What Can You Say...

...to a friend who's son has just died. I've started this post many times now, but nothing seems remotely adequate. I can only imagine what Quinn's family is going through.

To anyone reading this I will tell you that Quinn's time was all too short, and all too difficult. I will tell you that I know he had two wonderful people for parents, and I'm sure one of the best big sisters one could ask for. I will tell you that although distance kept me from ever meeting Quinn, in his 15 months he impacted me.

To Kelly, Deb and Haley, all I can say is I'm sorry, and I am thinking of you. I wish there were more I could say, or something I could do.

Yes, I'm Still Here...

I just haven't had much that I really NEEDED to say, coupled with a lack of free time equals light blogging. It seems like we've had quite a bit going on, the 'rents were in town, work on our bedroom (more on that to come), a job offer, interviews, much phone tag, negotiations, and many other tasks have eaten up what little free time we have had. There is more to do as well, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks things should be getting better.

The guys over at our CD club/experiment have been giving me shit, and wondering if Elsa was still kicking my ass. She is not, but she is still keeping me busy. The colic is gone, gone, gone, but she still doesn't sleep much in the afternoons. My typical day starts at 2am, and I am off to work. I get home around noon, and grab a bit to eat. Nap time, I usually get between one and two hours, depending on when Krista leaves, and when/if Elsa sleeps. Then it is Elsa, Elsa, Elsa. I try to get some things done, and if I am lucky I can get 30 minutes on the stationary bike, or we take a walk around the lake. Krista gets home between 8:300 and 9:00, bite to eat (and yes Mixdorf, a little Buffy, or other TV during dinner), another four hours of sleep before starting it all over again.

Not hellish, or terribly hard, but busy. So, blogging has been light, and will likely be for a while yet. I need to get the bikes winterized, and stain the mantle and banister for our bedroom before it gets too cold. And, I just haven't felt terribly inspired to say much. So there.

Do I Have A Sign On My Back That Says "Tag Me?"

OK, Dan tagged me with this a while back. Better late than never right?

1. It is Dan's theory that one only has time to devote to 10 outside-of-work pursuits. What makes your list? This can be an idealized version of your life (e.g. pursuits in which you are interested but just haven't found the time or ambition to start).

My first few are the same as Dan's, here they are:

1. Above all else, Elsa and Krista.
2. Friends.
3. Movies and good TV.
4. Music both creation and consumption. Though I have had a hard time getting going on the creation side.
5. Bicycling. Hopefully next summer, when Elsa can come along, I will get back to 20 miles every day again.
6. Video Editing. I know this is ALSO my job, but it is something I truly enjoy. Now if only my job...
7. Reading, even though I am a terribly sow reader.
8. Poker. Both a low stakes game as an opportunity for number 2, and a more serious game.
9. Travel/Motorcycling. The bike serves as my primary mode of commuting during the summer, and is a great stress reliever on the way home. I don't often just "Go for a ride." around town (if I have time for that it is usually pedal powered), but a trip on the bike is about as good as it gets. Even if it is just a day trip down the Mississippi.
10. Home improvement/building stuff. Like a poker table.

2. What are the last five albums you bought? Are you just kind of buying albums on a whim these days or following any kind of overarching plan-such as exploring a genre or working your way through a backlog of albums you've wanted to buy for some time?

Kenny Burrell, Midnight Blue
Dr. Lonnie Smith, Boogaloo To Beck
Elvis Costello, The Delivery Man
Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Olympic Hopefuls, The Fuses Refuse to Burn (Great Twin Cities band on the verge of hitting it big, and yes they were still Olympic Hopefuls when I bought the disc. Check 'em out, and also check out Darren Jackson's other band Kid Dakota).

My plan? Yourmusic.com. Best music deal out there. May not have everything, but if they have something you want, you can't beat $5.99 with free shipping. (Just after posting this I see that Dan is onto the yourmusic.com goodness).


3. Everyone has an issue (at least one)-political or philosophical-that is kind of their personal baby. One on which they feel they have an enlightened view in a greater world that just either doesn't get it or doesn't care. Tell us about it-and attempt to be brief.

