tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60460132011-06-23T21:09:52.186-07:00Shellen OutA place where I clear my head of everything that tries to get my attention during the day.
And yes, I'm related to Jason Shellen, but I can't help you get to him. Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-70501940295580712042007-08-25T03:25:00.000-07:002007-08-25T03:30:55.780-07:00So That's Why Everyone is Smiling In Paris...I've always enjoyed Parisians in the past and found them to be warm (especially after making an effort to speak their language), but on this trip, the Parisians have been so nice and smiley that it was starting to freak me out. My new friend Roel speculated that it might be because the dollar is down and Americans are worried about terrorism, and thus Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-73652092638157543512007-08-19T07:29:00.000-07:002007-08-19T07:43:37.357-07:00Hello Humex, My New FriendAt last... the moment you've all been waiting for: I have just started the washing machine in my Paris apartment. This must be what it's like for guys when they step into the laundry room of their college dorm for the first time. I've been totally frozen in front of it for days, but I'm out of clothes so it's the moment of truth.Arrived in Paris on Wednesday and have Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1163866611780474892006-11-18T08:16:00.000-08:002006-11-18T08:22:18.413-08:00Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1154064738256733862006-07-27T22:28:00.000-07:002006-07-27T22:32:18.266-07:00I seriously need to fix my Friendster and MySpace pages. Here are the last two messages I've received: "Not bad... I'm actually impressed. Ayt - you're KEWT!" -A teenage guy from Manila named Rob"I just blew beer through my nose reading your profile - your fuckin hilarious!" -Some middle-aged biker from City of IndustryApparently those blessings from the nuns don't extend to my romantic life. Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153625092660382172006-07-22T20:23:00.000-07:002006-07-22T20:24:52.670-07:00P.S. I think I finally found Mel Gibson's house, and I'm pretty sure Sting is putting on a show there right now. I wish I had binoculars.Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153617093301474452006-07-22T18:08:00.000-07:002006-07-22T18:11:33.313-07:00I can't figure out if this is irony or just the Catholics being cruel: This weekend, two larger groups were scheduled to stay at the Serra Retreat: a wine appreciation group and a men's Alcoholics Anonymous group. Their tables are right next to each other.Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153601875904713472006-07-22T13:32:00.000-07:002006-07-22T13:59:54.596-07:00It's hard out here for a priest (or pimp... whatever). It must be really tiring to be a priest. Not only do you have to deal with church bureaucrasy, you're on call all the time for your "flock." And they depend on your for everything! If you lead a secular life and have issues, you pay a therapist; you talk to friends; you read books, take a walk... basically deal with the problem yourself. If Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153538670118566442006-07-21T20:06:00.000-07:002006-07-21T20:26:01.936-07:00I think the kitchen staff have adopted me. We were joined tonight by a big group of guys on an AA retreat, and I noticed the kitchen guys standing like sentries between them and me... very sweet. The one person they didn't manage to keep out was Peppy Texas, so I finally sucked it up and talked with her over Friday Fish. Turns out she's here to get some guidance over what to do with her job. She Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153521384022941792006-07-21T15:30:00.000-07:002006-07-21T15:36:24.036-07:00Nature has its drawbacks. A bee somehow made its way into my room and flung itself onto my desk, scaring the sh*t out of me as I was writing. Knowing I'd never be able to sleep until he was either gone or dead, I grabbed the bible, listed for the buzzing and basically smote him. But there's nothing in there about not killing bugs that sting like hell, so I don't feel that bad. Rest in peace, Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153512410780950102006-07-21T12:53:00.000-07:002006-07-21T13:06:50.796-07:00Those nuns are a gossipy lot! A few days ago, I told one of them that my dad passed away, and today another one came up and wished me well on getting over my grief (her dad had died a few years ago, too). Still, sweet ladies... they all wished me a "blessed year ahead" before they left. If they have any sort of pull with heaven at all, I've got a great year coming. I also found out that I got Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153447060056883352006-07-20T18:43:00.000-07:002006-07-20T18:59:08.000-07:00There are other non-Catholics at the retreat!A new couple joined us tonight... fun people from the valley. They were a little cagey until I asked if they were meeting with Father Warren or one of the sisters and the guy said, "Well, we're not actually Catholic." I was so excited... it was like running into someone from Venice Beach after wandering around China for a month, wondering what everyoneShellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153365095949644192006-07-19T19:55:00.000-07:002006-07-19T20:11:35.966-07:00I was almost discovered at dinner tonight. This week, the monastery is playing host to a gathering