Preempted by LOST. Sorry.
Jack has a kid! And Claire is friends with the evil guy in Locke's body! And a bunch of other crazy shit!
22 Feb
Today’s Olympic observations (with pictures!)
1. The U.S. freestyle ski team’s uniforms look like pajamas. The U.S. snowboarding team’s uniforms look like jeans. Neither of the teams looks warm enough to spend endless hours on a snow-covered mountain. But I wear two sweaters inside, so what the hell do I know.
2. I didn’t know ‘twizzle’ was a non-fake word until I saw countless skaters do it simultaneously during ice dancing. Entertaining and educational!
Pajama party in Vancouver!! (Full set of teeth optional)
I think I wore this exact outfit for the eighth-grade ski trip.
Fo' twizzle dizzle, it's the D-O double G-izzle!
Feel free to share your own fun Olympic observations!
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22 Feb
Keep Missoula … original?
“Keep Missoula weird.” Since I keep seeing bumper stickers and getting Facebook requests in support of this slogan, I have to express my opposition.
Now, I love Missoula, and a lot of that has to do with it being “weird” compared to its counterparts. There’s no arguing that it’s the least “Montana” town in the state. You’ll still find a handful of cowboy hat wearers roaming the city — this is Montana, after all — but they’re definitely outnumbered by hippies riding bikes with their one pant leg rolled up (I still don’t understand the point of that, BTW) or leashing up their pet goats for a stroll along the Kim Williams Trail. (Yes, I actually saw that when I was running once. I thought they were strange-looking dogs at first.)
You’re better than this, Missoula.
There’s no doubt the Zoo has earned its weird designation. But I refuse to adopt the “Keep Missoula weird” slogan, because it’s a stolen one. Perhaps that’s not common knowledge here (though I find that hard to believe these days, with the Internets and whatnot), but it originated in Austin, for many of the same reasons it fits Missoula.
I first heard of the slogan when I spent several weeks in the Texas capital a few summers ago as part of an internship residency. Austin is to Texas what Missoula is to Montana (OK, it’s probably the other way around, but same diff), and it definitely fits the bill as weird. Especially compared with the rest of Texas (or so I hear — I’m sort of afraid to experience “the rest of Texas”).
So to me, using the stolen slogan just because it “works” defies the very cause it’s perpetuating, to “keep Missoula weird.” Maybe this is part of a larger scheme by someone trying to capitalize on the slogan’s popularity in Austin (apparently Boulder, Portland and Louisville have adopted the slogan, too, and I can’t imagine it’s not copyrighted), but I still don’t like it. I’m all for keeping Missoula weird, but let’s try to keep it original, too.
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19 Feb
I’m a twit
Well, it’s official. I’m a twit. Meaning that after resisting for more than a year, I’m now on Twitter. I resisted for so long because I thought it was a silly fad that would die out soon enough. I did the same thing with Facebook when it debuted in 2004, and anyone who’s friends with me on it now knows I can’t go three hours without checking the damn thing.
But, alas, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Twitter isn’t going away. It’s become a mainstream medium for communicating about everything, from angst-ridden teenagers complaining about their parents not letting them go to a Weezer concert (that never happened to me, I swear) to newspapers spreading the latest breaking news.
I first realized Twitter may actually be a relevant (and succinct, which I can’t complain about) form of communication after it actually proved itself useful following Iran ‘s crack down on traditional journalists and media in wake of its controversial election last June. And now, when you Google a hot news or pop culture item, a scrollable feed with the latest Twitter results pops up, regardless if you tweet or not.
(On a slightly amusing side note: The first autofill phrase that popped up when I Googled super cute gold medalist Evan Lysacek was “Evan Lysacek girlfriend.” That so would have been me 10 years ago.)
Anyway, since there’s really no escaping the Twittersphere, I decided to just jump on the bandwagon and get it over with. You can follow me, if you so desire, as ALSquires29. I promise I won’t pull a Thumper on you.
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15 Feb
Olympics!
Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun! Dun du du du dun du du du dun de dun dun dun!
For those of you not familiar with my musical (in)expertise, that is the tune to the Olympics theme, in words (well my attempt at it, at least). Because the Olympics are the best! I know a lot of people think they’re boring (die-hard fans of just about any other sport, usually), but I love them. Anyone who thinks they’re too “boring” to watch is missing out.
The new badass bike I'm sporting in honor of the Olympics.
Because the athletes competing in them only get a shot at the gold and glory once every four years, some of the most touching, inspirational stories come out of the Winter and Summer games. Take Alexandre Bilodeau, the Canadian mogul skier who won Canada’s first gold on home soil Monday (a quick aside: what the F took so long, Canada?), for example. This guy had the hopes of his entire country weighing on him, but who does he most draw inspiration from? His older brother, who has cerebral palsy, who motivates him to get out on the mountain on days he doesn’t really feel like it.
This is just one of the dozens upon dozens of inspiring stories, many of which we don’t even hear about during the games. Seriously, if you don’t at least consider tearing up at some of them, then you’re not human. You’re probably a man-eating robot with no soul and should resign yourself to living on Kobol for the rest of your insignificant life.
I love that the Olympics give the non-big-name athletes a chance to shine, because they’re not out there training hard every day for the money or to be famous, like many of the more popular pro sports athletes in our country. They get one shot every few years to prove they’re the best at what they love to do, and they often overcome many setbacks to do it, just like we all have to at some point in our lives. Who isn’t inspired by that?
Squirrel Thoughts 