After showers and another big breakfast, we walked down the road from the B&B to purchase bus and ferry tickets to visit the Aran Islands, of the western coast of Ireland. By the way, it was really great having the huge breakfasts. For one, the food was good but it also allowed us to skip lunch and spend the extra time site seeing.

We barely made the bus to head to the ferry, and it didn't hurt that it was a bit late. The ferry ride took about 60 minutes. Being on the water and moving fairly fast made for a chilly trip, but the sea was calm to make up for the cold.

We arrived at the large island, called Inishmore, and walked to the bike hire. You can tour the island three ways: bike, foot, and tour van. The weather was nice so had planned on renting bikes (€10/person). The bikes weren't in the greatest shape. Kelly's seat had issues staying up but we managed to rig it into position. Lucas' bike chain fell off anytime he changed gears, so it was one gear for the whole day. To avoid the main crowd of cyclists, once we got going we turned off of the main street. We shortly found out this put us on the tour route, just going backwards, which was fine. The road we were on followed the coastline and made for some great vistas. Our first stop was some church ruins and then a seal habitat. The seals were out (we think) so we tried to snap some photos with the digital zoom. You can be the judge if those are rocks or seals.

Later we came to a fork in the road and chose the 5km round trip that took us first to Clocan na Corraige, which is a hard way to say "beehive hut." These huts were commonly used by monks during the 5th and 6th centuries. They were small but provided enough shelter and the slant of the rocks shed rainwater from the dwelling.

The next site on the 5km trip was Na Seacht Teampaill (Seven Churches). These church ruins included a graveyard that is still used by island natives today.

After returning to the road fork, we headed up to Dun Aonghasa, the main attraction on the island. There was a small fee and an large uphill climb, but it was absolutely worth it. The hill climb ended at a sheer cliff dropping straight into the Atlantic. At the cliff's edge was Dun Aonghasa, a ring fort. The fort is essentially a semi-circle, with the open end bounded by the cliff. Unlike the Cliffs of Moher, there was no barrier here - you could just walk off the edge. The walls of the fort were built from stacked stones (as were all fences on the island - see the pictures)in three distinct layers/levels to account for settling earth. The views of the island and the ocean were spectacular and were popular photo subjects.

The ferry left the island at 5:00pm, and if you weren't there, you were sleeping on the island, so we headed back. The trip back was much more uphill than we expected, and after a whole day of riding we had to walk our bikes up a few hills. We made it to the dock with some time to spare and visited the Aran Sweater Shop. Sweaters from the island are known throughout Ireland for their quality and have to be certified. They have certain knit patterns that mean different things, such as love, wealth, happiness, etc. Some clans have their own knit pattern as well. Many of the sweaters there were handknit from wool from the islands. We returned our bikes after leaving the shop and headed for the ferry. In all, we guess we biked about 15 miles plus walking--an exhausting day. The Aran Islands were Kelly's favorite part of the trip and would be her recommendation to anyone planning a trip to Ireland--make sure to spend a day at least on Inishmore. The ferries to the other 2 small islands should be running by the summer, but were not running during the winter and spring months.

We took the ferry back and walked back to our B&B to unload our backpacks. We had dinner at a restaurant called Finnegans--Lucas had Irish stew and Kelly had Shepherd's pie. From there, we went by An Pucan (the pub from the first night in Galway) and enjoyed a drink while listening to the "trad" (live traditional Irish music). It was a fun way to end the day.

Click the picture below for our Day 4 photo album.

Here's a thought experiment. What would happen if some authoritative Christian body, such as the Episcopal Church, came out with a new version of the Bible with the worst of the bad stuff removed? There would be some backlash, of course. But what if the redactions were limited to a short list of indefensible verses? Let's say the new version left out Leviticus 25:44-46. Would Christians protest this new version? Would they fight to have the slavery-condoning verses included? If you are a Christian, would you refuse to use a Bible that excluded those verses?

I have follow-up questions, but I would like to see what people think about the initial question before I bring them out.

The first 2008 movie we saw this year, Strange Wilderness certainly isn't going to be anywhere near the top of the list. Honestly, we saw this movie because Ric couldn't stop laughing at the part of the commercial where a shark that looks like it has an overbite swims across the screen, and a voiceover can be heard making a yokel-type laugh. So, when that's the main reason for going to see a movie, chances are that it's not going to be all that amazing. We knew what we were getting into, which is exactly why we saw it for $2.

