"My legs! I can't feel my legs!"

Had a great time walking along the beach today. Raised some good money for the March of Dimes, and got some (somewhat low-energy) exercise while I was at it. My son had a great time listening to the echoes of his shouts rebounding off the hotels along the boardwalk. Even at 2 years old, the word he used most was "hello!" I wonder if that's some racial memory/group unconscious thing or something. Something to think about.

Along to the marquee. Wabbitt (thanks, Wabbitt!) sent this in:

"We had a interesting one about the time that Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" came out. It was on a main drag and it said THE JEWS KILLED JESUS. Well that certainly caused a stir in Denver. Lets just say that it didn't sit well with anyone. It was taken down the next day with a public apology from the preacher ( he didn't want to get lynched ) and the next you heard is that the congregation let him go."

Probably not the most politic of messages. True or not (a judgement I do not feel qualified to make), it's gonna get (and did get) a lot of people mad. But then, maybe that was the point?

The burn is fading rather than peeling so far (knock on wood). The Solarcane has helped immensely with those areas that I can apply it to. Unfortunately, that does not include my scalp. But, c'est la vie, right? Guess that'll teach me to wear a hat.

Catch you all later, and thanks again, Wabbitt, for the e-mail!

--Beav

It burns!!! (What a world, what a world!)

Today was a mostly-indoors day. Due to my sunburn, I've been reluctant to touch just about anything. My t-shirts rub the back of my neck wrong, the shower is an ordeal, and my wife is going nuts with the distance I'm keeping. But, we went shopping and got some Solarcane and some sunblock for tomorrow's walk.

Apart from the hot sun, it's gonna be a great time. Lots of people from work are coming and walking too. My wife and son will be there walking. And my son was 7 weeks premature, so (seeing as how that's the focus of this year) he'll be a little celebrity of sorts. (Not that he isn't already...) Plus, you can never go wrong with free food.

Today's church marquee: "No Prince Charming ever promised so much and delivered it like Jesus."

Well, I do have to say that in my extensive knowledge of Disney films and fairy tales, no Prince Charming has ever promised "everlasting life." But, to be fair, you have to discorporate to find out if Jesus pays up.

That's it for today, we love you...and so does Jesus (the Bible tells me so).

--Beav

Lobster? Can't Beet That!

Today was all about fun, and its consequences.

My entire afternoon was spent washing cars for a fund-raising thing for my office. It was awesome. I had a knack for pulling people off the road to come get their cars washed. And, for some odd reason, I had fun washing cars (though not so much drying them). There is nothing like watching your boss wash your car, by the way. If there is any way to arrange it, I highly recommend it to you all.

The consequence being that I was in the sun for several hours, and (of course) did not wear any sunscreen; so I am red as a beet. (Or a lobster, if you will. Will you?) This is bad enough, but the day after tomorrow, I'm going to be walking 5 miles along the beach. That's bound to be at least a little sunny, which is, shall we say, uncomfortable on a sunburn. D'oh!

My wife stopped by and had her car washed, too. Then she went home, early for the day, asking me to pick up our son on the way home. What neither of us thought of (until it was time to pick him up) was that she had the carseat. D'oh! So, I picked him up and we waited in the car until she got all the way back. That was fun, but also frustrating.

Well, I'm lethargic; much like a steak is lethargic after being pulled from under the broiler, and for much the same reason. So, see ya.

--Beav

I'm Walking...

We had another soccer game tonight. Tied it 1-1. Of course, that doesn't count the roll-in we made that the ref didn't call; and the one against us was a Penalty Kick on a bad call. But, eh. Whatever.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I'm walking for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica on Sunday. It's a really great time. I've been raising money for a little while, and it's going well. If anyone wants, you can sponsor me online here. The money goes to help detect and prevent birth defects. This year, they're focusing on premature birth. Great stuff.

I'm feeling good. Things are going so-so, but I'm feeling good about it. I should exercise more often.

--Beav (a little off the cuff)

What a Day

I played soccer today for the first time in roughly 20 years. After a couple screw ups, I got back in the swing of things. I hurt, but it feels good. I guess it helps that we won 3-2. Heh heh heh. It was a good game.

Found out that they're filming (or getting ready to film) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This is fantastic news to me. It is, by far, the best 5-book trilogy I have ever read! Some interesting names listed: Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, John Malkovich (who is Humma Kavula?).

I got my first e-mail in my blog account. It was the Nigerian scam. The first time I'd seen it in the original...I always see Afghanistan or Iraq variations. So, my excitement was unfounded, but it turned out to be interesting anyway.

All in all, a pretty good day.

--Beav

Who bites on this line?

