M.I.A.

We are off to UT where all the righteous people live. We will be back
in internet range on Saturday. Miss you already.

Motab. Red Rocks.

President Monson is here you gize.

Why the Internet was Invented

My SIL sent me this video a week or so ago. I didn't watch it right away because it couldn't play on my iPhone. SILLY SILLY LANDEE! I could have been watching this all week!! For shame. Do not let this happen to you.

My fave part is the key change.... they nail it.

Backstreet Asians



::said in thick asian accent (take your pick as to which one):: Uh, dee uhBackuhStreetuhBoyz dey wear de same shirt, yes? We hav uuuh same Rocket shirt! Yes!

You be, uuuh, Nick? And I am AJ? Ok? Ok. Pressa dat play button.


The fact that this video was on Google Videos rather than YouTube reminded me of a video that I think SRod had found a couple of years ago on Google Videos and was kind enough to share. I just watched it twice, back-to-back. It couldn't be helped. I think I've watched it 34 times now if you count days past. I have so many favorite parts to this video gold mine that I can't narrow it down. Plus I don't want to influence you in anyway here. I'll let you decide your favorite part all on your own.

It was posted in October of 2005 by Tony himself. And the description is simply "Me in my songing practice..." ::sigh:: I wanna adopt Tony.

Always Sentimental Remind Me



Thank you Internet Inventors.

Em Jay: Landee's Thoughts

I have breaking news, you gize.

You may not have heard but Michael Joseph Jackson died yesterday at the age of 50. I know. How did he make it to 50???? Modern day miracle and some surgeries, I suspect. He looked great. I'm thinking he had a leeeetle work done but his plastic surgeons were amazingly subtle. Hardly even noticeable.

It is amazing to think of the influence he had over the entire world. Not influential in the "we wanna be like him way" but in the way his music and life were woven in with our own. Even in the short time I've been blogging he has made several appearances in many things I have done.

He was mentioned in my UGLIES BOOK REVIEW HERE as an example of a cruel pretty.

He was brought up in one of my podcasts with Memzy when we talked about how in 1994, the president of the MJ Fan Club got mad at her for sending out a virus warning to the entire membership (she was only trying to save their PCs!!)

And, of course, who can forget this?





Right. No one can forget. And we have Michael (and SWV and that 90s Trivia game and Twilight) to thank for it.

I will miss him but I have been missing him for the past 15 years or so. It was weird because my boys wanted to watch the Thriller video on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. I don't know where they got that idea from but they thoroughly enjoyed it. They are lucky. They get to remember him THAT way.

Here's something else I was thinking about.... Farrah Fawcett, of course, died as well. I was a bigger fan of Ed McMahon but still, sad. Anyway, her "long time love" was Ryan O'Neal. Ryan was the father of Tatum O'Neal who was Michael Jackson's first fake girlfriend (his first real girlfriend was Corey Feldman, for the record). There is some kind of a connection here, people. Something I can't quite bring together and connect the dots but it's there... something with the O'Neals and death and maybe debt.

Lemme know if you figure it out.

PS LOVE The Onion.

Blood, Sweat & Tears

That is what it took to make this a reality. You may want to remind yourself of the atrocity that it WAS HERE before really perusing these pictures. You'll appreciate them more.

The feng shui energy that is coming up from the basement is incredible. It's like I'm high on crank now (what's the diff between crank and crack, btw? I haven't watched Intervention in a while). I mean, people can walk freely without the possibility of tripping on something and dying! It's a miracle.



Better use of shelving comin' atcha.



Bins bins bins bins bins!!!



My favorite thing I did was set up this Shelf-Reliance action that has been in its box for the past 8 months. I just feel righteouser. We've never had ANY food storage. Srsly. Not in 13 years of marriage. Thank goodness Y2K panned out ok, huh? When Phil & Milly were here a few weeks ago we went to Costco and The WalMart and loaded up (their Christmas prezzie to us). We might just make it to the celest after all, you gize.



So, yeah. Hopefully it will stay this way until YOU and YOU and YOU come to visit. If not, don't judge me.

I'm An Addict

I have a new addiction. It goes well with my addictive personality.

