Carol of the Meows

Tippy and I had an exciting 30 minutes in the photo studio at work today. Much like any supermodel, even the power of tuna couldn't make him completely comfortable in front of the camera. Bil managed to get some really fun photos, though, which has actually motivated me to send out Christmas cards this year. Here are a couple you might enjoy:

So, which one should go on the Christmas cards?

What's Occurin'?

Tap, tap, tap...

Is this thing on? *blows dust away*

It's true. I'm blogging again, for a couple reasons.

1. Lost is off the air so there's not much good on tv anymore.

2. I'm going to South by Southwest next March and I need some place to write about it all.

So, what have you missed? Let's see, I'm back in journalism, I moved to York, PA and Tippy is still awesome. In fact, we're getting our Christmas card photo taken this weekend. hopefully he'll be at his best that day.

While I sort through hundreds of songs and plan my SXSW adventure, I'll try and post updates about music and other stuff I enjoy. Here's a list of a few things I've been loving lately to get us started:

• The Walking Dead - You're watching this new show on AMC aren't you? Aren't you? I know I said tv wasn't as good since Lost left, but I may be changing my mind. This past Sunday's episode went by so fast I couldn't believe an hour had passed. Now that I think of it, the show is a lot like the zombie season of Lost that Darlton always promised us.
• Mumford & Sons - Sad, British folk rock meets early Wilco style alt-country? Sign me up! Start with "Little Lion Man" and go from there.
• Looking in windows - The end of daylight saving time make this easier. I don't mean staring in windows in a creepy way, just that quick glimpse of others' lives you get as you drive by their lit up windows in the dark. All those other people going about their business on a chilly evening - I find it comforting.
• Gavin & Stacey - You know how the British come up with all these funny, heartwarming sitcoms then the Americans remake them and ruin everything? I fear it's only a matter of time before that happens to this great show about an odd couple and all their friends. You can stream it on Netflix, or sometimes catch it on BBC America. Either way it's a sweet little show worth checking out.

Razzle Dazzle!

I don't know if you've heard, but the sixth and final season of Lost starts on Tuesday. I know, I know it might help if there was an ad on TV every 5 seconds so we could be warned about these things.

Way back in season three (I think it was three, maybe it was two) Jeff and Meggan and I would meet every week to watch the show. Snacks and drinks were involved and soon our own informal drinking game developed. Mostly it was a way to deal with the constant bellowing from Michael about "My Boy!!!" but it adapted to new characters and themes as the seasons continued.

So in time for the season premiere, I give you the unofficial Lost drinking game. Since the writers keep promising the return of old characters, I'll include some suggestions for them as well. Feel free to offer your own pointers and be sure to have a beer or two on hand Tuesday night.

Take a drink whenever:

Jack

• cries

Sawyer

• calls someone by a nickname
• gets beaten up
• takes off his shirt

Locke

• breaks his leg
• acts crazy

Hurley

• calls someone "dude"
• talks to a dead character

Kate

• joins an expedition even though they tell her not to come
• makes out with Sawyer
• makes out with Jack

Daniel Faraday

• gives someone his "crazy eyes"
• tells someone that it's too complicated/he doesn't have time to explain a theory

Desmond

• calls someone "brother"

Miles

• talks to a dead character

Charlie

• sings "You All Everybody"
• does heroin

Claire

• mentions "My baby!"

Michael

• mentions "My boy!"

Sun

• mentions "My husband"

When any character

• mentions any version of "we have to go back"
• asks, "Do you know what lies in the shadow of the statue?"
• sees The Numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)
• sees Vincent

Finish your drink whenever

• anyone actually leaves the island
• a main character dies

Of course, there's always room for additions, especially as the sixth season continues. Let me know if I missed anything!

I remember when you were here and all the fun we had last year

I guess I could write a long post and tell you all about the rest of my trip across the country in October. How I went to DC for an unsuccessful job interview (but a very successful visit with Melissa and Carrie and Melvin) then went to Michigan State to check out its business school. I could also go into great detail about my trip back to Tucson with Tippy and my parents and the fit Tippy threw one night in our hotel room in Roswell, New Mexico. I might mention the last couple of months that I've spent studying for the GMAT and working on MBA applications and how annoying it all is. Instead, I will just say Merry Christmas and post a picture of Tippy looking dandy in his new tie.

Fight Tigers, you will always win

Except when you don't.

It was ugly last night, folks. The Tigers never looked like they stood a chance against Colt McCoy and his awesomeness. We did, however, get to sit behind a guy with a crazy hat. I can tell you from my trip to the campus bookstore that this bit of fashion can be yours for just $49.95.

Why yes, those are beads. Don't you really want one?

