During my elementary school years Jordache Jeans were quite popular. And surprisingly enough my mom found a used pair at a garage sale. Technically they were the boy’s variety (did they even make a boy’s variety?). I’m still asking that myself. So she made an attempt at making me wear them. I flat out refused. There was no way I’d be wearing Jordache Jeans at any point. My mom was disappointed since she knew that they would fit. And having a wardrobe that would fit me (I must have been hard to shop for), was the most important strategy at that point. She did manage to find me some Eastland shoes when they were popular. However those Eastlands were girls variety.
I grew up in Lee jeans. Supposedly Lee fit me better. I envied my friends with Levi’s. But surprisingly enough, at some point in college I switched to almost totally Levi’s. To this day just about all my jeans are Levi’s. There is one pair of Bugle Boys’ somewhere around here.
And I’m proud to say I don’t have any Tommy Hilfiger stuff. Not a dime has been spent on Tommy stuff. I think it was a fad and was never meant to last very long. Levi’s, on the other hand, will always be in style. Kinda like Coke. Quality never goes out of style.
Ocean Pacific? I owns some of that stuff. T-shirts. Couldn’t go wrong with an Op shirt in junior high. Most Op shirts were pretty bright. Sometimes yellow, green, or pink even. Usually had some kind of surfing scene on the back. and then a small Op logo on the front.
Stand By Me
Stand By Me is one of my all time favorite movies. I’m watching it as I write this entry.
The movie revolves around 4 boys going on a journey to find a dead kid’s body. Yet the body itself is only part of the movie. Instead the movie is a coming of age movie where the kids learn much more about themselves and life. Funny and emotional at times, the movie comes full circle.
Gordie’s character is the central character in all this. The story is told from his point of view. Anything we know about the rest of the characters is due to Gordie. Gordie is a writer. What comes across in the movie “Stand By Me” is how one demensional Gordie’s parents are. We see no character development of them. And we don’t necessarily need to. They think about one thing only. How good their dead son Denny was. Consequentally Gordie is always in the shadow of his brother. Even when he died, he still is in his shadows. He’s forever known as “Denny LaChance’s brother.” Never the writer Gordie LaChance.
In this movie the character I most identify with is Vern Tessio, the misfit of the group. They really only let Vern come along with them because he originally knew where the body was. Deep down I think the rest of the boys like Vern as a friend, but they’d never really admit to it. Vern is careful and apprehensive. He needs friends probably more than any of the other boys.
Teddy is the troubled kid. Abused by his faither, yet somehow he still looks up to him. “Storming the beach at Normandy” is good enough for Teddy to always respect his father, even though his father was put into an insane asylum for trying to burn off Teddy’s ear on the stove.
Consequently Teddy seems to be overly concerned with proving himself. In one portion of the movie he tries to dodge a train. I think he is trying to prove something. Maybe about how courageous he can be…as if he could be like his father.
Chris Chambers is the leader of the group. Probably the most developed character of the group. He was branded as a shady character due to his brother’s reputation. Deep down he cares for his friends and he worries about his reputation. Chris wants to be the good guy in all this. He wants people to like him. He stuggles to come to grips with his future. Ultimately he does stick it out and makes a better life for himself. Sadly this life isn’t long lived as we find out later on in the movie.
The movie itself isn’t best for kids. The boys smoke in it and the languge is harsh enough to receive an “R” rating. I wish Stephen King wasn’t so vulgar. If it wasn’t so vulgar, the story would have been perfect at least.
BloGTK
Ok. I’m trying this out. BloGTK for Linux machines. It’s a client for posting to one’s blog. If this works, it means I’ll be able to do 90% of the things I need to do on my Linux box. The only other things I need to do is print and share my system within my home network. Linux is pretty good. Although it is very difficult sometimes to get programs installed and to troubleshoot problems. Linux gurus sometimes don’t want to share information. For example Mozilla’s Firebird’s Linux installation instructs say simply to run the script. That’s it. Nothing. No support whatsoever. Which script? What directory is it in? Huh?
“Taught to Feel Jesus in a Small Town”
There’s a line in John Mellencamp’s song “Small Town” which has always struck a cord in me. The line is “Taught to feel Jesus in a small town.” “Feeling Jesus is somewhat of a pentecostal form of view. Feeling vs. knowing. Churches of Christ have always been somewhat on the knowing end of things through Biblical evidence. Whereas others base their belief on how they feel about Jesus. Or how they feel in their heart.
