Mad Sanity

Eli's comin'

Look, it's not that I don't care.  I care too much, okay?  I care so much that I don't even want to blog about it.  But I can post videos of people singing about it.

Some more Alaska photos

Because, as Redgoatee says, "Photos are the lazy man's excuse for blogging."

 

 

Yukon misses his mommy!

Yukon is very sad because his mommy is in Israel for the next three weeks.  He found Israel on the globe and realized that it is a long way away from Minnesota.

 

Yukon sits in front of the computer all day waiting for mommy to email him.

Sometimes Yukon passes the time by playing football with Eeyore.

Yukon hopes that mommy doesn't yell at him when she gets home for all the pop he's been drinking while she's away.

Yukon says, "Come home soon, mommy.  We miss you!"

Alaska & Nebraska

Two more makes 35.

Things I should regret, but don't

"You got here just fine for someone bound elsewhere." ~Outer Dark

The other night I was listening to Dr. Laura on the radio while I was working and heard her give this piece of advice to a mother whose daughter did not want to attend her high school graduation ceremony: "If your daughter misses her graduation she will regret it for the rest of her life!!!"

Wow, them's some strong words, I thought to myself.  She almost had me convinced until I remembered that I skipped my own high school graduation and haven't given it a thought ever since.  I think there was a hockey game on that night or something.

UPDATE:

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Yeah right.

This Old House

Back in the day I used to attend Twins games much more frequently.  Not so anymore, which leaves me wondering every time if this will be the last time I will get to see a game in the ballpark I grew up in.



Yes, it's the worst baseball stadium in the league, but it's mine.  I grew up here.  This is where I watched my childhood heroes win two world championships.  Don't tell me I can't miss it.



Someday all the stadiums in the world are going to fall down.  But not on us.  And so while I watched the Twins get beat by the Yankees in 12 innings last Saturday night, I had plenty of time to ponder the temporal nature of the things we hold dear for their own temporal sake.

Dome Dog

Now that's a hot dog.

For my tombstone

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I'll sing Thy power to save.

The Great Alaskan Adventure of Two Thousand and Eight

Alaska was everything I could've possibly imagined and more.  We saw everything that we hoped to see, had great weather all throughout the trip, and built memories that will last a lifetime. 

I arrived at the Anchorage airport at about 8:30 Saturday night, three hours before Danny got in.  By the time he arrived it was still light out.  The sun didn't set until midnight, and even then it was just a heavy dusk.  We stopped in at the Bear Tooth in Anchorage for dinner after picking up our rental van and then found an empty parking lot to sleep in before heading north the next day.  I woke up at about 3:30 Sunday morning and the sun was already up.  Trippy.




We hit the road early that morning after stocking up on some Dashboard Diner food at a local market.  We were blown away by the scenery.  Mountains on all sides, everywhere you look.  I was glad I brought lots of memory for my camera, but furious that I couldn't get that spot off my lens. 

We were hoping to spot a moose on the trip.  We ended up seeing eight of them by the time we left.  The first one showed up just a few miles past Anchorage.



We drove on to Chugach state park and went for a short hike.  When we got to the end my batteries died.  There was a waterfall, trust me.

We pulled off to the side of the road every time there was a scene like this, which was often:

















We pressed on to Denali national park, home of Mt. McKinley.  It was a little bit overcast, but we were able to see the mountain, which was one of the main things I wanted to see in Alaska.  It's big.

 


Then we drove on, stopping to take photos every so often, whenever we felt the need.




Danny got his shoes wet when he fell into a lake.  I stayed back to capture it on camera:


In no danger of losing sunlight, we traveled on.  Gas was expensive, but you don't have time to worry about trivial things like money when you're in Alaska.





And then we saw another moose.  This one got right alongside the road and tried to race us. 




A little further down the road we came to a group of gawkers standing on the side of the road looking up a hill.  We inquired as to what they were all looking at.  "BEAR!!!"  We hopped out and joined the gawking.





We drove as far north as Fairbanks, got a room at the Super 8 (expensive), and then traveled down the other side of the loop towards Tok.


We saw lots of these, but opted not to sleep in them:


We saw the pipeline:




I touched it, Danny climbed on top of it:



Being 80 miles from civilization in either direction made this a surreal sight:



On the road again:


Alaskans like to shoot road signs for some reason. 


