The talent that is Bear Grylls

I was just excited to learn that I can get the whole season of Man vs Wild on Netflix!! Now if I could only get my mail back! (Aaron stole the netflix movies by requesting a forward/hold on the mail which has made me very very angry. He's currently doing penance and will continue to do penance until my mail is restored.)
Anyway, I really love watching Man vs. Wild. If you haven't seen the show, it's hilarious. I think it's designed to kill anyone willing to follow its "survival" advice. Bear Grylls, the host, gives advice like, when lost in the Sahara you can suck water from a dead camel's rancid stomach. What a Great idea!
The show has other perks. Bear Grylls tends to wander through remarkably beautiful places which makes for good viewing. But his REAL skill is his uncanny ability to find some excuse to take off his shirt. I think he does it at least once every episode, even the episode in the Arctic Circle. He's that good.

The Effects of Canada

In honor of yesterday being Canada Day, I thought I'd post this picture. I believe it is a good illustration of the effects Canada has an organism. You can see the non-Canadian marmot is a self-satisfied, plump, happy little fellow. Sadly, his Quebec cousin has the haunted gaze and hunch-backed pose produced from surviving a Canadian winter. For more Canada Day fun, you can take this Canada Quiz created by real live Canadians.

And ALL the people said "AMEN!"

Steve recommended the 365 project, which posts an amateur audio recording for each day of the year. It's a goldmine! My personal favorite is the work of Robin and Crystal Bernard.

From the Intro" You probably haven't heard this song before, but I'm sure after you've heard it this time, you'll probably want to hear it again. Through the miracle of recording, you can listen to a "happy song", a song sung by two precious little girls, televised nationwide, it's the Monkey Song!! It refutes the ridiculous theory of evolution...."
REALLY you NEEEED to listen to this song. I laughed so hard I almost choked myself. A sample:

I'm no kin to the monkey, no no no
The monkey's no kin to me, no no no
I don't know much about his ancestors, but mine didn't swing from a tree...

I love the theory of evolution and am fine with hominid evolution but this song is just soooo catchy. I've been singing it all day.
Even more amazing is the song that comes right after called The Ecumenical Movement. Some lyrics:

Catholic, Protestant, and Jew, Budhist, Muslim and Hindu,
I guess they want the devil too in the ecumenical movement,
They always talk about the golden rule and the sermon on the mount,
but whether you've be born again doesn't even seem to count!

Gasp! Oh man, great stuff. Absolutely terrifying when you stop and think about it so I advise you don't bother and simply sing along instead. You can listen here.

Tshirt

I like this t-shirt.

Glen Echo Park

To motivate myself to start the dreadful process of packing and moving, I’ll be listing a few reasons I’m looking forwarded to relocating. The number one reason is to live with Aaron again. Living separately is nooo fun. Here’s my next reason: the social dances at Glen Echo Park. I had a friend-roommate in college who raved about how fun they were and I’ve always wanted to go. These dances are done with old school charm. Some take place in an old Spanish ballroom, others are outside on an old bumper car ring. The dances happen every weekend and often feature a live band. An hour before the actual dance starts, they teach the steps so even uncultured beginners like me can join in the fun. You can see the calendar here. I already extracted a promise from Aaron to take me to a swing dance. I guess I’ll need to consult with Abby, the latest cotillion graduate, to brush up my manners.

+1

Aaron and I are expecting a baby in November. Here's what it looked like a couple weeks ago.

Crossing the Rubicon

Aaron has been up in DC and taken the time do some apartment hunting. (I did my best to contribute a few hundred miles away by obsessively monitoring Craigslist posting) We decided we wanted a place that was closer in with less of a commute so it looks like we're really going to be leaving Charlottesville to live on Madison St. in Alexandria. Our apartment has a library, a grocery store, a movie theater, a few parks (though they look a little pathetic on google maps) a bike shop and bunch of other cool stores all less than a mile away. Check it out here. And Aaron is only seven miles from his work and has a bus stop to the metro right outside our door. We're hoping we'll only have to use our car when we want to. Hurray! Aaron is signing the contract in the next day or so. I've moved a lot with Aaron but this feels like a big step.