Kuuuuuhn!

This Sunday's game against the Giants has to be one of the best we've played all season! It was amazing! On both sides of the ball too. Rodgers and Jennings were perfectly in sync. Driver caught one (or two actually) of those passes that only Donald Driver can catch, leaping into the air and grabbing the ball with his left hand! Wheeew! Rodgers had a fantastic night for sure! The defense was great, and there were so many interceptions and turnovers I can't remember who got what! But any way you look at it Manning and New York were humiliated.
My star of the game (and I've been saying this all along) is #30 John Kuhn with three, count 'em three touchdowns!!! I'll tell you it is a pleasure to watch that man play football. Fullbacks don't get a lot of credit because they usually get the short yard plays, and normally don't score. They end up doing a lot of blocking for the quarterback or the running back, and provide the opportunity for others to get the glory. I am glad Kuhn got to score, because he has certainly earned those touchdowns this season!
On many teams, a fullback position may not be important or factor into the offensive scheme, but for the Packers, and especially this year, the presence of John Kuhn on the field has played a pivotal role. The loss of Ryan Grant the first game of the season seriously botched our running game. Without a running game, the defense (of the team playing against you) has the advantage of knowing you have to throw the ball to be successful. Thus they play closer to the receivers (man to man coverage) and limit catches. But Kuhn (along with Brandon Jackson and even Aaron Rodgers) has brought the running game back. We may not be the best at it, but we are getting yards, and we are getting touchdowns off the run, which changes how another teams defense has to play us. Now they have to try to cover both the run and the pass, and that means we will have more opportunity for big plays.

Khun #30 (Photo borrowed from here)

On third down and a couple yards, Kuhn is unstoppable. And that is why he is so valuable. He doesn't get the first down half the time, he gets it every time. His consistency is unbelievable. He simply doesn't stop moving until he has the first down. I don't know how he does it. It's like it doesn't even cross his mind that he might not make it. He just pushes through. Even when you watch it in slow motion it seems impossible that he could shove his way through an entire wall of defensive linemen, but then he just does it. The defense of the other team seems as surprised as I am half the time. They are like "How did that happen?!?" I have no idea.
Kuhn's performance against Chicago earlier in the season, and many other games was so spectacular that I was confused when they didn't have him on the field for the game against Detroit, and New England. I am not saying I don't like Jackson, but there were many situations where Kuhn would have gotten the first down, but McCarthy didn't even have him on the field! Anyway,I guess that's in the past, and I hope McCarthy has learned how valuable Kuhn is to the team.
This past weeks game was a fun one to watch for sure. Our normal hotel-bar was closed, so we found ourselves racing around town trying to find somewhere else to watch the game. The place we ended up had the Packers vs. Giants game playing on the big screen! It was pretty sweet! We had sound and everything! When Jordy Nelson got the first touchdown there were a few other Packer Backers clapping with us and we were pretty stoked. We thought, wow! this is pretty cool. But when the Giant's scored their first TD the place erupted. We were outnumbered at least 3:1. And then there was this douche-bag Giant's fan sitting at a table in front of us talking all kinds of ignorant sh*t about the Packers and directing it over his shoulder at us specifically. (He kind of looked like cousin Eddie from National Lampoons.) I was getting really pissed and was almost ready to go over there and give him a  piece of my mind, but my boyfriend told me to calm down and watch the game. As it turned out he and that belligerent sack of rat-poop got into a bit of a shouting match. It was awesome. The guy was saying stuff about how awesome the Giants were in the 08 playoffs, and my boyfriend was like (paraphrasing) "And...? You realize that was 3 years ago and in the past right? Now it's 2010 and they suck. So what's your point?" LOL! Anyway, he left at the end of the 3rd quarter and no one else bothered us after that. We stayed to the very end even though we didn't need to. As a fan you must savor every second of a victory like that, they're why you become a fan in the first place!
OK. Now we just need to beat Chicago! Go Packers! And one more shout for Kuuuuuuuuhn!

Laetum Sōlstitium Consummatum Est

  Laetum Sōlstitium Consummatum Est !

I am told that means Happy Winter Solstice Day (or more accurately "joyful day when the sun ends it's time of standing still")

Presents Under the Tree

Christmas Chocolates

Me painting with chocolate

In always surprises me how much chocolate is distributed this time of year. I am one of the few souls who don't really care for the stuff, but even so it's really interesting to me that most people LOVE it. I got to thinking about that the other day while I was making my own Christmas chocolates...(I don't like to eat it, but it's fun to make!)
Why do so many people adore chocolate?
Well, it turns out that there is much more to chocolate than meets the eye. It's more than just another piece of candy, and here's why. First of all chocolate actually comes from a tree, Theobroma cacao to be precise. Where most candy is just sugar and food coloring, chocolate had much more substance. And the substance i.e. cocoa bean, has some really interesting properties when you get down to the chemical level. And those properties have some fascinating effects on our brains. (Well, not mine, but presumably yours if you like chocolate).

My Christmas Chocolates!

For starters cocoa beans contain a chemical called theobromine, that occurs in a  familiar compound, caffeine (which is also in chocolate), and produces a similar effect. That's why some people say you shouldn't eat chocolate before going to bed. The amount of caffeine can vary between different types of chocolate. Where you would normally get just a sugar high, with chocolate you get a caffeine+sugar high, that can jump start the brain, and even  increase memory quality for a few hours after consumption!
Chocolate also stimulates your body's production of neurotransmitters like dopamine (which are natural pain killers and mood enhancing chemicals similar to those found in morphine and codine.) This triggers the so-called "reward response"  feeling of well being.
Thirdly some of the chemicals found in chocolate are now thought to effect the same parts of the brain that marajuana does, producing a similar result. No wonder the Aztec kings of old used to drink hot chocolate daily! Who knew that chocolate could help you chillax.
Now maybe all of these things occur in such minute amounts that they really couldn't change your mood, but then maybe they can, and do. And maybe that's why they are such a Christmas staple? What better way to say Merry Christmas than giving someone a box full of treats that produce lively, happy, chemical reactions in the brain?

Christmas Time is Here

My Tree!

