campfire anthems____________________________burning away

“if your house was burning down (not that i hope that) and you could only grab 5 things (not people) from your house, what would they be? why?”

i have pondered that question before jenna, but actually not since we have been in this house. it was really hard for me to pick 5 things.  i guess i don’t have that many things around here that i care about.  so after much though, here is the list:

1) paul reed smith ce 24 guitar - i chose this item because its not only my most valuable guitar, its also very special to me.  ever since i started playing the guitar in my pre-teen years i have always wanted to play a prs.  i have owned many guitar in my day, trading/collecting and always adding to the list, but never was able to get my dream guitar until this past summer. you can read about it here. i would be heart broken if this was left in my burning house, not only because it wouldn’t be easily replaced due to monetary issues, but also because of the sentiment it holds with me.

2) macbook - as much as i hate to admit it, a lot of my life is stored on my macbook.  not only used to surf the web and blog, i use it for all of my graphics and design material.  i know that a macbook could be easily replaced but i guess what i have on it is more valuable to me.  software, music, my professional portfolio - all things i would lose forever. for instance, i currently have 5,545 songs in my itunes library.  also, i play guitar live through my podxt live floorboard pedal.  all of my custom settings that give me my live tone are stored in my editing application.  who knew that a 5 lb piece of plastic could have such a grip on your life?

3) takamine ean-40c acoustin electric guitar - this was my first “real” acoustic guitar.  i was never really big on acoustic style when i was first growing as a musician but grew quite fond of the instrument in later years.  i had a couple of cheap acoustics before but never had anything worthwhile until college.  i think that this instrument actually made me grow as a musician and challenged me to learn new styles of playing.  this guitar saw a lot of good times - playing with my buddies in college, sitting around campfires on cold nights, and performing for close friends.

4) golf clubs - i have a really nice set of taylor made irons and woods that i would hate to lose.  i played golf all through highschool and college, and was actually really good at the sport.  i haven’t gotten to use them very much recently, but they will hopefully be used soon.  i have always found golf to be a relaxing thing for me to do.  i’d actually rather walk the course all by myself, and just get away from everything, than play with a group of my peers. i’d be very sad if i didn’t have the option to just get away out to the golf course and play a round.

5) my grandfather’s dog tags - a year ago this month my grandfather died.  he was such a huge part of my life.  he watched me grow, picked me up from school, told great stories, gave advice and watched me get married. he practically raised me when i was a child.  i can say without a doubt that he had a direct impact with the man i became.

pop was a staff sergeant during world war 2.  he was so proud to defend his country, he even dropped out of high school and lied about his age to join the military.  a couple days after he died i was in his bedroom, just thinking and reminiscing about everything and found his dog tags in his dresser drawer.  i knew that i had to have them.  i’ll keep them forever, and always remember the man i loved and the man i lost.

i’m sure that wasn’t as exciting of a list as you were hoping jenna, but that’s all i’ve got.  what kind of things would you guys take with you?  you don’t need to get into in depth reasoning, but i’m curious to know what you would brave the flames for.

“boxers or briefs”

i’m glad you asked justin.  this question has plagued man since the birth of the cotton gin - eli whitney didn’t know what he was starting.  i have compiled some medical documentation to present your way, and i think you’ll find that i’m being completely objective in this study.

boxers and briefs each have their pros and cons.  in order to select the correct undergament for you, you must first determine what you are trying to accomplish.  if you are doing vigorous activity, like playing soccor or, say, bullfighting, the north alabama soccer league says that briefs are the way to go.  they point out that it is important to keep you boys snug and secure.  according to emedicine.com, exercise can be a leading cause to testicular torsion, which sounds like a painful dilema.  so scenario one certainly points out that if you are going to be involved in athletics, stick with the briefs.

boxers, however, are what you want to wear if you are trying to birth a human child.  web m.d. discusses that men who want a higher sperm count should stick to boxers. the science behind this is that its all about temperature.  to have a healthy sperm count, the “testes,” as they are so medically refered, are located outside the body for a reason.  if the temperature down there reaches even a couple of degrees above the body’s core temperature, production of said life giving substance is dramatically decreased.

so i know what you are thinking.  you want to know what i wear.  in my earlier, inexperienced years i was a boxer man, over the past several years i have taken the best of both worlds and become a staunch boxer-brief believer.  by giving you the comfort and support that every man needs, boxer-briefs should be in every guy’s drawers (no pun intended). i hope this has helped you make an educated decision for the next time you go to the local wal-mart in search for some new threads, however, if you still can’t decide you could always go commando.

