Christmas list time

Well my hope of seeing Kingdom Hearts 2 or legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess up on the store shelves for this season failed to be realized. However Games shall not be absent from my highlight this year. First is the "HP Photosmart R717 Digital Camera with HP Instant Share and 50 Free Prints from Snapfish.com" on HP.COM well this is no longer on my christmas list.. because i bought it... Today I wanted to track my package and went back to HP.COM (Academic pricing of course) and the camera was another ten percent off.. Darn them.. So i bought it again.. well not the R717 exactly but the R817. I thought that i would like the extra megapixal but after looking at the 5.1MP photos I have, I cannot imagine needing them bigger. So the R817 is supposed to be a better quality but only 5.1MP and a higher res video (which is what i think is great! The video is what sold me actually. Now I will have to return the original when it gets here.. which normally (for online stores) requires me to pay for shipping. Oh well.. It ended up I got the R817 for the price of the R717 minus the 256MB SD Card.

Second would be the games I am hoping for. Mario & Luigi: Partners in time and also Animal Crossing. Both are from NINTENDO and are for the Nintendo DS system. (I just hope I can pry the system from Aaris's hands to play the game.) If I had to choose I might say I need Mario more than Animal Crossing as I have followed the Mario RPG Series since the beginning with Square.

3) World of Warcraft 60 Day Pre-Paid 4) iTunes Music Store Gift Card
5) CD / DVD Sleeves, 100 Pack, White (6.99 at compusa.com 2.99 (for 50) at fry's electronics)
6) Voice Recognition software $40 IBM ViaVoice Simply Dictation For OS X http://www.academicsuperstore.com/market/marketdisp.html?PartNo=598665
7) 1GB SD Card $42.99-69 FRY's Special from time to time can be as low as 42.99 http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4652858?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG 8) USB iMic $29-39 or Headset $34 (MAC OSX)
Griffin iMic USB Audio Interface : 9066-IMIC2 http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71902/wo/X33HNj141W9F3TGoFBFYBn96yHF/15.0.19.1.0.8.25.7.11.7.3
Logitech Premium USB Headset 350 http://www.academicsuperstore.com/market/marketdisp.html?PartNo=730237&qk_srch=usb+headset
9) Chronicles of narnia Soundtrack

Mario Kart DS

I got Mario Kart DS today. It has been out for one day. Why so long to get it? Well every retailer in Sacramento were not getting their games till today as tuesday is the usual day for game releases. Also Nintendo rarely gets things out on time. The micro was not seen in most stores for about 2 weeks. As long as they are on time with the revolution I will be happy. I expect to be playing the revolution on the release day, (Mario 128 would be nice.) Anyhoo here is my friend code to add me to you're game if you want. (you should add as many codes as you can find so there will be 3 other players when you want to play.) 382311564144

Some Random Stuff

My new favorite Quote: After a shaky, underpowered start, this machine [mac] matured into a well-integrated system which was not only very powerful, but a real pleasure to use... However, the Macintosh is not the last word in interface design, and if Microsoft had been the innovative company it calls itself, it would have taken the opportunity to take a radical leap beyond the Mac, instead of producing a feeble, me-too imitation. - Douglas Adams 1995. I got a 53 words per min. at typingtest.com With a 98% accuracy (I put a period instead of a comma) Give it a try! Use 1-800-Free411, strategic advertising pays for this free service, brilliant! I think a 63.5% is my lowest test grade ever. But I guess the entire class did horrible because after the curve it came to 79%. Im hoping to make it 82% because one question I marked C (which is correct). Unfortunately it was keyed "Both A&B are correct" as C was A before the test was randomized Get it while it's hot.. Only 2.99 a year (thats where I got this domain) at smallbusiness.yahoo.com Reason #214 Why I enjoy the disneyland resort: They reversed my 966$ charge for forgetting to cancel 3 room reservations. Mom and Aunt Judi say they know I canceled, but if any 2 people have memories as bad as mine it would be them. :)

What a week.

