Weiland Blog

Well, after a couple intense weeks of web design work on Kings Island Amusement Park's new coaster web site -- I'm finally glad to report that the new Diamondback micro-site is live and well. At 2:00 PM EST today, my labor took flight at www.kidiamondback.com, coinciding with a press announcement at the park.

Thanks to Keith McVeen for yet another beautfiully rendered and animated 3D coaster. It seems that whenever Keith and I work together, we're both working under pressure.... hmm...

Oh well. After this launch, I'm now moving onto another top secret amusement industry project.... more about that when it becomes public knowledge in September.

There's finally a video that sums up the sadly obsessive love affair with fonts that haunts the existance of every graphic designer. Those of you that are married to or friends with a graphic designer know all about the sick obsession we have with fonts. This time laugh with us (not at us) for a change, and watch "Font Conference"... you'll be glad you did.

We were so impressed, we held and emergency Design Department meeting around my desk.

All this talk of gas prices got you down? Stagnant wages got you singing the blues? If so, you might get some satisfaction out of canning your subscription to the local newspaper.

I did, and I feel great. After a two-month trial subscription to Cleveland's liberal rag, The Plain Dealer, I enjoyed making that subscription-cancelling phone call this morning. I can now sleep easier knowing that I'm no longer contributing to the salary of Connie Shultz, the wife of Democrat Senator, Sherrod Brown.

Freedom!

Yesterday marked a first. It was Eddie's first trip to the movie theater with Mom and Dad, and Pixar's WALL*E proved to be a hit.

Except for a couple potty breaks, he sat rather mesmerized during the whole event. And since trips to the bathroom are perfectly acceptable, we were glad to ceremoniously scurry from the top row of the theater to the lobby. At one point, he wanted to sit on the steps of the aisle. Whether it was a show of independence or an urge to investigate the red lights of the stairs, I didn't much care. He sat there for a while then returned to our laps.

At any rate, we give WALL*E six enthusiastic thumbs up!

The first pesky general election commercial from Camp Obama has been looping on the major television networks. However, it provides Eddie with plenty of practice saying "NOBAMA" each time it airs, so I guess there is some benefit.

I was reading the small print in the ad, and I made a comment to Sonya that of the legislation mentioned in the commercial, two of the three were from his days in the Illinois state government. The man is running for president, not governor. Surely he can cite accomplishments from his three and a half years in the U.S. Senate to bolster the claims in his ad.

As it turns out, thanks to National Review Online ( ...and The Mark Levin Show for pointing me there...)  there are some interesting facts about the federal legislation that Obama cites as an example of passing laws that "extended healthcare for wounded troops who'd been neglected."

Ironically, Obama DIDN'T EVEN VOTE on the bill that is mentioned in the ad. He did, however, try and insert an amendment to the bill. But it did not pass, and Obama's work died with the amendment.

You can read about this Audacity of Overstating at National Review Online.

[ Source: NationalReview.com, June 23, 2008 ]

I used to think Will Smith was a level-headed guy. I've seen a couple of his films in the past, most notably The Pursuit of Happyness.  I've heard him speak intelligently about family life. Other than that, I know nothing of the man. That is until on NBC's The Today Show, Smith's liberalism and American shame blossomed on-air:

 "You know I just, I just came back from Moscow, Berlin, London and Paris and it's the first, I've been there quite a few times in the past five to 10 years. And it just hasn't been a good thing to be American. And this is the first time, since Barack has gotten the nomination, that it, it was a good thing..."  [Listen to audio here.]

I was looking forward to seeing Smith's new summer film, Hancock.  Nevermore...

[ Source:  Newsbusters.org, June 23, 2008 ]

It's so nice to see one of my least favorite governors lose on a bet against my Red Wings. Sorry Eddie, I voted against you before leaving Pennsylvania several years ago, and I have to say, you're looking pretty darn funny in that Red Wings sweater.

If you've not yet done so -- please read Part One and Part Two of The Pilgrimage to Tennessee before reading Part Three.

