Ye Olde Staging Point

It being Monday, I have no witty life observations to share, so I'll treat you to one of those "here-is-what-I-did-this-weekend" posts.

We actually had quite the exciting and social weekend! On Friday, Michele and I saw the Matrix sequel (my second viewing, her first) and concluded that it wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. On Saturday, the real fun began with a surprise wedding shower hosted by Brian and Rachel at their beautiful new home. Jay even graced us with some bottles of homebrewed beer (which I'm sure I would have enjoyed if I liked the taste of beer). Steve (who was enjoying Jay's beer quite a bit, if you know what I mean) was in top form. Much laughing, talking, eating, and gift-opening ensued. Many thanks to Brian and Rachel for organizing all the excitement!

On Sunday afternoon, a slew of acquaintances came by the apartment (which, while still clogged with boxes, furniture, and other miscellanea, is looking better and better as the weeks go by). Some LAN gaming happened (Total Annihilation, which gets the award for being the oldest computer game that we still play on occasion), followed by the usual visiting and eating. All in all, a successful weekend. Hope you all had an equally enjoyable time.

Posted by Andy at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As some of you may know, I enjoy politics. I'm not a political super-junkie--and it was pleasant to be largely free of political news during my recent escapades in Nebraska and Colorado--but I do like to keep up with what all those talking heads on the television are spouting. And since I'm in a sort of political mood tonight, I'll break with my usual habit of steering more or less away from politics on the blog and note two items that caught my interest this week.

The first is an article from the Weekly Standard wondering (from a conservative perspective) why the loudest liberal criticism of the Bush administration and the Republican party tends to take on such hysterical (not in the "funny" sense of the word) and apocalyptic tone. It's a lengthy article, but well worth the read, even if you disagree with its arguments. It basically posits that the gap between America's two predominate political ideologies (conservative/Republican and liberal/Democrat) has widened to the point where both sides are essentially perceiving entirely different realities. I'm still trying to digest it all, but I think that goes a long way towards explaining the tone of political dialogue over the last several months. I'd be interested to hear what others think, and if I am able to, I'll post some of my thoughts on the piece later this weekend.

Secondly, this is why I love the National Review. Sometimes it's nice to step back from the edge, take a nice deep breath of fresh air, and notice that it's isn't as bad as everyone seems to be maintaining. As the dust settles, it seems to me that we did good, and that we continue to do so.

Hope you've enjoyed that little bit of political partisanship from yours truly. I promise the next blog entry will be about something more typically inane, such as what movies I've watched lately. Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Posted by Andy at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Tonight, Michele and I watched the final episode of the miniseries Band of Brothers. It was amazing--incredible characters, intense battle scenes, and plenty of memorably emotional moments. And judging by Michele's enjoyment of the series, you don't have to be a World War 2 or military history buff to enjoy the story (although if you are such a person, you'll enjoy the series even more). You owe it to yourself to go out this weekend and rent the first few episodes.

Seriously. Go out and rent them now.

Posted by Andy at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, well, well. It has been many a week since I've graced you all with my witty observations on life here at the ol' blog. Rest assured I've been keeping busy in the meantime. The biggest event, and the day towards which the last several months of my life had been leading, was of course The Wedding (details and photos of which will be appearing soon at the wedding site). Suffice it to say: the wedding went flawlessly, Michele and I had a wonderful time visiting with the many friends who trekked across the country to take part in the occasion (alas, not all of them have websites to which I can link), and our week-long honeymoon in Colorado was just about as romantic and peaceful as one could hope!

So far this marriage thing seems to be quite spectacularly amazing, and I highly recommend it. Life at the new Rau household is slowly assuming some semblance of normalcy, as boxes are unpacked, books are carefully shelved, wedding presents are opened and catalogued, and Michele's--that is, our--cats are slowly coming to accept the fact that this strange new human being is here to stay.

Life is good.

Posted by Andy at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)