painaporo

If you'd like some light summer reading, might I recommend this 14 page forum discussion entitled "A Cappella Innovations". 

Now, I don't typically read college a cappella forums but this particular discussion unfolds like a good mystery novel and is full of intrigue, coercion, logical and ethical arguments, and philosophical debate.  The story begins in Albany, NY where a group of college students attending an a cappella convention come to believe that their hosts may actually be trying to indoctrinate them into a cult known as NXIVM (pronounced "nexium").

They first notice something is up when event coordinators pressure them for personal information and social security numbers.  They also notice that every waking moment they are being extensively video taped and photographed.  After the first day of the seminar the students return to their hotel and begin to google search the event's sponsor only to discover that A Cappella Innovations was created by man named Keith Raniere who also "invented" a process called Rational Inquiry that he feels "represents the change humanity needs in order to alter the course of history".  Their research leads them to believe that the sponsors might be interested in more than simply providing feedback on a cappella performances.

This discussion is made up of posts by students who just returned home from the conference, TV stars Nicki Clyne (Battlestar Galactica) and Allison Mack (Smallville) who were event coordinators at the conference, and various board members of the alleged "cult" including it's creator, Keith Raniere and second in command, Nancy Salzman.

I admit that most people may not find this to be light reading but I found sorting through everyone's descriptions of events and the slowly emerging profile of the A Cappella Innovations company fascinating.  Are they a front for the NXIVM cult or just a philanthropic organization?  What were they trying to accomplish with these kids?  And who pooped in the hotel dresser drawers?  And of course this discussion would never have been possible without the awesome critical thinking and analysis skills of various a capella group members, some of whom are also studying patent law, intellectual property rights, and philosophy.

Seriously, I spent my entire evening reading this.  Maybe I'm just weird.

    1.    We live in attached housing which means our home is much more efficient because it is insulated by other dwellings on both sides.  We hardly ever need to turn on our heat in the winter and when we use the AC in the summer we are able to retain more of our chilled air.
    2.    We live in a walkable neighborhood where we can shop, dine, or get groceries without using our car
    3.    We live within walking distance of a light rail system that we use both for commuting to work and going down town.
    4.    We only own one car.
    5.    Our electricity is provided by 100% wind power via the purchase of renewable energy credits.
    6.    We buy local produce from the 32nd street farmer's market including milk, cheese, fruits, and vegetables.
    7.    We use 7th Generation natural, biodegradable, phosphate free laundry detergent and dishwasher powder.
    8.    We use biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products from Method for cleaning our bathroom or kitchen.
    9.    When we paint rooms we use only Freshaire Choice paint which is odor-free paint with no VOCs or harmful chemicals
    10.    We recycle.
    11.    We use organic and biodegradable bath products.
    12.    We use CFL light-bulbs whenever possible.
    13.    We buy natural/non-synthetic fabric and materials whenever possible including 100% cotton clothing, shoes from simpleshoes.com, and even a non-synthetic futon cover.
    14.    We have significantly reduced the amount of meat in our diet.  We eat meat approximately 1-3 meals a week.
    15.    We use wheat-based or pine-based renewable cat litter instead of toxic clay-based litters that come from surface mining.
    16.    We use a variety of window fans and ceiling fans to cool our home before resorting to air conditioning.
    17.    We live in an appropriately sized house for two people (and two cats). 
    18.    We use reusable grocery bags and decline unnecessary plastic bags at stores when we're only buying one or two items.
    19.    We use internet downloads and streaming options for movies and music instead of purchasing CDs and DVDs.  These items have a larger carbon footprint than you might think.  They're basically lumps of plastic produced at factories and then shipped around the world.  Eventually they all end up in landfills, so why not just watch or listen to the content without the tangible (and poorly designed) packaging?
    20.    We use a push reel mower to mow our small front lawn.
    21.    We use magnetic vent covers to control the flow of forced-air heating to the rooms that need it most (i.e. the den).
    22.    We buy organic products (mostly Wegman's brand) whenever possible.
    23.    We have major electronic devices on power strips that are turned off when not in use.  Stereo systems, TVs, DVD players all continue to consume electricity when powered down (or in standby mode).  It really isn't necessary to let them continue to draw power when we're not using them, though we do need to leave the DVR plugged in.
    24.    We never buy bottled water and use reusable aluminum bottled (SIGG bottles) for water.

