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May 31, 2004

GUEST BELI-BLOGGER FORD CHURCH: TO CONCEAL OR NOT TO CONCEAL?

Last week I was on my way to New York City to attend the wedding of a good college buddy of mine. As I went through the security line at Denver International Airport, I was asked if it was ok if they rescanned my backpack. ìSure, no problem, take your time,î was my nonchalant reply. Then several security officials huddled around the monitor with concerned looks on their faces. After a minute or two of wondering what in the hell they were looking at, a security officer came over to me, pulled out a 5 1/2î Rambo survival knife out of my backpack, and asked if the knife belonged to me. My heart plunged into my stomach and my body started to go numb. I was charged with a 38-117(a) violation for having a concealed weapon. The officer confiscated the knife and luckily allowed me to continue with my travels to New York. I have a mandatory court date later this summer and have to go tell my story to the judge.

I am a teacher with the Boulder Valley School District where I teach a class called the Community Adventure Program at New Vista High School in Boulder, Colorado. The class I teach blends adventure, wilderness skills, and service in order to connect high school students with their community. The knife belonged to a student of mine and I completely forgot that I had her knife in the side pocket of my backpack before entering the airport. Some people forget fingernail clippers, scissors, and the occasional pocketknife. I just happened to forget a 5 1/2î Rambo survival knife. A spiral of negative thoughts went through my mind wondering how this blemish on my flawless record would impact my ambitions of teaching my class and bringing this program to other students in other school districts and eventually to other states.

We often have crazy things happen to us throughout our lives. Some play the victim role and ask themselves, ìHow could something like this happen to me?î Once I was able to gain some distance and clarity about this experience by talking to friends and family, I found myself asking the question: Why did I create this situation in my life and what can I learn from this experience? Thank you Mikal Belicove for being a great non-judgmental listener, friend, and supporter.

Posted by Guest Beli-Blogger Ford Church at 9:46 AM | Comments (1)

May 28, 2004

FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q: What's your favorite bagel, muffin, and/or doughnut (we're talking flavor and/or brand)?

Q: The much-anticipated environmental drama, The Day After Tomorrow, opens today in movie theaters nationwide. According to media accounts, the movie takes a special-effects-filled look at what the world would look like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued at such levels that they resulted in worldwide catastrophe and disaster, including multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, floods, and the beginning of the next ice age. Do you think that in our lifetime we'll be witness to the sorts of major environmental catastrophes such as the ones depicted in this movie?

Q: Birthday and holiday greeting cards; hand-written letters from friends and loved ones... we've all received them. What do you do with these sorts of things once you've finished reading them... toss them or keep them?

Q: Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? If so, what were the circumstances? If not, do you know how to use one?

Posted by Mikal at 5:28 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

May 26, 2004

The other day I overheard a young child ask one of her parents, "Do fish eat bread?" And while I didn't quite catch the answer, nor did I get to see what the parents looked like or thought of the Phish song that was playing on someone's distant radio, had they been asked that question today they might have answered, "Not after this summer, sweetie; no!"

Phish, the popular four-man band that played around with countless musical genres, and whose throngs of fans made them a modern day version of the Grateful Dead, announced yesterday that it's breaking up. The group's leader, Trey Anastasio, made the announcement on the band's website, just weeks before Phish is scheduled to releases its new, and I would imagine final, album.

According to numerous reports in the media this morning, the quartet is still planning on starting its Summer 2004 Tour on June 17th in New York City, and ending with a two-day festival, August 14th and 15th, in Coventry, Vermont. While I myself am not a huge Phish fan, I am particularly fond of one of their songs... Heavy Things, from the Farmhouse album. How about any of you... anyone else got a favorite Phish song or memory?

May 20, 2004

NOTE: I'll be unavailable Friday, without access to my computer or the Internet... so, since I don't have anything in particular to post for today (Thursday), I'm posting this weekís Four For Friday one day early. Feel free to wait till tomorrow to answer, or not :-) In any event, enjoy the rest of your week -- Mikal.