Boy, I am not sure that I have one that sticks out. There are a number that I get really frustrated about. Gay marriage is one, but I have posted about that before. Another frustration is with extremists with whom I agree on the issues, but their tactics a poorly thought out. Or not thought out at all. This may be off topic, but I feel like a rant. I once overheard a person who was in the Twin Cities to protest the Highway 55 bypass telling someone that a she and some friends were headed to New Orleans for a protest, and man was it going to be awesome. When asked what they were protesting she replied "I don't know yet." Then there was the group that was protesting the scourge of SUVs by setting whole lots full on fire. Besides the pollution from 20 burning SUVs, there is the fact that they are insured, and they will just build more. No one who was going to buy an SUV was moved, and in all likelihood those wavering were put off to your cause. Oh, and their spokesman showed up to give their news conference in a Grand Cherokee. You are not helping.

4. Prairie, mountains, woods, desert, lake, the sea. Which calls to you the most? Where would you most choose to reside? RANK THEM!

There are so many places that if feasible I would like to live for a year and most of these are included in my list, so it is hard to rank, but I will give it a shot:

1. Lake
2. Sea (Iceland, North Shore of Superior, not the warmer climes)
3. Mountains
4. Woods
5. Prairie
6. Desert


5. Guilty pleasure TV. Is there a show that would be condemned by your peers, but yet you find yourself watching it on a regular basis? Let's hear it.

Like Mixdorf I will have to say Blind Date and the like.

No limit or minimum of people to tag. Send this to whomever you choose.

OK, so I will tag none, but invite all.

Five Months

That is how old she is today. She weighs in at 15 pounds 13 ounces and is 26.5 inches. She is smiling all the time (ok, most of the time), has two teeth, has rolled over onto her back, and is able to stand for minutes at a time (with a little help on the ballance end).

We went to the State Fair today (I forget the camera), and Elsa took in her first Rock and Roll show. The Hopefuls (formerly Olympic Hopefuls, until they got a threatening letter from the USOC. Seriously.) were playing, and were the main reason we ventured to the fair.

I leave you with some of my favorite photos from the past few months.

With Great-Grandma.








Gotta love that hair.


Day at the beach

Chapter Sixteen (and Fifteen, and Fourteen, and Thirteen...)

Even while I was slacking off in my blogging, it seems Jaquandor just kept posting new chapters to his novel that he is publishing online. As the title of this post hints he is up to Chapter Sixteen. Get yourself over there and read The Promised King.

Happy Birthday

Here's wishing a happy birthday to The Mighty Quinn, and hoping that this next year takes it a bit easier on him. The kid deserves a break.

Pop Quiz

It appears that Amanda is prepping for the start of classes by taking every quiz she finds. She is a total nerd. No, really, she is. I on the other hand...

Modern, Cool Nerd 60 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 17% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)! Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in either of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 55% on nerdiness You scored higher than 62% on geekosity You scored higher than 10% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

Hmmm, the writer of this quiz must be a dork, as they misspelled knowledgeable.

She Caved!

Just as I succumbed to the pressure from Jaquandor, my sister Amanda (actually my only sister, but now you know her name. AKA Djork in some of my comment threads) has bowed to pressure from me and created her own blog. Like any good blogger, she has responded to the posts in which she has been tagged. You can see that she is a much more prolific reader than I, but I suppose that is required when working on your MFA in poetry.

Now I just have to start working on my brother...

I Shoulda Called No Tag Backs...

After I got him on the DVD survey Sean tags me for this one on books. Although, it was almost two months ago...

Number of books I own
I have no Idea, and I am not going to count them.

Last book I bought:
Cat Chaser By Elmore Leonard
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

Latest books I am reading:
Re-reading The Dharma Bums by Kerouac, and about to start on the latest Potter.

Last book I read (and have finished):
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore


Five Books that mean a lot to me:
The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien
The Dharma Bums by Kerouac
Fahrenheit 451 By Bradbury
Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut (I love short stories and I love Vonnegut).
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Adams

Tag Five More:
Well, I can't tag Sean, and he tagged Jaq, so I am going to only tag four.
Dan
Pat
Mark
Amanda (oops, I guess this means you are going to have to start your own blog... Seriously.)

But I Know I'm Funnier than Him...

Jaq took the 3 Variable Funny Test, and so did I. We scored about the same which doesn't surprise me (although I would have expected him to score higher on the "Dark").

Here are my results:

the Wit (78% dark, 30% spontaneous, 22% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat. I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer. Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais AND FINALLY -- after you rate my test with a sweet, sweet '5' -- you must take this test next: The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Test. It's not mine, but it rocks.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on dark You scored higher than 0% on spontaneous You scored higher than 8% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

Where the Hell Have You Been?

Dan posted the other day about lack of sleep and other demands that have left him feeling zapped. I feel ya brother.

