February 2008 Archives
Tonight, two boys and two girls get the boot on American Idol. Before I get to who I want to leave and who I think will leave, I wanted to list my Top 4 from each group.
For the guys, my list looks like this...
4. Jason Castro - I would make a comment about his hair, but then I would have to make a comment about the hair of at least four other contestants. Let's just say he reminds me of a young John Travolta with dreadlocks. The judges let him play the guitar (that was a surprise) and he did a nice job with "Daydream" by the Lovin' Spoonful.
3. Robbie Carrico - He sang "One" by Three Dog Night and while he struggled with the higher notes, he gave it a nice spin. He's the rock version of Justin Timberlake.
2. Michael Johns - He's the Australian who ended the night with The Doors' "Light My Fire". I like his stage presence and confidence.
1. David Cook - He's another contestant with questionable hair, but his singing ability is unquestionable. He rocked The Turtles' "Happy Together". He's this season's Daughtry, if you believe in such things. I hope he makes it to the end.
A quick note about Davids: Besides Cook, there are two other contestants named David this year (Archuleta and Hernandez). It's a sign. I would like to believe it means American Idol is going to have its best season ever, but I fear it's just a harbinger of doom. A lot of people like Archuleta and while I like him, too, he isn't my favorite.
For the girls, my list looks like this...
4. Asia'h Epperson - After a stilted performance by Kady Malloy, Asia'h came out and knocked everybody out with her rendition of "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin.
3. Syesha Mercado - Her happiness and energy is infectious. She sang "Tobacco Road". During the judges' critique, Paula tried to get her to say the word that was in the middle of her name ("yes"), as she had in Hollywood, and Syesha reluctantly complied.
2. Brook White - She also sang "Happy Together" by The Turtles. She had a much cleaner rendition of the song, but I liked it just the same.
1. Ramiele Malubay - She sang Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and she blew me away. While her voice was amazing, I was impressed by her hair. With so much product in it, her hairdo was tornado-proof.
Now, quickly, since the show is about to start, here are the four I want to leave.
For the guys, it would make me happy to see Jason "Generic" Yeager and Danny "Pucker" Noriega go home. While Yeager simply bored me, Noriega annoyed me. The only thing worse than his eye rolls were his lip puckers, which reminded me of Mick Jagger, another performer whose puckers I can't stand. He's obnoxious, arrogant, immature, and bound to make the Final 8.
Since both of them will be safe this week, Luke Menard, a.k.a. Orlando Bloom, and Garret Haley will be getting the boot. Menard was forgettable and Haley lacked stage presence.
For the girls, my opinion isn't as strong. If I had to choose, I would send Amy Davis and Kristy Lee Cook home. As for my prediction, I think Davis and Kady Malloy will get the boot.
Okay, enough Idol talk for this week. Time to write some comic strips while watching tonight's elimination episode.
This morning, I tried my first cup of home-brewed Dunkin' Donuts coffee and it was delicious. The only thing missing was a tasty donut.
Mt. Sizer in Henry W. Coe State Park. is an easy peak to underestimate. From a distance, it doesn't look like much, barely a discernible bump on Blue Ridge. In hiking books, its stats don't look like much either...
- Peak Elevation: 3,216 feet
- Trailhead Elevation: 2,662 feet
- One-Way Distance: 6.4 miles
To novices, Sizer might seem like a cinch, but experienced hikers know better.
Last Saturday, park administrators at Henry Coe finally opened the areas affected by last year's devastating Lick Fire. To celebrate the reopening, I made plans to hike to Mt. Sizer.
Part of the plan involved starting by 8:00 am. Thanks to some several shiny objects, I didn't start until eleven. If it had been summer, I would have been doomed, but temperatures that day barely made it into the sixties. Because of the late start, I scaled back my plans and set Sada's Spring as my goal.
After scooting along Monument Trail, I practiced my downhill skills on Hobbs Road, which descends steeply to Frog Lake. Tackling it directly is brutal on the knees and I loathe side-stepping, so I like to imagine the trail is a giant slalom course. Passing through the "gates" requires "skiing" a serpentine path down the road, which slows me down and seems to lessen the impact on my knees. It has the added benefit of giving me a chance to pretend I'm Alberto Tomba.
Past Frog Lake, Hobbs Road climbed until it reached Middle Ridge Trail and a picnic table, which offers a view of Mt. Sizer and a glimpse into the future - a future involving a very steep climb up Hobbs Road.
Beyond the junction, the trail made a sharp left turn and began a long descent to the Middle Fork Coyote Creek, passing Deer Horn, Skeels' Meadow, and Upper Camp along the way. When I passed this way last year, the creek was hidden by vegetation. The waterway was clearly visible this time.
Past the creek, the real climb began - roughly 1,500 feet over 1.5 miles. On steep trails, I find it helps to focus on the ground five feet in front of me and just keep walking. If I look too far ahead, I tend to psyche myself out. When I reach a natural bend or a place where the trail temporarily levels off, I usually turn around to see how far I've come. The view is often rewarding.
It didn't take long to reach Sada's Spring. I had made good time. A sensible person would have stuck to the plan and turned around, but I told myself, "Sizer is only a few steps away. I might as well check it out."
