A text conversation that I had with Will Barron:

Trent: “dont yell at me-u will get your stuff (dissertation I was reviewing) in a little while-our toilet exploded so we are in the process of recovery”
Trent:  “i accidentally flushed a mechanical pencil down our toilet and it is wreaking havoc on it”
Will:  “there is no rest for the wicked.  i can come help if you want”

So that pretty much sums up what's been going on lately.  I flushed a mechanical pencil down our toilet a couple days ago (if you actually want details then I will be glad to tell you) and since then our toilet was having troubles.  So, after buying an auger, which did not work, the only solution left was to pull up the toilet and see what I could see.  It was a less than enjoyable experience which ended with a broken toilet laying in the middle of the bathroom floor with a stubborn mechanical pencil trapped inside.  For the record, I did not break the toilet.  It had not been replaced in probably 20 something years and all of the bolts holding it together were rusted apart.  So, I had to buy a new one and install it.  Good times.  Check that one off the list, or perhaps put it on the “things that I am able to do to our house to avoid paying overpriced professionals/things that I will be able to help Josh and Nart do when they move to Greenwood” list.

So I will echo Nart and say that I have been a crappy blogger lately.  Sorry about that folks!  This semester is getting crazy.  Getting down to the wire and I am beginning the oh so familiar end of term panic best summarized in the following fashion:  “Will I be able to find the motivation to get everything finished that I have left to do?”  I was reading Win Corduan’s blog some time back (if you have yet to check it out, go check it out now!  Seriously . . . stop reading my crappy blog and go read his right this instant) on a Monday and he said, “It's Monday, the day on which I resolve which things I will regret not having finished by Saturday. ---- Oh, yuck, that's terribly negative thinking. Gotta stop that . . . .”  That is my current state of mind about this semester, “It is April 21st, the day on which I resolve which things I will regret having only barely accomplished in time by May 15thish.”  To make matters worse, I am supposed to graduate in May from the M.Div program so I have the added stress of doing portfolio stuff (thanks Methodist students!) and making sure that all of my graduation stuff is in order.  Blah!  I am reminded of what my good friend Shawn said today, “No, I don’t have a topic for my paper yet.  The registrar doesn’t know it yet but I’m dropping out.”
 
So it sounds like Josh and Nart are having a hell-a good time in China; go figure right!  I wish that I could have a break from things that I “have” to do and be somewhere exciting.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a good life and I am choosing of my own free will (not in a libertarian sense of course) to be doing what I am doing.  But even still . . . . 

This reminds me of more Win Corduan goodness (if you are tired of hearing this, get over it, he’s awesome!):  "Entry From Ickybeaverland:  Ickybeaverland is not really a geographic location; it's a state of mind.  I mean this for real, as opposed to the way in which embarrassed liberal members of various religions, transform items in their religion's geography, such as heaven, hell, Nirvana, the Pure Land, and so forth, into "states of mind." There really is no physical place called Ickybeaverland, but that doesn't mean that it isn't real.  It's where you may find yourself when you have, say, for months been looking forward to right about now being in, say, Pennsylvania, heading for, say, Boston, but are finding yourself instead at home here in Smalltown, USA . . . It's not that I don't love my home, this town . . . but I really, really had wanted to be in Boston for the conferences as I planned and announced a while back . . .”

So, apparently, if you find yourself being somewhere that you do not mind being, as a general rule, but had otherwise planned to be somewhere more awesome (or desire to be somewhere more awesome) then you may find yourself to, metaphysically speaking, be in Ickybeaverland.  Kind of like David Ives’ really awesome play “The Philadelphia;” it makes me want to say “Hey all the stuff I have to do . . . F*** You!”

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check it out here.  It’s well worth 10 mins of your time

So Meghan and George are doing well. George got a haircut the other night.  For him this is the worst thing ever.  He gets a bath, then a good brushin’, has to sit on the coffee table for about an hour and a half while we trim away all of his long hairs, and then gets his ear hair pulled (not fun but actually not as bad as you might think).  But now he is as cute as can be and ready for the hot summer air!

So that’s about all I have for the moment.  I will try to be more vigilant with this blogging thing.



PS - I usually end my posts by saying “Long days and pleasant nights . . .” but tonight I am going to end by saying “Put that in your pipe and smoke it . . .”

PPS – I guess that by including the phrase “Long days and pleasant nights” I actually did still end with the phrase . . . so . . . Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Long days and pleasant nights . . .

Well, I have not blogged in a few days, but I am still kicking.

