"I'm allowed one "my-bad", right?"

It's not my line, but it's funny as hell, and so true.

Can't Get Enough "Cannonball"

Seriously, I've really been diggin' on Damien Rice's music a lot lately, much like when I first got into Pete Yorn. "Cannonball" is an amazing song (you can listen at my MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jppederson), but the rest of the album is incredible. I can't believe I never heard of this guy when he first came out a couple of years back.

Rock n' Rodeo, Take Two

Met up with some friends at Rock n' Rodeo tonight, the first time I'd been there since it reopened. I stopped going a few months before it closed down; way too much drama going on that I didn't want to deal with. Quite honestly, I was afraid I might end up hurt or killed as I found myself involved with a few fights there (I didn't start anything, I just had friends that liked to talk shit). One time, I remember we had to sneak my friend Mookie out before the cops found him. I think they got him through the kitchen and out the back door. I became sick of the scene and was no longer a regular there.

I know they reopened a few weeks ago, but I hesitated to go. Didn't know what I would be walking into. Stepping through those front doors certainly brought back memories. I looked across the dance floor and wouldn't you know, there's Mookie. Just like the good ol' days. We BS-ed for a while and caught up. All was good. While it was a definite blast back to the past, I didn't see a lot of people I thought I might, which in this case, was good. Some skeletons need to remain in the closet. But there were some people I did get to see, which was also good.

All in all, I had a decent time, although I could only survive an hour and a half there. Had a chance to see some people that I hadn't seen in a long time. And it did bring back some good memories of years past, my pre-college days. I may have to go back, bring beautiful B and tear up the hardwood floor.

That's what I'm talking about.

Fireworks?

Tonight was supposed to be chill. I met up with Forrest, Sam, and Anton for some drinks at the Indigo. We B.S.ed, hung out, that type of thing. At closing we walked out, when I witnessed a fight breaking out. I didn't think much of it; going out to bars, you somewhat expect it. But the fight dragged on longer than it should of. People jumped in to break it up. It kept on going. I was about to jump in myself when a gun went off. Not 20 feet from where I was. Scared the shit out of me. Luckily, the shooter was brought to the ground and his weapon taken from him. He may have ended up shooting himself in the struggle. He didn't get back up after the shot. I ended up directing traffic while the onlookers debated whether it was a real gun or not. The police showed up shortly there after.

I hate guns. Hate them, hate them, hate them. Stopped going to Kokomo's back in the day because I had way too many experiences with guns. Now this. Not cool, not cool at all.

Something in the Air

You can just feel it. With the Oregon/USC game taking place this afternoon, there's a lot of excitement around. And it really is a win-win situation for the Ducks today, since no one is expecting them to win, but if they do... this town will be crazy tonight.

This is probably my last big college football experience. Time to make it a good one. Go Ducks!

1500 Miles and Counting...

B and I have done quite a bit of traveling in a little over week; 1500 miles worth of traveling to give a good estimate. It's been crazy; now I know what she has to go through for this job of hers. And I always thought she had it so easy...

I'm exhausted. Totally wiped out. Took a LONG nap this afternoon. It was great.

To recap our adventures (all within Oregon): Eugene to Bend to Burns to Bend to Eugene to Portland to Eugene to Coos Bay to Eugene to Redmond and finally back to Eugene. One week. That's friggin' insane.

Lots of "good times", of course, but way too tired to try to tell it all now. Time for a full night's rest in my own bed and then off to watch the Ducks play Montana at Autzen. My last season watching football games as a student. So sad...

Katrina

I had chosen to ignore the media's news coverage of the recent Hurricane Katrina as CNN/FOX/MSNBC/Etc. tend to leave a bad taste in my mouth with their sensationalist journalism. However this morning, I received the following email from an acqaintance regarding his girlfriend who is stationed along the Gulf Coast and got my first taste of the sheer intensity of this disaster:

"The base has suffered extensive damage and its proximity to the Gulf
of Mexico (literally across the street...the street doesn't exist in a
lot of places now though) made it an easy target. Biloxi is actually
situated on a narrow spit/peninsula that extends from the West to the
East so her base is actually surrounded by water...the Bay of Biloxi
is on the North side and the Gulf is on the South and East side.

