I’ve said for a long time that I am a fan of Apple. What a great company.
Not only did they bring us simplicity and stability in a fantastic OS for the future, they also completely revolutionized the media industry with a little thing called…um…the iPod? and this other thing called…iTunes?!!?

Ever heard of it?? (as Andy Bernard would say)

Well…a few things haven’t been working exactly as promised with the whole “cloud” and “push email” thing that they’ve been promoting…so I got a notice a while back that I would be getting 30 days free on my .Mac account (or…my .Me account…whatever you want to call it).

Well…I guess things STILL haven’t been working according to plan…so we get more free time. What?!? MORE FREE TIME ON MY .MAC ACCOUNT!??!

I’ll take it.

Just another reason why I love this company…just check it out…

So…thank you, Steve Jobs. May you ever bring us all tasty inventions like the iPod and iPhone…God bless you…

Also…my other favorite Steve is coming to a Target shelf near me (and you) very soon. Um…like…Tuesday….in Season 4 of THE OFFICE on DVD.

I’m so excited!

Well…no matter who wins, this November WE WILL MAKE HISTORY.

With the announcement of McCain’s VP running-mate as Sarah Palin, and the fact that Obama is for certain the Democratic Nominee, this November will either see the US of A’s very first Black President, or very first Lady-VP.

This is pretty awesome.

McCain needs this bold move….but honestly…I can’t see how Obama will lose at this point. Maybe it’s just because I live in California (a reeeeeeeealy lefty state) or that I get all of my news from Mike’s blog, Saturday Night Live, and the Colbert Report…but I’m inundated with Obama-rama. Everybody loves him…and that’s all I hear about…

OH!
I JUST SAW THAT MICHAEL PHELPS WILL HOST THE SEASON PREMIERE OF SNL on 9/13!
WAHOO!

Man. Usually SNL starts late–even as late as mid-October. But I’m glad they’re starting early…and I’m SURE they are itching to get to the political stuff. I mean…if they started mid-october it would almost be election day! Good for them and GOOD FOR ME! I miss SNL…

OK–to recap: History this November, Phelps this September.

Awesome.

I haven’t had coffee since Monday morning.

I’m not sure what…is…wrong…with…me…

For those of you that know me (and ok…let’s not delude ourselves that anyone actually reads this that doesn’t already know me…ha), abstaining from coffee for me is a huge deal.
The only beverage more wonderful than coffee is water–a.k.a. “The Fluid of Life”.

I’m not even sure what to think at this point. I’m shocked at myself. And it’s not like I’ve been dying to have one…or craving it…

Hmmm…so, to recap:

I haven’t been to Starbucks since Monday.
I haven’t brewed myself any coffee at home.
I haven’t purchased any coffee at 7-11.
I haven’t had any other caffeine or energy-type drinks.

I’m speechless.

Back in March or April, a former professor of mine (and composing/arranging mentor) asked if I’d teach a course for him this Fall at APU because he was going on sabbatical.
“Wow,” I thought, “what an honor just to be asked…”

….and after some thought and prayer, I agreed to do it. I mean, it’s only Arranging I, right? I have arranged a million and one things…I have a TON of experience doing it–not to mention the technical knowledge in Logic that is needed to be able to teach the class in the way the director of the program desires that it be taught. Plus, add in the fact that I’m really familiar with the university AND the school of music, having received my degree IN composition from the very same program only 7 years ago and having worked at APU for 2+ years in the meantime.

SO WHY AM I SO STINKING FREAKED OUT ABOUT IT?

Ahhh….I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it. I guess it’s just been long enough that I’ve been out of the good ole bachelor’s-degree-earning life, feel somewhat disconnected from college life, and have very little idea of what to expect from the students, exactly.

BUT–fear not, campers. Daniel met with Shackleton today and got a bunch of stuff to help me on my way to being ready…I just need to spend a couple of days plotting out my course (red alert-that’s Star Trek talk!) for the semester and I’ll be fine. Mostly.

Who knows what will happen…but I have a feeling it will be an ADVENTURE.

I need one.

So I’m taking a day off.

I mean…I’ve been working non-stop for WEEKS. And I still feel like there is so much that I need to do…but I can’t focus right now on anything, therefore making whatever efforts I expend much less effective than they normally would be.

I’ve pretty much been working 7 days a week since early July…and I’m not complaining by any means…I am very thankful that I have work and have all of the responsibilities that are on my shoulders. I just need a day off. A day to do whatever I want. A day for ME.

So today…I’m chillin.

And so far, it feels great.

OOO…quick question. Has anyone seen that TV Show CHUCK? Is it any good?
I’ve seen a lot of advertising for it…just wondering…

After Nathaniel got signed a week or two ago, we received a task list from the agent. Do this, go get that–blah blah blah–(thank goodness I’M not the one handling this…Christy is) and get some pro head shots from this guy. Oh yeah…he’s shot Hannah Montana, Leonard Nimoy, Buzz Aldrin…etc…

So we made an appointment for Wednesday and…as you know…BAM…Christy got rear-ended.
She still went, of course, all the way out to West LA. But Nathaniel was all shaken up and Michael (the photographer) decided to reschedule…a wise choice in hindsight.

They went back today and Nathaniel and Christy hit it off with these nice people…they talked and became friends. It turns out Nathaniel and Michael’s son, Ethan, are ONE DAY apart in age. They played…and had a blast.

But the pictures. OH YES the pictures.

They are amazing.

I’m actually shocked at how good pictures can look…it’s magical. I can’t explain it.

