thanks!

I had a great birthday night last night. We went out to dinner with Ken and Linda to The Downtowner, one of my favorite restaurants in St Paul. Then, off to a Harry Connick Jr concert! It was way different than the last one we went to...not big band, no singing....just great a piano and a saxophone. It was amazing! Mike even bought the CD for me. I also have great respect for people who support Habitat for Humanity. It was great for us both to take yesterday off, but now it totally feels like a Monday. Well, off to work!

Interesting Reading...

I'm reading a book titled Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson. It is interesting...But I especially like how it is so current. Here is the part that struck me the most:
"A contemporary drama like The West Wing, on the other hand, constantly embeds mysteries into the present-tense events: you see characters performing actions or discussing events about which crucial information has been deliberately withheld. Appropriately enough, the extended opening sequences of the West Wing pilot revolved around precisely this technique: you're introduced to all the major characters (Toby, Josh, CJ) away from the office, as they each receive the enigmatic message that "POTUS has fallen from a bicycle." West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin - who amazingly enough managed to write every single episode through season four - deliberately withholds the information that all these people work at the White House, and that POTUS stands for "President of the United States," until the very last second before the opening credits run. Granted, a viewer tuning in to a show called The West Wing probably suspected that there was going to be some kind of White House connextion, and a few political ficionados might have already been familiar with the acronym POTUS. But that opening sequence established a structure that Sorkin used in every subsequent episode, usually decorated with deliberately opaque information. The open question posed by these sequences is not: How will this turn out in the end? The question is: What's happening now?
...
Sorkin's shows, on the other hand, are the narratice equivalent of fog machines. You're supposed to be in the dark. Anyone who has warched more than a handful of West Wing episodes closely will know the feeling; scene after scene refers to some clearly crucial piece of information - the cast members will ask each other if the saw "the interview" last night, or they'll make enigmatic allusions to the McCarver case - and after the sixth reference, you'll find yourself wishing you could rewind the tape to figure out what they're talking about, assuming you've missed something. And they you realize that you're supposed to be confused.
...
The dialogue on shows like The West Wing and ER, on the other hand, doesn't talk down to its audience. It rushes by, the words accelerating in syn with the high-speed tracking shots that glide through the corridors and operating rooms. The characters talk faster in these shows, but the truly remarkable thing about the dialogue is not purely a matter of speed, it's the willingness to immerse the audience in information that most viewers won't understand. (p75-80)"

Huh. Mike and I love The West Wing and I think that explains a lot of it. It does make you think, and guess, and try and figure out what the heck they are talking about. Thanks for writing about our favorite show, Steven Johnson!

A Big Sunday!

My boss was ordained today...a pretty cool thing to a part of. An added bonus was that Craig Johnson performed the ordination and he has always been a mentor and role model of mine, so it was fun to see him. Here's Todd and Craig hugging.

and a phot of the gusties present...Craig, Joan, Kate, Joey, Lori, Todd, Tim, Me, Mike, and Jessie. And one of Mike and Grace. Cuties, huh?

a new home...and hockey!

I got to walk through my parent's new condo today...they close on Oct 7. It looks like it will be the perfect spot for them, I can't wait to see it with furniture and paint!
After the walk through, we went to dinner with the fam. Then, off to the Wild preseason game against Chicago with our friends Jacob and Jackie. We had awesome seats and we got to see a shoot out. So glad that hockey is back!

Attack of the Garbage Can!

Yesterday we had a huge storm go through. The winds were 70 mph and the lightening was amazing. I was driving home from work just as the wind gusts began, it was like driving though Oz. I got chased down our road by a couple of garbage cans, I actually had to drive defensively to avoid them. Something new everyday I guess!
That is one of the garbage can's that tried to attack me. Scary, huh?

Bonfire

We had a bonfire tonight at church...kind of a cool overhead shot of the fire.

C3 Festival!

Tonight was the first C3 festival at church and the guest speaker was Ragnar, the Vikings mascot. While the Vikings did not have a good day today, Ragnar was a very pleasant man, an amazing speaker and a good soul.

Trip to Duluth...and a wedding

Yesterday we set out for Duluth around 11 am...Mike drove all the way up.

We stopped and saw Peter, took him out to lunch at Pizza Luce. Yum.

Then, we went to my second cousin Karin's wedding. It was a beautiful, short ceremony and the dinner was lovely. Our table was fun, because it was Mike and I, my grandparents, my great aunt and uncle, and one of my mom's cousins. Fun stories, fun times.




It was a great way to spend a Saturday. The drive home was a bummer, cause we were tired. But Mike did wonderfully, of course. I do love weddings. Our next wedding is actually just the reception, cause our friend is getting married in Vegas on a weekend I have a retreat. But the reception is in St Peter, which should be fun!

Golfing...

So a couple of weeks ago Mike played the MN Chamber of Commerce golf tournament and his team won first place! This is a shot of his team...including the senator from Edina.

State Fair!

We went to the MN State Fair today to do our duty at the Gustavus booth. We love working there every year...it is a great chance to catch up with alumni, current students, and prosepctive students. We wandered around for a little while, ate a lot (cheese on a stick, corn fritters, and the grilled corn on the cob were tops), and visited Jonathan at Giggles Campfire Grille (where the walleye sandwhich was excellent).

Here's Mike on the John Deere he wants...