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August 31, 2011

Mr. Chan is my buddy.

As we progress more and more into this magical age of technology, it's great to know that our email service providers are ever-increasing their knowledge of what is spam and what isn't.

I recently switched my all of my email to run through Gmail – on the recommendation from my previous email provider. He said that they have much better spam services/filters than he could give me. The switch was pretty easy and now my email syncs between all of my devices with no hiccups (now if we could only get Outlook, iCal and Google Calendar to speak to each other).

Because of these enhanced spam filters, I check my Spam folder every other day to make sure I'm not missing anything.

DrChan.png

Its a good thing that I checked today, because as much as Gmail doesn't want to believe it – Mr. Chan IS, in fact, my buddy. I haven't heard from him in several months. I was getting worried. He recently joined the Army under a fake name – yup, you guessed it, MC J Clayton. And it sounds like he faired quite well. Now he's a damn sergeant and has a ton of money to spend. And get this, he needs MY assistance. NOTE: for all of you moochers and/or freeloaders (not to mention email-reading snoopers) out there, don't even THINK about emailing him at sgtjclaytonmc@gmail.com, because he won't answer you.

That money is Mr. Chan and mine to split and buy tons of Star Wars books and Doctor Who audiobooks with. Or maybe I'll buy 18 iPod Touches (yes ... even though I have an iPhone, iPod Nano and iPad ... so I like Apple, sue me*). I could even buy a 100 Jimmy John's gift cards. Really, the possibilities are endless – just as long as they don't add up to $7.56 Million.

I know what you're thinking, you need a friend like Mr. Chan. And you're right, you do. He's incredibly self-less and wants nothing but the best for me and my future. Good ol' Mr. Chan. Maybe some day you'll get to meet him.

*I would STRONGLY recommend you don't sue me. Mr. Chan and I will have roughly $7 Million for whatever attorney fees we accumulate after our shopping spree at American Apparel.

Posted by Seth at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2011

QR Codes = Goofy

QR Code I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the QR Code "craze" to be over. It's the new "you have to have a website facebook page twitter account to be relevant" gimmick in marketing. And, in my opinion, it's very over-used and seldom worth your time.

For those of you who have seen these black/white boxes pop up here and there, but don't know what it is, QR Code stands for "Quick Response" and allows smart phone users to access information by simply taking a picture.

Sounds awesome when you're looking for a coupon while in a store, or more photos/video if you're out and about. But, most of the time, these codes are simply taking people to a website. My argument is why make people go through the process of getting out their phone, take a photo, only to be taken to a website – sites that aren't usually enhanced for mobile phones.

The example posted above was an ad on Facebook. If you click the ad, it takes you to Becks.com. If you have a QR Code reader and access it that way, it takes you to the Apple App Store to download a Beck's app.

Here's the big question, was there anything in that ad that told you what to expect when you clicked/took a picture of it? No. And that's why that ad, in my opinion, fails. It's why a majority of marketers scrambling to put QR Codes on things are failing. It's too gimmicky right now.

I'm not anti-QR Codes. I'm actually pro them if used in a compelling way (see YouTube video below). I'm anti hopping onto fads. I'm anti doing something because everyone else is. I'm anti irrelevant marketing. And I'm definitely anti not giving people the expectation of what will happen when you click on something.

Marketing isn't tough. But we sure do make it hard on ourselves sometimes by not thinking about things more thoroughly.

Posted by Seth at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

August 29, 2011

Ants In My Pants Car

I've had my Jetta for, what, over a decade now. And yes, for those of you that know the "hilarious" situation, I probably DID make payments on this car for at least 7 of those years (you can kindly get off my back now). With having said car for over a decade, there's been plenty of things that have happened.

That said, the Jetta has taken me plenty of places. And I'd say it's taken me even more places since we consolidated into a one-car household.

The one place I NEVER thought the car would take me was to an ant party infestation.

