Hey! You should tell them...

There's no smoking allowed!

The 2011 Demolition Derby at The Great Frederick Fair - the very essence of "Americana" as my Uncky Jim said...

Cars are beautiful things

They offer us freedom, the rush and thrill of life.  They embody America, from the freedom to the power to the very sound of in particular, classic cars.  We Americans often drive gas-guzzlers, but that's not always necessary, and Americans are slowly beginning to realize this.  Sadly, there are also people out there who still want to drive the biggest baddest Hummer around.  However, I think a better way to spend my time would be in this car.

This was my dad's 78 corvette.  He didn't restore, he made it his show car.  This is the car on it's final voyage as it goes to it's buyer, as my dad doesn't feel he can appreciate the car and enjoy it, between having put the money into making it look like this and not having much time to drive it.  Now, I guess, it's time to find another classic car for him, and hopefully me, to have as a "date" car...  :)

DWTS

So, as a ballroom dancer and advocate that anyone can dance, here is my favorite tv show :D

http://abc.go.com/watch/dancing-with-the-stars/SH559050/VD55143780/week-1

Now, to clarify, while anyone can dance, only the one's who practice are going to be any good.  If only I got 6 hours of dancing in a day, I could be world champ in a year...

By far, my biggest crush is on Lacy Schwimmer.  However, I do think it's to bad Anya Trabunskaya is married ;)

Today

I had lunch of tomato soup and a cheese and deer bologna panini.  Let me just say that this is one of the great things about the cooler weather, other than getting to wear jackets and looking like I do in the photo above.  Warm food is fabulous.  Just sayin'

Cool lighting

On this photo.  Overlooking the fields at home.

A beautiful picture

From a tractor.  While transporting corn sileage to and from the field.

New ballroom slacks!

So these are my new ballroom pants, not the greatest pic but they look good :)

fellow bloggers from class

These are some more interesting blogs from my class

http://thesamte.blogspot.com/

http://eastcoastweather.blogspot.com/

A blog of a fellow classmate

http://markevitts.blogspot.com/

This is one of my fellow classmates in the Electronic Media class that prompted this blog.

Favorite musicians

So, as I am sitting here typing papers, I've heard at least two songs by Lady Gaga, and now Michael Jackson is playing.  I wonder how many other people jam out to their favorite musicians while writing papers?  I know that sometimes I can't stand to have music playing while I'm trying to focus, while other times I have to release and relax through my music and just feeling the beat.

In thinking about my favorite musicians, many people may feel I'm a bit old school in liking Michael Jackson - but am I?  This one musician managed to transform so much of the world for the better, through his love for kids and the foundations/donations that he put his own money into.  He also completely upended many parts of the music industry -the greatest of which was the advent of the music video as we know it.  I trust that anyone reading this will have seen the music video "Thriller" to MJ's song of the same name.  The album Thriller, released in November of 1982, contained the song as the title track.

[spoiler alert-watch the movie on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&ob=av3n]

I would like to give a simple little review of the masterpiece that is the music video to this song.  At 14 minutes it is a substantially longer movie than the song.  Which, to most artists, is excessive.  However, there is a story that is being told through the video.  The initial scenes appear to Michael turning into a werewolf creature to then attack his lover, whereby the camera focuses on a laughing Jackson eating popcorn watching this scary movie with his date.  Telling his girl she is taking the scariness to seriously, they venture out onto the street where Jackson begins the opening lines of the song to cheer up his girlfriend.  As the movie goes along, they pass by a cemetery where inevitably, some ghoulish creatures rise from the grave.  The movie concludes with some scary beastliness dancing around with Michael Jackson (which according to Commoncraft indicates that they were not actually zombies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVnfyradCPY)

What this movie did was change the music video recording industry.  It included fanciful costumes, unique elements of synchronized dancing in a story board fashion.  While the beginning of the video feels a bit tedious, it certainly has the scary buildup to lead into the almost light-hearted rendition of the spooky lyrics.  It even includes haunting sounds of Vincent Price's voice throughout the end of the song. Overall the video is an enjoyable watching experience, particularly to those who are about to go trick-or-treating on halloween.  There's something about the song and video that just puts the spook in your step.

Just a fun blog...

http://fuzzycarpetandpolkadots.tumblr.com/

This amusing blog is from my friend and her awesome roommate, and their adventures as roomies.  Check 'em out :)

Thoughts on class room time

Often, I sit in my college classes and I ponder the things that go on.  Why am I here is a great question - but maybe - what else could I be doing?  Why do I even ponder what else I should do?  What is my opportunity cost of staying in this class, rather than edging out, and maybe dancing, or exercising, or playing music...  There is so much to do in life - why should I stay in class to learn the things I may or may not know.

It is my belief that while class is useful, maybe there should one day be an interactive online deal, where you can have interactive discussions with a teacher through a webcam.  Spending barely half an hour on a subject, a person could discuss with the teacher different subjects that a person may already know.  Then, after the teacher assesses the individuals knowledge level of the area of choice, could potentially certify a person in the area, and there wouldn't be any need to attend that extreme length of class time.  We could be much more efficient about how we go about schooling.

Just food for thought, because this blog has a lot of that.

And here we have a delicious quiche that my mom made for breakfast the other day, along with some homemade donuts.  One more example of why I enjoy living at home so much - the food.

Amen, for our lives, our food...

New York Times, Michael Pollan to President Obama

Please check out this link, and read this letter written by a man who I respect for deciding to help educate the American public on just how lost they are in their food choices.  One book he has written, The Omnivores Dilemma, has helped to educate me and provide me with an insightful view on just how lucky I am to live on a working farm.

I tried turning it, but you will get the picture.  This is a recent panini I made, completely using vegetables from our garden.  The joys of living on a farm - you get fresh, real, and most important tasty food.  This evening for example, I experienced a casserole using our own potatoes, green beans, homemade tomato soup (made from our tomatoes), onions, and our ground beef from our own cows.  Additionally there were squash based biscuits to go with the meal, plus locally produced butter to top them with.  Deliciousness.

Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnoff Jive WSS

This video is what has been the inspiration for my dancing every time I feel down about where I am with my working out, stretching, and exercising. It embodies not only the feel of the jive by using playful choreography, but demonstrates a level of fitness and physique as few athletes can experience. This is one of my many favorite videos on youtube.