Joe the Plumber

I could see McCain's reasoning in taking the offensive in tonight's debate. He is not going to beat Obama at portraying a cool, collected candidate. He is behind in the polls and I think he was trying to chisel out a more solid niche for himself as the aggressive, no-nonsense, "give it to me straight" candidate. There is obviously a large percentage of Americans who respond to that "strong-man," unabashedly aggressive behavior as that is our overwhelming international stereotype. Personally, I I find it hard not to naturally reject the sort of arrogant, overly antagonistic behavior displayed by McCain in tonight's debate - that, of course, is not what is important however, the issues are what are most important (although our president's behavioral quirks have a lot to do with how the world ultimately views us - President Bush is an excellent case in point).

I originally had a long post here describing my view point on what I thought were some of the more pertinent issues but then I decided that I did not want this to be that kind of blog. I want to entice people to read my blog about music, movies, books, and me rather than turn them away with my political views.

Not One of My Favorite Things

I just found out today - after spending about 20 hours in constant fear of the need to swallow and missing Mitt Romney at our LDS Church Services (can you believe that the one weekend I get sick is the weekend Mitt Romney decides to show up in our Ward and sit in the pew directly if front of my family!!) - that I have a nasty case of strep throat. It was not a huge surprise as my mom had the malady last week and frequently commented that she felt as though she were swallowing razor blades. I hold that analogy to be entirely correct. In fact, I am becoming so skilled at avoiding the urge to swallow and am doing so in such an infrequent manner that the amount of pain that accompanies each flushing of my mouthly fluids continues to surprise me!

I went to the MedExpress clinic this evening because the pain began to become unbearable, and truthfully, I was really hungry but terrified to eat. I have to mention that I think MedExpress is a great business idea - it is a homey emergency clinic open 9-9 that has some relatively reasonable set prices for seeing the doctor and they are typically able to see you shortly after checking-in (once again this is relative to the ridiculous waits experienced at hospitals). Anyways, MedExpress gave me penicillin and some pain killers but I can still only stand to swallow ice cream (at this I am not complaining as it is an excuse to eat as much of my favorite ice cream as I want without the fear of reprimand). As you can see in the picture above, my tonsils are red and swollen (what you cannot see is the delicious white puss that is oozing and coating the back of my throat).

The doctors said that strep throat is going around so make sure to wash your hands frequently and beware of who you kiss!!

Instamatic Karma

Anyone who claims to be acquainted with me in the slightest knows that I have a borderline healthy obsession with the Beatles and especially with John Lennon. When my mom handed me this book last week - who herself is a great John Lennon fan and must be at least partially credited for turning me on to the Beatles - I thought that it could hold nothing new for me. How wrong I was. The images in this book are simple and show John Lennon in '73 & '74 full of life and happiness while spending time with his largely ignored son Julian (ignored thanks to Yoko), other friends - including the previously shunned Paul McCartney (shunned thanks to Yoko) - and his designated companion May Pang (designated companion thanks to Yoko).

Interestingly, and what may be the selling point for all true Beatles fans out there - and therefore Yoko Ono haters - there is not a single picture of Yoko in the entire book! These photos were all taken during the famous "lost weekend" when John and Yoko split for 18 months (not really a weekend) and John traveled around and lived with May Pang. There are some seriously cool pictures of John in this book, and I truly believe that the good feelings that prevail throughout the book are due to the absence of that breaker of all that is good - Yoko Ono.

The Only Movie I Have Seen in the Past 2 Months

As some of you may know, Christina and I recently returned to Florida after spending the first 3 years of our marriage as a somewhat poor, but undoubtedly content, college family. Our last few weeks in Hawaii were fun and exciting as we attempted to do all the "touristy" types of things we never had time for when I was a full-time student. Those last few weeks in Hawaii were followed by a two week long roadtrip starting in San Francisco and ultimately ending in West Palm Beach via Orem, UT, Boulder, CO, St. Louis, MO, and Atlanta, GA.

For four weeks following the trip we tried to make sense of our new "two-income" and both "tired and unmotivated at the end of the day" lifestyle, while setting up a temporary residence at my parents house. All said, we never really had the time or the energy to go out and see a movie - one of my favorite things. So last weekend we decided to treat ourselves to the comedy "Ghost Town." It stars Michael Scott's equivalent on the British version of the Office - Ricky Gervais - who was equal parts wit and charm (very nerdy charm that is). I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the whip-like wit of English comedians as well as those who like to enjoy a little brain candy every so often without having to be ashamed when telling others about their weekend cinematic excursion.

I don't like to ruin movies for others so I won't say much about the plot, but rather I will gaurantee that you will enjoy this movie from the beginning to the end and you will not feel like the show was a precious $20 or so wasted.