New Year's Resolutions for People Who Aren't Me

It's that time of the year again.

The time where we lament all the things we failed to do, and we make new promises to ourselves, in the hope that we will be motivated towards greatness.

I'm gonna level with you. I have no intention of making New Year's Resolutions. I won't keep them, and you'll just resent me for being dishonest.

So, I spiced things up a little bit and decided to come up with resolutions for famous people. To make things even spicier, I brought in some of my favorite people from the internet to help me.

Thanks to Tyler Tarver, Ricky Anderson, Chad Jones, Leanne Shirtliffe, and my brother Stephen ("The Bearded Idealist" himself) for helping out.

I hope you enjoy it. If you don't, I'm gonna be honest, there's probably something wrong with you.

Here we go:

Friday Funhouse: December 28, 2012

Why I Hid You (or would hide you) in My Facebook News Feed

Photo by Creative Commons user Max-B

Facebook has changed the way we socially interact, on the whole.

If you're not friends with someone on Facebook, you're definitely not friends IRL (in real life). The unfortunate flipside of the coin is, just because you're friends with someone on Facebook, doesn't necessarily mean you are friends IRL.

I used to be really exclusive with who I would add as a Facebook friend, but over time, I softened. I'm now at a point where I pretty much accept every friend request that is fired my way.

I'm probably too nice. I just don't want to hurt feelings.

However, I almost did a severe "friendlist purging" a few months ago. That's because I was tired of being inundated by a news feed that featured friends who updated their status every five minutes, used crude language excessively, posted pictures of their cats, regularly, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam.

My world was changed, for the better, when I discovered that it was possible to hide specific friends' activity in my news feed, while not having to go to the extreme length of terminating my Facebook friendship with said persons.

With that said, there's a possibility you're friends with me on Facebook, and I have no idea what's going on in your life (or at least on your profile), because I've hidden you in my news feed.

If that's the case, here are some reasons why that may have happened:

Your Statuses Are Boring

There was a point in time where people accused others of mistaking Facebook for Twitter, in that they thought it was necessary to constantly leave statuses about every mundane occurrence in their mundane day.

Now, that's not even what people do on Twitter (at least, it shouldn't be).

Nobody cares that you're "in line at the DMV," unless the next sentence in your status happens to be, "and I saw a YETI!"

It's not important to anyone except you that you "just ate a hamburger," unless you follow that up with, "made from the meat of my next door neighbor!"

If you did that, it's not cool. It's just important.

And I'm definitely calling the police.

You Post Too Often

I like checking Facebook because of the diversity. I enjoy seeing the feed move in and out, seamlessly, between each and every one of my friends' crazy lives and thoughts.

When you post more than a few times a day, you're clogging my feed.

I like you. I do. But if Facebook shows me 5 things you said or did before I get to see something from someone else, I'm going to feel like you're hogging my timeline.

The worst is when people split up what could easily be one status into multiple posts. For instance, a Top 10 List, or observations you have made about people who wear Axe body spray.

Just post one, succinct status, and let's leave it there.  

You Ask Me to 'Like" and Share Motivational Pictures

I get it. When the footsteps ran out, that's when Jesus was carrying you. I teared up. It was totes emosh.

But, I'm pretty sure my salvation is squared away, and it isn't tied up in whether or not I re-post a picture that you shared of Jesus playing roller hockey with children and nuns.

I'm glad you like all that stuff. Buy the posters and put them up all over your house. But when you litter my news feed with them, I'm probably going to hide your activity.

(Sidenote: If you can mentally picture Jesus playing roller hockey with children and nuns, and you don't chuckle, at least a little, you may want to check your pulse. It's possible that you are dead.)

You Post Updates on Facebook Games You Play

I'm stoked about your Farmville crops. I really am. It's a big step up for you in life, and it's a nice proving ground to help you get ready to be a parent one day (said no one ever).

I just don't really need 24/7 updates.

