Thoughts on an ego boost

When you need an ego boost....

When you feel bad about yourself....

When your ride is totally un-cool or un-chic (see: 1997 Grand Caravan Sport)....

Go to: www.streetkiaz.com

Yes. At least you're not that guy.

Driving a Kia.


Spending hundreds or thousands to soup it up.

Displaying a sticker on the side of your car.

Driving near my home in Kansas City.

Being made fun of by me...in my 94 corolla.

STREETKIAZ.COM

I feel great.

Thoughts on thought inducing

I listen to 96.5, "the buzz" in Kansas City. It's the alternative music station and typically has great stuff. Some stuff, take it or leave it, but the majority is good. They're sponsoring the Death Cab/Rogue Wave show this weekend that I will MISS because I'll be out of town at a wedding.

Listening to that station, I discovered the song "handlebars" by the flobots. Have you heard it? Thought inducing lyrics. I have listened to it many times. Makes me really wrestle with being an american, with being in a powerful nation, and what we do with that power. This is not an "anti war" blog post. It's more a post about what it really means to be human - and live in a broken world with 6 billion plus other humans.

Here's a video I found for it. Not sure if it's the main video, but I liked this version the most (I only watched 2 videos). There's a couple quick violent images in it, in case you're 6 years old and stalking my blog.



What do you do with this? It's Memorial Day. Yes we remember our troops. Should we also remember the other sides of those conflicts? Should we be remembering the broken in China who lost their loved ones and families in the earthquake? Should we be remembering the economies we devastate by taking all of their corn. . . .for our ethanol fuel?

Just thinking about that stuff today.

Thoughts on funny shows

I'm self employed - home everyday, and I have far LESS time than before to watch TV. So, I sit and remember those shows that truly have made my life brighter - laughter being their tool on my soul. So this post is simply about that: funny shows, my favorites, and ones I'm hopeful that you like also, hopefully more than my piece of "art" below. 1 comment - from Tim. And Krysten is mad at me for posting it - getting her hopes up that it would be a real piece of art. My mom has strongly suggested I take it off. I probably will. It's not kind - but I mean, sheesh, the BACK DOOR?????

Anyways - my top 5 favorite funny shows.
**Disclaimer, I almost used Grays Anatomy - high on the unintentional comedy scale. I mean, typical dialogue:
"Why are you so upset?"
"Because I'm a SURGEON, and I do SURGERIES, and I live for those SURGERIES, and we're SURGEONS."
"I am a SURGEON too. I like to do SURGERIES too, and I too, live for those SURGERIES. We are definitely SURGEONS doing SURGERIES."
"Want to have sex?"
"Okay."
(sex commences - awkward sex most of the time because someone is getting cheated on.)

In order from #5 to #1:

#5:
Saturday Night Live. Why? It's never "lost it" as far as I'm concerned. Farley and Mike Myers replaced by Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon replaced now by Bill Hader and Andy Samberg and many others. Case in point:


PUT YOUR TAPE DECKS ON RECORD....1995

#4:
30 Rock
It stops me in my tracks every time I watch it because it's so quick witted and sarcastic. Tina Fey rules - but Alec Baldwin rules even more (not as a dad, but as a comedic actor). I don't know where any clips are to embed or else I'd show you.

#3:
My top three are far higher than the other two, just FYI.
Scrubs: off the wall, crazy, unexpected, and there are belly laughs in every episode. There are so many clips on youtube to choose, but here's a couple:
True Friendship

or, Jesus on Abortion:


EDIT TO ADD:
#3B:

I'm a tard and left this off. Flight of the Conchords. Why? Because good Lord, they're the smoothest song-writers of all time. And quite funny.



...my lyrics are bottomless......


#2:
The Office. Funniest show on TV currently. You all have seen it. If you haven't, you are, well, crazy.


#1:
It's not even close. Arrested Development. If you don't watch this show, you're crazy, or not alive in your soul or something. It's best to rent the DVD's, and start from the beginning. Three fabulous seasons. Such a messed up family. Season 2 is the best season of television ever. It's something magical....
and so magical I couldn't find a video for it on youtube.

Cue the anticlimactic music. Freaking Fox. Freaking cancelled the greatest show ever. Years later and I'm still sad.

Your favorite 5? Have I forgotten anything? If you say things like According to Jim or How I Met Your Mother, I say you're wrong.

Thoughts on a slammed back door

If you haven't heard, I am self-employed. I am now a member of the artistic community, and, please turn off your laugh track. I said artistic community. No, please turn off your laugh tracks. TURN THEM OFF.

For whatever reason, God has immensly blessed Ashley and I with the ability for me to work from home - be with my kids and my wife, running a home business, and it is excelling. What an adventure! Home business is great - it's exciting, challenging, rewarding, and stressful all wrapped up into one. Balancing work and family is a challenge. Photography is a challenge. Nailing composition, exposure, and truly documenting someones wedding seamlessly while coming in and out of different locations is a challenge. But, I continue to improve, and continue to love it more. Nearly 40 weddings this year - and I'm stoked for each of them.

And yes, we shot last weekend. Ash and I left this particular wedding seriously refreshed, stoked for MARRIAGE and not just a wedding, and reaffirmed in our love for each other. Their vows did that to us. You know a wedding was good when it had that.

And on top of all of this, my skills have improved and continue to improve. I recently took my favorite "shot of the year". As a photographer, I know that one strives to continue improvement for a lifetime and when you get it - when you see it displayed right out of the camera without any photoshop work - when you know that it was YOU who took it - that all culminates into one of the greatest feelings you can have as an artist, I'm convinced.

So, I'm displaying it for my blog readers. I've called it: "Slamming the back door" and it's my first, real, piece of art. Let me know what you think.

**Editted to ADD: removed the pic. It was not kind. Or art.

Thoughts on a focused worldview

Interesting, isn't it, that over one hundred thousand people recently (very recently) died in Myanmar, and....

Fifteen thousand (at last count) people died in China this week, and.....

John Edwards just pivotally sided with Barack Obama in one of the more compelling political races in my lifetime, and....

Dozens died recently in midwestern tornadoes, and yet the top story on the news is:

ANGELINA JOLIE AND BRAD PITT ARE HAVING TWINS!!!!!!

But seriously, they are. . . .but seriously, isn't that terrible?....but seriously, I saw it on the cover of Star magazine.

Thoughts on growing up

Heard today in my home, a conversation with my four year old:

"Daddy, I want a snack."
"Okay buddy, what do you want?"
"I want fruit snacks."
"Fruit snacks?"
"Yes, they're for snacks too, not just treats."
"Sorry buddy, they're just for treats after supper."

(delayed pause)

"Sorry daddy, you just disobeyed God."
"What?"
"When you just said that, you disobeyed God."

Ouch.

Shrewd negotiator.

Thoughts on blogging

Man. . . .can you ever forgive me?

Please?

Almost a month's time has gone by, and I have blissfully wandered through my days, scarcely realizing that something is dreadfully wrong. No blog posts.

I am sorry.

Forgive me.

I know I have lost many followers in the past month. But I am coming back. Strong.

But seriously. . . .I am coming back. . . .right. . . . .now.

Hello blog world. Welcome back to the random world of Jeremy Parsons. . . .