[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-30

Well, it's Theme Thursday again, and seeing as we fired the staff after last week's debacle we're on our own to come up with an idea.



















Oh, hold on a second...it's "button" and not "butt on"?

Looks like we need a new staff.

[Shrek] Congratulations Jim Rice

Congratulations to Jim Rice, one of my boyhood heroes, on his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. If you ask me, it was fifteen years too late in coming.

[Shrek] BOLO: Tom Clancy

When asked, I used to say Tom Clancy was my favorite author. I'm going to have to say that's not true anymore, and that he's been passed by W.E.B. Griffin on my list. I'm sure the reason for that is Clancy hasn't released a book in years (and his "latest", 2003's The Teeth of the Tiger, was terrible), while Griffin continues to pop out one great military thriller after another. Clancy has also been passed on my list by Vince Flynn and Brad Thor, two authors that are now as "hot" as Clancy was in his heyday.

I, of course, reserve the right to change my list if Clancy decides to release another book.

In a totally unrelated note--was Gilbert Gottfried ever funny? Fiona and I watched a One Night Stand On HBOcomedy last night, and in an episode obviously filmed in the mid '80's, Gottfried was spectacularly unfunny. I can't think of a single time I though he was even remotely amusing.

Since I mentioned my favorite author, I'll mention my favorite comedian is Lewis Black. For those that don't know who he is, he currently "stars" in a series of commercials for tourism in Aruba.

Contains some rated "R" language; not for the kiddies:


As someone that likes to tell jokes, I find the "science" of comedy very interesting. Perhaps someday I'll get into that more, but one thing I love to do is tell a joke and only have a handful of people in the room get it. That way the joke is twice as funny for some of us as we watch the folks that don't get it look perplexed.

Kind of like our Theme Thursday post.

[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-23

It's Theme Thursday again, and this week the theme is "shoe". Unlike last week where we both had the same exact idea almost immediately, this week we tossed around lots of ideas, but none really seemed to stick.

There were the obvious ones...








We decided that we didn't want to go that route, that maybe we'd go off the beaten path a little and go this way.







But thinking about it, even this seems like a well traveled road, so we decided to get the staff together...



...and the idea they came up with was to look at some music.







We'd like to now announce that we have just fired the staff.

So it looks like we won't be participaring in Theme Thursday this week as we can't decide on how to go about it. I guess we'll just settle down for a nap and try again next week.

[Shrek] Thanks For One Last Ride

Some do it on talent. Some do it on luck.

You did it with class.

Thanks for one last ride

[Shrek and Fiona] Theme Thursday 7-16

We've decided to do something a little different, and we're jumping on the "Theme Thursday" bandwagon. Every week a different theme is selected, and several blogs (which are generally linked on the Theme Thursday page) each post on the given theme.

This week's theme is "stage"...so let's see what we can do with that.











Yeah, of course there's more to what you see. Can you figure it out?

[Fiona] Spider Web

The frailty of life confounds me sometimes. Time marches on and for the most part people are strangely detached from the people in their lives that mean the most to them. I just don't understand. I used to be that type of person and then my kid sister died. Now I have the opposite issue I am hyper-aware of people. It saddens me on a level I have difficulty finding words to explain to the casual reader. I guess it is merely a case of living ones own life. People come in contact with you but are meant to move along their own strand like a delicate spider web.

We all weave our own patterns so delicate, beautiful and awe inspiring. Some people never know the impact they make on another. Like a gentle breeze or a downpour what a person contributes can change everything. I want to be that gentle breeze instead of the downpour.

[Shrek] Monday

[Shrek] King Of The Hill

As many of you know, one of my hobbies is candlepin bowling. I bowl in a couple of fall leagues and one in the summer. I do it for a night out with friends, and while one fall league is a very competitive league the other two I regularly bowl in are supposed to be for fun. I sometimes forget that it's supposed to be fun, but I am getting better at that. This summer I've had some issues remembering that because, well, for lack of a more family friendly term, I've sucked pretty badly.

My usual 110ish average has fallen to 98, and it is beginning to frustrate me. Just about everything that I can do wrong I'm doing, and as soon as I fix one thing something else starts falling apart. And even when I get it all together, I'm not catching any breaks, which causes even more frustration.

So it makes what happened last night more than a tad confusing.

On Saturday nights, there are mini-tournaments called "King of the Hill" at different bowling alleys across central Massachusetts. The only Saturday night in the month that didn't have one was the second Saturday, and to fill that gap a couple of guys I bowl with started one here in Worcester at Colonial Bowl, the place I normally bowl at. It being at my "home house" was the only reason I showed up.

So with my 44oz Diet Coke in hand and a stiff back, I showed up to see what was going on. Looking around at the number of people that were there, which included a few guys I knew, I figured I'd give it a shot....and I'm glad I did.