I'm glad you Bejewelled the heck out of somebody. It's sweet that you went "All in" with a Royal Flush on Zynga poker. I'm astonished by your 100 point word on Words With Friends.

But every so often is enough. If you have your games configured to post on your behalf, you may want to change that setting. It's totally possible you've lost more Facebook friends than me, and you didn't even know it.

You Post Pictures of Your Pet(s) Regularly

I don't really care if your cat curled up in your lap, unless, when he got there, he solved a trigonometry problem and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with his bare paws.

You love your cat. You may even love all 15 of them, if that's your thing, and you're "crazy cat lady." 

I'm not hating. To each his own. But don't push that "lifestyle" on me. 

My advice to you is to teach your cat how to do something remarkable. Then, you can compulsively post pictures, and I can actually give half of a crap.

It's a win-win.

What Are Some Reasons Why YOU Hide People in your Facebook News Feed?

Why we can't all be Good Will Hunting: Thank God for the brick layer

Good Will Hunting is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Aside from the incredible scene that left half of American males shouting, "How you like them apples?!", there were plenty of other one-liners and zingers.

There were also some very deep truths and thought provoking challenges.

The main character, Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), embodied a archetype of a person, and his story was a kind of a social argument of sorts.

I'm not going to rehash the whole movie and its plot. I recommend seeing it. If you do, you do. If you don't, we can still be friends.

That aside, there's one scene in particular that ran through my mind, randomly, just the other day.

In a session with Will's counselor (played by Robin Williams), the topic of manual labor pops up. In the conversation, Will (who is a mathematical genius, and possibly just a genius, in general), tries to make the argument that bricklaying is "noble work," and that if he were to choose to do nothing with his highly accelerated mind and just lay bricks for a living, that there'd be nothing wrong with that, and that it was his prerogative.

The argument by Williams' character was that Will was right, in a way. There's nothing wrong with laying bricks. It certainly is noble work. But it isn't for everybody, and Will would have been wasting his life by making that choice, because of his incredible gifting.

It's inspirational. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people see that scene and movie, as well as other similar pieces of art, and they are inspired in the wrong way.

Let me explain.

For someone like Will Hunting, laying bricks would have been an absolute tragedy. He had a tremendous gift that he simply was obligated to share with the world.

But, laying bricks is a gift, too. Some people aren't math wizards or great writers. But, they are great with their hands. They can take a car apart and put it back together again.

My point is that we need mechanics. We need builders. We need bricklayers.

I'm a writer. I'm a designer. I'm a musician. I'm a teacher. Those are things that encompass me and make me who I am. I couldn't deny that part of myself, because, simply, it isn't one of my sides, it's all of me.

My point is this: Embrace who you are. If you're a writer -- write. If you're a bricklayer -- lay bricks.

We can all be creative, and some would say we're never more like God than when we exhibit that trait. I'd say those people are on the right track, but they're not there, entirely.

I would argue that we are never more like God than when we are being who he made us and serving our purpose.

The Bible says that "God is good." We mistakenly take that to mean he is the opposite of bad. I.E. He is "awesome."

While that is not incorrect, it's also not what is meant when the Bible says God is good.

When the milk spoils, we say it has "gone bad." It no longer serves its purpose. If a product is "good," that means it's doing what it is supposed to be doing and is at 100% capacity.

God IS good. He embodies "being good." Nothing and no one could serve a purpose like God does. He is perfect. He IS perfection. There never was, never is and never will be a time when God is not exactly as He should be.

If you want to emulate God, be yourself. That might mean that you should get cracking on that book. It also might mean you need to get busy with that wall.

How you like them apples?

Merry Christmas!

Photo taken from Church 'Ugly Sweater Party,' which, somehow, was not won by either of us.

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe it's already here, once again. I love this time of year, but I always loathe how fast it goes.

At any rate, I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! It's been a great year on TheIsleOfMan.Net, and I've really enjoyed getting know you all.

