Catalina, Baby!

Some photos of Two Harbors and other nearby locales...

Catalina

Enjoy!

Prolonged Absence

Okay, I admit it, I haven't been entirely faithful in my delivery of written material. No, this has nothing to do with plagiarism, more with my schedule. Long story short, school's started up again, I'm buckling down to two APs, the school newspaper, varsity Cross-Country team, and the school play, all while moving from two houses into two new ones, practicing violin (where time allows), and somehow making it down to Santa Catalina Island over Labor Day weekend. Down I-5. With a 25-foot Regal Commodore 242 following us.

Lol pictures will be up shortly, I took some amazing hikes around Two Harbors.

Point is, I probably won't be posting much, at least regularly, for a while. If I have time to kill, then yeah I'll work on something, but this blog's going on the back burner for now.

Keep the faith,

ManEatingBadger

Wow...

Every once in a while, I come across a YouTube video or forwarded E-mail or song that is just so amazing I have to post it here (as you may have noticed). Well, here we go again: "Mad World" by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews.



I first found this song through that video, the result of a YouTube search for "World in Conflict" trailers. This is, obviously, a fan-made trailer using the song, which it attributes to the Gears of War game soundtrack. Doing a little sleuthing of my own, I found that "Mad World" was never used in Gears of War (at least, not on the official soundtrack) but was used in the official release trailer. The song actually originated in the 2001 film Donnie Darko, along with an alternate mix:



Stay tuned for more such interesting tidbits, plus an in-the-works World in Conflict review!

Where Has Summer Gone? :(

Well, where'd it go, does anyone know? Lol, my attempt at Dr. Seuss... okay, nevermind. Point is, summer kinda flew by, which we always seem to say every year, but it seemed like this one especially flew by. And no, I was not having fun (half of the time).

For better or for worse, this summer my family decided to find a new house to live in until I'm off to college, and so I spent much of the past coupla months lugging furniture down stairs, arround obstacles, back up stairs, and into various new rooms. There's a company called "Two Guys and a Truck" that we were considering sueing because that was pretty much us: two worn-out guys and one brown old F-250 pick-up.

Apart from that, there were other demands, so numerous I can't recall them (seriously), and I was unable to accomplish several things I planned to, namely writing a manuscript. I've always wanted to write books, which seems to be a pretty common desire, but I've never had the time. So far, all I've got to show for a few hours' effort is two pages. Single-spaced, true, but still only two pages of what should be two hundred at least! Ah well, next summer then (yeah, right)...

In the meantime, violin, APs, and cross-country control my schedule.

Something Different, Or, to Quote Huell Howser: 'That's Amaaaazing!'

No, I did not have a religious experience, meet the president, climb Kilimanjaro, come out of the closet (not that that was ever an issue, or necessary; I'm not gay, not that that's a bad thing), get a sex change, or anything like that. No, I'm up near Lake Tahoe - I ran, I biked, and, just now, I mountain-biked.

I know, total anticlimax, I'm sorry, but it really was amazing, and having only just finished it, my blood's pumped on adrenaline, so I have to write about it. I'm hanging out in Serene Lakes, a quiet community off the Soda Springs exit from Interstate 80 that features two lakes, Serena and Dulzura (named after the daughters of some king; on Google Maps, they're called the Ice Lakes, hence the name of a nearby Ice Lakes Lodge). Situated in the world-renowned Royal Gorge cross-country ski area (that, being a downhill skier, I never took advantage of), it's really quite peaceful and picturesque, and just minutes from ski resorts like Sugar Bowl. Anyway...

[dinner break]

Just had the most amazing dinner, but I'll get to that. A friend of mine showed up around 5:00 and expressed a desire to take our mountain bikes on the trail; he'd just bought a new Cannondale, and I had an old Trek. I was quite willing to go, which kinda surprised him considering I'd just gotten back from a four-mile run a few minutes before, my second such run today. I told him I needed ten minutes and a coupla Gatorade shots, and I'd be good. Two such shots, a piece of toast with strawberry jam, and ten minutes later, we took off for a fire/logging road accross from the Ice Lakes lodge. I'd walked down part of the road before, but never far, or with a bike.

Was I in for it.

Going down the road, we followed Serene Creek as it winded down a ravine. Rocks and potholes were everywhere, and we had one helluva bumpy ride, made worse by the fact that we'd have to climb back up what we'd just rode down. We had to pull off to the side and hold our breath as a couple of pick-ups drove by, leaving whirling walls of dust for us to go through.