Neil Finn's next project is a double album written and recorded in just 3 weeks in his Auckland studio.  He invited members of Wilco, Radiohead, and Modest Mouse along with singer/songwriters Bic Runga, KT Tunstall, Liam Finn, and more to write and record the album and give a series of concerts all in support of OxFam International.  The album is called 7 Worlds Collide and will be out later this year.  Neil did a previous project back in 2001 which resulted in the 7 World Collide live album.  The difference is that this time it's all new songs and a studio album.  Here is a documentary that was recently released about the recording process which include a cameo from Murray from Flight of the Conchords.


... Part 5 coming soon ... i guess.

Hi everybody!

I am working on a group project for my Research Methods class and we've decided to research the elements of community created in virtual spaces.  Specifically, we've decided to study sense of community in the online role-playing game, World of Warcraft.  We will be conducting our research through an online survey with the option of follow-up interviews. 

We're looking for anyone who has ever played World of Warcraft and would be willing to share their opinions about the sense of community the game creates (or does not create). 

If you would be interested in participating in this survey please email me at AdamWLindquist at gmail dot com or simply reply to this post with your email address.  If you have friends or family who are really into WoW and who might be interested in participating in this survey please forward this invitation to them!  We need as many participants as possible.  All information will be confidential.

Thanks a lot for your support!

-Adam

Sarah said I need to post some new pictures so she took this photo of Sophia sitting on my head while I'm sleeping:



In other news, my mother visited last weekend. Here's a video of her dancing in our living room:

( More Photos of stuff and things ... )

Now that I've bought this fancy new expensive camera I need to take more pictures.  Since you guys are probably tired of seeing cat pictures and I'm tired of taking cat pictures, I talked Sarah into letting me take photos of her in her pretty purple dress!  (we'll get back to taking nature photos when the weather gets nicer again)


This is Sarah.  Man, that alarm system on the wall back there looks really ugly ... along with the light switch, thermostat, and that black thermometer.  I should really take the time to photoshop them out of this image but I'm too lazy.

( See more ... )

24 hours ago our bedroom looked like this:



As I sit in bed typing this blog the bedroom now looks like this:


( And here's how it happened ... )

This weekend when the pipes froze I at first thought that I had broken the shower.  I woke up at 7AM on Saturday to go to my negotiation class for the 8th day in a row.  I turned on the tub facet and pulled on the piece that switches it to the shower and suddenly the water just stopped.  I spent the next 5 minutes messing with the tub/shower switch thinking it was broken before I thought to try the sink.  It was then I realized that there was no running water at all in the upstairs bathroom.  Interesting because our landlord had instructed us that when winter came we were to plug in a special heat strip that wraps around a pipe that goes from the basement to the outside of the house to the second floor and back into the upstairs bathroom.  Our landlord said this was to keep the pipe from freezing.  Logically, I figured that it must have been so cold outside that the pipe had frozen in spite of the heat strip.  So, I went outside to check out the whole heat strip/pipe situation and was surprised to find the heat strip wrapped around the sewage pipe that obviously transports or waste water from the bathroom down into the sewers and NOT a pipe that brings water up to the bathroom.  It was then that I realized that there was no running water anywhere in our house meaning that the pipes that run from the city water line to our house must have been frozen.

Now I come from New York, a state where buildings are constructed with winter in mind.  In Baltimore, however, buildings seem to have been built with the belief that it never gets cold in this city.  Our previous apartment had no insulation in the walls and this weekend we learned that our water meter is in a hole in the ground out front between the street and the sidewalk.  In New York your water meter is typically in your basement where it can't freeze.  In Baltimore it's outside under a metal cap where in brings water in from the city line and then through an underground pipe into our house.  Our next task was to find the point at which the outside water line entered our house so we could attempt to warm the pipe and restore our water flow.

To find this mysterious water line we logically began at the water heater.  Sounds simple right?  Unfortunately, following the pipes was easier said than done.  There is a crazy maze pipery along our basement ceiling which goes from the water heater behind wall panels and behind heating ducts.  One pipe we followed actually went to the dryer which was bizarre because why would our water heater be connected to our dryer?  It was at that point we realized that we must have a gas powered dryer; something I never even knew existed!  That does explain why our dryer is so powerful.  It can dry a load of towels in under 10 minutes.  While exploring behind the dryer we also discovered that the duct that connects the dryer to the outside was not connected.  This explains why the basement gets so humid when we're running the dryer.