A few weekends ago we were in Fayetteville for a visit and, much like the rest of the South, it was H-O-T (the dashes between letters places an emphasis on how hot it actually was). Since it was so hot, I thought that cracking the windows to the car would allow the heat to escape before we had to get back inside and drive around.

Cut to the next morning.

We open the car up to go to brunch and there are ants. Everywhere. Not just visible, but coming out of vents and seat belt compartments. I have no idea why the ants were in there (it couldn't have been the absolutely disgusting state of the car and/or the random bits of food under the seats), maybe they were trying to escape the rain.

After a brief freak-out session, we managed to shop-vac, car wash and subsequent car-wash-vac 99% of the ants out of the car. The rest have since perished. (Here are some other handy ways to get rid of ants in your car.)

But if anyone ever offers you the chance of having ants installed in your car, I highly recommend that you pass. Unless you enjoy driving and randomly feeling ants crawling up your legs.

Posted by Seth at 07:17 AM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2011

Meet Mike McNugget

Mike McNugget

Five months. That's how long it took us to mourn the passing of (Fat) Stanlee. Five months was plenty of time for our "gotta get another kitten" feeling to fully blossom. Five months didn't prepare us for what was coming next.

Mike McNugget.

He's a domesticated bobcat. He's fast. He's lean. He fetches. He has to be in every room that you're in. He has to beat up on Levi every chance he gets. He has 27 toys under the stove or other difficult spots at any one moment.

He's one cool cat.

So after we brought him home, our good friend Alistair Tutton (a fantastic photographer in Kansas City) called us and said he wanted to shoot (photograph, not hunt) McNugget. The following set of photos were turned into a Mike McNugget Calendar.

We love our boy. It doesn't hurt that he's so photogenic.

Posted by Seth at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2011

It Sounded Like a Good Idea

The following is what happens when Todd and I go snowboarding in Colorado and end up bored during the evenings.

It Sounded Like A Good Idea: Knife from sixpiggie on Vimeo.

It Sounded Like A Good Idea: Toothpaste from sixpiggie on Vimeo.

It Sounded Like A Good Idea: Egg from sixpiggie on Vimeo.

Posted by Seth at 07:00 AM | Comments (1)

August 22, 2011

My 5 Favorite Sounds

This is the fifth in a series of 5 blog posts that talk about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Yeah, it's a bit dorky, but just go with it.

"Let me clear my throat," is one of the best songs (link requires Spotify). Ever. DJ Kool can do no wrong (or at least he did none wrong when he created this song). And I bet I'm really annoying my pod mates at work because I listen to it quite often. Don't worry, though, because I make up for it with my super sweet chair dance. And don't pretend that you don't know what a chair dance is, because you do. It's very similar to a car dance, but you're not in a car. Or driving. Unless you're driving your internet car.

So back to clearing throats – it is definitely not one of my favorite sounds. But I do have some. Here are some sounds that you won't find on this list: throat clearing, specific words, any sound from Bad Girls Club (except maybe the end credits – psyche), love songs, dogs barking, acoustic guitar love songs, witches' creaky voices, country music love songs ... or any love song from any genre and instrument for that matter. And, no, I'm not against love songs. I just like to reserve those for special times. Like the bath tub. Or client meetings. Or when I'm walking around in storm drains (ask Aaron, I used to sing love songs all the time when we were exploring Fayetteville's sewage tunnels).

But I do have some favorite sounds. I've even taken the time to list them below in a randomly numbered order. Please enjoy them. If it helps, think of me typing on my keyboard while you read it. The sound it makes is pleasant and not a clicky-click noise like most keyboards.

5. The Faultless Unloading System
There's a building next to my office where a ton of cleaning and, uh, starching is done. It's the Faultless Linen building. And due to the amount of, duh, linens that come through that building, they have a system where they unload the dirty linens out back and they're carried up to the wash room. The linens come in large bundles which are loaded onto a mechanical chain/pulley. The bundle is slowly lifted the height of the building and then slides down a series of rollers until it enters the building. This whole process is a cool series of sounds. The first part (the lifting) is like riding in a roller coaster and you're being pulled up that first large incline. It clicks and clacks. The second is similar to the rollers at an airport that your luggage rolls out on after the nosey airport workers x-ray your bags. I don't know why I told you all of that. It would've been so much easier to just go and record it. Sorry.