You better be good because...

My new Christmas dishes!!!

Christmas at my house!

The Best Loss Ever

I realize I didn't comment on the Packers game last week. That's because we lost and played terrible. Our defense was awful. Their tackle attempts reminded me of those machines filled with stuffed animals that you have to drop a claw on to win a prize.
So why have I decided to write about our second consecutive loss at the most critical time of the season? I am writing about it because unlike last week I am proud of the Pack despite the loss.
For starters (and it started the game) the gutsy on-side kick off was sa-weeeeet! WOW! Along with the Patriots we were totally caught off guard, and it was awesome! Nice call McCarthy.
Then the incredible, miraculous game executed by Matt Flynn was not at all what we were expecting. He was great! Poised and confident and on top of that (gasp!) he actually looked like he was having fun! And Kuhn was spectacular as well. I may spend the rest of this season and part of the next wondering why he wasn't utilized last week in Detroit (in fact if I could as Mike McCarthy one question I think that would be it). Stellar performance, and as far as I am concerned he should be included in much more of the play calling than he currently is.
The defense missed some key plays, but over all they performed great. Almost 3 interceptions (yeah, Tom Brady was lucky) and  two nice sacks for big ol B.J Raji. The Pats took advantage of the inexperience of Sam Shields, but for a rookie he did great, and definitly doesn't deserve any criticism for his performance. It's all part of the game.
It was a great game. And we almost won. But the clock ran out. We should have gotten at least one more play in. So why didn't we? Well, I am pretty sure the fault rests squarely on the coaching staff. I would bet they hadn't anticipated a close game or a possible win. I would bet they didn't have an emergency last minute play lined up for Flynn (like they have for Rodgers), because they didn't think he'd make it that far. And that was their bad. Flynn was ready and probably could have run the ball in for a touchdown himself if they'd had a little more faith in their backup quarterback.
But it's over, and it's all in the past. Our season is pretty much done, which is...disappointing, but I'm still really proud of how the team came together and played last night. That's MY Packers team.

I Got a Beef with Reindeer

Am I the only one who has noticed the story of Rudolf the red nosed reindeer is very un-Christmassy? It upsets me, and I refuse to have any part of it! This is nothing new to me. I have thought this for years. I was just just a kid when I first heard the song (originally performed by Gene Autry in 1947) . And I thought to myself, "WOW that's pretty messed up."
First of all, why are all the other reindeer so judgemental? What is that all about? Not only did they ignore Rudolf, they also laughed and called him names, and he was the cutest thing ever! Totally inappropriate. Period. Second, why would such a great person like Santa have such lousy reindeer? How could he kept an accurate list of all the naughty and nice children in the world, but not know Dasher and Dancer were douche-bags? It's a chink in the armor of Santa Claus. An anomalous inconsistency in his character and I don't care for it at all.  And thirdly (although this is a side note) since when is there fog at the North Pole? I am no meteorologist but I think the temperature has to be above freezing for fog to occur. Anyway....

Rudolf: A more forgiving deer than me.

My mom says the story is not about the other reindeer it's about Rudolf forgiving them. But I say that bull-shenannagans! If I was Rudolf I would have told the other reindeer to shove a candy cane where the sun don't shine, and simultaneously informed Santa that if he really needed me to guide his sleigh he's need to raise the bar on the deer he chose to associate with. End of story.
I guess some folks consider Rudolf a Christmas tradition, but for me anyway, this tale is not one I will perpetuate or include in my celebrations.
Any thoughts? Want to comment? Please do!

My Desk

I was feeling that my workplace was lacking a certain amount of holiday "pizazz", and it was bringing me down, squashing my Christmas vibe between the hours of 8 and 4 everyday. It was a bummer. So I decided to jazz it up a little! Now I have a tiny Christmas sanctuary in a sea of otherwise boring and undecorated cubicles! Now I love it, and enjoy sitting at my desk! Take a look! Nice hu?

Best Christmas Movies Ever...So Far

I wanted to post my favorite Christmas movies, just in case you all were looking for something to curl up on the couch and watch this holiday season. Since this is only my fourth Christmas, I might be missing a few, so if you have any favorites that aren't listed here, post a comment, and I'll make sure to add it!

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation: This is hands down my favorite!!! It's so hilarious, and it makes me laugh every time I watch it...even though I've seen it a million times. I can identify with Clark Griswold, and his desire to have the perfect Christmas, complete with all the trappings, and his over the top enthusiasm for the holiday season!

Home Alone: This is the one Christmas movie I remember from when I was a kid. It's funny, and Christmassy and just improbable enough that I feel like a kid again when I watch it.

A Christmas Story: Super hilarious, and great. I saw this for the first time last year, and watched it at least three times last Christmas! It was what you call an "instant classic".


The Family Man: This one is not  a comedy, but it's really cute, and it's one of those Christmas stories with a moral. I personally feel it is Nicholas Cage's better movies. 

The Polar Express: Love. The animation is just like the pictures in the book (I am old enough to remember when the book originally came out. The Librarian at my grade school read it to us.)  And there are some cute songs, and it's really well done, and really gets you in the Christmas spirit!

Real Packers Fans

It took me till now to get over the fact that we lost to the Falcons last Sunday. I really thought we played pretty well, and think we could have won if we'd just had the chance to take it to overtime. To loose by a field goal is the worst. It's like...I don't know what it's like, but it's just so disappointing. Anyway for once I thought the offense was amazing, and it was the defense that wasn't quite making the grade. There were so many missed tackles, I thought I was looking at another team! I stopped counting after 22...what the heck?!? It was like the Atlanta offense was covered in oil, and we just couldn't get our hands on them. We have to win these close games if we want to make it to the playoffs, and win our division.
Speaking of our division, what is up with the Eagles? (I know the Eagles aren't in our division but the Bears are and I'll get to them in a second). I am not a Michael Vick fan, and don't really like Philly since they decided to get rid of McNabb. Now I super don't like them. They win when I want them to loose, and then the one game, the one game I am actually cheering for them, they loose...to the freaking Bears! Uggg....so annoying! (Imagine an exasperated *sigh* right here).

