ShepAlders at BNAT X!

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Emily and headed to Texas last week to (1) visit her sister, Abby, and her family, and (2) attend Butt-Numb-A-Thon, an annual 24-hour film festival hosted by Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News.

Emily and I are total pop culture nerds to the extreme. Many of our conversations involve us identifying actors on-screen as quickly as possible, and then saying, "When's the last time you saw [name of actor] in anything that wasn't [name of film that is considered representative of said actor]. It works really well when it seems like the actor hasn't been in anything for a while. For example, I might say, "When's the last time you saw Mark Linn-Baker in something that wasn't Perfect Strangers ?"

In these cases, Emily almost always says, "Well, he was in an episode of Law & Order..." and, naturally, the actor was indeed in one -- or more -- of the hundreds of installments of NBC's long-running legal drama. Sometimes I joke that I've actually been on Law & Order a few times. I bet we have, at any given moment, at least 10 Law & Order episodes on either of our two DVRs.

But, I digress.

My point is that Butt-Numb-A-Thon (aka BNAT) is an experience that is perfect for a couple like the ShepAlders. Between the two of us, Emily and I have probably seen several thousand films and we're always watching more. For most people, attending a 24-hour film festival probably seems overindulgent and painful; while it's arguably the former, for Emily and me, it's a glorious experience filled with laughter, excitement, new acquaintances, vintage trailers, awesome food and more.

Here's a brief look at the films we saw, including my impressions (now free from caffeine overload and sleep deprivation!).

Viva Villa! (1934)

This embellished account of the life of Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa was one of the Hollywood's last pre-Hays Code films, and it shows! Academy Award winner Wallace Beery is quite gregarious in the title role and Fay Wray adds a nice dash of old Tinseltown class to the film. Even better, the movie was mostly filmed on location in Mexico and includes a large collection of extras (and, judging from the lack of authentic accents from all the main cast, they were probably the only thing truly Mexican about this film...). Still, this is a great example of the kind of ambitious filmmaking that existed in the early, post-silent film era.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Going into BNAT, this was the one film I was certain we'd see. Although it doesn't hit theaters until Christmas Day, it's made the pre-screening rounds for critics and has garnered rave reviews. The story is fairly simple: Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 short story, Benjamin Button is boy who is born with the body of a very old man. As he grows, he becomes younger and younger. The film is told through a diary he kept throughout the years, which is being read by the daughter of a woman who knew Benjamin since childhood. I won't spoil the film, but it is a tale of life, nostalgia, love and relationships... and, most importantly, how the people in our lives make up a lot of who we are inside. One of the Aint It Cool News writers warned us that the film would leave us in tears at the end. While I have no problem crying in public or during a film, I didn't expect to feel so emotionally connected. By the time the credits rolled, I had teared up completely. This is a wonderful film in the spirit of films like "Forrest Gump" and "Big Fish," and easily one of the best movies of 2008.

Sahara (1943)

On one of our very first dates, Em and I watched "The Maltese Falcon," a classic example of film noir featuring one Hollywood's greatest actors, Humphrey Bogart. However, while I count "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Casablanca" amongst some of my most favorite films, Em is admittedly not much of a Bogey fan. That said, it's hard not to like this thinly veiled WWII propaganda film, with its classically diverse and anti-German cast. In awesome 1940s fashion, the writers injected plenty of social commentary in the film on everything from racism ("Don't worry... his black skin won't rub off on your pretty uniform"), sarcasm ("Wipe that smile off your puss or I'll knock your teeth through the top of your head!") to the evils of fascism ("Do you know why we're able to do it? Because we are stronger than they are...I don't mean in numbers. I mean something else. You see, those men out there never knew the dignity of freedom.")

Valkyrie (2008)

When Tom Cruise decided to revive the venerable Hollywood studio United Artists in 2006, many were skeptical that anything good would come of it. His first film, Lions for Lambs, ulimately posted losses of more than $50 million. I'm not certain if moviegoers will flock to Valkyrie in droves, being that Cruise's once strong fan base has dwindled some in these post TomKat years, but it's an incredibly intriguing film. Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who led a group of Nazis in a coup against Adolf Hitler. I'm usually not a huge fan of films that are solely in English, when all of the characters should be speaking a foreign language (see "The Other Side of Heaven") and in this film, director Bryan Singer instructed the actors to use neutral accents rather than feign some type of German-English hybrid. Does it work? Eh... not really. Does it ruin the film? No. The story is quite thriling, so I was able to look past it. I highly recommend this film for any WWII history enthusiasts.