of nuns from convents and parishes around the world. More of them wear smiles than habits, so it hasn't been too weird. My only mildly uncomfortable experience was with another "private retreatant" like myself who introduced herself at dinner tonight. I forget her name, but basically she's a super Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153343730367170342006-07-19T14:07:00.000-07:002006-07-19T14:20:15.693-07:00The nuns are escaping. I caught them today while I was on my run down the hill... four elderly women packed into a Civic clearly up to no good. I suppose even women of the lord need to shop. Though it is one more strike against them, I'm afraid, given that I heard two of them sharing their excitement over dinner about how close we are to Mel Gibson's house. In their defense, one of them did blessShellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1153278935665811622006-07-18T19:59:00.000-07:002006-07-19T14:18:01.480-07:00I can't get the South Park song "Shut Your F*cking Face, Uncle F*cker" out of my head. This is a problem, seeing as how I'm on a writing retreat at a local Franciscan monastery. The priest I talked to at dinner did use the word "hell", but I think that's about as far as it goes. Loving the Serra Retreat so far... it's perfect for any writer looking to hole up in a beautiful place where there's Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1110339407350000382005-03-08T19:19:00.000-08:002005-03-08T20:03:30.796-08:00Saw Der Untergang (aka Downfall), the film about the final days in Hitler's bunker. Aside from the obvious, two things struck me about the film: 1) When Hitler explains that he's not going to evacuate Berlin because the citizens of Berlin are as responsible for their fate as he is, and 2) when Hitler's real-life secretary Traudl Junge speaks to the camera at the end of the film and announces she Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1109448576524461662005-02-26T12:01:00.000-08:002005-02-26T12:09:36.526-08:00In an attempt to find out when my new Athlete CD from Amazon.co.uk is due to arrive, I stumbled upon a list of items that are prohibited/restricted in packages traveling from the US to the UK. The first few make sense (no illegal items or guns... right), but then you keep going and find yourself thinking things like, "who exactly IS an accepted source of seal skins and how do I go about getting Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1100702179734562852004-11-17T06:33:00.000-08:002004-11-17T06:36:19.736-08:00I really am pretty sorry, everybody (fourth one down with the shout out to my friends who worked with me in Nevada)...Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1100671502032229102004-11-16T22:00:00.000-08:002004-11-16T22:05:02.033-08:00My friend Jon sent me a great article on the new governor of my home state of Montana. He's a Democrat (the governor... and my friend Jon, too), which is a new thing for a state that's as red as they come. Here's how I responded to him and his friends:
If Montana doesn't make sense to you after reading this, don't worry... even natives don't really understand how ultra-liberal, tree-hugging Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1100121080788007052004-11-10T13:08:00.000-08:002004-11-10T13:11:20.786-08:00Care of my friend Jon:
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Or, if you want that in simpler terms...
Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1099592607211282892004-11-04T10:23:00.000-08:002004-11-04T10:23:27.210-08:00The New North America (you can send me a postcard in California, U.S.C.) Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1097088060015136212004-10-06T11:41:00.000-07:002004-10-06T11:49:45.176-07:00
It's a Wonderful Life Part Two: Mr. Cheney Goes to Washington ("You say you lost some votes? Welllll, perhaps we can think of a solution.")
Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1095723449144699512004-09-20T16:16:00.000-07:002004-09-20T16:37:29.143-07:00I was listening to a David Cross CD today (thanks, Jon) and had a thought while he was in the middle of joking about how "kids today grow up so fast."
Do they really?
At first, I thought, Of course they do. There are 16 year-olds out there who look and dress older than I do (though that may be more of an indictment of me and the way I dress) and they're certainly having sex earlier than kids Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1095125597750736752004-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:002004-09-13T19:32:03.516-07:00Welcome back, Chris - How about a slightly blasphemous political post? Well all right.
When heaven first started turning Florida into The Day After Tomorrow, I felt a little sorry for them. But now I'm beginning to see the weather for what it is: Mother Nature's way of editorializing. Follow my logic:
On August 5th, newspapers announced that Florida's new touch screen balloting system was Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1087280571892407592004-06-14T22:57:00.000-07:002004-06-14T23:25:34.153-07:00I received a census form in the mail the other day (might've been a few months... I can't remember). I tried to fill it out, but the questions were harder than I remembered them being in previous censuses (censi?), so I kind of stuck it in my backpack hoping I'd suddenly find myself needing to fill it out, as I sometimes suddenly find myself needing to clean my apartment.
