Only 10 1/2 month or so until this movie opens.  Maybe I should set up a tent by the theatre tonight and start waiting in line.

So one of the bigger financial stories in the news recently is the downfall of the IndyMac Bank.  Frankly I've never heard of this chain (maybe because I just read the sports and comics sections of the paper; I use the financial section as wastepaper basket lining...or to wrap fish) and we don't have one in my area, but it's still kind of discomforting.  I wonder if I should start stuffing wads of cash into my mattress, or perhaps I need to find a local savings & loan run by a Jimmy Stewart-type of person.  In any case, these are hard times within which we live, my friends, hard times, I say.

You can get a taste of what the local culture in Hawaii is like if you visit a McDonald's restaurant here.  Their breakfast menu includes rice and eggs, along with either Spam or Portugese sausage.  Your order also comes along with packages of shoyu sauce.

For some reason, Spam is really popular here.  Portugese sausage is also a common breakfast item in Hawaii, and it is a little spicy and rather oily, but good.  Having grown up on rice, it's funny to see that you can get "McRice" here, but it's not a bad marketing idea.

Do they sell anything unique at your local fast food restaurants?  

I hear the Dark Knight (starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger) is getting some great reviews.  I also hear that Wall-E and Iron Man were also great movies (I haven't seen them yet).  Can a comic book movie or animated film every win the Oscar for Best Picture?  Sounds like this year is as good as any for that to happen.

Which of the following would you be willing to do for money?

1. Walk up to a random stranger and hug them for $5.00
2. Sing a song (loudly) in the middle of a crowded shopping mall for $50.00
3. Sleep on a stained mattress you found in an alley for one night in exchange for $500.00
4. Amputate your little toe for $5,000
5. Permanently move to another city for $50,000 (can't be your original hometown, and has to be at least 500 miles away from where you already are).

The title of this post doesn't really make sense, but it's pretty indicative of my state of mind lately.  I think I'm going to force myself to write here everyday, even if it's just one sentence.  Lately when I get home from work all I want to do is watch random videos on YouTube, fart, and sleep...sometimes all at the same time.  Seriously though, I need to get the creative juices flowing again.  My novel writing is progressing at a glacial pace, I still only have about two pages done (one problem is that I have trouble resisting the urge to edit as I write -- I have to just write for now, then edit later!).  By the way, I can't believe this year is half over already.

Yesterday we tried Scuba diving for the first time at a local dive shop.  We didn't actually enter the ocean because we had to learn the basics first, but we dove into a pool instead.  The first amusing/embarassing thing that happened was me squeezing into the wetsuit; let's just say that it was so tight that it left nothing to the imagination.  The gear was heavier than I thought it would be -- in addition to the oxygen tank, wetsuit, boots, fins and mask, we had to wear additional weights and a buoyancy control device (basically a vest) -- I must have been wearing at least 20-30 pounds of gear.  

Entering the water for the first time was a thrill (even if we were just in the pool).  It took be about a minute to get used to breathing through the mouthpiece.  In addition, you really have to be careful about equalizing the pressure once you start diving.  You've probably heard of the "bends" which is basically another term for decompression sickness. Scuba for beginners can be a little intimidating because of the safety concerns, but I hear that once you get accustomed to the whole process it is really amazing. 

In the pool, we had to pass a series of little tests, such as being able to clear water from your mask, taking off your vest underwater, breathing from your diving partner's alternate mouthpice, and treading water.  By the end of the lesson I was pretty tired. We'll dive into the ocean in a couple of weeks, which is scary but exciting at the same time.  Hopefully, I'll be able to take some pictures.

We have to define "patriotism" before I answer this.  If "patriotism" means blind faith in your leaders and a tendency to dismiss all that is "foreign," and if it means absolutely wearing an American flag lapel pin and cursing flag-burners and non-English speakers, then I am hardly patriotic at all.  If "patriotism" means being proud of your nation, yet being able to acknowledge its shortcomings (because if you really love something you will want to improve whatever shortcomings that thing may have), and also being able to accept that not all people think alike; and not requiring everyone to "speak English," then yes, patriotism plays a substantial role in my life.  But if you're looking for a "rah-rah, USA, USA" type of attitude, then I'm not your guy.  I'm more of a "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" guy. 
      

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

Due to the fact that everyone is poor this year, "staycation" is the latest popular buzzword.  If you don't get it it's basically "stay" + "vacation" = "staycation", or more accurately "stay at home because gas prices suck and I don't have money" + "but I still want to go on vacation this summer" = "staycation." 

Unfortunately, my wife and I will be going on staycation this year because: (1) we're poor; and (2) no time.  But that doesn't mean we can't have fun.  In fact, thanks to the handy dandy stimulus check we recently received in the mail, we're taking our first scuba diving lessons this upcoming holiday weekend.  Not only that, it turns out we'll be able to watch the July 4th fireworks display from our own front lanai ("porch" for your mainlanders).  They're going to be exploding fireworks at a nearby bay by the ocean, and we have a virtually unobstructed view from our porch. 

..and that's what I'm doing on my 2008 Summer Staycation.