4. Cicadas
If the visual of summer is fireflies, then this is the sound of summer. I remember the first time I realized what I was hearing. I. Freaked. Out. Because. I. Didn't. Know. What. It. Was. But then someone told me and I was all like, "okay, cool." Since then, it's rare that I even realize that the cicadas are singing. But I do notice it because half the summer, they're not there, and then all of a sudden they're there. It's like someone flipped a switch. More specifically, a cicada switch where when you turn it on, they start to make that noise they make. Soooo cool. I hope scientists take note and create a Cicada Sound Switch (patent pending). They could make a lot of dollars.

3. British Accents
Have you ever heard someone talk and thought, "man, that person is probably really smart and definitely smarter than I am." I think that nearly every time I hear a British person talk. Seriously. I've never heard one speak that I thought was stupid. It's upsetting, really, and it makes me want to learn how to speak like they do. But not spell the way they do, that's just absurd. I blame them 100% every time I try to spell "mustache" as "moustache." Yes, it's a word that I type out quite often. Perhaps the more I type it, the quicker I can actually grow one.

2. Children Laughing
Who doesn't love to hear someone laughing? If you raised your hand, a) you can leave, but before you do, b) who raises their hand while reading a blog on their computer? Anyway, everyone loves to hear someone laughing. It's infectious (not in a gross, sickly way). What's better than someone laughing? A child laughing. Anything a child does is pure. And when they laugh, their happiness could not be more pure. The best part about it is if a child is laughing at you, they really think you're funny. They haven't figured out how to fake laugh yet. But all it takes is one weird day when all the inhabitants of a small town pass out and then have babies on the same day – babies that grow up and can speak to each other telepathically. At that point we're screwed and they're definitely not laughing at anything we do. I fear that day.

1. Silence
"Everyone shut up. I'm forming a hypothesis." Marky Mark said something to that effect in the amazing movie, The Happening. It was a dumb movie, definitely not worth going into now, but the point I was trying to make, before I interrupted myself, was that Marky Mark needed silence in order to think. SWITCH-UP! Back in high school, my car stereo was stolen. For some reason, I never had it replaced, and drove around for pretty much all of college with no audio source in my car. I grew very accustomed to the silence. I actually enjoyed it. I still do. I like the sound of silence. I like the sound of life happening. The ambiance of existence. I sometimes have to tell myself to be normal and turn on music. But mostly, I'll just listen to what's going on around me and will be pleased with that.

And that, my lovely friends, concludes my series of posts about my five senses. What are your favorite sounds? What was your favorite post of the series? What were you thinking when you wore that today?

Posted by Seth at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2011

My 5 Favorite Touches

This is the fourth in a series of 5 blog posts that talk about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Yeah, it's a bit dorky, but just go with it.

"Don't touch it." That's the chorus from one of my favorite rap songs ever. MC Hammer was a great rapper perfect money manager delight to have around for my teen years – if only because he gave us the "Addams Groove" and, more recently, those incredible Cash4Gold.com commercials. But enough about Mr. Hammer, let's talk about the sense of touch and how it relates to me (Seth Gunderson).

I think that touch is one of my favorite senses (yes, I know, it had a one in five chance). I love touching things. If my mom were to ever read my blog, I wonder if she would tell you if I really enjoyed those books as a kid where you touch different things whilst reading the book. Additionally, I wonder if in-betwixt reading different books ... yeah, I'm not even going to finish that sentence. I just wanted to see if I could say 'whilst' and 'in-betwixt' in back-to-back sentences. Now I can check that off of my bucket list.

