Just because

Last weekend really caught up with me. Our refrigerator and cooler are still giving us troubles, we had a picnic at Monte Cristo and took a 3 hour detour home, and our baby has decided she doesn't like anyone but my wife. I need a nap but this week is even worse. I have been put in charge of a Stake Eleven year old camp Friday and Saturday. I'm giving a talk on Sunday morning. I feel like I need a vacation before we go on our vacation.

I had to rebuild a computer today so I didn't have a lot of time to surf....
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I came across this article about the '100 top videos of all time' from Stylus Magazine.

We here at Stylus have democratically selected our humble and largely unofficial picks for the 100 best videos ever made, and are presenting them here, fully equipped with YouTube links for your viewing pleasure. Our list spans over four decades of music videos, from Bob Dylan & D.A. Pennebackers arguable creation of the art form in 1965 right up to a barely month-old Hot Chip video by Garth Jennings.

Here are the top 10:
1. U.N.K.L.E. featuring Thom Yorke - "Rabbit in Your Headlights"
2. Johnny Cash - "Hurt"
3. Joy Divison - "Atmosphere"
4. A-Ha - "Take on Me"
5. Radiohead - "Just"
6. The Replacements - "Bastards of Young"
7. Bjork - "All Is Full of Love"
8. Jay-Z - "99 Problems"
9. Daft Punk - "Around the World"
10. Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg - "Nuthin But a "G" Thang"

This list may be hip but I'm surprised that there are not more videos from the 80's and 90's at the top of this list.

The best part is that each Song on the countdown includes a link to the video on YouTube. Here is the number two video of all time. 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash

[link for rss]

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The Middle East is a hotbed for war. It is confusing trying to figure out who is against who. Today I found this cheat sheet called the 'Middle East Buddy List'.

Based on this chart the USA only has one friend in the region.
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According to this magazine there is a new 'World's Fastest Car'.


Barabus TKR: a new 1005 horsepower supercar the automaker says is capable of doing zero to 60 mph in 1.67 seconds. What's more, the car reportedly has a top speed of 270 mph nearly 20 more than the Veyron. Power comes from a 6.0 liter V8 twin-turbocharged with dual intercoolers. The car has a full carbon fibre body and chassis. Further details remain sparse, but the automaker says it will sell the car for $500,000.

My dream car is a Minivan
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While planning our trip to Yellowstone this entitled 'Top 10 crowd-free national parks' article caught my eye.


Utah's own 'Arches National Park' topped the list. If it were not for the heat I would be headed in that direction this weekend. The rest of the top ten are as follows:
1. Arches
2. Badlands
3. Big Bend
4. Biscayne
5. Cape Breton Highlands
6. Congaree
7. Grand Canyon North Rim
8. Gwaii Haanas
9. Hawaii Volcanoes
10. Sequoia and Kings Canyon

MSNBC picked up on the article as well.
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I saw another beautiful picture.

It is by Gary Hebert. It is of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. His site worth the stop.
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I found another great street ad that crosses over into my interest in Superheros.

This literal hunk of steel sheds its shirt for the 'S' underoos.
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Another teaser poster for 'Spiderman 3' was released. This one shows Venom taking over.

I feel giddy
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That's all for today.

Short day today. Have to make this quick. Barely got wet surfing....
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I came across this Jeopardy archive.

The internet's biggest Jeopardy! archive--62,564 clues and counting!
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The Observer from the UK listed the 50 albums that changed music.

Here are the top ten:
1 The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
2 The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
3 Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)
4 NWA - Straight Outta Compton (1989)
5 Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961)
6 Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)
7 Patti Smith - Horses (1975)
8 Bob Dylan - Bringing it All Back Home (1965)
9 Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)
10 The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)

Others of note:
11 David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
27 Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (1967)
28 Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain (1984)
29 Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
35 The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)
36 The Who - My Generation (1965)
42 The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
44 Talking Heads - Fear of Music (1979)
47 Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
48 The Strokes - Is This It? (2001)

I can tell they are from England. I would have thought Elvis would be higher considering their own article says that Without this [album]... no King, no rock and roll madness, no Beatles first album, no pop sex symbols.
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I love the game '20 questions'


I like to play this every now and again.
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It looks like the Mammoth Mysterious Steps have been Explained at Last


Travertine terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. The white rock is travertine, and the colorations are due to mats of heat-loving microbes.

I get to see them in just over a week.
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I found this cool picture of Marsden Bay


I really need a camera!!!
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Yesterday I missed the anniversary of my desktop.

 July 20, 1969 - Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin was photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon by mission commander Neil Armstrong. Aldrin had just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package. In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package; beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3); in the far right background is the Lunar Module "Eagle."
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Have you ever seen a shark jump?

[link for rss]

Now you have!
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Eager to make more money, Mentos has started a new contest to make the greatest mentos geyser ever.


Here is what you have to beat.

[link for rss]
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The Eiger, Switzerland's most infamous mountain.

Last week a chunk of rock the size of a skyscraper, called "Madonna", fell hundreds of feet in a thundering, 15-minute avalanche.

Here are some great photos by Spiegel Online.

The spectacular mass of rock breaking off the Eiger mountain has become an unexpected tourist attraction for the resort of Grindelwald:

This was small fry, compared to what is to come. The mountain has been crumbling for the past month and experts believe it is only a matter of days before around two million cubic metres of rock come crashing down.
Now you can keep an eye on the Eiger with a Webcam. The cam is online from 7.00 am till 10.00 pm CET, refreshes every 10 seconds.
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And last but not least,

Here is a great spoof of effective advertising.

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Have a great weekend and Pioneer Day.

I'll be back on Tuesday.