The homes that did exist across the highway from the base are mostly
non-existent at this point. I'm not trying to scare anyone, the
shelter she was in is a certified hurricane shelter and no one has
ever been injured in one. It's just that she was essentially at
ground zero for the brunt of the hurricane's strength as it came
ashore so the situation there is dire for many people.

A storm surge was anywhere from 20-28 feet along the coast where she
is and that is basically a massive 2-3 story wave that is being pushed
by the extreme winds. This caused a lot of destruction and probably
inundated most of the small peninsula under 10-20 feet of water for a
while.

At this point, the waters have receded a lot but left a lot of debris
behind. It is not safe for people to be moving around so this
explains why her and her classmates will continue to be holed up.
Given the extent of the damage I think they might stay there for a lot
longer.

Luckily she is not in New Orleans where things seem to get worse by
the minute with the flooding, etc.

There are all sorts of speculations as to how long it will take to get
things going again but since the damage there is "unprecedented" I
think the conservative estimates are saying 3-4 weeks before power
will be restored.

Even though you cannot get through to her, I encourage you to call and
leave messages on her phone. Once the cell service is back online she
will be able to access them and I know she's going to be a bit
distraught since her baby--the new car--is most likely totaled because
it was submerged for a day or so in water or it is gone and resting
somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico now. Apparently there are dozens of
cars smashed along the main seawall there too so it could be there.
She'll also be upset at having to stay there longer as she (and I)
can't wait to get up to Tacoma and stay FAR FAR AWAY from Hurricane
Country!

Anyway, I am constantly watching the news and calling her to see if I
can get through. I am sure she is fine but the area she is in was
dismantled by this storm so it's going to be a hectic few weeks."


Please keep the victims of this tragedy in your hearts and in your prayers.

Gears Got Laid

Congratulations, my brother, congratulations.

Update: Gears would like everyone to know that this was not his first time experiencing the sensual touch of a woman, as the previous post may lead you to believe. However, it had been a long, long, long, long, LONG time since Gears had last known the carnal pleasures of the flesh. And I feel compelled to mention that he met this girl online. Only Gears, only Gears...

Oh My Sweet Carolina

So good, it's worth listening to over and over again.

Vegas, Baby

At 6:40pm tonight I will be landing in Las Vegas for what promises to be a very hot weekend. More to come...

Armstrong Does It Again

What an amazing athlete. The guy is the friggin man'. I wonder if the tour will be as interesting next year without him.

Summertime

Got super-charbroiled while in Portland today during an exciting game of kickball in which I got paid $12 an hour to play. Whoo-hoo.

Sorry no new updates in awhile. Would post more tonight, but I have to wake up at 2 am for work tomorrow. Arrr...

Should have some delicious Blog Juice posted soon.

Roger Waters and David Gilmour Reunite Pink Floyd for Live Aid Concert

David Gilmour made the following statement:"Like most people I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the third world. It's crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations. Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if re-forming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile."

What I wouldn't give to be at this show. I've been into Pink Floyd ever since their pig-shaped blimp crashed into the roof of my church around the time of the Division Bell tour.

Mike Doughty on God

"There's a lot about Jesus that I really dig. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That strikes me as absolutely beautiful. That central Christian idea of God turning himself into a human and volunteering for human suffering is so moving to me.

"I wanted to say that God can be a huge part of your life without being a fanatic. What fanatic, Christian, Muslim, or otherwise, is really compassionate? The God I struggle to have faith in is all about compassion.

"It's fucked up to me that to believe in God is to be on the wrong side in the culture wars. Why the fuck do we let the Republicans lay claim to God?!"