Q: Would you rather receive free gasoline for your car for one year, or free meals for a year at your favorite restaurant?

Q: Do you think it's hypocritical for SUV drivers to display environmentally-focused bumper stickers on their vehicles?

Q: If you could be any cartoon character for a day or two, which one would you be, and why?

Q: For how long can you hold your breath? Not sure; that's okay... give it try, right now!

May 19, 2004

There's no surer way to start an argument then to talk about religion AND politics, and in the America we live in today, the two are never all that far apart. As most have already heard, same-sex marriages began this week in Massachusetts. But what you probably haven't heard much about is the fact that during the first week of May, Colorado Springs' Roman Catholic Bishop, Michael Sheridan, sent a letter to Catholic voters stating that candidates running for public office, and voters too, who support positions contrary to Catholic teachingónamely, same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell researchómay not receive Communion until they've recanted their positions.

Forty-four years ago, John Kennedy's Catholicism was a campaign issue. The fear on the part of some voters was that he would somehow be a puppet of the Vatican. Now, decades later, some in the Catholic community are saying that John Kerry cannot receive Communion because he favors abortion rights... the criticism being, of course, that he's not Catholic enough.

The separation of church and state may be a legal issue, but for many voters there is no such separation. Itís almost taken as a given, isnít it, that the evangelical communityówith itís broad agreement with the President on social and faith-related issuesóunanimously favors the Republican Party. (This is not, by the way, a new occurrence, nor is it exclusively a Republican characteristic. Jimmy Carter, you may recall, was quite open about his religious beliefs, which seemed to sooth the hearts and minds of the many millions of voters who put him into office back in 1977, and Carter was a Democrat.)

On the legal/state side of things, with the State of Massachusetts now issuing licenses to allow same-sex couples to marry, there appear to be huge church- AND state-related issues lying in wait. What happens if couples move out of state, or if a state constitutional amendment is passed in a couple of years, banning same-sex marriages? What about employees of companies based outside of Massachusetts, and all the complications involved there. It's going to be very complicated once all of the hoopla of the first couple of months dies down. But this is also a political issue. President Bush and candidate Kerry do not necessarily disagree all that much on the issue of same-sex marriages, but the Republican Party will surely use this issue to paint Kerry, and Massachusetts, as being too liberal and out of sync with the rest of the country.

And on the church side of things, you've got this highly respected figure out in Colorado declaring that any voter who votes for a politician who supports abortion rights or same-sex marriage should not be allowed to take communion. This, quite frankly, may be one of the most aggressive forays into the political world by a religious figure in a very long time. Will this dissuade voters, and will it affect the election? Singularly, probably not, but what if other respected pious leaders from across the country choose to take the same position in the months leading up to the election? Is it appropriate for a religious figure to, in essence, endorse the positions of one politician over another, or of one party over the other? Will voters, and churchgoers, pay attention? Iím hoping not. In what promises to be a very tight race for the presidency, gays and evangelicals alike are certain to play an increasingly important and vocal role in the process, as they should; but the media attention, I fear, is going to be ridiculously overboard.

May 17, 2004

Watch out Indiana Jones... a recent e-mail message from Josh Bernstein proudly announced that he'd been chosen to host a new History Channel show called Digging for the Truth, in which archeological experts take a fresh look at the world's greatest ancient mysteries. Shot in High Definition, Josh and camera crew will travel to some of the most intriguing, remote, and physically challenging locations in the world--including Central America, South America, Egypt, West Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East--and with the help of select archeological experts, will attempt to solve some of the greatest puzzles from the past.

But just who is this modern day archeologist, and why am I writing about him? Well, first off, Josh is not really an archeologist, but he did study anthropology at Cornell, and he does own an adventure-based traditional living skills school/adventure travel company called the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS). And chances are that if you knew me while I lived in Boulder from 1993-2002, you also knew, or had at least heard of, the venerable Bernstein.