All alone on Game Day

Anyway, this past Sunday we went to the same bar we've been going to all season to watch the games. I may have mentioned a couple of times that we are usually the only ones there (which is awesome because we get our own TV and volume!). But I realized that wasn't really true until this past week. See, before I wasn't counting the bartender. We were the only customers, but technically there was us and the bartender, so 3 in total. Well, this week we actually were the only ones there! The bartender never showed up! But instead of leaving we got the remote control from one of the cleaning ladies (the bar is at a hotel) and sat at the bar and had our coffee and breakfast sandwiches (we brought from home) and watched the game all by ourselves anyway! Yes, that's right, just us two die-hard Packer Backers and an empty bar. How many people can say they were the only people in a bar to watch Sunday morning football? Not many I bet, but I can! It is my opinion that when you go to the bar to watch a game, and do, even if you have to do it all alone, without a bartender...well now, that's a true Packers Fan!

Hockey Town

 I finally made it to my very first Detroit Red Wings hockey game...and it only took 31 years to finally happen! They visited the San Jose Sharks last night at the HP Pavillion (aka Shark Tank) and beat them 5 to 3 in their own house. I wore red to the game and thought it was cool that the Wings won. I am not much into hockey anymore, but going to a game every now and then is really fun. And it's so much more relaxing than football! I'll always have a soft-spot for Detroit, and hope they make it far this year. Go Wings!

Photo taken by yours truly:)

Packers Eat Vikes for Brunch

This past Sunday was a great day for Packers football wasn't it? We went to the bar at the hotel across the street like usual to watch the game. While I was drinking a coffee and a beer (simultaneously at one point) the Packers were having Brett Favre and the Vikes for lunch. (As a side note the early games kinda kill us over here on the West Coast, especially since most of us have to go to a sports bar to catch the games, thus requiring the purchase and consumption of alcohol before noon. Not that I mind the occasional excuse to have a beer at 10:00am, but every Sunday for 5 months is a little much even for me:) I'm thinking I should open a Packers Coffee Shop out here that serves breakfast (and beer too)!)

Anyway, Aaron Rodgers was spot on and brilliant, but Jennings stole the show with, count 'em, three touchdown catches! Woodson was superb as usual. And well, long story short we took the Vikes "down to Chinatown" as the saying goes, and not for pot stickers either. It was awesome! To commemorate this momentous occasion, (and Jennings triple-score) I am unveiling my latest piece of artwork. It's titled (quite appropriately) Jennings. Go Packs!!!

Jennings

Leftovers? Yes Please!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so you might be wondering why on earth I am already talking about leftovers before it has even arrived. I am already talking about them because I already had Thanksgiving #1 last weekend! I had a "House-Thanksgiving" Thanksgiving with all of my old house-mates last Saturday. It was really fun to get back together with the people I spent most of my 20's with! We spent all day wine tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains and then came home to a perfectly cooked turkey (thanks mom for putting it in the oven!) and Thanksgiving dinner....and more wine...and more dinner...and...well you get it:) I waddled more than walked to bed that night. Anyway since I hosted and paid for everything I got to keep all the leftovers! WOo hoo! I rationed them out so they should just last me to tomorrow morning which will be Thanksgiving #2 for me:) It should be a smooth transition. (I think you can safely go up to 4 Thanksgivings a year, but any more than that and it's just gluttony:) Anyway, I have made all kinds of stuff over the last few days, but there were a few inventions I thought worthy of passing along in case you are looking for creative ways to utilize those holiday leftovers! Enjoy!

Turkey Day Benedict

Turkey Day Benedict: Take leftover stuffing and or mashed potatoes, and make into small patties and fry in a pan with a little olive oil. Pan fry a couple thin slices of turkey in a pan with some turkey skin (it adds tons of flavor, and you can pick out the actual skin before eating), last either poach or pan fry an egg but make sure the yolk is runny!!! This is super important! Salt and pepper egg and turkey to taste. Heat up some gravy in the microwave. Once everything is done put the stuffing pancake on a plate, followed by a slice of turkey, then the egg, and cover with gravy. YUMMMMM!!!!

Quesadillias...Yum!

Turkey Quesadillias:
Cut up turkey in little pieces and fry with skin (I know, I know we are using the skin again, but it's delicious and not too bad if you cook it down until it's crispy. It's almost like bacon, adds a little bit of moisture to the dry white meat, especially when re-heating it in a pan). Add a little chili powder and cumin (maybe .5 tsp each?), and a small amount of salt and pepper. Or use a packet of taco seasoning.  Add a bit of water to coat all pieces if necessary. If you have leftover corn you can add it to the turkey in the pan. Make a package of instant mexican rice (it's quick, 7 minutes and about 1.50 a package). Grab some shredded cheese and tortillia's. In a pan place tortillia, meat, and some rice and cover with cheese and another tortillia. Cook for a couple minutes and flip. And that's it. You can eat them with salsa if you have it, or sour cream. They are tasty, and aren't too "Thanksgiving-y" if you are getting burnt out on gravy. OUTTA THIS WORLD!

Turkey and Blackbean Chili: OMG! This is so good I am having it for lunch today after having it for dinner last night:) I took a blackbean chili recipe I found on line and modified it to get the taste and texture I was imagining with the ingredients that I had leftover. So while this is a recipe, it's kind of a loose one that you can change around as you see fit.
1 lb cut up leftover turkey
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
3 cans black beans  (don't drain them)
1-2 cups turkey stock (boil the bones!)
.5 cup mashed potatoes (oh yes!)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp cumin
1.5 tbsp chili powder (it's not hot)
.5 tsp cayanne (this is super hot so skip it if you're a wuss)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cheese and sour cream for topping
Tortillia chips to dip in!
Basically you cook the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil until the onions a translucent. They you add the turkey and all the spices and mix thoroughly. In a pot add the beans with their water, the turkey stock and the mashed potatoes and stir till blended. Taste and salt and pepper as needed. Then add everything together and let simmer for a while until all the flavors blend, I'd say about a half hour, stirring regularly. If it's looking too thick, you can add more stock, but it should be thick enough to eat with chips (like a dip). After you pour it into a bowl, sprinkle with cheese and add a dollop of sour cream and your done! I don't have a photo of this one and to be honest that's probably a good thing as it's not the most appealing looking concoction I have ever come up with. But for what it lacks in appearance it makes up for in deliciousness! I promise!

