Get Psyched Mix

How I Met Your Mother is hands down one of my favorite show's of all time, even if the current season is a little disappointing.  If you've never seen it before, you should definitely give it a try; if I'm not mistaken I believe it is on both Hulu and Netflix.

Anyway, in an episode from one of the early seasons, the character of Barney introduces his so called, "Get Psyched Mix" to the group; he says that a good get psyched mix should be "all rise".  Well, today was a particularly boring day so I decided to come up with my own get psyched mix in hopes that it might make the day a little bit better.  Enjoy!

Aaron's Get Psyched Mix

Fat Lip by Sum 41
It's Time by Imagine Dragons
If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly
Lisztomania by Phoenix
Ghost by Neutral Milk Hotel
Tongue Tied by Grouplove
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
A-Punk by Vampire Weekend
Summer by Sum 41
My Friends Over You by New Found Glory
Alive With The Glory of Love by Say Anything
The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind
One Week by Barenaked Ladies
First Date by Blink-182

WARNING: Listening to this get psyched mix may cause high blood pressure, heart palpitations, uncontrollable toe tapping, and erectile dysfunction.

Family Tree

So I know I haven't posted for awhile, and truth be told, I don't know when I'll post again, but I just felt like sharing something.  Last week, with Nikki's help, I decided to go on Ancestry.com to look up my family history.  I have always wondered about where my family comes from and decided to do some digging to try to find out.  What I found was pretty interesting.

Now because I don't know much about my mom's side of the family and I don't really have anyone around to ask, I decided to focus on my father's side.  After just a few minutes of searching I learned my first lesson: if you don't have maiden names, it is very hard to find information on female members of your ancestry.  I did, however, find quite a bit on the men on my father's side of the family.

I traced my lineage through census records, birth and death records, WWI & WWII draft registration records, town records, literally pages and pages of stuff!  I learned that my great great great grandfather (Frans) Peter Kalis emigrated from Wurttemberg, Germany sometime in the 1800s and that he had a whopping 9 KIDS!  Sadly, I didn't find any famous ancestors, but that's okay, we Kalis' are special enough.  I wish I could share my entire family tree with you, but unfortunately it's quite large and would never fit on the blog.  Oh well, maybe if we're hanging out I can show it to you sometime, for now you'll just have to settle for some of the highlights.

My great grandfather, Francis Kalis' WWI Draft Registration card.

1870 U.S. Census showing my great great great grandfather, Peter Kalis.

For whatever reason, after exploring my family history, I started to think about death.  And I realized I feel kind of comforted knowing that long after I die I will continue to exist, even if it's as nothing more than a name on a census form, floating out there in cyber space or tucked away in a filing cabinet in the humid basement of an old office building.  When you think about it, it feels like a fitting way to spend eternity.

Current Playlist

I know I've been MIA and I won't even say, "I'm back!" again because the last time I did that I ended up not posting for...well, over two months now.  It's not that I have nothing to say anymore, it's just, I've been busy and distracted with work and personal stuff.  But that's no excuse.  I hope this is the start of me getting back into the blog, but I make no promises.  I thought I'd ease my way back into the flow of things by sharing the playlist that is currently on repeat on my phone, in my car, and pretty much everywhere I go!  All of these songs are awesome and if you know what's good for you, you'll give them a listen.  Who knows, one of them might just brighten up your day!

Phoenix - Lisztomania
Harper Simon - Wishes and Stars
Avalanche City - Love Love Love
The National - Terrible Love
The Death Set - Negative Thinking
Built to Spill - Else
Cursive - From the Hips
Deep Sea Diver - Ships
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats
Josh Ritter - Come and Find Me
The Middle East - Blood
The Morning Benders - Crosseyed
The Naked & Famous - No Way
Pixies - Where Is My Mind?

Love this song, it was playing at the end of Fight Club, which I recently just saw for the first time.  Can't believe I'd been missing out on that movie for so long.  Enjoy!

I'M BACK!

(Side note: not a Kiss fan, but this is a fun song.  More to come!)

Hiatus

This will be the last post for awhile.  Recently I just have lost all inspiration.  I have no desire to write whatsoever.  I do not know how long this leave of absence will be.  It could be days, weeks, months; there really is no telling.  Thank you to those few who read this.

On Tap: Wheaties

Well, it's Monday again folks.  Don't you just love it?  Yeah, me neither.  But with this Monday comes another edition of On Tap.  Rather than waste any more time complaining about being back at work, let's get right into this weeks brews.

Shock Top Belgian White - Having enjoyed Shock Top's Lemon Shandy, I decided to try their Belgian White, and I'm glad I did.  Although not nearly as good as their Shandy, the White still had it's own appeal.  It had a wheaty-citrus flavor that was mellowed by the presence of coriander, and was fairly crisp and refreshing.  A good summertime ale.

Hoegaarden -  I sampled this beer last Monday and was pleasantly surprised.  I didn't really know what to expect going into this beer; I knew it was a wheat beer, but beyond that I was clueless.  Oddly enough, it tastes fairly close to the Shock Top above, with perhaps just a bit less coriander.  If I had to say which one I enjoyed more, I would say the Shock Top, but only by the slimmest of margins. 

Leffe Blonde - There is nothing like unwinding after a long day's work with an ice cold beer and although not great, this one did the trick.  This is a Belgian abbey-style ale, which tend to be higher in alcohol content, but this little guy wasn't too bad at 6.6% ABV.  It had a very "spicy" flavor, and was crisp with a smooth finish.  Overall, it was an okay beer.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis - This was the only overwhelming loser I've sampled recently.  I had this beer with some tacos last week and I must say, not even the tacos could save this beer.  Kellerweis is a wheat beer which had me excited, however, the flavor was completely overshadowed by the presence of cloves and yeast.  Overall, this beer wasn't too great.

New Poem: The Old Man in the Photograph

This poem was inspired by the photograph below, which was taken by my friend Michallynn, who has an excellent blog of her own.  I really enjoyed the photograph when I initially saw it and knew I had to write about it.  I began by writing everything that came to mind and then chiseled the poem away from the bulk.  This is what I ended up with.  Enjoy.

The Old Man in the Photograph

"Stranger" by Michallynn Vilushis

In front of what might be a grocery store,

An old man creeps up to the edge of the curb,

Watching as the evening sun stretches his shadow

Across the cracked macadam of the parking lot.

How long he looks surprises even him,

His shadow-self now tall and thin as memory.

It’s autumn and he’s unemployed, retired,

And the warm color of his hair has fled.

Perhaps it’s Sunday and he’s leaving church

Alone.  Maybe his family has rushed ahead

And the car is running, anxiously waiting

For him to climb inside and join them.

                                                   

                                                         

                                                                                 I can almost see it, the minivan humming

                                                                                 And shaking impatiently, fumes leaking sluggishly

                                                                                 From the exhaust, in between the endless rows,

                                                                                 Each car packed tightly in a coffin of white lines.

                                                                                 Mumbling a prayer or a list of things forgotten,

                                                                                 With an air of solemn care about him, he stands

                                                                                 In dress clothes that have been outgrown, his frail form

                                                                                 Bowing gently to the end of something.

                                                                                 Every day it’s as though we say a eulogy to our youth,

                                                                                 To the seconds that hurry past in urgency and leave us

                                                                                 Stranded, wondering if we’ll be remembered,

                                                                                 And with a hope that they’ll be coming back.