Todd Rundgren's OccupyWallSt Rallying Cry

Is it just me, or did the OccupyWallSt (and OccupyDC, OccupyAmerica, etc.) folks maybe listen to this old Todd Rundgren tune way too many times?

Best of luck, and I hope you're only banging on those drums during regular work hours. Non-protesters and their families need sleep, too.

Metallica Monday: The Memory Remains & Hero of the Day

I'll keep this short, because there has been a lot of talk about the tenth anniversary of 9/11 already.

Two songs, both related to yesterday's memorial.

While we continue to heal a decade later, we will never forget that day.
The Memory Remains

Brave people stepped up, many sacrificing their lives to save others. They are true heroes.
Hero of the Day

My 9/11 Story

Ten years have passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Everyone has their own story from that terrible day. The previous generation had JFK's assassination and the moon landing; I think we will always remember where we were on 9/11.

I was serving an LDS mission at the time, living in Boca del Monte on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Guatemala. Having been in the country for 6+ months, I felt pretty comfortable and was kind of in a groove.

My companion and I lived in a second floor apartment, with the owner's family living in the main house below. After our morning scripture and language study, we'd gone down for breakfast, which Doña Audi prepared every day.

Soon after we sat down to eat, Doña Audi came in and told us that the morning news was talking about something happening in New York City, and how we needed to see for ourselves. As missionaries, we don't usually watch TV, but it felt like we needed to this time. Maybe 30 seconds after we started watching, the second plane hit. Shocked horror and stunned silence. I couldn't take my eyes away from the broadcast, trying to comprehend what I was seeing.

I remember my feelings clearly, but much of what followed is hazy in my memory. Plane crashes into Pentagon. Phone call from zone leader informing that everyone in our mission was okay, but President Lemmon (mission leader) orders precaution of not leaving the apartment. Flight 93 goes down in the Pennsylvania field. Lots of praying, both verbal and silent. Lots and lots of worrying over family and friends in the U.S. and around the world.

The rest of that day and over the next couple days, we learned more about the attacks from the newspapers and through mission leadership. President Lemmon called individually to make sure we were doing alright and see if we needed anything. That comfort was greatly needed and appreciated by us young boys, serving far from home and family during a time of uncertainty. Receiving a letter from home the next week also helped, because then I knew for sure all of my family was safe.

While I didn't personally lose anyone in the attacks, I still get a bit emotional hearing stories from that day, like the ones recorded (and subsequently animated) by the StoryCorps. Here is one such story:

Sadly, there are far too many stories like this one.

That was a tragic Tuesday, and on this day we unite in memoriam and sorrow with those who lost relatives, loved ones, and friends in the attacks.

We will never forget.

Graffiti Marriage Proposal

Sorry to get your hopes up with that subject, Mom, but this isn't my proposal.

Just a good one from the interwebs.

I don't know Jeff or Caitlin, but you have to admit, this is a very clever and cute way to propose.

Had I known, I'd have taken my parents, brother, and sis-in-law to New York's East Village (Avenue A & 2nd St, to be precise) last weekend to see the mural.

So go check it out, New York friends! And pick me up a sandwich from Katz' Deli while you're in the neighborhood.

HT: Natalie Hill [her twitter] [her blog]

While we're at it, here's another one. Guess I'm just feeling sappy right now.
The video pretty much speaks for itself, but here are some keywords to start tugging at your heart-strings: baseball game, military, surprise homecoming.

The Smyths Take Manhattan

Note: I'm finishing this post in Jan 2012, so I'll keep it brief and use lots of pictures. Better late than never, right?
We had just as much goofiness as the Muppets, but not quite a much fur.

I took the bus up to NYC, and my parents, Pete, Jordyn, and I had a weekend of Big Apple excitement.

My dad was in conference meetings during the first day, so we figured a good way to see lots of sites in a short amount of time was one of those touristy buses. Cue the Gray Line.

The tour was taking longer than we'd expected, so we hopped off at Battery Park and walked around for a little bit, looking over at the Statue of Liberty for a bit and grabbing an ice cream.