 I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Go Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints!!!! And Happy Leftovers!!!

The Christmas Tree, A Biography

Rockefeller Center NY

As I will be getting my Christmas tree on Friday, I thought it might be a fitting week to delve into the origin of this bizarre and unintuitive custom.

Way Back When
Evidence of tree worship (especially evergreens) is recorded as far back as the ancient Egyptians. If Santa was born in Turkey, then the first Christmas tree it turns out, was most likely a date palm. (This would be an interesting twist to the holiday to celebrate it in it's oldest arid traditions:) Worship of evergreens was symbolic of the triumph of life over death, and helped guarantee the return of the sun after it's shortest traverse across the sky on the winter solstice. Holly and mistletoe also remain green all year, and held a similar status in historical times. Many cultures considered these plants to be magical, or specifically chosen by the gods. Pagans would place gifts in the branches of fir and pines to please the winter gods, and coax the sun back from wherever it went every December. Offerings ranged from trinkets to human sacrifice! Holly and mistletoe were hung over doorways to ward of evil spirits, and protect the inhabitants of the home against sickness, disease and death which were all common in the deepest of winter when food was scarce, and darkness prevailed.

Off on a Tangent

Kiss me under the parasite

It's hard to imagine what you'd think about things you couldn't explain if you'd have lived time when there was no way of knowing the truth. It seems silly to think people thought pine trees had magical powers, but what were they supposed to think under the circumstances? Would we fare any better without our microscopes and the Internet? Take mistletoe for example. I was surprised to learn that it's actually a parasite plant! How un-Christmassy is that? Yep, that's why you can't have a mistletoe tree. There is no such thing!  Mistletoe is passed from tree to tree by birds and squirrels and grows into a little bush on the branches and limbs of bigger, stronger trees. Sometimes it grows big enough to kill them! (That's super un-Christmassy). Mistletoe is hard to see in the summer when the leaves of the host are open, but in the dead of winter, it's quite a sight. I know all of this because one December evening a few years back I was sitting on my front porch and noticed a bunch of green leaves on the otherwise vacant walnut tree in front of my house. I thought it was the most bizarre thing! It seemed pretty amazing to me that there was a little green patch among the barren branches. How could that happen? I formed all sorts of hypothesis about how that could be. It took much searching on the Internet, but I finally figured it out, and that was when I discovered that I had mistletoe hanging over my home 365 days a year and I didn't even know it! Who knows what I would have thought if I'd discovered that 500 years ago?

 Sort of Back When

St Boniface: cooking a kid or baptizing him?

Anyway, back to the Christmas tree. Saint Boniface who lived in Germany during in 690's was the beginning of the Christian story, at least as far as most researchers can tell. Whenther teh events actually happened is debatable however. It goes like this. To prove Christianity to those who believed in the old Norse traditions Saint Boniface cut down a giant oak tree supposedly belonging to the pagan god Thor to demonstrate that nothing would happen to him and thus prove that Thor didn't exist. I find this to be a fairly good example of testing a hypothesis.  At some later point, up from the trunk grew a fir tree which St Boniface took it as a sign from God that he was right. He believed God had put the tree there. And I can't help but wonder how history may have been different if a pagan had gathered the nerve to test St. Boniface's hypothesis about God? Wouldn't that have been a great Christmas story with a moral? Unfortunately that did not happen. Instead Saint Boniface declared that from then on the fir tree (or any evergreen tree?) it should be a symbol of Christian faith. I find it interesting and ironic that the literal explanation of this aspect of Christmas so closely follows the metaphorical explanation of the Christmas holiday as a whole. A Christian holiday born from the roots of pagan traditions long since cut down and forgotten. Isn't that something?

Queen Victoria's Christmas Tree

Much later during the 1500's it is said that Martin Luther was walking through the woods one winter night and was struck with awe at the sight of an evergreen tree dusted with snow and sparkling in the moonlight. So he brought the first Christmas tree indoors and adorned it with candles (to simulate the snow) so his children could witness the beauty of a sparkling tree, and to celebrate the birthday of Christ. Candles have always represented life, birth, goodness, and purity, so lighting them to celebrate something makes sense, and that's why we have them on our birthday cakes! (I'm not sure what the blowing out of the candles represents...but I might leave mine lit next year just in case.)
Until the mid 1800's Christmas trees were not a standard in the way they are today. Not every household had one. Part of the problem was lighting it. Before electricity either you had to put candles in the tree (which were an extreme fire hazard, not to mention a perfect waste of candles if you were poor) or you had a dark tree that you could barely see (so you might as well just leave it outside in the ground). And part of it was decorating it. Most people could barely feed and cloth themselves, much less decorate a tree with trinkets and stuff leads of presents beneath them! At any rate a drawing published in 1850 of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert standing along side their candle lit tree finally brought the Christmas tree to aristocratic stardom. Well to do people all over England and the US began chopping down trees and dragging them inside to decorate with candles, and sugar cubes. It was not only pretty, but quite sophisticated since queens and princes were doing it.

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

 Except for the lag during the Great Depression Christmas trees have been on a steady rise since the turn of the century. Once electric lights, generic ornaments and fake trees were invented ( the latter circa 1920's) getting a Christmas tree became much more economical and easier for the blue collar working class to afford. And from the 1950's on pretty much everyone who celebrates the holiday has had one!

 Now Day's
Now day's you can get a real tree, one made of purple tinsel, one that revolves on a post, a 15' tall one, or a tiny "Charlie Brown" tree with only one branch capable of supporting a singular red bulb. You can get a Star Trek  Christmas Tree, or a completely edible one. The giant bulbs (which got really hot and could burn a tree down) that are seen in A Christmas Story were eventually replaced with modern twinkle lights, and those have since given way to very cool, very energy efficient LED lights. The possibilities are infinite. The Christmas tree has traveled through the centuries from an Egyptian palace all the way to your living room. Whatever kind of Christmas tree you end up getting this year while you admire your handiwork in decorating it, don't forget to admire it's root's in the past!