What we did have, however, was a great homecoming parade full of tractors, teeny marching bands from tiny mid-Missouri towns and more than one kid in their best tiger costume. The adorableness level was off the scale.

That kid is almost as cute as the photo of me in my Mizzou Snuggie. Just sayin'.

Truman did seem a little distracted during the parade. I should have seen this photo of him blowing off a little kid as a sign that things wouldn't go well Saturday night. His head just wasn't in the game.

So all I left Columbia with was a belly full of Shakespeare's Pizza and a cold. I spent today blowing my nose and chewing cough drops as I drove my way to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Tomorrow I'm checking out the Supply Chain Management program at the Arkansas business school (that would be the Sam M. Walton College of Business). Everything in this town seems to be named after a Walton or a Tyson. I should keep a tally.

So I'll go on about business school a little more in the future. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I've decided to stop waiting for the phone to ring. The future is mine, people! Mine! Of course, that might just be the Theraflu talking.

Have the guts, got the glory

Why, you may ask, are those frat boys dressed like sheep? It's house decs night at Mizzou, of course!

I know not every school has house decs (short for decorations) as part of their homecoming festivities, but it's one of my favorite parts of homecoming weekend. In short, fraternities and sororities around campus team up and build a set for a skit in their front yard. Everything has to be pomped (covered with little wads of tissue paper) and a skit is written to match the homecoming theme. This year's theme was "New Fight, Same Bite" but it pretty much boiled down to "Beat the Longhorns." Then for four hours on Friday night tons of people show up as the Greek houses act out the skits over and over again for the mulling crowds. Confused yet? Don't worry, I have video!

See? Super hokey fun! Maybe you just have to be here.

So tomorrow's the big day. There's a parade in the morning then some sort of football game or something in the evening. My friend and fellow Mizzou alum Sarah is meeting up with me, so now all the Tigers have to do is win. Should be easy.

We will tramp, tramp, tramp around the columns with a cheer for old Mizzou

I had another busy day today meeting with people and checking out the new convergence program at the journalism school. It sounds really interesting and they're new building is beautiful, but when did we collectively decide that banks of flat screen televisions tuned to muted news networks = convergence? Just because it looks like the future doesn't mean the future is here.

I just have a quick picture to post today. All the downtown business windows have been decorated by fraternities, sororities and residence halls, and while some suffered from the rain today, they've been really fun to check out. Of course, my favorite pizza place also had my favorite window. I don't remember which Greek organization did this one, but it's pretty cute.

You can't break out of a circle that you never knew you were in

I had a long day of driving, so I won't write much today. I just offer a couple photos as proof that I made it to Columbia, Missouri:

No the white balance isn't off, Jesse Hall is lit up in gold for homecoming. They have the town done up real nice for the festivities (as they say in these parts).

Oh yes, it's a Snuggie! I can't tell you how excited I am about this purchase. Maybe I'll wear this exact outfit to the game on Saturday.

On the road, again.

Well, it was close there for awhile. It was starting to look like I had a job lined up and then it didn't happen. As Melissa said, it was "Le Grande Suck." So I feel a little like I'm back to the starting board after 10 months of looking for a job and that can mean only one thing... a road trip!

Last year I got a hotel reservation for Mizzou's homecoming weekend. It's been ten years since I've been to a game and it's about time I got back to one. Plus, this one features hottie Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (insert "yee-haw, pew, pew, pew" here). Now that I have some time on my hands (again) I'm expanding my Missouri homecoming trip.

First, there will be a couple extra days in Columbia to learn about grad school programs there. Then it's on to Arkansas, Tennessee and Michigan (with a short swing through Cincinnati). All total, it looks to be a nice ten day, 2,400 mile little road trip. I'll try to blog as I go along and take a few pictures. Watch this space, dear readers, because I promise adventure awaits.

In the meantime, I give you a photo booth series of Melissa and me during my last road trip to Chicago. I bet you can't guess the point when we figured out the machine was actually working.

And I say your uncle was a crooked French Canadian and he was gut-shot running gin

First off, the internets are no help in trying to find out if gut-shot is hyphenated or not. What about French Canadian? What say my copy editing peeps? Maybe I just should have picked a different quote.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you what Madison is all abuzz about today. The entire city is in a collective swoon from last night's Decemberists concert. Colin Meloy and his buds played their album, The Hazards Of Love, straight through then came back and played some more. But why let me tell you when you can read Josh's review here.

Josh also got a photo pass to take some pictures at the show. Since I was coming along, however, I snagged the pass and showed him how the professionals do it (or people who used to be

professionals and didn't get paid for the photos they took). There's a small photo gallery attached to his review, but I've added some extra pics exclusively here at Sad & British. Let's marvel together at Colin Meloy who was dressed (as Kelly said) "like an Amish kid on Rumspringa."