

Also, Heather informed me today that she would like to go to Walt Disney World for our honeymoon!!! Ahhhhhhh!!! I’m so excited for this! I’ve never been there and it would be so amazing to go for the first time for my honeymoon! Don’t worry blog readers (all ten of you), I will keep you updated.

We are also less than a week away from Heather’s birthday! Her presents this year are “off the hook”. Yes. They are that good.

Tomorrow is the Apple event. I usually get excited for these as they are fun and interesting to watch, but this year I actually have an Apple product! I’m hoping they announce a new iPhone OS along with this mysterious tablet thingy. No more will I have to be shamed by Heather’s Droid and it’s superior operating system! Huzzah!

I’ve been missing Disneyland quite a bit lately. I wish I made more money so we could go more often. Maybe some day.

I feel like I am running out of juice on this blog. I need some inspiration. It will come.

Also, I posted this video of the malfunctioning bathroom light in my office from my iPhone, and it now has almost 700 views. What the fuck?

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I’m sure it annoys the crap out of Heather when I drag her into the toys section so I can buy an action figure or some legos, but it really makes me happy. It helps me remember to never ever grow up. Never to become boring. Never forget how amazing the world is and how much there is to learn. Grown ups think they know everything and, therefor, are boring. When you live you life knowing that there is a whole bunch of new and exciting things to learn and experience every single day, life is fucking awesome!

Seriously, the next time you are at Target or Walmart, go to the toys section and buy a toy. It’ll really bring you back. It’s fun!

Whoa… can you say… tangent? Anyway. Here we goooooooooooooo…

Favorite Artist or Band: The Beatles. I know it sounds boring and lame, but I mean it. I mean it so much. I love The Beatles. There is no getting around how great they are. I still can’t believe I got to see Paul live. I cried so much. That was the closest I will ever get to a religious experience.

Favorite Album: The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips. True, my favorite album is not by my favorite band, but The Soft Bulletin really is the best album of all time. It’s the kind of album that you listen to all the way through and feel this amazing sense of satisfaction. It’s sexy, chaotic, beautiful, depressing, uplifting, psychedelic, and perfect in every way. And if you have surround sound, be sure to buy the 5.1 surround sound Soft Bulletin DVD. It will change your life!

Favorite Songs: Tie! I’m Yours by Jason Mraz and Gemini (Birthday Song) by Why? These two songs are tied because they are both amazing. I’m Yours is just a really great, feel good song. Who doesn’t love it? I would say that it is objectively a perfect song. Perfect… just like Gemini (Birthday Song). This song is beautiful. It is emotional and intense. The lyrics blow me away every time I listen to it… and I listen to it a lot! I am 100% positive that I have listened to this song more than any other song ever. The band Why? is amazing, and this is their best song by far.

Favorite Rum: Sailor Jerry. Yum.

Favorite iPhone App: Yelp. So useful. I have started writing Yelp reviews recently, and have really started to appreciate the Yelp community and all that it is doing. Sure, some of them are snobs, but overall they are providing the world with lots of great reviews. Awesome.

Favorite Soda: Coke Zero. I know that diet soda is not good for you. I don’t care. I have chosen to have diet soda as my one unwavering vice. It’s so yummy. Diet Mountain Dew does come in at a close second. Double yum!

That’s all. Remember… I love you.

Oh yeah…

P.S. I love you.

In other news. No Coachella. But guess what! That means the wedding is officially April 17th now!!! Yippie! And guess what else! I may have found an outfit for the wedding. It’s got a jacket with coattails and a top hat. I’m going to look so old school.

Also, I’ve started writing reviews on Yelp. I love it! Maybe I’ll even become an elite Yelper! One can only dream…

Also, I really hope the Apple conference that is coming up contains an iPhone OS update. I love my iPhone so much, but when I compare it to Heather’s Droid… it’s just not that great.

Check it out… I made a line graph:

Agree? Disagree? Yeah, I love Weezer. I was supposed to go see them on Jan. 15th, but Rivers got in that bus accident. No fun.

This list is correct and true. In fact, this list is infallible… just like The Pope. The movies listed below are in no particular order because they are, technically, all number one. Yes, there are ten number ones. Here we go!