By one, I was on Blue Ridge Road. The first familiar landmark was Booze Lake. It appeared as though the fire went right from the ridge to the lakefront and simply stopped. The house on the other side looked undamaged.
It was an eerie feeling hiking along Blue Ridge. On one side, everything was green and lush.
On the other side, everything was brown, black, and barren.
Because Mt. Sizer is so unassuming, I nearly missed it. The only indication of its existence was a generic sign that said, "Trail". I ventured a short way down the road leading to what I assumed was private property. Black tree skeletons lined the road and the view was incredible.
After eating lunch and taking more photos, I braced myself for the return journey. It was two in the afternoon and I figured I had two options:
- I could return the way I came (6.4 miles)
- I could return by way of Jackass Trail and Poverty Flat Road (8.2 miles)
Because I'm something a loop snob, I chose to take the Jackass Trail. It was the wrong choice.
I was a quarter-mile in when the trail disappeared. The fire had wiped out any hint of it. Toppled trees and tractor marks further obscured the actual path, so I followed the path of least resistance instead. After ten minutes of wandering, I finally caught a glimpse of what I guessed was Poverty Flat Road. I immediately headed for it.
For the next fifteen minutes or so, I ran up and down several steep green hills. When I finally reached the road, my legs were tired. As it turned out, I had emerged on Poverty Flat Road, 0.4 miles east of the other end of Jackass Trail. (And just between you and me, I felt like a jackass, too.)
Poverty Flat Road was kind to me until I reached the Middle Fork Coyote Creek for the second time that day. After successfully crossing it without soaking my feet, socks, or boots, the road got mean and began its ascent.
For the next hour, I endured its slopes and slants. While it wasn't as bad as Hobbs Road, it actually felt worse because of the miles I had already hiked. There were more than a few times when I thought a hint of sunlight at the top of a bend meant the climbing was done. I was wrong every single time.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached Manzanita Point Road. I took a five-minute break at the picnic table under the giant oak that stands at the split. It was nearly 5 pm, so I decided to return to Coe Headquarters by way of Manzanita Point Road instead of Spring Trail to save a few tenths of a mile. As I crossed the final bridge on the Corral Trail, a sense of relief and accomplishment washed over me.
In all, I hiked 14.2 miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing in roughly 6 hours. For anyone hoping to hike Half Dome one day, I definitely recommend hiking Mt. Sizer first. It's a good place to practice. One piece of advice: don't do what I did. If you go, stick to the marked roads and take your time.
You can see a few more photos from the hike on Flickr.
I'm disappointed how this one turned out. Creative energy levels lower than usual today.
For fans of Pushing Daisies and LEGO... enjoy.
Song on my mind... "Oxford Comma" by Vampire Weekend.
Why would you speak to me that way
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain
I always tell the truth
Inspired by Elkit's Monday Music, I thought I'd share a song by a band I discovered only a few minutes ago while listening to Last.fm.
I love their throwback look and sound. I also dig their videos. One of my favorites is "A-Punk"...
Being backlogged is never fun. Tomorrow is a three-comic day.
Inspired by Tom's recent efforts at Two-Heel Drive to map his hikes, I thought I'd try to do the same. What can I say? Great ideas bring out the copycat in me.
Because I couldn't readily find a Movable Type plug-in to help me, I went right to the source (a.k.a. the Google Maps API). For the last day or so, I've been taking a crash course in Javascript and geocoding. Let me tell you, it isn't fun, at least not in the normal sense of the word.
By making use of MT's Excerpt and Keyword fields, I've been able to geocode a few of my hikes. While it isn't as extensive, comprehensive, or cool as Tom's or Casey's (a.k.a. Modern Hiker) creations, I think my map turned out okay.
For the curious, here's the link to the hiking map.
I'm still in the process of geocoding my hikes. I've only plotted ten so far, but when I'm done, I estimate there will be roughly thirty markers on the map. I can almost guarantee the map will look empty, revealing so many parks and places I have yet to explore.
Besides the folks I've already mentioned, I want to thank Cyberhobo and Bay Area Hiker for giving me ideas and opening my eyes to possibilities.
I'm going to go out on a limb and ask for any suggestions or constructive criticism regarding the map. Are there features you would like to see? If this were your map, what improvements would you make? Ideas, big or small, are welcome.
In the meantime, I'll be updating and tweaking the map over the next few days. By next week, I hope to have everything geotagged.
I'm bringing silly back... and I really shouldn't have.
Last Friday, I was determined to go hiking and nothing was going to stop me.
"If the President calls, tell him he'll have to wait his turn," I told Abby. "Mt. Madonna called first."
Abby, by the way, is our cat and my personal assistant. Her top 5 responsibilities are to:
- eat our supply of dry food at an alarming rate
- use the litter box regularly (because someone has to)
- shed enough hair to cover a second cat
- wear a groove into the window sill from constant napping
- answer the phone
On her last annual performance review, she received "Outstanding" on everything except #5. That one was a glaring "Improvement Needed".
But I digress.