So what are 5 of my favorite touches? You're in luck, all you have to do is keep reading. And, as a gentile reminder, these are not ranked in any order. I promise. But #1 is important.

5. New Socks
Who doesn't like how new socks envelop your feet? That's right, everyone (even weirdos that wear socks with Crocs). But, now tell me who enjoys receiving new socks as a gift? That's right, no one (even weirdos that wear socks with Birkenstocks). Now, can anyone suggest to me why it's extremely hilarious to put a sock on your hand and make them talk like they're a puppet? You can't, can you? Know why? Me either. You're REALLY letting me down on this one. Do some research and stop screwing around on blogs.

4. Flannel Sheets
When it's cold outside (like when it's winter time), I'm not one to keep the house super warm. I hate being really hot in a house (being hot outside is different), I'd rather dress warmly than turn the heat up. The main reason why – flannel sheets. There's nothing like wrapping up in bed with some flannel sheets. Okay, putting on new socks (see above) is fairly similar, but that's only your feet. This is your entire body. Well, except your head and maybe your arms and/or hands. And maybe one of your legs if you're a hot sleeper. And if you're a hot sleeper, might I suggest not using flannel sheets in conjunction with your comforter/blankets? I know the intention is good, but you're really asking for night sweats. And you think your pillows are gross enough already.

3. Clothes on Clothing Racks
I can't tell you the number of times my mother (that's the second mom reference, if you're counting) told me to "stop touching the clothes" as we walked through Sears.* If you need help imagining what I was doing, just pretend you're walking in between clothes racks with your arms extended and allowing them to touch every piece of clothing that you walk by. It's. Really. Cool. Try it the next time you're in a store and then you can replace your imagined thoughts with a real-life scenario. And if you're wondering what my official stance is on Virtual Reality vs. Real-Life Experience, I'll tell you – real-life wins every time (unless you're wanting to walk on Mars, ride a velociraptor or make the world go backwards like Superman did in Superman).

2. Scalp-tingles from Shampoos/Conditioners
Having someone shampoo your hair almost got the nod here. But I'll one-up it by giving the honor to shampoos and conditioners that make your scalp tingle. I'm not talking about acid. That would hurt. And it might actually be opposite from a good sensation. Let's just try and focus on the things that make your scalp feel good, not rot away entirely. We might be happier in the long run if we do.

1. Hugs
Bar-none, there's nothing better in this world than a hug. It's the power of touch rolled into an expression of love and extreme care. If you haven't seen it already, go check out the Free Hugs Campaign because it's amazing. There's something so incredible about a hug that it's hard to put into words, but I'll try: SuperCoolAndReallyBadAssButNotWeirdAndAlwaysAGoodThingToDoIfYou'reHappyOrSadOrJustWantToFeelAliveAndSmileAfterwards. I've said it somewhere before, but if you ever want a hug, I'm your guy. And if you think that's weird and you want to make fun of me, that's cool, we can hug it out afterwards – and then we can talk about how you probably weren't hugged enough as a child. And let's dispense with sissy hugs. If you're gonna hug someone, do it and mean it. That last bit of advice was free. The next one will be hundreds of dollars.

There you have it. Those are my five. What are your favorite touches? (Yeah, I thought that sounded creepy, too.)

* I say Sears because that's really the only department store I remember getting in trouble at. I'm 100% positive I did this in other stores, but Sears sticks in my head. Here's to hoping the Sears Blue Crew is reading this and will give me some % of all sales due to my linking to Sears.

Posted by Seth at 10:37 PM | Comments (2)

August 17, 2011

My 5 Favorite Tastes

This is the third in a series of 5 blog posts that talk about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Yeah, it's a bit dorky, but just go with it.

"I'm too drunk to taste this chicken." The late Colonel Sanders was quoted as saying such never said that – but it was a hilarious line from Talladega Nights. Speaking of race cars, it's time I tell you all some of my favorite tastes. Surprisingly, they all center around eating. It's no secret that I'm a fairly picky eater, but you may have never known that I'm also NOT a supertaster.