Up. Some of the best looking computer generated graphics I have ever seen. The scenery alone is enough to make you cry, but then Pete Doctor has to go and make it have an intensely emotional and exciting plot. I was sobbing for probably a good fourth of the movie. It’s just that intense. Also… it contains the most beautiful and touching movie montage ever made. Ever.

Tombstone. Look… I don’t care if this movie isn’t historically accurate… Tombstone is a fucking badass film. The performances by Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell are perfect, and everyone else does a great job. The plot moves along at a great speed, and has some very powerful scenes.

Avatar. What can I say… the movie lived up to the hype and then some! The visuals are the best ever created. I don’t think they will be surpassed for quite a few years… probably not until Avatar 2 comes out. And yes, the base story is pretty much FernGully on steroids, but the way it is presented is actually very unique. The interactions between the characters felt very genuine and was helped by the accuracy of emotion on the faces of the na’vi. The ending was one of the best I have ever seen. It was full of action, emotion, thrilling visuals, intense moments of sadness, a huge rush of joy, and a perfect way to end the film. Go see it.

Finding Neverland. Beautiful in every way.

Wall-e. What??? Another Pixar movie? No way! Yeah… If you have seen Wall-e, you know why it is listed here. Again, Pixar has excelled at story telling in a tremendous way. The fact that almost the entire first half of the movie has no speaking but brought me (and many others) to tears is a testament to the genius of Pixar and, specifically, Andrew Stanton.

Jurassic Park. This movie was a bigger part of my childhood than any other movie by far. I can still remember the moment when I first saw those Brachiosaurus and the look on Alan Grants face… man… so beautiful.

V for Vendetta. Not much to say other than it’s a great movie with great acting with a great message (not so much now that we’ve got Obama, but still… good message).

Toy Story 1, 2, and 3. You can’t say anything bad about the Toy Story trilogy. The voice casting is perfect, the plot can be thoroughly enjoyed by kids and adults alike, and it just makes you feel happy. And I am aware that Toy Story 3 is not out yet. It doesn’t matter. It is going to be amazing. I promise.

Mamma Mia! Come on now… you know you love it. Especially Pierce Brosnan! I don’t care what any of you jerks say… he and his voice are beautiful in Mamma Mia. The movie is fun all the way through and is visually stunning.

Cloverfield. J. J. Abrams is a really awesome guy. I’m glad there are people like him in Hollywood so we actually have some good movies to look forward to. I wouldn’t hesitate in calling him the next Steven Spielberg. Anyway… Cloverfield rocks. The originality and restraint of the film really made it memorable.

There you go. You’re welcome.

The fact that I can be a pretty irresponsible person is, in a way, comforting to me. It often puts a strain on me (and usually Heather), but it does show that I’m not a boring old sap who only cares about getting things done. I really hope I never lose my childlike wonder of the world around me. Actually, Cosmos (by the beautiful Carl Sagan) really has made me feel like more of a child than ever. It really give you an epic sense of grandeur. When you realize your true place in the universe, you cannot help but feel like a kid. Everything is just so beautiful and impressive after watching Cosmos.

Also, the title DOES relate to the content. The movie referenced is about finding the fountain of youth. See? Related. Bam!

Also… I need to post this right now to have it posted today.

Anyway… yeah. Feminism. I would most definitely, and most proudly, call myself a feminist. I give all the credit in the world to my wonderful sister, Katy (You should check out her online comic strip, Romantic Feminism). I would like to think that before I started educating myself on the subject I was not a sexist, but I’m sure I had my fair share of sexist ideals. I mean, why wouldn’t I? Our media and society are chock full of accepted sexism.

Look guys (sexist language!), I know that women’s rights have improved a whole lot, but come on… they are still no where near an acceptable level. Women still make less than men in the workplace, there still has not been a woman president (although, Hillary got pretty close (although, she did have to avoid talking about being a women to get that close) ), over 90% of rapes are done against women, 90% of people suffering from anorexia are women,  their freedom of choice is constantly being attacked, super skinny women are still held up as the epitome of beauty, etc.