Elsa is kicking my ass. I've been going on between three and five hours sleep a night. Divided into two shifts. I am a zombie most of the time. But things are getting better. No more colic, and that is a big deal. This explains my lack of blogging lately. Any free time I have is devoted to getting other things done. Like eating dinner. In addition, during this free time my brain has been far from any condition to create a coherent post.

But, like I said, things are getting a bit better. I have been able to start getting some exercise in again, and that helps.


I have also been spending some time building a poker table, which is ready to make it's debut on Friday August 12. Elsa is at her most content when we are outside, so that has worked out fairly well.

I am also trying to devote more time to brushing up and delving deeper into Final Cut Pro, because, well, the hunt is on.

Test One-Two, Test One-Two...

Well, it seems Jaq has tricked me into posting. He has tagged me to answer a quiz that has been floating around. Granted he did this several days ago (over a week in fact), but hey, at least I am getting to it. And I may be the only one on his list to get to it.

1. Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
67. Although quite a few of them were free from one source or another, and are not ones that I would buy. Dan, would you like Stepmom back?

2. The last film I bought:
The Last DVD I bought was the first season of Millennium. I think the last movie I bought on DVD was Return of the King.

3. The last film I watched:
Last DVD watched: The Office Special. If you haven't watched The Office I command you to do so by the end of this coming weekend. Both series, and the special.
Last film watched Revenge of the Sith.
Last film watched on DVD Attack of the Clones (The Seven Samurai is sitting on the DVD player waiting for a free three-and-a-half hours).

4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
I don't watch many films over and over, but here are a few that I have seen many times.
Star Wars
The Blues Brothers
2001 A Space Odyssey
A Hard Day's Night
Raising Arizona

5. Tag 5 people and have them put this in their journal/blog:
Dan
Pat
Mark
Sean
Amanda (oops, I guess this means you are going to have to start your own blog...)

Sorry Girls, You Can't Take Piss Out of the Pool

I was going to follow up the last post with a post about the absurdity with which our mental giants, Debbie (can I call you Debbie? Too bad) and Julie, reacted after Adam found their post (Amanda points this out in comments), but Jaq did it for me.

Debbie says:

If anyone else has anything to say about what a horrible person I am, please keep it to yourself. I don't need a complete stranger's help to feel bad about myself. If you want to comment, you'll have to register. I don't get anonymity here so neither do you.

Well, I would like to register. Debbie, how do I do that?

Maturity on Display

It appears that there is a student at UW Madison, named Deborah, who finds pleasure in making fun of two-year-olds. Specifically my niece Hazel. Deborah seems to have removed the web page in question (after finding out that my brother stumbled across it), but you can see the page here thanks to Google's cache (scroll down until you see the Sims picture of a woman and a baby, and "Jennifer Green-Johnson" highlighted).

Deborah, I don't know what problems you have, but if this (assumed) sub-rosa derision of a sweet little girl has brought you pleasure, I pity you. You are pathetic. My beautiful two-year-old niece shows more maturity and compassion than you.

Lay Them Straight...

Also in the past four weeks Jaq has posted chapters Seven and Eight from The Promised King.

More Pictures

Elsa with cousin Hazel.


Staring at Mom.


There has been a high percentage of pregnancies at the Children's Yamaha Music School recently. Three out of thirteen teachers have brand new kids, with a fourth one on the way.


Chillin' with the other chilens.

Four Weeks Later

It has been four weeks since Elsa was born, so I suppose it is time for some new pictures and an update. In that time we have seen: cluster feedings (which is nothing compared with what has become part of daily life for some); screams that break your heart; the appearance of a normal belly-button; severe diaper rash caused by diarrhea; many visitors; gifts of food, clothing and other cuteness; many, many diapers.


But mostly we have had four weeks of joy at the hands of really well tempered little girl who really digs on Art Blakey.


We know she gets her good looks from me, so liking drummers must come from Mom.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you...

Elsa Ann Wentzel Johnson.

Born 2:46 AM, March 28.


7 pounds 14 ounces, 20 3/4 inches.


Krista and Elsa are well (but tired). Just the vital info for now, I'll post more later about the LONG weekend.

Stay Tuned!

Expect a major announcement sometime this weekend.

Pick Up Sticks...

It seems like I just posted a reminder to check out Chapter Five of Jaquandor's The Promised King, and already Chapter Six is ready to go. It also seems that every other post of mine is becoming a link to The Promised King. But I have to. If I didn't, a couple of hamsters and a kitten would face mortal peril.