Sir David Attenborough

The British readers may be more inclined to know about this magnificent fellow than the most. David Attenborough has been on TV for more than 50 years. He is one of the most renown wildlife specialist out there. When people think of getting up close and personal with alligators they inevitably think about Steve Irwin, but it was David whom Steve looked up to and tried to imitate. You won't see this 80 year old wrestling around alligators but you will see him with some of the most amazing animals, plants and cultures ever.

Here is his myspace page where he included many short videos.

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Unusual Pets

As soon as I read about this, it made me think to Bill Cosby's skit about owning the Rhinoceros. I think it would be pretty cool to own one.

"Flower" is quite the unexpected pet to have. Probably one of the last pets I would think about owning.

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I'm not quite seeing the attraction

Australia has just started selling a $50 cup of coffee. I don't know about you but I think that Starbucks has pricey coffee. Oh right I forgot to add the main ingredient to this potent cup of coffee...The droppings of a Asian Palm Civet. So I'm failing to see this whole marketing ploy that is going to make this a hit. Not only is it expensive but your drinking coffee that was once inside of a Luwak. I guess I can't really put it down since I haven't tried it but it sure does seem interesting.

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Joe Cocker

Friends are truly amazing and make life so much better. This video is awesome archival footage (Woodstock 1969).



That's some good acid!

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Creationism

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Soccer

I am just now getting into watching soccer. Not so much American soccer but all the international games. I have found a pretty cool application on Firefox that will help you keep up to date on all the games. It is called FootieFox. It is helping me stay up to date at least a little bit. I might need some help from you internationals though.

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REI

If you are an outdoor enthusiast, as most of you are since you work at camp, then you just might fall in love with this store. REI is such a great store. I am in love with Moosejaw as you probably noticed me wearing a lot of their shirts, but REI is also great. My family and I took a trip there today and I didn't expect to buy anything, but lo and behold I walk out spending $50. This is exactly why I need to move somewhere where they don't have one nearby. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I enter the store. My eyes boggle out and I get very giddy. Well I guess that is my two cents for today.

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Bubble Tea

If you have never had Bubble Tea you need to quit whatever you are doing right now and go get some. This is so weird but amazing. It is a cold tea where there are tapioca bubbles at the bottom which are chewy. The Bubbles don't taste like anything really but they just add to the effect. I know for a fact that there is a store in Ann Arbor that sells it (I think it is called Bubble Island). It is hard to find places that do carry it. As you can probably tell, I have a huge craving for it right now but of course Midland doesn't have any place that carries it.

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The Burj Al Arab Hotel

Alright, so this is basically the most amazing hotel I have ever seen. It is a 7 Star hotel and is located in Dubai which is in the United Arab Emirates. This is such a nice looking hotel from the outside and then the inside is just unreal. Here are some pictures of it. And here is the actual hotel web page. The rooms run about $2,000 a night. There are a couple cheaper and some more expensive but that is about the median. Who would have ever though that I would actually use a math term outside of class?

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12 Year Old

Well I am finally back at school, meaning that I can actually write on this again. I just got back from spring break in Florida and am happy to come back to warm weather. One of the best things I saw at Florida was a 47 year old woman win the bikini contest. So take that all you drunk 21 year old whores who barely wear anything down there. Wait, scratch that, the best thing that I saw was a 12 year old do a keg stand on the beach. One of the funniest things ever. He lives at Panama city so he just walked to the beach and got free beer from pretty much whoever he wanted since they all thought it was a brilliant idea to corrupt a youngin. Anyway, School is on the home stretch and it is getting closer to camp time!! So I apologize for coming back to the bloging community and that you will waste some of your precious time reading this stuff. Alright, maybe I'll actually post something worth while next time.

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MS

On April 28 I am walking in the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) walk to help raise awareness and fund research of the disease. I am part of the HASNU (Honorary Accounting Society of Northwood University) team and we are looking for help in raising money for this event. My personal goal is $150 but am sure that we can blow this out of the water. Please give whatever you can and tell your friends also because the more people know about it the easier it will be.

About MS

Duty is a very personal thing. It is what comes from knowing the need to take action and not just a need to urge others to do something.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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Jump to Conclusions

Today I zoned out in class because my teacher is an idiot and I started to think about how the guy made millions off of the pet-rock. I'm all for making them at camp and what not but to actually buy them would be stupid. After I started thinking about that I transitioned into 'Office Space' mode and the whole jump to conclusions mat.

"Success, not greatness, was the only god the entire world served."
-Drew Baylor, Elizabethtown

I would have to say the pet-rock is a prime example of this quote.