I look forward to continuing to get to know you, as well as to meet many new readers as well.

I hope that I can confidently feel that my Christmas gift to you has been to bless you with posts and interactions that you enjoyed and help you grow as a person.

If that's true, I ask that you respond in kind (it being the season, and all) by simply sharing with your friends, family and internet acquaintances.

If you read a post on this site and you enjoy it, please share it on Facebook and Twitter. Tell your IRL friends about the website, if you think it'd be something they'd enjoy.

The tribe is developing, and it's awesome, but there's so much room on the bandwagon.

Anyway.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. I'll have a new post on Wednesday (the day after Christmas), so when you get over your Turkey hangover, make sure to check back in!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: What You Did or Didn't Miss

Photo by Creative Commons user ulisses barbosa

^That's a rapper.

This is a wrapper.

Get it?

Nevermind.

This past week, there were some pretty halfway decent posts published, as well as some great conversation in the comment sections. But, one thing was missing.

You.

So, I did the dirty work and linked up the posts for you, so you can go through, read them all, then leave comments of your own.

Of course, you'll also share them on Facebook and Twitter with friends who may enjoy them as well, right?

Right.

Here goes somethin'.

On Monday, we talked about the Sandy Hook tragedy, and put politics aside to appreciate the gravity of the moment.

On Tuesday, I shared with you a letter that I wrote to my four-month old son, Aidan Robert.

On Wednesday, I talked about a letter that I wrote to myself -- a year ago. 

On Thursday, I peeled back the curtain and revealed to you the Top 5 Things Freelancers Want You to Know.

On Friday, we tore through another awesome edition of the 'Friday Funhouse,' complete the standard crazy animal pics and a funny viral video.


Get busy! You've got some reading to do!

Friday Funhouse: Dec. 21, 2012

Top 5 Things Freelancers Want You to Know

This past summer, I made the stupid idiotic foolish daring move to start my own web design business from home. 

It was a decision born out of necessity, as I had been laid off from my teaching job, and we were also expecting a baby, so it allowed me the opportunity to be at home and help my wife.

It's been a rough ride. Most of the people I've worked with have been awesome. I've made some friends and met some really cool clients in the process.

However, I've also come across some not-so-spectacular human beings, and I've had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion.

But, I realized the other day, these people just don't know. They're not jerks on purpose. They're just ignorant.

I don't want you to be ignorant, so I decided to develop a list of things that freelancers, such as myself, which you knew.

Here they are:

A Letter to My Future Self, Read by My Current Self

A year ago, I wrote a letter to myself (via FutureMe.org), and I shared it with you guys.

The other day, I was checking my email, when I saw it. Sitting in my inbox was an email to me -- from me.

I'd totally forgotten what I'd written. In case you missed the original blog post, here's what I wrote, as well as commentary, giving honest answers to how I did with my resolutions:

Kevin, 

What's good? It's been a while. Hope this email finds you well in 2012. I hope you're further along with your goals than you were when you wrote this email. Here are some specific things that I hope are true for you (should I say "us?") at the point in your life when you are reading this email: 

- I hope you're reading your Bible more regularly than you are right now. It's something you struggle with. You should be spending more time with God if you expect to hear from him.  

 This hurt. I do think I'm reading the Bible more. I absolutely feel better about my walk with the Lord and the energy I'm putting into my relationship with Him. With that said, I could be in the Word a lot more. 

- I hope you're dedicating yourself to being a good father. I hope that you've read at least one book on the topic. I hope you're not making Kim do all the work. I hope you're emulating the great role model you had in your own father. I know you wanted a baby boy, but if it's a girl -- Love her with all your heart. She needs you more than you'll ever realize.