We went on visits again last night. We went to see a couple whose daughter committed suicide last December. He just retired from Weber State and she is a primary teacher. They just built a cabin up in Island Park and he would like to move up there. She didn't really get a word into his conversation. I really admire her and her ability to cope with any situation. I went to school with their son. He is a great guy. He is a Doctor and lives in Texas.

We also went to meet a lady who is a teacher at Polk School. She is married but separated and her three children have moved away from home. She is a great person and volunteers all over the place. We had a good visit with her.
Last year my wife and I had requested another teacher at the school for our oldest son. I think she was hurt by our decision. I'm pretty sure now she realized we made the choice because of who we thought would be best for our son and not because we thought she wasn't a good teacher.

I had a little time to surf today.....
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In a follow up story about the 2006 World Cup. FIFA banned Zinedine Zidane for three games Thursday for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final.

But since he is now retired, the former France captain will serve his punishment by doing community work.

To bad. I think Americans were finally aware of the World Cup.
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Did you read about that guy in Texas who caught a 20 pound fish that has human-like teeth.

This image is not photoshopped.

Come to find out, the Tribune said a guy in Provo caught a similar fish Thursday near the Provo boat harbor on Utah Lake.
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I saw on the news this morning that the US Post office is releasing new stamps with DC super heroes on them.

I am excited. The Green Lantern and Green Arrow are two of my most favorite superheroes ever. Superman is no slouch and I used to run around in my 'super hero underoos' and pretend to be "Bat Mat".
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I found some cool photos today too.

The photographer calls this on 'the curse'.


This one is called 'Break from Heat'. I swear I saw a cloud come into Ogden last night that looked exactly like this.

But I think this is my favorite of the day.

The best thing is that it comes with a tutorial called 'How to photograph a sunset'.
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Last week I blogged about my son going camping with my dad. They went up the left fork of Hobble Creek Canyon above Springville.


I guess yesterday a bear climbed into a tent of a Boy Scout in the same camp my son went last week. The boy's injuries were compared to a bee sting. I have been camping may times up that canyon and have never seen or heard of a bear up there. The Article says this is a known habitat for bears and another person ran into a bear there in 2004. I'm glad my wife didn't know about this until after my son was home.
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Here is a game called 'Bubblewrap'.

See if it will sooth your bubblewrap fix.
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I like to post interesting advertising I find on the web. Today I have two that caught my eye.

First is this neat Ad from Disney.


Both the oversized chair and the movies can make you 'Feel Like a Kid Again'.


This billboard was taken out by an unhappy lady. It would make you 'Feel Like a Scum Bag [again]'.
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That's all for today. Thanks for the comments and Kudos.

Wow, I received my first 'kudos' for my blog. If it weren't for my family I wouldn't feel like the greatest blogger in the world. [I need JB to write that song for me]

Last night was a crazy night. My wife had her City Council Meeting and I had a meeting at the church and my oldest son had a soccer game. All at the same time. I ended up taking the rest of the kids to the church. We all ended up at home at the same time. The game was tied and the story was written. All is well....

Except that besides my tire going flat, our refrigerator, garbage disposal and central air have all gone out this week.

I feel like I need one of these

[via]

I got hit with another load of work today, but I had time to surf before staff meeting.....

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I read this story about Top Ten Obscure Sports in the World

10) World Highland games
9) Professional Putt-Putt Tour
8) Surf Lifesaving
7) American Cribbage Congress
6) Dog Sledding, Dog Racing and Dog Tossing
5) World Footbag Association
4) Rock Paper Scissors League
3) World Adult Kickball Association
2) Unicycle Hockey World Championships
1) The Extreme Ironing World Championships



huh!?!
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I have been following the Israel/Lebanon Fallout.

[This is a flicker image of a bombed out building. This book is the Quran]

The Daily Show had a take on the impact the conflict has had on Americans.


[link for rss]
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I am not really one to watch the 'Espy Awards' I don't really like any of the award shows, but this one seems overly self serving. Anyway, There was a TV ad that caught my attention.

[link for rss]

I thought wow, would they give some kid an award over Kobe Bryant -- the most over hyped player in professional sports history -- who scored a very impressive 80 points in a single game. [maybe some of the hype was true].

If you are unfamiliar with Jason McElwain you're a Hobbit. Here is a great tribute to him from the half time of the NBA Finals.

[link for rss]

To make a long blog short, I watched a re-run of the ESPYs and they gave Jason the award for 'Best Sports Moment' over Kobe.



Jason McElwain's story is why sports are played. Not for the 80 point multi-million dollar walking billboard, but the kid with a dream to play for 2 minutes in a high school blowout game. He plays because he loves to play basketball. I find hope in Jason, his teammates and the kids that rushed the court and carried him off on their shoulders. I hope everyone would react the same way the kids at his school did if they were in the same position.
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I miss my friend Kevin.
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Now from War to a true star to 'Star Wars'.

I read a great article about '75 Things we love and Hate about Star Wars'.


Trivia - A stormtrooper famously bumps his head on a door in Episode IV A New Hope. Jango Fett does the same in Episode II Attack of the Clones. Stormtroopers are clones of Fett, so clumsiness must be genetic.

Our favorite things - Han Solos successful navigation of an asteroid field despite odds of approximately 3,720 to 1.

What were you thinking, George? - Greedo shoots first.

Great dialogue - 'Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder!'
'Whos scruffy looking?'

What were you thinking, George? - midi-chlorians

Great lines - 'I love you.'
'I know.'

Our favorite things - Boba Fett. A man of action, not words.

Trivia - Princess Leia, is the best shot. She almost never misses, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Can you figure out what song this is?

[link for rss]
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That's all for today.

Happy birthday sis.