Coraline (2009)

Based on the 2002 novella by British author Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (who helmed both "James and the Giant Peach" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas"), "Coraline" is the story of young girl who moves with her family to Ashland, Oregon, (although in the novella, her family lives in the U.K.) and finds a mysterious door in her house that leads to a parallel world where her family has buttons in place of eyes, and things are much stranger than before! We only saw a few clips from this stop-motion animated film -- which was produced by the Oregon studio Laika in Hillsboro -- but they were all presented in RealD 3D and looked absolutely fantastic! Vivid colors and weird, imaginative images are all I really took from those quick clips, but with a cast of Teri Hatcher and Dakota Fanning, this film looks like a winner!

Up (2009)

I absolutely love Pixar. Last year at BNAT, Pixar reps brought exclusive clips from "WALL*E", several months before it opened. "WALL*E" proved to be phenomenal and one of my most favorite films of the year (the Blue-Ray versions of both it and "The Dark Knight" top my Christmas list...). This year, the good folks at Pixar brought us the first 45 minutes of their newest film, "Up." The film features an elderly man, Carl Fredericksen, who is lonely after the death of his wife. Having always wanted to travel the world with her, he embarks on an incredible journey to South America. I don't want to give to much of the film away, but having seen a good chunk of it, Pixar has hit another home run. The whole theater was filled with laughter throughout the screening and some phrases are destined to become favorites (i.e. "Squirrel!!"). This will also be the first Pixar film that will be available in 3D theatrically. I can't wait to see this!

Metropolis
(1926, with 1984 Moroder soundtrack)

This is one of those films that is considered a complete masterpiece from the silent era. Filmed 82 years ago in Germany, "Metropolis" is the story of a large city in the year 2026 where the rich live in fantastic, towering buildings, while the workers -- who keep the city running -- labor and live below. The film had a running time of 153 minutes when it premiered in Germany, but was cut down to 114 minutes for its American release (which, of course, did not help U.S. viewers understand the complex story). For years, it was assumed that the full-length version had been lost forever; however, in July a 16mm reduction negative was found in the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The film world is now waiting as the 210-minute print is restored.

The version we saw at BNAT was released in 1984 with a new soundtrack by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. Featuring a retro-80s lineup of artists including Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Adam Ant and Bonnie Tyler, this version is both tinted (giving the film a splash of color) and truncated (it runs about 80 minutes). As a huge fan of 80s synth pop and films of the silent era (I'm a huge Chaplin/Keaton fan), this was perfect for me. "Metropolis" has been on my list of must-see films for a while, but I'd never sat down to view it (I'd even borrowed it from the library a few months ag0). I'm glad I finally got a chance to see this amazing film... and I can't wait until the newly discovered print is made accessible. This is a masterful film that is amazing in its detail, especially considering it was made nearly 90 years ago!

My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)

This film is a remake of the 1981 slasher/horror film, "My Bloody Valentine." This is pretty much like most movies of this genre -- thin plot, characters with questionable decision-making skills and morals, and lots of blood. If you don't like horror films, you'll hate this. In fact, you might even hate it more thanks to the tons of 3D imagery, courtesy of RealD. Having seen many horror films in my life -- from classics to some of the more recent, I feel that this film is rather tame. That said, the integrated 3D effects are quite fantastic and make the movie really enjoyable.

I Love You, Man (2009)

I was surprised that this comedy was on the BNAT lineup, but I loved it! The cast is stellar, with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel as the leads, accompanied by Rashida Jones ("The Office"), Jamie Pressly ("My Name is Earl"), Jon Favreau ("Iron Man") and Andy Samberg ("SNL"). Basically, Rudd gets engaged to Jones, but while she's busy planning for the wedding with her bridesmaid, Rudd realizes that he has no real guy friends. A chance meeting with Jason Segel at a real estate open house sparks a friendship, and the story continues from there. Fans of "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," will love this film. As an official "Freaks and Geeks," er, freak, I have an obligation to watch everything involving that oh-so-shortlived show's amazing cast (in this case, that's Segel).