Peter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you're not feelin' real well, does anyone ever say to you, 'Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays'?
Lawrence: No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.

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Quote

"Some choices will choose you. How you face these choices...is what will define the context of your life."
-Dana Reeves

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Heart Message

Valentines day went by with nothing extraordinary as usual. But since there is a million pounds of candy on that day I got some from the cafeteria. I received one of the message heart candy's with a message of "GO HOME." Either the messages are now being directed to singles or they have some really lonely people working for them. Anyway, it was a good time and luckily my roommate brought an annoying person over and we were able to share the love of the message.

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Stupid Accounting

Yesterday I went into Flint and experienced a new thing, 'Hairspray.' If you have never heard of it, like I never did before getting invited, it is a great play. It pinpoints self-confidence, appearance vs. reality, racial discrimination and had a lot to do with overweight people. It is a new age look on the old problems of the 60's. It is a comical musical but it get a little awkward at times as an overweight African-American family sat right next to us. Luckily they didn't take any offense so all is good. Actually if you look at it all the jokes kind of make fun of the white people for thinking so narrowly and shut-off during that time period. Even though we still face some discrimination today we have come a long way from what it used to be.

If you enjoy musicals you will enjoy this one and I hope you have a chance to see it.

Have a Fantastic Day!!

P.S. (can you even use P.S. on a blog?, eh why not?) It is almost six in the morning and I have yet to go to sleep, still trying to do my accounting homework which gives further confirmation about the Artichoke's post on procrastination on homework.

NOLS

If you love to travel and want an excuse that will help rationalize an amazing expenditure I have the answer for you. The National Outdoor Leadership School is a place that takes you around the world and teaches you very valuable skills needed to be a leader. You can choose between backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, fishing and many other activities. They have experts take you away from civilization and you have to learn the skill and then learn to teach the class. Not only do you become an expert at the activity but you actually learn how to lead others because you are given a day where you lead the whole class on a day trip. I believe that the best way to learn about anything is to be given the opportunity to do it yourself, and this school seems to have taken that principle and revolved around it. You do what you love and you grow.

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You Tube!

After posting that last one I realized how much YouTube is actually used in blogs and every aspect of life. My friends and I were watching the Superbowl game and after a commercial was aired that was funny we all wished it would air again. Well, thanks to YouTube every commercial aired is viewable.

Speaking of which, one of my favorite commercials was the first Doritos commercial with the cashier. Wait what am I doing? Why would I tell you about it, when I can show you it?



The second one was the K-Fed one.



If you watched the Superbowl, what commercial was your favorite?

I am glade YouTube came along.

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Just imagine

I am just sitting here reading up on John Lennon and learning to play some of his songs on my guitar. One song in particular has always spoke to me. In the times that we are in where people are blaming everyone else and war is very predominant. "Imagine" is a powerful anti-war pro-peace and love. It is such a Utopian picture that he paints in his image but it would be great.





When I listen to it I always start to dream what a perfect world would be like. Would it be too boring because everything is great? Or would that matter since everyone would be too happy?

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Words

Eddie: Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away.
-Arthur Miller's, A View from the Bridge

Good play. It is only about a hundred pages so if you have time I recommend reading it.

I think this quote is very strong in our culture, meaning that people are very loose with the words that they use. Everyone is so wrapped up in money that they forget about the damage that words can do. The English language has so many words and so many of them go unused.

Altogether it is good advice.

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Scrubs

Today I realized how much I love Scrubs. It is a great show, plain and simple. I just really found out how much I have been watching it because I have started narrating my life like J.D. After something happens I found out I do that 'stare into abyss' thing as I think something in my head. Today my friend caught me and asked me what the heck I was doing, and this is when I realized it. (I wonder if they think I'm crazy?)

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A Rarity

Today I had my accounting class canceled. This never happens. If she is sick she will still be in. Once her husband, who also works at the University, could not speak and he still held his class as he typed everything onto a word document and projected it onto the wall. This couple does not miss a day at all for their own personal health but only for their family.

So, today a couple of my friends stood outside of the doorway with complete ecstasy as we read the cancellation notice. This is the first time this has happened all year!!!

Shit, what do I do with all of my time now?

