Gary
9/28/12
So.... what does this mean? Do we need a passport to go to western Nebraska? :-)

Now, some say this has more to do with the conditions in the areas they leave rather than any future weather conditions; but if it is a predictor of winter, then this one could be earlier, colder, and nastier than ever. Stock up on hot chocolate, and cross your fingers...

LOVE that photo of Teghan. I saved it myself b/c it's so darn cute.

Tristen left this morning at 7:45 with the rest of the Youth Leadership Lincoln XVI members for their first event of the school year. They went to Camp Kitaki & won't be home until tomorrow at 2pm or so. They are busy up until tonight at midnight when it's lights out & they start back up at 8am tomorrow. Tristen knew 2 people (though not well, just knows them from school) out of the 30-40 or so, but they did a good job of splitting those kids up. She left her cell phone at home, which is crazy for teenagers! I can't wait to hear the stories. Starting in October one day a month they'll have a seminar with local leaders in the community. This is an amazing opportunity & I'm so proud of her & excited for her! Here's a link, though it's minimal info & the page is outdated. They have a new brochure with the 2012-2013 members photos in it, but it's not online yet. Also, the application is still on there, which obviously it's too late for. Tristen actually got her application from school last spring when a teacher nominated her for this group based on her leadership in the classroom & at the school. (That right there made me more proud than even getting in did!)

And speaking of politics: After seeing the Lincoln quote on today's front page ("When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.") it struck me that Lincoln could never get nominated today, let alone elected. Imagine how the phony-Christian Republicans would tear down a candidate who expressed his faith in a statement as simple as that. Lincoln was not a church-goer, and whenever his speeches made reference to a higher power that reference was usually added by someone else (for example, William Seward, his secretary of state). Today's Republican Party -- or "the American Taliban" as they have recently been called -- wouldn't look twice at someone who didn't have all their religious credentials in order...like Lincoln.

And grandma has the show recorded on her TV, and a friend of mine is supposed to take it off his DVR & put it on a DVD. Tristen liked how when he was introducing them he said, "one of the best dance teams in the city." :-)

And Metcalfs, Disney is only 84 days away... One of my co-workers told me her daughter and family are going to Disney on Saturday (tomorrow) for a week. They have first-grader twin daughters, and they're not telling them about the trip until the morning of. Surprise! I told her to make sure they have a video camera ready when they get the news. :-)

Good news! --Gary

No thanks necessary -- you won it! Thanks may be due to Tristen who gave it up (and Teghan, who I understand had actual possession of it at the time). The 85th Academy Awards will be given out on February 24 of next year, so enjoy your trophy for the next six months -- or longer, if you can win it again. :-) --Gary

Yeah, it's amazing how accurate those things are! --Gary

Got some news on that subject which I never get tired of: The Lord of the Rings movie cycle. The three upcoming Hobbit movies now have names, and dates. The first one, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, comes out this Christmas. The second, newly named The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, will be released a year later, Christmas 2013. The surprise news is that the third film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, has been moved up to July 18, 2014. So we won't have to wait a year between the second and third films -- only six months!