White Dog (1982)

I'd never heard of this film, but it is truly bizarre. However, if Criterion deems a film worthy of release, it's almost always worth viewing. This movie stars then-20-year-old Kristy McNichol ("Family," "Empty Nest") as a young actress in Los Angeles. Driving along a dark highway one night, she accidentally hits a white German Shepard. Unable to find the owner, she keeps the dog to keep her company. After the dog attacks McNichol's friend, a black actress, she realizes that the dog has been trained to attack African-Americans on sight. She takes the dog to Burl Ives ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"), who runs an animal training facility. With the help of trainer Paul Winfield ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"), they try to re-train the dog. This film was very controversial when it was released and pretty much killed the career of director Sam Fuller. It's less shocking in 2008, but the film still is interesting because it explores theories behind racism and the potentially fatal effects of instilling flawed human prejudices onto animals, who can be trained to do just about anything. I wouldn't recommend this film to a room of third-graders, but I do wish that my really hip high school pysch teacher had fished this out of the archives. He had the most bizarre take on everything... and I would have loved to see him react to something like this.

Terminator: Salvation (2009)

We see a lot of clips, trailers and oddities at BNAT. Sometimes, special guests even show up. This year's event had several guests, including Elijah Wood (Emily's sister didn't know who he is... I guess her kids are too young for the LoTR trilogy!). As a huge Terminator fan since adolescence, I've been quite excited for this new film starring Christian Bale ("Newsies," "The Dark Knight"). Hollywood filmmaker McG ("Charlie's Angels") made an appearance to show as some lengthy footage (and then teased us by saying he actually had a burned DVD of the entire film... but the Warner Bros. rep who had accompanied him refused to let him screen it!). He proceeded to show us around 7 minutes of clips from T4 (as the fans have dubbed it, naturally). This included unfinished CG effects, stunt work with cables and mats still in place and raw footage with time codes and such still in place. In other words, the film is still far from done, but it looks pretty awesome. This film is the first time a Terminator film takes place completely in the scorched, future world, so it will be interesting to see John Connor as an adult, leading the resistance... rather than a young boy/teen being protected from assasination. Fans of the Terminator series will rejoice... and those who don't care all that much might have their curiosity picqued by the prescence of Christian Bale. I'd be there, Bale or no Bale... but, honestly, he's one of my favorite actors of late, and I'm convinced he can basically do no wrong.

Watchmen (2009)

If you asked attendees before BNAT started, "Which film do you think you'll see?", hands down the answer would be, "Watchmen." This much-anticipated film, based on the venerable 12-issue comic book series (1986-1987), is directed by Zack Snyder ("300," "Dawn of the Dead"), who brought an early print of "300" to BNAT 8 and, apparently promised to bring "Watchmen" in the future. Unfortunately, the film is not finished (and, at this writing, is still mired in legal drama). Luckily, the powers behind the film saw fit to send the first 22 minutes along with actor Jackie Earle Haley ("The Bad News Bears," "Little Children"). The film is set in a parallel version of 1985 where Richard Nixon is still the U.S. President, Soviet-U.S. strife is at its most volatile point and superheroes are present and very real. As much as I love comic books and graphic novels, I haven't read the "Watchmen" series (I blame a lot of my gaps in pop culture to history to growing up in rural, Eastern Oregon...). After seeing this footage, I'm convinced that I will have to do so before seeing the film. I've always been a fan of everything involving superheroes, so this is really perfect for me. The film is scheduled to open in March 2009.

Che (2008)

This was one of the films I thought we might see at BNAT. Hollywood makes very few "epic" films these days, mostly because most people only want to escape to the cinema for about 2 hours... not 4 or more! Since BNAT is already 24 hours long, I figured the film's 4½ running time was just too much. Well, I was wrong. At 8:30 a.m., Harry announced that our final films would be... "Che: Part I and II." First of all, I have to admit that this was a privilege, as this film has seen only limited release in New York, Los Angeles and various film festivals (i.e. Toronto and Cannes). That said, the film runs at a snail's pace, and never really allows the audience to connect emotionally. Unlike the fantastic 2004 biopic, "The Motorcycle Diaries," (which chronicles the 1952 adventures of Ernesto "Che" Guevarra throughout his native South America), this film provides very little insight into the life of a man who is esteemed by millions around the world as an example of social dissidence and revolution. It's not a bad film; in fact, at times, it's rather gripping. Many of our fellow BNATters had a difficult time with the film, having endured more than 20 hours of non-stop entertainment already. I was lucky, being fluent in Spanish, as I was not forced to expend a great deal of energy to read the subtitles. Still, it would be difficult to recommend this film to anyone unless they (1) were really interested in Gueverra's life; (2) really enjoy hours and hours of scenes with little or no dialogue; (3) want to submit themselves to an intense Spanish immersion experience. The film has a fantastic look and Benicio del Toro ("Sin City") is incredibly effective in the title role. Though I did watch nearly the entire film without slumbering, I might revisit it as a Blu-Ray rental and watch it again (in easy-to-swallow segments, of course!).