 Authors Note
This year I am going to get a living Christmas tree, which is different from a real Christmas tree because it is still attached to it's roots, and can be donated to the city or town and be planted after the holiday season. I think it's a shame to cut down a perfectly healthy beautiful tree just so I can have it in my living room for a month. It always makes me sad when I take down all the ornaments in early January and abandon what was once my beautiful Christmas tree, but now is brown and dying to the curb to be picked up and dumped in a landfill. It just seems like such a horrible ending to such a wonderful season. But at the same time fake trees just aren't the same, and I'm not sure it would feel like Christmas at all if I didn't have any tree to stack presents under. This is the perfect solution for me, and I'd encourage any of you who feel the same way to look into living trees. I love the idea that my tree will have a long life in park somewhere filled with birds and squirrels and where kids will play in the shade beneath it's branches in the summer.

Prepare to be Dazzled

I don't get this.

I was at the salon earlier this evening getting my nails done. While I was sitting I browsed through several fashion magazines. I don't normally go for Vogue or Style or whatever they are called because a.) 99.98% of the women presented weigh in total as much as my left leg, b.) because the clothes, for the most part, are ridiculous and only Lady Gaga could get away with them, c.) I can't even afford a lip gloss let alone a pair of swanky boots that they advertise, and d.) because it's easier to find a needle in a haystack than an article worth reading.
Despite that fashion has always interested me. Likewise high fashion has always confused me. I understand a fitted black evening dress, but I am stumped by a dress with hoops and see through material. Anyway as I was perusing magazines at the salon I stumbled upon something that not only confused me but left me dumbfounded as well. I am not easily shocked, but this new "trend" caught me off guard. And to be honest, I am not sure if I think it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, or just kind of obnoxious. So I thought I'd inform you all about it and see what you think.(BTW this is probably not appropriate for little kids.) Here goes!

Vajazzling

Don't get this either.

What is vajazzling? Why it's having rhinestones glued to your hootenanny (you know, your womanly area, ...eh hem...down there, in front). Yep, that's right! Now you can be the ultimate coordinated person by having your earrings, match your wahoo! You can get butterflies, fireworks, Snoopy, whatever you want. It has to be professionally done because they use some special glue so the gems don't fall off when you wipe. And I am pretty sure you'd need to get waxed before otherwise it would be the literal manifestation of the term  "diamond in the rough". According to the article several Hollywood celebrities have done it, and it's becoming quite popular.

I think it's kind of...gross and excessive. But what do I know? I'm not exactly what anyone would call the height of style. What do you think? Is this cool, weird, or a fad that should be locked in a vault along side of MC Hammer pants?

Santa Claus, A Biography

I thought I'd tackle the history of Santa Claus first, since he has become the unofficial spokesperson for the Christmas holiday. Everyone knows he's jolly, but what don't we know about him? I mean where was Santa born?It appears that the birth of Santa is (like most modern holidays) a combination of at least two, if not more, religious persons of different cultures.

The Early Years

Saint Nicolas

One Santa predecessor is the Christian Saint Nicolas, was a Greek bishop who lived in Turkey during the 4th century. He doesn't look anything like Santa, in fact he sort of creepy looking, and emaciated. But he is said to have given gifts to children and the poor including dowries to the daughters of a pious Christian man, who would have otherwise become prostitutes (the daughters, not the father.) In some versions of the story (depending on where you read it) Saint Nic had to drop the coins down the chimney at night because he didn't want the family discover his identity, and all the windows of the house were closed (which was his usual method). As they fell the coins accidentally landed a sweaty stocking that was hanging by the fire to dry (OK, OK I added the sweaty part:).  His "thing" was to give gifts secretly, because he wanted the faithful to believe the gifts were from God. (Obviously he wasn't entirely successful.) Only the Christians on their best behavior received gifts, and so parents began to use Saint Nicolas as a bargaining tool during the year when their children misbehaved. Parents all over Christendom began to threaten no gift on December 6th (Saint Nicolas Day) if their children were naughty.
Suddenly we have uncovered the (possible) origin of 1.) why Santa comes down the chimney and not through the front door 2.) why he comes at night when everyone is asleep, and 3.) why we hang stockings by the fireplace. Cool Hu?
A couple more interesting "facts" about Saint Nicolas are that in addition to being the patron saint of children, he is also the patron saint of thieves and sailors, which are the antithesis of innocent youngsters. I have no idea why this is, but it might have something to do with the fact that there weren't that many saints back then, so they had to double and triple up. Kind of like a small town drugstore that serves as a barber and vacuum repair shop.
Apparently after he died, several of his bones were distributed as relics among several churches throughout Europe. Most of them settled Bari, Italy and the bones there are purported to ooze a clear, watery, rose smelling liquid on Saint Nicholas Day every year. This "miraculous" material is collected by the clergy and put in a sarcophagus. Never mind that it's impossible for thousand year old bones to produce anything much less nice smelling rose water. It's like a double miracle: dry bones make water and it doesn't smell like moldy bacteria-infested remains. Either way, I think anything oozing out of bones or dead bodies is gross and should be avoided at all cost.

Odin and Sleipnir

Another proto-Santa, and one that predates Ol' Saint Nic in fact,  is the pagan Germainc god Odin, who had an eight legged horse that could leap great distances through the air. Odin is described as having a great, long beard and is usually depicted as an old, but strong man. He looks much more like the modern-day Santa Claus with flowing white hair, and he gave gifts as well. He would take  his octi-horse (called Sleipnir) on a long hunting trip during the Yule holiday on December 25th each year. As the story goes children across the land would put carrots, sugar or hay in their boots and set them by the door on Christmas Eve. As Odin hunted he would stop and let Sleipnir eat the snacks left out for him (to help keep his strength up), and replace the hay with candies as a "thank you" to the kids. And there you can see the origin of leaving cookies out for Santa Claus, the flying reindeer, and a holiday on December 25th (as opposed to December 6th).

