No, thank you Alanis

Searching through youtube I found this one. I wanted to share.



Alanis was always one of my favorite artists. I love her stuff. I thought this was hilarious when I saw it. I think she's crying for the defunct women's movement.

If Ignorance is Bliss

If ignorance is bliss does that mean that intelligence is misery? Think about it. Ignorance can be blissful because you don't know or can't necessarily imagine things that could go wrong. You're happy because as far as you can foresee everything is golden. However, if you're smart enough to see what can go wrong then you're not going to be happy about it or anything in general.

Thoughts?

I've always liked Gwen

Hi Everybody! How ya all been? It's been a while since I posted. Baby production takes it out of ya. It doesn't look like we've had many good talks since I went on unofficial hiatus. Boys are so silly aren't they? Without someone who knows what they're doing they just sit around playing and talking about video games. Anyway, on with the post!

My two favorite silent headaches, Nate and Adam last summer had a informal contest on who was the most like Prince Zuko from the Nickelodeon show Avatar. For those who don't watch the show, Prince Zuko is the shows bad boy anti-hero who had a seriously messed up childhood and is less than emotionally stable. Nate managed to win the contest of sorts after a few weeks of well...stepping up his "Nate" game. I'm at this exact moment being told by my husband that Nate clinched it by walking up a mountain during a thunderstorm. Now at this exact moment I am typing with one head as the other is massaging my head.

Anyway, it seems that the two of them think of Zuko as a role model of sorts. The other boys like Zuko enough, but don't have the same fervor and zeal that Nate and Adam do. Nate dressed up and dyed his hair to be Zuko for Halloween and as you may know his avatar here is a still clip of Zuko. They love Zuko and want to be Zuko. One of the more three dimensionally messed up characters I've seen over the years and they want to be just like him.

Now while it may be obvious that they love him so much because they feel they can identify with him so much what I'd like to know and discuss is why they would want to have him as a role model. Surely, if they feel as angry and sad as Zuko does on the show they would want to have a role model that's happy and content as emulating that person could perhaps give them themselves some degree of the same.

Do we choose to be like someone who is just like us? Or do we choose our role models because they remind us of ourselves? And if we choose them because they remind us of ourselves then why bother at all if they don't inspire us to change?

We are so clever it's scary

Ten years ago Nate and I would rent games at Home Vision video. Although once we forgot to return a game for a full week and racked up quite the late fees. So we never went back. Last week we finally did and they didn't know us! We got to rent this cool Avatar game without having to pay our old late fees! All we had to do was wait ten years! We are so smart sometimes it's scary.

We'll be back to the weekly questions soon. We're still recovering from Seattle. Well, that and playing Avatar games.

Does this make us wrong?

We all just watched Crank. Ever seen it? We highly recommend it. We couldn't stop laughing. We're fairly sure it was supposed to be a comedy. Of sorts. This is post 101 by the way. Having come along around post seventy something I probably shouldn't take the credit, but I still feel proud. The others tell me I should be too. Go me.

Imperfection for Girls

Lindsay Lohan has recently posed nude recreating a Marilyn Monroe photo shoot. If you'd like to see feel free. It's okay, you can look.

Upon looking at these pictures my first guy reaction was that she looked kinda chubby and rounder than I would have expected. Although as I looked at other pictures I realized that I thought she looked that way because I, like pretty much the rest of the world's population, have been trained to think girls are supposed to be perfectly flawless thin stick figures with large chests. When I see someone that looks like a real girl my training kicks in and I think she's supposed to be thinner.

While Lindsay is quite good looking in those pictures she doesn't have that artificial look to her. Her stomach isn't ripped with muscles, her skin has freckles and marks, and while her breasts are large they don't have that gravity defying perk to them. Also her hips, god forbid, have flesh over them.

I say good for Lindsay. Being trained too, most likely more so as a Hollywood girl, she must feel the constant pressure to be thinner, perkier, and all around more boringly "perfect". Letting these pictures of her body go out is a step in the right direction for the world being untrained. As I find myself saying a lot imperfection is so much more interesting. If I want a Barbie I'll go visit Nate at KB and buy one.

Hi folks!

A full update after a good night's sleep. Nate seems very happy to see us.