I've been a fan of Doughty's for many years and have met him on a couple of times. Very cool guy. His blog is quite entertaining. He did a nice little entry about how much he loves Oregon and the Doug Fir while he was here touring last month.

Elliott-Pederson Family 1

Elliott-Pederson Family 1
Originally uploaded by JPizzle.

It's once in a great while that all the members in my family happen to be at the same place at the same time. This weekend was one of those times; without a major holiday, marriage, or death, we all happened to be in Central Oregon to get this pic taken, brothers, sisters, spouses, future spouses, grandkids, and all. I could have never guessed that two divorces and a blended family could produce something so beautiful. I am truly blessed.

The Pain of Growing Old

I was in Central Oregon this past weekend for my brother's bachelor party (the big day is June 25th). It's amazing to me how much different bachelor parties have become as all of us have aged. Most of the group from this weekend also happened to be at Dustin's bachelor party about 5 years ago, where things were much more out of hand, including Dustin tackling a tree in the front yard and falling over my car later on (his face was ripped to shreds 2 days before his wedding; needless to say, his wife was not happy with any of us).

This weekend began with a poorly played round of golf that ended early (let's go, I'm too drunk to play...). We then headed over to Dustin's for BBQ, beer, and poker. As we sat around, we BSed of years passed and of the all the wild things we used to do. It struck me strange that a bunch of men in their mid and late 20's at a bachelor party were spending their time talking about their crazy antics rather than making new ones. Was it fondness in which we looked back on all the wild times, or did we look at it as "how could we be so stupid"? I honestly could not tell.

It often scares me when confronted with my fading childhood. B makes fun of my age and does claim on many occasions that I am acting immature, but perhaps it's because I'm so deperately trying to cling on to a youth that is no longer there. The hardest transition to adulthood for me as been accepting that I am no longer a kid, as much as I wish I was. As I drank my beer and became sleepy at the early hour of 11pm, I wondered if the best has come and gone, or is it yet to come?

It reminds me of an episode of Friends in which Chandler and Ross get so excited about their friend Gandolf coming to town so they can "paaarty, whoo!" But they soon find that that's not what they want to do; they'd rather kick it in the coffee shop and talk with the rest of the friends. It's like me: I hate going to Taylor's and other bars where the music is too loud and I can't talk with anybody. I'd much rather kick it at a chill place conversing with people. Of course, I'd much rather talk about the now, as opposed to this weekend where we talked a lot about the past. It just depresses me. That's a chapter in my life I can't experience again and I'd rather not dwell on it. Instead, I want to write new chapters with new experiences with my friends, with B, with my future family. Hopefully, I end up with one hell of a great book, not one where the first part was good, but then it got lame after the first few chapters.

Such a Lovely Drive

I was lucky enough to spend some time in Central Oregon this weekend. It's not often enough that I make it back to see my family and friends. One of the strange benefits of heading home is the beautiful drive. This time of year is such a great time to take a drive with the sunroof down, listening to some tunes. I put on the new Gorillaz, which I was highly disappointed with (with the exception of a few tracks), and the new Black Eyed Peas, which I was diggin'. The bummer about the drive is the other drivers who feel the need to go so ridiculously slow (could they at least do the speed limit?) and it's one lane practically the whole way there. But there is so much to see while driving at 40mph: the highway follows alongside the river and there are the Sahalie Falls at the top of the mountain, which are beautiful. There are also plenty of quaint little places to check out on the drive. I hear the Log Cabin Inn has a great breakfast, which I will have to take my beautiful B to someday. I've also tried the infamous Logger Cakes at the Vida Cafe, which were something else. If time permits me this summer, I will definitely have to make a couple of drives over this summer with my beautiful B as she head to the C.O. for work.

Memorial Day Thoughts (Belated)

My good friend, Sanjay, sent this email out to his friends a couple of days ago and I felt compelled to share it. It talks a little about the death of U of O student, Joel Meyer, who passed away this weekend while at Shasta. Such a tragedy...