You would think a trip to disneyland would be a thing to look forward to. Well in some ways it always is but this trip was almost more work then fun. It started with a $966 charge on my credit card the day before leaving. Three of the 4 rooms reserved back in may were never canceled, and they charge the first night for uncanceled rooms (rack rate). The hotel we did end up with was cheeper per night but the clerk, without asking, waited for 3 rooms together for us 3 groups staying there (each of which had a retarded and/or handicapped person). Well that took forever, then when we asked what was taking so long they said that we could have the rooms if we didn't mind they hadn't cleaned the carpet. Well why not wait another twenty min. per room after waiting hours already. 40 min. later nothing. We went and asked about the holdup. Only two of the rooms were done, what an idiot.. why not let us have the rooms that were ready. Aunt Judi, who has heart trouble, had some experiences to recall. It actually started with Indiana Jones. Lets just say that she puts the screams of the people on rollercosters to shame. And was in some sort of shock after getting off the tower. (and I didn't sugest she go. Unfortunately I also didn't object. After all, there was a 70 year old going on with us. But I'm sure to Aunt Judi it was the same thing.) From then on I made sure to exagerate the twists and turns on every ride. (And as it turns out even though the 70 year old afterwords agreed with me that it was a mistake, she [the seventy year old] must have not thought it overwelming as she went again later that day. And Aunt Judi, who stayed an extra 2 days showed up to turn in the rental car and the computers were down. After getting to the checkin at the airport they informed here the ticket was purchased for a wrong date and would cost 62 to upgrade. Well it was still fun to ride space mountain and all the fun rides. I didn't get to see the new "Talk with crush" but oh well. And long story short I got the charges from the disneyland hotel reversed and payed the extra 62 bucks so Aunt Judi didn't have to sleep in the airport. (dont tell her).

Phishers have changed bait

Well the public is getting smarter. Email's telling you that Amazon, Ebay, or Paypal need you to resubmit your personal information because there was a "problem" is no longer cutting it. The new trick is to send an email informing you someone is trying to steal your identity. Unfortunately the person trying to steal your information is the email sender. Take this email I received, supposedly from paypal. The link is actually but instead of "Click Here" it has [https://www.paypal.com/row/wf/f=ap_email] to make you think thats what it links to. A few tips for online protection. 1. Only give personal information like credit card number, account number, and social security number once. From then on only use passwords. If you lost a credit card you will have to give paypal or amazon the new number (Once only). If you get a request to resubmit such info report such request to the fraud division of the business or bank. 2. Banks and Credit Card Companies never request information from email and rarely from phone. If emailed, disregard email and go to your banks website without using a link. If called say thank you, I will call you back now, then hang up and dial the number on the back of your credit or ATM card for that financial institution. 3. If you have popups or computer problems, do use your credit card or account number. Some spyware can watch what you type. Never use a public computer to enter financial information ever. Online Banking: (follow all above steps plus...) 1. Sign up at the actual bank. That way only your password and username are used online. 2. If your social security number is your account number get it changed. 3. If your social security number is your password get it changed. (most banks no longer have 2 and 3 but some older accounts still have not changed to the new policies) It should be noted that online is still relatively safe. The VAST majority of identity theft is in the physical world and the average $$ lost is about 10 times more in the "real" world. For example the only family member who I know had such a problem was 2 $2500 purchases at home depot from their credit card in buffalo New York. The only place they stopped in Buffalo was a gas station, not surprising the card number stolen was the one used to purchase gas.

Augustus Gloop..

Now, I just listened to two podcasts about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One (cinecast) thought Burton was trying to please his creepy story loving fans and his fun loving fans at the same time. They missed the point on two parts. First Burton wasn't trying to please fans but picked a story that was creepy. Second there are no two fan bases for tim burton. Even his "serious/dark" movies are nice and light, Sleepy Hollow for example. Also his "fun" movies are creepy if you get them. Pee Wee's Big Adventure for example. The other (Family Review) thought that this was a remake of the previous film, when actually it was an adaption of Dahl's book. "Why add all the 'Charlie' story?" They ask. Why didn't it end with the factory tour.. why all the story? Well Tim Burton is big on story and did a great job putting the book on screen. Although it is a personal preference wether you like a big screen adaptation. I know the Michael Chriton book Sphere was a favorite book, and the movie was almost exactly like the book but I didn't like it. And the Lord of the Rings movies were mostly like the book and I loved them. Anyway Here is one of the song/poems from the book... You can download the song from the movie Here and follow along with the red and green words. (green are words added/changed for clarity due to not being able to have the entire song.)