On Sunday June 8, Fr. Dennis said his first Mass at St. Louis Catholic Church in Memphis. Our new friend, Janet, and Sonya participated as lectors, and the Knights of Columbus were also present to add to the majesty of the occasion. After Mass, Sonya and I attended a reception for Fr. Dennis where we were able to snag a few goodies from the table as we congratulated him once again before hitting the road back to Nashville. Luckily earlier in the morning, Sonya and I were able to chat and relax with Dennis one-on-one over some coffee and eggs. We're extremely proud of him and his accomplishments thus far and expect him to grow even stronger in his Catholic faith. No pressure, Dennis... honest!

We finally hit the road and stopped at a great music shop in Memphis - SpinStreet Music - where we changed out of our dress clothes and into more comfortable traveling attire. We continued East to Nashville, unpacked at the Embassy Suites near the airport and sprinted downtown for some grub. We ate at the Big River Grille and Brewing Works and walked around a bit before settling in for some live music at B.B. King's Blues Club. Let me tell you... it was hotter than a hootenanny! After an hour or so, all of the traveling started to catch up with us, and we thought it would be best to head back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep before our road trip back to Ohio.

After a great breakfast the next morning, we packed the car and hit the road. We inserted our second audio book, "Step On A Crack" by James Patterson, into the CD player. We listened for a while and kept our eyes peeled for a Starbucks off the highway. Let me tell you - there are NO Starbucks coffee shops along I-71 until you're close to Louisville. We stopped once more in Columbus for dinner and cruised the last 2 and a half hours home.

It was a great trip, but it was certainly nice to finally be back home with our babies. Congratulations one more to Fr. Dennis on his ordination to the priesthood. And thanks for giving us a great reason to take a road trip to the South. It was fun, but you can keep the heat....

If you've not yet done so -- please read Part One of The Pilgrimage to Tennessee before reading Part Two.

We arrived at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 1:15 PM, almost 45 minutes before the Ordination Mass. We took the time to appreciate the church and  snapped a couple pictures of the exterior and nearby garden before entering the body of the church.

The interior of the cathedral is simply beautiful. Prior to Mass, I took a few pictures (none of which appear in this blog entry) from our pew of the altar, domed ceiling, stained glass and vibrant murals above. Later that day we discovered that the cathedral had been renovated several years ago. In fact, the 12-year renovation was completed in December of 2001. Six and a half years later, it still looks remarkably new. (Renovation design by architect, James Williamson.)

Just before the opening procession, Sonya and I caught of glimpse of Deacon Dennis, and we exchanged subtle waves with him. It was humbling given the emotional weight of what was to come. I can't imagine what was running through Dennis' mind. After years of prayer and preparation, he would soon be ordained.

What transpired next simply can't be relayed in words. We saw a friend begin his chosen vocation as a steward of God. The ceremony was extremely moving and humbling as Bishop Steib presided with reverent words and insight. I joked to Sonya afterward that his voice was so commanding that he would be my first choice as The Voice of God should I ever produce an animated religious film.

Interestingly enough, during the ordination, the choir eased into a song that originated from my old parish of St. Blaise in Midland, PA which was the product of merging parishes. "In Unity and Peace" was written by Fr. James Chepponis to commemorate this newly formed parish. What a coincidence that Dennis chose the song. It brought back memories of my choir practice days.

click to enlarge

After Dennis' ordination, we hurried into the church gathering area to congratulate him -- and nab some food (which we missed out on... as did Dennis we later found out!) As he stood at the head of the reception line, Dennis was full of smiles and joy. It was great to see all the friends and family that had traveled to commemorate this special day with him. Later that night, we returned to the cathedral for a dinner reception where we were able to pull Dennis aside for a few minutes and chat.

Sunday afternoon we found ourselves in yet another beautiful church, St. Louis Church in Memphis. Stay tuned.... more to come in PART THREE!Meanwhile, pictures from Dennis' ordination can conveniently be found in the photo gallery.