And, with that, BNAT was over. At the very end, as all of the attendees were gathering their belongings and massaging their sore derrieres, Harry said, "Hey... who is talkbacker Bob Loblaw Law Blog?" Emily looked at me and said, "Hey, that's you!" On Aint It Cool News, every story has a comments feature called "Talkbacks." This allows users of the site to post comments about the subject of the article. Every user has a handle (i.e. user name)... and mine happens to be "Bob Loblaw Law Blog." Apparently, Harry's wife, Patricia, really likes my posts, and, in Harry's words I'm "her favorite talkbacker." We went down and introduced ourselves to Patricia, who was very nice. We told her that we were married just 13 days after she and Harry in July 2007, which she thought was neat.

Hopefully we can go back to BNAT soon. Our niece, Jordan, said, "You wouldn't even come visit us if it weren't for Butt-Numb-A-Thon." What she doesn't realize is, more than likely, we wouldn't go to BNAT if they didn't live in Austin. It's been a real treat to attend the past two years... I hope we'll be able to go many times more in the future!

Texas Justice (The Return)

This past week Josh and I went to Austin, Texas to visit my sister Abby, her family, and also attend Butt-Numb-a-Thon X. Josh's post about BNAT is forthcoming, but I wanted to post some pictures about our Austin activities (mostly for my parents, on the slim chance they will ever read this, even though I have programmed my blog on their Bookmark taskbars).

We got there on Thursday and I don't really remember what we did. We slept a lot because we hadn't slept the night before. We tried to take my niece Jordan to see "Bolt," but the theater had posted the wrong times, so when we got there it was already halfway over. Instead we went to Sonic and had Blasts.

On Friday we went to the Texas State History Museum because Abby had always wanted to go there but never had the time. We saw the exhibit "Cowboys and Presidents" and also learned about Texas' main export: OIL! and the main import: astronauts.

Museums are best when your kids are armless so that they don't touch anything

Logan thinks this cannon goes well with his complexion

My adopted niece Mia is the most portable baby ever because
she only weighs about 14 pounds, 10 of which is hair

As the only 2 minorities in the Shepard family, Josh and Mia are slowly adding their bi-racial genes to our overwhelmingly white gene pool. In this picture, Josh is reminiscing about his Conquistador ancestors who added their genes to the Americas

Feeling his voice hadn't been heard quite well enough, Josh chose to vote a few more times at the "Cowboys and Presidents" exhibit

Abby and Mia have the headgear to prove their Texanocity

Friday night, Josh and I went to a Butt-Numb-a-Thon before party at Scholz Garten bar where we met Harry Knowles, the founder of aintitcool.com, the website which sponsers BNAT.

Josh made sure to wear the Oregon sweatshirt so that he could REPRESENT!

Josh has a more detailed blog about the movies we saw on Saturday and Sunday, but let me just say that it was awesome. We had all sorts of plans to tour the UT Austin clocktower and then see the lights at Zilker Park, but after 24-hours of movies that was actually more like 26 (4 of which were the ridiculously-lengthed Che), I came back to my sister's house and did this:

This is actually often how I fall asleep-- I've gotten so good at keeping my books open, I can now sleep for a few hours then wake up and keep reading where I left off. Don't you wish you were in grad school too?

On Monday we made plans to hang out with my 11-year-old niece Jordan. She wanted to go to Zilker Park, but we made her go bowling instead.

I couldn't think of a good caption, but just pretend I made some crack about Josh's eyebrows

Josh is what we would call "The Evil Uncle"

Guess who won. Yeah, that's right. ME!

Josh's entire wardrobe is so full of Hoodoo stuff, he unzipped his sweatshirt and it was a continuation of the Hoodoo logo!

Jordan claims we're the coolest aunt and uncle ever. The fact that we filled her with ice cream may or may not have anything to do with that.

So that was our trip. We came back to Oregon to find that it had snowed like crazy, which was confusing. In the past few days we've just been trying to get last-minute Christmas shopping done (although we may not even be able to make it to Hermiston if the snow continues as it is) and I've been using my extra time off school to cook some actual meals.

Blast from the Past-- Texas 2007:

San Antonio, TX temple
This temple was among the most beautiful I have been in, with the most gorgeous stained glass

In front of the Texas State Capitol, married for just 4 1/2 months

A Very ShepAlder Christmas (Tree)

Well, the ShepAlder Christmas tree has finally been purchased, assembled and decorated.