For the uninitiated, Josh and I met back in 1994 while I was working for the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). At first, Josh was just another eager voice on the other end of the telephone. Like so many other recent college graduates, Josh was Boulder-bound, and he'd called the AEE office ahead of time in search of information about outdoor and experiential education employment opportunities in the local area. A few weeks later, when he left the hustle and bustle of New York City and arrived in Boulder, I was the first person he sought out. The rest, as they say, is history... Josh went on to convince the then owner of BOSS to hire him on spec as the Schoolís director of marketing and administration--a move which paid off big for BOSS because Josh was able to significantly increase the program's exposure and enrollment--and soon thereafter, when AEE had foolishly passed on an opportunity to purchase The Outdoor Network for pennies on the dollar, at my suggestion Josh stepped up to the plate and bought the company from it's founding publishers, Mike Moniz and David Secunda, and later sold the company to me so he could focus his efforts exclusively on BOSS.

For years now, those of us who know Josh have stood by with a certain sense of awe as he garnered media hit upon media hit for both BOSS and himself. I myself even speculated here on the Beli-Blog last August that Josh seemed destined to host some sort of adventure-based reality television show, and from the looks of things, I wasnít that far off. As far as BOSS is concerned, Josh writes that heís not leaving the company, per se. Heíll remain president & CEO, and plans to be as involved as his travels allow, but for now, a chap named Jeff Sanders will be taking over operations at the BOSS base camp in Boulder, Utah.

Josh Bernstein's display of archaeology "like it's never been experienced before" is set to premier in late-2004/early-2005 on The History Channel.

May 15, 2004

Ed Brayton over at Dispatches from the Culture Wars has an interesting post on Pat Tillman, the National Football League player turned Army Ranger who died a few weeks ago in a firefight about 40 klicks southwest of Khowst in Afghanistan. Brayton writes:

I haven't paid much attention to the Pat Tillman situation. The pious invocations of heroism in the media have been met with sarcastic derision from some, while the casual dismissal of his sacrifice by the likes of Ted Rall have provoked cries of moral outrage from those who like their heroes unsullied by humanity. As is usual in such circumstances, both extremes amount to emotional, visceral responses that leave me bored. Neither side puts much thought into it, and neither hagiography nor demonization appeals to me because people are a mixture of saint and sinner and painting with that wide a brush almost always leaves one with a skewed image of reality. In America, hagiography (the making of saints) is an art form. We romanticize and mythologize everyone from George Washington to Michael Jackson (though that last has had his pedestal yanked out from under him recently) to our own parents. We've done it most obviously with the founding fathers, all of whom have been transformed into plaster saints by the visionless hacks of academic history, whose pallette contains only black and white and they aren't even clever enough to mix the two when they set brush to canvas. The reality of those men is, to a person of intelligence, far more interesting than the "I cannot tell a lie" variety. As it turns out - as it always turns out - Pat Tillman is much the same way.

Gwen Knapp has a report on the memorial service held for Tillman yesterday that shows a much more interesting, multidimensional person than the media has presented on either side. To begin with, how about this shocking statement from a funeral:

Tillman's youngest brother, Rich, wore a rumpled white T-shirt, no jacket, no tie, no collar, and immediately swore into the microphone. He hadn't written anything, he said, and with the starkest honesty, he asked mourners to hold their spiritual bromides.

"Pat isn't with God,'' he said. "He's f -- ing dead. He wasn't religious. So thank you for your thoughts, but he's f -- ing dead.''

What? This didn't happen for God, as well as country? A professional athlete turned soldier, and we're supposed to believe that he'd have no use for piety? Robbed of a cliche, where does that leave us?

We are so accustomed to the pairing of God and country that it just seems like one long word to us now, but Tillman apparently bucked that trend, as he bucked many others. Can you imagine the reaction of those who are so eager to make Tillman into the poster boy for godandcountry patriotism hearing that line? Or how about this tidbit:

His brother-in-law and close friend, Alex Garwood, described how Tillman handled his duties when he became godfather to Garwood's son. He came to the ceremony dressed as a woman. Not as a religious commentary. He was doing a balancing act.