Eventually, we found the point where the outside water line enters the house.  We had to remove a wall panel to get to it but at last we could get to the pipe warming.  Sarah used a blow dryer on the pipe and in 5 minutes or less we were back in business.  Of course, by this time my morning class was well over.  Ah well, I didn't feel like driving through the city anyway.  A number of major roads were closed for Obama's Bmore visit and traffic was probably terrible.

On Sunday we worked on insulating the house since it's finally been cold enough outside that we've had to start turning on the heat.  Sarah put plastic over the windows and put foam around the doors.  I bought these large magnetic sheets that you cut down to size and place over your heat vents.  I did this because we don't need heat on the second floor and we barely need heat on the first floor but the basement, where we watch all our tv and movies, needs as much heat as it can get.  So now, when we turn on the heat it all blasts into the basement which finally feels very comfortable and then slowly seeps upwards in the house where it's needed much less.

The end.

I think I listened to more instrumental music than pop music in 2008. Bands like The Album Leaf and Helios, performers like Yo-Yo Ma and Zoë Keating, composers like Bear McCreary and Bach have all been on high rotation. Nevertheless, I think I can still pull together a decent list of songs that were a way of life for me in 2008. I'll even post youtube versions so you can sample them if you like!

The Avett Brothers - Die Die Die
I stumbled upon these guys when someone mentioned them in a music forum.  Their EPs The Gleam & The Gleam II are both full of catchy and quirky acoustic folk songs. "Die Die Die" is from their newest album The Avett Brothers Introduce Emotionalism and features more of the same only with a bit more instrumentation.

Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You
Swirly dreamy pop music at it's finest.  I would have loved to have danced to this song at my wedding (note that the lyric is "no one's gonna love you more than I do"). I love the guitar line and the melody ... very simple and pure.

Ben Folds - Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hits His Head)
Ben Folds' new solo album Way To Normal came out sometime near the election and I remember listening to this song on my iPod as I walked home from eggytoast 's election party.  It seemed to really capture the celebratory mood of the evening.  Though the song isn't really about triumph, it's based on the true story of Ben falling off the stage while performing in Japan.  Musically it's a tribute to Elton John's "Benny and the Jets".  Ben latest album is probably his best work since Whatever and Ever Amen and has several other great songs including "You Don't Know Me" featuring a duet with Regina Spektor.

Youtube won't let me put this video in my blog so here's a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp6jEo6GNrQ
It's a really bad video anyway ... but great song!

The Frames - Falling Slowly
I know, if you've seen the movie Once then you're probably sick of this song by now but this is my favorite version.  Rather than the movie's stripped back acoustic rendition this one is played by The Frames (Glen Hansard's band) and it rocks out a bit more.  I love it when a new song comes along that's destine to become a timeless classic.

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time
I've already mentioned that these guys have their own comedy show on HBO that's hilarious.  Here's a live performance of one of my favorite songs off their album.

Rachael Yamagata - Elephants
Rachael released a rather bi-polar 2 disc album this year called Elephants/Teeth Sinking Into Heart.  The first disc is very dramatic and orchestral while the second is more raucous and up beat.  The song "Elephants" is a mini masterpiece that is probably ruined by the low quality audio in this clip.

She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here
Thanks to clothdoll for pointing out this dou made up of actress Zooey Deschanel and multi-instrumentalist Matt Ward.  Their album Volume One is full of great original country/folk ballads and a few well chosen cover songs.  I could have picked any number of songs for this blog including "Sentimental Heart," "Change is Hard," and "This is Not a Test" but "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" has by far the best video!

The Envy Corps - Story Problem
Dwell was definately one of my favorite albums of the year and full of amazing alternative rock stuff (like what Coldplay would sound like if they had any originality or what the Decemeberists would sound like if they could rock out).  I don't think you can listen to this song and not come out smiling by the end.  I'd wish I could explain this god awful music video ... but I can't.  At least it looks like they had fun making it.

Iron & Wine - Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
I could have chosen any song from The Shepherd's Dog album, they're all amazing, unique, and beautiful.  For a singer songwriter who's previous album was just him and an acoustic guitar you've gotta give Samuel Beam a lot of credit for writing something so full of color and texture and unusual song topics.

