Not a lot of change, but ever since posting your iTunes top 25 became all the rage, I have been paying more attention. Important climber - Dancing DJs’ update on the Roxette classic “Fading like a Flower.”

1. Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls
- Only You - Yaz (tie)
3. My My My (Cagedbaby Klubheads Radio Mix) - Armand Van Helden
4. Got to wake up - Baxter
5. Call on Me - Eric Prydz
6. Yawn, Yawn, Yawn - Les Savy Fav
7. Daydreaming - Massive Attack
8. Back To Basics - Shapeshifters
9. Losing Their Heads - Turbotito
10. Nite and Day - Al B. Sure
11. You - Axodry
12. You’re So Vain - The Black Neon
13. Superstar 2004 (Nikko Superstar Extended House Mix) - Boot Legg Vs Jamelia
14. One Day At A Time - Client
15. Fading Like A Flower - Dancing DJs vs Roxette
16. Castles in the sky (radio edit) - Ian van Dahl
17. You Promised Me (Tu es foutu) - Ingrid
18. The Weekend (Radio Edit) - Michael Gray
19. Machiner - Synth Invasion
20. Out Of Touch (radio edition) - Uniting Nations
21. Going Underground - The Jam
22. Up Above the Sea - John Vanderslice
23. Phone Went West (Live at Bonnaroo ‘04) - My Morning Jacket
24. This is the Day - The The
25. Second Story Man - Heaven is a Hotel

You might think it difficult, but I discovered today that 6th graders (or at least one of them) have the power to come to day 1 of the introduction to journalism and relate absolutely any topic to bigfoot or “lake creatures.”

I asked the kids to come up with 5 possible news story ideas for next time, and I told them to think about who they might talk to when reporting on such a story. I was asked if it would be acceptable to travel to Scotland, because that’s where the good sources on Lake Monsters apparently live.

All in all, it was fun, and the first day definitely showed me what I was and was not prepared for. The kids were really excited when I handed out their brand new reporters notebooks.

Monday I start my new gig of teaching after-school program classes at a Lincoln middle school. Monday is a newspaper / magazine class, Tues & Thurs are Film Production, and Wed & Fri are comic book making. We’ve been training for the past two weeks, learning about how to deal with middle schoolers (I learned on Friday that middle schoolers still occasionally poop their pants) and whatnot, and the last few days it’s been all about getting those lesson plans and activity sheets ready!

I’m most excited about trying to get into that middle school frame of mind, thinking about all those basics I take for granted, and how to not just sound like some stupid adult who doesn’t get it. I know if some adult would have told me when I was 13 that comic books were about more than big muscles and infinite cross-hatching, I would have been like “Yeah, whatever.” So I’ve been trying to think of a lot of games for all three classes that demonstrate basic ideas in a fun way.

In other news, I finished a rough cut of “The Bad Seed” last night. 16 minutes down, 10-15 to go.

I just got back from a family trip to Wisconsin. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I didn’t, so I’ll keep the mainly-text recap brief.

It was nice to go on a full-family vacation; we haven’t taken one with the complete family in many years. In addition to the core five members, Monica’s whole family came, and Erica’s boyfriend James was able to come too. I was kind of a seventh wheel at times, because Sara wasn’t able to make it, but it was still a lot of fun.

Erica really likes the Green Bay Packers, so we spent a few days in Green Bay and visited their stadium and watched their training practices. Melany, who is now about 19 months old, picked up the football concept completely on her own - out of nowhere, she tucked her sippy-cup under her arm, got down into a three-point stance, and took off running.

Monica and Nolan’s hotel had a pirate themed water park, and this included a section of pool with two floating rubbery treasure chests that were tied down to the bottom of the pool. After the initial challenge of climbing onto them without slipping or being flipped off was overcome, Nolan and James and I moved onto trying to stand on them. Once that was out of the way, we tried jumping from one to the other.

We apparently inspired some kids, who we later saw trying to jump from the pool deck onto the floating barrels. Some of them took ridiculously nasty spills, but this one kid managed to do what I had declared impossible - jump from the pool deck onto one of these slippery, wobbly, floating barrels and land standing up.

For several hours over two nights, we tried to match his feat (he got good enough to where he could call his shot and land it, occasionally three tries in a row). James got really close several times, and finally as it neared bedtime the last night we were there, he did it.

Although I might feel differently if I’d been able to land it, but I actually thought it was more fun to wipe out. If you landed on your feet with enough momentum, chances were good that your feet would keep going and you’d flop hard onto your back. (click here to see me wiping out, and here to see one of the other kids wipe out)

We also spent quite a bit of time at the lake where we stayed along the Wisconsin Dells. Miqaela and Melany weren’t too thrilled about going out into the water, but they loved feeding the ducks with grandma. I really like being out on water, so spending a vacation out on a lake gets high marks from me.

I have to add that, while on the trip, I started reading Harry Potter books. I’ve liked the movies and I’ve always wanted to read them, but the legendary Nate Barnhart finally gave me the inspiration and this trip gave me the free time to start reading them. So far I’ve finished the first two and I’m looking forward to finishing them all so I can actually sit down with people and have nerdy Harry Potter discussions.

Not much else to share on this end. It was a fun trip, a nice vacation from work, and fun time with the family.