"We had two godfathers, no godmother,'' Garwood explained. And what NFL player turned Army Ranger wouldn't don drag to make that math work?

A pro football player, the essence of male machismo in this nation, in a dress? You gotta love that.

Ms. Knapp asks, "Who the hell was this guy?"

From the sound of what his friends and family said, he seems like a guy I really would have enjoyed knowing. A fascinating blend of the intellectual and the physical. A guy who could stay up all night talking about the world's religions with you one night, then get up the next morning and play a game of barely controlled physical violence. Call it a contradiction if you want, that's okay. He was human. And for the first time, I find myself actually paying attention to him and caring that he died. Because being human, in the end, is a lot more interesting than being a plastic, one dimensional hero.

Well said, Ed; well said!

May 14, 2004

Q: When you were a kid, what were your favorite TV shows/Saturday morning cartoons?

Q: If you were forced to give up one modern convenience, which one would you choose NOT to give up because you absolutely could not live without it?

Q: Youíre standing on line in a supermarket and the person in front of you is short on cash to pay for all of his/her groceries. Do you: A. Help them out by giving them the money they need? B. Watch them struggle to decide which items they should put back in order to be able to pay? C. Roll your eyes, stamp your foot, and sigh because this is just taking too darn long and you need to pay for your six pack already and get to the BBQ before all the ribs and burgers are gone? D. You donít have any extra cash on you, but you have a credit card with no current balance, and so you offer to pay for both your items and the other personís, if they'll just agree to reimburse you with the cash they have on hand?

Q: Would you rather kiss your boyfriend or girlfriend for an hour straight in order to raise money for charity, or win $1,000 tax free?

May 13, 2004

A friend sent this link to an article posted on the In These Times website written by Kurt Vonnegut, whose concise verbal pronouncements often deflate those myths routinely offered as giving meaning to daily existence. Here's just a taste of what Vonnegut says in his May 10th piece entitled "Cold Turkey."

On our ability to be a civil and just society:

Many years ago, I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace. But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of Americaís becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.

On the meaning of life:

When you get to my age, if you get to my age, which is 81, and if you have reproduced, you will find yourself asking your own children, who are themselves middle-aged, what life is all about. ... I put my big question about life to my biological son [sic: who said]... ìFather, we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.î ... I have to say thatís a pretty good sound bite, almost as good as, ìDo unto others as you would have them do unto you.î A lot of people think Jesus said that, because it is so much the sort of thing Jesus liked to say. But it was actually said by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, 500 years before there was that greatest and most humane of human beings, named Jesus Christ.

On being either a liberal or a conservative in America:

Which one are you in this country? Itís practically a law of life that you have to be one or the other? If you arenít one or the other, you might as well be a doughnut. If some of you still havenít decided, Iíll make it easy for you. If you want to take my guns away from me, and youíre all for murdering fetuses, and love it when homosexuals marry each other, and want to give them kitchen appliances at their showers, and youíre for the poor, youíre a liberal. If you are against those perversions and for the rich, youíre a conservative. What could be simpler?

On the most abused, addictive & destructive drugs known to humankind:

One, of course, is ethyl alcohol. And President George W. Bush, no less, and by his own admission, was smashed or tiddley-poo or four sheets to the wind a good deal of the time from when he was 16 until he was 41. When he was 41, he says, Jesus appeared to him and made him knock off the sauce, stop gargling nose paint. ...[sic: and] the most abused and addictive and destructive drugs of all: fossil fuels. When you got here, even when I got here, the industrialized world was already hopelessly hooked on fossil fuels, and very soon now there wonít be any more of those. Cold turkey. Can I tell you the truth? I mean this isnít like TV news, is it? Hereís what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what weíre hooked on.

Vonnegut is widely known for using science fiction to characterize the world and the nature of existence as he experiences them. In stark contrast, here he dishes it out not as a reflection of something from outer space, but rather as what's typical of a politically-charged conversation any fully engaged American family might have while fighting over scraps the day after Thanksgiving.

