Postcards from the Funny Farm

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe via -or-

I wonder how many people will contemplate the Revolutionary War ideals and the lives that were sacrificed on this 4th of July.

Watching the Sandra Bullock movie, “Premonition.”  Thankful to be well and employed when so many I know aren’t.

Morning came too fast … where’s my coffee? *yawn* None in the freezer … I’ll be hitting am/pm for one of those under $2 beauties. If you want to make some money, read my post today.

3 days to 4th of July. We’re planning a bar-b-cue by the pool … and drunk blogging ;) that was a joke … kinna.

The Amazing Visions Writing Contest has officially closed. Thanks to all who entered. I will be in touch through email to the 3 winners and 3 honorable mentions about your prizes. Meanwhile, to everyone else out there I say: read and link to all these posts, they are tremendously inspirational: Amazing Visions linked here. :)

Hi :) You may have noticed the new theme. I thought a magazine layout was the way to go. It leaves more space for networking and ads while accentuating the feature article on the front page. Let me know if you find any bugs and/or stuff I missed updating. The contest ends Tuesday so be sure and get your entry written. Get info here.

My humorously titled post got picked up by a Wordpress Blog Carnival. It’s their 1st edition, may it live long and prosper, along with Wordpress.

Driving home from the ball game tonight my wife and I nearly hit a 10 year old kid on his bike. He decided he would play chicken with our multi-ton minivan. Needless to say we honked. What the hell is happening with the youth of today? I know they have been saying that forever but Sarah and I see it up close and personal every day we teach. A place it is getting particularly scary is in middle and high school. But back to my story … I flipped the car around much to my wife’s dismay since the babies were both crabby and crying since we left the game. I chased the kid into a culdesac and gave him my 2 cents worth on his little game. He said sorry and his middle school aged friends did their “chill out dude” thing (oh how I hear that in my sleep). I told him I was a teacher and if one of my students did that not only would I tell their parents but I would tell the police. I am sure they all had a good laugh at the bald guy who pulled over to blabber something. Nonetheless, that kid could die that way. I have reached down to get something and nearly hit the curb before, what if that was a kid? I was pretty upset about it.

My point of this short diary entry is not to disparage youth. It is the most beautiful time of our humanity in many ways. But we all need to be making u-turns and saying hello to the death rockers we pass in the mall et al. I just wanted to put that out to the blogosphere. What do you think about being the hope our youth needs?

Was out at Huck Finn tonight. What a truly amazing event that is. I captured some amazing pictures of the river just after sunset. This was taken on my Walkman camera phone. I hope you find the scene as inspiring as I do:

Events are special because they come and go. I like special stuff. What’s more valuable, a plastic rose or a rose that fades? To be, things that are fleeting are the most beautiful. The live bluegrass music, the funnel cake, my daughter riding a pony, … all these things worked together to make an amazing event for me and mine tonight. I spent the day with my dad as well, because it’s father’s day. My kids got me a cute card and spent the day with me yesterday.  I feel so blessed with the three kids I have.  Back to the event … I think we all need to make time for events in our lives because the end is always catching up with us. We need those moments that take our breath away. Maybe your event involves a motorcycle, or a very well panned date.  When was the last time you went to an inspiring event?

This is the biggest news this month at the Farm!
Here’s a last reach-out to readers at the Funny Farm. The Amazing Visions Writing contest deadline has been extended to late June! Get your blog post up in the next few days and link it here to win the great linkage and graphics prizes = MORE TRAFFIC FOR YOU!!! Read all the prize details here. I’m so looking forward to reading your entries! Those who have entered already, thank you … I will be linking a bunch to your posts very soon.

By the way, if you have a friend who loves to write on their blog, you can email them this post and get them in post haste. Use the “Send to a friend” link at the footer of this post or simply click here. The prize may not be an xbox 360, but with the links you get you’ll be able to afford 10 of them!

The following Blogs are especially encouraged to enter (but not limited to!):

• Be Playful
• Beyond the Rhetoric
• Change Therapy
• Confident Writing
• Courts Internet Marketing School
• Damien at the Speed of Life
• Derek Semmler dot com
• Dynamite Lesson Plan
• Growing Happiness
• It Might Be Love
• katelynjane.wordpress.com
• Life is RANTastic!
• Lives Less Ordinary
• Lorelle on WordPress
• MS.CAESI
• My Interesting Files
• Neurophilosophy
• Niche Marketing - Andy Beard
• Pop Culture Dish, Presented by Malcolm
• The Man Page
• The Outboard Brain Of A Geek
• This Eclectic Life
• Tumbled Words
• Tyler Ingram Dot Com
• WebGrrrl.net

Best!

-Damien ;)