Anyway, needless to Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1077076673063566162004-02-17T19:57:00.000-08:002004-02-17T20:02:51.513-08:00This last weekend, my sister and I braved a propeller plane flight up to our hometown of Missoula, MT to see our dad for the holidays (Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day). We always have a great time up there thanks to the company, the incredible location and the wonderful people of Missoula, but I have to admit that one of the things I still like most about visiting home is the Missoula media.Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1076458684418626892004-02-10T16:18:00.000-08:002004-02-10T16:20:33.450-08:00Finally saw the theatrical trailer for The Passion of the Christ. Sounded disturbingly like my post from January 29th. Stop getting your ideas from my blog, Mel Gibson - my services don't come free!
But theirs probably should...Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1075780450070904702004-02-02T19:54:00.000-08:002004-02-02T19:56:27.793-08:00I think I'm pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to animals. For example, while I like my friends' pets and try to avoid hitting them with my car, I also don't think that calendars plastered with cute kitty or puppy pictures are a good idea. For anyone.
Basically, I'm just more concerned with people and our problems than the issues of animals. And on this point, my thinking is entirely in Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1075428695306729832004-01-29T18:11:00.000-08:002004-01-29T18:13:48.076-08:00There are times when working as an advertising copywriter can be especially challenging. I'm not talking about those last-minute requests for major corporate taglines ("Quick - sum up Kleenex in five words or less!")... I'm talking about working on a project for a company or product that you don't quite believe in. And for you who've never worked as a copywriter, I'm not saying that the hard Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1075330916730612612004-01-28T15:01:00.000-08:002004-01-28T15:04:08.046-08:00My dad, a professor emeritus of communications, gave me the results of the New Hampshire primary last night and told me that, in his professional opinion, Edwards is far and away the best public speaker of the group (I said best... most creative public speaker would go to Sharpton). I'm a big Clark fan, but I'd feel comfortable voting for either Edwards or Kerry if it came down to that.
Why Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1074669660028596452004-01-20T23:21:00.000-08:002004-01-20T23:23:00.543-08:00A really great friend of mine is having kind of a tough go of things this month. You know those months where one thing goes wrong after the next and you start to wonder if you aren't the unluckiest person in the world? And of course you're not... there's always some peppy Patty there to remind you of the starving people in Uganda or the wartorn villages in Bosnia (as if you've forgotten).
But Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1074195421476503362004-01-15T11:37:00.000-08:002004-01-15T11:38:54.280-08:00I'm not a big fan of spam (the meat product or the email kind), but even I have to appreciate the lengths advertisers are going to to hawk their products online.
First they started sending spammy emails from normal-sounding names - names that unnervingly looked like my friends names. Then there were the creative email titles - "Don't be a lonely fatty at home" (which is supposed to make me say Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1074142054670531212004-01-14T20:47:00.000-08:002004-01-14T20:50:42.436-08:00A quick product review for you:
Got clogged drains? I mean really clogged drains... the kind that just laugh when you pour bottle after expensive bottle of Liquid Plumr down them? Go out immediately and buy some Drano Gel. I don't know what they put in this stuff (maybe it's just that it's a gel and actually sticks around long enough to do some damage to the sludge down there), but it works Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1074039358588297132004-01-13T16:15:00.000-08:002004-01-13T16:17:49.280-08:00With the 2004 presidential election looming, I decided to put together a quick survey about female voter habits and send it out to about 45 girls / women. It's not a scientific study by any means, but I thought I might find something interesting in the results that would inspire an article.
So far, 23 people have responded - all from different professions, educational backgrounds and ages. Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1073979411036635022004-01-12T23:36:00.000-08:002004-01-13T15:57:44.326-08:00As I sit here in January in 72-degree I-could-eat-outside-in-shorts weather in Southern California, I'm reminded of an article I read just this last summer while I was in Montana. It was unseasonably hot in Missoula while I was there... in the 100s for what seemed like weeks... and the editors of the local paper, The Missoulian, felt sort of a kinship with the tens of thousands of people dying Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1068511067686562962003-11-10T16:37:00.000-08:002003-11-10T17:33:49.650-08:00It's been a banner movie week for me. Last Wednesday, I caught the new Matrix (see last post), tonight I'm seeing Elf and Sunday, I caught the mother of all fall blockbusters - the new IMAX movie, Bugs (Caution - spoilers ahead).
I've got to hand it to the San Diego IMAX theater... they run quite an operation. The line was a little long, but we successfully snapped up tickets before they sold Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6046013.post-1068183043246169352003-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:002003-11-06T21:52:33.983-08:00(All those who haven't yet seen the third and final Matrix and intend to see it, don't read any further)
I saw the last Matrix last night and have to admit that I was one of the millions of people who thought Morpheus was going to be the one to die. Now that I've seen the movie, though, it makes sense that he would live on. Neo was never the leader of the people... just a means to an end. Of Shellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890270915986038738noreply@blogger.com0