Let me preface this post by saying that, yes, we indeed are the owners of a fake tree. I realize that there are very strong opinions on either side. For Emily and I, it came down to a few things.

1) Neither of us are fans of the maintenance involved in having a live tree. The choosing, the hauling, the watering, the subsequent shedding of pine needles... and later, the disposal. Those who know us recognize that we're not the best when it comes to lots of responsibility of that sort. It's not that we don't care... we just get too busy to manage. If our cats didn't audibly beg for food, we'd probably forget to feed them.

2) I can't speak for dogs, but anyone who owns a cat knows that they love to hide themselves underneath anything. When we moved into our house last June, our cat Mercury -- who absolutely hates me -- quickly found that she could shove herself underneath the cabinet in our bonus room. She's stopped doing that now (mostly because, I believe, she discovered it's too unpleasant to press her squatty body into that small crevice), but she does manage to open the doors to the living room all the time. I'm convinced that she'd be hanging out under the tree any time we weren't watching her. Even though she's not allowed in that part of the house, she'll have nowhere to hide when she sneaks in there, as artificial trees tend to have much less space underneath. Problem (mostly) solved.

3. Since most newer artificial trees (including the one we bought) come pre-lit, there's no hassling with lights... you just put the tree up, arrange the branches... plug it in, flip a switch and BAM!! How cool is that? Simple. Just look at this mathematical equation I've constructed below:

No tangled lights + simple assembly - extraneous boxes for storing said lights = COMPLETELY AWESOME!

So, yeah... we're a fake tree family now and forever. It's the ShepAlder way.

We had a fun time putting up the tree, as this was our very first time decorating a tree in our home (we didn't get one last year for our first Christmas as a married couple as we lived in a townhouse with a much smaller living room).

Emily said I looked like a "raccoon who was up to no good and caught on camera" when she took this picture. I say I was just focused on hanging up my awesome Captain Kirk ornament.

Even though this is our second Christmas together as a married couple, this is the first time we've used this ornament.


We got this ornament on our honeymoon in Jamaica.
It Jamaica's me crazy!


We inherited a ton of ornaments from Emily's sister because her kids would likely break them... or something like that. Since we have no children, we get all the good stuff! The coolest thing about this ornament? It's little legs wobble to and fro!


Everyone who knows me recognizes I'm a total, unapologetic geek (I mean, c'mon... Em and I are about to attend an exclusive, 24-hour film festival in Austin, Texas, next week for the second year in a row). My love of Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi, comic books, etc., has lasted since childhood, and when I found an awesome eBay auction offering a load of Star Trek ornaments, I had to get them.


Mr. Spock was in the bundle as well. It's only logical to have him on the tree.


And the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation (I also have the Enterprise-E, but when I tried to explain to Emily why the two ships share a name, but are quite different, she just kind of rolled her eyes).

This OREGON DUCK is a constant reminder of our alma mater...
and the DUCKS decisive 65-38 victory over the silly Oregon State Beavers last week! GO DUCKS!!


With the tree up, it was time for a quick snap of the awesome ShepAlder family (minus the cats, who as I mentioned previously, are not allowed in this room. Lo siento, gatitos!). Emily had just woken up from a little nap, so she was a bit groggy.

We'll be spending Christmas with my family in Hermiston (wooh!), and then New Year's Eve at Hoodoo, so this tree won't get much official use this year. But, it's a welcome reminder of the festive spirit of Christmas!

Falkor vs. A Strange Cat

Our cat Falkor is usually a pretty friendly guy. He's big, fluffy and curious. But, since he is not allowed outside EVER (he once ran away and didn't come back for seven months...), he often spends a lot of time by the back sliding glass door looking at the trees, birds and grass in the backyard.

Every once in a while, he sees something that totally stresses out his two-and-a-half-year-old heart. This happened yesterday afternoon.

OREGON DUCKS DESTROY BEAVERS!!

DUCKS WIN!!! 65-38!!

UPDATE: Our beloved OREGON DUCKS not only beat the Oregon State Beavers... they completely DESTROYED them!! Final score from Corvallis: 65-38! The Ducks led the whole way, surging to nearly 700 total offensive yards!! This all but guarantees them second place in the Pac-10 Conference and a berth in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 30.

