Michael Gray ~ Uncensored, but Spell-checked » Uncategorized

Disneyland Trip Planner

Michael Gray — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:28:05 +0000

For Harrison’s birthday this year, we visited Disneyland with Heidi’s family. Being the Disney fan/historian/tour guide that I am, I decided that we need to have a plan before we crossed the California border. Here’s the result:

Well, I guess this just proves conclusively that I am both a Disneyland nut and a control-freak firstborn. Hey, at least we knew what to expect when we headed down Main Street USA on that first day.

You want to use it to plan your next Disney vacation? Be my guest:

Goodbye Granddad, We Love You

Michael Gray — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:28:31 +0000

Please Love Me!

Let Me Xplane

Michael Gray — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:38:00 +0000

For those of us who don’t quite understand how the economy got to where it is today:

Thanks to Jeff Schinella for pointing me to this video.

On Living a Life Void of Needless Complexity

The Greatest Illusion of All Time

Michael Gray — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:14:00 +0000

Arguably one of today’s most talented illusionists, David Blaine can be seen on TV and all over YouTube performing incredible bits of street magic that always generate confusion and wonderment with onlookers. His tricks are very unique and complex, and he pulls them off with a deadpan effortlessness that gives him an increased air of mysticism (and sometimes creepiness).

Tonight, ABC had a two-hour special on Blaine’s career that ended with a never before seen stunt/illusion called the “Dive of Death”. For the one hour and 55 minutes leading up to the final performance, they showed the typical stock footage clips of him walking up to people on the street and performing for them, intermingled with childhood photos and him doing a voice-over of how he became interested in magic. While most of the tricks were interesting, two hours of this got old pretty quickly.

Finally, the time for the last stunt had arrived and Heidi and I sat on the edge of our seats to watch the illusion we had been waiting two hours to see. The host had been promo-ing the final trick before every commercial break saying that, while no one but David knew what the “Dive of Death” was going to be, it was sure to be incredible. Our time investment in the program was proof enough that we were looking forward to seeing it.

And then it happened — we witnessed the greatest illusion of all time.

The true illusion was not the “Dive of Death” as the network would have you believe. No, the true illusion was the promise that if we sat through the entire program, we would see something remarkable. That’s right, we sat in our living room for 120 minutes to see Blaine’s lamest stunt of all time. I can’t even explain with words how benign it was.

As the final credits rolled, Heidi and I sat in a completely different form of wonderment than we expected, and both of us wondered how in the world we allowed ourselves to be unwitting participants in the greatest illusion of all time.

The Mormons

PG-13 Politics

Michael Gray — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:02:00 +0000

I realize that this is all over the internet, but I just had to post this video here because it cracks me up. If you are offended at PG-13 dialogue, then you probably never watch Saturday Night Live and won’t be missing out by clicking along to the next blog on your list anyway.

For the rest of you sickos, enjoy:

Please forgive me in advance for the Splenda commercial.

Please Love Me!

Bloodlines

Michael Gray — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:19:00 +0000

Today we had the dedication ceremony for Harrison at our church. Below is the text of a letter that I read aloud to him at the beginning of the private ceremony. Heidi wrote these words last week, and I believe that they are among of the most powerful and inspired words I will ever read:

Harrison,

A few months ago, we adopted you into our family. We don’t know why God didn’t allow mommy to carry you in her tummy, but we do know that God designed you specifically to be a part of our family. You were intended from the very start to be with us, and we have prayed for you for many years. But, our adoption of you is not the most important one you will ever have. We pray that one day you will be adopted into the family of God, by accepting the gift of Jesus Christ as your Heavenly Father. And one day, we pray you understand, that we are united by a bond that cannot be broken — not because of the blood that flows through our veins, but because of the blood that flowed down the cross.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Photos from the dedication and more thoughts from Heidi can be found here.

Please Love Me!

Michael Gray — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:44:00 +0000

Bloggers are interesting people.

We like to think that our thoughts and our writings make a difference in the world. From time to time, we have the proclivity to develop a slightly over-inflated ego about our own self-importance (come on now all you bloggers, just admit it). It’s easy to slip into saying things like, “You really need to check out my latest blog post,” or “You mean you haven’t ever visited my blog?” We don’t mean to sound conceited, we just think you would benefit from hearing our thoughts on life.

Winning you as a reader is a small badge of honor. If you actually subscribe* to our blog, we feel like we’ve just earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. We love to feel important.

A friend of mine has this shirt and it cracks me up because it unapologetically smacks us bloggers across the face with the reality of our actual importance:

This applies to most bloggers. However, if you are some one like Jon Edmiston you have an actual following and your thoughts actually are important to the world.

The rest of us ~~hate~~ envy people like him.

*You can subscribe to this blog through an aggregator like Bloglines or use the links on the right to get you connected to the words and musings of Michael Gray. Hey, I may be shameless, but I’m not stupid. I’m hoping to break the 20 subscriber barrier! Woot!

In the Shadow of the Moon

Michael Gray — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Heidi and I just finished watching an amazing Ron Howard documentary called “In the Shadow of the Moon,” which tells the story of the men who flew the six Apollo moon missions between 1969 and 1972.

I was surprised to learn just how fragile these missions were. President Kennedy’s call for America to land a man on the moon by the end of the 60′s was not merely something he said when NASA was all ready to go; it was a huge, visionary leap into the unknown realms of science and technology — and America’s best and brightest answered that call.

These men, in the face of extreme pressure and relative uncertainty, flew their missions flawlessly. Their experiences punctuated a very tense chapter in American history (Kennedy assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination, rising racial tensions, and the Vietnam War) with a feeling of patriotism and accomplishment that has not been rivaled since.

Hearing these remarkable astronauts tell the story of their training and missions is inspiring.

What an amazing generation of men.

Parenting Tips – Week 1

Michael Gray — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:14:00 +0000

As a new father, its important for me to read books and articles that help me to become the best dad I can be for my son. I want to learn from the wisdom of those who have traveled the road of fatherhood before me, and I want to impart that wisdom to others.

Fortunately, I have found some foundational tips for new parents and I am able to present them to the world without requiring any reading for those who wish to learn (lets face it, new parents don’t typically have the energy to burn through a book without falling asleep between chapters anyway).

This week’s topic:

Nutrition and Your Baby: Feeding Tips for New Parents

09.06.09

Michael Gray — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:34:00 +0000

MEVSEFFGJ4R5

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