…when i voted this morning they wrote my ballot number next to my name at check in. way to be anonymous and completely objective america.

“some people’s features match their monikers so well that it makes them instantly more memorable.  for example, when people hear the name bob, the picture a large, round face, but when they hear the name tim or andy, they imagine someone far thinner.”

i have no idea who you are looney tooned.  your nom de plume has perplexed. i like how you gave me an option of which topic i could write about, because honestly, number two was just weird.  for those who don’t know what i’m talking about, check here to read the other topic i could have written about.

i guess i just never thought that much about a correlation between someone’s name and how i’d imagine that person looked.  i suppose i like to give people the benefit of the doubt and not judge them by their name.  what i’d like to do with this topic is actually use the concept but go in a slightly different direction than you were probably hoping for.

i think its funny how, sometimes, humans have pets that resemble them in appearance.  have you ever noticed anything like this?  it makes me wonder if its a totally subconscience process - like over time the human incorporates physical traits of their animal friend, or maybe they chose the pet because it reminded them of themself.

i also think that animals pick up on characteristic traits of their owners.  i.e. - calm owners = calm pets while energetic owners = energetic pets.  i have done absolute zero scientific research on this topic, and really have no qualifications to make any assumptions so i will leave you with some photos. enjoy.

“i would like to hear about the three best decisions you have ever made and the three worst decisions you have ever made, if its not too personal.”

let me just say emily, i feel like if i can’t be honest on here and write about things in a completely open and truthful way, then i shouldn’t write at all.  so that being said let’s get started.   its really hard for me to think about and pick three of my worst decisions.  i really think all three of my worst decisions involved college on some level.  the first would have to be partying so much my freshman year.  i did some really stupid things, drank way to much and almost flunked out.  i never went to class and my grades suffered for it.  i was on academic probation the second semester and really had to focus and change my lifestyle so that i could have a future.  i performed well above average the rest of college (believe it or not i am actually a smart person) and still never made up for that first semester.  decisions like that seem to haunt you for the rest of your life, because now i wonder what could have been in my future if i had just applied myself more.

i’m going to sum up bad decision number two with a blanket topic of girls.  once again, partying and the sweet nectar of college life satan brainwashed me into believing it was ok to have pre-marital relations with various females.  everyone was doing it so it must be ok.  i look back now and wish i would have known then what i do now.  i mean, in the world’s view nothing bad happened.  i never caught any communicable diseases and certainly never got anyone pregnant, but i think there will always be a part of my marriage that is missing because of the choices i made before emily.

for number three, it would have to be staying in lakeland and going to florida southern college.  i really feel like i limited myself and just did what was easy and comfortable, like so many of us do every day.  i think about what i could have been, professionally, if i had gone to a bigger state school and studied different classes.  last month we went on vacation to savannah, georgia and i found out about the savannah college of art and design.  that is the kind of school i should have gone to.  but because i chose to stick around and play an easier game, i’ll never be the kind of designer that i wish i was.  now, its funny how this all works out, because my number three bad decision leads to my number one good decision.

marrying my beautiful, smart, funny, etc. wife has to be one of my better decisions.  she balances me out and really makes life a lot better.  if i had gone anywhere else for college i may not have ever met her.  i don’t really think that people are destined to be together, so its hard for me to believe that if i hadn’t gone to fsc that our paths would have still crossed.  i guess its that whole pre-destination vs. free will, but that’s a topic for another day.

