UPDATED

I've kind of ignored my art blog for the past couple of weeks but I just posted some art work and more is on it's way.

USS Indianapolis

1. I love U.S. history
2. I love shark attack stories (morbid, I know)

So when I learned about the tragic story of the USS Indianapolis which combines U.S. history and sharks I was completely fascinated, still am. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the story of the USS Indianapolis so I'll attempt to sum it up...tactfully:

On July 26, 1945 the battleship USS Indianapolis delivered the first operational atomic bomb to the island of Titian which was basically intended for the attack on Japan. Having successfully delivered the bomb, the Indianapolis departed. On July 30th the Indianapolis was somewhere between Guam and the Leyte Gulf when she was hit by two torpedoes from an enemy Japanese submarine. The Indianapolis was destroyed within minutes and of the 1,196 aboard, only 900 survived...but it only got worse.

For almost five days the 900 survivors were stranded in the open water and suffered from dehydration, sunburn, and the ultimate: shark attacks.

Shark attacks began the morning of the first day and continued over the next four days. Of the 900 men, only 317 lived to be rescued. A good portion of those who died parished due to dehydration and exposure to the elements, but hundreds were killed by sharks dubbing it the worst shark attack in history.

Woody Eugene James, a survivor, recalls the shark attacks:

"The day wore on and the sharks were around, hundreds of them. You'd hear guys scream, especially late in the afternoon. Seemed like the sharks were the worst late in the afternoon than they were during the day. Then they fed at night too. Everything would be quiet and then you'd hear somebody scream and you knew a shark had got him."

Obviously an extremely tragic story but fascinating nonetheless.

I'm so grateful for all the men and women who have given their time and even their lives to protect this country. It's stories like the fate of the those on the USS Indianapolis that remind me of the cost of freedom and how much respect and admiration we owe those who have given so much to obtain it.

Sorry to get sappy but I love the good ol' USA.

For more info on the incident of the USS Indianapolis and the full account of Woody Eugene James-- go here

I like the way these guys think.

p.s. Sorry Mal, I know you can't see this because YouTube is prohibited in certain areas of Provo.

To a great dad...

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I wish the whole world could know my dad, he truly is wonderful. I love you Dad, happy Father's Day!!

(That's my dad circa 1980 and my brother Bryan, awesome as always).

...just watch this clip from Troll 2 and be amazed.

The gym

These days it seems that each time I go to the gym it is a more interesting experience than the last.  Here is a list of what I observe on a daily basis while at the gym:

1. Elderly women walking around leisurely-- in the nude-- in the locker room after swimming. 

2. Men with shorts so long that I'd consider them wide legged capris.  NOT attractive.

3. Men with shorts so short that I've mistaken them for underwear.  Also NOT attractive.

4. Women who come ready for the gym as if they were going on a date.  Ridiculous.

5. The embarrassing grunting noises of struggle coming from the weight room.

6. The smell.

7. Flirting between gym employees.

8. The nice Puerto Rican man with a mustache who takes out the garbage and gives me thumbs up at least 5 times every half hour.

9. Val Kilmer's woman twin.

10. My level of high anxiety when entering the weight room with a bunch of high school boys who think I'm also in high school...oh the shame.

THE GYM.

Coronado

I had the great pleasure of spending the past week with my family in Coronado. We stayed at a beach house (property of the Hotel Del Coronodo) and had an amazing week playing on the beach, eating way too much, and seeing all that Coronado and San Diego have to offer. Thanks Mom and Dad!

The highlights:

The beach house:
The beach

Laura and Cortney doing what they do best: being adorable.

The friendliest watertaxi driver I've ever met.

Padre's baseball game, 18 innings! Lost.

Laura's first love: roasting marshmallows

Anna and I went ghost hunting inside the main lobby of the Hotel Del Coronado....we got a little sneaky:

I found room 3314--the most haunted room in the hotel (supposedly):

A couple of really big chairs:

Being sneaky on the stairs:

Probably the most beautiful picture of Anna I've ever taken. I'll have you know she wasn't even posing, I just asked her to turn around and this was what she looked like...gorgeous Anna. She'll kill me if she sees that I've posted this...eh:

I did some art:

Dinoland at the Wild Animal Park. Can you see Trex?

He's closer.Yep, there he is.

A lion:

An elephant, the highlight of my mom's lifeSeaWorld:

Kind of cute:

Ferry ride:

I can't remember the name of this port village but here is a taste of what's there:

And perhaps the most delightful surprise of all.....

Thanks to Mallory, her family, and the rest of my friends this is what was waiting on my bed for me when I got home.

Haunted? Probably.

We are just loving it here in Coronado and staying at the Del is amazing...amazingly spooky! 

Last night Anna and I decided to climb into bed after a long day and just watch the ol' boob tube.  Now there are two huge beds in the room but we opt for sleeping in one because both of us are used to sleeping in twin sized beds.  Good thing we decided to share last night because while watching "Wipeout" the volume on the tv --on its own--started going up and up and up until it reached its peak of loudness (extremely LOUD) and I fumbled for the remote in a panic and right as I reached for it the TV turned off by itself and the other one (yes there are two in one room, hilarious)  turned on.  No explanation.  Of course in my mind this meant that we were going to die so we ran to our parents (don't worry I'm almost 23) and convinced ourselves that our room is haunted.  I have yet to be convinced otherwise.  

I'll update on the hauntings.  

Photo booth

Introduced to photo booth on the Macbook, we got a little carried away.  Happy summer from Coronado!

Coronado

I'm spending the next week with my family at the Hotel del Coronado, in fact we've already been here for two days and it's way too much fun.  The main attraction for me is that it's an old hotel and haunted, love it!  

First good story:  The family and I went to a Padre's baseball game yesterday which was great, we love baseball.  We stayed until the 12th inning but then decided to leave because the game was never ending--turns out it went until the 18th inning and the Padre's lost...good decision to leave I guess.

Second good story:  Last night Anna and I are seconds from falling asleep when we think we hear a violin playing outside our window.  We walk outside and some crazy guy is playing what sounds like a Russian dervish on the violin while another fella is going back and forth on a unicycle.  It was the middle of the night and I was tired but it was hilarious and weird.  

I'm sure I'll have more stories later in the week, stay tuned.

p.s. Bryan, Amanda, and the girls--we miss you!!

The glitteratti has struck again.

I saw this movie earlier this evening:

It's one of those super ridiculous movies that happens to be really funny if you're in the right mood and I was.

Warning:  Will Ferrell bares his oddly shaped stomach a few times.  "More cowbell" comes to mind...anyone?  If you are the first to name that quote then I will send you a king-sized Snickers bar.  I'm not kidding around, this makes me feel powerful.

Hey fizellas...

I'm kind of obsessed with being American and I'm extremely enchanted with the idea of having a good ol' American farm someday (during or after my years as an educator) actually--probably more of a hobby farm but a farm nonetheless. Let me tell you what's going to be on this farm of mine:

• 2 cows
• 4 goats
• 8 or 10 chickens
• A rooster or two
• 3 pigs
• 2 horses
• cat
• dog
• probably a homeless guy living in my barn that I'll have no idea about.
• maybe sheep
• vegetables
• herbs 
• fruit
• A ghost

Anyway, I'm pretty excited and honestly I think about it quite a bit.  This summer I'm spending a week on a farm in Maine and I hope to pick up a few tricks of the trade.  Oh but here's the thing, I won't let myself go...you know, as in unnecessary weight gain and not doing my hair.  I intend to look ridiculously good and run a farm, it can be done--just thought I'd throw that out there.

p.s. the book above is great if you like America, photography, people, and animals.

Time out.

I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner tonight which I give -1 stars out of 5.  While waiting for a table I couldn't help but overhear two children arguing next to me, turns out they weren't children but a young married couple fresh out of high school...I assume.  Here's how the argument went:

young wife:  "Give it to me!"  (fighting over cell phone)

young husband:  "No, I need to see something on it"

yw: "Oh my gosh grow up"

yh: "you grow up"

yw: "I swear you're like this 24/7"

yh:  "get used to it"

yw:  "I guess I'll have to, we're in this for eternity"  (that's a great way to see it)

yh:  "yeeeep"

This conversation was real and as amusing as it was I felt sorry for the youngsters; marriage in the teen years can't be easy.

Check me out...

I've started an art blog. The link is under "Look at these" or you can just click here: aecampbellart.blogspot.com