May 11, 2004

Are rising gasoline prices driving you crazy? Do what I did yesterday; ride your bike to and from work. As I've written before, I recently figured out a way to safely ride the 12.3 miles from my home in downtown Indianapolis to my office up on the north side of town. Need a reason to ride (aside from the good it does your body and the environment)? Well, May is National Bike Month, while next Friday, May 21st, is designated as National Bike-to-Work-Day. Here in Indiana, there's even a Bike-to-Church-Day, which takes place next Sunday, May 23rd. (See, even God wants you to ride a bike!)

Not gonna happen, you say? Okay; well, for some people, either because of health or logistical reasons, it truly isn't going work. For those of you who just can't avoid the car and the high gasoline prices, there is some minor relief. Rising gasoline prices are boosting traffic to Internet sites which offer daily updates on the cost of a gallon of gas at local service stations. Two of the best-known Internet websites sites for monitoring gasoline prices are GasBuddy.com and Gaspricewatch.com. Both get their information from volunteers who note prices as they drive to work or do chores.

Gaspricewatch.com has been online since April, 1999, when the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was about $1.20. "Our whole goal is really just to point people to the cheapest price of gasoline in their neighborhoods," the site's founder, Brad Proctor, told the Reuters news service. He said his site has data from almost 128,000 gas stations in the U.S. GasBuddy.com directs visitors to more than 170 other websites which collect local price information. "A lot of times you can find gas 10 or 15 cents cheaper a gallon by just going a few more blocks,'' said Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com in Minneapolis, in comments to the Chicago Sun-Times. Both sites are free, but beware... they do carry lots of annoying advertisments.

May 10, 2004

By far, this year's 500 Festival Mini-Marathon was the best of the three road races I've participated in over the last 12 months. To say that I enjoyed this year's race would be a gross understatement. I had an absolute blast. Despite temperatures which rose well into the high 80's, by the time I finished the race I was so pumped and so happy that I thought to myself, "Let's do it again, right now!" In stark contrast to last year's Mini-Marathon, this time around I passed more people than passed me, and I literally enjoyed every step along the way. I even ran for part of the race, which is no small accomplishment.

As I wrote last Thursday, I was aiming to finish the race between 11:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., which would have put me in the 3 hr. to 3 hr. and 15 minute timeframe for the 13.1 mile course. What I hadn't figure on ahead of time though was the 23 minutes it would take my group (located in "Corral Q") to cross the start line. So while the race officially started at 8:03 a.m., Corral Q participants didn't hit the starting line until 8:25 a.m. (that sort of thing is bound to happen when you're running alongside but mostly behind 30,000 of your closest friends and neighbors).

My time--3 hours and 15 minutes on the nose--eclipsed last year's 500 Festival Mini-Marathon time of 4 hrs. and 1 minute by a full 46 minutes, and bettered my time of 3 hrs. and 36 minutes from the October 2003 running of the Indianapolis Half Marathon by 16 minutes. Unfortunately, while I was still out on the road, the race itself was 'Red-Flagged'--which means race officials felt that the temperature on the course was too hot, so they urged those who remained on the course to slow down, and they suspended the timing of the race for those left on the route, and they stopped keeping track of the order in which the remaining runners finished--so I have no official validity of my time or order of finish. Since I purchased someone else's entry into the race (which friend and race coordinator Beth was quick to point out after the race is a very naughty thing to do), if the results of those who finished under the red flag are eventually posted, they'd be found by searching here for bib number "19191", city "Carmel", state "IN", and division either "F" or "F3034" (and you'll have to contact me off-blog for the first name and last name, which the person I purchased my entry from would prefer not have listed here on my website).

Anyway, despite the heated conditions, I had a great time, and before this posts goes on for too much longer, here are some additional highlights from the race:

Best / Worst T-shirt: A guy in front of me at mile number three had a T-shirt which read See you at the finish... Crown Hill Cemetery. Not too encouraging, but at time it did made me laugh. When I got home though and my roommate told me that he'd heard on the news that a 33-year-old male runner had collapsed and died on the course, the T-shirt flashed thru my mind, and this time it wasn't so funny.