We found the magic bus, or one of them anyway.  There are many:
















Another mountain:


We were greeted by some husky and wolf pups on the road:



There was still plenty of snow in the mountains:



The melting snow formed waterfalls everywhere on the sides of the mountains:


and avalanches:


We found places to camp on the side of the road or wherever.  This is what one of our spots looked like at midnight:



On Wednesday we took a seven-hour cruise on the Glacier Spirit from the town of Valdez:















We saw otters:




We saw whales:



We saw sea lions:



We saw a glacier.  I got to hold a piece of it:



We saw seals and more sea lions.  I don't know the difference:



We saw mountain goats:



We saw another bear:



We saw everything we could've hoped to see on the cruise and more.  It was probably the highlight of the trip.  I talked to some people on the plane who took different cruises and didn't see nearly as much as we saw, so if you're in Alaska, and you're looking for a cruise, make sure you head to Valdez and spend a day on the Glacier Spirit.




From Valdez we headed towards Whittier.  Wait, what's that?  Another moose...


And another glacier, near our campsite:


Whittier is a small town that is only accessible by a two and a half mile tunnel.  Most of the residents live in one building.  It is also home to the Buckner building, which was once the largest building in Alaska.  It has been abandoned since the early '60s, but it would cost too much to tear it down and haul the pieces through the tunnel so it still stands. 























Then we left Whittier, through the tunnel again, and headed back to Anchorage.



But first, we had to go touch the ocean:


Looks just like it does on TV, said the guy from landlocked Minnesota.

Several snowball fights developed at various rest areas.  Danny, being from California, seemed much more fascinated by snow than I was:


Another magic bus:


Another postcard:


We made our way to the airport and parted ways as we each headed back to our respective time zones.  It was a very enjoyable week, not just because of where we were, but because Danny was such an accommodating travel partner.  With all the money that we had to spend on gas and food and what-not, there was never a time where either of us felt the need to push the other to pay.  We each fought for the right to pay for our share and tried to outdo one another in showing honor.  And we came back with some of the best photos of our lives and memories to match.  The great Alaskan adventure of two thousand and eight will always be remembered as one of the highlights of our lives.

North to Alaska

Tomorrow's the day, and as you can see, I am quite ready.  I'll be on a plane by noon tomorrow and arriving in Anchorage about nine hours later to meet up with Danny who will be flying in from California.  You can keep up with my travels at Danny & Micah's Excellent Alaska Adventure where we will try to update as often as possible from the road.

Have a nice day

This song is dedicated to the hardworking employees of Superamerica.

Domo arigato, Superamerica lady

Routines can take on a robotic nature at times, but it was not until recently that I discovered that it can be the other way around as well.  Or so it seemed anyway on my daily routine stop at Superamerica, where Mrs. Roboto works the cash register every morning.  Every day she greets me with the same emotionless "good morning," and bids me farewell with the equally emotionless "have a nice day."  She looks right at me but has never seen me.  Each and every one of her actions can be predicted with pinpoint accuracy.  Never a hint of emotion or an attempt to socialize with customer or co-worker.  Not once has she shown a sign of recognition at my appearance, though I am there most every day.  I often attempt to sneak a peak at the back of her uniform to see if there is a switch.

Day in and day out, the questions grow in the back of my mind.  Is there a soul behind those lifeless eyes?  Have you ever laughed?  Have you ever cried?  Do you sing along to the radio in your car?  Or do they turn you off and store you in the closet at closing time?

Another new day, and there she is.  Morning is busy.  I wait in line with my Mountain Dew and egg salad sandwich.  Her hair is silver, and neatly put up in a bun.  Her glasses went out of style fifteen years ago.  She cares not.  "Good morning four fifty-nine have a nice day good morning eight ninety-seven have a nice day."  Customers come and go.  She is unflinchable.  She knows where every brand of cigarette is without a second of hesitation.  She speaks the total before it even appears on the cash register.  Nothing moves her from her routine.  I am next.

We've met before haven't we?  Doesn't matter.  I could have landed from Mars this morning.  The routine begins.  "Three fifty-nine."  I hand her a five.  I know she will lay my change on the counter but I hold my hand out anyway.  She lays my change on the counter.  I turn my hand over and pick it up off the counter.  "Have a nice day," she says, eyes already pointed at the customer behind me.  It's then that I spot her weakness, and a plan begins to brew.

The next morning.  Same as the previous morning.  I await my turn.  I hand her a ten.  Change forthcoming.  I try to get my hand under her hand to block the path to the counter, but she has lightning quick speed.  I'll have to be quicker than that.

The next morning.  Same as the previous morning.  I'm ready.  I see the open spot on the counter and my hand is ready as if I'm prepared to draw my gun.  In one lightning-fast motion, my change hits the counter before my hand can even move forward.  Frozen under pressure.  I'll try a different approach next time.

The next morning.  Same as the previous morning.  This time I pay with Visa.  I hand her my card and she swipes it and lays it on the counter in the same motion before I have a chance to blink. 