Starring Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, and Ashley Scott (Jericho), Strange Wilderness is about a guy who hosts a cable TV show about animals. His show is failing and will be canceled unless he can pull off a really great show. He and his crew receive a tip about the location of Bigfoot and decide to find him. With a motor home full of misfits, there's bound to be a few laughs.

There actually are a few laughs in this movie. It's not entirely bad. Steve Zahn is good at what he does, and he really is a very good physical comedic actor. The actual footage from the Strange Wilderness TV show is funny too. Ric was surprised at the couple of times I actually laughed really hard at a joke.

But, oh my. There certainly are a lot of flops. It doesn't help that the actors often actually look like they are trying not to laugh in the middle of their more serious scenes. Besides that, there are two scenes in this movie that have things I never wanted to see, never needed to see, and wish I could forget. One tries too hard to be like There's Something About Mary, while the other seems like something we might have seen in another Ben Stiller movie, if only he had thought of it first. Let's just say that the hospital scene involving a turkey and the male anatomy is absolutely WRONG.

I guess you could say it's very hit and miss with its comedy. And it definitely was a hit for that shark scene! There are many, many things wrong with Strange Wilderness, but oddly enough, I don't regret seeing it. I just wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

Ric and I saw In the Heat of the Night at the Agadoni household, after a jambalaya dinner, while eating far too much candy of the chocolate and peanut butter variety. I think we all got a bit of a sugar high, followed by a low, which means I did get a tiny bit sleepy while watching, but it really was a very good movie.

Set in the south in the 1960s, Sidney Poitier's Mr. Tibbs happens to be passing through town and is found at the train station while the local police are on a hunt for a killer. They decide to take him in and treat him rather poorly until they discover that he's a cop too, and then they end up needing his help on their homicide case. Rod Steiger co-stars as Chief Gillespie, whose treatment of Virgil Tibbs ranges from friendship to abuse.

The dialog and acting are the highlights of this movie, particularly those of the lead characters. But, besides character studies, we have a murder mystery, and one that gets more and more complex as the movie progresses. It's very smart and plays to a smart audience, which I really appreciated.

Something I also appreciated was that this movie makes comments on issues of race without throwing them in the audience's face. Poitier never stops in the middle of a scene to complain that he's being treated poorly because he's black - it's obvious. This movie doesn't have to resort to obviousness, and that's what makes it great. It's no wonder that the movie earned quite a few awards and nominations.

Kudos to Ryan for picking this one! Can't wait to see what your next selection will be, a few weeks from now. And kudos to Amy, who joined me in adopting a new phrase for everyday life: "Ya dig?" We even used it simultaneously one time at work without rehearsing it!

It's April, which in Kirksville means it's time for everyone to haul out all of the large trash that has accumulated over the last year and set it on our front lawns. At some time during the week the city trash collectors will come by and pick up whatever oversized trash would go uncollected in a normal week. The unusual thing about it is that we don't know what day they will visit each street, so we all set our trash on the curb on Monday and wait up to a week for it to be taken away.

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Battlestar Galactica: Wear Your Battlestar On Your Sleeve

I'm still a season behind, but as expected, I'm in love with Battlestar Galactica. The internets are abuzz with the Friday premiere of Season 4 and rightfully so. I know folks who are into it who normally wouldn't be into a sci-fi show, so if that is holding you back, definitely give it a whirl.

The Onion: Stop Making Movies About My Books (by Dr. Seuss)

It's icky, it's tacky, it's awkward, it's wrong.
The Whos look like ferrets, it's an hour too long.
What a rotten idea to spend millions destroying
This masterful tale kids spent decades enjoying!

But still you keep making them!
Just how do you dare?
Sell my life's work off piecemeal
To every Tom, Dick, and Har'.

This must stop! This must end! Don't you see what you're doing?
You're defiling the work I spent ages accruing.
And when it's dried up and you've sucked out your pay
There'll be no going back to a simpler day,

When your mom would give Horton a voice extra deep,
And turn the last page as you drifted to sleep.
Instead you'll have boxed sets, shit movies, and… well,
You'll have plenty to watch while you're burning in hell.