But let the record show that while I've never been identified as a supertaster, I DO have a large distate for brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, coffee and spinach (all listed as common food sensitivities for supertasters).

At any rate, below are 5 of my favorite tastes. Listed in random numerical order – yes, you can randomly list things in a numerical order. Need proof? Look below. They may go in descending order, but the numbers associated with them are random. Trust me. It's true.

5. Mashed Potatoes
My love affair stated way back to when I was probably around one year old. I'm guessing that because its a safe bet that my Grandma Gunderson made mashed potatoes for my family then and they probably allowed me to eat some and make a complete mess of myself. Since that day (that I'll never remember), I've never looked back. If I ate mashed potatoes with every meal, it wouldn't be enough. I like potatoes in general, but the mashed variety is my preferred way to consume starch. And if I'm feeling extra strategic, I'll make sure to save enough potatoes to make lefse – because if potatoes and butter is good enough, try making them into pancakes and adding sugar! Boo-yah legit city.

4. Bananas
As you may, or may not, know, I'm a fool for banana jokes. I'm also a fool for bananas. I do believe that they're the perfect fruit. It might be because I'm not a big fan of other fruits (which is none of your business, thank you). Simply put, bananas taste delicious. But when you think about what a banana is, it's kinda weird. It's a soft, yellow fruit that grows inside of a plastic-ish sleeve. It really behooves the question "why hasn't someone drawn a giant eagle with banana talons?" Maybe it doesn't REALLY behoove that question, but, you need to get on that, Bruno.

3. Hot/Wing Sauce
Hot slash wing sauce? Really? Yes, person who just asked that question, really. First off, it passes the SethyG Sniff Test, so it already has a + in my book. Second of all, it's hot. Third of all, it's vinegary. Fourth of all, you can put it on chicken, eggs, tacos, french fries and pizza (but that's about all). Fifth of all, it will probably give you poocano, which could be considered a negative for most people. I'll include myself on said list just so you won't think I'm a freak. In any case, hot/wing sauce is the best. I highly recommend Cholula, Ott's Wing Sauce, El Yucateco, the classic Tabasco and the Kansas City favorite, G Sauce from Go Chicken Go.

2. Cold Tap Water
This one is easy. Make sure you're really hot, then go inside and pour you some cold tap water. Or ... wait until it's winter, then go to the kitcehn and pour you some cold tap water. Another option, put some hot sauce on some food, eat it, then go to the kitchen and pour you some cold tap water. Need I continue? Too bad.

1. Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Chocolate = heaven. Peanut butter = heaven, too. Chocolate + Peanut Butter = food boners. Especially when your name is Reese and you kick ass at combining the two in (some) perfect ratios. Yes, buttercups are my favorite. Quickly climbing the charts is peanut butter M&M's. There isn't much more to say other than I want to smear Reese's all over my face and lick it off a la Scooby-Doo when he slurps the cotton candy off of his face (I'm pretty sure it was cotton candy, right?). Better yet, smear it on your face, and just TRY to pay me to NOT lick it off. Yeah, disgusting. And awesome.

There you have it. I wish all of those tastes were in my belly right now, but they're not. Too bad. Why don't you go cry about it for me?

Posted by Seth at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)

August 16, 2011

My 5 Favorite Sights

This is the second in a series of 5 blog posts that talk about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Yeah, it's a bit dorky, but just go with it.

eyes.jpg"You see with your eyes, not your hands, fool!" I'm pretty sure that Mr. T* said that, but I can't find it after looking for 12 seconds on Google (yes, other people have said similar things, but he added the "fool" part – which was realistically more like "foo", but that's splitting hairs). And if you couldn't decipher (with your eyes + brain) from this blog post's title what the subject matter was, then I feel sorry for you and your tutor let me give you a hint: it's about my favorite things to see.

