The sun peeked out from the clouds in the middle of a rainstorm late this afternoon.
See the tips of the trees in the bottom right corner? Autumn is coming…
All posts by Jonathan
Death Star conspiracy theory
This is too funny, and a perfect spoof of the conspiracy theories around the 9-11 attacks: Was the Death Star attack an inside job?
“Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?”
“Why would Lord Vader, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Government, suddenly decide to fly away from the Death Star in the middle of a battle? Did he know something that the rest of the Imperial Navy didn?t?”
“How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? …analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?”
Read more at Uncomfortable Questions about the Death Star Attack.
Boxer by The National
Boxer, the newest release from The National, is one of those albums where the melodies linger in your brain long after the music has stopped playing. Maybe it’s the lead singer’s, soothing baritone, maybe it’s the dreamy, atmospheric sound the band has. “Green Gloves” is a perfect example of both.
Monarchs
While I was in northern Wisconsin last week there were all kinds of monarch butterflies flying about.
Camping “up north”
Thoughts on Harry Potter
Two years ago when I got to the end of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” the sixth book in the popular series, I was most annoyed. It was the first book in the series that didn’t stand out as a complete story on its own. It ended sadly and abruptly and left me hungry for the rest of the story. I couldn’t believe I had to wait for the next book to find out what happens.
I thanked ArmlessBear for not giving any spoilers away in her post, and I won’t here either. But I just finished reading the final book in the saga, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and I was not disappointed.
Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger
Ryan Adams new disc, Easy Tiger, has been out for a few weeks now, and it’s been in heavy rotation for me. Prior to this CD, Ryan Adams was releasing music at a very quick pace (three hit and miss albums in about a seven month period). Adams and his band, the Cardinals, took their time with Easy Tiger (it’s been a year and a half since the last release), and the result is the most solid Ryan Adams disc since 2001’s Gold.
The albums starts off with “Goodnight Rose,” a rocking promise of the good music to come.
Fireworks
This is a composite of three pictures I took of the Fourth of July fireworks. Taken from my front porch.
A Lake Mendota weekend
Last night I went with some of my family to watch Rhythm & Booms from the other side of Lake Mendota (along Observatory Drive). The fireworks display was pretty good, and it was fun being outside on a beautiful evening. While listening to the radio before the show (the display is choreographed with music over the radio), we heard the announcer say it was the “largest annual event in Wisconsin.” I beg to differ.
It was another gorgeous summer day today, so I returned to Mendota, and went for a long bike ride along the lake. One of my favorite places to ride in Madison is where the bike path runs along the lake shore in the middle of the U.W. campus.
I ended up biking for most of the afternoon. I stuck to the shore as best I could, riding through where the rich people live, and made it up to the northern side of the city.
After I got home, I decided it had to be one of the best rides I’ve done this year.
Brewers and Giants slam it out
A day off for me, and a last minute idea sent Dad and I to Miller Park yesterday afternoon, where the Brewers beat the San Francisco Giants, 7 to 5. It was a fun game. Some of the highlights included:
- Bill Hall’s grand slam home run for the Brewers in the first inning. He ended the game with a career high of five runs batted in.
- After thinking the game would be a cake walk for Milwaukee, we got a little nervous when the Giants hit their own grand slam home run in the sixth inning.
- Barry Bonds being booed by the fans when he was put in as a pinch hitter (his only at-bat, he hit a double on a error by Rickie Weeks). I was disappointed he didn’t stay in the game, so we could heckle him some more.
- A great play at home plate by pitcher Brian Shouse to prevent the Giants from tying the game.
- Rickie Weeks making up for his error by hitting an RBI double.
- A revolving door of 11 pitchers playing for both teams, including a save from Milwaukee’s hot reliever, Francisco “Coco” Cordero.
- An attendance of over 35,000 people (we were very surprised at the size of the crowd).