Day 15 - 101 Days of Awesome

Today's entry wasn't supposed to be until a later date, but it became appropriate today as it was reported that Chinua Achebe died yesterday. He wrote one of my favorite books from college, Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall Apart is the story of a man from an African village. Basically, things fall apart from him and he loses his decent life. Almost everything that happens has roots in the British colonists, and they are pretty much to blame for everything.

I had to read it in two different classes. The first was a world history class, and the second was an African history class.I remember the professor in the second class yelling at all of us. No one had caught some little reference to something that happened twice in the book, once at the beginning and once near the end. He spend at least twenty minutes berate us for being undergrads and only reading the book once instead of several times before class.

In spite of that, I learned to like the book quite a bit. I brought a copy to school with me this year to pull out some excerpts to use when I taught imperialism, but I didn't finish getting that ready for this year. Next year.

Day 14 - 101 Days of Awesome

Comic book are awesome. But much like music, I can't use one single day for all comic books. One of the worst kept secrets is that not all comic books are superhero books. A slightly better kept secret is that a lot of comic books, including many superhero books, are extremely well written. If you're keen to both of those secrets but don't know where to start, I'll have a few suggestions for you over these 101 days.

Preacher is one of my absolute favorites. If you're sensitive about things often reserved for R rate films and/or blasphemy, you might want to skip it. Personally, I enjoy some good blasphemy every now and then.

Short version of the story is that God quits. The basic power of God moves along to preacher Jesse Custer. Joining his is his girlfriend, a vampire, Arseface, and the strangest damn characters you've ever come across.  This isn't an ongoing comic, so you can read the complete story.

Every once in a while, somebody new picks up the rights to the movie or TV show. This is a comic book series that I don't think I need to see. In the picture to the left, you'll notice the quote at the top of the trade paperback, "More fun than gong to the movies." I see lots of movies. I agree. Preacher is more fun. There's no way that the fun and shock can translate to a moving picture. They can try, but it just won't be right. With many of the superhero movies, there are so many stories to tell. But this one was told right the first time. 

Check it out, people!

Day 13 - 101 Days of Awesome

Here's a day that combined internet bizarre creativity with music. There are some decent mashups out there, but this is still my favorite.

Day 12 - 101 Days of Awesome

I'm going to be controversial here. Music is awesome. There. I said it. I know many of you are champing at the bit to argue, but I'm going to hold my ground.

While I would like to stop there, I have 101 days to fill up. Therefore, I need to be a little more specific. I've already dipped from the music well once before, and I plan to do so a few more times.

So here's something that I originally hated. We played the fourth movement from Dvorak's New World Symphony in high school, and I couldn't stand it or playing the French Horn. Perhaps by the time we performed it, though I feel like it was much later, I grew to love it.

Just go ahead and press play, then go about your business for the next forty-five minutes.  Enjoy.

Day 11 - 101 Days of Awesome

It's a sad world for two reasons. First,  Kardashians have reality shows. Second, I had to pluralize the first. Luckily, for every person who has heard of the Kardashians, Norman Borlaug has fed and saved the life of another.

Norman Borlaug is rarely mentioned when people mention heroes, and that's a shame. I wouldn't have heard of him if Penn and Teller hadn't named him "The Greatest Human Being That Ever Lived" on Bullshit. And that's no bullshit. When I visited the Nobel Museum, I was disappointed to find that they didn't yet sell the Norman Borlaug postcard.

This guy had the crazy idea of using science to feed the hungry. While feeding just one person would be feeding more people than all praying has ever done, he had to go and feed more than a billion. That's no typo - billion with a B.

Read more about the most awesome human being that ever lived:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug 

Day 10 - 101 Days of Awesome

Sure, there are tons of funny websites. Kids these days think they know the internet backwards and forwards. Today's awesome. Is the first simple yet funny webpage I remember. I was surprised to see that this page still exists. If you're new to the internet (as in new in his millennium), you need to take a look at one of the roots of silly webpages. Be sure to start with the FAQ. The title pretty much tells it all.

Jamming a Pair of Scissors Repeatedly Into Your Crotch

 

 

Day 9 - 101 Days of Awesome

It seems like I've been posting every other day about food, so I wanted to throw in a nod to one of my favorite places to get food - New Orleans. This evening I headed over to Nola Po'Boy and Gumbo Kitchen in Concord to have a tasty o'Boy. I had a this fried oyster po' boy.


They're pretty good, but it's not the same as when you're in New Orleans. And in New Orleans, I always stop at least once, though probably twice, at Mother's Restaurant to get the BEST and most awesome po' boy on the planet - the Ferdi Special.

The awesomeness of the po 'boy is in the way the stuff on the bread sticks together. The mayo and mustard keep the soft french bread stuck to the lettuce and pickles, which stick to the meat. And every flavor compliments the others.

But the Ferdi. It has that special ingredient that brings it all together. Debris and gravy. The little bits that fall off the beef as it roasts. They pour that right over the ham and roast beef after making the sandwich. It's not so much that it falls apart. It's enough to make it all stick together and taste perfectly awesome.

Day 8 - 101 Days of Awesome

Jaco Pastrotius is an amazing musician. If you don't know anything about him, take a quick read of his Wikipedia page. Someday it's going to be a good movie. But my moment of awesome for today is in this live clip of Weather Report performing Birdland live. Around minute 4:30, he starts singing along with the soprano sax. While his voice might not be the most beautiful thing, the pure joy of music lives in the next two minutes.


There's a slightly better quality version available, but embedding is not allowed.That can be found here.

Day 7 - 101 Days of Awesome

Pi is a rather important number, and I'm sure mathematicians would list it as awesome. While I appreciate math, it doesn't fall into my awesome column.

Pie, however, is awesome. And today being π Day, I would love to discuss pie. Pumpkin pie is probably my favorite. But you also can't dismiss a good (non Jello made) chocolate cream pie. I keep saying that I'm going to learn to make a good apple pie. I'll get to that soon.

I always grab a piece of pie on π Day. I stopped at Nations on the way home from bowling to grab a piece of banana cream pi(e). 

Day 6 - 101 Days of Awesome

Ye Olde Internet is filled with plenty of funny stuff. But nobody smashes the nail on the head harder or more consistantly than The Onion. Here are a few awesome articles.

I'm Like A Chocoholic, But For Booze
Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian
Plan To Get Laid At DragonCon 2001 Fails
Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'
 God Answers Prayers Of Paralyzed Little Boy 'No,' Says God
Don't Tell Me You've Never Wondered What Yoda's Penis Looks Like
Black Guy Asks Nation For Change
Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8

And probably the best one ever:
God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule