I was thinking about books yesterday. More specifically the reading goals I've set for the last two years.

When you're the parent of a child who is not quite of age to watch the same stuff that mommy and daddy might otherwise prefer to watch, you get stuck watching a lot of kids shows or movies. A lot of them. Nathan's current obsession is The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He can't get enough. Katie and I can't get far enough away.

It's funny how fickle we are about the cost of fuel. I'd assume this fickleness ("fickleality"?) extends to countries outside the U.S., but I cannot say for sure.

One of my favorite accounts on Twitter to read on a regular basis is The Cancel Bear. The person behind this account closely follows ratings on the Big 5 U.S. TV broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CW) and predicts which shows will become "Bear Chow." The predictions and extended ratings and commentary are also posted on TV by the Numbers.

Interesting things are afoot in Geneva, IL, today. And I swear I had nothing to do with any of it. Honest!

Indeed, ABV is the acronym for "Alcohol By Volume." However, it is also, very appropriately it would seem, the abbreviation I personally use for a website called Adult Beverages, hosted by my buddy Marty of Banal Leakage fame.

I'm a nice guy. Really, I am. You'd have to be to invest such a large amount of money into a limo and then give up a significant chunk of your life to drive people from point A to point B. Most of them are pretty nice, too. They know that I'm doing them a favor; making their lives easier but not subjecting them to the horrors of driving on the expressway and finding and paying for parking.

For some reason, I'm doubting the legitimacy of this email. I'm. Not. Quite. Sure. Why. Yet I am. Hmmmm, maybe you can help me figure it out.

I hate to beat on a dead horse. Actually, that horse is so beaten dead right now, it's practically glue. But I have to ask what your opinion is on the New England Patriots and DeflateGate. Do you have an opinion?

Despite, at the time, only being a quarter of the way through the book, this happened last night...

Hey all, I've got a couple of questions I'd like to throw your way if you don't mind.

I know I've done this sort of post in the past, but it's a nice one to revisit on occasion. It's that post where I ask what music you're carrying with you on phone, tablet, MP3 player, etc.

I mentally responded to the news of two John Boehner staffers using a bunch of Taylor Swift animated gifs to respond to President Obama's free community college plan in an official Speaker of the House blogpost with a question... "Does Taylor Swift approve of this use of her image?"

soar /sôr/ verb - fly or rise high in the air.
"the bird spread its wings and soared into the air"
synonyms: fly, wing, ascend, climb, rise;

The other night, I had my own little reunion of sorts with cast members of the movie Circle of Friends.

What a difference a letter makes.

I'm not usually one for confrontation on this blog. I like to keep things relatively light and fluffy and friendly. I really just don't like to stir the pot (except for after the Charlie Hebdo attack, that is).

For the last month, Katie and I had been taking advantage of a free trial membership to Amazon Prime. Most people know Amazon Prime as the service that allows Amazon shoppers to make purchases and have them delivered within two days guaranteed for free. But the service also gives users access to streaming video content that they can watch on their computers or mobile devices for free. There are other benefits, but the free streaming content is the focus of this post.

No, I don't mean of the "Pop" variety. For months I'd been hearing about this Miami hip-hop artist named Iggy Azalea and how cool she was if you were totally into 90s-style hip hop. Since I do dig that era, I kept her in mind, but never pursued actually getting her album Reclassified until the other day when I saw it was available for free in Hoopla.

Boy, did Nate have a heckuva night. And Katie and I got dragged along for the ride.

I'm calling this one "A Tale of Two Personalities" as it's being presented from two points of view. One will be in bold face and left justified, the other will be italicized and right justified. I really couldn't think of a better way to do it.

I've been blogging for a long time. When you blog for as long as I have, you make friends in this wonderful place known as the “blogosphere.” I’ve had a ton of friends and we read and comment on each other’s posts, link to each other’s sites, share advice, start writing and photography challenges. Many of us have even met, multiple times, in real life and gone to concerts together, had drinks, shared fantastic Chicago pizza. It can be a tight family.

A little late this list is, wouldn't you say? By "little late," like, "ridonkulously late."

The horrible events at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris yesterday sicken me. I could've written about this yesterday, but I wanted to allow myself a little time to process just what happened.

A coworker decided to run a charity drive at work that she calls the "Soup-er Bowl." To take part, you place a can of soup in the box representing a team you want to win in the NFL Playoffs that week. Then you do the same the next week and then again for the Super Bowl. Oh, and if you tell her that the Green Bay Packers are your favorite team, she will match your donation (she loves the Pack).

This story about a Microsoft applicant came across the wire on LinkedIn on Christmas Day. While I agree that it is inspirational, as the poster intended, the skeptic's alarm bells were ringing like a five-alarm jobber in my head.

Snippet Monday?!?! Don't worry. I'm not making this a "thing." But this post was originally just going to be my wrap up of Macro Monday. But with only a reveal and no new challenge photo, it seemed like a very light post. So I decided to add a few things. Hence, Snippet Monday! And it's also been a while since I've done any snippet posts.

Welcome to the inaugural Story Sunday. Each week, Story Sunday will highlight a photo I snapped in the previous week, accompanied by a brief narrative. I'm aiming for 1,000 words or less but I'm willing to run long if need be.

I, like so many other podcast fans, am in withdrawal. Why? A few weeks ago, the top-rated and top-ranked podcast in the history of podcasting, Serial, ended their 12-episode first season.

This is the end, beautiful friend, the end. My final update on my 2014 goals.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are or did celebrate safely, depending on when you're reading this post. I want you to be healthy as we all sit here anticipating all the cool things that were promised to us in 2015 by the modern Nostradamus, Robert Zemeckis.