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Learning everyday

I found a little book entitled Live and Learn and Pass It On. It is about little life lessons from people from the ages of 5 to 95. Some are deeper than other but they are all great. Here are some of my favorites:

• I've learned that most of the things I worry about never happen. -Age 64
• I've learned that self-pity is a waste of time. -Age 81
• I've learned that you can't throw mud without getting a little on yourself. -Age 66
• I've learned not to waste time worrying about the things I can't change. -Age 72
• I've learned that regardless of how little you have, you can always give comfort and encouragement. -Age 64
• I've learned that you should fill your life with experiences, not excuses. -Age 52
• I've learned that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it. -Age 10
  

Funny one's from the kids:

• I've learned how to hold animals without killing them. -Age 5
• I've learned that if you want to get even with someone at camp, you rub their underwear in poison ivy. -Age 11
• I've learned that when you have three of your wild friends in the car, the driver freaks. -Age 9
• I've learned that you can't hide a piece of broccoli in your glass of milk. -Age 7
• I've learned that you can be in love with four girls at the same time. -Age 9
  

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Elizabethtown

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) has just been fired from his job and found out that his dad has died all on the same day. The movie traces his journey to where his father died and comes to meet some amazing people that change his life forever.

The movie is hilarious, witty, thought provoking and an uplifting movie. I want to go more in depth in the discussion of the movie but do not want to spoil it for you. So, you have a while to see it and then I will repost more in depth about what I drew from it. Happy watching!

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Your Heart

This is really cool if you want to know how your heart works.

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Tree Climbing

This guy is a little weird but he climbed the worlds tallest tree "Hyperion". The video shows his climb to the top.

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On the John

This would be really sweet to have. The only problem is I would probably not leave my toilet with all of the sweet things it has.

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Reinhold Messner

Many may perceive Edmund Hillary to be the best climber ever but there is somebody else who has surpassed him in many ways. Reinhold Messner was climbing mountains since the age of 5. Since then he has become the first man to summit Everest with his teammate Peter Habeler without supplemental oxygen in 1978. He then summited by himself without supplemental oxygen in 1980.

Since then he has become the only man to summit all fourteen 8,000 meter mountains. He tackles every mountain with a style called 'Alpine style' (meaning he brought only his clothes and a backpack carrying the essentials).

In 1970, he and his brother, Gunther, went on their first major Himalayan climb, Nanga Parbat, where they both reached the summit but Gunther died two days later on the descent due to an avalanche. Reinhold also lost seven of his toes due to frostbite. He has altered the climbing world entirely and give many kids someone to look up to. His courage, physical ability and knowledge of the mountains has helped him stay alive through all of his ascents. He has attacked the hardest mountains from the hardest side and did it all with minimal equipment.

It is great to see people like him push the limits that people thought to be impossible. It shows that nothing is impossible and all that we have to do is try, because if we don't try than it will be impossible.

Reinhold Messner

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Rock Climbing & Life

I have loved rock climbing ever since the first time that my dad took me. We went to Grand Ledge which is in Grand rapids and these are 50 foot cliffs. This place is not that high relative to other places but hey, we are in Michigan. I recently went to Planet Rock in Ann Arbor and they have a really nice indoor place to climb. It re-claimed my passion for climbing. When I look at other photos of people climbing thousand foot cliffs it makes me daydream and wish that I had the time to do that kind of stuff.

So my new plan in life is to work as an accountant for 10 years while living in a piece of crap house that way I can save up all of my money for early retirement. Once I have saved up a good amount of money I will take 10 years off to travel the world so I can do some good backpacking, rock climbing and camping. After that I will go back into the work force and work until I can retire.

The only problem is that I will most likely get married and have kids. Does it ever seem like you have too many plans for your life and there is virtually no way you can accomplish all that you want to?

Then it hit me, I have to build a time machine that way I can do all of these things and then come back to the present moment and keep living my life. As I am sure many of you would like one of these machines I will loan it out to whoever. It got me thinking about all the things that I want to do in my life and how consuming of money and time everything is.

I enjoy accounting a lot but I also get to thinking that there are things that I enjoy even more. Someone posed me a question once; If you didn't have to worry about money what would you do with all of your time? I think that this is something we need to ask ourselves every now and then to make sure that we know we are doing what we truly enjoy doing.

So what would you do?

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Jones

Everybody has looked at a Jones Soda bottle and laughed at one of the pictures that were featured on the front. They have also wished that they have had one of their pictures on the front. Well what a genius idea it would be to be able to customize a pack of sodas. Jones is giving you the ability to put personal pictures on a pack of Jones Sodas. They claim it is great for birthdays, anniversary's, Christmas and all sorts of occasions. What a better way to say 'I Love You' than to whip a Jones across the table and much to their delight they not only get a great taste but a tasty message.

What picture would you put on your soda?

Have A Nice Day!!

