I'm not usually a big fan of memes, but every once in a while, I see one that sparks my interest, so I give it a go. I've seen the following one on a number of blogs over the past couple of weeks, and found the results that most people were getting with it to be kind of cool. The idea is to use the music collection on your computer to create a soundtrack for a movie about your life.

The rules:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.

6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.

I have to be honest and admit that I did skip one track as it wasn't actually a song, but an introduction to a song from a live album. I was pleasantly surprised by most of the results, and think that it's actually a pretty decent soundtrack. Some of the songs suit the scenes quite well. I might even burn myself a copy to play in the car.

From left to right: Darren, me, Kerby, Adam, Aaron, Rodney, Shawn and Frank.

A couple of weeks ago Rodney hosted a little get together at his place for a group of friends who haven't all been together in one place in quite a while. This is group of guys that spent most of our late teens, early university years hanging out together. It was the first time in around 6 years that we've all been together in one place. There were a few from the old gang missing from the gathering, but the group in that pictures is pretty much the core.

We are an eclectic group of friends. Within that picture you will find; a forklift driver/pastor in training, a 'client advocate', a dentist, a counselor/social worker in training,  a missionary about to set off for Africa, a computer programmer, a landlord, and a service desk worker/personal trainer. Also, 5 fathers, 1 newlywed, and 2 bachelors.

It always amazes me how true friendships seem to hold up over the years. After a few minutes in the same room, we were all joking and sharing stories about our past adventures/mis-adventures together. It was a great night, and since we are all pretty spread out across the globe, it will probably be at least another 6 years before we are all together again. But i have no doubt that when that next gathering happens, we'll have just as good of a time.

I also feel the need to point out the most surreal moment of the night. I was in the kitchen and overheard Adam and Kerby talking about the pros of breastfeeding for a new born. I think it was the first time i've heard either of them talking about boobies without giggling. My oh my how we have grown up.

Visual:
The Wire:
Just finished season 1, and am starting on season 2. I am generally not a big fan of police type dramas, but this is good TV. Set in Baltimore, it deals mainly with the drug scene in that city with main characters on boths sides of the fence - dealers and detectives. Season one had one of the most in depth story lines i've ever seen, and some great characters. The acting is top notch, and so far season 2 looks to be as good as season 1. Remember how good season 1 of NYPD Blue was? This is better.

Friday Night Lights:
Why has there never been a television show about high school football before? The show has the same writer/director as the movie, which was, in my opinion, one of the best football movies ever made, and so far, it has carried over to the TV show. It has a little bit of "Dawson Creek" type high school romantical stuff, but the main focus of the show is how influential football is on the culture of southern states. As a football fan, I was hoping this would be a good show, and so far it has been a great show. Hopefully it won't get axed because of lower than expected ratings.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip:
Another new show that might not make it through the fall. Why is it that a smart, well written show like this is stuggling to find a place, when a piss poor show like "The War at Home" gets a second season? Idiots rule the world. Studio 60 has great characters, and is following some interesting story lines, dealing with the current political and even religious climate in the US. Having a main character that is a christian whose faith and beliefs actually play a role in the characters life, and making that character normal AND likeable - seems to be a truly groundbreaking move for a modern day TV show.

Audio:
Jeff Tweedy: Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest
This could actually go under the "Visuals" catagory, since it is a DVD, but it also came with access to mp3 downloads of all of the tracks, as well as some bonus songs. Those tracks have been downloaded, burned, and are presently jammed into my cars cd player. It's just Jeff Tweedy and an acoustic guitar. The dude can write, play and sing. This is the way most of these songs are meant to be heard. Can't get enough of it.

My Morning Jacket: Okonokos
I've sung the praises of this band on this site before. Okonokos is their new live album [and DVD], and if nothing else, it proves that these guys must be absolutely amazing in concert. It's a double cd which has pretty much every song off their past couple of albums, and a few older gems. It is one of the best sounding live cd's I've ever heard. Once you start listening to it, you want to hear the whole thing, start to finish. I also picked up the DVD of the concert, but havent watched it yet. These guys are slowly but surely, creeping up my list of "must see live before i die" bands.

Liquid:
Tim Hortons Coffee:
I didn't start drinking coffee until i was in my late 20's, and even when i started i wouldn't touch anything from Tims. I always found their coffee too strong, and would often make fun of Tims drinkers as addicts getting their daily crack/coffee fix. Times have changed. I used to think it was funny when people said they "need" their morning coffee. Now i know what they mean. Every morning i line up behind all the other junkies in the drive thru to get my fix... My name is Dennis, and I'm a Tim Hortons coffee addict. Don't bother trying to help me. I'm too far gone. 

Most people who know me know that I volunteer with a church youth ministry here in Charlottetown. We have an amazing crew of volunteer leaders, and a ton of really great kids that show up every Wednesday night to hang out, have some fun, and even learn a few things.

One thing that we try to do within the group is to provide opportunities, both big and small, for the young people to serve others in some way or another. We have leaders and youth that help out with the Upper Room Soup Kitchen, we run a community "Clothing Depot" out of our church basement that many of our kids help out with, we hold a seniors dinner every Christmas, and there are many other opportunities that we try to provide through out the year.

One of the coolest and more creative things that our group did recently was to hold a "Bigger Better" night, that was based on the "One Red Paperclip" idea. The Senior High students were broken into teams, and each team was given one red paperclip to start the evening. Their mission was to take that paperclip and try to trade it with someone for something "bigger and/or better", then to take that and trade again, and so on. They were given a couple of hours to see what kind of items they could trade up for.

At the end of the night, the items were collected and cataloged, and are now up for sale on eBay. All of the proceeds from the auction are being donated to a refugee relief fund run by our church, [First Baptist Church, Charlottetown, PEI]. This fund helps to bring families in need from dangerous countries to here in Canada. 100% of the purchase price will be donated to this fund.

Take a minute to check out the items they were able to collect, there is some interesting stuff up for sale! We have a list of links to the individual items on our web site.

Let the bidding begin!

I started to write this particular post a while ago, but never got around to finishing it. Peters recent post about his lifetime of Barber experiences convinced me to finally finish my story.

Enjoy.


I had a discussion with a friend of mine recently concerning why i choose to go to a "Beauty Salon" to get my hair cut rather than do the manly thing and go to the local barber shop.

For some people this may have caused them to stop and think about the reasons, maybe trying to figure it out for themselves. Maybe most 'men' dont have a good reason for going to a beauty salon.

Well, i do.

I proceeded to tell the story of my last "barber shop" experience, which took place 20 years ago when i was 12 years old.

This is that story.

Continuing on in the tradition of years past, a number of friends and i gathered together this past weekend at DJ's cottage in Rocky Point to burn stuff.

Yes, it was the event of the summer:

"Big Burn 2K6; Flame Retarded"

We truly did live up to this years theme of "Flame Retarded" by burning a picnic table, half of an old deck, a large amount of cardboard, old university papers, and every scrap of wood we could find.

We also had fireworks, which was a new addition to the festivities. I'm sure everyone who has a cottage in Rocky Point loves us!

A good time was had by all, and we look forward to next year, when we hope to burn either a small barn, or maybe a car.

Check out my gallery for some hot pics.