Mellencamp commented on his religious upbringing on VH1’s Storytellers. He is/was Nazarene. From what I understand, Nazarenes are very conservative, especially entertainment issues. I don’t think they go to movies much. Mellencamp comments on his religious up bringing during Storytellers:
“We had the same religious bombardment. We were Nazarenes. Anyway for those of you who don’t [what] the belief of the Nazarene church was no dancing, no makeup. No wearing earrings, no wearing lipstick. No doing anything. And it sounded like not much fun.”
–John Mellencamp
Nazarenes have never struck me as the feeling type of religion. Moreso they were the knowing type of religion. At least that’s how I see them.
No one ever taught me to “feel Jesus” when I was growing up. Instead I was taught to know Him through His Word, rather than thinking what I felt was right.
Positively 4th Street
by Bob Dylan
You got a lotta nerve to say you are my friend
When I was down, you just stood there grinning
You got a lotta nerve to say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on the side that’s winning
You say I let you down, you know it’s not like that
If you’re so hurt, why then don’t you show it
You say you lost your faith, but that’s not where it’s at
You had no faith to lose and you know it
I know the reason that you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd you’re in with
Do you take me for such a fool to think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide what he don’t know to begin with
You see me on the street, you always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck,” but you don’t mean it
When you know as well as me you’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once and scream it
No, I do not feel that good when I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief, perhaps I’d rob them
And now I know you’re dissatisfied with your position and your place
Don’t you understand, it’s not my problem
I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is to see you
The Trouble with Trillian
Trillian is that all in one instant messenger program. Combines Yahoo, MSN, AIM, and ICQ into one program. I’m hooked on it. The trouble is that anytime Yahoo or MSN or any of the others change their code significantly, Trillian stops working. Then the Trillian programmers have to stuggle to write a fix for it. Their whole business model is flawed. They are relying on 3rd party programs to sustain their program. Sooner or later the instant messenger programs are going to start talking to each other over different networks. And then Trillian will be done.
Trampoline Troubles
We had an end-of-the-school-year party in 6th grade. My elementary school was K-6. Since we were about to enter the unknown world of junior high, it seemed like a good excuse to kick back and re mince about who we were and where we were going. There was a trampoline there and like any bunch of free sixth graders we went wild on the trampoline. I distinctly remember one particular parent having a cow over the unsafeness of the trampoline and the potential trouble it could cause. I remember saying to her daughter (a classmate of mine), “What’s the deal with your mom?” Not thinking at the time, I’m sure the girl was highly embarrassed during that very self conscious time of 6th grade. Probably had a big argument with her mom when she got home. “Mom, you embarrassed me at the party.” Oh well. I wasn’t thinking back then. I was just frustrated that the trampoline was a safety concern. Probably should have used a little tact.
I think they gave out our elementary graduation diplomas and predicted our future jobs. Mine was game show host for “Name that Country.” It was an ok party. Memorable enough for me to re mince almost 20 years later.
Pooh
During my growing up years everyone seems to have their favorite stuffed animal. Girls have stuff animals more than boys. Yet I did have one when I was very young. It was my Pooh bear. My mom still has it somewhere or another. That thing is worn out very much. Its once yellow outside has become dirty yellow. Washed quite a few times.
So when I went to see my niece for the first time, I stopped by Target to buy her a gift. Several stuffed animals were around. I considered getting her a Kermit the Frog, but it was for ages 3 and up. The Pooh bear, however, was for ages 0 and up….apparently no edible parts. So it was appropriate that the first gift I give to my niece was a Pooh bear. Maybe she’ll remember it. Maybe not.
Say Uncle
Ellen Sue Williamson – born January 8, 2003 11:54PM. 7 pounds 3/4 ounces. 20 inches long. Woooohoooo!!!!
Labor
Melissa is having the baby. She went into the hospital at noon today. I got down there at around 5:30PM, in enough time to go out to eat with Mark and my dad to Wendy’s. They started making Melissa start pushing at 8PM. However the baby was turned the wrong way, so they told us at 11PM that they were going to do a c-section. I knew that would take a longer time, so I left to come home to get some sleep. The roads have been wet due to the snow. I saw a car on the side of the road on Saundersville Ferry Road on my way home tonight.
More will come later.