This morning.  Same as the previous morning.  Back to cash.  This time I hand her a twenty.  My change will be sixteen dollars and seventeen cents.  An odd sum like this will gain me precious milliseconds.  My heart races.  This is the day.  She pulls out a ten, a five, and a one, and aims for the counter.  But this time, in a move that would make Mr. Miyagi proud, my hand is there first.  I close my hand around the bills and then glance up to meet her eyes.  A brief moment of disbelief, a small glimmer of emotion in her eyes, and then..."Have a nice day."   

Suttree

My attempt to copy the cover of Suttree...

Here's the cover:

Here's my attempt:

(Shot this morning on the Mississippi.)

Mountains are big, I am small

The first time I ever saw a real live mountain, and the first time I ever traveled outside of the midwest, I was 24 years old.  I was in Wyoming, traveling west on I-90.  I had spent the night in Gillette.  I awoke early that morning and got back on the road.  In the distance I spotted a strange cloud formation.  I thought it was odd, but I didn't think much of it.  I'll never forget the moment when I realized that it was a mountain.  It was huge!  I kept driving as it slowly began to emerge more clearly on the horizon.  I had never seen anything like it.

I spent some time in Seattle, Washington that year.  On one particularly clear day I was driving around the city with some friends and I spotted a huge mountain in the distance. 

"That's Mt. Ranier," they informed me, "the tallest mountain in the continental United States." 

"Cool," I said.  "Let's swing over there for a minute and get some pictures." 

The looked at each other and giggled, and then turned to me and in a very condescending tone stated, "Umm....it's like two hours away."

I learned two things that year: mountains are big, and I am small.  As I drove across Montana and Idaho the first of many times, my breath was taken away by the sheer magnitude of these things.  It is an amazingly satisfying feeling to lose yourself in something bigger than yourself.  As John Piper says, "No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self. Indeed, what could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe like this than a human being, on the speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image?" 

And so it is that this feeling is but a foretaste of the glory that we long for - not the glory of self, but the glory of self-forgetfulness in being caught up in what is truly glorious.  Indeed, we could not know what glory is if these pointers were not there.  As C.S. Lewis once said, "Nature never taught me that there exists a God of glory and of infinite majesty. I had to learn that in other ways. But nature gave the word glory a meaning for me. I do not see how the 'fear' of God could have ever meant to me anything but the lowest prudential efforts to be safe, if I had never seen certain ominous ravines and unapproachable crags. And if nature had never awakened certain longings in me, huge areas of what I can now mean by the 'love' of God would never, so far as I can see, have existed."

In three weeks I will stand before Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.  They say you can see its peak from 100 miles away.  My goal is to get a fresh lesson in the meaning of glory so that I will have some idea of what I'm talking about when I refer to the glory of God.  And yes, I'll be leaving my mirrors at home.
 

The 10 worst nicknames in sports history

Ever since a new hockey team arrived in my town and decided to call themselves the "Wild," the Blog has dedicated itself to exposing ridiculously unoriginal, unappealing, and uninspiring sports nicknames, logos, and uniforms.  Now the Blog has searched the archives of sports history and is finally able to present to you the authoritative list of the worst 10 sports nicknames ever:

#10: The Minnesota Wild

It took me two years to figure out that this logo was supposed to be two images in one.  I still can't figure out what the nickname represents.  Here are a few options from Webster:

• not lived in or cultivated; waste
• lacking social or moral restraint; dissolute
• fantastically impractical; reckless
• missing the target /a wild shot
• card games having any desired value: said of the card
• a wilderness or wasteland
• enthusiastic

Your guess is as good as mine.

#9: The Chicago Orphans

(No logo available)

That's what the Chicago Cubs were called from 1898 until 1901.  There must have been a reason behind this, but not knowing what it is simply makes me wonder what the mascot must have been.  A child in rags walking around asking if anyone has seen his parents?

#8: The Miami Floridians

An ABA basketball team from 1968-1972.  What's with the one multicolored letter in the midst of the black letters?  Once again, I am filled with questions that need answers.  It's a good thing this trend didn't catch on, or else we'd have leagues full of teams like the Spokane Washingtonians, the Jackson Mississippians, the Albequerque Newmexicans, the Des Moines Iowegians, the Houston Texans....Oh, wait...

#7: The Houston / Dallas Texans

Long before this horribly unoriginal nickname was used by the NFL expansion team in Houston in 2002, it was used by the Dallas Texans (above) from 1960-62 (who have since become the Kansas City Chiefs), and the Houston Texans of the WFL (below) in 1974.

And then it was resurrected again in 1996 in the Arena Football League:

But wait...there's more...

