I've started playing the harmonica. It's very fun. It makes me feel like a wheezing train. Now I just need to finish mastering the guitar and grow some balls, and I'll complete my plan to become Bob Dylan II.

I've always enjoyed old gospel songs. When I was little, I listened to my grandmother's records, such as those of Roy Acuff and the Louvin Brothers, but especially Charley Pride's "Did You Think to Pray". So some of the first songs I learned are Amazing Grace and I'll Fly Away. I'm a hick, I admit it. But I'm a nice hick, so be friendly.

The white house isn't going to work out. Simply stated, for what was to be given, too much was being asked. Besides, we'll probably want something up in the northern tip of the county so we don't have to drive 30 minutes to work and school.

Bambi II has been made. Unnecessary!

Lindsey bought her dress yesterday. I'm not allowed to see it or even hear about it. That's fine, because I want it to be a surprise anyway.

I hope it's white.

Lindsey and I had planned to be in Yorktown March 31-April 2. I learned shortly that Brian Regan is scheduled to perform in Norfolk that Friday night. I've mentioned Brian Regan a few times before, and he certainly deserves the credit. I guess I should include him in my personal agenda/wish list of things that should happen.

• Reformation of social structure
• Decrease personal and collective apathy while increasing understanding and empathy
• Religious tolerance all around, on every side
• Heal the bruises and patch the scrapes within our political bodies
• Get those thirdworlders some physiological and safety satisfaction¹
• For the kids: decrease high school dropout rates and drug & alcohol use; and make them know the extreme importance of education and cognitive/emotional development
• Convey the significance of history and the value it has for the present and future
• Destroy all McDonald's "restaurants" and anything similar
• Attend and redress the reputation of cats, especially in relation to dogs
• Spread the word about Brian Regan and increase his fan base, which should be larger than most other popular comedians performing today (if popularity is actually measured by the proper criterions)

I have opinions.

I have no idea what teams are playing in the Super Bowl, but I know about Bambi II. Surely I am a man's man. Whatever that means. You can't live around here without knowing that the Panthers aren't in it, though. I love college basketball, but I'm a pansy in the area of football—I know nothing. I always feel awkward when in a relative's house and a game is on television. "Go my favorite sports team, go! Yay! they scored a goal unit! Go squadron, do good! Beat the opponents...soundly!"

I know you want to click on one of those links.

Actually, the site doesn't do him justice. Listen to his CD or watch his DVD. Or heck, you can buy both together and save $3.95 off the standard price! I have not been paid to endorse Brian Regan. Brian Regan.

¹It must be odd to have the upper-middle 40% of the pyramid without the proper foundation.

²There was supposed to be a second; I don't know what happened.

You might not want to drink bottled water anymore after reading this article. Apparently, it's rarely healthier than tap water, contributes to pollution, and uses lots of fossil fuel. Plus, "More than 50 Indian villages have complained of water shortages after bottlers began extracting water for sale under Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani label." Similar things are also happening in America. Also, consumers spend $100,000,000,000 on bottled water every year. "For a fraction of that sum, everyone on the planet could have safe drinking water and proper sanitation." 1.1 billion people lack a secure water supply.

Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique" died yesterday—her 85th birthday.

Have you ever wondered what time it is and checked a clock, only to turn away and realize you didn't even really look? So you had to look again. That time I made sure I remembered what the clock said.

This game is very fun.

It feels so good to get out of bed an hour before I usually do, which is 20 minutes before I need to drive out of here. I can substitute things like eating and making a phone call for franticly throwing the wrong books into my car or cleaning my ears at 75 mph.

Scientist have found a so-called "lost world" in an Indonesian mountain jungle, home to dozens of new species of animals and plants. "It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth."

Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" left me surprised in multiple ways. "Unexpected," as The Denver Post calls it, describes it perfectly for me. I assumed it to be something similar to "From Beirut to Jerusalem", but, boy, I was wrong. This book is fully driven by plot, though a great deal of Afghan history and culture is told. The story depends on chance, which is unbelievable in parts, as is some of the dialogue. I'm not going to judge the way Hosseini writes, though, (some don't approve) because I liked the story. Glimpses are laced within the pages—delicate, passing looks at a foreign world; a world into which the United States was suddenly thrust, and therefore a world that holds sudden interest. But this place isn't new at all; it's one of the oldest parts of the human Earth, the "crossroads of Asia". These factors make the area and the story compelling. All of this is foundation for the characters, however, which I let come to life in my mind. I must admit it, I let myself succumb to the drama. I teared up more than once, but don't tell anybody.

My bald spot is forming.

Please don't hate me.

As everyone surely knows, the best part of any wedding is the honeymoon. You get to drive away from a bunch of crying relatives after taking their gifts and cash; leave everyone else to clean up after your party; and begin your life anew with someone you (hopefully) love. (Don't worry Proctors, I love your daughter beyond words). Then, you're able to lock yourself in a house for several days and do God-knows-what.

I said house because Lindsey and I will be heading to Nags Head after we swap rings and giggle like idiots for 3 or 4 hours. It's the same house in which we stayed in October 2004 for a birthday-vacation, which you can read about here. This is exciting because:

1. We're staying in a very nice house not far from the water for free which usually rents for $1800 a week
2. It's a week before Memorial Day and schools aren't out yet, both of which, according to Lindsey, mean that there will be less people around (to report our God-knows-what to the police)
3. There is a hammock on the deck of the second floor
4. There's a second floor!
5. I've been wanting to go back to Nags Head ever since we went a year and a half ago
6. I've always been in love with beaches and the ocean, so I can't go there enough
7. Lindsey likes it. Maybe I should've put this a little higher on the list.

Gosh, does this bring back memories. Soon I'll have the link sidebar up and running again so I don't have to append them to entries like this.

Google says that "History deserves the best." Yet further proof that Google knows what the hell they're doing. They're pairing with the National Archives to "digitize their video content and offer it to everyone in the world for free." Excellent. This is something I've wanted for years.

Sadly, Don Knotts passed away yesterday. I joked about Don Knotts on my site and with friends, but I really did like the man. The Andy Griffith Show has been my favorite since I was small, so Barney Fife deserves a post, a thanks. Wakko Warner is surely in mourning, as are all other fans today. Many may disregard him because of his relative obscurity today*, but he was a great comedian, earning five Emmies while on The Andy Griffith Show. He wasn't limited to Barney Fife, though. I also enjoyed his wacky movies as a kid, including his brief appearance in No Time for Sergeants and his later role in Pleasantville. Don knew what he was doing, and he did it well.

*Although, he did lend his voice to an episode of Robot Chicken last year. Cool.

I'm a big fan of Heather "Dooce" Armstrong's site. Recently, the world had the great pleasure of reading this post. The next day, I asked Lindsey if she would ever do such a morally reprehensible thing with me.

Her response? "I think you would be cute on pot." Word?

I thought marrying my cousin would be wrong, but apparently not! And look at North Carolina. Come to find out, there's a major site dedicated to romantic love between cousins.

While we're on the subject, this chart is interesting. And here's a fun Cousin Calculator! I've been a little link happy recently.

I had heard of the ungodliness of MySpace, but I didn't believe it until I pulled up my page for the first time a couple days after I started using it. What are you doing, MySpace? I'm about to get married!

MySpace: "You are yet a free man."
Brian: "Do not tempt me!"
MySpace: "Behold! Emo children and the unemployed!"
Brian: "I thought you were going to say teenage girls with self-esteem problems."