Mel's Personal Blog

Mandles

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Seems I only post videos lately, but ah well.

Animal Collective - My Girls

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:48:00 +0000

My little brother Josh introduced me to this video, and Animal Collective, when recently in town on Spring Break.

Now I must listen to / watch the damn thing at least 5 times a day. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

The WTF Blanket (Snuggle Parody)

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:54:00 +0000

Any crafty attempt to describe this would fail miserably, so on with the show...

The Recycling Police

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:14:00 +0000

Funny story, from a recent conversation with my mom. My grandfather (her dad) is very OCD and obsessively neat. Needless to say, rules are of a great concern to him, even at 83.

My mom was out of town with one of my little brothers recently, looking at colleges. My other brother stayed home, and my granddad also stayed there while they other 3 were gone (he has a separate "apartment" attached to the house).

Well, it was recycling day, so my grandad proceeded to get it ready, dumping everything into the bin. My brother Sean explained that they need to separate the paper from plastics and other stuff, as that's how they sort things in Illinois. My granddad was all sorts of upset, because he had a bunch of shredded paper in there too. "They don't recycle that way in California," he apologized.

They got it all worked out, and the recycling went out as usual. When my mom returned home a few days later, Sean told her about the incident, just because it was somewhat funny. Right after, my grandfather walked in, and my mom said, "Good thing you got all the paper out of there dad, otherwise the Recycling Police were likely going to write you a ticket!"

Of course she was kidding, but he got all pale and started looking worried. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he asked, "Would they really give an old man a ticket?" My mom and little brother just about bust a gut laughing, but they had my poor, rule-abiding grandpa going for a few moments there. :)

Michelle & David's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:11:00 +0000

OH MY GOSH! I've been to a lot of nice weddings, but this one was simply amazing. It was held at the Chicago Ritz-Carlton last Sunday, June 15th (Father's Day).

Every thing, down to the tiniest detail, was just perfect. For instance, the aisle way was curved like a garden path, made of fine silk, secured to the carpet below with satin covered pins. That was just the aisle - the rest was just as awe-inspiring.

Here are some photos and videos of my beautiful cousin, her lucky husband, and our wonderful family on this special day.

The gorgeous bride.

Her adorable nieces dancing...

Truly a fairy tale

My aunt Sandy and uncle Tom

The whole ceiling was a giant chandelier!

Just lit by candles and soft blue, slow moving lights...

Centerpieces were amazing

Band warming up, final preparations of the room

Cake, mmm...

With my cousins, Val and Ali

Showing off my boa with Ali

Me & my dad

My dad and his wife, Loraine

Ali & her husband, Andrew

My uncle Tom, pimpin' the top hat, lol

Tom Cruise Scientology Parody

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:19:00 +0000

If you haven't seen the original Tom Cruise "recruitment" video for Scientology, make sure you watch that first.

Below is the leaked video, made by Scientology, interviewing Tom Cruise on the religion with subtitles to explain his nonsense...

And now here is the funnier-than-hell parody of the above video "starring" Jerry O'Connell.

Talking Cats

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 22:07:00 +0000

These guys are too darn cute - wonder what they're talking about...

Well, here's the translation...

Kids love to jump on beds

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:03:00 +0000

Not what I expected. LOL

Kevin Smith Rocks...

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:09:00 +0000

Love his attitude and his movies, of course. Both of these are well worth watching - as we know, he's a great story teller.

Kevin Smith protests his own movie, Dogma:

Talks about "nearly" writing a Superman remake:

Internet Commenters

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:19:00 +0000

If you've spent any time on Fark.com, you'll laugh your ass off at this!

3 minutes. Link to Video

Ninja School?

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:33:00 +0000

Amusing Animals - Video

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:24:00 +0000

Some old clips, though a lot are new ... all are pretty damn funny. :)

It's A Squirrel's Life... :)

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:35:00 +0000

Want a good chuckle? This little dude was certainly enjoying a good, uh, squirrel nap on my mom's deck railing. :D

Just found these today while looking for another photo. Glad they popped up, I had completely forgotten I even took these!

Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:39:00 +0000

Around Mom's House

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:17:00 +0000

Packing & Moving & Storing, Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 30 May 2007 23:04:00 +0000

I made it back to Chicago from NJ, time flew by.

The last day was spent packing the boys up, then we went to drop some more of their stuff at a family friend's house in Wilmington, Delaware.

I've been in 9 states in the past 5 weeks! (AZ, UT, CO, WY, NM, PA, NJ, DE, IL) That's a lot of traveling.

I'll share the photos taken during the "golden hour" right before sunset on the Wilmington Riverfront soon.

Wilmington, DE - Riverfront & Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 30 May 2007 06:13:00 +0000

We spent the evening with a family friend (hi Gail!) and went out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. The restaurant was perched on the Riverfront, I had my camera with me, and it was the "golden hour" right before the sun sets. Needless to say, that demanded my attention, so I hopped up after dinner to grab environmental shots.

On the way home, we decided to drive by some beautiful gardens and then to go see an old cable bridge. Above that was the coolest railroad bridge I've ever seen, monstrous and towering hundreds of feet above my head. The light was fading fast, but it was still gorgeous.

Here are a few (ok, a lot) of my favorites:

Our Hotel & Other Views

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:47:00 +0000

We're staying halfway between Princeton & Lawrenceville at this great hotel, the Chauncey Conference Center. This is also the home of ETS, or Educational Testing Services, the groups that makes the SAT, GRE, PSTAT, etc. The campus is HUGE and there are ponds, streams, and running trails throughout. The road into this place is quite beautiful too!

The nearest Starbucks is just up the road, right across from Princeton. So I've been viewing the school and its students on a daily basis now. :) I don't think there'll be time for a tour of the campus, but I'd sure like to see it again after all these years.

Princeton is such a great little town. There's a diverse range of restaurants, stores, and brasserie type cafe's that remind me of Paris. The people are just as diverse as the town -- I saw many students, of course, but also a lot of happy looking families, business people, and fun artist/hippie types. I wish my camera had been with me more, street photography can be a good time.

Sean's Lawrenceville Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 28 May 2007 03:29:00 +0000

To New Jersey I Go...

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Sun, 27 May 2007 06:24:00 +0000

I flew into Philly last night and drove up to Lawrenceville, NJ. Sean graduates from high school this weekend, hard to believe it! Man, they're not kidding when they say kids grow up fast. :)

The only other time I had been to NJ was over 10 years ago when we went to visit Cary's alma matters - he also went to Lawrenceville and Princeton, which is right down the road. So I must not be in the "armpit of America" part, because it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to!

When you grow up in a relatively lush & green part of the world, then move to the desert, it's AMAZINGLY nice to go back to lovely old oak trees and grass as far as the eye can see.

It was cool to see the boys' houses, but it was kind of sad to watch Sean pack up his room, reminding me of my own freshman year in college. Going to boarding school (especially this one) has really put him one up on most high schoolers. I know I was scared to death my first day at Carbondale. It'll be easy for Sean after his Lawrenceville experience.

Some pics from his room, our group dinner (all the graduates and their families), the wonderful speech given by a teacher who is also leaving Lawrenceville, and the awards ceremony. I love my Mark II - it's so damn versatile! :)

Nick & Holly Engagement Session

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 21 May 2007 08:34:00 +0000

Ali's Bachelorette Party

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:02:00 +0000

SO. MUCH. FUN.

Ali & Andrew's Engagement Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (equusluminous) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:03:00 +0000

My cousin Ali is finally getting married to her longtime high school beau, Andrew. They've been together forever and I truly think they are meant for each other.

After quite a few years, the relationship has had its good moments and bad (don't they all?), and they have persevered.

Congrats you two! I can't wait for the wedding! My first time as a bridesmaid too. ;)

Here are some of our favorite shots from the engagement session, another first for me.