The Royce Files

This title sounds like a band from the 70s. However, Google has a great interactive doodle today in honor of Art Clokey , creator of green guy Gumby. Clokey would have been 90 today, but he passed away last year. But did you know that the Gumby came from my hometown of Hastings, MN! Indeed I thought this odd too when I saw this fact on a map of Hastings that has hung in the family home for years. Clokey was Californian and seemed to have no connections wtih the North Star State, so I thought this incredulous. I did a little digging and then found my answer in an article in the Star Tribune from October 20th, 2003.  Dick Parker and Heron Marquez Estrada did a the hard work and re-discovered that Echo Plastics of Hastings manufactured millions of Gumby and Pokey toys up to about 1971. So I guess Minnesota can claim the green guy and his red pony after all. Perhaps the state quarter would have been more collectible if it had Gumby an...

Guest blogger Cindy concludes her charming account of the Royce4 and MFB conjugal. S ometimes the time went swiftly and other moments dragged on. But then suddenly it was time to take the MFB from hiding to her place of prominence. When it was time to get ready to greet her, I saw the Groom nearly jog to his place and look steadfastly ahead. It is hard to describe an honest look of joy so deep it touches the soul. The aisle walk was only a moment, but a lifetime of emotion flooded through the room. I was so proud of the Groom in that moment has he received the hand of his MFB. The ceremony was like any other and like no other. There were vows and rings, but also there was such wonderful music! And the Groom and his MFB took the stage to play together---their voices so uniquely matched as if designed as such---and their looks toward each other like Johnny Cash and his June. Not a dry eye in the house then. The Groom and his MFB said their vows with such confidence! And in true for...

Guest blogger  Cindy continues the story of the Royce4+MFB wedding. The next morning I was off to the hairstylist and then to the sports store for a cowbell. Turns out they only sell them when the marathon is upon us, so I was out of luck. But the customer service at that giant Fargo sports conglomerate is top notch, and they suggested, why not run over to Fleet Farm and pick up some cowbells as such as used by real cows? I said, My! Why not?! (I had remembered the Groom had made a wish for cowbells at his reception clear---in the way he makes things clear, mind you--- in the past.) So I and the writer/music director the Groom thinks highly of dashed for the cowbell emporium. And off to the show we went. Upon my arrival, so began GroomWatch. The Groom is a traditional man, you see, and chose to see his fair MFB first only at the most important moment, as she walks down the aisle. But all of us were preparing for the big event in the same relatively small space, so it took s...

It has been a busy few months and the blog has been rather sparse with content. But I have good excuses. I got married. Yep, tied to the knot too, although it should be more likely entwining the rope. But that is all I will write for now. Instead I will enlist the aid of a guest blogger to fill in the details of the momentous day. You've heard from her before when we wondered about the underwear recall a pastor had down south . We'll be seeing this in parts. So without further adieu, here's Cindy. I had the distinct pleasure of witnessing a beautiful nuptial recently. It was that of the author of this blog. I know he would rarely say anything kind about himself, so I have offered this guest post to provide a revue. Most often when the author refers to “a friend”, that’s me. I thought I would offer because I had a front row seat. Overall the weekend was full of surprises. My role was one in the background and yet nearby, so I was able to witness nearly all of the i...

 This month celebrates a decade in the Go for me. And likewise it is also the 10 year anniversary of Harvest Community Church- one the big reasons I found my way up here. Let me recount the early days of my time here and especially related to this church I aided in starting. Things were not going well in the Twin Cities where I worked- they could not afford to keep me on board. Well that opened a few possibilities. I accepted the invitation to join a group of U of M Morris grads in pioneering a new church in Fargo, North Dakota. I took a summer training course in Morris and then moved up to Fargo- with no job and little money. I was pretty distressed and took up running. The first meeting of the church was in an apartment a few blocks away from where I now work. I eventually ended up living in the apartment but that was after the church changed locales- first to NDSU then to the basement of the Black Building . Harvest stayed in the Black Building spot for a few years. It was...

Now another installment of my look at ugly online ads that are on the 'nets. Now that campaign season is underway anything that attractions the disgruntled citizen is sure to be fair game. And official Obama ads are cropping up right next to the ugly ones. Albeit the real Obama ads are fairly clean cut stuff usually tempting the viewer by asking them to "join the team" or "Obama needs your help." For some reason the opposing candidates don't get into that stuff. Perhaps if Tim Pawlenty begged for help in an online ad he would not have returned home sad and morose. Well, here is an interesting riff on one we saw not too long ago. It is the super hero first lady but not she has become even more super by having a rotating light on her noggin. It must have been the illustrator's day off at the ad agency. Joe decided he knew how to make another ad by using his photoshop skills. Viola! Emergency Super First Lady. And all it required was a few clicks....

The Blue Angels were in town this weekend but leading up to their performance at the Fargo Air Show they practiced in the skies above. They screeched over my workplace numerous times. I actually had a pretty good view from my upper windows. It was hard to photograph a decent show since they zoomed by with lightning speed. But let me tell you, they came pretty close. It seemed we could hit them with a rock if they were not moving so fast.