Well, it was a boy. So, thankfully, I didn't have the chance to ruin a girl, or to have to admit to you guys that I did. He's only four months old, so I'm not sure how much of a role model I am yet, but I'm trying to be the best father I can be.                                      

- I hope your relationship with Kim is better and stronger than it was before. Not that it was struggling, by any means, but it's a year away. You should have experienced things that bonded the two of you together. I hope you're still making time for her. I hope you guys still have date nights as often as you can. Love her. She was gifted to you by God.

I believe that it is. Having Aidan and being parents together has strengthened our bond immensely. Also, we've both grown in Christ a ton this past year, which has been a correlation of our new-found church home, as well as the struggles we've had to endure together. Kim is my best friend, and I can proudly say our relationship is as a great as it ever has been.

- I hope you are closer to having employment that makes you feel like you are fulfilling your purpose on Earth. I hope your writing has taken off and that it's brought you joy. I also hope that if your writing has become more work than joy or if it has become a wedge between you and your family that you will quit and walk away from it.  

This is a tough one to answer. It really is a "be careful what you wish for" kind of scenario." Within the year since I wrote this, I was laid off from my teaching job, and I started my own graphic design business. It's been hugely liberating being able to work from home, but it's also been a massive struggle of marathon proportions. However, the resolution was to be closer, not all the way there. I think I can say that's a success. 

- I hope you're still making "family" a priority. It's important that you see your parents and Kim's parents on as much of a regular basis as possible. Tell them you love them. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

This has been tough. Really tough. We've since moved to Gloucester, Virginia, which is a good 30-40 minutes from Kim's family and from mine. We try our best to see both sides, but it's difficult, at best. Reading this reminded me that we could do better with this part of things. 

- I hope you're still coaching basketball. You love basketball. You love coaching. If you stepped away from it, try and find a way to work it back into your life. It was always worth the sacrifice. 

I'm not coaching basketball. When I was laid off from my teaching job, the school's Athletic Director told me  I was more than welcome to stay on as a coach. The combination of the pain of being let go, as well as the long commute, just made doing this impossible. Basketball season just began a month or so ago. I went to my former team's first game. They won. 

Right now, coaching doesn't fit into my life, but I really hope that will change, before too long. 

- I hope you have made progress on converting your finished basement into the "Man-Cave" that you wanted. This is a selfish one, but you should do this. It was one of the things that excited you about the house you purchased in the first place. Don't give up on this. You need this. 

I have one more couch than I used to, but it wasn't a purchase. We got a nicer loveseat for the upstairs living room, so we moved the old one down to the basement and put a sheet over it. I also bought a big screen projection TV from someone off Craigslist for $60. The outer screen busted off, so I had to wrap it with a shower liner to get a picture on it. Those are the major upgrades I've made in a year.

This makes me sad, but given the hard year we've had, I'm just grateful I even have a basement in a house I still own. 

- I hope you're leading worship again. At the time you're writing this, you're burned out on ministry and need a break from it all. Don't take too long of a break. It's a gift God has given you. It would be a sin for you to not use it.

Within the next month or so, Kim and I will start to be integrated into our church's worship team, where we will be singing and playing on stage in the band. I'm happy that we'll be able to start using our gifts again for His glory. 

- I hope we're closer to having cars that fly. It's impossible to talk about the future and omit "flying cars." It's not even really that funny. It's just necessary to include. 

You're right. It's definitely not even that funny. 

As 2012 winds down, how have you handled your resolutions from a year ago? Be honest!

A Letter to Aidan

Son,

You're 4 months old now, and I have no idea where the time has gone.

It feels like moments ago that your mom and I were standing in a parking lot, nervously excited and a little bit terrified, as we stared down at a positive pregnancy test that signaled the end of life as we'd known it and the beginning of something beautiful new.

You were coming, and it didn't matter if we were ready. You were coming, just the same.

We prepared as best as we could. Your mother read countless books and internet articles. I tried, but all the info and statistics made my brain hurt. It's okay. Your mom briefed me regularly and everything I needed to know.