Yes, tag this on to my Diet Dr. Pepper and Dove Chocolate addictions. As well as Peggle (an iPhone game app....major time sucker but I'm now a Peggle master so not a complete time waster!).

So my new addiction is getting Twitter attention from Eric D. Snider. He, in his infinite power of his words, gave me, like 300 hits in 24 hours, you gize! It was exhilarating for a small timer like myself.

So I need some ideas on how to provoke the man again. Cut & paste another column of his (there is actually a really funny alternate Twilight screenplay that is tempting me)? Put up a pic of him with devil horns photo shopped on? Start a rumor he's now apostate?

Don't fail me. This has to happen. I'm already going through withdraws and the shakes are setting in.

Thanks in advance for your brilliant suggestions.

Snidely Yours,

Landeelu Landerson

Happy Father's Day, Gty!

A quick photo shoot between Gty's meetings. My kids are truly lucky to have such a wonderful dad. They probably won't really appreciate it until they are parents themselves but in the mean time I'll continue to enjoy watching Gty play with them and spend lots of quality time with each them. He makes life so much fun. Always cracking jokes and singing whatever silly song he has made up about one of them that day-- full-voice, in the kitchen as he does the dishes.



He asked for "nothing, please don't spend any money" for Father's Day. I got him some new iPhone headphones as the microphone on his is broken and he keeps stealing mine. It had to be done.

Happy Father's Day to Gty and all the dads out there! You are loved and appreciated forever!

Eric D. Snider Sent People To Yell At Me

Oh my gosh.

Imagine my surprise when I get a somewhat cheeky comment on my post Eric D. Snider Yelled At Me from a "Jen." I was like Wha? Where is THIS coming from? And WHO the ayche is that? Then another comment... then another.

Ok. Something creepy is going on here.

I then innocently check my Twitter while waiting for JBird to go up to bat at his baseball game tonight and what do I spy with my little eye????

This:


Yes. I'm the "blogger" and apparently the "baby." And that link goes to my post of our delightful email exchange. I won't debate my babyhood on the matter because I know tone doesn't come across online but you HAVE to go see his faithful followers' comments!!! Pure entertainment.

Oh, and hey, it's Paula Abdul's bday. Don't forget to lip sync a lame song today in honor of her!

Step Three: Sort & Destroy

The sorting was a disaster. My back is killing me from sitting on that cold concrete floor and going through action figure after action figure.... but it was well worth it, my friends.

I set very strict standards for keeping things (not broken & kids play with it). I got rid of loads of garbage. How many more times was I willing to pick up that half-leg of a Power Ranger? Zero. ::throw in the trash:: When was the last time one of my kids ever used this teeny little sword for the Ninja Turtle? Come to think of it... never. ::in the trash:: Do the boys even play with action figures any more? No. ::buh-bye::


This ^^ is headed out the curb. Note: if you're married to a pack rat or at least someone who thinks he can sell broken/lame toys on eBay or get a tax ride-off for donating them, do this when Gty-- I mean, he/she is not around.

Just so you can see that I'm getting rid of ACTUAL toys and not just garbage. I was particularly fond of ousting large items. It was invigorating.

Please note the AquaDoodle. That thing does not get an entire shelf all to itself anymore. I'm taking back my power. And that PlayMobile pirate treasure chest was a lost cause the second it was opened at Christmas.

You gize are gonna be amazed at the finished product. You'll wanna move in. Srsly. But I don't want to build it up too much.... I'm putting the final touches on it and then we'll be all set. Tune in.

Step Two: Basement Clean-up '09

Go to Walshizz and buy as many bins as you think you can possibly get in and out of your car without hurting yourself. Don't forget the lids.

Also, don't be offended when the Walshizz cashier lady checks in between each and every bin to make sure you haven't tucked some valuable Walshizz products in between the stacked bins. She has to do that. It's part of her training. So she says. Don't say out loud that you think that probably gives more people the idea to do that than prevents it from happening. Sam Walton and crew take shoplifting very srsly.

Take bins home and let them sit for at least a week before moving on to Step 3.