The Teenage Years

Father Christmas

Although we can see a lot of similarities between Saint Nicolas and the god Odin with our modern day Santa Claus, we haven't addressed the red suit, or the jolly personality. But before we do that we need a little background. In the mid 1800's there were several versions of the Santa Claus character, but none actually called Santa Claus, in the red suit we know today. The English had Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, etc. When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol Santa didn't exist yet! It's hard to imagine that Charles Dickens is older than Santa, but there you have it. In fact, some people say that our modern fat man in red is partly based on the "Ghost of Christmas Present".

Coca-Cola Advertisment

During this time the Santa figure began being associated with happiness and holiday fun. I guess you could say he was finding his inner jolly-ness. As people began immigrating to the U.S. at the turn of the century, they brought their version of Santa with them. Over time they all adopted the American version: Santa Claus. Despite having finally found a solitary name, depictions of Santa remained varied and inconsistent throughout the early 1900's.Some renderings have him with a hat, some without. In some he is wearing a long robe, in others a more familiar suit. But in the 1930's that all changed. Who do we have to thank for our rotund, rosy cheeked Santa Clause? Believe it or not, it's the Coca-Cola Company! Their depiction of Santa in a furry red suit sipping an ice cold bottle of Coke is the birth of our modern day Santa. It's hard to believe that a Christmas staple like Santa Claus is only 80 years old, but those are the facts.


Modern Day
Today you can find a homogeneous looking Santa Claus on everything from underwear to greeting cards. He's got a red suit, a white beard, lots of presents, flying reindeer instead of an eight legged horse, and he always sneaks down the chimney on Christmas Eve. From his humble origins as saint, and god (which might account for his immortality and ability to reach all the children in the world in one night), to a modern non-religious hero, Santa has changed with the times. Now he uses GPS, and gives out Nintendo Wii to good children. He has an email address, and in the off season vacations in Hawaii. He might have been born in the Middle East, and reside in the North Pole, but he will always live in my heart as a symbol of jolly tidings and holiday cheer!

Christmas List 2010: Item 3

The long awaited (and I mean 100 years long) Mark Twain autobiography has finally been released!!! I believe it was unveiled November 14th. I am very excited about it and look forward to getting my hands on a copy. 2010 has definitely been a Twain year for me, and I think this would be the perfect way to round out the end of it.
I shall add it to my ever-growing Christmas list (which I have arranged by price, and store, and in most cases a photograph of the item:) What are my other items? Well, soap shaped like peppermints, a lobster Christmas ornament, a puppy, a cast iron skillet, and this book! But I'm not done yet!!! What do you want for Christmas?

Bye Week

Since the Packers have had a bye week, I decided I would take one too! I will try my hardest not to post any football blogs until next Monday after we take on the Vikings on Sunday morning. (Except for right now, where I am writing about not writing about football:) Happy Bye Week!

A "Traditional" Christmas

Traditional Christmas

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas? I don't think so. Since I jumped the gun on Thanksgiving, I feel like I'm right on schedule:) This is going to be my first Christmas in my own place, without roommates and all the carrying-on that usually transpires when there are lots of people around. In the past we never had a solid theme (Snowmen, Santa, traditional, or modern etc.) because there were too many of us with differing ideas of how we wanted the holidays to look. But since I can do whatever I want this year I thought I'd go for more of the "classic", traditional (i.s. more holly and poinsettias and less cartoons, and snowmen) Christmas. You know lots of red and green, and the Coca-Cola looking Santa. If you are into Christmas movies I mean more of a Polar Express Christmas and less of a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer one.

Cartoon/kid Christmas

Anyway, I have been slowly getting in the holiday spirit (but not too much because I don't want to pass over Thanksgiving in my anticipation). How am I doing this you may ask?  I am reading up on the origin of the holiday and where all the traditions come from. Unlike many people I have no delusions about where Christmas originated. But that doesn't bother me at all, or change the way I view it. To me, the truth about it is actually much more interesting and way more fun than if it were in fact the birthday of Jesus. (Not that I am a practicing pagan:) There is just so much legend and history, fear and excitement, celebration and tradition, diversity and ethnicity wrapped into what we call "Christmas"! And I love it!
Just as living things evolve, so do holidays. They are what Richard Dawkins called memes. Social ideas that are analogs to biological genes in that they follow the same rules. They can be transmitted through a species, can replicate, can mutate and are ultimately shaped by the preferences of society in which they exist. Christmas is an amalgamation of many ideas and customs, that accumulated over a long period of time, not just one.

Religious Christmas

Most of us know that the origin of Christmas is pagan worship of the sun on the winter solstice. But there is much, much more to the story. And even those of us that are familiar with it's pagan roots actually know very little about where the modern day Christmas evolved from. Sure the pagans worshiped the sun, but what does that have to do with Santa? Why is it a holiday favored by children? What's up with flying reindeer?

Modern Christmas

In anticipation of the upcoming holidays (and to savor the excitement!!!!) I will post a blog a week about the historical significance and origin of some aspect of Christmas that we all take for granted today. If you have a specific request, post a comment and I'll see what I can do! Ho ho ho! Happy holidays!

Week 9: That's What I'm Talking About!!!

Rodgers, Woodson and Mathews. (packers.com) 

Ahhh...finally! The Packers are playing just how I was hoping they would all season. In fact this is sort of feeling like the second half of last season, and I guess that makes sense since this is the midway point.
Defense:
The defense played great.  I am loving the new Mathews/Woodson blitz package that Dom Capers (defensive coordinator) is running! Both those guys just had a great night. Woodson has been amazing the last couple years, and his ability to interfere with an offenses play calling is, I think, really central to the success the defense has had. Plus I think he is a solid team leader. Mathews defensive TD was sweet, although his Lambeau Leap could use a little work. (His was actually worse than Rodgers first if you can believe that.) Apparenlty the last time #52 scored a touchdown was in high school! Mathews is leading the NFL in sacks and is 2 ahead of second place.