"Augustus Gloop..."

(from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) "Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop! The great big greedy nincompoop! How long could we allow this beast To gorge and guzzle, feed and feast On everything he wanted to? Great Scott! It simply wouldn't do! However long this pig might live, We're positive he'd never give Even the smallest bit of fun Or happiness to anyone. So what we do in cases such As this, we use the gentle touch, And carefully we take the brat And turn him into something that Will give great pleasure to us all– A doll, for instance, or a ball, Or marbles or a rocking horse. But this revolting boy, of course, Was so unutterably [Augustus Gloop so big and] vile, So greedy, foul, and infantile He left a most disgusting taste Inside our mouths, and so in haste We chose a thing that, come what may, Would take the nasty taste away. 'Come on!' we cried, 'The time is ripe To send him shooting up the pipe! He has to go! It has to be!' And very soon, he's going to see Inside the room to which he's gone Some funny things are going on. But don't, dear children, be alarmed; Augustus Gloop will not be harmed, [repeat] Although, of course, we must admit He will be altered quite a bit. He'll be quite changed from what he's been, When he goes through the fudge machine: Slowly, the wheels go round and round, The cogs begin to grind and pound; A hundred knives go slice, slice, slice; We add some sugar, cream, and spice; We boil him for a minute more, Until we're absolutely sure That all the greed and all the gall Is boiled away for once and all. Then out he comes! And now![but not] By grace! A miracle has taken place![repeat] This boy, who only just before Was loathed by men from shore to shore, This greedy brute, this louse's ear, Is loved by people everywhere! For who could hate or bear a grudge Against a luscious bit of fudge?"

Movies, The good, the Bad and the ???

First off is the Chicken Little movie.
Other than Shrek, the non-pixar theaters have had trouble making a critically acclaimed all CGI movie. But as always I hope for the best with Disney. It would be nice if this and Toy Story 3 both came out as hits, enticing Pixar back. But as we all know, CGI failure at the Disney Studios will make Pixar smug. They will remain insistent on demands Disney can't grant. On the other hand if the Disney Studios do show they don't need Pixar, Disney may not want to renew their relationship.

Second are the sequels/remakes
The Mask of Zorro was not that great. I loved the movie but it wasn't that great, just campy. Sequels are hard to make especially when it was a perfectly done first movie. Such is King Kong. It may have been a wonderful idea of a movie in 1933 but watching that movie now is painful if your not a old movie buff. However if anyone can make it work it is Peter Jackson. Now all the sequels/remakes about to be released can make moviegoing suck. However if Batman Begins showed us anything it is a sequel can be fresh. And as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory proves, only a pre-prejudice to the original can ruin a genius redo.

The worst is going to be DOOM.
This movie was originally going to be a blockbuster budgeted movie from Warner. When Universal was able to grab the rights of this fast track property in 2004 it quickly laid out a schedule which even with a 2 month extension took only a year from start to screen. To put this into context choosing a script and director, filming, and post production can take a year and a half each. This movie took a year and a half from the grabbing of the DOOM property to the screen next month.** This isn't a list of the worst movies, but a list of movies I would like to look forward too that might not live up to my hopes. Well, I may be painting a bleak picture but the future is not that bad. I mean Harry Potter and The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe is also just around the corner. On my watch list of posable good movies is Serenity and Mirror Mirror. (Speaking of Serenity, the TV show Firefly was on a short time and I never got into the story-line. Mirror Mirror looks way weird but in a good way. And I love Henson stuff. I'm so looking forward to The Power of the Dark Crystal) **I found it interesting after watching months of interviews back in 2001 and 2002 with "Dwayne Johnson" the Serious Actor he became "The Rock" after only the first round of Scorpion King focus groups.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