Best Overheard Line: Tell me again, why are we doing this? I heard that one at least a half-dozen times this year, as opposed to saying it myself at least a half-dozen times last year!

Best Walking Buddies: Those of you who know me know all too well that I'll talk to just about anyone. So it stands to reason that during a 13.1 mile race, of course I'd met a lot of nice and interesting people along the way. This year's race was no different. The four or so miles I spent walking along with Barb and Angie from Evansville was a real highlight. Both were participating in the race as a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, and were walking in honor of Barb's young daughter, Lauren, who is now leukemia-free. I'm going to look into participating in future races as part of Team In Training! Looks like a very worthwhile and fun cause to support. Runner-up in the Best Walking Buddy category... this nice woman named Katie, who it turns out knows my roommate's sister really well because they work together in the same department over at Lilly. Oh, and while we didn't walk/run together during the race itself, I did bump into my other friend named Katie (pictured here), as well as fellow Indianapolis Ambassadors member Stan (pictured here).

Best Lesson Learned: This year I brought along the key to the front door of my apartment AND the key to my apartment building. Last year I forgot the building key, which meant that I was locked out of my building after the race for an excruciating painful amount of time. (Note to self for next year... in addition to wearing a hat--which I did this year but didn't do last year--apply sunscreen to your ears and neck. Right now I'm a little red around my ears and under my collar.)

Biggest Accomplishment: Ran the last mile, non-stop, and even managed to smile afterwards! (Lori, who comments on many of the postings seen here on the Beli-Blog, was there at the finish line and was kind enough to capture some of those smiling moments for all to see... Click here for smile number one, here for smile number two, and here for smile number three. Thanks, Lori, for coming out to support me and your co-worker. The fact that he couldn't be found after the race was my good fortune. There's nothing better than a smiling face to greet you after 13 or so grueling miles!)

Best Fans Along the Race Route: A whole bunch of crazy dudes, a couple of whom are pictured here, out in front of the Hi Neighbor Tavern at around mile number nine or so along the race course were passing out cold beer to anyone who'd had their fill of water and Gatorade. Totally Swedish!

Well, that's all for now on this year's 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. A special thanks goes out to everyone who helped me get to this point... from those of you in Vermont and Connecticut to those right here in Indiana and back in Colorado, you know who you are, as do I... your friendships, encouraging words, and simple acts of kindness have meant a lot to me. You're amazing people. Happy Monday to all!

May 7, 2004

Q: Some people collect fine art, while others have a passion for baseball cards. How about you? Do you collect anything in particular? If you don't, did you collect anything as a kid, or would you like to in the future?

Q: When you think back to your high school days, do you have good, bad, or mediocre memories of those four years?

Q: This Sunday is Mother's Day. If you're a Mom, what's the best Mother's Day gift you've ever received? If you're not a Mom, what's the best Mother's Day gift youíve ever given to one?

Q: If you could be the host of any past or present television game show, which show would you choose to host? (If you need a little help identifying all of the possibilities, click here for a list of shows and hosts!)

May 6, 2004

Around one year ago today, on just two days notice, I foolishly decided to participate in my first half-marathon. (I say 'foolishly' because I had done no training beforehand, and by the time I hit mile number seven I was hating life, big time.) Nevertheless, on May 3rd, 2003, I completed my first 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, finishing in 4 hours and 1 minute (and placing 22,242 out of 23,000 registered runners). Five months later, in October, I completed the 2003 Indianapolis Half-Marathon; this time in 3 hours and 36 minutes (and placing 98th out of 98 male runners in the 35-39 age category).

With those previous results in mind, this weekend I'll be participating in my third half-marathon. The 2004 500 Festival Mini-Marathon kicks off at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and with any luck I'll finish the race between 11:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., and won't be hating life afterwards :-) A full update to follow on Saturday and/or Sunday. Happy Thursday everyone!