number two would be my decision to openly commit my life to christianity and spreading the kingdom of god.  there is nothing more satisfying, even though i complain about it most of the time, than having people come up to me after ministering though my gift of music and them telling me that i made a difference.  i have always wanted to do something with music, and being involved so heavily in a worship ministry environment has altered the course of my life.  i hope i can get even deeper in it one day, but i guess that’s really going to be up to god and myself.  we’ll see how it goes.

well you know what?  i think that’s all i’ve got. i can’t come up with a third.  i guess that just goes to show that i typically make bad choices, but i also think i’m getting better with my discernment and am growing every day.  the above stated are in no particular order, its basically just a rambling as things came to mind.  i hope that you got to see a little bit more into my life and see what really makes me mikemonts.

as always, its that time of the month to release my new calendar.  november’s was a little difficult for me to come up with, because i didn’t want to do a typical thanksgiving or post halloween wallpaper.  i started to a little research on quotes about fall and november and really liked the one featured in this month’s wallpaper.

the entire concept of the art is based on what the words are saying in the quote.  each season is represented with its appropriate art style applied.  i think the autumn leaf in the middle basically just sums up the whole thing.  i hope you guys enjoy it as much as i enjoyed creating it.

“i think you should do blogs about puma’s perspective on things”

thanks for the topic emily.  for those of you who don’t know, puma is our 2 year old pomeranian.  she is pretty cute, and i’m conviced she is smarter than we give her credit for. to test out my theory i had puma sit on the couch next to me.  we had a little heart to heart and she told me that there were some things she just had to get off her fur.  since she lacks typing skills, and paw dexterity for that matter, she just started pouring it all out while i played court room note scribe.

puma writes:

“i’m a little nervous, i must admit.  i want my blog debut to be fabulous, because i’m fabulous.  don’t believe me?  well let me ask you this.  have you ever met a red haired pom that wasn’t?  yeah, i didn’t think so.  this month has been so strange, i don’t even know where to begin.

i keep hearing everyone talk about october.  i guess that is the time or something.  you know, us dogs don’t keep time like that, giving names to lengths of time.  all i know is this - i can go for about 10 hours without pooping.  once i poop i just start all over again.  so with the basic math skills i picked up back at the puppy mill, i figure that every time i poop 14 times its roughly what you humans call a week.  i digress.  based on my calculations, about two weeks ago my mom sent dad away.  i watched as he packed his bags and when i woke up he was gone.  i can’t believe she would do that to me. i didn’t eat for two whole days just to rebel against her sinister act.  eventually, i forgot all about that and chased the dog on the other side of the fence.  i’m pretty sure he digs my chili.

while dad was gone mom ran over one of his toys.  she doesn’t know this but i saw the whole thing.  in the front area of the place i live are these clear things that i can see through.  well, i perched my paws right up there, being nosey of course to see who the stranger lady was in my yard, only to see a four wheeled contraption run over the thing dad pushes around the yard so the grass doesn’t poke me when i go potty.  it reminded me of the time when skipper, my chiwawa buddy, got squished by our neighbor.  i still have nightmares about that.

fast forward two weeks.  i felt so dirty yesterday.  that woman i usually refer to as mom made me do something shameful.  she put clothes on me and made me prance around for her own amusement.  she said something about being a witch - i wonder what that means.  i’ve heard a word similar to that before. in fact, i’ve been called it a time or two, but don’t worry…its true…i am a female dog!  once dad got home he put on some rediculous face covering and loaded me up in the thing that takes us places, very similar to the one in which mom ran over dad’s yard toy.  when i was finally let out of the car i saw people everywhere.  they were all laughing at me because of what i was wearing.  i mean honestly, have you ever heard of a dog wearing human garments before?  its almost as bad as the time the rents had me shaved to resemble a lion.

i guess its about time for my morning nap.  i hear there are a lot of people visiting us tonight for some reason or another.  something about trick or treats?  all i know is i love treats.  sometimes i fake going potty just so i can get one.  those humans don’t even know.  if i’ve gathered correctly, there are going to be a lot of people knocking on my door tonight, and i’m going to bark at every one of them.

anyways, this has been really fun. i feel so liberated being able to get this off my fur after so many pent up feelings.  maybe dad will get me my own blog one day.”