I have no idea how it happened, but everything began to click. I threw three great strings for a 353 triple, and because my average was so low I got a handicap of 72 pins for a 425 total. That was good enough to be the second seed in the ladder matches, where the 5th seed plays the 4th, and the winner of that match bowls the 3rd, and so on. The championship round is a two string final.

The 5v4 match was very high scoring, as was the next match. When it was my turn to bowl I had been standing around for twenty minutes and had cooled off a lot. My practice box was terrible, with me going back to not doing anything right. Luckily, that was the only time it happened. I was on fire in the match, throwing a 130-odd string to win it scratch.

That carried over early in the championship match, and it was a good thing. I haven't bowled more than three strings in a night in a very, very long time. Now toss in a bad back and I knew I needed to get out front quick. I won the first string by 11, and then ran out of gas. Lucky for me, my opponent wasn't getting many breaks and I was able to keep it over a 10 pin lead for the rest of the second string. In the last box I needed just a six to force him to throw a double strike, and with my seven drop on my first ball and him not throwing a strike I was the winner.

Next month I'm automatically the #1 seed, and only have to bowl in the championship match.

I do expect to get some razzing on Tuesday when I show up for my summer league night as the score sheets were collected by one of those bowlers to poke fun at my 98 average...a razzing I'll be more than happy to take.

[Shrek] Post Your Own Caption...

President Obama feeling the stimulus kicking in.

[Shrek] Some Things That I Think...

I think the Summer Nationals, the annual car show held at Green Hill Park and in downtown Worcester, are great for the city as a whole but bad for the neighborhoods that these cars drive through at all hours of the day and night. Perhaps it's because I'm not a "car guy", but I don't understand the need for people to peel out like they're playing Grand Theft Auto and make more noise than a heavy metal band while repeatedly driving up and down the street. I'd be interested to hear how much it costs the city to repair the damage done by the car show, and to clean up after the event.

+++++++++++++

I listen to WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan" morning show on the way to work, mostly because it's the station my radio is usually tuned too. They are basically both idiots, and if you listen long enough you'll hear that they often contradict their own supposed views on things. So imagine my surprise when they went on vacation this week and found an even bigger idiot to take their place in Michael Felger. Felger's only redeeming quality is he's married to Fox25's super-cutie news anchor Sara Underwood.

+++++++++++++

With the budget shortfall in the state, the Registry of Motor Vehicles has decided to close some offices and relocate some others. One of the ones to be relocated was the office previously in Southbridge, and it will be moved to the Charlton service area on the Eastbound side of the Mass Turnpike. It's a location the state already owns, so they won't have to pay rent on the new location.

Boy, that's great on paper, but as soon as I read the state was moving the office to that location my brain started thinking of questions I was pretty certain no one had thought of...

How do you get to the eastbound lanes to get to the service area from the westbound lanes?

And if you're going to use the Route 20 entrance to the service area as employees of the plaza can use, do you really expect people to stop on Rt20 to turn when that stretch of the road is in a 50mph zone? (And in Massachusetts, that means the minimum speed is really 60)

Or how about the fact there is no vehicle access to the service area from that Rt20 entrance, it's just access to a fenced in parking lot that you can park in before you walk into the service area. And it's not a short walk either, so elderly and handicapped folks will have issues making the trek. Oh, and that trek crosses two lanes of potential truck traffic entering the truck parking area from the service area.

Turns out, at least according to the Boston Globe, I was right and those questions weren't answered before the move was announced. Anybody wondering how much this "cost cutting" move will end up costing the tax payer?

+++++++++++++

Many people are shocked I didn't make a single post about the death of Michael Jackson. It's because I really didn't have anything to Say, Say, Say. Tremendous talent. Total loon.

[Shrek] Josie's Day

While most of the country was celebrating July fourth by going to cookouts and scoffing down hot dogs and potato salad, Fiona and I spent the day at the wedding of our friends Rich and Josie at the sprawling Harding Allen Estate in Barre, Massachusetts, which is one of the coolest wedding/reception places in the area. And after what seemed like endless weeks of clouds and rain, the day could not have been better for their outdoor wedding.

As I was a groomsman, the event really began for Fiona and I Friday night at the rehearsal. Most people have a good idea about the ins and outs of being in a wedding party, so usually these rehearsals are just an excuse to get together before the wedding and relax before the next day’s festivities. This one was a little different because it was going to be a Quaker wedding, and for most of us it would be the first time we were introduced to anything about that religion. I’ll talk more about the ceremony later, but the rehearsal went very quickly and we had lots of time afterward to go into the estate and look around.