I am so happy, I cannot even begin to explain my incredible satisfaction. To see all those disappointed Beaver fans just warmed my heart to no end. What a joy for Duck fans to have their team beat all three NW teams this year -- the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers -- by sizable margins.

ORIGINAL POST

Today is the day! In just a couple hours (4 p.m. PST), the OREGON DUCKS and the Oregon State Beavers face off in the 112th annual CIVIL WAR.

As devoted Duck fans, Emily and I will be watching the game at home. Why not at the game? Simple: It's in Corvallis at "Frozen Burrito" Stadium. I hate that place. I've watched exactly three games there in person: the 1998 Civil War and the 2002 Civil War as a member of the Oregon Marching Band, and the 2005 matchup between Oregon State and Washington State, as the Sports Editor of the Cottage Grove Sentinel newspaper.

Reser Stadium, in my Duck opinion, is a horrible place. Each time I went as a member of the OMB, the fans there were so filled with rage and anger toward Duck fans that they had no problem hurling expletives, bottles, etc., at the band. Seriously.

There are many Oregonians who don't understand why the Civil War is such a big deal. I understand that. Unless you grew up around it or have a undying devotion to either team, it probably seems a bit silly. Some people have told me that they root for both teams, until they play for each other. I can't subscribe to this theory... I'm completely incapable of rooting for the Beavers... ever. When they won back-to-back NCAA baseball championships, many Oregonians exclaimed that it was a great accomplishment for the states and both Ducks and Beavers fans should rejoice.

Not me. No way. The only thing those championships did for me was make me jealous that Oregon's baseball team had been discontinued in 1982, thanks to Title IX (thankfully, the team has been restarted and will start competitive play next year!).

The CIVIL WAR is always a big game, as the winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the year. Oregon State has won the last two games, but neither of those were as important as today's game.

You see, Oregon and Oregon State enter today's 112th CIVIL WAR with identical overall records (8-3). The difference is that, while the Ducks are 6-2 in the Pac-10 conference, the Beavers are 7-1, having beaten the only other 7-1 team in the Pac-10: the University of Southern California Trojans. USC has won (or shared) the Pac-10 title in each of the last SIX seasons and their ONLY loss this season is to Oregon State.

What does this mean? Basically, if Oregon State beats Oregon today in the CIVIL WAR, the Beavers go to the Rose Bowl and would (likely) tie with USC for the Pac-10 Championship. For Duck fans, that event would be akin to the beginning of the Apocalypse. The Beavers have not been to the Rose Bowl since 1965 (the Ducks last went in 1995, though they won the Pac-10 championship in 2001).

My hopes for the game? A win by the Ducks. A HUGE win. If they do, they'll likely go to the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 in San Diego. If not, they'll probably end up at the Las Vegas Bowl (where they could potentially play BYU) or at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

It's almost time!! GO DUCKS!!

I Can Serve Others (but I choose not to)

Last week I had the kids in my CTR 5 class draw pictures of something they could do to be of service to other people. I contributed and drew this picture of me helping Josh with the dishes (I know that the perspective on the sink is a little off, but I'm a psychologist and not an artist).

One of the little boys said, "But you do dishes all of the time." I replied, "Clearly you don't know how things work in my house, kid." I got a kick out of that.

Josh does most of the everyday chores such as washing the dishes, cooking, taking out the trash, and cleaning the cat box. I'm not sure exactly how I got out of these things except that if I was to be in charge of food production we would be eating Red Vines, turkey bologna, and pumpkin ice cream for every meal and if I had to be in charge of the cat box we would no longer have two cats.

In my defense, I vacuum, do my own laundry, and clean the bathrooms. So, while our division of labor may not be balanced, it's not completely unfair. Also, I do help out with the dishes every once in awhile (just not as often as I should, I know).

I took some artistic license with my outfit in this drawing. When I imagine myself doing anything domestic, I always picture myself in a 1950s housewife dress with matching heels. It puts some of the glamour back into scrubbing baked-on food bits. This picture is currently taped to our refrigerator to remind me of the type of woman I could have been (in other words: helpful).

Ducks in the Rain

Josh and I went to the Ducks vs. Stanford game on Saturday and it was the most ridiculously wet time I have ever spent at a football game. The Ducks won, which only solidifies my belief that my presence is what is necessary for a win (they have won every game I have attended this season). Unfortunately, this was the last game we are planning to attend this season because Josh has a ski show this coming weekend that coincides with the last home game. For more information about our Duck pride, click here (Josh keeps telling me to include information, but I refuse to repeat myself because that's how I am. Wooh).