Tennessee is a nice state. Nice people, nice roads, nice weather. I discovered these niceties after we took a road trip to Memphis this past weekend to be present as our friend, Dennis, was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Memphis. We're back safe and sound, but believe me when I tell you it was a HOT weekend. When we left home, we thought we were experiencing hot, humid weather.  Tennessee made that look like a heatwave at the South Pole. I felt like Frosty the Snowman in Bermuda. But I'm jumping ahead of myself...

Sonya and I began our roadtrip early last Friday. We assured ourselves that the proper arrangements were in place for the kiddos while we were gone, packed the car excitedly, and exchanged several goodbye hugs and kisses as we exited the driveway. After a quick and necessary trip through the drive thru at our local Caribou Coffee shop, we were on the road heading South. We chatted about the kids, our jobs, church, upcoming summer trips and the realization that our current trip together was our first such trip since our honeymoon. We were going to have some fun!

In anticipation of our trip, I had loaded our iPod with some Sonya-friendly tunes as well as packed a bunch of equally friendly CD's. Earlier in the week, Sonya rented a few audio books for the trip as well: "The Camel Club" by David Baldacci and "Step On A Crack" by James Patterson. We talked non-stop for the first hour-and-a-half before engaging the random shuffle of iPod tunes. After stopping for lunch at a Potbelly Sandwich Works, and crossing over into Kentucky, we opted for the Baldacci audio book and settled back in our seats.

As we listened to the CD, we realized that as we drove deeper into Kentucky we were hearing more and more road noise. As it turns out, it wasn't road noise afterall - it was the high-pitched scream of a swarm of 17-year cicadas. Neither of us could believe how loud they were. To hear them in the car over real road noise and the stereo simply amazed us. In my short life, I've lived through two cicada infestations - both were experienced in what most would consider "the sticks". And despite that, I've never heard cicadas whine that loud before. Needless to say - and not by choice - we brought a little bit of Kentucky back with us in the form of large cicada splats on the front of the Accord.

We arrived in Nashville and opted for dinner at Neely's Bar-B-Que. We had read good things them, and we wanted to try some good southern barbeque. We weren't disappointed. The restaurant smelled of a heavenly, smokey grill. As a result, Sonya and I ordered entirely too much food. We tried not to waste too much of it, but we simply couldn't eat it all. The atmostphere and location was lacking a little bit, but the food and prices were great.

After dinner, we decided to drive around Nashville for a while before heading west to Jackson where we would spend the night. We knew that we'd be back through Nashville on Sunday evening, so we thought we'd scope out the area a little bit while we could. After doing so, we hit the road, taking I-40 west.

It was around 8:00 PM when we realized we had a problem. Listening to the Baldacci story and thinking about the unpacking and ironing I wanted to do upon reaching the hotel, I realized that I had left our garment bag hanging in our bedroom closet.  All of my dress clothes and some of Sonya's had been left behind. Nearly 500 miles away in Tennessee, I was suddenly dumbstruck.

"You're gonna kill me," was the first thing out of my mouth. I think I said it three times before explaining why. "I left the garment bag hanging in our closet." A vision of me in Izod khaki shorts at Dennis' ordination - at the Memphis Cathedral - flashed through my mind. It was funny at first, but my veins soon went cold. Luckily most retail stores would still be open for another hour, so we phoned Lauren to get phone numbers for JCPenney, the Men's Wearhouse, and Casual Male Big & Tall. I never have an easy time buying clothes, let alone in a strange land with limited time. Needless to say, we called the Men's Wearhouse and had them pull my size in any dress shirt they could find. We rolled in just before closing and found a winner! JCPenny had done the same, holding a few pair of dress pants for me, but we simply couldn't get there before they closed at 9:00. Luckily, Sonya that I had left behind was recently purchased at Macy's. Equally as fortunate was the fact that Macy's was open until 10 o'clock this night. We found the skirt and the next day, we were rifling through the racks of JCP at 8:30 in the morning. We found a pair of Staffords that would work. Eureka!

Stay tuned.... more to come in PART TWO!