This is Her.

This is my wife, Heather, in the morning, dressed for work. Every day she goes to her social work job, helping the people of Glasgow. Glasgow is a cold city, so she wears this special coat to keep her warm. Heather's favorite breakfast is corn flakes with bananas, and a cup of tea. She is happy because she likes the morning. She can watch the sun rise as she walks to her job. Sometimes on the way to work she sees cats, and pets them. Hi Heather!

John Jacob Niles

Hi! I'm taking this opportunity to link to a song that I think is interesting as a piece of American history. John Jacob Niles (1892-1980, I think) was an American folk musician, composer, and singer. He was actually the author of 'I Wonder As I Wander,' which may surprise you once you hear his eerie vocal style. I've posted about music before, as you'll remember, about Sacred Harp singing, which also had a distinctive sound ('sounds like drunken Gregorian chanting?'). As before, don't expect music that I post to sound particularly pleasant. It's just so cool.

John Jacob Niles - The Maid Freed From the Gallows

PS The link might expire some day.

[update] It's been pointed out that I didn't provide the URL for the music. Here it is!
http://www.redruin.com/2006/03/10/john-jacob-niles-dean-of-american-balladeers/

How To Break Into Our House

Happy Rabbie Day

I always thought Satchel was a pretty good name.

Today in Get Fuzzy, Satch discovers anti-fun comics. Welcome aboard, Satchel!



Of course, it would be better without the last frame...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Joel, Heather, and Des'Ree! Doo doot doo...

It'd take a miracle...

We thought it was impossible. We saw it cut down in its prime: the blog that wrote the story of our lives; the blog that made us laugh, cry, and hiccup in unison, had surely met its bitter end. Yet now, with a bang and a lurch, the laughter, the tears, and the glottal discomfort are resurrected! Heather's blog lives again! And this time, it's an artichoke!

Wedding Pictures!

Here are our lovely wedding pictures! Or here, if you'd rather watch a slide show.
I know Joel doesn't post much, so if you weren't aware that he actually got married, I'm sure he'll be very sorry. Since he doesn't update, I figured I better break in to tell y'all about our freshly uploaded photos.

There are a few on there from Lynne, who made us a gorgeous photo album full of her own photos from the wedding!

Here is something else, to make the post more exciting (or really scary).

Thanks for Brad!

Thanksgiving night.



Richard: I want a ferret...
Graham: You could be like... The Beastmaster!
Joel: Yeah... What were the names of his ferrets? They were really dumb names...
Krista: Tawnya?
Joel: Tawnya and Brad!

Thus you may see that Brad is the optimal animal name. Not a bad name in itself, it becomes the best name for animals. Imagine:

Brad the Iguana
Brad the Hermit Crab
Brad the Snail
Brad the Pot-Bellied Pig
Brad the Pit Viper (BradLEY! Get your venomous fangs out of him!)
Brad the Box Turtle

The Auncestral Hamelauns

Upon the arrival last Thursday (Thanksgiving, FYI) of my cousin Krista, we took an expedition to the town of Arrochar, whence the MacFarlanes, my auld ancestors (on me da's mither's side) hail. We climbed halfway up the local hill, Ben Arthur a.k.a. "The Cobbler" before we had to come down again and catch the bus. The MacFarlanes, as evidenced by the official clan gathering tune, were expert cattle thieves (we even got outlawed!), which explains, probably, my love for a good burger. Of course, the Scots mostly are annoyed with Americans who come over here to 'seek their heriage' and regard all claims of Scottishness on our part to be 'dodgy' at best. This makes sense- I really am an American, not even a Scottish citizen. Many of the ethnic Pakistanis around here are more Scottish than me!



P.S. Photos on this post by Krista
P.P.S. Except the one with Krista in it. I took that one.

Me magistrum creant

Apparently I'm a master now. The ceremony to grant me this title took place yesterday morning, an appropriately dismal Scottish morning. If you'd like to watch this magical ceremony, you may do so here, or if you have a slow connection, you can watch it here. There are many quality Joel sightings throughout the ceremony, but if you lack patience, you can skip ahead to the 17th minute for my masterful moment.

From the Honeymoon: A Preview

La Cueva Del Pirata, Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo, Mexico

A wee walk.

I just went on a 'hillwalk' for the first time. The hill is called Tinto, in Lanarkshire. The cool thing about hills in Scotland is that, whereas in the US, there is always a higher peak, the hills in Scotland are not that high,

	and when you reach the peak, you've reached the top! Here are some pics from the climb. Left: Chris Ahoy! Below left: The cairn at the top, and me upon it. Below: Some landscape. Below that: A paraglider! Then: Some more landscape. Appreciate the panorama, please.

Störung und Schadenfreude

Can this be the official comic of the Anti-Fun Society?

You appreciate my perspective.

A normal day at the office:

Depressing thought for the evening

Do a Google search for "navel reserve," and see how few of the hits are puns. An overwhelming majority are simple misspellings. Why aren't people funny, like me? Navel reserve! That's funny!

That's all.

___

10:00 pm.

Update, eodem die. Mood much improved. On my way home from 'work,' I encountered a consternated-looking 1Glasgow fox. I shared his consternation as we stood together, listening to the lush choral arrangement of 2"I walk the line" pouring forth from the window of the Postgraduate Club nearby. Our interest having faded, the fox politely excused himself and I continued on my way.

_______________________

1. Vulpes weegiensis, my first sighting this year!
2. Composer and lyricist: Johnny Cash, Choral Arrangement: anonymous, Maracas: anonymous but manifest and annoying.

More fun than a deaf cabbage.

A damp squid.

OH NO!!!

Angry koalas!!!!

What's this thing for again?

Robb just reminded me that it's a good idea to use my blog for news. I keep forgetting that I haven't told everyone that I just got accepted to the PhD program here in Glasgow, with a bit of scholarship money (thanks, God!). This means that Heather and I will be living in Scotland for the next three years.

My friend Graham from NY state also got the same scholarship, and is also staying 3 more years!

Anyone want to come visit us?

Important News

I know you said not to break radio silence, but this is important! I think it is in your best interests to visit our wedding website!!! Thanks for the site, Nate! It's awesome!