Packers defense rules!! (packers.com)

Tramon Williams had another solid game. He is taking after Woodson and trying to strip the ball every down he's on the field.  Sam Shields is really stepping up too, and made a nice interception early in the game. The Packers just announced today that they are releasing Al Harris, and I have to think the reason is because these two cornerbacks are performing so well. Harris is awesome, but his injuries haven't allowed him much play. I am glad played 7 great seasons with the Pack! We will miss you AL!!!
I thought Nick Collins had a great game, even though he got a penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a receiver. In his interview after the game he said that it was more or less and accident. He tried to let up, but it all happened so fast he just couldn't make the adjustment quick enough. He was disappointed that he will probably get fined, but seemed understanding of the new emphasis on the rule. He said he was just trying to do his job, and in no way was trying to intentionally hurt the other player. "I'm not that kind of guy." He said, and that's exactly what I was thinking last night when I saw it happen.
Another good sign was that Atari Bigby played for a few downs toward the end of the game. I am glad to see him back in action! Welcome back.
James Jones had a big night last night. And I am glad for him, but there is something about him that leaves me shaking my head. He has had 4 fumbles and 2 touchdowns this season.  I get that receivers drop passes, but he drops perfect ones, at really critical points in games. And for whatever reason he has a hard time securing the ball. But maybe I'm wrong, we'll just have to wait and see.
I do like the Kuhn/Jackson backfield combo though. Maybe it does take the two of them to do what one Ryan Grant could, but you know something? They are getting it done. Grant averaged about 80 yards a game last year, and Khun+Jackson are equaling about 75 yards. And if you add Rodgers rushing yardage, over all I'd have to say not too shabby guys!!!
Clifton is my hero (and looks exactly like the kid in the movie "Up" by Disney/Pixar), and the whole offensive line is doing spectacular! Almost no penalties, and just performing wonderfully. They are definitly the most improved this season.
Jennings had some sweet plays and just has this way of catching pretty much everything Rodgers throws at him.Gotta love Jennings. He's finally getting more action, and I think he should.

Russell and Clifton. Long lost brothers?

And Aaron Rodgers really showed up yesterday. It was the best I have seen him play all season I think. The one pass to Jennings was incredible. I watched in in replay ten times at least. The ball literally fell into Jennings arms. He made some good runs, I especially liked the one where instead of running out of bounds shy of the 1st down he turned and took on two DB's to secure it. He had great awareness in the pocket, and he was able to extend some plays (thanks to the offensive line) connect with just about everyone! The other thing I noticed about AR yesterday was that he looked like he was having fun out there. He's actually kind of cute when he smiles, and he seemed to be doing it a lot yesterday. I'm glad. I am sure it's super stressful being the QB and sometimes I wonder if players don't regret later not having more fun. I think Rodgers had fun last night.

Well, I was going to talk about the rest of the games, but I feel like this is too long already. I will quickly give a shout out to Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions for that awesome (but unsucessfull) attempt at a field goal, filling in for  long time Lions kicker Jason Hanson (who was injured). LOL it was rad!

Oh Mexico

Mexico has been in the international news a lot lately, and not for their great coffee or soccer teams. Since the 2006 election of their newest president Philipe Calderon, who vowed to end the drug trade in Mexico, the drug cartels have been at it non-stop to threaten, terrorize, and kill anyone who opposes them. They have already murdered and decapitated several mayors of Mexican border towns. They have murdered people (maybe some of their former employees?) in rehabilitation centers in Mexico City and elsewhere. Birthday parties aren't even safe and 14 were gunned down just last week while celebrating. Also last week the cartels opened fire on a 3 day old newly built police station (without provocation) in a border town called Los Ramones scaring the crap out of the 14 newly hired police officers who fled back to their homes following the incident.
30,000 people or more have died since Calderon took office and declared war on the cartels. And right now it doesn't look like his plan is working. The drug dealers aren't even waiting to be provoked, they are attacking first in brutal, horrible ways to terrify everyone into compliance.
What should Mexico do? The local law enforcement is totally inadequate to deal with the cartels. The men that oppose them end up dead along with the rest of their families, and those that don't are paid off and hardly qualify as police officers.
Should the military step in and just start rounding people up? Can they do that? Even if they do they wouldn't be able to touch the top guys anyway. They'd get a few runners and maybe some town thugs, but not the bosses, the head hanchos who orchestrate the whole thing and have all the money. And what about all the families and innocent people that have been dragged into it because they were afraid for their lives?
Should the government just go in and eradicate the cartel people once and for all. Shoot them, and not wait for court dates, innocence or guilt, and prison sentences? Just go up to their fancy homes, and processing plants and kill every last person there and start from scratch? What kind of government would do something like that, and what kind of people could have faith in the fairness of it afterward?
I confess I don't know a whole lot about Mexican politics, but what I do know is that is is a very corrupt, and complicated mess at the moment. All of the Mexican people I know want the drug dealers out, and an honest government in place. But they say what are the people to do? Most of them are coerced into their corruption, and are terrified by the cartels. They have children and wives who's lives are threatened if they don't comply. Men and women who oppose the cartels loose their business, their homes and their lives. All the people who stand up for what's right don't ride off into the sunset like Zorro. They end up having their head delivered to their wife in a cardboard box.
Most of the Mexican I know say it sucked having drug dealers in their country, but it was better for the people before Calderon when everyone just turned a blind eye and let the dealers do what they wanted. There was peace because the dealers stayed out of the way of the local people and let them do their own thing. But I think that is a terrible idea. Giving in to the problem is no solution. Just think of all the junkies those drugs are producing and how many lives they are destroying.
But there has to be a solution doesn't there? Something I am not thinking of? It can't all be just hopeless can it? I just can't think of a good one. I can't think of any plan to get rid of the cartels that wouldn't be wrong on some level. Do you have any ideas?

Happy Movember Novstache!

My family supports prostate cancer awareness! You should too!