Like I mentioned before, I'm not going to rank these in any particular order. So get off my back about it, already. There are so many more important things than ranking systems – like world hunger or the latest production photo from The Hunger Games (this one is of Gale, they nailed it).

Or even the most important thing at this moment: my 5 favorite things to look at.

5. Stars in a Rural Sky
I love the night sky. Looking up at the stars and constellations is so calming. To think that there's other life out there doing the same thing is something I enjoy doing. To think that there's other life out there flying their giant spaceships toward us with the hopes of destroying us, but can't because they're either highly susceptible to the common cold or are allergic to water, is humorous. Either way, seeing stars in a rural setting is amazing because it's like you can reach out and touch them.

4. Soccer Goal
Yeah, yeah, it's pseudo-ironic because there's not a whole lot of scoring in soccer, so shouldn't any goal be incredible? Well, you can almost answer yes to that. I love soccer. I love to play it. I love to watch it. And there's nothing better than watching the chess match unfold before your eyes and a well-struck ball making its way into the net. If I were a soccer pro, I'd definitely come up with an awesome scoring dance for every time I scored. And said dance would probably be set to the tune of Nelly's Batter Up. Don't ask why.

3. Sunsets
Before you get to the stars, you have to see the sunset. And hardly anything beats a nice sunset. Unless you're driving due West when the sun is setting. There's really no relief in that instance. You can even try the sunglasses + sun visor + hand over head combo, and nothing is going to help. That's why I just close my eyes in those times and try to let my Jedi abilities guide me to safety (just kidding, I don't really have The Force). To sum it up, sunsets = awesome. Throw a sunset on top of a mountain and lake = the bestest.

2. Mountains
Speaking of mountains, let's talk about mountains. To me, there's nothing quite like waking up in a mountainous region, stepping outside and taking the view in. It's glorious. It's monstrous. It's humbling. It's a freaking mountain, man! (That last sentence sounds much funnier without a comma in it, give it a shot.) Every time I've been to Colorado lately and head back to KC, I lose a part of me. Sad face. But, mountains are the bomb and they make me smile. Happy face.

1. Firefiles
Summer is so nice. And while I love the mountains, there's one thing I've heard that you don't get in those regions, and that's fireflies (aka, lightning bugs). I think these things are some of the coolest insects ever. They create light! It's tough, I've tried. It may seem like they're just randomly lighting up, but apparently there's a rhyme and reason. In fact, in some areas, fireflies have been known to synchronize their illumination. I think it's cool to see random lights here and there. Imagine seeing a whole field light up at once. Magically delicious, eh? There are some cool images on Google Image Search for fireflies and then there's this sweet ">time-lapse fireflies wallpaper I found on National Geographic, if you want it.

There you have it, my favorite things to see. What do you like to see with your eyes? Please, not everyone at once – don't overwhelm my servers.

* I find it weird that while I know who Mr. T is, the older I get, the more he becomes Mike Tyson in my head. Yes, they're different people (one was a boxer and one played a boxer in Rocky III), but still, aren't they both certifiably nutso?

Posted by Seth at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2011

My 5 Favorite Smells

This is the first in a series of 5 blog posts that talk about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Yeah, it's a bit dorky, but just go with it.

Nose.jpg"What's that smell ya'll smell?" That's a quote from a great story that I'm not going to tell you. Too bad, life sucks. But it does set up the first entry about my favorite things in regards to my senses. Today is all about smells, odors, aromas, and other smell-related nouns.

The sense of smell is amazing, especially the more I learn about how we decipher odors with our nose. It's way to complex to go into here and is probably a bit dry. So I won't bore you with that.

What I WILL bore you with, however, is a list of my 5 Favorite Smells, in no particular order (but I'll number them just so you'll believe me that there are, in fact, five of them – and I know what you're going to think, that #1 is going to be more important than #5, and that's okay, even though you're wrong – remember I told you that they're not ranked not 51 words ago – yes, I counted).