I BELIEVE you can get on the website, (info below) view, and purchase some of them yourself. However, I also believe that the album is only viewable for a month.
So go. Make haste.

Here are a few samples of my supermodel son.

Nathaniel and his new friend, Ethan.

Sears, anyone?
Want to buy a new children’s suit?

Wow. I’m amazed…what a pretty little boy…
I’m very proud.

INFO FOR BUYING YOUR OWN PICTURES.

In order to view your images online please click on the link below for payment instructions.

   http://sessions.argentum.com/index.html?iiccr26ns

You can order physical paper proof sheets in Color or BW by clicking on the “view order” button.

Yeehaw!

EDIT ADD:
Christy, Noah, and Nathaniel all got checked out at Kaiser and Nathaniel has a mild concussion.
They are OK other than that and on their way home now…

---

Christy and the kids were on the way to get Nathaniel’s headshots when…BAM. Out of nowhere they got rear-ended by a dude in a Corolla.
They were on the 134-101 interchange when it happened and Christy said it was a HUGE accident.
Like, none other that she’s ever been in.
No warning.
No tap-tap. This was a BIGGIE. The other guy’s car had its airbags deployed–THAT’S how serious of a crash it was.
Surprisingly, the back of the Prius (a moment of silence for our favorite–and 10-day-old–little car), did not have a lot of damage to the back end that was noticeable to the naked eye.
But Christy was drinking a Starbucks that went EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It is all over the car…all over her…all over the kids. We’re talking major coffee spillage here.

So I was about to meet with a client to close a deal, but got the call and ran out the door to go meet them. The kids were slightly traumatized by the whole thing, but as far as we knew at the time, no blood…no broken bones…and everyone had caught their breath and settled down by the time I got there.

CHP came…made a report…we are filing a claim, etc…

So after all the details were taken care of, they continued on their way to the headshot place, now late. But the kids started to not feel very good…
Christy called me a little bit later and Nathaniel was throwing up.

**RED ALERT**

This is exactly what the CHP guy said “could” happen–and if DID happen–that we should go to the hospitol.

So Christy and the kids are on their way to Kaiser on their way home (they never took the pictures since Nathaniel was feeling so sick–had to reschedule for Friday).

Hopefully nothing big will be wrong, but they are getting examined…

Please pray…

I’ll keep you updated…

YIKES!!!! This is the SECOND rear-end accident we’ve had in the PAST SIX MONTHS.

All this to say…WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING ON THE FREAKING ROAD AND STOP REAR ENDING PERFECTLY NICE PEOPLE THAT ARE OBEYING THE TRAFFIC LAWS AND DRIVING SAFELY.

Sorry…just had to say that.

The end.

So the Olympics have been on TV lately.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed or anything…

So here is OUR Olympic journey:

Since Christy and I are not around our DVR on the weekends
and
Since we’re just all around busy

…we are currently watching our recorded Olympics from LAST SUNDAY!!!

I know!! We’re so behind…but it’s not like we’re watching everything! We’re fast-forwarding through all kinds of stuff, we’re just not catching up.
We’re on womanly gymnastics right now.

I have to say, I don’t feel great about myself when I’m watching this stuff. I mean, here we are, lounging around on the couch watching the strongest, fastest, most muscular and disciplined people in the WORLD compete. I just feel like a lazy-butt. A big, fat, lazy-butt. Am I the only one who feels like this?
Does anyone else feel my pain?

I just need to tell you (and don’t get all mad at me, it’s not my fault that the Prius is awesome), that I just filled up my car yesterday with gas for the first time after purchasing it last week.

Not only is this cool because it is much less frequent than normal, but we drove a LOT this week. We drove to San Diego and back, to Hollywood a couple of times, to Covina and back once…and then around town like normal.

Soooooooo here’s the kicker.
The amount I spent to fill up the Prius?

$37 bucks.

Yes…that’s right. $37 bucks gets you a full tank of gas in the prius that lasts you a good 500-600 miles.

Do the math? Yes…about 50 mpg.

MY PRIUS IS AWESOME!

WAHOOO!

For some reason—a reason not known to mankind or anyone else in the universe—I’ve just discovered that I love Stephen Colbert.

I have no idea how it happened, or when it happened, or WHAT happened exactly…but I’m totally addicted.
(big surprise, right? What? Daniel’s obsessed with something again? WEIRD!)

I am just a little shocked that I didn’t discover his brilliance sooner. Where was I? Why didn’t anyone tell me how hilarious this is?
I mean…he’s like Ron Burgandy and a smart person mixed together. Just perfect, comedic genius.

A couple of fun things for your enjoyment:

A portion of his show from last night about the Olympics (see very bottom of post).

A sketch from a long time ago (1996) with Steve Carell from “The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show”. A show that lasted all of six episodes on NBC. Although frankly, I think they didn’t even air the last two…I only recall there being four episodes that aired. [An unfortunate thing-that show. It was like DC was trying to get booted off the network. So stupid of him.]

And the infamous blog posting that gave me my first glimpse of the great Colbert. This is a super-spiffy clip, but I think it has been removed…bummers…
I shuffled through months and months of addy road posts to find that sucker…only to be DENIED by the great lords of youtube (you know, those little people that live inside the internet that go around taking back all of the stolen videos and songs we post everywhere? Yeah, those guys removed it.) They’re like the Oompa Loompas of cyberspace.

If you’re dying for more, go to Comedy Central or youtube to check it out. Hilarious stuff.
But I warn you…I’ve only been watching for a week or two…and I’m totally hooked.

And I really can’t vouch for anything more than a week old…cause that’s only how long I’ve been watching it…HAHAHA…