Harbor View

Jake here. We haven't blogged much recently because our last post was so wildly popular, AJ is in California visiting her family and my little brother Zach (pictured above) is in the hospital. About a year ago he started having seizures. He'd never had them before in his life and he suddenly started having about 10 a day. So he's been diagnosed as being epileptic and pumped full of seizure medication for the last year and nothing has worked. He takes these huge horse pills that don't look reasonable for swallowing. And the other day he goes in for a scheduled visit and they finally decide that he may not be having seizures at all. So he's currently checked into the cardiology wing of Harbor View and they've got him on a heart monitor 24/7 and I've been over there hanging out with him. And I'm now calling his episodes HEART SEIZURES. The following picture was on the office door of the doctor who is in charge of the epilepsy center.


I believe his mask doubles as a seizure helmet, like the one Natalie Portman wore in Garden State. Wyatt, Ryan, have you ever seen that movie?

And I feel like hospitals go overboard with the official lingo sometimes. For example, the laundry bin in his room says SOILED LINENS. Why can't they just say DIRTY LINENS. And the below picture was in the hospital cafeteria today.

Duct Tape Dress Form

I have been wanting a dress form for a long time and researched some diy techniques and this is what we came up with.

All you need is:
1 roll gray duct tape
1 roll white duct tape (they have a lot of other colors here.)
Saran wrap (for your neck line)
T-shirt (to wear under)
Scissors (to cut shirt off)

It took us only about an hour. We are going to stuff it with pillow stuffing and cover it with fabric. Then we are going to post it on a standing coat rack. I will post pics of that when it is all finished. We bought a tripod at Value Village and set the camera up and then Jake put it all together.

You Suck At Photoshop

Jake here. Wyatt tuned me into this earlier today and since he never blogs, I'm going to post this and claim it as my own original find. Here we go.

I found this awesome podcast today with Photoshop tutorials called You Suck At Photoshop. I guarantee you'll enjoy this, whether or not you care about learning anything in Photoshop. And you should especially watch this if you are into it. Here's the link to the channel which is called Big Fat Brain. I haven't watched the other podcasts they have on there but they might be ok. The Photoshop tutorials are hilarious. Keep in mind they are a bit off-beat and the language may not impress your grandmother.

DangerBomb Alarm Clock

Jake here. Having trouble getting up in the morning? Do you wish you were a secret agent? This alarm clock is just the thing. When the alarm sounds, so will a flashing light. You have to look at the light and disconnect the properly colored wire on the front of the clock to stop the alarm. So it takes a little more brain power than a normal snooze button to get you going in the morning. Plus you'll feel like James Bond. Via OhGizmo!

And I think I've decided that There Will Be Blood is the better of the two movies. Not that No Country For Old Men isn't exceptional.

Thank You Mr.Bill Gates

The benefits of living 3 blocks away from Microsoft's main campus are starting to payoff. They have been calling all month to recruit 20 something year olds for a research focus study. The first time around I did not fit the bill because Jake has worked for Apple but they needed a replacement and I was shortly called back later. Anyway, today I went for 2 hours and got a $600 voucher to their gratuity store. The building I went to was where they develop their game and gaming systems. Our focus group was on the Zune and Zune Social. I signed a form saying I would not disclose any information so I won't (not like I really know anything anyway).

Jake and I had no use for what we could get with the voucher so we bought some software and are selling it on Craigslist for a few hundred! I am looking forward to that. 

*And Jake is doing a focus group in 2 weeks for 1 hour and $75 cash!

{if anyone is interested you can fill out a profile on Microsoft.com/usability}

Baller

I just signed up to play on a spring volleyball team. I can't wait to play again. I have not play on an organized team in years. I couldn't find any action shots but here are some after shots. I had so much fun playing for UVSC. Playing for BYU-H was ok, they were totally racist. It was nice to have all my big bros around to support me though. {We look like babies in this photo}

Why I Miss Hawaii

Circus

I have been amazed with advertisements lately. So appealing, so magical and good music and funny too. 

I Drink Your Milkshake! I Drink It Up!