Vedera - Satisfy
Now heading in the completely opposite direction from Iron & Wine here's a song by Vedera who I saw as opening act for Eisley last Spring.  I haven't found any other songs by them that I like but this one works really well.

Tim Finn - Out of this World
I wanted to show "Saw to the Tree" but I couldn't find a video.  At any rate, this song is just as good and the first single from his brand new album The Conversation.  He's been releasing albums since 1974 and still sounds great and is perhaps writing some of his best songs ever.

Dido - Never Want to Say It's Love
Had to edit to add this song.  I secretly love Dido ... I know that sounds lame but she really does have good songs ... you're just gonna have to trust me though because I know it's totally below you to check out something as pedestrian as Dido.  Her new album Safe Trip Home is just as good as her previous two albums.


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For those of you who don't know, I am afraid of flying.  Nothing scares me more than the thought of getting into an airplane and taking off.  My fear is so bad that when I'm on a plane I border on having panic attacks.  My fear has kept me off airplanes ever since 9/11.  My last flight was just prior to 9/11 when I went on a family vacation to the Bahamas which I survived but barely!  after 9/11 I pretty much decided I was done with flying forever!  Unfortunately I have a lot of travel dreams and desires and 2009 may be the year that some of these dreams come to fruition.  That is IF I can get on to the plane.

This afternoon I took the first step in a long application process to study abroad in the coming Summer.  The Urban Planning program is sponsoring a month long trip to St. Petersburg, Russia to study at the Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (I don't think Russia sees "planning" as a legitimate field of study yet).  This would go from June 16 - July 10 and it is not feasible to travel by boat.  Nevertheless, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I don't want to be that old man someday who could have done something really cool but didn't just because he had an irrational fear.

I am also planning to attend the National Conference of the America Planning Association in April.  This year the conference is being held in exotic Minneapolis, MN!  Maybe I should wait another year or two and go when the conference is held somewhere worth visiting like anywhere on the west coast.  I would love to go to the west coast someday.  On the other hand, I'm probably at a point in my planning education when I would really benefit from attending a national conference.  Flying to MN would also be a nice preliminary flight to help prepare me for the much longer flight to Russia.

I've considered seeking professional help to teach me how to relax while flying but it's pretty much going to take all of the money I have to pay for these two trips with little left over for such an extravagant purchase as professional therapy!  So I guess I'm just going to refuse to be one of the many people who let their fear of flying prevent them from pursuing their dreams and career goals.  I mean, if I die then at least I die while trying to do something with my life and not while regretting missed opportunities. 

Sarah and I recently watched what has got to be one of the best movies to come out in 2008. It's called The Fall and it is very much in the same vein as Pan's Labyrinth and other grown-up fairy tales.

The main story takes place in a 1920's hospital where a movie stunt man befriends a 6 year old immigrant girl. He's was seriously injured while working on a film and decides to trick the girl into stealing him morphine. He does this by telling her a fantastical story and then threatening not to continue the tale unless the girl helps him out. All the while the story, as imagined by the girl, is played out on screen.

The movie was filmed in 18 different countries and in the most exotic locations you'll ever see in one film. It is simply a visual feast. Impressively, it uses almost no CGI though your eyes might have you think otherwise. If you like beautiful and emotional fantasy stories this movie is not to be missed!

With the first of the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica just 11 days away it seems like Sarah and I have been going a little overboard but at least we have had good company.  On Christmas my friend Erin texted me to say "I got Brent the Battlestar Galactica board game for Christmas!"  Then, a couple days later Sarah bought me the BSG board game for my birthday so of course we all had to get together on Friday night and play the darn thing.  It's not a trivia game but rather a collaborative strategey game based on the concepts of the TV show.  Depending on your character you can be president, admiral, or a viper pilot.  As a pilot you can even launch yourself into space to fight off the evil cylons.  So, you and the other players work together to try and bring what remains of the human race to safety.  However, there's trader in your mist and you won't know who they are until they reveal themselves later in the game.  In fact, the traitor may not even know they're a bad guy until later in the game.  This is known as a "sleeper agent" and follows the show's motif quite well.  You need to trust the other players to survive but you know you can't trust them all 100% of the time.  The downside to the game is that it takes about 5 hours to play through the first time.  Mainly because the rules are so frakking complicated.  Once you figure it all out though it ends up being about 3 hours of play time.  Without good friends who are also obsessed with the show we probably wouldn't have anybody to play it with!

