Tonight I’ll be celebrating with a Guinness and a viewing of 13 Assassins.  The last 45 minutes of this film is one large, epic battle scene that’s truly something to behold. Sure, it’s no Akira Kurosawa movie, but I admire director Takashi Miike for being such a chameleon behind the lens. One minute he’s directing shock shlock like Ichi The Killer, and the next he’s heading up a brilliant samurai epic like 13 Assassins. He’s Japan’s version of Quentin Tarantino.

Am planning on taking a PTO day off of work on Monday to go camping in Anza Borrego.  Thinking about doing a bit of rogue camping off some desolate trail in the middle of nowhere. Will be thinking of your fine blogs as I lie underneath the stars (hey, that rhymed).

And so, with my hiking pack ready and campfire wood bundled, I’ll be seeing everyone on Tuesday. Here’s hoping that you have a relaxing holiday weekend!

As we countdown the final few days of the year, I thought I’d jot down a quick list of what happened over the past 365 days. I find that as time marches on our short-term memories seem to fail us. With the glut of information at our fingertips we tend to quickly slough off yesterday’s news in favor of the flavor of the moment.

But taking a step back and reflecting on what went down in the short span of a single year can come as a shock to the system, bringing home the fact that we are, indeed, living in some amazing (and odd) times.

So please, if you will, step into the wayback machine with me and ask yourself, “Do I remember….”:

• The loss of the iPhone 4 prototype in a bar
• Netflix and Quickster
• The assassination of Osama bin-Laden via Seal Team Six
• The assassination of Gaddafi
• The death of Kim Jon-il
• The Japanese earthquake and Tsunami
• Arab Spring and the role social sites played
• The final movie and wrap-up of the Harry Potter series
• Obama releasing his birth certificate
• The royal wedding
• “Don’t ask, don’t tell” repealed
• Anthony Weiner and “Weiner-Gate”
• The hacking of the Playstation network
• The end of the war in Iraq
• Earth’s population reached 7 billion
• NASA launched its final shuttle mission
• The “Occupy” movement
• The global economy
• Apple becomes the most valuable company in the world
• IBM’s Watson beats human champions on Jeopardy
• Jerry Sandusky child molestation charges
• The NBA lockout
• Tim Tebow
• News of the World phone hacking
• Solyndra and the waste of taxpayer dollars
• Salmonella from ground turkey
• Listeria from cantaloupes
• The Casey Anthony aquittal
• Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shot
• Mass shooting in Norway
• Ted “Golden Voice” Willaims
• The trial of Dr. Conrad Murphy
• Notable deaths: Elizabeth Taylor, Jeff Conaway, Ryan Dunn, Peter Falk, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, Andy Rooney, Heavy D, Patrice O’Neal, Harry Morgan, Bil Keane, “Smokin’” Joe Frazier, Dan Wheldon, Al Davis, Cliff Robertson, Nick Ashford, Bubba “Hightower” Smith, Betty Ford, Clarence Clemons, James Arness, Jack “Dr. Death” Kevorkian, Clarice Taylor, Gil Scott-Heron, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Harmon Killebrew, Jackie Cooper, Gelandine Ferraro, Warren Christopher, Michael Gough, Len Lesser

And so we wrap up 2011, and look forward to what will hopefully be an interesting 2012 (crossing my fingers that the Mayans were wrong about the end of times in 2012).

Here’s wishing everyone out there a very Happy New Year!

Will see you again on January 3rd!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and for those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, here’s hoping that you had a relaxing three days at home.

Over the past ten days I’ve finished reading Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, and The Night Of The Triffids by Simon Clark.  In fact, I wrapped up The Night Of The Triffids on Christmas morning, so receiving the book 11/22/63 by Stephen King from my parents couldn’t have been better timed.  Can’t wait to dive into it this Tuesday!

And why do gift cards get such a bad rap?  These things are amazing!  I can go to my favorite store and stock up on whatever I like, and the sender doesn’t have to worry about picking out the wrong gift.  This year I got gift cards for Best Buy, the Apple store, and a very generous gift card for the Hope Depot.  Thanks, Mom/Dad -in-law!  You guys are awesome

Tyler, or course, made out like a bandit.  I don’t recall ever receiving as many presents when I was a kid as he did on Christmas morning!  Two days after receiving his presents and I’m still finding Lego cubes under the television, couch, and secreted away in several drawers in the kitchen.  Heh…

Anyway, it was great to break away for a bit, but I actually can’t wait to get back to work.  After five days away from the office I find myself actually looking forward to getting back into my cubicle and doing something productive.  Am I the only one who feels this way after an extended vacation?

Tyler deeply engrossed in his tractor video. Thanks, Grandpa!

"Can we go though the Thomas & Friends book again, mom? I'm finding many inconsistencies between the sum of the energy input and the final tally of produced product. My hypothesis is that the trains can work 20% more efficiently and produce 50% more output. Here, let me show you..."

Godfather Dain really hooked Tyler up with gifts. Tyler now refuses to go on car rides unless he can take along a Thomas toy. Thanks, Dain, for unleashing the beast

I wanted to take a quick moment to wish each and every one of you out there a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Crazy Kwanzaa, Ludicrous Las Posadas, Breathtaking Boxing Day, and a pleasant non-denominational observance day.  Many thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment!

I’ll be away from the Terrible Analogies for several days, but will be returning on Tuesday the 27th.

In the meantime, here’s hoping for nothing but the best for you and yours!

Merry Christmas!

For the first ten seconds that he was sitting on Santa’s knee, Tyler didn’t know what to make of him.

But then a light blinked on in Tyler’s head, and for five seconds he smiled.  That’s when this picture was taken.

The next 15 seconds were filled with maniacal shrills and flowing tears.  Tyler was suddenly overcome with a terrible fear of Santa and wanted nothing more than mommy, who quickly came to his rescue.

But man, those five seconds of smiling were something special!

Oh, and for the record, Tyler wants “choos-choos” and “brmm-brmms” for Christmas.  He’s all about trains and cars…