5. Gun Shots from Cap Guns
There's something about "shooting" a cap gun that's fun. And THEN you get the added benefit of the odor. Maybe I really just like the smell of gunpowder. Either way, I'd much rather "shoot" a cap gun than a real gun. Unless, of course, I was competing in an Olympic Biathlon (which, I bet I'd be REEEEEEALLY good at).

4. Honeysuckle
This is the smell of spring and summer, to me. Yes, I know that I'm pretty scared of bees (thanks for the ironic concern), but I sometimes want to dive head-first into a giant bushel of honeysuckle. I finally found some at Soil Service last year and planted it in my back yard – knowing full well that it would probably die. But, it didn't! Next year I bet it goes CRAZY with wonderful smells.

3. Vanilla
If you ever are wondering what gift you should get me for whatever occasion, go with a vanilla-scented candle. It's such an awesome smell. It makes me want to bake something (with vanilla in it), or drink a coca-cola (with vanilla in it), or pour that scented stick liquid all over my face (the kind with vanilla in it). Heck, I'd even eat vanilla wafers or vanilla yogurt (unless it's Greek).

2. A Freshly Lit Cigarette
In general, smoking = barf-o-rama. In my nose, the first scent that comes out of a freshly lit cigarette is a-mazing. Surely it's not all of the crazy chemicals/substances that are put into cigarettes, right? Naaaaah. Regardless, it smells good. And causes cancer. It's the worst kind of win-lose.

1. Hot Wing Sauce
Hands down, the best smell ever is hot wing sauce. (PSYCHE!!! I TOLD YOU THAT THESE WEREN'T RANKED!) Is it the vinegar? Is it the hot sauce? Is it the wings that I'm about to put in my mouth and belly? Who knows? Who cares! Smell it 5 times with deep inhalations. 100% chance your mouth just watered.

Those are my top 5. Now I'm going to do what every good blogger should do and ask what are YOUR favorite smells? Go ahead, fill out a comment below. It's easy. And fun! Google thanks you for helping them fill out your personality profile.*

* Google did not ask me to say that. Nor are they compensating me for saying that. In fact, it's probably not even true. But it really could be. And if it is, don't you really want to know what else Google knows about you? Yeah, meeeee too.

Posted by Seth at 09:43 PM | Comments (1)

August 09, 2011

Cards make me happy.

This past weekend me and Ash took a little overnight trip to the (very) small and (pretty) quaint town of Rocheport, Missouri. And when I say (very) small, I mean (VERY) small. Like, to the tune of 208 people, small. It's a town that sits below the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River and is a popular stop on the Katy Trail (who wants to ride it with me?).

Authors_thumb.jpgRocheport is also home to the Les Bourgeois winery and a select few antique stores (all specializing in something different).

Now, I'm not an "antiquer" by any means, and usually the thought of going "antiquing" is off-putting and perhaps 25% nauseating. (Like when you eat too much cheeseburger and fries and hours later you burp and you're pretty sure a piece of fry came up and now your throat burns – that's 25% nauseating.) But when you're in a town that has, literally, less things to do than fingers on your hands (granted you have a full set of fingers), you make concessions.

I'm glad I did, for we un-covered a wealth treasure trove lotta few choice items during our hunt.

I already talked about one item that we found, Danza!, the biography of Tony Danza, but we also found a few more things. Like a really cute baby dress-thing for the lovely and pregnant Sarah Fortune Gill, and some really not cute burned baby dolls (Part I and Part II) for my friend Todd.

TravelCards_thumb.jpgBut I also found some things that make the creative/designer side of me happy.

Author Cards
At the antique store that specializes in pre-Civil War items, I found a stack of cards for the game of "Authors." This is a Go Fish! type game where you match four cards together to create a set. The person with the most sets at the end of the game, wins. I just loved the illustration style on the cards, and even though I'm missing a few in the set, I think my favorite author is Oliver Wendell Holmes (hey holmes, are you an ironside or a nautilus?).

