Geek Chic

Ian has always been somewhat of a trend-setter. Therefore, there was only a small hint of surprise when he told us that he wanted a bow tie to wear for his final 8th grade dance. I must admit that when I think of bow ties, the images that come to mind are Orville Redenbacher, Winston Churchill, the Cat in the Hat, and Tattoo from Fantasy Island. Yet, Ian was sure that he would (in his words) "make this look good." Guess what... I believe he was right. Although, for some reason, I had a strong urge to order a drink from him. If you didn't experience the 80's, then you just won't understand that reference.

Anyway,you can bet that the bow ties will be flying off the store shelves in the Dublin area before the next middle school dance!

The Music Man is a teenager?

I can't believe it...now I've got TWO teenagers at home. I realize that this post is a little late, but Nathan turned 13 years old on May 1st. Yes, his cake is pink in the picture. Not his choice of color, but rather a result of the natural coloring of the strawberry icing. However, this was one of the most delicious cakes Michele has ever made...and that is really saying something!

As described in a previous post, this is still very much the "Year of Nathan." Of course, his year couldn't be without music. Earlier this school session, Nathan made the select (ensemble) choir. This meant he had to sacrifice some sleep so that he could go to school a little earlier once a week for an extra choir practice. Yet, a few weeks ago we discovered that he was also using his study hall to learn to play the bass. After just three weeks of practice, he was asked to join the school orchestra for the Spring Strings concert!

The strings concert was awesome, and the talent of these kids was remarkable. I could also understand why Nathan decided to play in the orchestra next year. The director allowed the students to choose some popular music to play in their concerts. This year, they played Viva la Vida by Coldplay, and they nailed it! The director also allowed some modern instruments, like electric violin and electric bass. I think she is pretty savvy for trying to inject a little "cool" factor into a middle school music program.

Tonight, Nathan sang in the Spring Band/Choir concert. He sings real well, but is also very serious about it...no smiling allowed, apparently. That's him in the middle of the second row in the large group, and on the far right (near the piano) in the smaller group.

You Rock, Nathan !!

Earworm REMEDY !!!

A recent post described my week long earworm problem. This has truly been bothering me this past week, and affecting my work, since some of my co-workers found my singing of Big Butter Jesus (under my breath, of course) to be a bit distracting in meetings. In addition, many of them were worried that my earworm might be more contagious than the Swine Flu...I wonder if wearing surgical masks over your ears prevents this affliction? Hmmm....

Yesterday, a good friend of mine prescribed a remedy for earworm infestation. He told me that the only cure was to replace the earworm with an equally catchy tune, yet one that I will hear more often in daily life - on the TV, radio, etc. His suggested Rx was Mickey. However, even though it is a catchy little ditty, I just couldn't get "oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!" to stick... so I tried a few more songs.

Well, I am happy to report that I am now mostly free of the Big Butter Jesus earworm. Thanks go out to Marty, for his suggested cure. Yet, there are some side effects...sing along with me:

¯...They say a man should always dress for the job he wants. So why am I dressed up like a pirate in this restaurant? It's all because some hacker stole my identity. Now I'm in here every evening serving chowder and ice tea. Should'a gone to free credit report dot com [yee haw]. I could'a seen this comin' at me like an atom bomb. They monitor your credit and send you e-mail alerts. So you don't end up selling fish to tourists in t-shirts...¯

Earworm infestation

Have you ever had an earworm? You know, a song that gets stuck in your head like freshly chewed bubble gum which has become adhered to your shoe while you are walking on hot asphalt? For the past three days, I have not been able to get this ridiculous song out of my head. It's there in the morning when I wake, it's there in the shower (so I sing it aloud), it's there while I work (I whistle the chorus), and last night I even dreamed about singing it!

Of course, my earworm couldn't be some classic rock tune or even Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. Nooo....my earworm just has to be a song by Heywood Banks, called "Big Butter Jesus."

On I-75, between Dayton and Cincinnati, the Solid Rock Church erected a 62-foot statue of Jesus Christ which seems to explode from the earth in front of the church. However, the statue is also quite crude in construction and has an off-white, almost yellow hue....seemingly carved from butter. Heywood Banks has written a song about it.

The song may be a little sacrilegious, but probably much less so than a 62-foot graven image of Christ emerging from a pond along the interstate. Plus, I tend to believe that our Heavenly Father and his Son have a good sense of humor. Now if I could only get this stupid song out of my brain....please help me.