Eager for the solitude only a walk in the woods could provide and equally as eager to complete my second Healthy Trails hike, I grabbed my daypack and drove to nearby Mt. Madonna County Park.
The strenuous hike outlined in the Healthy Trails guidebook is a 5.3-mile counterclockwise loop that follows the Merry-Go-Round, Loop, Iron Springs, Blackhawk, Contour, and Ridge Trails, and has more than a thousand feet of elevation gain. The good news is that all of the climbing happens in the first two miles, while one's legs are still fresh.
As I climbed Merry-Go-Round Trail, the noise of passing cars on Highway 152 gave way to the sounds of a trickling creek, which soon gave way to a steady silence.
Because this hike was nearly identical to the one I did last May, I knew what to expect when I reached the rocky grassland. Even so, the views still gave me pause.
Afterwards, I stopped by the Miller House Ruins to read and eat for a spell. It was so quiet and peaceful that I didn't want to leave. If I had a list of favorite reading spots, this would be on it.
The rest of the hike was a tranquil return to civilization. The silence of the ruins surrendered to the sounds of birds and a tumbling stream along the Blackhawk and Contour Trails. They were soon replaced with the noise of tires rolling on pavement as I approached the dirt and gravel parking lot.
When I got home, I said to Abby, "Any messages from the President?"
She replied with a curt meow, which I took to mean, "No, but you should know my bowl is empty and I'm taking the afternoon off."
You can see a few more photos from my hike on Flickr.
This one was a bugger to photograph, especially the last row of panels. I think the pacing and sense of action comes across. Then again, I've stared at it so long and run through it so many times, I might not be the best one to judge such things.
And now it's time for bed and some much needed rest.
Okay, just one more to go today to get back on track. I'm only hoping the Sudafed lasts long enough to finish the last one.
A combination of being away from the computer and coming down with a cold has put me a few days behind. Expect to see three bricks today.
Today's strip was inspired by "smart thermostats" and a furnace on the fritz.
P.S. Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Rat, my dad's year. For all of those who celebrate: Gung Hay Fat Choy!
And now for a little sleep...
After work, I rushed home to vote at my local polling place. The flow of fellow voters was continuous. Today's strip was inspired by Super Tuesday and a game I've never played.
If you voted, enjoy! If you didn't, well, uh, enjoy, but promise to vote in November!
This one came in late due to American Gladiator related distractions. My man, Evan, the rock climber, blew past Anthony, the firefighter, to make it into the finals. Like last time, he rocked on The Wall and The Eliminator, where he posted a time of 1:23. He was awesome.
For the women, Shanay defeated my favorite, Siene. I think Shanay is now the one to beat.
Today, it feels as though I've been bound by invisible rope or stuffed in a mummy sleeping bag a size too small. The funny thing is the more I struggle to free myself from it, the more anxious and constricted I feel. It's awful.
I blame the restlessness on the beautiful weather outside. It's perfect get-out-there-and-explore weather, but I'm unable to take advantage of it because I'm stuck inside the office (just like everybody else).
The dark clouds of yesterday sailed off in a storm of giggles overnight and the sun has been defiantly shining down on me all day. Every time I walk by the windows, I shake my fist at the sky and shout, "Where were you this weekend?!" The sun replies by glowing brighter and smirking.
For the most part, the rain kept me from venturing outside this weekend. I did manage to squeeze in a nice nine-mile bike ride on Saturday, during a short break in the precipitation, but it wasn't enough.
I long for a good hike. It has been nearly four weeks since my last trek. I'm to the point where I don't care if the trails are flooded or rain soaks me to the bone. I just want to be out somewhere in the woods or the mountains, far away from everything, just for a little while.
I'm resolved to hike someplace this weekend, come rain or shine (preferably shine, but I'm not going to nitpick). I hope the promise of adventure (with some much-needed patience thrown in) will be enough to calm this restless feeling and slacken these invisible ropes so I can survive the week.
The idea of a giant teapot serving as a tea house had been brewing for a while, but what I pictured in my head looked much cooler than what appears here.
Super Bowl XLII was dull affair for the first three quarters. Both teams saved all of the excitement for the final three minutes of the game.
Of this year's batch of commercials, my favorite was "Coke Parade", which had a giant balloon Stewie and Underdog fighting over a giant balloon bottle of Coca-Cola high above the streets of New York City. The ending featuring a giant Charlie Brown brought a smile to my face. The Justin Timberlake Pepsi spot placed a close second.
As a reward for finishing today's strip, I think I'll go outside and play while the rain is at bay.
Let me introduce Jake Krowling and Walk Dizzy, two characters stolen adapted from "Keep Smilin'", the story I wrote last year for NaNoWriMo. I thought it would be fun to bring them to life in LEGO-vision.
By the way, S.J. Perelman, one of my favorite writers, was born on this day in 1904. He once said, "Humor is purely a point of view and only the pedants try to classify it. For me its chief merit is the use of the unexpected, the glancing allusion, the deflation of pomposity, the constant repetition of one's helplessness in a majority of situations."
And for those keeping score at home, the strip above is the 800th photo I've posted to Flickr. Meaningless, but true!
