I’m listening to the new Hoobastank album, Every Man For Himself. Wow, good stuff. Typically when I listen to a new album at least one track will really hook me. Several managed the feat on this one but so far I think my favorite is “The First Of Me”… I’ve got it playing on repeat right now! I gambled and bought this one without previewing it because I really like this band. Their music has always been thought provoking and I enjoy pondering their lyrics.

Speaking of lyrics, follow the jump below to see the lyrics for “The First of Me“…

» Continue Reading

I had a chance to catch a press screening of “The Break-Up” this past Tuesday evening. I was having dinner with my managing editor anyway and he was covering it, so I tagged along for fun. I loved it! I went in knowing nothing about it and expecting some sort of light, romantic comedy. Boy was I wrong on that one! Oh, it had plenty of humorous moments but it was much darker than I expected. Most of the comedy is rooted in the reality of a relationship melting down in spectacular fashion. I suspect that much of the audience was laughing because, like me, they’ve been there and gotten the t-shirt.

I really like Vince Vaughn and he didn’t disappoint here. I’m not a huge fan of Jennifer Anniston but she did well in this role. I also loved Jon Favreau as Vince’s friend and bar owner, freakin’ hilarious and more than a bit twisted. I should also mention John Michael Higgins playing a brilliant character that rather literally… errr… smashes… a common stereotype at one point. You have to see it, trust me! You’ll recognize plenty of other cast members, both big and small names.

I suspect most mainstream reviewers will frown on this movie, it’s not the type of film that garners raves. If you go into it expecting it to be light-hearted, date-friendly material you may be disappointed also. But if you’re like me and don’t mind dipping your toes into darker fare, and you can find a chuckle in wicked displays of revenge and retaliation… then you might find it entertaining. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though!

I really like the soundtrack too BTW… always a plus in my book!

This weekend was nice. Nothing major to do, hang out with the kids, fire up the barbie. Matt managed to cut my grass in between rain showers. I accomplished nothing significant at all, just the way I planned it.

This week is catch up week, I’ve got a ton of projects I need to finish. Some personal, some professional. Of course I’m starting with the personal stuff!

I played in two memes on other blogs recently. Both were the one where the blogger says something they like about you, shares a song that you remind them of, etc. Then they finish with a question for you to answer. I owe both Marianna and Pam answers. I haven’t decided if I’ll play the meme myself, but I am in the mood to answer a few questions so I’ll do that at least!

Answers after the jump!

» Continue Reading

This week’s Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt theme is “Red, White & Blue” for Memorial Day. Of course I *immediately* thought about using a photo of my bike, which is blue and has red & white shark teeth but you’ve seen enough of it lately! I thought you might like a break!

» Continue Reading

I’ve been watching movies lately based on recommendations from other bloggers. Well, I’ve been intending too anyway! I’ve had these two movies from Netflix for weeks now and finally found time to watch them both last night. What great movies they both were!

» Continue Reading

I’ve managed to post some of the photos from my trip. I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I thought I would! I was having too much fun riding. It really disrupts your Zen when you stop, take off all the gear, dig out the camera, snap a few photos, and then reverse the procedure. I had the video camera with me also, but the weather was just too wet to take a chance on mounting it. That had an impact on still photography too obviously, not much point in taking a picture of rain.

You can browse photos here!

The adventure is over, I’m home.  I’m catching up on e-mail and stuff now.  I’ll be sorting through photos off the big camera and posting a few of those later.  It was the best time I’ve ever had on a motorcycle.  I can’t wait to take another trip!  Dave has invited me to visit him and his wife up in Canada, I think that will definately happen later this summer. I wouldn’t mind diving back down in to Oregon around The Dalles to explore that area a little more too. So many roads, so little time…

I should be home now. Instead I’m relaxing in a hotel room in The Dalles, OR watching “What About Bob?” Today’s ride was rainy and cold. And then Dave lost air pressure in his rear tire. We put in a temporary plug and headed here, the closest town we figured we could track down a new tire. That pretty much ate up the rest of the day.

You’d think a day like that would suck. Actually, it was a great day! One example… Because we needed to baby the patched tire, we took a short cut to The Dalles. We only knew about this road because of our maps. It was a stunning ride! On one section. we crested a hill into a left hand sweeper and literally dropped down into a canyon and snaked along the canyon floor. It was so breath-taking I had to slow down to take it all in. It was a perfect moment. There was no safe place to stop and take photos, so it will have to live in my memories.

Events like these are what make motorcycle touring so magical for me. And this trip has been filled with them. I’ll write more about that when I get home. It has simply been a defining life experience for me.

Today was an amazing day. We rode through the mountains of northern California on hwy 96 and then on to Klamath Falls, OR on hwy 66. By that point we were dead tired so we found a motel and called it a day. These were the most intense and technically challenging roads I’ve ever ridden. Quite an experience!

Unfortunately, we didn’t make nearly the miles we expected. Potentially I may not get home tomorrow as planned. I have a little flexibility, getting home early Tuesday won’t kill me… and I’m still having a blast!

This is just a portion of the bikes staying at the hotel I’m in. Our total membership is spread across at least three hotels and a nearby campground. We’ve definitely had a blast!

Tomorrow morning I head out for Bend, OR. I’ll be travelling with another rider and his wife down from Canada that I met here. That will make the trip back even more fun.