#6: The Honolulu Hawaiians

I kid you not.  They were another WFL team from 1974.  No wonder that league only lasted one year.

#5: The New York-New Jersey Hitmen

I could throw the entire collection of XFL teams into this list, but I only have room for ten so I'm picking one to represent all (sorry, L.A. Xtreme and Memphis Maniax).  Haven't you ever thought to yourself: "hey, I could really get behind a team that celebrates my city's history of murder and organized crime."?

#4: (TIE) The Toronto Northmen and the Memphis Southmen

Two more winners from the WFL.  And they're both bears for some reason.  Inexplicable.

#3: The Miami Vise

And here I thought that it couldn't get any worse in Miami than Floridians.  Apparently they've used up all the names of fish and other animals so there's nothing left to do but name their teams after a TV series.  This team didn't even last as long as the TV series; they were only around for one year (1987) in the Arena Football League.  Don't ask me what that logo is supposed to be.

#2: The Boston Beaneaters

The Atlanta Braves went through five nicknames (Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Bees, Braves) and three cities (Boston, Milwaukee, Atlanta) before arriving where they are today.  Let this be a lesson to teams like the Wild that it's okay to change something if you don't get it right the first time.

#1: The Green Bay Packers

No explanation needed. 

Keith Green - young and old

(HT: my dad)

City of Lakes and Traffic

"Everything looks better in black and white." ~Paul Simon

It's like Facebook for Vikings fans!

Wearevikingsfans.com

29 days to Alaska

For more extensive Alaska blogging go here.

30 days to Alaska

There have always been two things I've wanted to see before I die.  One is a Vikings Super Bowl win.  The other is Alaska.  Too bad I can't whip out my credit card and order a Super Bowl win for the Vikings on expedia.

31 days to go

At long last, my lifelong dream of seeing Alaska is about to come to fruition.  I suspect that this is about all I'm going to be able to think about for the next month. 

I will be flying for only the second time in my life, which is the only downside.  I would rather have driven up, but lack the time it would take. 

Here's the plan (so far as there is one). 

Man, 31 days is a long long time.  Don't plan on reading about much of anything else on The Blog until then.

Countdown to Alaska

Pending approval, I'll be on a jet plane pointed towards Alaska in 32 days, 4 hours, and 36 minutes.

Sunday Snapshots XI

Who cancelled spring?  Minnesota, like a woman, changes its mind without notice.

This is where Mike Zoss drugstore used to be, where the Coen brothers hung out growing up in St. Louis Park, MN. 

The sun'll come out tomorrow.

Striking out at the mall

It was a simple plan.  I was to go to the store, exchange money for goods, and come home in time to watch the afternoon hockey game.

Strike one: I needed a couple new pairs of jeans for work because I keep destroying mine.  Apparently I wear the most popular pants size on the planet because I can never find what I want in a 33/32.  I leave the store without pants (except for the ones I'm wearing).

Strike two: I wander into Half-Price Books to pick up my next Cormac book.  There it is.  I pick it up off the shelf.  It's not in the best shape, but that's why it's half-price, right?  I look at the price.  It's marked down from $24 to $20.  I do some math in my head and then wonder why the store isn't named Five-Sixths Books.  No way I'm risking strange germs on every page to save four bucks.  I'll go home and get it brand new off Amazon.

Strike three: At least I know I can find what I want at Sports Authority.  I need a certain piece of excercise equipment.  What it is isn't important.  What is important is that I know they will have it.  I am willing to pay for it, because I need it.  I spot it on the far wall.  Dozens to choose from!  I pick the one that makes me look the fastest, disregard the high price, and walk towards the counter.  After a few minutes I realize that I should have brought a Snickers bar because I won't be going anywhere for a while.  The line is longer than the Great Wall of China.  Apparently half the Twin Cities decided to meet at Sports Authority on Saturday morning.  This is no good.  I put my item back on the shelf and leave empty-handed.  From now on I do all my shopping online.

Saying vs. Being

Recently at the place where I work they've started putting up signs all over the building that state how committed they are to quality and excellence.  Every time I see one of these signs I get the image in my head of a girl who feels that she has to wear a sign around her neck that says, "I am pretty."

The Gift of Himself

"The acid test of biblical God-centeredness - and faithfulness to the gospel - is this: Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, at the cost of his Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever?" (page 11)

Sunday Snapshots X

SMV XI: R.C. Sproul / Ben Stein interview

Moody Rivers

Just to clear up a question that I've been getting a lot lately....

...and possibly create another one.

Uh-Oh

Are

You

Ready

For

Some

Football?

Vikings.  Packers.  Monday Night.  Opening week.