I remember the day (middle of the night) you were born like it was a moment ago. I think it will probably always feel that way.

After an extended and arduous labor, you finally brought an end to the struggle and the suspense, as you exited the womb with your left hand wrapped around your own head. It was like you were reaching out, hoping someone would pull you from the darkness and into the light.

And we did.

The first week was a messy blur. You cried. A lot. So did we. Well, we wanted to. We rarely slept. We did all we could to make sure you were happy and content. We gave you everything we had. Some days, that didn't feel like enough, but it was the best we could do.

Praise God, we all survived.

And now, I look at you, and my heart bursts with pride and joy. You're smiling and laughing now. You know who I am. You definitely know who your mother is. Your legs are getting stronger, as you develop the necessary acuity to eventually walk. You roll constantly, trying to figure out how to crawl. You rub at your gums, 24-7, seemingly knowing that there will be teeth there soon.

I don't know what the next year will hold, but I know I love you in a way unique to how I've ever loved another person. I want you to have the world. I want you to be fulfilled. I want to teach you all I know, and I hope that will be enough.

I don't want you to be as good as me. I want you to be better. God has an incredible plan for you. For you were forged in the fires of struggle, tragedy, pain, joy, darkness and light. My whole life is the backstory for how you arrived here. Everything I've endured was but a mandatory step in the process of bringing you into existence.

Never accept anything less than amazing. Not from yourself. Not from those around you.

Life hurts. I say that not to scare you, but to steel you. With that said, be wary of growing so thick a skin that your heart can't be found. Never allow your pain to make you jaded. Be someone who is able to forgive. That is a gift and an art-form which will take a lifetime to truly develop.

Above all else, I hope that you will place truth at the forefront of your life. God is the great author of truth. There is no truth outside of Him. Be a godly man who fights battles of principle. This will make you wildly unpopular. This has historically been the case for great men.

Don't be fake. Even if it means people shunning or walking away from you. Count it a blessing. You don't need fairweather friends. When they leave, they do you a tremendous favor.

I cannot wait to watch you grow up. But don't do it too quickly. I want to enjoy this. I know I have thus far.

I love you fiercely,

Dad

Why It Took Me Several Days to Talk about the Sandy Hook Shootings

I opened up my laptop on Friday and pulled up my Facebook feed. (It's probably sad, but anymore, this is generally how I get most of my news.) I saw one status, then another, mentioning another school shooting.

So, I clicked the link.

I sat in silence before I turned and looked at Kim and said, "It happened again."

By this point, she'd seen the news as well, and we were reading it together. That being, of course, that Adam  Lanza had gone on a shooting spree in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 26 completely innocent people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

And of the 26, 20 of them were children, ages 5 to 10.

It close to home for two reasons.

First off, I was a teacher for six years. It was the kind of thing that could have happened at my workplace. I was immediately confronted (as I am each time it happens) with scenarios, regarding what I would do if I was a teacher at that school. Would I shield the kids? Would I have been able to intervene and stop it?

Second, I'm a father now. My son is so precious to me that I grow physically sick to my stomach even thinking about losing him. Let alone, losing him due to a violent crime committed by a psychopath.

I sat and just reflected, letting the silence wash over me.

We didn't watch the news that night. We just couldn't. It was too much to bare. When I saw further developments and other links posted on social networking sites, I ignored them. Not because I didn't care. Believe me, I cared immensely. I just couldn't read or hear about it anymore. It hurt my heart too deeply.

To make matters worse, countless bloggers, "Tweeps" and Facebook Friends decided to take the opportunity to get up on their respective soapboxes and deliver their message to the open-eared masses.

"See? This is what happens without strict gun laws!"

"Guns don't kill people. People do!"

Both sides have some validity, but can we let the graves cool? It's not the right time. It's not. Little boys and girls were SHOT TO DEATH!!

