We're it!

Mark Elrod, a friend, mentor, and member of the Harding University Illuminati has tagged us. So here goes!

Four Jobs I've Had:

• Lawn Mower: this was the first job I ever received payment for. At about 10 years of age I was making $50 a week. In my mind I was unbelievably rich.
• Little League Umpire: this was probably the worst job I ever had. I got paid $15/game and had to deal with cursing coaches and abusive parents. This job is probably the reason I am not a huge baseball fan.
• Rodeo Clown: no just kidding, but wouldn't that be cool.
• Corporate Slave to Big Oil: yes that is my current job descripton and I am loving every minute of it.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:

• The Empire Strikes Back: the best of the bunch.
• So I Married an Axe Murder: "Heed! Pants! Now!"
• Casablanca: possibly my favorite movie of all time. There are few fictional places that I have longed to go to more than Rick's Cafe Americain. And no, Humphrey Bogart never says "Play it again Sam."
• Oh Brother Where Art Thou?: For my money this is the Cohen Brothers' best. Great music and brilliant witty dialogue. "Are any of you boys a smithy or otherwise versed in the metallurgical arts?" Plus, no disposing of bodies in a wood chipper. Yah.
  

Four Books I Could Read Over and Over:

• To Kill a Mockingbird: I read this book nearly every year. What else can be said about this timeless classic. I love it and you should read it.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: see above.
• What's So Amazing About Grace: this book, a critical reading of the book of Romans, and the fellas helped me mold my faith into an ever increasingly mature form. This is a truly beautiful exposition on what makes Christianity so amazing.
• The Lord of the Rings: I literally do read this book over and over again. I have read it at least once every year since high school.

Five Places I've Lived:

• Florence, Italy: I lived in Firenze for two years. I moved back to the states nearly six years ago. My heart still aches for the capital of Tuscany to this day and will likely do so until I return. I long to again sit on the steps of San Miniato and look over the beautiful city on the Arno.
• Chicago, IL: you just can't beat the Windy City. Middle School happenednd for me here along with Law School. I miss riding the "El" to work and school everyday. I miss going to the Green Mill and I miss going to Wrigley.
• Charleston, SC: someone once described Charleston to me as a "really clean and nice version of New Orlean's French Quarter". That just about sums it up. This beautiful city was nearly bombed to oblivion during the civil war, almost leveled by an earthquake, and nearly flattened by numerous hurricanes. You would never know any of this by walking through the lovingly restored historic districts. Plus the seafood is amazing here.
• Denver, CO: My current home and my favorite metro area in the states. The Mile High City is a great place to live and the gateway to the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
• Patoka, IL: this is my ancestral home. My mom's family is from here and still live here. The same goes for my dad's family. Patoka has a population of 650 and half of them are related to me.

Four T.V. Shows I Watch:

• Scrubs: now that Arrested Development has been cancelled, Scrubs is far and away the funniest thing on TV.
• NCIS: I don't watch any of the other criminal investigation shows but my wife and I wont miss our weekly dose of Mark Harmond. I still can't believe they killed Kate.
• Adult Swim on Cartoon Network: as will be evidenced in the websites below I am littlele bit of a geek. I love cartoons and while some of the cartoons in Adult Swim are either just stupid or vulgar most of them are brilliant. Futurama, Home Movies, Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law and Aqua Teen Hunger Force are some of my favorites. Unfortunatelyly these shows are mostly just a memory for me since we recently decided to downgrade our basic cable subscription (our basic cable costs us over $40 a month) to a really really basic cable ($9.99 a month) thankfully we still get the Discovery Channel so I can still say I watch...
• The Mythbusters: these guys have the best job in the whole world.

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:

• Banff, Alberta Canada: honeymoon.
• Trujillo, Honduras: spring break campaign that nearly killed me.
• Napa Valley, California: 5 year anniversary trip.
• Paris, France: my most recent vacation.

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

• CNN: not the only news site I visit but the best.
• CHUD: Cinematic Happenings Under Development. These guys like most of the same movies that I do.
• Engadget and Gizmodo: these are both technology blogs that focus on the coolest and newest gadgets. Like I said above I am kind of a geek.
• Penny Arcade: this is a comic strip and news site about gaming. I again reference my geekiness. Warning: some of the content on this website will certainly be considered objectionable, thus no direct link. But man is it funny.

Four Favorite Dishes:

• Salamine Piccante Pizza at Il Gallo in Scandicci, Italy.
• Cinghialle (wild boar) Ragu over Farfalle Pasta at Il Taverno del Diavolo in Scandicci, Italy.
• Gnocchi with Pesto: If its good I will take this over just about everything. We have found one place in Denver that we like. There were several in Chicago and none in Charleston.
• Orange Chicken with brown rice: I think P.F. Changs does this the best but our local East Dynasty does a pretty good job too.

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

• Here. Of course.
• Here with MY baby's momma.
• 20 years ago at my Grandma's house around Christmas time.
• 9 years ago at the Harding University Old Married Apartments on a Thursday night.

Four People I'm Tagging:

• I don't know anybody else so I am going to substitute this one for...

Four Best Albums I Bought Last Year: These albums were not necessarily released in '05.

• The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan - this is their best yet. I love just about every track on this album but Red Rain is probably my favorite.
• Tomahawk: Tomahawk - be prepared for sweirdierd but brutal heavy metal. This is a Mike Patton project. God Hates a Coward is my top pick of this one.
• Iron and Wine: Our Endless Numbere Days - pretty much the exact opposite of Tomahawk except for the fact that they are both brilliant. Beautiful music. Sodom, South Georgia is my favorite.
• Enon: High Society- cool, electronic, indie pop rock. Shoulder is probably my fave.