Garrison Keillor

Ever since I was young my dad has listened to a show called 'A Prairie Home Companion' on the radio. When I was a kid I hated listening to this show but now that I understand the jokes it is absolutely hilarious. Garrison Keillor is the writer of the show and does a new one every week. It is amazing that he can write a two hour show for every week and keep them filled with great jokes and great music.

Garrison has created an imaginary place called Lake Wobegon where he lives. He tells stories about the place and goes into detail about the characters and gives them quirky characteristics. The show consists of stories, fake advertisements, and music.

If you have never heard it before you just must. This show is from August 5, 2006.

WARNING: The music is mostly folk and bluegrass, but you can skip them if you really despise that type of music.

Have A Great Day!!

Africa

Ok, so this post might mean a little more to some people who are in love with Africa than it does to others. There is a new movie that just came out called "God Grew Tired of Us." It is about a man's (John Dau) struggle to run away from a war where he was living, Sudan. The movie goes into depth about all the struggles that he had to endure to get away from the soldiers. I have not seen the movie but I have read about him and his journey into America in National Geographic Magazine (NGM). Some of the things that he had to do is remarkable. NGM does a great job telling the story but I believe that the movie will be moving.

Read about it

Watch a trailer

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Grand Canyon

I was researching on National Geographic and I came along this new idea that should be coming out in March of 2007. This glass floor is going to come out of the side of the Grand Canyon and visitors will be able to walk out on it to look straight down to the bottom of the canyon floor. You can read the whole thing here.

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Pandora

I have found a great way to listen to new music, and that is through Pandora! All you have to do is type in an artists name and it will create a radio station that plays off of the same type of music as them. Then you can vote if you like it or don't. It is really simple and I find it a great way to listen to new music. You can also create up to 100 radio stations so that you can have certain ones for certain moods you are in.

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Materialism

After reading Schnert's blog about the Sarah McLachlan video i started thinking about one of my friends who lives his life without corporate influence. This guy donated all of his clothes, except for about three of everything, to purple heart because he said he didn't need that much stuff. Not only that but he despises the fact of having money and hates that most of everybody's reason for doing things is motivated by it. He is now fixing old bicycles and giving them away.

After reviewing that it came to my attention that you can pick out most of the people who run their life by what the new 'fad' is. These people are usually high maintenance, very pushy, selfish and an all-together egocentric person. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but next time you see someone who is self-centered look at how many material possessions that they have. Don't get me wrong, material possessions are needed to live, but an abundance beyond what we can use is being selfish. I know this is a little weird for me to scold materialism seeing how I attend a University specifically for business majors, but I think that that is why I can see this so clearly. Many of the students here have their parents pay for everything and also pay for the alcohol that they all drink before, during, and after the classes that they are supposed to be attending. The parking lot looks like the Detroit Auto-Show all year long because the parents want their kids to have the best car.

I was thinking about the whole giving to the world that was portrayed in the music video and it came to my attention that if you want to give more to the world, you have to make more. Well you can't make more unless you impress the materialistic world by the clothes that you wear to work, the car you drive to you clients house, and all the extra gadgets that you need to help you become more successful. The problem comes when we get so wrapped up in trying to make more money to give away to the world that it soon becomes making more money to buy things that will help make more money. At a certain point you loose all focus on the things that you got into it all.

I got a little off topic but I find it of great importance that you evaluate all the things that you
"need" in life and the things that are truly just wants. It is kind of scary to think about how much you and I have been taken over by this materiality.

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Idiots

So I read a great blog called As the Artichoke Turns and have decided to take Matt's advice about the 'Stumble' Add-on for Firefox (by the way it is amazing, thanks a lot Matt). I searched for humor and have found something that cracks me up. I was sitting in our church cafe and cracked-up reading it while everyone passing by gave me odd looks. Anyway, you have to read these, it will brighten your day knowing that you may not be as dumb as you think you are.

Courtroom Quotations

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National Geographic

If you don't already know, National Geographic is by far the best magazine ever published. It combines relevant information with absolutely unbelievable images (for all you picture-book readers, yes, it is good for you too). I receive both the normal magazine plus the 'Adventurer' magazine which focuses on trips and ideas for travel for the everyday life. It spans from a weekend trip to a couple month trip, so whatever type you are in the mood for you can do.

I was reading this months 'Adventurer' and it was talking about New Zealand as one of the most adrenaline hungry places to be. New Zealand created the first commercial bungee jumping in the world and it used to be true that if you went naked you didn't have to pay. Sadly this is no true anymore but you are still given the opportunity to do it that way if you so choose. So, if I am ever in the area of New Zealand watch for my video on You Tube of me bungee jumping naked and be prepared to be stunned.

HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!!