And what about the ones who survived? Little 5 to 10 year old boys and girls will now have to carry the emotional burden, for the rest of their lives, of seeing their friends, family, teachers and classmates brutally murdered in front of their poor little eyes.

Can we just respect that for a second and be quiet?

It's not the right time to legislate emotionally. It's not the right time to argue on Facebook or Twitter. THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU!

What a selfish, disgusting society we've evolved into, when we see the vicious murder of children as little more than an opportunity to grab hold of a microphone and trumpet a cause.

There is a time to mourn. A time to weep. 

Instead of getting in an internet argument that results in nothing, hug your kids today. If you don't have kids, hug your parents. If you don't have kids and can't hug your parents, HUG SOMEBODY!

The gun control debate isn't going anywhere. We'll get there. We need to figure out why this is happening and do our best to control it. But the truth of the matter is that things are going to worse before they get better.

It's all rapidly devolving. This world wasn't meant to last. We're not destined to be here forever, but there is another life that calls us, in the hereafter.

In the meantime, live this one to the fullest. Don't squander opportunities. Listen more than you speak. Love. Give. Laugh. Smile.

We may not all agree on gun control or other social debates, but we can at least all agree that this is one of the finest moments in cartoon history:

Friday Funhouse: Dec. 14, 2012

The Hardest Thing about Being Unemployed

Life can be stressful.

It can be even more stressful when you don't have money. I know. "Money doesn't solve everything." I concur. There are rich people everywhere with plenty of problems. I get the setiment, but my mom, in her wisdom, has always proclaimed: "Money may not solve all your problems -- but it sure does solve a lot of them."'

And she's right.

Think about how many problems in your life currently revolve around something money-related. Money isn't that important...until you don't have it. Then, it's pretty freaking important.

Honestly, I've been grateful for this time of need. God has shaped me. He's taught me reliance and faith. It's been a real learning experience.

Not having money and being worried about how we're going to pay our bills is stressful, but it's not the worst part of being unemployed.

I'm going to be honest and vulnerable for a minute. I'm admitting a truth, and I'm trying to do it in a way that doesn't hurt any feelings.

I precede with that disclaimer, and here's why: The most stressful thing about being unemployed isn't the lack of cash, the unemployment, or even the feelings I've had to deal with.

It's the questions.

"Do you have a job yet?"

"How's the job hunt going?"

"Anything new on the jobfront?"

They mean well. Everyone who asks. Bless their hearts. They really do. But, I run out of ways to answer the question. I'm all out of cliches to make you feel better about what I'm going through, which, unfortunately, seems to be what most people want from me right now.

No one wants to walk away from the unemployed guy feeling hopeless. They want to feel better than they did when the conversation started. They want to feel like they did something. They want to make a suggestion or find a solution.

But that doesn't usually happen. And that's okay. I wasn't looking for you to solve my problem. God's got this. I'm looking for jobs. Believe me. I am.

I have applied for hundreds of jobs since I was laid off. I've worked tirelessly to try and get my graphic design and furniture businesses off the ground and paying bills. None of it has come through yet.

I don't know where it's going to come from, but I'm pretty sure it won't be solved because of a funny anecdote you heard the other day or a suggestion for me to apply for a job that in no way interests me and, quite frankly, I'm not qualified for.

I've received countless wisdom nuggets over these past few months. So, now I'm going to turn the tables here a bit. It's my turn to give advice.

Here's how you deal with someone who is unemployed:

+ Do you have money or resources that you don't need? You can pray for friend if you want, but don't pray for God to provide something that you can do yourself. You either get that or you don't.

+ If we want to talk about the job hunt, we'll bring it up. Otherwise, can we just talk about football, family or even the weather? Because, honestly, we'd rather talk about anything besides the 10 emails we sent this week to prospective employers who didn't have the decency to even respond.

+ Before you send us a link to a job opening, read it over. Ask yourself: "Is this a job that they would like to do? Is it something they are qualified to do? Will it pay well enough?" Unemployed people get more recommendations for jobs than you can fathom. If you're going to send something, please make sure it makes sense.