Jake here. I watched There Will Be Blood last night and No Country For Old Men last week. I'm having a tough time deciding which one I liked better. They're both long and boring but extremely well done. No Country was a little more intriguing what with all the violence. Blood seemed a little more important. I liked them both even with their rather abrupt endings. Daniel Day-Lewis did an excellent job in Blood and I thought Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) did such a good job with the soundtrack. I partially feel like No Country was given the Oscar because the Coens deserve one for the work they've done throughout their career. Both movies were deserving but I just can't decide which was actually better. Please comment and share you opinions. In other words let's have a vote.

Here's a clip from There Will Be Blood. If you haven't seen it yet and plan on it, don't watch this.

And here's one from No Country For Old Men. Less of a spoiler I suppose, but this scene won't be as intense if you watch it now.

Worlds Funniest Commercials

Jake and I are currently watching Worlds Funniest Commercials and they had a website where they are all located. They are so funny and a lot are risque so beware. Here are some of my favorites.
This one reminded me of the movie War Of The Roses

And this is how I am feeling lately.

Stitches

The bottom photo is the apron Molly won a while back. The bibs are from a baby shower I went to yesterday and the ric rac is a headband I saw on the Heather's blog.

Pine Wood Derby

My Cub Scouts had the pine wood derby last week. It was pretty fun and funny. I could not believe how many of the boys cried...ridiculous. These are the cars from my pack and the little boy was so friendly and sweet. We taught him the peace sign and the shaka.

Queen Anne & Shilshole

This first photo is from Shilshole Bay. It opens to the San Juans.

These are from Queen Anne Hill. If I had all the money in the world I would live on Queen Anne. The homes are stunning and so is the view.
{yes, I know this photo is lame but I had to.}

The Locks

We went to the Ballard Locks on Saturday. It was cold but the locks are amazing.

How To Catch A Pretador

Just go to Crossroads at Bellevue and find the ones trading mythological creature cards.

Literally EVERDAY there are at least 20 men sitting around playing chess. On Fridays it gets pretty fierce. The chess isn't so bad it's the Pokemon cards that the 50 yr old men who haven't showered in a week are all squawking at.
{sorry for the bad photo- I had to sneak attack these shots from the library with out the flash on.}

Attn: Single Ladies, Music and Photo Lovers

Meet Mounce David Smith. We call him Monti and he is my oldest brother. He is the life of the party, good looking, good brother, will make a great dad, college graduate, has a career, loves surfing and skating and is seriously the best male dancer I have set my pair of eyes on.

This is Monti playing Father Christmas. He brought bags of clothes {via his closet, RUCA and Urban} and also Rock Band.
Anyway, Monti is extremely talented and currently writes for indierockreviews.com {name: thirst n howl}. You should check it check it. Monti is an awesome writer and has an expertise taste in music.
He has also been taking some photo classes from the local college. Here is his web gallery. He takes all photos with film and develops them himself. HERE IS THE BEST PART, Monti wrote me an email and said that if anyone would like a print of any of his photos he would print them for ya and we can send it to you. Check out his gallery write down the title of the photo or the number of the print you would like. If you are interested write me an email {ajoismith@yahoo.com} and leave your name and address.
Here are just a few:

Happy Happy Birthday Heather

Happy Birthday Heather! So happy you are on earth. Hope you are enjoying your Mexican Cruise.

King Of Kong

Jake here. Has anybody seen this yet? Me and my little brother watched it last night. So sweet. The reigning champion/reigning dork of Donkey Kong since 1982 is challenged to a match when a guy from Redmond, WA who was laid off dedicates his life to beating the 25 year-old record. I put this one down as a must see. It's not just for dorks, it's for people who love watching how pathetic some people can be.

Mutations

Jake here. I was just reminiscing about Beck's amazing Mutations. One of the best albums of all time. It definitely makes my top 5 list, but I don't really feel like actually making a list right now. Maybe in a few days. Until then listen to Bottle Of Blues.

You will be seeing more...

of this musician. I heard Lettie when I was scanning the H&M website. Check her out and also the new arrivals at H&M. And hallelujah they are opening 3 in Seattle this fall.

Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins

One Man Band

Jake and I got to see him perform this live last September. It was a sweet surprise when him and Rilo Kiley (and the Watson Twins) opened for Modest Mouse. When I was checking the line up for Sasquatch out I came across this little ditty. 

*This video made me a little homesick. I am going home at the end of this month and can't wait to go with my mom and sister to the city. 

Eddie Vedder Not Worth $65

Jake here. I'd like to express my discontent with Eddie Vedder's first solo tour in which he'll be mainly performing material from the Into The Wild soundtrack. Eddie Vedder used to represent something that I liked. Remember when he fought Ticketmaster to keep ticket prices low? He even testified before congress against Ticketmaster claiming they were a monopoly. Pearl Jam even cancelled their Vitalogy tour to make a stand. I've seen Pearl Jam seven times and five of those shows were under $30. The last time I saw them play was in Hawaii and I paid $45. It was a little weird paying that much for a show by the one band who has continually stood up for fans and fought to keep ticket prices low but it wasn't offensively expensive. The following week I saw them open for U2. I again mainly went for Pearl Jam. U2 is ok, but their show was much better than their music. And I only paid $60 for the ticket. I know it sounds kind of pricey, but U2 is the biggest band in the world. Regardless of whether or not I like them I think if any band can charge $60 bucks for a show it would be U2. Now, I know Classic Rock bands often chards hundreds of dollars for a ticket and the Stones will easily charge a couple grand but this is the anti-definition of Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder. I just can't believe that a little over a year ago I paid $45 to see five amazing rock stars and now Eddie Vedder seems to think his solo show is worth $65. Yeah, he's awesome on stage when he's playing with Pearl Jam but I'll charge $65 to my show before I pay $65 to see Eddie Vedder play a solo show. Come on!

Grievance - Pearl Jam

Koins For Kenya

I got an education degree to help those with special needs. Wether the needs be emotional, social or academically I wanted to offer specialized instruction and aid. My mom is friends with the founder of this program and as I read more about Koins for Kenya I felt like my aspirations in life were very similar to the mission statement of Koins. Koins For Kenya is a non profit organization providing education and educational supplies for thousands of children in Kenya. The villages served by Koins have no water, electricity or other modern facilities. They have done an incredible amount of work and service for the people of Kenya. Koins for Kenya splits project costs with the villages 90% Koins and 10% remaining from the village. You can go and teach in Kenya, help build schools and donate to this cause. You can donate $11 and that will pay for a desk. There are many more opportunities to provide support for these students. Go to koinsforkenya.org and go to tab titled "How You Can Help" and a list of opportunities will come up.

Sasquatch

Just a little taste:

Mates of State, Flaming Lips, Mars volta, Tegan & Sara, Siberian, Okkervil River, The National, Matt Costa, Built to Spill, Flight of the Conchords, The Hives, The Breeders

I MUST GO TO SASQUATCH. Last night I was browsing the line up and was starting to shout every bands name with more and more excitement. I must go! Tickets are around 70 bucks each day or 160 for three days. If anyone knows a better (aka cheaper) way to get tickets please please tip me off. I would be willing to get an extra job to go. 

SIBERIAN

Over the weekend we saw the band Siberian. They are a local band out of Seattle although most of the band members are not from the Pacific Northwest. Some members range from Maryland to Hawaii. It is not often that we go to a local show and buy the CD but I felt these guys were that good. The vocalist was melodic and strong but not over powering. I was not expecting to be introduced such a classy band and respectful music walking into a teen center in Redmond but I left inspired. I respect Siberians talent and hope to hear more of them. Go support these upcoming and aspiring artists and check out their sites and let others know about them. They will also be playing at Sasquatch this year. {I wish my words could give this band more credit but I am just not skilled in that dept. so refer to here.}


Belgian Beer and Catholic Girls

Islands Forever
thank you Jonah for the invite and taste in good music.

Whitie

Our friend Ryan {currently living in Nam} tipped us off to this great bit of the world wide web.

Stuff White People Like

"He is everything that white people dream about : authentic ("he's from Brooklyn!"), funny ("he was on Chapelle show!), artistic (have you heard "Black on Both Sides?"), an actor ("he's in the new Gondry film!") and not white ("I don't see race")."