It happens to be the International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrrrrr what be a better language? I heard of this most interesting of days when Dave Barry's column used to be funny. I still find him funny at times but not enough to read his articles (which are on "hiatus"). My favorite pirates are A. Captain Jack Sparrow and B. The Dread Pirate Roberts. Now as it is unlikely to have a new adventure with the Dread Pirate Roberts (as the sequel "Buttercups Baby is more like a running joke by the author William Goldman) I will have to look forward to PoTC:2 and PoTC:3 But for you who want to Type like a pirate Here is a keyboard for you...

books and movies

I posted some songs I have in my iPod a while back.. I thought I would post the movies i have on my shelf and the books i can find around here.. Books So many I can't recall. But the ones in my iPod right now are the books Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini, The Artemis Fowl books, The Traveler (John Twelve Hawks), Harry Potter books, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Wizard of Earthsea Series by Ursula K. LeGuin Enders Game books by Orson Scott Card (including the shadow series) All vampire books by Anne Rice, All books by Douglas Adams, Dan Brown Books (starting with Da Vinci code.) All Michael Crichton books. The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind, Dean Koontz books, The Butlerian Jihad Series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, Achk too many good books out there. (why is the two thickest / longest ones (Eragon and Harry Potter books) considered children's books?) Some movies I have: Bugs Life, Aqua Diaries, Beatlejuice, Brother bear, Edward Scissor hands, Fantasia 2000, Harry Potter Movies, Lord of the rings movies, Hocus Pocus, Joseph and the technicolor dream-coat, legend, Lilo and Stitch, Little Shop of Horrors, Mary Poppins, Monsters Inc, Moulin rouge, Mulan, Newsies, October Sky, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, Sleeping beauty, Spider-man 1&2, Spirited Away, Star-trek first contact, Star-trek 4, Strangers with candy, Tarzan, The Black Hole (cause its so bad its good) The dark Crystal, Emperors new groove, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Nightmare Before Christmas, Sword in the Stone, Witches, Toy Story, Tron, Twister, Xmen. Batman Begins (future) Charlie & the chocolate factory (future)

Happy Birthday Mario

Happy 20th Birthday Mario (Sept. 13, 2005) Although I never made it to level 8 on Super Mario Brothers I have loved and completed every other major Mario Bro. game, Mario World game and Mario RPG game. Apart from his own game Mario has starred and appeared in many sports, action, and other video games. Some even chalk up Nintendo's survival to their franchise games. (I know I'm looking forward to Mario 128 and Zelda: The Twilight Princess.)

Interests

AP HOLDER JUNE 4, 2005 - JUNE 3, 2006

This is my 3rd or 4th round with a Annual Passport. But this time as an AP holder I haven't returned. I'm thinking October.

NIGHT ELF DRUID DEC. 25, 2004 - PRESENT

Still playing. though not as often. But as the host for the guild website even when I don't play I stay in the game a little.

iPOD MAY 2003 - PRESENT

I am currently on my second iPod, used the first to death.. Also have a shuffle, want a Nano. This relates a bit to other interest: Audiobooks. Audible and ipod is great for audiobook lovers. I have 70 or so unabridged audiobooks. That many would have cost around 2-3 thousand dollars. I have probably spent only 200 bucks (20x10months) your first month you get 5 books and you have no obligation for more months. And ever month you resign up you can get 3 books. At 20 bucks a month its the best deal out there. (And ipods are the best for audio books, CD Quality with the the place saving convenience of cassettes.)

MAC OS X AUGUST 2004 - PRESENT

Well after loving my iPod (and being an apple fan-boy forever) I decided to make the "Switch" which sounds scary isn't that bad. My powerbook has changed my life so much. It is also not incompatible with life as Microsoft has led everyone to believe. Now in the past it may have been so. I have seen past mac operating systems and OS X blows everything else out of the water, even XP. (But i still keep my XP PRO desktop and end up using it often, especially as I can only create images on the dead program "Microsoft Image Composer". (I really need to learn my Adobe/Macromedia products.)