-puma 

“mission trips - short and long term”

i have to admit tabbybottoms, this is a tough thing for me to write about.  i don’t have any personal experience with this topic.  heck, i don’t really even have close experience with it.  probably the closest i’ve come ot a mission trip is this girl’s stories about going to africa.

to be quite honest, this is a thing i struggle with.  i think that when people go on missions to third world countries they are really doing a great service.  when churches send folks out to build wells and spread the gospel, i don’t think it can get any better than that.  its true compassion in its purest form.

then i think about all the people struggling and dying in our own country.  sometimes i feel like people go overseas to do something in hopes to make a difference, completely overlooking the needs of our own.  i think this is where the local church come in.  im my very humble opinion, local churches need to do a better job of community outreach.  from what i have seen, especially in central florida, churches really suck at this.  i also know that i am partially responsible for this since i’m a member of “the curch” that i speak of.

i think if i were to do a mission outside of my own country it would have to be short term, like two weeks tops.  i really don’t even think i’d want to do that.  i like to think of myself as more of a “funder” rather than a “doer” as far as mission trips are concerned.

so since i was asked a question i think i will finish this post with a question of my own.  what is something good we could do around our own communities?  what is something simple that anyone could participate in that would truly make a difference?

“tattoos, bears, beets, battlestar galactica, and celestial navigation”

great topics travis. i’m not just saying that. let’s quit putting this off and just go ahead with this.

tattoos - i know that a lot of different opinions revolve around the idea of marking up your body with a permanent thing. i’ve heard everything from “its going to be wrinkled and saggy when you are older” to “real christians wouldn’t get tattoos because the bible says you shouldn’t.” if you know me at all, you know that i have no problem with a little bit of ink getting permanently embedded under someones first several layers of epidermis. in fact, why don’t you just take a look at the one i’ve been working on for about a year now.

i think, from a christian standpoint, that god looks down and sees that stained glass window on my are and smiles. i know that for me it is a great reminder of the direction i want to travel in life. it almost acts as a guidepost for me to look at and remember where i’ve been and where i want to go.

so maybe i’m wrong. maybe on the day i’m standing in front of god being held accountable for my action while on earth, the whole tattoo thing might come up. but i doubt it. i will say this - if you are considering getting a tattoo, think hard about it. don’t just get something just to get it. don’t get drunk with your friends and go get tattoos. i promise you they will alter your life.

to wrap up the section about tattoos i will leave you with one nugget of information. there isn’t a day that goes by that i’m not judged for having tattoos. i see it in people’s eyes when they notice it peeking under my sleeve. judging me. thinking i’m a hoodlum. holding their children a little closer offering up a fake smile to make me think its ok. as for me, i wouldn’t change any of the colors on my body. they are a part of me.

bears, beets, battlestar galactica - this comes from a great scene from an episode of the office in which jim dresses up and acts like dwight. its a comical masterpiece. in response to this inquiry i have found a video that i believe sums it all up.

celestial navigation - i believe that celestial navigation is a key factor in today’s current maps and gps systems. celestial navigation is the art of using the sun, stars, moons, and planets to guide yourself to a select destination. without ancient travelers like the vikings, egyptians, and even the american indians i wonder if we would have ever found our destination. kudos star gazers. kudos.

i think that it is important for everyone to study and become masters of celestial navigation for one reason. survival. what happens when robots take over the world and block all electronic frequencies? i’ll tell you one thing - that precious little garmin of yours won’t be working anymore. so how are you going to find the rebel militia in the caves along the hillside in order to fight in their regime against the evil killer robots? i’ll tell you how. you follow the stars north, take a left at the big dipper, pull off orion’s belt (your pants are falling down, he’ll understand) and coast along until you can see venus. before you know it you are at the caves plotting to regain control of the world.

you see? celestial navigation just helped you save human kind. what a hero you are.

i’ve been following this guy’s blog for a couple of weeks now and wanted to introduce him to those who don’t already know him.  he is the pastor at cross point church and is doing some really cool things up there. his name is pete wilson and you should go check him out.

also, come back later for the first post from yesterday’s comments page.  read here to find out what i’m talking about.