Later in the weekend my Aunt and Uncle came up from Washington, DC for dinner.  Over Christmas break they too got way into Galactica and watched an average of two episodes a night.  They had just finished season one so of course we all sat down after dinner and watched the first two episodes of season two.  It's so much fun being in presence of someone who's witnessing the show for the first time.  It's a bit like reliving it myself.  My aunt says she has friends in DC who are also into BSG and now she wants to throw a BSG party!  I just hope it doesn't conflict with the rest of the BSG parties planned during the final 10 week run of the show.  We have some friends in New York who are hopefully going to drive down the B-more on March 20 to watch the final episode with us!

Season 4.0 comes out on DVD on Tuesday and the final 3 webisodes (10 three-minute clips released solely on the internet) will be released by January 12.

Today we went hiking to Maryland's 2nd largest waterfall.  This being a rather tiny state with not very much elevation we were surprised to find that the second largest waterfall was just a little over an hour north of Baltimore City.  The state's largest waterfall is not surprisingly somewhere over in Western Maryland.



( More photos ... )

I will be closing my website very soon.  All content will cease to be available.  All links to photos in this blog will cease to display photos which makes me sad but everything will soon be available elsewhere and new photos will be coming online in the weeks ahead.

I decided I can make better use of my money and internet time if I take part of the funds used to pay for AdamWinfield.com and invest in a Flickr account and an upgraded lovejournal account.  I'd love to get rid of the ads!

After a long run of watching non-horrible movies I felt obligated to check out the latest installments in the X-files and Indiana Jones franchises.  I had a feeling, thanks to Netflix's rating predictions, that I was probably not going to like these movies and Netflix was right on the money.  I found it rather ironic that I finished the X-Files movie complaining that there weren't any aliens only to then watch Indiana Jones and complain that the movie had far too many aliens!

I can forgive the X-Files movie because it was just like watching an extended episode of the show and it was fun to see the old characters of Mulder and Scully again.  Indiana Jones, however, was god awful!  I guess George Lucas won't be happy until he destroys all his franchises!  This movie was 50% Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, 50% Peter Jackson's King Kong and 0% Indiana Jones.  I've seen a lot of great movies this year and I don't think any of them have come out of Hollywood.  Lets take a moment to review some of the *not* terrible things I've seen in 2008.


The Staircase is an 8 part documentary/drama about the 2001 death of Kathleen Petersen.  Petersen was found at the bottom of her's home staircase and her husband, author Michael Petersen, who claimed she had fallen, was put on trial for her murder.  This fascinating film follows the trial with an intimate portrayal of the Petersen family, the prosecution, and the community of Durham, NC.  It's difficult not to watch the entire series in one sitting and Sarah and I are still debating the details of the trial.


This 1991 film set in 1920's china tells the story of a woman who becomes the 4th wife of some very wealthy guy.  The story is about her isolation in a seemingly endless palace where she befriends the other 3 wives and some servants.  There's a lot of backstabbing and betrayal as wives and servants subtly compete for their husband's affection only to be outdone by younger and newer wives.


After loving the music of Crowded House and the Lord of the Rings movies I was hesitant to get into yet another New Zealand phenomenon.  Perhaps afraid of becoming "that guy" who likes everything from New Zealand.  But people kept talking and posting clips to their blogs and I eventually gave in a watched the entire first season of Flight of the Conchords (HBO series).  Sarah and were not disappointed.  This show depicts the rather sad (but very funny) lives of New Zealanders Bret and Jemaine as they try to find love and success as a two man novelty act in New York City.


Somewhat of a surprising return to form for Mel Gibson.  Clearly this movie should not be viewed as a historically accurate portrayal of any indigenous people of wherever.  It is, however, beautifully filmed, fast paced, and exciting with a deeper message concerning the self destructive nature of mankind (also see Battlestar Galactica).  It is rather gory though so watch out for that if you know, that sort of thing bothers you.