Apparently November is grow-a-mustache-for-male-cancer-awareness month!  I have never heard of this event before, but I guess it makes sense to follow October which is breast-cancer-awareness month. The primary focus is prostate cancer, and the idea is guys are supposed to grow a mustache "mo" for short for the entire month of "Movember" (I personally like Novstache better) in an effort to spur conversation about men's health issues. I guess they also raise money too. This is a fantastic idea in my opinion, and an awesome/funny way to go about it. I wish the NFL would start supporting this the way they do breast cancer. And then at the end of the month the guys could auction off their mustaches! (Ewwww....gross!) That would be hilarious tho!
But all joking aside, prostate cancer effects lots of men, in fact around 32,000 are diagnosed every year. Research and regular check-ups are two ways to combat this disease, especially for men over 45. So take the time to grow a "stache" or (ladies) talked to your loved ones and donate to research. Each of us can make a difference! Here is the official website if you are interested in donating or learning mo about this great cause!

Bye Bye Randy

Well, Randy Moss made it a whole four games before getting canned by the Minnesota Vikings. That certainly didn't last very long. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he spent the whole press conference after yesterday afternoons loss to his former team talking about how awesome they (New England) was, and how nobody on the Vikings staff appreciated him? Hmmm...Maybe. Well, whatever. I say good riddance, and not just because I don't like the Vikes. Coach Brad Childress has enough drama with Favre. As for Moss well, let's just say I don't think the NFL is big enough for both him and his attitude.

D-FENCE!

The new guy in town. NT Howard Green (photo from Packers.com)

This weeks Packers game against the New York Jets was all about the defense. Theirs and ours. While Rodgers and our offense wasn't able to score a touchdown, they didn't turn the ball over or accumulate too many penalties either, so I can't really complain. And NY was held scoreless at home, which hasn't happened to them since 1992 (I think).  It was a win, and more importantly it was a win against a team that many consider to be in the top 5 this season. I can't say it was the most exciting game ever, but the takeaways by Woodson and Williams spiced it up some (even though the former might have been reversed if the Jets hadn't already used up all their challenges). I like our new guy, nose tackle, Howard Green #95, who we got from the Jets on Wednesday. He is a big dude (and needs a bigger shirt!) but had a really good game for only being with the team for three days. Welcome to the Pack Howard!
I don't have much to say this week except that for the first time this season I felt the whole team played a solid game of football. Unlike previous weeks I feel that we won because we actually played better than the other team and not because of lucky breaks, or bad calls on the field. We weren't able to score (other than field goals) but most of the sloppiness that was dragging us down the last few weeks was absent. And that's encouraging. I can't wait until we take on the Cowboys next week!

Road Trip

All of the photo's were taken along I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley CA

Is This for Real?

Has anyone else heard about the woman from Pennsylvania who is accused of murdering five infants she had out of wedlock and hiding them in the closet of her own home? I know I say this a lot but WTF? And get this, apparently neither her husband, lover, or 19 year old daughter realized she was pregnant and then not pregnant five times! Oh, and she was a nurse which makes you think she might have realized birth control would be a much simpler solution than infanticide. Incidentally nobody where she worked seemed to notice she was pregnant either. How could she possibly have sex with her lover (or her husband for that matter) and they not notice she is freaking pregnant!?! Is that even possible? What did she say? "Oh, I accidentally ate a bowling ball..." I can't decide who is more stupid that women, or the men in her life. Honestly.
It makes me sick those babies were killed, especially when there are so many people who want babies and can't have them. But maybe they were better off not being alive to suffer through what I am sure would have been a long and hard childhood with that sorry excuse of a woman.
I can hardly believe that things like this happen and people like this exist. Why couldn't she just give them away of she didn't want them? I've seen horror movies less scary than what this woman has done. 

Consile This

I just started reading Consilience by Edward O. Wilson, And when I say "just started" I mean I am 10 pages in. The basic idea, from what I've gathered in the pages I have read so far, is that the author believes eventually science will merge with social science and everything will be explained and made clear through a singular set of laws. Philosophy will cease to exist, because every aspect of human endeavor will play by the universal rules, and so become understandable, testable, and predictable. At the moment I haven't the slightest idea of how this might happen, but it appears by the length of his book that Wilson has come up with a solution. I was going to read more, but I suddenly felt more like writing and thinking. (Not that reading doesn't require thinking, but I mean pondering/thinking not analysing/thinking.)

I have been toying around with a similar idea (or maybe the same one?), although I never gave it a name, whereby every human action and decision no matter how ridiculous or surprising might be understood in a fundamental way if viewed through the active mechanism of evolutionary progress. It is the idea that no matter what we do, no matter how badly we want to be in control of who we are, at the heart of every action that we are capable of performing we will always find that we are doing what 3.5 million years of evolution is telling us to do. From that point of view, psychology would not be the study of why humans act and feel the way we do. We would already know that. The study would focus rather on figuring out how our actions and feelings are satisfying our (to borrow a phrase from Star Trek) prime directive of evolving.
Even the actions of the insane and mentally ill could be "understood" because if there is some physical ailment that interferes with their ability to function then it stands to reason that their judgement and decisions would be faulty because of it (and not a their own fault). But what would that do to our legal/justice system?

The question becomes if everyone always does what nature intended, then is everything hopeless? If everyone since the dawn of consciousness (and before it for that matter) is doing what evolution wants them to do, then you could argue that the reason we have not achieved things like world peace is because we were never meant to. That's as good an example as any. At first glance killing each other appears counter-evolutionary, but maybe there is a reason we have been fighting each other for centuries. One might argue that it has been our primary means of population control. Our instinct to take over what others have instead of live peacefully side by side could be interpreted to be a result of the fact that evolution has shown that in the long run it is more beneficial to have your neighbor dead than living next door with his 50 offspring and a dwindling supply of land and food.
A dog can learn to open a car door, but it can't speak English. A dog is limited by what it is. Maybe we are limited in the same way? We might learn some cool tricks and have some nifty ideas, but maybe we lack the ability to change the world we live in literally because we are human. I don't know, does that sound depressing? Who cares if it's depressing, what if it's true? Science and philosophy, thought and instinct all rolled into one smooth reality.

Like I said, I haven't read the book yet, so hopefully whatever Wilson has to say on the subject is encouraging and not defeatist. I am already confused! Any thoughts?