The rest of the tour bus was informative and finished back at Time Square, where we met up with dad for a quick bite to eat and watching sand-sculptors work on a Fleet Week project.

In production

The finished product, later in the weekend

Sand-sculptor watching was brief, as we had tickets to "Anything Goes" on Broadway. The show was quite entertaining, though a little too old-fashioned feeling for me. However, whatever the story and music/lyrics lacked was made up for by Ms. Sutton Foster's performance. I can see why she is the darling of Broadway right now. Extremely talented all around.

Pops played hooky from his meetings the next morning, so we all took the Gray Line bus to Ground Zero and saw the progress so far on the 9-11 Memorial. It's come a long way, and looks like it should be ready by the 10th anniversary in September. Pretty sobering to think about and see up close.

Just chillin' on the Gray Line again

Next on the agenda? Seeing the Blue Man Group perform. Remarkable how many clever gags and technological doodads they used during the show. And not smiling or laughing at any of it! We were cracking up from the get-go and didn't stop until we had left the building. I can't imagine how much fun that job must be.

We didn't have a whole lot of time before I had to head to the bus the next day, but we went up to Central Park, ate at Alice's Tea Cup (I highly recommend it, especially if you get there early before the crowds), and snagged some ginormous dessert cookies from Levain Bakery.

Riding the subway

While waiting for our Alice's Tea Cup table,
Pete & Jordyn looked very metropolitan

A little Alice's Tea Cup magnet shout-out to my running group

The whole visit was lots of fun, mostly because I was with the family and I love seeing them.

So where shall we meet up next? Count me in for wherever.

Bill & Harry's Excellent NY Adventure

A quick weekend adventure in New York City is always a good plan.

Bill

I caught the Vamoose bus on Saturday morning, and met up with my sister and her friends near Columbus Circle. After a little walk around Central Park, Megan and I headed to see the musical "Billy Elliot".

While I've never seen the movie, I had a general idea of what this would be about, but that didn't prepare me for the deep pain and struggle portrayed, and the beautiful juxtaposition of Billy's struggle with the struggle of the coal miners' strike in mid-1980's northern England.

Not ashamed to admit, I got teary-eyed at points during this one.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up, and three --somehow?-- if you're a history nerd like me.

Harry

Later that evening, we headed to see "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", starring Daniel Radcliffe (played J. Pierrepont Finch). You may know Daniel from a series of movies he played a small role in:

Harry Potter.

In the first act, the real stars were John Larroquette (J.B. Biggley) and Rose Hemingway (Rosemary Pilkington). John's comedic timing was spot on, and Rose made me believe her character.

Plus, the girl could sing it something fierce.

But in the second act, Daniel/Harry came into his own. Maybe he just needed some time to warm up the vocals and the dancing skills, but it was well worth the wait. The finale, Brotherhood of Man (see video above), was tremendous. If Daniel/Harry puts in that kind of effort going forward, he could have a long and prestigious career on Broadway.

Excellent NYC Adventure

Ok, this part of the title is a bit of a stretch. But I liked the allusion to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, so whatever. A semi-famous 80's cover band, Rubix Kube, was playing at the Canal Room, so we had to check 'em out.

They certainly did not disappoint. From the first song to the moment we left, they were singing and dancing and changing costumes and generally providing us with a grand old time.

Though it was a quick trip, we definitely managed to pack a lot of fun in.

Glad I got to see you, sis, and it was fun meeting your friends!

DC to NYC Bus Ridin'

I was up bright and early today. 6:30 am.

Why would I do such a thing on a Saturday, you ask?

Well this time it was to catch the bus to NYC and spend the weekend with my sister.

As I walked down to Rosslyn to catch my Vamoose bus,

I saw some of these flowerpot/parking meter things.

Love when people do stuff like this. So creative.

Now I'm about 3 hrs into the bus ride, in New Jersey.

This place gets a worse rap than it deserves, I think.

Or maybe it just looks okay from I-95...