Wedding Engagement Photos!!!

We took engagement photos last weekend and they're now online for your viewing pleasure. I must warn you that they're not your typical engagement photos. In case you're wondering where we got some of our inspiration, check out the stuff below. Also, thanks to Leo Patrone for taking such amazing photos.

Emma and Jed's Engagments

Leo Patrone Photography

First of all, Emma and I are keen on 50s and 60s sensibilities: we both love the Beatles, Beach Boys, and very 60s movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's. (That should be pretty obvious in our photos.) Also, we love indie rock: The Killers, Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Arcade Fire, etc. So basically, we just stole elements of photos, movies, music videos that we liked and applied them to our little photo shoot. Questions?


The Bealtes


Jenny Lewis


The Killers


The Umbrellas de Cherbourg


American Gothic


Amelie


The Beach Boys


Breakfast at Tiffany's


Buddy Holly


Arcade Fire


Kate Nash



Grease


Beck


Lily Allen



Challengers


'To Sir with Love'

Again, with the Moosen?

I came home from work last week for lunch and there were two moose in our yard. Apparently, they had been there all morning. I just had to take some more moose pics. I hope you enjoy them!

I saw a flock of moosen!

I know this title doesn’t really make sense unless you’re a Brian Regan fan, so here’s a little clip explaining this. Anyway, I did see a flock of moosen today at work! I know right? Awesome. There were actually only two of them. (I’m not sure how many you need for a flock?) We saw them first in the parking lot; it looked like they were coming right up to the front door of City Hall to complain. Fortuitously enough, right next to me looking out the window was a newspaper guy, and so I told him this: “Hey, this would be a great title for a front page story: ‘Even the Moose Come to City Hall to Complain!’” He looked at me like I was an idiot, which is exactly how I felt after his condescending non-response. Still, what a great place to work and live! Here are a couple of pics that I took after I saw them in the parking lot before they scampered off into the woodsen.

A Thousand Words

Sometimes it’s easier to express a situation through a snapshot, a quick glimpse of the profundity of any given moment in time, than it would be to write an entire treatise on the subject. Hence the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Or Andrei Kirilenko might suggest a phrase from the Russian writer, Ivan Turgenev, who wrote "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound" (Fathers and Sons).

Thus I’ve decided that from now on I’m demanding a more visual form of communication from friends and family. If you want to text me that you’re hungry and want to eat; send me an image of you with an index finger pointed at your gaping mouth. If you’d like to send me an email about “a brief justification for the ontological necessity of modern man's existential dilemma;” send me a .jpg of Ethan Hawke—I’ll get it. Or if you’d like to send me the newest Twilight book for my birthday, simply snap photos of each page of the book, assemble the pictures in an easy-to-handle format, and then bind them together.

Here's some more photographs that convey meaning and would make great picture books.

September the sodding 24th...

Fourteen weeks before Christmas and already it's snowing?!

Moab, UT

Telluride, CO

I'm in Telluride right now for work. I'd write more, but I'm tired. Goodnight!

Aze Vicious

My nephew, Azer, wants to be Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols for Halloween. (He's starting therapy on Thursday.)

Soldier Hollow Classic: The "That'll Do" Series

Calexico and YouTube

I saw Calexico last week for free and it was stupendous. allmusic.com described Calexico: Southwestern style with an afro-peruvian, 50s and 60 jazz, country, and surf influence. (A little something for everyone then.) They have this amazing CD they made with Iron & Wine a few years back (click on 'History of Lovers'). The two bands then toured together and I caught one of their shows. The concert was awesome, but I was dating this girl at the time that decided to bring her "best friend" of the male persuasion to the concert, which made things awkward; needless to say they're now married. True story, but the concert still rocked.


Do you ever wish you had the One Ring of Power so that you could slip it on and be invisible? Think about that while you watch Elijah Wood here.

The SAT scores were just released by state, (South Carolina came in third from the bottom) watch this clip to see if you can figure out why.