NINTENDO 1986 - PRESENT

I say 1986 but I don't remember when I got my first Nintendo. I do know it was shortly after the NES came out. Currently Im a Nintendo DS player. The Nintendo Micro looks very attractive, but its hard for me to buy GBA (Game Boy Advance) games because my first gameboy advance (my first portable game system at all) was stolen with tens of games. For some reason its just frustrating to buy a game for the second time. (plus I need to save up for the revolution in 2006)

EVERYTHING TNBC AND TIM BURTON 1993 - PRESENT

I've been fan of Tim Burton from the beginning.. One of the few that liked TNBC (The Nightmare Before Christmas) from the moment it came out in theaters. Not all of his movies are masterpieces but most are good enough to own. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is going to be a pre-order) Incidentally I'm a Danny Elfman fan through Tim Burton's movies. Pee Wee's Big Adventure couldn't have been such a classic without the both of them. (P.S. here is to hoping that the corpse bride is another TNBC)

TV SHOWS: USA NETWORK/COMEDY CENTRAL/E!/G4

I seem to spend all my TV time on 4 channels. And all but USA has only one show I watch religiously. Although I do like Reno 911 on Comedy Central too. And I must admit that I press record whenever I see CSI: Whatever or Law & Order: Whatever on the schedule grid, with the hope of one I haven't seen. I wonder if you put all CSI and Law & Orders back to back if it would last over a year... (P.S. Although TiVO will always have a place in my heart I am loving my Dual Tuner on my Comcast DVR.)

WEBSITES

I enjoy creating websites. I have one for my guild (thedungeonmasters.com) and one for my family (howtonfamily) my work one (PCFOCUS.NET) and a few others. Im not a good coder, got a C in Java/perl class. But I do pretty good HTML and can recreate almost anything on frontpage. Also im learning to customize PHP websites and forums.

Ipod Graveyard

A longtime favorite news feed "engadget", had a great article on past iPods today. It reminded of me of that first ipod back in '03. The 3rd Generation iPod arrived as I was drooling over the Apple online store with my credit card out. I might have had some control if i hadn't been spending my time wandering the isles of Compusa, returning to the Digital Audio counter time and time again. I am glad I became a iPod owner. But be warned that second apple purchase will be much more easy to make. You will realize after using apple products that although they are sold at a premium they don't have the compatibility problems of the past. (example text.doc might be a word document emailed to my powerbook. I can pay for word like on my PC or use the openoffice port "NeoOfficeJ" but surprise surprise it opens with no programs installed!) Well once I grew to love my iPod I went dual platform with my desktop being PC and my first laptop in Aug. '04, a PowerBook. With the student discount a $399 iPod was $369 and $300 back with purchase of a Laptop. Well $69 for an iPod I couldn't pass up, so I got my 4th Generation which I still have today. I must say the new $299 ones with a color screen is making me think of another one. But a $199 2gig Nano is what has everyone talking. Sorry for my gushing about my Apple stuff. But its just so great. I got my sister a iPod Mini and my brother constantly has my Shuffle. My brother, who doesn't ever spend money even on books at CSUS (he uses the library reserve system), wants me to get one of the new iPod Nanos. Of which he couldn't remember the name and called it an iPod Galore or iPod Nemenor. I must say it is tempting with the color screen and near Shuffle size & Weight.