After we were finished our business in Barre we went to Josie parent’s house in Worcester for the rehearsal dinner. Despite the thunderstorm that chased everyone into the house it was a very nice gathering, with some great food catered by some company whose name I don’t remember. Rich, his best man Ray, and I spent most of the evening holding court on the back porch. Uncharacteristically, Rich was drinking water. And in character, Ray and I were not.

The high point, at least for me, was when Fiona was surprised with a birthday cake that was served for dessert. I had let Josie know when we got the invitation to the rehearsal dinner that Friday was Fiona’s birthday, and Josie jumped right in and got the caterer to make a cake for Fiona. Fiona was moved to tears by Josie's gesture, and then kept talking about how embarrassed she was for crying. She shouldn’t have been embarrassed, there’s nothing more genuine than sharing an emotional moment with a friend.

The next morning I arrived at the Harding Allen Estate at my appointed time, already dressed in my tux. I roamed around the lower level while Rich, Ray, and Dan were up changing, heading upstairs when summoned by Josie’s mom so she could pin a boutonnière on my jacket. It was a good thing I went up, as I was the only one who knew how to adjust the size of the ties we had. We hung around in the room for awhile waiting for Josie’s younger brother Peter to arrive. I learned yesterday that he’s seldom on time for anything, and is easily distractible.

The next part of the post I’ve written and edited half a dozen times, trying to get all the information correct about a Quaker wedding ceremony. It turns out I needn’t have done any of that, as Josie posted what happens at a Quaker wedding on her marriage blog. Because what she posted is generally what happened, I’ll link to that so you can read it if you wish, and just mention the small differences they did.

http://joandrich.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-quaker-wedding-works.html

Generally Meetings are done in a circle, but the layout of the lawn area made that impossible. So they went with the Clearness Committee sitting behind Rich and Josie, and Ray and Sarah, Josie’s sister and Maid of Honor, sitting aside of them. The groomsmen and bridesmaids, after making their way from behind the raised area, sat in the first row of seats.

I was paired with Josie's friend Celia, and as instructed, we walked down the stairs to the lawn and into the first row of chairs, with bridesmaids going to the right side and the groomsmen to the left. I think we were supposed to sit starting at the aisle, but Dan continued down the entire row and sat at the end, which happened to be in the shade. It was a good call on his part.

Now every wedding has a small thing that goes wrong, and I just happened to notice what it was as we were standing waiting for Rich and Josie to make their entrance--there were no chairs on the raised area for Ray or Sarah. Luckily Peter, who was the last in the row, was paying enough attention so when I whispered to him to grab a char and give it to Ray he did it. I walked across to the other side to grab one for Sarah, who had a look of “what am I supposed to do?” before she realized I was grabbing her a chair.

The silence of a Quaker Meeting is something that is odd for folks used to more traditional wedding service, but it was a cool experience, and I think it’s great that Josie chose to share that experience with all of us.

From that point on everything was just like you’d expect at a wedding, with the normal picture taking (and family bickering) going on. The reception was great, with Ray’s toast certainly being one of the highlights of the event. There was no head table, so I got to have dinner with Fiona and many of my “Sharks” friends.

Once the reception was over the bridal party stayed at the estate and had our own after party, where everyone was happy to be back in “normal” clothes. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that, to use Josie’s own words, she was wearing “the most God awful ensemble (she) could put together.”

Below are some pictures of the rehearsal dinner and wedding that Fiona took...when you click on the individual pictures they will show in a larger size.


Josie (center) gives us the rundown on how things are going to work. Rich is to the right, and the women on the left is the Events Coordinator for the estate.


Ray, the best man. The view is from the raised area where the ceremony will take place out toward where the visitors will be seated.


This is the walkway the bridal party would cover while heading to the ceremony. We entered by the gate on the right and then turned left, heading toward the camera.


This is the continuing view heading toward the area of the ceremony.


The reception hall.


The crowd gathers waiting for the ceremony to begin.


Shrek and Celia make their entrance.


A member of the Clearness Committee explains the traditions of a Quaker Meeting. I was about 10 feet away from her and could barely hear a word she said. I can't imagine anyone behind me could hear her at all.


Rich and Josie during an early portion of the Meeting.


Rich and Josie exchanging their vows. Despite the differences between weddings I was used to and a Quaker wedding, the vows were very similar.


Rich and Josie signing their marriage certificate. Fiona was unable to get a picture of it, so trust me when I say it is very cool looking.


The Meeting ends with everyone shaking hands.


Shrek and best man Ray


The bridal party. The girls, from left to right: Cecilie, Celia, and Luciana. Sarah (the maid of honor) is in the background over Cecilie's shoulder at the marriage certificate as the guests sign it. The guys, again from left to right: Shrek, Ray, Peter, and Dan.