But what we found made it all worth it.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pack a camera, so these aren't my photos; top from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2874239, bottom from http://gambolinman.blogspot.com/2005/08/north-fork-american-river-100-hours-of.html

By this time, we were dreading our return trip, so we decided to turn around and head back lest we add even more distance to be picked up later. The climb was hard, easy gears all the way up, but once we hit asphalt at the lodge it was smooth sailing all the way home, where, lo-and-behold, dinner was waiting: tacos, baby! Corn and wheat tortillas, grilled chicken, black beans, corn, lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, cilantro... perfection, just what we wanted after a grueling bike outing.
We'll definitely be back on that trail soon. With lunch, water, and a camera.

[Man-Eating-Badger] Begins

It's come to my attention that many readers (it's true, you exist!) find my chosen username interesting and somewhat comical, which is perfectly fine and dandy. But I guess it's time you all learned the story behind the name "Man-Eating Badger".

Unfortunately, my name's story was never nominated for any Emmys, or even made into a Hollywood blockbuster, but all the same...

It all started when... actually, I can't remember exactly where I was or what I was doing, but somehow I ended up clicking on what I thought was one of those faux-news links; y'know, the tabloids screaming about Bush's involvement in a 9/11 cover-up or something equally inane. Here's the URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6295138.stm

'We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area.' - Major Mike Shearer

I promptly fell out of my chair laughing before I could finish the article, which I could see was kosher BBC. One of my favorite lines: "UK military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said: 'We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area.'"

And that, kids, is how I came by the handle of "Man-Eating Badger."

Phobiaphobia - Fear of Phobias

Phobias are the most common mental disorder in the U.S. While not comprehensive, this phobia list offers a glimpse of the many phobias that can have a serious impact on an individual's life.

A
Achluophobia - Fear of darkness.
Acrophobia - Fear of heights.
Agliophobia - Fear of pain.
Agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or crowds.
Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects.
Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car.
Androphobia - Fear of men.
Anginophobia - Fear of angina or choking.
Anthrophobia - Fear of flowers.
Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society.
Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched.
Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders.
Arithmophobia - Fear of numbers.
Astraphobia - Fear of thunder and lightening.
Ataxophobia - Fear of disorder or untidiness.
Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection.
Atychiphobia - Fear of failure.
Autophobia - Fear of being alone.

B
Bacteriophobia - Fear of bacteria.
Barophobia - Fear of gravity.
Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
Batrachophobia - Fear of amphibians.
Belonephobia - Fear of pins and needles.
Bibliophobia - Fear of books.
Botanophobia - Fear of plants.

C
Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness.
Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed.
Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors.
Chionophobia - Fear of snow.
Chromophobia - Fear of colors.
Chronomentrophobia - Fear of clocks.
Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces.
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
Cyberphobia - Fear of computers.
Cynophobia - Fear of dogs.

D
Dendrophobia - Fear of trees.
Dentophobia - Fear of dentists.
Domatophobia - Fear of houses.
Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents.

E
Ecophobia - Fear of the home.
Elurophobia - Fear of cats.
Entomophobia - Fear of insects.
Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers.
Equinophobia - Fear of horses.

G
Gamophobia - Fear of marriage.
Genuphobia - Fear of knees.
Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public.
Gynophobia - Fear of women.

H
Heliophobia - Fear of the sun.
Hemophobia - Fear of blood.
Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles.
Hydrophobia - Fear of water.

I
Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors.
Insectophobia - Fear of insects.

K
Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms.

L
Leukophobia - Fear of the color white.
Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.
Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth.

M
Mageirocophobia - Fear of cooking.
Melanophobia - Fear of the color black.
Microphobia - Fear of small things.
Mysophobia - Fear of dirt and germs.

N
Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things.
Noctiphobia - Fear of the night.
Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals.

O
Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight.
Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8.
Ombrophobia - Fear of rain.
Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes.
Ornithophobia - Fear of birds.

P
Papyrophobia - Fear of paper.
Pathophobia - Fear of disease.
Pedophobia - Fear of children.
Philophobia - Fear of love.
Phobophobia - Fear of phobias.
Podophobia - Fear of feet.
Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple.
Pteridophobia - Fear of ferns.
Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying.
Pyrophobia - Fear of fire.

S
Scolionophobia - Fear of school.
Selenophobia - Fear of the moon.
Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation.
Somniphobia - Fear of sleep.

T
Tachophobia - Fear of speed.
Technophobia - Fear of technology.
Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder.
Trypanophobia - Fear of injections.

V-Z
Venustraphobia - Fear of beautiful women.
Verminophobia - Fear of germs.
Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft.
Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners.
Zoophobia - Fear of animals.

*list from http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm