the blog, she is a changin'

i am completely bored with all of the blogger.com templates...but i'm also completely html illiterate! so this is as good as it gets for the moment. bonus points for identifying the quote! (i realize that it's a piece of cake for some of you.) feel free to impart any html wisdom you might have lying around!

Oh Willie!

Willie Nelson and four others were arrested in St. Martin parish earlier today on misdemeanor drug charges. Police seized marijuana and mushrooms. Nice...

I don't get it

Perhaps it's because I was an English ed. major and as such, was subjected to a wide range of literary genres, but I've always had an appreciation for styles and techniques that I may not personally enjoy. With a few notable exceptions, (The Grapes of Wrath and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn topping that list) I like--or I should say that I can appreciate--most everything I read. That tends to extend into my movie-viewing as well. I love solid writing and a well-developed plot, but I feel like I am intelligent and educated enough to enjoy other cinematic aspects as well...clever camera angles, quality editing, good lighting...even a quirky storyline. But I am afraid that my appreciation seems to have found its limits. I recently watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and I must admit...I don't get it! I don't understand under what circumstances this movie might be considered entertaining! I will say that there were a few humorous moments, but overall, it was not an overwhelming success in my book. I have even searched my beloved imdb.com in search of message boarding that might shine some light on this movie, but alas, I still don't have a clue as to it's appeal. Now, I know some people LOVE this film and one such person has recently tried to explain its appeal...but to no avail. I believe that I will continue to 'not get' this film, no matter what the explanation. I hate it when I can't figure something out!

I love Hanna Elise!!

I just wanted to make sure she knew that!

Now...here are a bunch of pics of her and some other fine people I know!

can't you tell I'm getting SO much done on my day off?!

this is a little slide show of some of my pics from the summer...isn't it fun?!

wasn't it only yesterday?

Andre Agassi retired from professional tennis yesterday after losing in the third round of the US Open. He played professionally for 21 years. If you knew me very well when I was in high school, you'd know why I care. I became a little obsessed with Agassi while studying a unit on tennis in PE my sophomore year. Of course, he was not the sedate, 30-something you see here now...no, he had hair any 80's metal band guy would envy and an attitude to go with it! He was--in his day--the bad boy of tennis...and I loved to watch him play! I checked tv guide every week and recorded any televised match I could find. I am not normally given to extravagant expressions of affection, but I was willing to suffer a little embarrassment in my dedication to this particular athlete. I'm sure I still have dog-eared magazine pics floating around somewhere in my high school memorabilia. I never bought one of those crazy Nike tennis shirts that he wore at the time...but I definitely considered it! I was a dedicated fan, to say the least. I followed him religiously for a few years, and then kinda lost interest in the whole tennis scene, but Agassi has always had a place in my heart. Even now, when I ran across a Agassi v. somebody match, I'd pause to watch for a moment--sorta like checking in on an old friend. I felt it only right and proper that I acknowledge his retirement. He had a long and varied career and I suffered through it with him for a few short years. Funny, it doesn't seem all that long ago!