Globalization of the internet

LARGE COMPANIES CONSOLIDATE WEB CONTENT Globalization, Sometimes called Walmartization is picking up speed on the internet. This time, however, Walmart is not taking part as they have kept their quarter trillion dollor company out of the content market, which is what the internet is. This of course is not for lack of trying. They have moved into the music market but can't seem to beat out iTunes, and DVD rental which fell so far behind Blockbuster and Netflix that they nixed the idea and decided to just resale Netfllix service. The news of the day is that News Corp is buying IGN. Also known as "Snowball" network. Which includes Gamespy.com & Rottentomatoes.com. If this is a bad (or good) thing is yet to be seen. This caught my eye because Rotten Tomatoes has been a nice, non-corporate, place to see what movies are good (and how good). Will the future of Rotten tomatoes include a push for Fox Movies? The new Family Guy DVD may have been a front page feature before because its a hilarious show, now if it shows up as a featured DVD it may be suspect. Some of the site i have used as free good utility sites is Flickr.com and Sacramento.Craigslist.org. Flicker (as well as konfabulator and others) have been purchased by Yahoo! which is becoming more google like by day, and Craigslist has been partly purchased by ebay.com. However the big three search engines still remain big developers of content rather then purchasers of such they all incorporate acquisitions into their empires. THE BIG THREE AT HOME One thing we see in the world of the big three is that the differences are starting to blur. In-fact they crawl each other so many of the results are the same as well. The biggest most recent change is a more open development and customizable pages. Although MSN and Yahoo have long made their home pages customizable they have recently made FULLY customizable pages that can have your choice of web feeds among many other things. The result of Open Development and Customizable pages make the three into the same function. One develops a feature the others can release the same feature almost immediately. OPEN DEVELOPMENT Google: Google Labs labs.google.com MSN: MSN Sandbox sandbox.msn.com Yahoo!: Yahoo! Next next.yahoo.com Custom Pages Google: http://www.google.com/ig MSN http://start.msn.com/ Yahoo! http://my.yahoo.com/ MSN's custom "Start.com" is, as stubborn MSN is apt to do, Internet Explorer only. However it is by far the best with full RSS compatibility and popular RSS feeds to start with.

Major Disasters of Bush Administration

I don't mean to get political. I just think the list on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart yesterday (Tuesday August 6th) was very funny. Every presidency has their problems no matter what party they belong to. That is what government is designed to do, solve problems. The list is one of "Major Disasters of Bush Administration" and has 26 Alphabetic item where Katrina is (obviously) the latest. I didn't see the list on their website so thought i would copy it here.. [x] Abu Graib [x] Bin Laden [x] Chalabi [x] Deficit [x] Enron [x] Failure To Find WMDs [x] Halliburton [x] Iraq [x] John Bolton [x] Katrina [_] Locusts [_] Mars Attacks [_] North Korea [_] Osama & Jenna [_] Pregnancy: Osama & Jenna [_] Queer Revolt [_] Rodents of Unusual Size [_] Syrian War [_] Tigers [_] Unicyclists, Nuclear [_] Voldemort [_] WWIII [_] X-Rated Tape: Osama & Jenna [_] Yam Shortage [_] Zero People left on earth What caught my eye was of course Rodents of Unusual Size which is from the best movie of all time, The Princes Bride. Also great movies: Mars Attacks & Harry Potter (Staring Voldemort). (thanks to the "TV Squad" for pulling the image of their TiVO.)

Campout at Aunt Nelda's Cabin.

Our annual reunion at washington city california.

Unfortunately my favorite hike to the waterfall i missed by choosing an inopportune time to relax on the couch inside the cabin. But it was a great campout as always. I did sleep well on the double deck air mat that i wrote about previously. It did loose air, and could have used a little more air on the 3rd night.. but because the mattress was so thick it still kept me up off the ground.

Back to school

Well its that time of year again.. Time to look at the clock 3 or 4 times thinking up excuses to miss school then running out the door arriving a few minuets late. (& blame it on the traffic). Its not just me is it? Well my first class, which is always the one in most jeopardy (as demonstrated last year when i didn't go to my first class more than a half dozen times), is another Stat Class. I don't know if i can take another stat class. If there are any more stat classes after this I will scream. They try to hide it too. Calling it "Data Management" isn't fooling anyone (not anymore anyway). Well today the school unveiled the new logo. It can be found at http://www.csus.edu (as the picture is hard to make out.) I think it is great. It does however have a small resemblance of the church young women's logo. One more thing.. Thanks to NPR for finally getting out their stuff as pod-casts. Now if they would just put out "All things considered" out as well, I will be happy.

