Sarah and I gained a new addition to our family over the weekend….. we adopted a puppy from the Humane Society of Central Illinois! His name is Murphy. That’s Murphy Johnston to you. He’s 6 months old, Akita/German Shepard/Lab mix. The vet thinks he is actually a Great Dane/German Shepard mix. So we are hoping he doesn’t get too entirely large like a Great Dane. He and Dulcey (our cat) are getting along quite well. Check out the photos section of this site for more pictures of our Murphy!

It’s official, after many hours of putting pen to paper and signing an ungodly amount of documents; Sarah and I have officially moved into our house! We had to make two trips with the CBHOA truck to get all of our stuff from the apartment to the house. Many thanks to Mark, my parents, and my bro for helping us move. Without their help I’d still be haulin’ boxes off the moving truck right now.

Scary thought of the day… I will be 56 when the mortgage is up on this house. eek!

Sarah and I have bought our first house! Hello, Life Long Debt, nice to meet you…

I made these pancakes for Sarah a few weekends ago. Not many of you know this… but i’m an aspiring pancake artist. Here’s a picture of one of my works… I’m still perfecting my “S”s

Kudos to my dad, Gordon Johnston, for teaching me the coveted art.

Very weird thing happened the other day. As I was driving home from work and I came across this lightpole/street sign that had been “knocked down” over the intersection of Commerce and Currency Dr. The copper in the picture had the bright idea to park in the middle of the road which congested all the traffic heading towards Gold’s Gym and the apartment complex I live in. I say “knocked down” because after driving by it again there didn’t seem to be any dents or indications of a crash into the pole. How the pole came down is anyone’s guess… very weird.

Thanks to Sar for snapping these shots

Hey all,

Check out the latest galleries added to the photos section. Newest additions includes images from our St. Louis trip to the Arch and the Anheuser-Busch Tour..

Cheers!

I have to admit, the show is pretty entertaining. How can you beat the comedy of pimply, snot-nosed kids screaming relentlessly at their parent for not “doing it right”? The Dad never gets a break… but alas, that is the nature of the game. The peculiar thing about the show is that even if you and your Dad lose, you still get an Xbox 360. I thought the idea of this show was to increase the bond between Dad and child… but instead it supports the current trend of kids turning into isolationists and not bonding with their parents. Diving into their video games and losing out on those important social skills needed once they mature to an adult. But I digress, it’s only a gameshow.

I’m a big fan of Sigur Rós and totally excited about their new release!

If you haven’t heard about it, check out their first film, ‘Heima’. They are featured on YouTube today. You can also download an exclusive track of the films extras from their website: sigurros.com

The music speaks for itself…

I know, it’s hard to believe. But hear me out and you will understand why.

For some reason, we started watching Big Business which happened to be CMT’s primetime movie on Tuesday this week. After the movie was over, we neglected to turn the channel. Sarah was working on the laundry and I was e-filing our state taxes and then the opening credits for My Big Redneck Wedding started to play. And let me tell you, normally I would immediately change the channel. I never, ever, ever watch CMT. But to my suprise, I couldn’t look away. It was absolutely hilarious!

The show starts out much like any other typical wedding show that you would find on the We channel. The couple is introduced, they show the bride freaking out because her dress doesn’t fit, blah blah blah…. But this show is the exact antithesis of Platinum Weddings and I love every minute of it.

The show is hosted by none other than Tom Arnold. And let me tell you, he is perfect for this show. His comical quips on the redneck couple reminds me of his comedy from True Lies… absolutely brilliant.

So this couple, Gail and John, are from Maryland. They live in a trailer and deliver newspapers for a living. The show begins with the proposal. John writes “Will you marry me?” with his urine… in the street. Let me tell you, from a male perspective, this is very impressive and I must admit I’m a little jealous of his prowess at urine writing.

The episode continues with John’s project of building a Budweiser archway for their wedding ceremony. That’s right, we are talking a normal archway with white Christmas lights wrapped around it; but with beer cans (unwashed) hanging by neon plastic cinch ties. At one point in the show John has to chug a 24-pack of bud-heavy to finish the archway the day before the wedding. God forbid he poor that delicious nectar down the drain!

Numerous events continue to happen throughout the show, leaving your jaw dropped in amazement and laughing uncontrollably. Some of these treasured moments include the following: (1) the bride can’t find her dentures and her soon-to-be mother-in-law replies “do you want to use mine?”. (2) Beercan bridal bouquet. And while leaving the florist, after discussing their beercan themed wedding, John again shows his prowess as a professional urine writer by secreting his excrement in the form of Gail’s name on the street outside the florist shop. (3) Getting married in the local flea market. (4) John’s first draft of his vows, “I wish I could put your love in a locket, because you are hotter than a hot pocket” with John’s redneck Granny then commenting “I love hot pockets!”

Plus, the bride buys her dress online and when it arrives via a cardboard box, it doesn’t fit. The dress company sent her a size 8 when she needed a size 28. Tom Arnold chims in with some advice about buying wedding dresses online: “Ladies, here’s a tip when ordering your wedding dress online… wait, don’t order your dress online!”

Their bridal party is also jaw-dropping. The bridesmaids are wearing bluejeans and baggy t-shirts, with flowers placed inside empty beer cans for their bouquets. The groomsmen are also in jeans, however, they are wearing green John Deere t-shirts with a cowboy neckties. lol.

And to top it all off, their wedding gifts to each other are right on par with the rest of the “redneck” events. Gails gives John a pink bowling ball with the following etched on the ball: “Think of my when you touch your ball”. John gives Gail a stuffed animal snowman he won from a 25-cent claw machine at their local bowling alley. Instead of wrapping the gift, John rolled it up in some leftover bubble wrap and handed it to her. wow… i was amazed. Amazed because they were very happy, if not ecstatic that their significant other got them the gift they always wanted!

You can check out the episode here. Click on the link for Episode 5: Gail and John

On a serious note, you could tell from their ceremony and personally written vows that they really do love each other. Despite how redneck their wedding was. It is comforting that this couple found each other and cements the age-old adage that there really is someone out there for you.

If you are looking for a 30minute laughing session, I recommend you check out this series on CMT. You will not be disappointed.

We all knew the format war was all but over once Warner Bros. announced their backing of Blu-ray in January. But some of us still hoped and dreamed that somehow, HD-DVD would be the victor. Other undecideds were expected to cross the line into Blu-ray’s camp soon after. And they did, Netflix, Target, and Blockbuster joined the rank and file of Blu-ray’s army.

Even though I traded my Toshiba HD-DVD player in for a Samsung Blu-ray player shortly after Christmas, I still hoped that Toshiba would come out on top.

As many expected, the format war has been predicted to end now that the juggernaut that is Wal-mart has sided with Blu-ray.

Poor Toshiba. In the end, I fear you won’t make it past the Travelator and be forced to throw in the towel, like many American Gladiators before you.

Those of you that own HD-DVD players, I would exchange them for Blu-ray players if you still have the receipt and it hasn’t been 30 days since you purchased the player. Otherwise, you might want to keep it and possibly get some great deals on the remaining HD-DVD movies. Gobble them up while you still can.

If you plan to keep your player in hopes of selling it as a collectible in 20 years. I wouldn’t expect to get much of a return on it. Take a look at what betamax players are going for on eBay. There won’t be any Victorious Shoppers with this item.