Disclaimer: I have an unnatural love of bins. They seem to be my answer for everything... "Where does this go? Put it in a bin!" "I'm sick of looking at this. Put it in a bin!" "My kid is being naughty. Put him in a bin!" Bins are good. Bins are true.

If I had ONE WISH then it would be....

...a happy, happy birthday to you from me!

(side note: I've always thought that Primary song was a lie... I mean really, if you had one wish you'd waste it on a happy birthday for someone else? I don't think so.)



It's hard to believe we've only known each other for ::counting on fingers:: 9ish months.



I don't even remember my life LBJ (Life Before Jespy). They were dark times, to be sure.



HaPPy BiRThdAy jEsPY!

(your present is tooootally in the mail)

Eric D. Snider Yelled At Me

Remember that hilarious post I did mid-March? I know, that barely narrows it down. They were ALL hilarious. No, I mean this one. The one where I do nothing but sing Eric D. Snider's praises and only emphasize how hilarious he is by showing you an article he did. It was regarding the different types of commenters on the internet. I'm sure you remember, it was practically unforgettable.

Anyway, imagine my surprise when sitting in my inbox today was an email from the one and only Eric D. Snider (eeeeeeeek!!!). I obviously paid no attention to the subject line of the email because my giddiness continued as I began to read. (pssst...the subject was Copyright Violation).

Below is the email:


Hello Andersons --

I stumbled across this post -- http://landersons.blogspot.com/2009/03/and-you-are.html -- and while I do appreciate your support and fandom, I must protest the idea of copying and pasting and ENTIRE column of mine on your blog. At the bottom of every page of my website is this notice: "Copyright © Eric D. Snider. This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider." When you reproduce an entire column on your site, it devalues my own site. A much better route would be to post an excerpt, with a link to where the rest of the column can be found. Please make the necessary adjustments on your blog as soon as possible.

Thank you,
Eric D. Snider

Wha? Mmmmmkay...... hmmmmm.... ::giddiness subsiding::

So I composed this reply:

Dearest Eric D. Snider,

You mean to tell me that little "c" with the circle around it actually means something? Weird. So you must have been that hit from Lake Elsinore, CA then, huh? I was assuming you just google your name every so often (as I've heard celebrities do) but no... you googled "the host's wife and the lead singer of the spin doctors." You're a tricky one, I'll give you that. I see you have some time to kill at your parents' house.

As for making the "necessary adjustments" on my blog, I'll get right on that. Later. As for right now I just wanted to let you know that you and I were at BYU together (I was there 93-98) and your column and the crossword puzzle were the only reasons I ever picked up a Daily Universe. My friends and I would read your weekly installment in the Cougar Eat and then laugh. Then we would sigh and wonder out loud how it was that you weren't married yet. Good times. Good times. I then gave your CD "Will Make Jokes for Food" to my inactive sister for her birthday one year. She LOVED it. Luckily for her, it was the only CD NOT stolen when someone broke into her car. <---true story So yeah, big fan here. It was thrilling getting an email from you, regardless of your "tone." Regards and stuff,
Landeelu Landerson

PS Is your email you sent copyrighted? Cuz I foresee another cut & paste in my near future on a post entitled "Eric D. Snider Yelled At Me."

PSS After I posted that column I had several people say that they had forgotten about you and "thanks for the reminder." My readers are lazy and would never have clicked on a link to read the rest of the column so you can thank me for at LEAST four new fans. kthanksbye.

I told him I'd c&p that bad boy.

His reply:

Yep, I googled that phrase after I saw someone blatantly mention ON MY OWN SITE that she was planning to copy and paste the whole thing (seriously, the kids today, and their disregard for copyright, or even common sense), and I wondered if she had already done it. Turns out she hadn't, but you had, and that's how I nabbed you.

Unfortunately, my experience has been that once one person copies and pastes something on their blog, that makes other bloggers think it's OK to do, and it gets copied one place after another, and eventually the attribution falls off ("Here's a funny anonymous thing that somebody posted!"), and then my work is all over the place and I'm not getting any credit for it. So I have to nip these things in the bud, even if, as in your case, it was probably harmless in and of itself. I hope you understand the position I'm in, since I make a living through the mighty power of my words.