Aaris' b-day today

Today was Aaris' Birthday. (the above picture is her birthday party on friday, before her grandpa Wallace went back to colorado). I got her a Nintendogs for her birthday which she was happy to get.. Unfortunately, although it would be great for a 7 year old kid, Aaris' speech difficulty which includes Rs and other letters makes it difficult and frustrating for her. She can't get past the naming. While my nintendog took about 20 saying's of the name for the dog to learn it hers took about 50+ and doesn't keep, requiring her to redo it over and over. I would not suggest this game for anyone under 10 (especially if any speech impediment is present.)

Otherwise she had a great birthday. One benefit of being the only kid in a house of adults is lots of presents...

My playlist

Although my iTunes has 2271 songs (now more legal than from back in the napster days.) my current playlist is 140 songs. I thought I would post them.. If you are looking for one of these let me know, I know where you can buy/find it.. The one I want to add to my collection isnt currently available (and mastercard says they have no plans to do so). It is the one in the Mastercard commercial of a family shoping for a vacation. It is a version of "Pure Imagination" that sounds like it is sung by Barenaked Ladies or smashmouth type band (some say the ataris, whoever they are) If you haven't seen it, the commercial Gorilla-ed the charlie and the chocolate factory movie. That means the company found some way to use a popular movie to market something without saying the name. In this case they took a song from the first movie and reworked it to make it hip-er. Anyway here is my playlist. 100 Years - Five For Fighting A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Daniel Bedingfield All These Things That I've Done - The Killers Augustus Gloop - Danny Elfman Another Postcard - Barenaked Ladies Tarzan and Jane - Aqua Are You Jimmy Ray - Jimmy Ray Are You Sure You Want To Be Famous? - Preeya Kalidas/Raza Jaffrey Around The World - Aqua Back From Mars - Aqua Beautiful Child - Rufus Wainwright Believe - Josh Groban Better off Alone - Alice Deejay Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows Feat Vanessa Carlton Birdhouse In Your Soul - They Might Be Giants Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65 Bolero (Original Film Version) - Various Artists (Moulin Rouge) Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day Bounce - Sarah Connor Burning Love - Wynonna Can't Hurry Love - Dixie Chicks Carrying the Banner - Newsies Clocks - Coldplay Come What May - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor Complainte De La Butte - Rufus Wainwright Corrupt - Karissa Noel Crazy In Love - Beyoncé Featuring Jay-Z Dance with me - Debelah Morgan Destination Moon - They Might Be Giants Don't Let Me Down - No Doubt Don't Let's Start - They Might Be Giants Don't Release Me - Dalip Tahil Double Trouble - John Williams Dr. Evil - They Might Be Giants Snuff Out The Light (Yzma's Song) - Eartha Kitt / Emperor's New Groove, The Elephant Love Medley - Nicole Kidman Ewan Mcgregor Jamie Allen Endless Night - Jason Raize Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag) - Sherman Brothers Feel - Robbie Williams Feel Good Inc (Single Edit) - Gorillaz Feeling This - Blink-182 Freaky Friday - Aqua Gasolina (Remix) - Daddy Yankee (feat. Lil Jon, P Green Hornet Theme - Al Hirt Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride - Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu & Kamehameah Schools Children's Chorus He Mele No Lilo - Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu & Kamehameah Schools Children's Chorus I Do - Toya I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - Hilton McRae/Siobhan McCarthy I Should Be Allowed to Think - They Might Be Giants I Want to Break Free - Queen If You're Not The One - Daniel Bedingfield In My Head - No Doubt In the Middle - Jimmy Eat World Ironside [Excerpt] - Quincy Jones Island in the Sun - Harry Belafonte Island in the Sun - Weezer Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants It's a Small World - Baha Men Its My Life - No Doubt Keeping the dream alive - Freiheit Kitchen Kabaret Medley - Disney la breeze - simian Lady - Lenny Kravitz Lahaina - Volcanos