7.4 - The Man 1, Adam 0

Sad news, especially for Zaak.

So on Monday, my CafePress store burned to the ground (i.e., I deleted the entire thing by mistake). That tragedy was offset by the fact that I uploaded some sweet new designs (see below).

Tuesday, a.k.a. the VERY NEXT FREAKING DAY, I received an e-mail from CafePress admin informing me that a bunch of my content had been removed because it violated their Content Usage Policy. Which they call a CUP.

If Monday was a fire, Tuesday felt like arson.

So apparently I violated their CUP multiple times. I re-reviewed their CUP, and think they were interpreting their own satire and parody rules a bit harshly, but anyway. It's their CUP, so....

Basically Zaak and I are being shipped off to Guantanamo for trying one up the Home Depot.

I'll admit I'm a little bummed. But I will rise again, like an anarchist phoenix, rising from the arsons ashes!

(BTW: the other logos they deleted said "Banana Republican" and "Abercrombian Bitch".)

7.3 - Two steps forward, three steps back...

Crap.

So today, I'm home sick from work and decided to spend some time on Cafepress. I was updating my shop and I.....

DELETED MY ENTIRE STORE BY MISTAKE!!!!!!!

Oh man. Sick to my stomach. You have no idea......

On the upside, I did upload two new designs.

The first is a design that Zaak flat out gave to me. So Zaak, when I make a million off it, I'll take you out for tacos, or something.


Brilliant, huh?

The second is a design of my own, directly inspired by Zaak's.


Whaddaya think?

7.2 - New Premium Shop!

So I finally did it. I've opened a Premium Shop on Cafepress.

Head on over to Civiliezation and tell me what you think.

(It's a work in progress, by the way, so I'm going to leave this Thing active until I feel like I've got most of the kinks worked out and the shop is set up just how I want it.)

A Humble, Embarassed, Tail-Between-The-Legs, Belated, Three-Part Welcome.......

I haven't posted in a while, blah blah, excuses. So busy with blahdey blah blah blooh, and the HUGE blah headaches blah blah explosions!

Seriously. How much blah blah blah apology, and blah forgive me blah blah blah can one guy take? I mean blah and blanh and blodadedo. DAMN REPUBLICANS! Right?

So, now that that is out of the way, some minor maintenance is in order.

This is a triple welcome.

First to Zaak, who through his blogs alone is quickly becoming one of my "ten favorite people that I just barely know and only met once".

For you, a picture by Banksy, a British Anarchist graffiti artist:

(That's graffiti he did on the Security wall in the West Bank. Yes, I know it's awesome. Viva la Rev.)

Welcome Zaak!



Which brings us to Kelsie.

I don't know Kelsie. Petra knows Kelsie. But Kelsie has a cool 5things blog, and that makes her okay in my book!

Welcome to 5thingsing Kelsie. Here's a photo inspired by your Things:


And lastly to Bob. Bob's a good college bud o' mine. We were in Improv together. One of Bob's Things is to put a video on YouTube, which I can't wait for! In the interim, here's a video from YouTube, just for YouBob:

7.1 - Cafepress

Early in the summer I stumbled on a website called Cafepress that lets you design t-shirts, stickers and a few other things, and then sell those things online.

I've gotten a huge kick out of designing stuff for my little free shop, but now I've decided it's time to step it up a notch, and fork over the bucks for a premium shop. This will allow me to have a lot more freedom with the shop's look/layout and also allow me to carry more items.

Obligatory fair warning: my shop is a political shop called "Civiliezation" and is not intended for the Republican-at-heart. And if you happen to be Republican-at-heart, rest assured that I can take the hits as well as deal them out, and Jesus still loves you.

Probably.

You've been warned. Now check out my shop!

So Thing #7 is: Take my free Cafepress shop, spruce up my designs, add a few new ones, and then open a premium shop!

6.2 - Done

No, contrary to appearances, it did not take me nearly a week to clear my key chain. (That would be even lamer than the fact that I have to tell the whole world about my keys just to get up the drive to organize them.)

Regardless, it's done now. My pocket is much happier, although I freak out every half hour or so, thinking I've lost my keys because they are now so light I can't feel them.

Thing 6 done, magic #7 to be posted by the weekend...

6.1 - My Keys

I have too many keys.

Petra says so, my friends say so, strangers say so, the pain in my lopsided spine says so.

I'm a door hardware installer by trade, and I have keys on this chain for locks that no longer exist, for cars that we no longer own, for all sorts of stuff that I can't even remember. (That jagged black key is a super, door-ninja key, by the way...)

Thing 6? Clean up my messy key chain, changing it into a svelt keychain wonder.

1.12 - Done

Finished.

That's 4,224 pages of Potter in 64 days, folks. 66 pages a day. Not half bad.

And, I would highly recommend the series. It got better and better and the ending was great. Thumbs up!

Thing 1 DONE!

New thing tomorrow!

1.11 - 6 down, and a midnight party...

Bring out the NERDS!

Last night Petra and I went to the midnight release party for Harry Potter, book 7. I wasn't real stoked about standing in line for hours and hours in the middle of the night, but Petra convinced me to give it a whirl. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect.

We opened the doors and, I kid you not, the lady over the loud-speaker said "Okay! 10-9-8-7..." It was like they were waiting for us.

There were gobs of people. (The cars filled four parking lots! That little square of light is the store in the distance.) We walked into Barnes and Noble to find it packed with capes and pointy hats. I almost said "Let's just come tomorrow, we'll be here forever," but instead went over the to desk to sign in. There were two types of wristbands, yellow and blue, which were labeled A-Z. They were starting with yellow A's. I gave my name to the lady, she found me on the list and went to grab a section of blue S bands, when (magically??) some papers shifted and there were about 4 or 5 yellow I's, just sitting there. "Huh! Lucky you!," she said.