If we were any wetter, we'd be swimming

Thankfully my bro-in-law lent us this old sideline jacket similar to the ones the players wear between drives on inclement days. It was like being in a big, wet sleeping bag but it kept me warm.

Josh didn't wear his cape because he was worried it would get too wet.

Yes We Can.

The world is responding with jubilation at a new chapter in the incredible story of this great nation. It's time for America to once again be seen as a land of hope, opportunity and equality. This is the greatest nation on earth... one designed by God to lead the way and set an example for others. We can do that together.

Tuesday night, we did just that. Whether you voted for President-elect Obama, or not... we must unite together to make this country and this world a better place for us and all Americans of every race, culture, creed, age, sex and religion... today and in the future. Yes we can.

Watching and waiting... and CELEBRATING!!

As a total news hound, former full-time journalist and political enthusiast, I've been waiting for this day for... well, for the last four years. I voted for John Kerry in 2004 and was disappointed when he lost to George W. Bush.

Ever since the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I've been excited about Sen. Barack Obama's political career. When he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Presidency in 2006, I got excited and started following his path toward the Democratic nomination.

Senator (and almost certainly soon-to-be U.S. President-elect)
Barack Obama is ready for the White House! Are you ready for him?

The last few weeks and days have been pretty exciting as Obama has taken a sizable lead in the national polls. Emily was a Hillary Clinton supporter and we both agreed that we'd vote for whomever ended up winning the Democratic nomination. I also put up Obama signs on our house and vehicles, including these:

This one went on the Outback, Emily's car.


I wore this to the gym today to celebrate my Hispanic heritage!

Almost my entire day today has been focused on the election. CNN is my network of choice, as I love Wolf Blitzer and the network's politically diverse team of dedicated journalists, analysts and pundits. Plus, CNN is the only place to see John King and his famous "magic wall"!

"And Oregon here... well, now it's in the ocean. Yep, I can do whatever I want with this thing," said CNN's John King,
in a quote he'd never, ever actually say.

They also tend to wait a bit longer to make projections than other networks.

Sarah Palin was disappointed that John McCain conceded Michigan
to Obama a few weeks ago.I guess she didn't realize that Michigan
is apparently part of "fake America."

Plus, CNN has the coolest projection video intro in all of television (seriously, it gives me chills whenever it comes on...)!

In another CNN Projection, Senator John McCain has beat Barack Obama in the category of "number of times using the slightly creepy (coming from a 72 year old man) phrase 'my friends' during campaign appearances," by a count of 468,398 to never.

I also went to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts where they offered free, patriotic doughnuts for anyone who could prove they had voted; Here in Oregon, it's actually illegal to offer anything as a reward for voting, so Krispy Kreme gave out free doughnuts to anyone who asked.

In other election day offers, Starbucks gave voters a free cup of coffee, while Ben & Jerry's stores was giving out free ice cream cones from 5-6 p.m. (As Mormons, we don't drink coffee, and the closest Ben & Jerry's store is in downtown Portland... not quite worth the drive during rush hour!).

Two delicious "O's" for two votes for OBAMA!!

Assuming Obama wins (and as of 7:46 p.m. PST, it looks almost certain that he will), it will be a new chapter for citizens of the United States of America. I'm very optimistic that he'll be able to improve the world's view of America, hopefully get us out of the disaster that has been the Iraq War and inspire Americans to care more about the world and society in which they live. I'm excited for his presidency and very proud to have supported his historic run!

OK... time to get back to watching CNN and watch Oregon's seven electoral votes go to OBAMA!!

UPDATE: CNN has called the election for Obama!!!

And to them will I reveal all mysteries..

A few days ago, Emily posted pictures of us in Biblical garb whilst on a trip to the coast. However, she gave no reason for these pics, indicating that they were not our Halloween costumes and that details would be forthcoming in the next few days.

To quote from my favorite Dr. Seuss book, "The time has come... the time is now!"

Here's the story, morning glory:

For several years, I have been a passionately devoted reader of a film site known as Aint It Cool News. But, I'll get to that in a minute.

First, some history about me! Friends of mine will attest that my love of film borders on outright obsession: I don't just watch movies... I absolutely digest them. The same is true for most of pop culture (i.e. television, music, comics, books, etc.), and over the years, I've become known for my extreme geekiness in internally archiving loads of trivia facts, biographical information, weird anecdotes, etc., into this grey matter within my sizable cranium.