And I really do appreciate your long-time fanship. Truly. I promise!

Take care,
Eric

See how he just signed it "Eric" that time rather than his full professional name? Yup. We are now friends. Don't be jealous.

So then I wrote back cuz, you know, I had to:

I shall set the record straight on copyright infringement, don't you worry.

Your niceness is now causing me to want to be on your side. Oh you and your powerful words!! And I do believe you appreciate my long-time fanaticism. I find you to be trustworthy and benevolent...even with that goatee you're sporting these days.

Say hi to your mom for me,

Landeelu Landerson

Aaaaand, that was it. I'm sure he got busy with uber important stuff or whatever cuz I believe with all my heart he was enjoying our exchange as much as I was.

So this is me, setting the record straight about copyrighted material. Don't, like, cut & paste stuff, you gize. It devalues the power of words....er...something. K, kids? K. We're all set now.

Step One: Admit You Have A Problem

My basement.

It has problems.

This is what happens after a cold winter. The basement is FREEZING during the winter and I have no desire to go down there, let alone go down there and either 1) clean the place up or 2) supervise while the kids clean the place up.

So this happens.... atrocious.




Yes, that fourth picture up there is Gty's "card area." Each one of those white boxes is filled with sports cards. I really ought to take a better pic so you could see the sheer amount of these things better. Maybe in the AFTER pics... if there are any.



This is beyond overwhelming. Go ahead. Click on any of these pics and see it enlarged. It. Will. Blow. Your. Mind.

I think I'm on to something though. Notice anything about the shelves we have down there? Yeah. They aren't exactly being used to their full potential. That AquaDoodle probably doesn't need its own shelf, fhs. Or that one YuGiOh card. I may incorporate them into my overall game plan.



The other part of my master plan is to throw at LEAST 50% of this crap away. FIFTY PERCENT, you gize. No ifs, ands or butts. And by "crap" I mean the kids' crap, of course. My stuff is totally important and stuff. Doy.

I better get the tunes crankin' down there somehow. It'll be the only way to muscle through this.

Blogging For a Good Cause

I am going to use the power of my blog to promote a good cause. It's practically charity. Apparently Jimmy Fallon has started a campaign to get the entire cast of Saved By The Bell back together again. This. Must. Happen.

CLICK HERE to sign the petition.

It will take but a few moments of your time. Plus, if you tell 4 friends about it then you'll have good luck all day. Tell 10 friends and $1,000,000 will be delivered to your door within the next three months.

I'm srs.

By small and simple things, you gize. Do your part.

Done.

I have been busy on the computer these days. Obviously it hasn't been because of blogging. No. No. No. I have actually been doing genealogy. Not the boring retroactive kind. The futuristic kind of genealogy. It's much more exciting.

I just got done putting together the 2nd edition of US Yearly: The Anderson Family News Magazine. It is amazing stuff, you gize.

If you want to subscribe it will cost you a mere $14.00 per year plus S&H. It is well worth your money, believe me. 44 pages of extreme awesomeness.

Point is, I'm back. I'll be posting more regularly. Because really, blogging is futuristic genealogy too. Super thrilling-edge-of-your-seat posts comin' up.

PS Also a time sucker? GITYD. These characters are taking over my life. In the good way. Don't forget to tune in to their saga. It's heating up over there.....

Very Telling Indeed

You want to know how this kid's brain works? Do you? Don't be scared. Here is the perfect example/description of how the mind of this seven year old functions.

For Memorial Day we went to our friends' house (it was SolidGold, for those of you keeping track of all my friends) for a little BBQ action, swimming in the pool, etc. Well, it turned out to be a little too cool for the pool but they opened up their hot tub for the TBone to get his swimming fix in.

SolidGold goes out and says to TBone: Now, TBone, we only have one rule for the hot tub.... you can't pee in it.

TBone: ::thinking for a moment:: So I can do anything else?

I shudder to think of all the things he contemplated doing in that moment.

Side Note: To his credit, he simply swam around and played nice. ::phew:: We can't afford to buy a new hot tub for the SolidGolds right now.