And that’s only America. In less developed, highly religious, and authoritarian countries, women are usually treated as lower class citizens… if they are considered citizens at all. That’s why I believe in microloans so much. Empowering women through loans is a great way to help them gain their rights from the bottom up.

Now, I could talk about how terrible religion has been for women’s rights for pages, but I’m going to save that for my super long atheist explosion mini manifesto.

Instant post review!

Looking over what I just wrote, I am not happy. I feel like my writing skills are severely lacking. The flow is way off, and I can’t figure out the right words to convey what I actually mean. The real sucky part is that I know my writing sucks, but I cannot figure out how to fix it! Bah!

Also, I’m pretty sure we are going to Coachella. That means we are going to have to move the wedding date. It’s okay though. All is well.

Hey! Heather quit her dumb job at Bank of America! Yay for Heather! She’s working with kids in bad situations now. She’s my hero. In every way.

Also, when the fuck is the Coachella lineup going to be released??? Come on people! Let’s do this! NOW!

These last few posts have been pretty short because I have been writing them in bed on my iPhone. I did have a good excuse for today though… spent my afternoon in the hospital. Fun times.

And now for a LEGOized picture!

Speaking of areas I struggle with, I am still having a hard time with Photoshop. I am a hell of a lot better then even a week ago, but I just can’t get past a few areas. I know I’ll figure it out, but I think what’s holding me back is my lack of artistic ability. I need to work on being more creative and finding my own artistic style. You know what… this will be fun. I can do this.

Okay. Have a beautiful day and remember that I love you. Yep.

Also tonight… the Coachella lineup will probably be announced!!! Check out this tease they posted on Facebook earlier today:

A couple of those 131 comments stated that they did this last year and at midnight they posted the lineup. I really hope it doesn’t suck. So much fun.

I’m writing my personal atheism mini-manifesto right now. It should be up in about a week or two. I have wanted to put down my thoughts on the matter in detail for a while now. It will possibly be boring, but hopefully bearable. I’ve also been thinking about my super SEO and Social Media mega post quite a bit. I’ve decided to delay it since I care a lot more about atheism than that stuff, but it will come. Eventually…

Also… I am really enjoying this blog a day thing. It’s fun. I’m no good at it… but it’s fun. And that’s what matters! I hope I can start getting some comments… that would be fun. Scott is currently winning the comment game. Maybe I should go buy a prize and start a contest. I mean… that’s what any self respecting Social Media GURU like me would do. Hmm…

Heather and I were looking at our pictures from Coachella today, and man… I really loved that place. I know it would complicate our wedding plans a bit (since our current wedding date is April 17th), but I really hope there is a good lineup at Coachella this year. If you’ve never been to a multi-day concert… do it. And camp! Camping was what made it so much fun! You can check out our pictures at our Picasa Web Album.

I put quotes around the word charity because Kiva.org is not really a charity. What they do is loan money to people in developing countries so that they can lift themselves out of poverty. I have read a lot on the most efficient ways to eliminate global poverty, and just about every article and book has concluded that microloans make the biggest difference.

The reason that microloans work so much better than regular aid is that it creates much more motivation for the individual or group. When you receive something for free, you don’t value it nearly as much as when you earn it. I cannot think of a better way to help people out than to provide them with low-interest, low-amount loans. It makes a whole bunch of sense.

Go ahead and read this text from their About Us page… it really describes the organization well:

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on Kiva, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else.

Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to entrepreneurs from communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Kiva creates an interpersonal connection at low costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery.

I would also highly suggest reading The Kiva Story as well. It provides a deeper insight into how this beautiful company came into being.

Please. If you have a spare 25 dollars… loan it out to someone who desperately needs, and will use, it. Once they pay you back, you can even withdraw the money if you want. Personally… I plan on just loaning everything back out as it comes in. My New Years resolution (besides blogging everyday and doing my picture-a-day) was to add at least 5 bucks to my Kiva account each month.

I mean it. You really can make a difference for the better in the world. I love you!

Man, I really need to stop posting so late. I was in bed when I realized I hadn’t posted yet. The post did turn out pretty cool though. Carl Sagan rocks. In most every way. He also smoked a lot of pot. Which is awesome.

