I finished constructing the bookshelves for my office this morning. They are floor to ceiling shelves. 
I loaded them this evening. 
Now...if I only knew how to read.
...with this woman. We celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss in January. I can honestly say that I love her so much more now than I did 10 years ago. She's a fabulous woman, wife, friend and mother. God has been good to me.
Solomon Hosea Black was born at 4:39 AM on Saturday morning. Mom and baby are doing well and the big brothers are excited for the boy to come home...unless he cries a lot.
Greetings Kids! Many of you know that we have a baby coming any time in the next month. We know that the baby will be a boy. We are looking to you all for name recommendations. We don't know what to name this child...so please help us!
Last night we watched the documentary Young @ Heart. I'd recommend it. Coldplay, the Clash and Jimi Hendrix will never sound the same once you've heard the Young@Heart chorus, a group of Massachusetts senior citizens who thrill audiences worldwide with their unusual -- and unusually poignant -- covers of rock songs. Stephen Walker's humane and heartwarming documentary follows the elderly ensemble as they prepare their new show.
Kirsten has been keeping up with pictures on her blog. Check out pictures there...if you are interested.
We went bowling on Ezra's birthday. The shoes were sweet and so far none of us have any foot fungus.
There are a few new things on The Town blog.
Context: Asher is sitting at the table eating a peanut butter and jelly samich. He drops peanut butter on his sock. I look over and see him doing something and I say:
I recently found a neat little gadget that makes days like today great! It is a one cup coffee masterpiece.
Step 3. Place gadget on top of a mug.
Step 4. Pour hot water over the mound of ground coffee.
Step 5. Remove gadget and prepare yourself for yummy goodness.
Step 6. Stare lovingly at the product of the gadget - the yummy goodness that is coffee.
I've been hinting for a while that someone should buy a new album for me. Stephen proved to be a good friend and picked up on my not-so-subtle hint. He "gifted" the album to me on i-Tunes. The Decemberists are an interesting band out of Portland. Their new album is a concept album. The music does not stop. Each song leads into the next song. The entire album is a story told through 17 tracks. It is different and I am learning to appreciate the story. Thanks Stephen.
Do you know anything about Patrick? Yeah, me neither. Read a brief history of the man HERE!
1. Why the radio chooses to play the worst song from an album of otherwise good songs.
I read an interesting list a few days ago about 24 things that may disappear from American culture. You can read the detailed list HERE. Below I have simply mentioned the 24 items. Read the rationale at the original site. It's quite fascinating.
24. Yellow Pages
23. Classified Ads
22. Movie Rental Stores
21. Dial-up Internet Access
20. Phone Landlines
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
18. VCRs
17. Ash Trees
16. Ham Radio
15. The Swimming Hole
14. Answering Machines
13. Cameras That Use Film
12. Incandescent Bulbs
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
10. The Milkman
9. Hand-Written Letters
8. Wild Horses
7. Personal Checks
6. Drive-in Theaters
5. Mumps & Measles
4. Honey Bees
3. News Magazines and TV News
2. Analog TV
1. The Family Farm
*Context is helpful for this conversation. Last week the Black house was in the midst of stomach funk hell. We all had the stomach flu and were releasing data from portals 1 and 2. One morning we were sitting at the table for breakfast talking about how terrible it was that we were all sick.*
Asher: What's that daddy?
Me: That's a new restaurant that just opened.
Ezra: What's it called?
Me: Ruby Tuesday.
Ezra: Are they only open on Tuesday?
Me: No, but that's a really good question.
Today is the birthday of Paul Jackson Pollock.
Interestingly enough I just watched a documentary on Monday called - Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? It is about a tough-talking truck driving woman who bought a painting at a flea market for $5. She bought it as a joke for her friend. It wouldn't fit in the double-wide trailer door so she decided to sell it at a yard sale. Someone approached her at the sale and said "I think that's a Pollock." The owner didn't know anything about Pollock (hence the title), but she thought she could get rich on the painting. The documentary follows the next ten years of research from forensic scientists and art historians. It was never decided if it was truly a Pollock or not but the woman was offered $25 million for the painting. She is holding out for more money.
I began to wonder if there was anything in my life that I held on to like this painting. What is of worth to me? Who decides the value of such things? Did Pollock believe his "art" was of any value? Would he be shocked that his "mess" would be worth $25 million? Today he would have been 97 years old and as one great mind says, "he knows better now."
When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well. - Jackson Pollock
At one time I had a blog called Partially Read Books. The intent of the blog was to write brief reviews of books I had been reading and to hold me accountable to actually finishing books I had started reading. It didn't work so I deleted the blog. Below is a list of popular books I have read (actually cover to cover) over the last few months. I won't write about any of the books but if you have questions about any of them please ask in the comments. I may answer. I will tell you this - all of the books below are books I would recommend - some more than others.
This picture was taken today (1.13.09). The chainlink fence is under the snow and still three feet tall. 
January 11, 2009 was a good day in the Black house for bedhead. Click HERE to see all of the entries. Send us a picture if you think you have what it takes to enter the bedhead hall of fame. There is one new entry of an "unknown" entry. See if you know who it is.
It has been the best 9 years of my life.
It has been the best 108 months of my life.
It has been the best 469 weeks of my life. It has been the best 3289 days of my life.
It has been the best 78,936 hours of my life.It has been the best 4,736,160 minutes of my life.It has been the best 284,169,600 seconds of my life.
The chain link fence in our back yard is three feet high. We now have 30 inches of snow on the ground and we are well on our way to an all-time winter record. Do you want to come visit?
I hope you enjoy the bonus track. I know many of you have downloaded the entire Christmas album and we are glad we could help make your holidays so much more enjoyable.