+ Don't try to fix us. We're not a broken toy. We're people who are going through a difficult time. Tell us you love us. We don't get tired of that, and it honestly does make us feel better. Tell us you're pulling for us and that you're excited about the day when we will have awesome news to share.

+ More than anything, we need you to be a source of relief, not anxiety. When we're with friends and family, we just want to enjoy the moment. We want to laugh and to smile. We want to spend that time to recharge our batteries and take our minds off the struggle that is currently overtaking every aspect of our lives. The job hunt is an 800 pound gorilla that follows us everywhere. We'd love to ignore him for a few hours. Help us do that.

I'll end on this note.

I don't want to be ungrateful. I appreciate the prayers. I appreciate the well-wishes. I appreciate the gifts. These past few months have been absolutely harrowing, but it's been an amazing blessing to see people form a perimeter around me and my family, as they have prayed, done, and financially blessed us. Your support has been humbling. Thank you.

The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Seen

If you ask me: "What is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" that answer would be different, depending on where I was in life.

For instance, a little over three years ago, if you'd asked me what was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, I would have told you, without hesitation, that it was the sight of my wife walking down the aisle in my direction.

A couple years later, I probably would have said it was the positive pregnancy test my wife showed me as we stood, silently in a parking lot, rejoicing, but also somewhat terrified of what the uncertain future held.

Moving ahead a few months, and I'd tell you the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen was the ultrasound of my son, alive and with a healthy beating heart, inside my wife.

Fast forward approximately nine months, and my answer would change. I'd tell you the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen was the sight of my son, making his way into the world, as he did his impersonation of Superman, exiting the wound with outstretched arms.

Everything gets less concrete after that. I've seen my baby boy sleeping, and that's pretty beautiful. He's at the stage now where he smiles and laughs, and it's a beautiful thing to see my son smiling at me.

Life is beautiful, and it's full of beautiful sights and sounds.

What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Book Review Monday!

I've been a bad friend.

That's because three of my good friends have recently written books, and I've done little to help in the promotion of said pieces of genius literature.

So, I'm hoping to make up for that today, and I'm hoping you guys will you do your parts in also spreading the word, plus buying all three books, if that's possible.

First off, Bryan Allain recently wrote a book called Actually, Clams Are Miserable. The book is insanely clever, and if you're not smart, you won't like it.

"Clams" takes 101 ridiculous old cliches to task and picks them apart in a very funny way. It's a silly, lighthearted book, and it isn't like any of Bryan's other books. It's straight humor, but I really think you'll love it. I did.

It's a great book, and you can pick it up for only $4.99, HERE.

Here's where I need to be honest. I haven't had a chance to read the next two books. Life has really taken a dump on me within the past month. It's cool, but I haven't had a lot of time to read. I plan on reading them ASAP, but for disclosure purposes, I needed to be honest about this fact.

With that said, my friends Shawn Smucker and Ed Cyzewski are both quality dudes and amazing authors. I enjoy everything they write, so I have no reason to believe their latest offerings are not sensational.

Shawn's new book, How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp: And Other Tales From Our 10,000-Mile Adventure, which tells the story of Shawn's recent cross-country voyage with his wife, four kids and a bus named Willie.

It releases TODAY, and you can buy it HERE! It would make a great Christmas present for basically anyone in your life! Buy it today!

Last, but certainly not least, Ed Cyzewski's new book, Creating Space: The Case for Everyday Creativity, is available for a mere 99 cents! Are you kidding me?? 99 cents?!

The book is a "manifesto on creativity" and will be an encouragement, as is everything Ed puts to pen. I don't care how broke you are, you won't miss 99 cents, but you will miss out on a great blessing if you pass on Ed's book!

Buy it HERE!

Got anything you want to plug?

Friday Funhouse: Dec. 7, 2012