Jonathan's blog

Sat Feb 16

Jonathan wants to know why “Josh Action” isn’t on YouTube.

Jonathan and Lisa are planning to go see Iron & Wine and Califone in April.

Star Wars: Video

The Clone Wars Sneak Peek

Fri Feb 15

Jonathan is at the Midland High basketball game with the boys.

Thu Feb 14

Harding Students Assist Tornado Clean-up

Cartoons - McCain - Balance

Jonathan is surprised that McCain didn’t vote to condemn waterboarding.

Mon Feb 11

Jonathan is now watching Huckabee.

Jonathan is watching Michelle Obama on Larry King.

The conventional wisdom says Clinton is doomed. Don't believe it.

AT&T Bringing Free Wi-Fi to Starbucks (Finally!) [Starbucks]

Why It Was Called 'Water Torture'

When do our shows come back?

Grandma and Grampa B and Coby came up this weekend, and today we toured several exhibits at the Midland Center for the Arts:

Grossology
there we learned all about the science of snot, poop, farts, etc.  It was a shame that Uncle Kevin missed out on that one.

Timeless Warriors & Relics: 1500 Years of Ancient China
includes a couple life-sized terracotta soldiers.  They are two of some 8,000 life-sized warriors, soldiers, and horses uncovered during excavation at the tomb of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang (246-210 BC).  It is estimated that it took a million workers to construct the army of figures, each one unique.

Age of Armor from the Higgins Armory Museum
artifacts spanning the classical age of armor, from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance

I think the boys really enjoyed seeing all of the above.

One thing I've noticed about some of these exhibits (and the Pirates exhibit we saw in Cincinnati last year), is that photography is prohibited.  This is annoying to me.  I'm sure it's because they want to sell more merchandise in the gift shops.

My parents are visiting one of my sisters this weekend and apparently brought with them a stack of school artwork.  My sister didn't recognize a couple of them, so she sent me scanned images thinking they were probably mine.  They are.  I took an art class in ninth or tenth grade.  Kinda funny.

In an article of the same title, the USA Today has a list of the TV shows that (now that the writers' strike appears to be near its end) are expected to return with new episodes this spring, which are expected to return but not until later, which are in doubt, and which ain't coming back.  I was glad to see that several new shows that we've been watching will survive: Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Chuck, and Life.  It was also nice to see that a couple of the shows that are dead were ones that I sampled but wasn't hooked by: Bionic Woman and Journeyman.   I was disappointed to see Reaper on the questionable list, and I wonder about Aliens in America (I guess I'm not too optimistic).  There is one dead show that I had been watching and thought was OK despite it being panned by most: Cavemen.

Tonight I finished watching My House in Umbria (2003).  From Rotten Tomatoes:

Based on the novella by William Trevor, MY HOUSE IN UMBRIA is set in the sprawling Italian countryside. After a tragic train accident, four survivors find solace in the villa of an English writer, Mrs. Delahunty (Maggie Smith).

This was a bit dull and never really grabbed me, though it certainly makes hanging out in the Italian countryside look attractive.

I give it 3 out of 5.