God, I'm bored

They've taken off for the week, but I stayed behind. With the weather Hipster, Kate, and Rich went out Sunday morning before the next storm hit so they could be sure they didn't stuck here all week. Dragonrane, Adam, and Shawn left this morning.

So here I am, alone, sitting in my basement by the lackluster fire in Albany NH for the next week. Mandy's car is broken again and she has doctors appointments anyway so I probably won't even get to see her. God, this is going to be boring. I was at Shaws today and a Backstreet Boys came on and I instinctively turned thinking I was going to see Hipster starting to dance, but no. I went to Music for Less and found the next season of Full Metal Alchemist and was all excited that me and Rich would have something to watch, but then I remembered. I still bought the Full Metal of course, but I'll have to watch it alone now. I don't even have to go to work at all.

This sucks.

Give us a week

We're heading out Monday to my mother's wedding. While we can do this from anywhere, we'll be taking a break from it for the Seattle fun. We'll be back next week. See ya's then!

Still

For the record, Final Fantasy 6 is still the best game ever. I've played a few more games since I said this statement a couple years ago, but FF6 is still the top. Just wanted to mention.

Oh you didn't know? You better call somebody!

I want to share this. I felt the need.

cuz this is thriller!

On Jan 19, 2008 8:24 AM, James Quinn <hipsterjq@gmail.com> wrote:

Alright guys! My mom's wedding is Feb 14th and I say we learn how to dance thriller! Who's with me? Adam, your dance skills will be greatly needed! We need to show those west coast people how we roll up in north conway. Who's with me?!

-Golden Sun

so, let me get this straight, not only am i going to spend the next three weeks learning how to dance like michael jackson, but then i'm going to have to fly to seattle and dance in front of a large group of people i've never met.

whatever, where do i sign?

-K

------------

I don't plan on flying to Seattle, but I'll dance during rehearsals for fun. I'm sure you'd pull me in even if I said I wouldn't so I might as well go with the flow on this.

-Darkened Prism

---

The west coast won't know what hit them. Can I get the back though? I suck at dancing.

-Rain of Lightning

-------------

I think the Mrs. and I are going to sit this one out. She's not in the mood for dance numbers and I'm working these days a lot. sorry man. But if you need any help with anything I'd have expertise on you just say the word.

-Shawn

---

Rich and Nate have two left feet and Thriller isn't the shortest number we could learn in three weeks. We better start practicing...yeah.

-Truthful Shadow

What's your theme for the year?

Now that we're a week into 2008 and we've had time to get over 2007, what do you plan on doing this year? Or perhaps, we plan on doing nothing. It will be the special kind of nothing though that we excell at so much won't it? So whatever we plan or don't plan what will the song that sets the tone for the year for the each of us? Mine



I'm setting my sights on a calm relaxed tone this year. Getting all angry at life is getting tiresome for me. While I'm sure I'll still get pissed now and then I'm going to try to just chill.
I'm in no big rush. I just want to relax.

A surprise phone call

I was woken up this morning at Caravan House by the phone ringing. It was 11 and everyone else was gone doing chores or at work so I had to wake myself up and get it. Of all people it was my semi long lost sister. Seems my mother's boyfriend proposed to her new years. She said yes, so my sister and I are going to have a step father. Susanna (sister) also informed me that the guy was married before and has a nine year old son named Ben. We get a new brother too.

Once I had woken up more and it sunk in that I'm going to have the little brother I've always wanted I got thinking about what makes family family. I think of my fellow Caravan-ers as brothers and sisters. Are family whoever you feel close to or is it only who the state has papers saying you're family? Should we tell Ben that you guys are his brothers and sisters too or should it just be me and Sue? If I consider you guys my brothers and we have no blood relation why shouldn't he consider you brothers too?

I mean what only child ten year old in his right mind wouldn't want to wake up one morning and suddenly have eight super cool older brothers and sisters?

Lord Defalco

Nate won the lord contest. It was by a good margin too. I can't help but think that by getting a girlfriend the exact day it started was somehow part of his plan. It was also the six month wedding anniversity of Dragonrane and Boykind, Adam and Kate's six month anniversity, and his year and half anniversity. If he did somehow plan all this he deserved to win.

So as of when I log off and let him take the computer Nate will be changing his name here from Mike to Lord Defalco. 2007 has been a good year for us. The best part of which was the addition of Kate, Alisha, and hopefully soon Mandy. The latter of the three we just haven't gotten around to sending the invite too, but we will be doing so soon.