May, 30, 2005
I guess I haven't written one of those long mass emails for a long time so I'm about due. Unfortunately, it was spurred with somber news. Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember War Veterans, but its also more than that, it just not just another Holiday off work, some off have to work anyway. I know now that it is a time to remember your loved ones you lost or possibly some people you've never even met. This is one day to STOP! Just take a moment and think... think about what and who is really important to you... think about those who you've lost, than think about who you have...think about who you haven't spoken too but were thinking about calling a few days ago...think about those people who you were close friends but are not anymore and you really don't know why?...think about all those people you care about and love.... what would happen if you found out they passed away yesterday? How would that make you feel?
Well the strange thing is it happened to me today. Today was like any other day. I woke up went to work, you know the same routine, worrying about money, worrying about jobs, worrying about where I will be in 2 months and thinking about certain friendships and relationships...
I woke up from my nap today and I happened to leave the channel on the 6 O'clock news. I heard a University of Oregon student had passed away at Lake Shasta. They showed the picture for just a few seconds and my heart started pumping and my mind started racing because that face looked so familiar. The news story came back and I knew who it was, I was hoping it wasn't anyone I knew, but it wasn't! It was my fellow business school classmate and friend JOEL MEYER. Joel and I were not close friends, but he was my classmate for at least 2 terms, we were getting our Business Administration Minor together. Joel was a very smart guy, he was very dedicated and took charge in our group and he loved to share in some Sanjay humor during class. I still have his number in my phone, I still have our group project together, it is so trippy, we must remember one day we are here, tomorrow may never be...
So please, today is the perfect excuse to call and reach out to those people I listed above. No matter how small of an effort at least you tried to reach out. Some of you must be saying there goes Sentimental Sanjay again, yeah maybe, but I have to tell each and everyone of you, family, friends, coworkers and whoever, however and regardless of how long or what from... YOU HAVE ALL INFLUENCED MY LIFE AND I THANK YOU ALL, I CARE ABOUT ALL OF YOU AND LOVE EACH OF YOU IN SOME WAY SHAPE OR FORM.
Please take a moment and at least think about calling someone you haven't and tell them how you feel. I know it makes my day when someone tells me they were thinking of me...
I would love to hear from all of you, just a few minutes out of your day would mean a great deal. I just wished I knew all the emails to everyone I knew...
I hope all is well
My love and prayers go out to all your hearts
Thank You
-Sanjay Prasad

The Controversy of Star Wars

An interesting thought: who is right? It seems strange to me that the group has only criticized BK about this, as there is Star Wars marketing all over the galaxy for this movie, including Pepsi, 7-11, and countless others. I walk into the grocery store and it's like I've walked into the Mos Eisley cantina; Star Wars characters are all around telling me to buy certain products. Is this the Star Wars we know and love? It's like Woodstock '99, the spirit is gone with all of this mass marketing. So why target one company specifically? Of course BK is going to cash in on this. These marketing promotions rarely make any money for fast food companies, with the execption of a BIG movie like this. And isn't Star Wars for all generations? Sure, the latest installment is quite violent and very dark, but Star Wars is a national treasure. It should be required viewing for all Americans (it still breaks my heart that B hasn't seem any Star Wars movies...). Instead of going after BK which is just trying to make a buck, as a corporation should want, go after Lucas. He's the one that allows this wonderful franchise to be bastardized by his allowing of the Star Wars name to market laundry detergent. How can you create such an amazing story that has meant so much to so many people and then whore it out to the extent it has been? Does Lucas really need to extra cash he is getting from all these tie-ins? Lucas should know better and should take the brunt of these criticisms.

The Day is Getting a Little Better

Live Dave Matthews Band concert is being webcast on AOL right now (6pm Pacific). Great show to promote their new album being released tomorrow. It's bringing a smile to my face.