"create you fantasiez live in realtime" "infidelity is quite underrated" "nothing complicated here, just fun" "just.try.and.you will.find out."

I gotta wonder...who bites on lines like this? In case you didn't guess right off, these are subject lines that I found in my inbox today. Even assuming I'm into internet porn (not a bad assumption), why on earth would I go haring off to some crappy pay site based on an ill-conceived (and even worse-spelled) piece of trash that someone sent to me and 3 billion other people he/she doesn't know? I don't know, maybe I'm just too savvy, but can't you see lots of dirty pictures/movies/stories/whatever for free?

I mean, at least "GIGANTIC SIZE YOURSELF" is offering a service (though whether they can deliver on it is beyond me). I don't think many people really need it, though I imagine many people think they do.

Anyway, does anyone answer these things? Does anyone pay attention to them longer than tossing them in the virtual trash can (assuming they make it past the filters)? I assume someone must, otherwise they'd stop doing it, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who has.

Crazy.

Let me know what you think, what you think you think, or whatever is on your mind. I'm at beaverblog@hotmail.com.

--Beav

Of Old Friends and Relatives

Well, the class reunion went well. My wife was radiant. I got to meet some of the people she knew "back in the day." Not to mention some of those that wouldn't give her the time of day. Most of them were friendly, some in a stand-offish sort of way. The "I'm being friendly, but not being friends" sort of thing. But several of them were very friendly, and I even got hugs from them. People I'd be glad to know more.

As to her family, they are all still alive. No major explosions. Mom's having more health issues, but she still cooks divinely. Say what you want about her, that woman can cook!

Sad to say, there's no church marquee of the day. While we were away, all the marquees we saw still had the Easter stuff up. Haven't seen any since Sunday. Though, I could recall another one from my childhood, I guess: "CH CH. What's missing? U R." Kind of a cutesy way to dress up that message. Can't really fault 'em for it. They've gotta do something, right?

If you've got comments, questions, suggestions, whatever, just e-mail me at beaverblog@hotmail.com. I promise to read every single one and may reply via the blog for everyone to read. (Unless, of course, you ask me not to.)

--Beav

Dead?

Today was interesting. Saw the new Dawn of the Dead. It was a bit gorier than I had anticipated, but turned out to be a good movie. Very real. The only nagging question I have is what were Dude's failings as a husband? I know this makes no sense to anyone who didn't see it, but oh well. We'll be leaving later this evening for the weekend, and who knows what my chances of computer connectivity are at the in-laws, so we'll see how that goes.

I wanted to start a "Church marquee of the day" thing (just to share my particular brand of psychosis), but this is really kind of a bad week for it apparently. It's just after Easter, so none of them are particularly interesting. "Jesus lives. He is risen!" That's pretty much it. Although I will say that I wouldn't pin the word "live" on Jesus at this point. Even if you believe that he rose from the dead (interesting connection with the movie there...), he then finished his business and ascended to Heaven. Now, while he may not be "dead" in the commonly understood sense of the word, I think living in Heaven sort of precludes "life" in the common sense of the word, too.

Well, here's to Class reunions and hoping my wife doesn't explode and slaughter her family. Ciao!

--Beav

Communication!

Now, you can talk back! If you've got something to say about what I had to say, just shoot me an e-mail at BeaverBlog@hotmail.com.

--Beav

I realize that it was a bit disjointed - almost stream-of-conciousness, but I was trying to kind of stick several posts together and create some sort of starter post or something. It'll get better.

--Beav

Introduction

Well, this is the beginning. Welcome to me and my thoughts. I guess I should intro myself to some degree. I'm a 32 year old married guy with a 2 year old son. A bit of a nerd -- an old gamer, computer geek, reader. I tend to find the most bizarre and dull things interesting.

I have a fascination with church marquees. It started many years ago as I was biking (I did say many years) through my hometown, and the marquee in front of a church caught my eye. It read "Sunday's Sermon: Does God have eyebrows?" Needless to say, it was difficult to keep riding -- laughter is balance-disruptive. Anyway, my answer is two-fold. From a strictly biblical perspective, man was made in God's image, therefore, God must have eyebrows or we wouldn't. However, I'm not a strictly biblical sort of guy (to say the least). My particular angle on it is no...God does not have eyebrows because he doesn't have a face, a body, or any sort of corporeal existence. He is ethereal or pure energy or whatnot.

I'm currently reading 2 books. Black Holes and Baby Universes by Stephen Hawking, and The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh of Homer. Both pretty heavy books, and I'll probably be getting a lighter one soon to completely relax with, but they are both fantastic.

My current games are Star Wars: Galaxies on the PC, and KOTOR, Need for Speed Underground, and Vice City on the XBox.

--Beav