I’m gratified to see things like this. Apparently, an 11 year old boy succeded in swaying the minds of Warner Bros executives, through petitioning and the internet. He didn’t like the original look of the characters in an upcoming animated series named “Loonatics”, based on the classic “Bugs Bunny” lineup. It’s supposed to be an action/comedy set in the future, but the boy said that their characters, which WB had shown a preview of, were “evil-looking”. The WB finally ceded to the petitioned request to change the characters (from the top pic to the bottom pic):

Isn’t that cool? It goes to show that the power of the people acting as one can be enormous! (Thanks to Life in Dresden for pointing this out!)

So I take Christine out to dinner last night. It’s a place with a semi-reasonable price tag on it’s food (P.F. Chang’s, BTW). We eat, then we walk around to get our blood and digestion going. We pass by several other restaurants, and she focuses on a particular one. She says we should go there next week.

Ok, guys and gals… tell me something. Isn’t it a very bad sign when most of the cars in that restaurant’s lot are in the BMW/Jaguar/Mercedes vein, with a Ferrari (!) parked in a closer spot? Doesn’t that alone just scream “If you live on retail job pay, don’t even bother coming in here?”

I’ll consider it for our next anniversary… nine months away!!

I’d better start saving now…

Got out of work early today… Things are kinda hectic at the workplace as of late, so I haven’t been posting as much. Been exhausted, mentally and otherwise. Things won’t slow down there (at least on my end of the business) until mid-September. Times like this, I like to dive into various escapes to get my mind off things. Here’s what I’ve been getting myself into:

1) My wife… she always comes home with some interesting story about work, good or bad. Since I don’t like to talk about work when I’m not there, except to REALLY vent, it’s refreshing to hear how other offices go. She also likes to take naps with me after work, which is cool. This reminds me that I have to pick a good place to take her to dinner tonight!

2)The pets… five birds and a bunny (name of a possible band or sitcom??) are a handful. Thommen, the Eclectus parrot is quite the character! He’s always saying, doing, or mimicking something funny. The parrotlet, Pichu, is a spitfire. He always gives us attitude at every given opportunity. Kiwi, the english budgie (parakeet), is just too darn cute. The cockatiels, Alex and Emily, are always pining for attention or getting into trouble, sometimes both! Let’s not forget Pepper, the bunny. She’s in a class by herself. Furry, cute, mischievious, affectionate (she licks my arms!)… and dumb as a rock. I like to take her out of the cage every couple of days to run around on the couch. I won’t let her on the floor because rabbits have a history of snacking on power cords!

3) New music… getting into a new (new for me) band, Kamelot. They’re kind of like Sonata Arctica, whom I’ve talked about previous postings. I’ve been really digging power/epic/symphonic metal for awhile. First heard of them on Progged Radio with the song “Center Of The Universe”, and I just had to listen to more! Also, I’ve been rediscovering old favorites in my collection, such as Mr. Big, Extreme, Winger (yes, the same group Beavis and Butthead make fun of regularly!), Duran Duran, Lita Ford, Steve Stevens… long live the 80’s and 90’s hair rock!

4) Books… Aida, my mom-in-law, sort of became a back-up library! She’s let me borrow the Left Behind series, which i’ve read in its entirety. It has a good, rosy if not a little cheesy, ending. She has yet to get the prequel, which should be interesting. I won’t buy it myself only because it wouldn’t make sense in my collection without having all the other books! I’m now borrowing “The Eye Of The World” by Robert Jordan. It’s the first book of the Wheel of Time series and it was recommended to me by various sources, WOM and internet. Even though I’m not much into fantasy novels (I’ve been pining for a good Star Trek novel!!) it’s a fascinating and engaging read. The other book I need to get (buy) is the 2nd volume of the “Eternal Champion” series by Michael Moorcock. The first one is awesome!

Ok I’ve rambled on long enough… one more thing, though. Prayer, mine and others, has also kept me going through these rough times. I’m not religious, but I can’t forget the Maker. He can make or break you, and when he breaks you, you end up (ironically) better off! With that, I’ll be going now…

P.S.: I didn’t realize this… looking at my start page in Blogger.com, it says this is the 64th post! I can’t believe I’ve written this much in the space of 6 months! I’ll try to celebrate the 100th post when it comes.

Please Click Here to see how I’d really like to handle some of these kids in the Phoenix area that can’t seem to stop playing in the streets! Hey, Brat-ley, that’s what a playground is for!

I may not add any more pics to the photo gallery… then again, you never know! I just added this one to it:

(Clicking the pic opens new window)

I figured that since I finally found a good picture of Colby, that I should add it to the gallery. She wasn’t the most photogenic bird (nor am I a photogenic human!), but she was a cutie nonetheless!

The point of this posting’s title is this: I think that the next event in my life that requires a lot of picture taking, you will see me either add another picture category menu option to it (if I have enough server space!) or I’ll start replacing the vacation pics with those different ones. That’ll be part of my efforts to keep things fresh and new, not old material sitting on display for years! However, I’m still waiting for my bloody digital camera to come back from repairs. If any of you have had to deal with Best Buy’s return and repair policies, you have my sympathies! My next camera, or any electronics, purchase will be at Sam’s Club/Wal-Mart… their return policy is second to none in retail, and they have happy customers because of it. Sounds like a cheesy plug, but it’s true. Best Buy would sooner put their customers through a lenghty repair process, rather than an exchange for a better product or at least a partial refund credit! OK… I’ll stop ranting now. Back on topic, if anyone has any suggestions on how I can make the Gallery better, please let me know. If you think it’s great, let me know that too!

(At the time of this posting I was listening to: Petra, Republica, Great White, Journey and Scorpions. My own little rock block!)