This is *not* the American remake but rather the original Thai version.  I was looking for a good scary movie to help me celebrate Halloween and I watched a number of "classic" Asian thrillers including Audition, The Grudge, Reincarnation, and The Tale of Two Sisters but Shutter was definitely my favorite.  It's not deep and meaningful but it will make you jump and keep you guessing.  I suggest viewing late at night.

So that's what the ratings in my "recently viewed" netflix queue say that I enjoyed.  Now I must go give Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the plastic skull filled with tin foil will a well deserved ONE STAR rating!

Newsweek picks Battlestar Galactica as the singular cultural emblem of the post-9/11 era.

If artists depend on angst and unrest to fuel their creative fire, then at least in one sense the 43rd presidency has been a blessing. Eight years is an eternity in the life of a culture, and when we look back on an era, we do it through pinholes: a movie here, a book there. What will stand out, decades from now, as the singular emblems of this moment in history? NEWSWEEK asked its cultural critics to pick the one work in their field that they believe exemplifies what it was like to be alive in the age of George W. Bush.

TELEVISION
'Battlestar Galactica'
By Joshua Alston

An orchestrated terrorist attack. An inexorable march to war. An enemy capable of disappearing among its targets, armed with an indifference to its own mortality. It sounds like a PBS special on Al Qaeda. In fact, it's a synopsis of the Sci Fi Channel series "Battlestar Galactica," which—for anyone who manages to get past the goofy name—captures better than any other TV drama of the past eight years the fear, uncertainty and moral ambiguity of the post-9/11 world. Yes, even better than "24," with its neocon fantasies of terrorists who get chatty if Jack Bauer pokes the right pressure point. Of the two shows, "Battlestar" has been more honest about the psychological toll of the war on terror. It confronts the thorny issues that crop up in a society's battle to preserve its way of life: the efficacy of torture, the curtailing of personal rights, the meaning of patriotism in a nation under siege. It also doesn't flinch from one question that "24" wouldn't dare raise: is our way of life even worth saving?

"Battlestar Galactica" always finds ways to challenge the audience's beliefs—it is no more an ode to pacifism than "24" is to "bring 'em on" warmongering. In the pilot, humanity is nearly eradicated by the Cylons, a race of robots that revolt against their human creators. The only survivors are stationed on a spacecraft called Battlestar Galactica; they're spared because the ship's commander, William Adama (Edward James Olmos), had refused to relax any wartime restrictions. Adama is a hard-liner, willing to sacrifice personal freedoms in order to provide safety from an abstract threat. And he was right: the moment the human race let its guard down, the Cylons attacked. As the show unfolds, though, the survivors must constantly reflect on the price of keeping their enemies at bay, and whether it's worth paying. The show's futuristic setting—hushed and grimy, not the metallic cool of stereotypical sci-fi—helps ground the writers' ruminations in a nail-biting drama series. "Battlestar Galactica" achieves the ultimate in sci-fi: it presents a world that looks nothing like our own, and yet evokes it with chilling accuracy.

Oh on a sad note, our camera died tonight after taking those christmas photos.  I guess we overloaded it with our christmas joy.  So, this is a note to any relatives who are wondering what to get us for christmas.  We need funding to buy a new digital camera so this blog can continue!  ;-)

This one's not bad
Oh, I like this one too

Sarah and I drove up to Hunt Valley this Saturday to find a good cheap Christmas tree.  First we went to a smallish family owned Christmas Tree farm 7 miles north of Hunt Valley on York Road.  It was very cute with free hot apple cider and home baked cookies and a well decorated farm store.  Their trees were all beautiful and very well displayed but the tree we would have bought cost $55 which was more than we were planning to spend.  (We did buy some very cute new Christmas ornaments so we weren't just mooching off of the free treats.)

Next we went to a Christmas store / home garden store that was basically the Walmart of Christmas stores.  It was a gigantic warehouse in which the entire ceiling was covered in Christmas lights and every isle was filled with huge rotating decorated tree displays.  It was quite the experience but ultimately the crowds of people made it a bit overwhelming.  Their trees were actually priced at around $65 which made me wish we would have bought a tree from the family owned tree farm up the street.

We decided not to buy from the Extreme Christmas store and headed over to Lowes where I had read on the internet you could get a decent tree for $25.  We ended up getting a nice frasier fur for $35 which was basically what I was comfortable spending for something we're gonna throw out in a month.


(cold outside)

( Enough of my yacking, let's boogie! (photos) )