Preface to the next section of this blog:
I will always love cartoons.  Everyone has their own way of escaping reality every once in awhile and for me its video games, books, and cartoons.  Growing up I watched such awesome toons as the Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Pirates of Dark Water, He-man Master of the Universe, Spiderman, X-men, and countless others.  I dont know if any of you have watched cartoons lately but it is getting ridiculously hard to find good cartoons on TV.  Now, I am not like those old people who say this becasue they no longer find it possible to watch Bugs Bunnys or Betty Boop (or am I) but I mean . . . come on (!?!) . . . have you seen the ridiculous cartoons they have on the tele now days?!?  That being said, I have discovered two modern day cartoons which have passed the muster (these are actual cartoons and not adult oriented cartoons - there are a ton of those which are hilarious, but are not in the true spirit of cartoons - they are usually just rude, offensive, foul languged shows to make us adults laugh . . . and who doesn't enjoy those every once in awhile?). 

The first cartoon of discussion of a Disney show called Phineas and Ferb Check it out here (click).  I agree with Shawn that for us INtuitive types (yes I am actually more of an N than a S - maybe I'll have to blog about this later) there is something strange about the "prosperity gospel" feel of most Disney Channel shows.  The, "just wish upon a star, follow your heart, do the right thing, and all will be happily ever after" thing is kind of not the way the world works.  But at the same time, when I am watching cartoons, I don’t really care about the way the world works - its nice to escape into a world that DOES work that way.  Maybe that is the true magic of Disney.  That being said, Phineas and Ferb (laugh, scoff, curse, and sigh if you may) is an awesome cartoon about two step brothers (I assume they are step brother's because one of them has a British accent just like his father while the other has an American-English accent like his mother - you would think that if they grew up in the same place they would all speak alike . . . whatever . . . ).  These step-brothers are basically geniuses when it comes to all things learning/building/mechanical/construction/etc.  The entire show is based on the premise of these boys being out of school for the summer and bored out of their minds.  After the initial Ska theme song, each show starts with some element of, "Ferb . . . I know what we are going to do today!"  With that, they embark on a journey into a world of unbelievable creations.  Along the way their older sister, Candice, has an ambition to catch them at such tom-foolery and turn them in to their mother (we do not really know if she would be upset or not, although in one episode Candice did succeed and Mom and Dad sent the boys to reform school which turned out to be not such a terribly good idea).  They are often joined by their racially representative friends Isabella Garcia-Shapiro (apparently Latina/Asian mix) (whose catch phrase is, “whatcha doin?”), Baljeet Patel (the token Indian), Buford Van Stomm (the German bully), and Jeremy Johnson (Candice’s boyfriend, the token white preppy kid).  Guess there are no black people, Disney dropped the ball on that, how could they?!?  The greatness of this plot line is surpassed by the spin-off subplot surrounding their pet platypus Perry.  Perry is . . . well a platypus, but he is also a secret agent whose main purpose is to stop the infamous Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (our eastern European representative (Czech, Polish, Sorbian maybe?) who is the head of his own evil corporation (Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated) and whose goal in life is to take over “the entire tri-state area” with some sort of evil contraption “inator”).  Perry’s foiling always results in turning Doofenshmirtz's "inator" on the boys invention, thus rendering the safe destruction of Phineas and Ferb’s creation (after its usefulness has been exhausted of course), which in turn foils Candice’s attempts to bust them and simultaneously protects the tri-state area from Doofenshmirtz’s horrible plan and protects Perry (Agent P’s) secret identity.  This is a great show, and all of you need to go watch it when you are looking for a mindless escape into the world of great modern day cartoons (which come to find out, is not an oxymoron after all).

The second modern cartoon of note is Avatar:  The Last Airbender Check it out Here (click).  This is the story of young Aang, the world’s last airbender and the newest reincarnation of the Avatar (master of all elements), who must embark on a journey to master all four elemental bending styles in order to defeat the Firelord who has waged war on the other three nations (air, water, earth) for the last hundred years.  “Bending” is controlling the various physical mediums by means of martial forms that cause the elements to conform to one’s desires.  Aang is accompanied by his friends Sokka and Katara (of the water tribe), Toph Bei Fong (of the earth kingdom), and Appa and Momo (fellows of the air nomads).  His tracks are often dogged by the infamous Prince Zuko (prince of the fire nation who has been banished, along with his Uncle Iroh, until he captures the Avatar and restores his honor) as well as other bad guys (my favorite being “sparky sparky boom man!”).  I will say no more about this cartoon yet because the movie is coming out this summer which you will all go see (or else).  Check out the trailer.  This cartoon makes the top of my list because it actually has an amazing STORYLINE!  How great!  Remember when cartoons used to have those?!?  The plot is exceptional as is the character development.  Flat characters suddenly become dynamic and dynamic characters even more dynamic as they take control of their own destinies and plunge forward in their attempts to end the war and restore balance to the world. 

Meghan and I just finished watching through Avatar for the second time; yes, I have them.  If any of you would like to watch the cartoon before the movie comes out you should get in touch with me and we will work something out.  Again, we are not looking to these tales to give us great insights into life, theological applications, or role models; we are plunging into the realm of fantasy for a quick retreat from the real world.  If you find yourself in need of this I suggest you check out one of these great toons that I have added to my list of fantasy retreats.


Long days and pleasant nights . . .