Okay… I am going to build my new “Woody and Buzz to the Rescue” LEGO set and then post the picture…

*      *      *      *      *

Bam! Done! Look:

Isn’t it beautiful???

Also… if you are reading this… you should comment! It’s fun!

Do You Realize – that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize – we’re floating in space
Do You Realize – that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize – that everyone you know someday will die

I love you.

Bah! Anyway. After I post this blog, I am going to tag all of my old posts with tags. The reason? I want to have an epic tag cloud in my sidebar! It’s going to be awesome.

I’m planning a long blog post on my thoughts on the current state of SEO and Social Media. It should be fun. Obviously, I’m no genius at that stuff, but I’ve got a lot to say and I have a blog.

*Not really…

Guess what! LOST Season 6 starts in less than one month! I added a countdown timer to the sidebar for you. You’re welcome.

Big news! There is an Avatar sex scene!!! Obviously, it wasn’t in the theatrical release, but it will be on the DVD release. Yay!

Via The Huffington Post:

James Cameron’s latest blockbuster “Avatar” has already grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and that’s without the benefit of any steamy sex scenes. However, that doesn’t mean that one wasn’t shot.

Actress Zoe Saldana, who played the female lead, the Na’vi alien Neytiri, told a group of reporters that they did indeed shoot a sex scene between her and male lead Sam Worthington, but it was not included in the final product because Cameron felt it would push them past a PG-13 rating.

Zaldana described how the Na’vi do the deed:

If you sync to your banshee and you’re syncing to a tree, why not sync into a person? I almost feel like you’ll have the most amazing orgasm, I guess. It was a very funny scene to shoot because there were so many technical things that sometimes you have to keep in mind that paying attention to all those might disrupt the fluidity of how a scene is supposed to take place.

Lastly, the Almighty Google officially announced the release of it’s Nexus One phone today. Now, I have an iPhone 3GS and love it… but… um… I still want this thing. Don’t worry though! Heather has a Droid, and that means that she will be able to upgrade her phone to the new Android 2.1 release, and that means that I will get to play around with it! Yay! I win! Really though… I love my iPhone. I really do. At the moment, I am really into Gowalla and Foursquare. They are great fun! Huzzah!

Speaking of changes to the blog, I have invited my lovely fiance to chime in once and a while as a guest blogger! I have no idea when she’ll get a post to me, but when she does… it will be… EPIC.

Anyway. I’m enjoying an ice cold Sailor Jerry and Coke Zero and listening to DJ Earworm’s last three years of his glorious musical flashback known as the United States of Pop. Lovely.

I’m really looking forward to going on some insane long rants pretty soon. I know that right now these posts suck and do not provide the top notch internet content that I would like to be outputting, but they will. It’s going to be fun. A lot of fun. You’ll see. These are no empty promises!

Speaking of insane long rants… Adam Carolla. I recently “obtained” every single The Adam Carolla Show mp3 and have been going through them from the beginning. Gee golly is that guy funny! He has stated on multiple occasions that he is a comedy factory instead of a comedy warehouse, and I could not agree more. Sure… I disagree with him on some social and political issues, but he’s no Tom Leykis. Do yourself a favor and go download the show from… somewhere.

Finally… let’s talk about my weight. I have a lot of it. I want to post this so I get motivated. At my peak (when I was working at Walmart), I got down to about 155lbs. Right now… I weigh… 200lbs. Unforgivable! I really need to lose the weight before the wedding. That’s a good goal. I know I can’t lose all of it, but I will lose a lot of it. Blegh. I mean… look at this picture… gross:

In other news, Heather and I watched A Bug’s Life on Blu-Ray tonight and it was (obviously) perfect. I really do love John Lasseter. He really is turning out to be the “next Walt Disney”. I think he’s got a lot more in him, too. Yeah… and this coming from the guy who hasn’t even seen Prep and Landing and The Princess and The Frog yet! Come on!

I am already enjoying my picture a day project quite a bit. You can find it over my Tumblr page. It’s actually really easy to do with the Tumblr app on my iPhone. I have considered letting myself do more than one picture a day, but I think sticking with one is a good plan for now. I know the pictures aren’t spectacular, but I like them. And hey… I’m really doing these projects for me anyway.