v a u g h n a u s t i n

I took this photo on highway 360 several months ago on my way home from work. I love this photo. It may be hard to decipher, but it’s a film crew with police escort. The trailer appears to be equipped to capture a scene from within or around a car. You might be able to make out the front end of a yellow car on the back of the trailer. The two white vans behind the trailer may or may not have Quentin Terentino inside! He was reportedly in town when I took the photo. Have I mentioned that I love Austin?

So why am I posting this photo now, you ask? Well, I’ve been saving it in my phone, cuz I didn’t want to delete it but wasn’t sure what to do with it. Well, now I’ve figured out how to email photos from my phone to my blog. This could be dangerous. Now you never know what you’re gonna find here!

This movie isn’t for everyone. If you think it might not be for you, it’s not. Don’t watch it. If you think it might be too gory for you, it is. If you think the plot won’t be there, it won’t. If you think you might not like it, you won’t. Don’t watch it.

For the rest us, it was brilliant, beautiful, intense and artistic to the hilt. Man’s first fight for freedom. 300 struck a million chords with me. I can’t wait to watch it in my home theater!

The kitchen is the hub. It’s the foodie place, the party place, the sticky place. It’s where we gather, giggle, bake and wiggle. It’s what we love and it’s where we love. It’s what we do and where we do it. Gosh darn it, it’s our favorite.

Oh, our cabinets are in!

The soundtrack for the movie 300 was just released. I downloaded it on iTunes and am now listening to it while working. This actually makes my job more fun. I feel like I’m conspiring in some plot or doing something that actually might make a little difference in the world. Something of significance, heaven forbid.

The movie will be released Friday and I’ve been looking forward to watching it since I first saw the trailer in the theater last year. Sometimes I think I’d just rather not know about a great movie that’s coming out *next* year or even next month, for that matter. Sure, the build up is a unique and sometimes palatable experience, but I mean, I think I’d rather just be surprised. Heh. Movie foreplay. Pain or pleasure?

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

This Web 2.0 Foodie website is stealing my thunder. While it still has a long way to go, it’s got a lot of bells and whistles for a site that has only been available to the public for less than six months.

I have started helping my father with his new blog. I agreed to enter all of the historical “Lea Updates” so that he can share his testimony with the world. 180 blog entries. It won’t be fun, but it will help him move forward instead of worrying about how-this and how-that. We’re shutting down his two websites and getting him back to just one blog. Now he can focus on one medium for his ministry. I’m hoping this will help him on his journey with the Lord.

On a related note, my parents will finally be heading back to Indiana in a few weeks. They went to Hawaii in early November and my mother fell and broke her leg/hip. I thank God every day that our family was there to support them while she healed. Yet another vacation gone awry. But nothing could ever compare to the absolute Hell they went through in Hartford.

What a crazy day! First, we met some of our new Austin friends for lunch at Sampaio’s, a Brazilian restaurant, to celebrate my birthday. My birthday, of course, was over a month ago, but this seems to be the way this group of friends does things. “Tradition,” they say.

Well, afterwards, we went to the second annual Austin Chocolate Festival out in the Texas hill country where we filled our bellies with chocolately goodness until our bells dinged. The crowd there was not what you’d expect. I guess it’s the whole Keep Austin Weird thing, but we were surrounded by tattoos and peircings and female armpit hair — you know the type. At first we were a bit put out cuz we were all about enjoying our chocolate the way chocolate was meant to be enjoyed, with jazz and coffee. But, these guys kinda rubbed off on us and next thing you know Kristin’s slammin a 40 and I’m hootin’ and hollerin’.

Well, come to find out, this crazy couple is getting married down the hill at the Dulcinea Chapel. Beautiful place. They invited us to join them for their three minute ceremony and fifty-seven minute reception immediately following. I guess they only had the place rented for an hour, so they wanted to get in, get married and get hammered. What a great time! Here’s a photo of the bride and groom posing with one of their good friends. The guy in the middle looks like a total loser, but he was so smart — he could spell your name in hexadecimal. Backwards.

Truthbot has reason to suspect that one or more items in this post may have been fabricated or stretched for entertainment purposes.