Responsibly Wild Blog

  Hey you're headed to Las Vegas, fantastic! Now before you book your hotel/resort there are a few things you might want to consider.   Should I stay on or off the strip? You absolutely want to stay ON the strip. The best kept secret about Las Vegas is how deceptively far apart all of the casinos and attractions are. By the time you end up hitting the sheets after a day/night on the town, chances are you'll have walked over four or five miles. Do you want to double that by adding walking to the strip? Do you want to blow your gambling money on cabs, rental cars and shuttles? You're going to Vegas to see the strip, stay there as well. The rooms cost more on Las Vegas Blvd but it is worth it. The Hard Rock Hotel may fit your personal style, but it is a 40 minute hike from the HRH tower to Planet Hollywood . Don't waste your time or money anywhere but the strip. Should I stay in a classic or modern casino? For a town that appears to ape everyone else's culture...

My Mother and her six sisters have been posting Christmas memories each day this month, leading up December 25, and while I want to join in, I don’t want to over do it, so i will share just one. My most vivid and painful xmas memory.  When I was nine years old I got the coolest gift in the world, a multitrack audio recorder designed for kids, complete with headphone and instrument inputs and built-in noises (think laser and animal sounds). I've received cool gifts since, but that recorder hit at the perfect age to be historically amazing. I don’t remember how much attention it got on the day of Christmas, but had I known it’s fate, I would not have put it down. The day after Christmas I went out to run errands with my mom and siblings. I’m sure the days events were the trivial post-Christmas errands everyone does who doesn’t have to go to work- the things that quickly fade from memory. Kind of ironic actually, because what was awaiting us at home I will never forget.  O...

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on my film blog - Filmcast Without a Cause for those who aren't in the know- about three trendy films that came out this year that used time travel in interesting ways ; Looper , Sound of my Voice and Safety Not Guaranteed . As the year is coming to a close, top 10 lists are trickling out and each of these films is getting some love. While I'm not here to rehash my thoughts on these films, I would like to go super nerdy on you and talk about my preferred time travel logic, which can be best described through parallel universes. I could use my wikipedia knowledge of the Novikov self-consistency principle to explain it, but instead I'll go with the poetic words of Jurassic Park's Dr. Ian Malcolm when he said "Life finds a way." Before I go to deeply into this thought, allow me to present one of my favorite illustrations of how traveling back in time to change the past would impact the future. Where do I turn for my ex...

Add caption Meet Merv. a snowman ornament who now is warming the heart of one kind, elderly resident of the Green Hills Retirement Community in Ames, Iowa. The story of Merv's journey to Green Hills is short, but very heartwarming.  Merv was born at 10:50 a.m. on Monday, December 3, 2012 with a solitary purpose; to bring unexpected joy to someone endowed with the Christmas spirit. His inception came from a company retreat where embracing change, cultivating a positive mind-set and "Positive Intelligence" were the topic du jour. Before Merv came to be, attendees of the retreat were tasked with finding a partner they don't normally work with, and partaking in an act of kindness exercise; making ornaments. Here is a silly little poem to commemorate Merv. As partnerships were formed and teams descended on the crafting supplies, one duo waited patiently for the ruckus to die. After a 10 minute delay, the partners approached the craft table and set about ma...

It's funny to me how mysterious gift giving is to some people. What's should I get my Husband? What should I get my son? What should I get my dog? There appears to be a very large contingent of people out there who are lost in the woods when it comes to what the important people in their life are interested in and what would make a suitable gift for them. For instance , for about as long as I can remember my mom has asked me for birthday and christmas lists, knowing full well I love films, I'm a musician, I dig the outdoors and travel, and I am kind of a looney tune so anything fun or goofy will go over pretty well. Still, I make the list because I don't want her to agonize over getting me "the right" gift. This year I'm doing things a little differently. BEHOLD! Pinterest is the perfect venue to house any kind of list. Why should I (or any guy for that matter) go through the trouble of coming up with a list of things I want, just to do it all ...

The "big bang" of my connection to local music dates April 22, 1999. Why do I know that specific date? Because the first local band I specifically sought out to see live (outside of my circle of friends playing music) was Grubby Ernie, opening for the Toasters at Val Air Ballroom. Thankfully the  website for Grubby Ernie -who called it quits over a decade- is still up and running with ALL their past shows , photos and links to their recordings. Grubby hit at the perfect time in my musical world; I was huge into Ska and pop punk and they put on a crazy fun show. I dragged about 10-12 of my friends to that show and we spent the night bouncing around and skanking like morons their entire set. A little moment in time that I have no pictures or video of (a rarity in my life). In a semi-related bit of trivia, a couple years later my old band High Jinx experienced one of its most fun shows opening for Grubby Ernie who had sold out the Maintenance Shop in Ames. Fast forwar...

Saturday, the Iowa State University Foundation held its family picnic at Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge, Iowa. How cool was it? I think these pics speak for themselves. Marieta and I have been to a handful of pumpkin patch/activity farms since moving back to Iowa in 2009, but this place takes the cake. Center Grove has all kinds of farm animals, a basketball court size corn pool, a giant jumping pillow, a 4 acre corn maze, tractor pedal carts, a huge slide, a apple sling shot range and tons more. You need to take your kids here!  And if you're wondering, Marieta did not spend the whole time behind the camera. So, yes I am 30 years old, and yes, I still love to be a big goofball in public. Talking with a few coworkers at the event I am pretty sure I was the only childless employee to bounce around on the pillow and cannonball jump into the corn pool. I wont let my age keep me from having fun. If there is one downside to Center Grove it is the prize you get fr...