For years, I wondered if any of this "useless knowledge" (a term I loathe) would ever garner me any more than the possibilty of lifeline calls from friends trying to figure what film won Best Picture in 1978 (it was "The Deer Hunter"), or where Paul McCartney's "Michelle" fits in The Beatles' discography (Album: "Rubber Soul" (1965), track 7).

One day in 2006, it finally did. I'd known Emily Shepard for a while, though we'd never been close friends. That all changed during a late-night game of "Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture Edition" with friends. My team ended up winning the match, but when a particular question momentarily stumped me, I was shocked (read: intrigued) when Emily confidently gave the correct answer.

The question: "This actress left behind her former, scandalous acting career when she was cast in John Water's 1990 film 'Cry Baby.'"

The answer: "Traci Lords."

Again... I should have known that instantly, and as the words left Emily's lips, I was simultaneously annoyed and attracted by this girl I hardly knew. Right then and there, I knew, that I just had to have some more Emily Shepard in my life. We had so much in common, it was almost ridiculous (NOTE: "Actually, it's completely ridiculous." -- Emily)

The rest of the story will one day be told to the ShepAlder posterity as if it were legend: Emily and I dated, fell in love and knew that life without one another would be a tragedy (and not an interesting one, like "Hamlet" or "The Awakening.").

Now, back to my point (Emily says I include way too much exposition in my blog posts, but I remind her that I didn't go to journalism school to impress girls... writing has just always been my thing.).

Emily and I both love our pop culture... and we both especially love film.

Last year, Emily's sister moved to Austin, Texas, with her husband and three (now four) kids. One day, I casually remarked, "That's awesome. We should try to get into BUTT-NUMB-A-THON and then we'd have a great excuse to visit them too!"

If you've made it this far, you're probably asking yourself, "What on earth is 'BUTT-NUMB-A-THON'?"

BUTT-NUMB-A-THON -- or BNAT (pronounced "Bee-NAT") as those in the know call it -- is a 24-hour film festival held in Austin each year in December. It is a birthday celebration of one Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News and one of the renowned film geeks on the Interwebs.

However, unlike most film festivals, you can't just buy tickets to BNAT; you have to apply. With only a few hundred seats in the theater, it's quite the feat. We were ecstatic to get in last year, and we cherished the experience. Twenty-four consecutive hours of movies -- a mix of soon-to-be released features (last year, we saw "Charlie Wilson's War," "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "Mongol," and "Trick 'r Treat," all prior to their theatrical releases), vintage films ("Lonely are the Brave," "Pickup on South Street," "The Great McGinty," "The Abominable Dr. Phibes.") and trailers, plus several oddities (i.e. UCLA Medical School footage of an in-progress urethroplasty accompanied by Chuck Mangione's "Feels So Good," played just before breakfast...) -- would be enough to make most people shudder; for Emily and I, it was paradise.

And, for the past 10 months, our only desire was to somehow get back (cue Emily saying -- in her best Jack from "LOST" voice -- "We have to go back!!").

A few weeks ago, Harry posted the application for this year's BNAT. Being that it is the tenth year of the event (and in remembrance of Charlton Heston's passing in March), he dubbed it "The Ten Commandments of Butt-Numb-A-Thon." As part of the application, we were instructed to include individual photos with us dressed as extras or major characters from Cecil B. DeMille's epic 1956 film, "The Ten Commandments."

Minutes after reading these requirements, Emily and I concocted a plan to dress as Moses and Rameses II, respectively. All we needed was a background to help us recreate the mood. Without hesitation, we decided that the sandy dunes and crashing waves of the Oregon Coast near Sand Lake were perfect.

The rest of the application consisted of various questions, including our favorite Charlton Heston films:
- "Soylent Green" for me and "The Greatest Show on Earth" for Em;

Charlton Heston quotes:
- Josh: "Every man has a final weapon: his own life. If he's afraid to lose it, he throws the weapon away," "Khartoum" (1966).

- Emily: "One more word of your sauce, and I'll have your liver for breakfast," "Treasure Island" (1990)

... and much, much more.

We've been waiting anxiously all week to see if we made this years' cut... and just less than an hour from this blog posting, we found out that we've been invited once again!

I cannot express just how excited we are! This is, hands down, the most exciting thing to happen this year -- save buying our first home! -- and Dec. 13-14 can't come soon enough!!

Here are the cropped, individual photos we sent in with our BNAT applications:

"These commandments are made of people...
they're people!!!"


"You're nothing but a bastard...
a bastard in a basket!"