We look forward to another great one in 2008! See you all soon!

Happy Birthday Honey

Happy Birthday Dragonrane! She's finally joined the quarter century club. Happy birthday!

Lord?

After we tried out rocking each other last week my good buddy and caravan brother Mr.222 decided we should have a contest amongst ourselves. A competition to end all competitions! We are calling it a King's Moot. I am told in a fantasy book series Mr.222 reads this is what one of the more badass kingdoms does to decide their next ruler. Kate and Dragonrane are calling it "Dorkout '07". I like our name better.

How it will work is whenever one of us achieves a victory of any type we assign it a point value on a scale of one to ten. One being you delivered a clever one liner while food shopping and ten being you saved the cheerleader from Sylar and thus saved the world. We have a chart all ready to chronicle and keep score. The contest started yesterday and will end midnight the 31st.

Whichever one of us wins shall earned the title of Lord. This would apply to all names be they real names, nicknames, nobody name, or Gallant Fraternity name. I would be Lord Hipster or Lord Quinn. Even Lord Jimbo if I so wished it...and I would.

Currently, Nate is in the lead. He got a five yesterday. One of us will try to leave a comment everyday to give you updates. Ta-ta everyone!

Locking Them Away Wouldn't Help

Kate and I were hanging out together the other day. We left the boys at the 'Caravan House', as they're now calling it, and went to do a little Christmas shopping and grab some coffee. When we came home no one was around and we heard music blaring from the upstairs. We went to investigate and found all five of them in Hipster's room dancing around like idiots to the music playlist Hipster had cooked up on his computer. I regret to say my husband was shirtless, had a tie around his head, and was using two wooden spoons like drumsticks. In some cultures I understand I could use this as grounds for a divorce.

Even Adam and Nate were playing along. Adam had a broom like a guitar in a powerslide and Nate was using a snapple bottle like a microphone. Hipster had started it of course then my hubby and Rich joined in and I guess Nate and Adam thought it looked like fun.

As Kate and I have yet to get a good explanation of what exactly what was going on or why it was going on, I felt if I asked here I may get a better answer. So, what exactly were you guys doing? Since when do you guys dance? Or whatever you thought you were doing?

Remember Yesterday? Spongebob Doesn't....

Well folks, we here at the Caravan caved and gave in to those dark urges telling us to go on Youtube and watch the Avatar episodes that won't air for another two weeks. Does that make us weak? Maybe a little, but we're okay with that. Because they were the coolest episodes ever! My mind is still blown from the events I witnessed through the wondrous media of internet television.

Now, Avatar:The Last Airbender is a show on Nickelodeon. It's supposed to be a kids show, but we, the Caravan, all of us in our mid twenties watch and love the show. What we love about it is that the characters will act and talk as though they remember what happened to them in the last episode. It gives a sense of realism that you don't find in many if any cartoons these days. There are some shows where characters are stagnant, unevolving cardboard cutouts that don't act like they remember what happened to them five minutes ago.

Avatar however, does know what happened five minutes ago. The characters evolve and grow as they experience their various adventures and trails. This not only entertains, but teaches. Say, if a character betrays his loving uncle simply try to win the love of his soulless father and then later regrets it and does the right thing, it teaches the youngins' that making mistakes isn't the end of everything and that one should take responsibility for your actions even if there's going to be negative consequences.

One can not teach these lessons if characters are amnesiacs. Without memory there can be no learning, no teaching. Children's shows need to stop treating children like little babies. Last time I checked the rest of the world wasn't. If children are going to be getting their life lessons from television we should at least be trying to teach them good ones.

Elect This Guy President

I'd like to be voting for someone who has some intelligence and isn't so afraid of public opinion that he has to lie all the time and tell us what he thinks we want to hear. I respect can respect that kind of person.

Theme Music

What should the official Caravan of Insanity theme song be? It would have to be something cool, catchy, and mildly bad ass to give people the sense of who we are and what we do and represent. Something that you can see as used as the music to a music video of carefully chosen stock footage of our years and victories. Or perhaps if you can't find good clips, a simple slide show treatment. Either way, what should our theme song be?

I vote the Mute Math song Typical.
In fact I think our artists should create a caravan slide show using that song. I'd help direct.

Edit-The song is question. If you have a different choice post in comments.