Lonely - Akon Lonely No More - Rob Thomas Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child Making Out - No Doubt Mamma Mia - Siobhan McCarthy Millennium - Robbie Williams mm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies Morning Hymn and Alleluia - Nuns Chorus Move Your Feet (Radio Edit) - Junior Senior Mr. Brightside - The Killers Dayo! (Bannana boat song) - Muppets & Harry Belafonte Muppets,Kermit the Frog & Jimmy Buff - My Little Grass Shack - Lisa Loeb My Own Home - Sherman Brothers No Apologies - Alanis Morissette No Way Out (Theme From Brother Bear) - Various Artists NUMA NUMA... - O-ZONE Ob La Di, Ob La Da - The Beatles OJ's brandy- what about us - OJ's Brandy One by One - Lebo M. One Day I'll Fly Away - Nicole Kidman Picture Book - The Kinks Pineapple Princess - Annette Funicello Platinum Blonde Life - No Doubt Proud Of Your Boy - Clay Aiken Rich Girl - Gwen Stefani Feat. Eve Rock DJ - Robbie Williams Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake Rumors - Lindsay Lohan saturday night at the movies - robson & jerome Seether - Veruca Salt Seize the Day - David (David Moscow) She's an Angel - They Might Be Giants Shut Up - Black Eyed Peas Somebody Told Me - The Killers Something - There Celin Dion; Peabo Bryson Spider - They Might Be Giants Standing Still - Jewel Starry Eyed Surprise - Paul Oakenfold Stuck - Stacie Orrico Sunrise - Norah Jones Take Me Away (Pre-Release Single) - Avril Lavigne Take Me - Out Franz Ferdinand Tarzan Boy - Flipper Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus The End of the Tour - They Might Be Giants The Flower of Carnage - Meiko Kaji The Girl In 14G - Kristin Chenoweth The Lioness Hunt - Lebo M. Lime in the Coconut - The Muppets The Name of the Game - Lisa Stokke/Nicolas Colicos The Old Hawaiian Way - Big Kahuna The Reason - Hoobastank The Remedy (I Won't Wor - Jason Mraz The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room - Hilary Duff The World Will Know - Newsies These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Jessica Simpson The bells are ringing - They Might Be Giants This Love - Maroon 5 Toxic - Britney Spears Trouble - Coldplay Twisted Nerve - Bernard Herrmann Under Attack - Lisa Stokke Vote Beeblebrox - Andy Dunlop, Chuck Norman, Douglas Payne, Fran Balke, Hannah Thomas, Miggy Barradas & Neil Hannon Wakko's America - Animaniacs We Are All Made Of Stars - Moby We Both Reached for the Gun - Danny Elfman Welcome - Various Artists What You Waiting For - Gwen Stefani When Christmas Comes To Town - Matthew Hall/Meagan Moore Who I Am - Jessica Andrews Woo Hoo - 5.6.7.8's Yeah! - Lil' Jon, Ludacris & Usher You Are My Number One - Smash Mouth You Don't Own Me - Bette Midler Goldie Hawn & Diane Keaton Your Song - Ewan McGregor And Alessandro Safina (now i just need songs with titles starting with J, Q, X, or Z)

Pawel's birthday

when I sent this post from my phone I posted "We had cake and Pawel is now a citizen." Well that sounded like the cake made him a citizen or something, (which is of course not the case). Well congrats to Pawel. Only Aaris' and Sammy's Birthday parties to go. Pawel's today (Thursday) Aaris' Friday and Sammy's Saturday. Sheri is getting a bounce house and shaved ice for the party. It will be like a circus around here for the next few days.

Steven returns home

My cousin Steve returned home today. Everyone met him at the airport. He served a mission for 2 years in the Chicago, Illinois mission. It seems that young men who leave on a mission from this house are cursed to go on a state-side mission. Well, like Ben Karoly says, the best place to serve a mission is wherever the Lord sends you.

Well this family never has trouble finding excuses to have a family BBQ. So after arriving home, about 5 times the ten or so who showed up at the airport joined us for swimming and food.

A day at the fair

Today our family went to the California State Fair. We saw the animals and exhibits. The show today was Carrot Top (who was actually quite funny). Aaris, of course, wanted to ride the carnival rides. They were around $3-4 each so we let her pick one. Keith went with here on the fairis wheel. Uncle Walace (Aaris' Grandpa) won (at great cost for foam pellet stuffed animals) 3 stuffed animals and a couple goldfish.