MXPX

I love this band and they don't get enough credit. When most people think about pop/punk music the first thought is usually Green Day, Blink -182, or Sum 41, I contend that MXPX should be placed in the mix. I think they are hampered by the label of "Christian." They create tremendously catchy songs in the 2:30 to 3:00 minute range. Some personal favorites are Chick Magnet, I'm Ok, Your OK, Teenage Politics, Sugar Coated Poison Apple, and Do Your Feet Hurt. One of the things I like best about this band is their ability to have fun and handle serious issues. They do both equally well and they do it well crafted well written songs.

MMMM!! Pears

All of my life I have been an avowed pear hater. Now when I was younger my mom assured me that as I got older my tastes would change and I would end up liking foods that I couldn't stand. In many cases she was wrong because my hatred was based on texture not taste. She was right about some things foods though and one of them was pears. I grabbed a pear for lunch a few weeks ago because the apples were gone. I loved. Now I can't get enough of them. The only problem is, is that because I eat them both of my girls have started to and they keep snatching them from me. Ophelia in particular can sniff out a pear and start eating it before I have time tell her I was going to eat it. I guess what I'm trying to say is I want my pear darn it. The crazy girls split it and devoured it completely on the way home. Sloane even ate the core. Its a good thing I love them.

Grrrrr.

When my computer died I lost all of my music. Most of it can be reripped but many of my more recent purchases were all through itunes and I didn't make archival copies. Grrrrr.

Sherlock Holmes Part II

I just saw the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr.. It looks like a good movie but not a good adaptation of a Holmes story. It is as if it was made with the intention of setting in action movie in 19th century London and decided that Holmes was the best way to do that.

Sherlock Holmes

A few years ago my wife bought me a number of classic books from Barnes & Noble. They were in and awesome little pocket-sized hardcover format with attractive dust covers. Among them was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Of all the books that she picked out for me I was the least excited about that one. Even though I am an avid reader and enjoy a good detective story I had no interest in Sherlock Holmes. I finally finished it today, and I have to say my tune has changed. I loved it. I think what makes it so good is the character development. Arthur Conan Doyle does a superb job of developing the two protagonists. He manages to create two characters (Holmes and Watson) who are richly detailed and he does it in bits and pieces. I think it is extremely successful and comfortable because just like with our own friends, we find out about these men a little at a time. Doyle does not simply spend the first part of his story laying out the qualities that make up these two men, rather he lets them unfold throughout numerous stories. You meet these men through the conversations they have and the actions they take. The result is a more rounded picture of who these characters are, flaws and all. Because Doyle crafts characters worth spending time with the stories are very enjoyable and satisfying.