Took a bunch of pics on the way home, to get used to playing with the pencam again.

Check em’ out

The Manayunk Drinking competition is coming up fast. June 6th is the Wachovia USPRO Championship. And since it is likely that this year may be the last where my brother has a house along the route he has stepped up admirably. To go along with the standard fare of 2 kegs of beer, and various dead animals, there is the centerpiece dead animal, a 40 lb. roast pig. They will be getting this from <a href=”"http://www.cannulismeats.com/”>Cannuli’s Meats in South Philly that specializes in the preparation of these delicacies for similair unholy celebrations. The drinking starts at 6:30 AM, and the definition of “Bike Race Drunk” becomes evident by about noon. There are also rumors that some kind of athletic competition will be ongoing, but I am skeptical.

You can read my review of the debauchery from 2003. There are also some crappy pictures. I am hoping to repair my Aiptek pen cam in time to get some better pictures this year. And I am also hoping to hang in without getting totally wrecked, but only time will tell.

My Brother, Tom, graduated from LaSalle University yesterday with a BA in English, Maxima Cum Laude (which means a 3.9 or better GPA). I also witnessed him receive a fistful of honors in the past couple of weeks, including the top student in the English department, where the Professor bestowing the honor indicated that they had run out of awards to give to him.

As a further testament to his ability he has been accepted into and will be attending The Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. For those who don’t know, being accepted to this program is a very high honor. Evidenced by their selection policy summed up on the workshop’s history page:

Though we agree in part with the popular insistence that writing cannot be taught, we exist and proceed on the assumption that talent can be developed, and we see our possibilities and limitations as a school in that light. If one can “learn” to play the violin or to paint, one can “learn” to write, though no processes of externally induced training can ensure that one will do it well. Accordingly, the fact that the Workshop can claim as alumni nationally and internationally prominent poets, novelists, and short story writers is, we believe, more the result of what they brought here than of what they gained from us. We continue to look for the most promising talent in the country, in our conviction that writing cannot be taught but that writers can be encouraged.

So Congratulations and Good Luck, Tom.

When I get a chance I will put some of Tom’s more recent writing samples up here.

Updated NFL Power Rankings. Again the Birds are almost on top. Now they just have to continue to perform.

And way to take one for the team Sami Kappanen and drag yourself to the bench to clear the way for JR to vanquish the Leafs. That OT period last night made for some good watchin’.

This weekend aside from cutting a mountain of grass I participated in the MS Walk with some friends. I had fun, and I narrowly avoided a foot blister (have to remember to wear better fitting socks when walking several miles), Bob wrote about it here. And while there was discussion of the game we played: The Settlers of Catan:

I really enjoyed taking an emotionally relaxing walk through Tyler State Park with Tara and her parents, Dave, Dave’s friend Kevin, Pat, Tim, and Dia. Afterward we had exactly four people left for a game of Settlers, and Tara fed us well.

I noted it was suspiciously omitted who actually won in this ultimate battle of wits. It was the first time I had played the game, and it was a pretty cool game, much more fun than Scrabble or Yatzee (burn). And it was I, Dave’s friend Kevin, who triumphantly and most accidentally declared victory after a couple of hours.

“A zygote is a gamete’s way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the Universe.” -Robert A. Heinlein

For those that don’t already know, Michelle is now about 9 weeks pregnant. Also for those who don’t already know, how come we don’t talk anymore… But seriously, I’m gonna be a Daddy.

I am very excited, and slightly nervous or maybe nervous isn’t the right word, it is more a feeling of awareness. I am slightly more aware of things that I need to do to improve myself, to prepare for the coming of my child.

I just hope I can do for my child a mere fraction of the wonderful life my parents provided for me.
Thanks again, Michelle, for making my life even more amazing.