May 5, 2004

My Mother (who by the way did end up getting a computer, which I'll write about later this week) was quick to point out that yesterday's pictures were nice and all, but why hadn't I posted the pictures of my brother that I swiped from his photo album during my recent visit to Vermont. Right you are, Mom. Here's one of my big brother, Kenny, enjoying some tree-time in Sedona, Arizona:

And, here are links to two more Kenny pictures (Pic 1, and Pic 2), both showing him where he does some of his greatest work... in and around the kitchen.

Word has it that Kenny recently participated in BIKE NEW YORK, which takes bicyclists on a 45-mile ride the five boroughs of New York City on traffic-free roads thanks to the NYC Police Department. I also received word from my Mom that while on a recent trip down south, Kenny stopped off in Alabama to participate in a auction of some sort involving unclaimed baggage from the major airlines. (More on that whole experience when I get the story directly from the Triribbian chef himself.)

That's all for today. Happy Wednesday Everyone!

May 4, 2004

I have this bad habit of posting photos on the Pictures page of my site, and then not telling anyone about it. So, without further adieu, hereís some info and links to some of the latest pictures posted to the site.

Team Valashinas: My good buddy Rob sent a bunch of pictures a few weeks ago. Rob lives in beautiful Boynton Beach, Florida, with his wonderful wife Kimberly, daughter Lauren, and young son Bobby. Here's a shot of the entire family. Rob and I have known each other since the mid-1980s. Heís one of my oldest and ëbestestí friends.

Christoph: When last we saw Christoph (a roommate of mine from Boulder), he was paragliding somewhere over Germany. Well, he still lives in Germany, and here's what he looks like without a helmet on. And ladiesÖ Christoph has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder; heís single, straight, and available; and, heís just dying for a reason to return to the United States. Anyone interested? If so, contact me off-Blog for Christoph's e-mail addy.

Team Obradovich: Here's a great shot of my pal John with his new daughter Jamee; and hereís another one of Jamee, this time showing off her mommy, Vanessa. Finally, hereís one of Jamee all on her own. (John and I worked together back in 1996 and 1997 on Adventure Travel Business magazine and the Adventure Travel Trade Association. John lives in Reno, Nevada, where he's thriving as a mortgage consultant.

Renee Does Mexico: My former co-worker, colleague, and to this day, trusted friend and personal advisor Renee, took a trip with her main man John to Mexico last December. Here's a shot of Renee enjoying some of the local flavor. Iím not sure who the guy is over her left shoulder, but Iím pretty sure itís not John.

Team Greenfield: Hereís a picture of Laura, Galen, and Davis Greenfield. Lauraís an architect in Boulder, and her office used to be upstairs from mine at The Outdoor Network. Lauraís a great tennis player, and her kids, Galen and Davis, are just awesome little guys!

Thinner Mikal: And finally, for those of you who havenít seen me in a while, here's the latest shotÖ taken just last week, this is me down 65 lbs. or so from last September:

May 3, 2004

Confession Time: According to Blender Magazine, I have really bad taste in music. Of the songs Blender identifies as the 50 Worst of All Time, I like no less than 10 of them, including the number one worst song of all time, Starship's We Built This City.

Spring Cleaning: I spent the better part of this past weekend engaged in spring cleaning sorts of activities. I even went as far as taking my mattress and box spring off the frame so I could vacuum under the bed, and found a bunch of clothes in my closet that could be donated to Goodwill (if I can just get over that "well, I'm saving that stuff for my kids" story).

Posting Problem Solved: Last weekend I posted a notice about a problem associated with the commenting feature on the "By The Number" postings on the left-hand side of this page. That problem is now fixed, so if you're interested in making comments, post away.

Torturing Prisoners: Did it really surprise anyone when word leaked out late last week that U.S. soldiers and military personnel had been torturing Iraqi prisoners of war? The indignation that the media and military has propagated and portrayed is laughable. Itís an unjustified war to begin with, so the whole notion that ërules of warí (which is an oxymoron to begin with) would be followed at any point along the way is a total joke. Maybe Iím the only one, but I sort of expected this type of behavior from our so-called 'heroes' in Iraq.