This is why Idaho is so easy to make fun of

I'm totally stealing this from my sister, but when you snooze on your own blog, you loose. This morning she sent a text that said, "google 'hcr029' and click on the first link." Now you go ahead and do it in a new tab. And read the whole thing. Then come back.

Ok, if you were too lazy for that, here's what it is. The Idaho legislature passed a resolution honoring Jared & Jerusha Hess for making Napoleon Dynamite. This is not a joke. Here are some excerpts from the document:

WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this
film thus promoting Idaho's most famous export;
and
WHEREAS,  the  friendship between Napoleon and
Pedro has furthered multiethnic relationships;
and
WHEREAS,  Uncle Rico's football skills are a
testament to Idaho athletics;...

...WHEREAS, any members of the House of
Representatives or the Senate of  the
Legislature  of the State of Idaho who choose
to vote "Nay" on this concurrent resolution
are "FREAKIN' IDIOTS!" and run the risk of
having the "Worst Day of Their Lives!"

And the bill pased 69 to 0. Now you do want to read the whole thing. This is it. How did I not know about this? Rosie only came across it because she was searching the name of one of the state representatives. I haven't asked Jerusha about it yet, but I'll see if there's more to this story and update.

Let's catch up on the last few weeks. I...
watched BYU win by a fingertip in Vegas, then celebrated,

had the traditional Christmas candy gorge in Idaho,

won the first annual Make Dad Cry On Christmas contest (thanks, iPhoto),
made some discoveries when home in the OC:
While antiquing, found an ominous note on Raggedy's belly.

Then, spotted high up on the wall of a bank in Orange:

It says, "I pulled it off." Who knows? But with a little human tower we did, and Brynn kept the reward. Too bad she doesn't have her own blog or she could have told you all about it herself.

Then noticed this when driving by my old high school. Really?
And I got to hang out with Brooke which was a total treat.

Like the procrastinator I am, I have a 2007 musical recap post in the works and it's now the second week of 08. Well, soon enough.

Happy Black Friday. While everyone was out at real stores, we visited Kings, seen here, and the D.I. in Preston. Other adventures were had, but must be saved for telling another day.

Made it to Idaho for the holiday. I'm still not used to the views, in this case, from the car.

wednesday stream of consciousness

Every time I schlep to or from my mom's place, I pass this little billboard and every time it makes me want to listen to this:

mp3: Snook - Mr. Cool

Apparently, Snook have been playing this live mashed with Seven Nation Army. For the record, Big Danne is still the wallpaper on my phone.


Speaking of mister cool, sometimes I remember Chilly Willy and nobody seems to know what I'm talking about. Refresh your memory and watch the theme song. A rotary phone of ice fishing holes? Genius.

And now twenty minutes later I'm YouTube trapped. But how was I supposed to resist watching The Littles when I haven't seen it in twenty years? The thing about this show is every single character had really great forelocks. I've actually thought about that hair a bizarre amount over the years. Maybe it's a sign for my upcoming cut.

Carnie Gras '07

Even though I live just 2 hours away, spending time in my parents' home town of Preston, Idaho is still quite an experience. Preston is a dingy quadranted burg with a total of two stop lights and can't sustain a McDonalds, but it also boasts That Famous Preston Night Rodeo. In a place where the usual entertainment is gossip, the town bursts alive for three days every July when the population quadruples for the reunions, parades, sidewalk sales, carnival rides, and all the mutton bustin and rodeo queens you can handle. It might just look like riding a bunch of animals, catching a bunch of saltwater taffy, and buying a bunch of ziploc'd cookies from the old ladies' clubs. But this is as good as it gets in Preston, and when you embrace that it can be tons of fun.

Maybe it's just nostalgia for the events we experienced as kids when visiting from California. Grandma and Grandpa's house, the house my family currently lives in, is right on the parade route: heaven for collecting parade candy. Or maybe it's the novelty of rural cowboy life that was as far away as possible from how we grew up. The people-watching is a nonstop treat, from squeamishing at the dirties to trying to guess the locals from the visitors. But relatives and old friends are sure to stop by just in time for parade, and we're always sad when the weekend's over and Preston's next big thing is a 362 days way.

Here's an example of one of Preston's quirks. In the local video store, you must seek out your selection according to the actors it stars rather than the genre. Makes for weird browsing, and no forgetting the name of that one guy.


This year we tried something a bit different. The parade entrants seemed to be a bit lacking the first two nights, so with two hours until the last parade of the weekend, my brother, sister, and I created this giant cotton candy out of our mom's 4-wheeler, which two of my little cousins rode on to toss candy to the crowd. It's not precisely what I envisioned, but considering we didn't even leave Preston for supplies, I was pretty happy with it.


Until next year, carnies.

mp3: The Kills - Rodeo Town
mp3: The Cardigans - Carnival
mp3: The Brunettes - Cotton Candy