Yin Dynasty Revealed

First off are some win/fail compilations from 2012. I can spend hours watching this stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVp9_fQxibI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQxI9x65Ooo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXz4P6EpX3s

Next us Russell Peters a stand-up comedian I plan to see in February.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI

Joss Whedon endorsement.

This base jumping is pretty spectacular.

Some zombie movie trailers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGRHrr6IYdg

Here are some cool videos about tanks and other cool military stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkkWya-oun0

Last week, for Thanksgiving, I went camping with my family, friends of the family, David Wogan (one of my housemates), and his family. My family has been camping in west Texas for Thanksgiving for many years. Each time we camp, there is always something new or challenging. Last Thanksgiving camping trip, the temperatures were around the teens which is bitterly cold for Texans used to temperatures in the 90s.

This Thanksgiving, the excitement started before we even left on the 7 hour drive out west. The night before, my dad calls during dinner and states that he made a huge mistake. My father thought that thanksgiving was the last week of November which is often true except that this year November has five Thursdays instead of four. This meant that we didn’t have campground reservations at Big Bend National Park (you have to get reservations six months before). That night we spent a lot of time scrambling to find an alternate location. We eventually reserved spots at the Davis Mountains State Park. The drive out was fairly uneventful. We did our normal stops at the German Bakery in Fredericksburg (great sausage rolls with chesse) and photo op at the Davy Crockett statue in Ozona.

Some of us went horseback riding on Thursday, the first whole day, at the Prude Ranch. This is the first time I have gone horseback riding except for once when I was very young. I don’t remember it very well. I kinda want a horse now. After horseback riding, we went hiking to the top of the Davis Mountains. The view was amazing. It goes from mountains to flat plains. That night I went with my mom, my brother and his wife, and David to see the famous Marfa Lights. I saw some unusual lights but I couldn’t tell if they were car headlights or the marfa lights.

On Friday, we hiked down from the mountain to Fort Davis. The fort was established in 1850 and was an outpost for the US cavalry. After the visiting the fort, we drove to Marfa and did some shopping and sightseeing. That night we went to a star party at the McDonald Observatory. First, they showed us the constellations and our host was able to explain them better than anyone else. After the tour of the constellations, we were able to see the moon and Jupiter through telescopes. It was awesome except for it being extremely cold and a little windy.

When we got back to our campsite we found my brother and sister-in-law’s tent collapsed. It turned out a pack of javelinas ripped into their tent and ate some of their stuff and in the processes, the tent poles bent. My brother was able to unbend the poles and splint them with duct tape and metal spoons. David and I found that our tent had also been assaulted but the only damage was a rip in the side of our tent. Luckily that was our last night camping. In the morning, we also talked to another camper who had her tent invaded while she was at the star party. I guess the javelinas don’t like people that look at stars. Or they only attacked then.

The drive home was pretty uneventful. I was definitely glad to be home though.

I will add some pictures later when I am able to get all of them.

I was heading home from my post-op check-up with my dentist and I heard a song (don’t remember the title or artist) on the radio that reminded me of middle school and high school dances. This lead to me remembering the time in middle school when one of my classmates asked me to dance and I declined being shy, not really knowing how to dance, and nervous interacting with girls. I now regret the decision not dance with her. Mainly this regret is an example of a more general regret that I was not more adventurous and bold when I was younger so I missed out on some opportunities. In grad school, I have gotten better at doing things out side my comfort zone but I am still not a “Yes!” man (from Jim Carrey’s movie).

I went to the GWAR concert last night at Emo’s East with my brother and David, one of my housemates. The concert was awesome. We only saw DevilDriver before Gwar (there were 2 other bands that we missed). The mosh pit during DevilDriver and GWAR was crazy. The people in it had a ridiculous amount of energy. A lot of people tried to crowd surf but the staff kept grabbing them and pulling them down. GWAR is known for their outrageous scifi/horror outfits, political commentary, and spraying their audience with fake blood (gallons of it). They had a whole story arc of them fighting God. God sent various people to defeat GWAR (a priest, Hitler, and Jesus). GWAR was able to defeat them all. Each of the characters consisted of an elaborate costume that sprays blood out of various place that get cut/ripped off during mock battles. These costumes were amazing. They eventually had to fight SUPER CYBORG JESUS.
Here is the shirt I was wearing after it was sprayed with blood.

THE EPIC TALE OF GWAR

Eons ago, there existed an elite group of chaos warriors who ravaged the galaxy with a boundless hatred of all things alive. They were called the Scumdogs of the Universe, and they grew in might and fury, the greatest weapon in the arsenal of their cosmic Master.

But they became too powerful, and too defiant, and for their cosmic crimes were banished to the most insignificant planet in the universe…the seething mudball known as Earth.

Millions of years passed, and they slumbered, until the pollution of your world de-thawed these creatures from their ageless coma…and now they stride the Earth, living gods, dedicated to one goal, the destruction of the human race, and the eradication of existence itself! Wait- that’s two goals!

Hark to the hideous majesty of your MASTERS, rulers of Earth, the MIGHTY GWAR!!!

It is I, ODERUS URUNGUS, lead singer of the sickest band in metal history, Earth’s only openly extra-terrestrial rock band, and the destined destroyers of not only the human race but also reality itself. GWAR! Hulking, heaving, dribbling WAR-GOD’s who like nothing better than putting hordes of our sniveling fans to the sword while playing the marauding mutant metal that we are famous for! Star’s of stage and screen, carvers of stem and spleen! GWAR LIVES!