We were in like Flinn. By 12:30 I had my book and we were on our way home, with literally hundreds of people (who had been there for hours, by the looks of it) still in line behind us.

Don't feel too bad for them though. Everyone seemed like they had been having a blast hanging out, getting all hopped up on Starbucks!
On the way home, we almost got into an accident, and I swear to you it was because no these two cars both had drivers trying to seek a read at the books in there laps... I wonder how many wrecks there were last night because people were trying to read Harry Potter on the way home!

So I woke up this morning and polished off the last few pages of Book 6! On to the end!

1.10 - Oh Maaaaaan!

I apologize in advance for this innuendo, but when you're in the gutter, you're in the gutter and might as well roll around a bit...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 321 (This one is better without context...)

"I'm his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be," said Snape curtly. "Follow me Draco."

Oh man!

Welcome Adam!

My good friend Adam F. finally succumbed to massive peer pressures and started his own 5things blog, and with his presence our cool rating has grown by 87%. He doesn't have any Things posted yet, so swing by and give him a hard time.

Welcome Adam! The world of 5thingsing is better dressed because you are in it!

You have no Things to inspire a picture, so here's one for no reason at all:

1.9 - 5 Down

Another one bites the dust!

I finished book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, yesterday morning, and moved immediately on to book 6, Half-Blood Prince, which Petra kindly picked up for me at Auntie's. (Leaving us with an all-time low of $0.19 in trade-in credit. Seriously.) Which means...

I am officially going to make it! I wasn't sure for a while there at the beginning. It seemed like a daunting task, but I've had some free nights here and there, so it looks like I should easily finish the first six books by July 21, when book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hits shelves. (Which makes up for my aforebemoaned Potterless decade, and makes me a registered Harry Potter bad-ass.)

While I'm on this note, I need to lay out a brief mea culpa. This blog was not intended to be a Harry Potter blog, and I know I've been heavy on the Potter Posts. I just really wanted to finish the first 6 before number 7, so that I would be in no (zero, zip, nada) danger of hearing something about how the whole series wraps up, and doing so has left little free time to spare.

Once this Thing is wrapped however, I'll be spreading the 5things love a bit more evenly. Promise.

1.8 - Innuendo Againdo

I never found good innuendos in books 3 or 4, but book 5 makes up for that in a big way...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, pg. 242
(The students in Defense Against the Dark Arts are arguing with their teacher about the fairness of a particular policy...)

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron ejaculated loudly.

Oh man!

Welcome Scribe!

Yet another blogger has succumbed to 5things mania!

Surrendered Scribe, who joins our ranks via Kat, posted her 5things this week, and is already encouraging readers to think of their own five things. Way to spread the word, Scribe!

In honor of your 5th thing, I give you a little inspiration for brightening up that room...

1.7 - Four Down

I finished The Goblet of Fire over the weekend, and it is by far my favorite of the four I have read. Really, really good actually. I was surprised to learn that it won the Hugo Award in 2001, but after reading it, I can see why. Quite wonderfully crafted. I only hope the rest of the series is as good...

On to Order of the Phoenix!

Welcome Kat!

We have another 5things blogger!

Kat, from South Florida.

Kat has the distinction of being the first 5thingser that I do not personally know. Which makes me stoked out of my mind, because I have been not-so-secretly hoping that this whole thing wasn't just my friends all nodding and smiling so that I would stay on my medication.

So welcome Kat! You are my vindication!

(unintentional medication-vindication rhyme duly noted)

Here's a picture in honor of your Thing #4, "go an entire day without getting frustrated", which might be impossible, even for the smallest of us...

1.6 - Three Down

Well, Harry and the gang survived another adventure, but I almost didn't make it this time...woo! Tense.

Loving the books. On to The (gargantuan) Goblet of Fire.

Welcome Heather!

After much prodding and heckling from Joel, Heather has finally come down with the 5things flu and started her own blog.

"The Heather", you ask? "Yes," I reply, in a very deep and gravely voice. "The Heather."

Now technically she has started a 4things blog, but we have very loose standards in this little cult of ours, and I'm sure that we'll all head over to Heather's Five and flood her with helpful suggestions.

Because we care like that.

So welcome Heather! We are all looking forward to your 4 Things! Good luck and keep us posted!

In honor of your second thing, I give you this picture of how I usually feel when I go clothes shopping:


Have fun!!!

1.5 - Candy Mountain, Charlie!

My friend Casey gave me this sweet bookmark because he knows that I, quote, "like to read, and it made me think of you."



Thanks, Casey.

This bookmark will, henceforth, be the official bookmark of Thing #1, and will accompany Harry Potter through his last five years at Hogwarts. And really, a magic unicorn might come in handy for Mr. Potter...

In the meantime, I think I will name my bookmark 'Charlie', in honor of the following awesomeness:



P.S. - If any of you know Casey, swing by his blog and tell him to get his 5things online...

3.1 - All the Beautiful People

I've been making headway on my 6 Degrees card game. Basically that means compiling a huge list of Actors and Actresses that I think would be fun to play the game with. My goal is to get 200 really good names, where 'really good' means that a fairly knowledgeable movie buff could look at any card and name at least two movies the person had been in and at least one co-star from each movie.

I've spent two long evenings on the IMDB, and have a list of 201 names, but I'm not happy with about 40 of them, so here's where y'all come in.

Do me a favor, and post the first ten names of actors/actresses that you can think of, off the top of your head. Hopefully you'll think of some obvious ones that I don't have yet...

Thanks!