Rocky Mountain Cards
These little guys aren't quite postcard-size, but I believe that they were a set of cards that were sent IN a postcard-sized packet. They're illustrated photos of different Rocky Mountain areas of interest – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Echo Lake, Garden of the Gods, Cheyenne Mountain, etc – all places I want to visit now. The style is very 50s, but their simplistic nature is appealing.

I don't think I'm in any danger of turning into an antiquer, but it's little things like these that put a smile on my face. And then everyone got sick with food poisoning.

Posted by Seth at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

August 08, 2011

Danza!

Danza!

Before the talk shows. Before the People's Choice Award. Before being the boss (or being the employee). Before driving around in a Taxi. Before ALL of that. There was just a boy named Anthony Salvatore Iadanza – aka, Tony Danza. Author Lynn Hall tells a story about little Tony and his horse and all of the mischief and tales that they embark on. It's a coming of age tale, an instant classic and a true page-turner that will not only fill you in on Tony's early years, but will have you begging for more.

Chapters include:

Order your copy of Danza! today! (Also available in paperback.)

Posted by Seth at 07:22 AM | Comments (1)

August 06, 2011

Greek Yogurt? Pass.

Chobani.jpgI tried. I really tried. Several times, in fact. But I just can't get into the whole Greek yogurt craze. According to Lance Armstrong, the benefits of Greek yogurt are aplenty – more protein, less sodium, less carbs, easy to digest.

And tons of people are loving it. Several co-workers bring it in almost daily. I'm seeing more and more brands at the grocery store – which is why I got tricked into buying it in the first place. You see, I suffer from this quirk idiosyncrasy tic bad habit where I HAVE to buy things that say "NEW" on them (please don't tell my clients that). I'm even seeing more advertising about Greek yogurt on TV and on the radio.

And of all the benefits and advantages that Greek yogurt boasts, I really don't think that "thicker and creamier" is one of them. In fact, I believe it's quite the opposite.

If you haven't had Greek yogurt yet, and are curious as to the texture, here are some comparisons:

Basically, try it if you're a weirdo and like to taste dumb things. If you're not a weirdo, continue buying regular yogurt flavors, like orange and vanilla, and, heck, why not, black cherry. If you REALLY want to have some crazy yogurt time, you can always venture out with some Boston Cream Pie, Trix, or even the Jamie Lee Curtis-approved, make you poop, Activia.

I love a good tragedy, the olympics and the original "Clash of the Titans". But the Greeks really let me down with their yogurt. Hopefully you have a better experience.

Posted by Seth at 09:03 AM | Comments (2)

August 03, 2011

Hogs Guy is Coming Back

Hogs Guy!With fall nearly upon us (and by saying nearly, I'm really pleading with Ms. Mother Nature to just leave summer behind, because this heat wave is ridiculous), that means that College Football is almost here. Which means the University of Arkansas is gearing up for the season. And ultimately, it means that Hogs Guy is going to return and will be writing for the Fayetteville Flyer.

Hogs Guy is a HUGE Arkansas fan. Perhaps the biggest. The Fayetteville Flyer calls him the “Official Spreader of Razorback Cheer”. Hogs Guy is here to spread Razorback cheer to anyone that needs it. Win or lose, we all could use more Razorback cheer. And, not only that, but he knows his sports. Kind of. Here's a snippet of a Hogs Guy game recap:

We were up 10-7 and Alabama got bored with football. And then Arkansas got really close to scoring when Mallett called an incercept pass play. I don’t know why you call that play because the other team usually gets the football possession back. But it turned out okay because Alabama quarterman Greg McElroy called an intercept pass play, too!

I don't know how to describe him, really. Some say he's one part idiot, one part Borat and a little bit of hick. Some have said worse things. I describe him as a bad ass. People either want their photo with him or want to punch him. Or maybe.

Either way, Hogs Guy is coming back. Soon. And he's on Twitter, too, so you can hear from him more often than anyone really needs to.

Go Hogs!

Posted by Seth at 06:43 AM | Comments (1)