Oh, and then watch this to view the explanation.

Animals at Play

311 Mixes it Up

I have a few guilty pleasure bands and 311 happen to be one of them. My bro-in-law got me into them right before I left on my mission, so it was fitting that he was there, along with his wife, to bask in the reggae-inspired rock/rap. He actually got us free VIP suites along with dinner (thanks Steve). Since I've been a long-time fan of 311 I'm pretty familiar with their catalogue, which why I was so pleased that 311 chose to play a lot of their hidden gems instead of just the hits.

I was talking to Steve and we were trying to figure out how 311 has remained relatively popular, since so many of their counterparts have fallen by the wayside in obscurity. But the more interesting question was whether or not 311 would remain a band that could continue to tour and fill arenas. Steve said that 311 lacked that 'classic' sound that makes bands like U2 and the Stones popular way into their 40s or 60s even! I said that the Red Hot Chili Peppers really don't have that classic sound he was talking about and that 311 has followed a similar pattern of rap/rock that RHCP had taken before they evolved into a more commercial mainstream rock band.

It's an interesting question because rock was founded on youthful arrogance that didn't trust anyone over 40. However, as rock bands begin to age they take their fans with them all the way to becoming senior citizens. What was once new becomes extremely old, but fans still pay enormous amounts of money to see these bands and maybe rekindle those nostalgic memories of 'sticking it to the man.' Thus, it sounds plausible that 311 could be touring well into their 60s collecting ticket revenues and social security checks along the way.

LeGrand

Football from Across the Pond

On Saturday I had the opportunity to watch Everton from the British Premier League practice at our soccer field in Park City. I talked to a couple of the blokes; they sounded a little rough around the edges so I can't print what they said in a family blog. But for all their British arrogance, they couldn't beat a lowly MLS team. So...Bob's your uncle?

Unraveling the Hip

Did you see the new J.J. Abrams’ movie preview yet? It’s super secret and veiled in mystery. Hmm…sounds perfect for the creator of Lost.

About the only thing worth watching on VH1 is The World Series of Pop Culture. Yesterday, while enjoying the talents of The Fiery Furnaces and Yo La Tengo, I discovered that my friend, Christian, had tried out for it unsuccessfully. He was actually happy that he didn’t know the name of Magnum P.I.’s dog, which would have solidified his eternal geekiness.

What are the most unforgettable movie songs? Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic or ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from Rocky III? Go here for the answers.

Check out this preview for this Sundance movie just once.

Did you serve a mission in Latin America? If not, then you might not know who Che Guevara is, but his life story is being made into a movie by a guy that looks like his spitting image: Benicio del Toro.

Speaking of mustaches…

The critics are loving Hairspray.

Congratulations to Patrick and Patricia for the new baby!! Love you guys!

I'm Totally Going Hunting this Fall

Somewhere, behind that giant Alaskan grizzly carcass, sits the legendary Karl Malone. I bet he totally slayed this thing with his bear ..... er, bare hands. I couldn't resist that pun. If only Karl Malone had displayed this killer instinct on the court, THE JAZZ MAY HAVE WON A CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!

This bear killing reminds me of one of the most super ludicrous bad guys in movie history. If you haven't ever seen Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, go now to the nearest place where videos are sold or rented, and buy or rent this video. The main antagonist, whom Bruce Lee opposes, is an uber-crimelord that has no right hand, only things he attaches as the circumstances call for. For the better part of the movie, he is wearing a bear paw. Just walking around his dojo and rock garden, strolling through the orchids .... with a bear hand.

Courtesy of http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17076 and http://deadspin.com/sports/die-bear-die/karl-malone-will-kill-all-grizzlies-279705.php

Tour de America: Dancing with Kevin Costner (Day 6)

Tour de America: Dancing with Kevin Costner (Day 5)

Tour de America: Dancing with Kevin Costner (Day 4)

Tour de America: Dancing with Kevin Costner (Day 3)