The Vote is In

...And I am deeply unimpressed with my readership. Though I am posting this three days late, I have received a grand total of -- wait, let me count again -- one vote. Even I, though I know my readership is small and inconsistent, am underwhelmed.

...

In any case, I suppose I have to take this to mean that my readers are unanimous: the winner of the Bearded Man Challenge is -- drumroll, please -- Owen.
Perhaps I should announce it with rather more pomp and circumstance, but I really don't have much more presentation for it; Owen will receive, as promised, some kind of silly, and utterly superfluous prize, and....that will conclude things.

So, for the last time here,
PLaATS,
--Gazebo

The End (And Week 9 of the BMC)

It is with very little regret that I announce here that this blog is approaching its terminus. I say this, not because I dislike blogging (indeed, when I actually get around to it, I love it, and may continue on another blog -- but I'll address that in a bit), but rather, because as of Thursday, I will no longer be living in Sweden, which makes a blog whose purpose is to report my stay in Sweden rather obsolete. The reason I don't regret this is because it means going home and seeing all (most) of my friends again, the majority of whom I haven't seen in six months now.

On another note, I have the final (belated) entries for the Bearded Man Challenge:

Here I am, grinning like a madman after coming back from Italy:


And my chin (also grinning -- secretly):


Presenting...the Spaniard!


And by "Spaniard," I mean Irishman...with a stache:



And a gor -- I mean, Anna:


I don't have a witty comment for this one...may the gods preserve me:


So actually, this won't be the absolute last post here; for the next week, I will be accepting votes for the final winner of the BMC via email or comments on this (the blog page -- for you Facebookers, I may not check the comments there, so send me an email). As a clarification, I am posting this on Wednesday, August 29th, so the deadline will be Wednesday, September 5th...but if, at some point, I still haven't posted a winner, your vote will probably still be taken.

In other news, as I mentioned, I have just returned from my tour of Europe, having visited England, France, and Italy. As usual, don't expect photos (unless you're reading this on Facebook, and even then, don't count on it), but I might put up a few at some point. Also, if you ask me in person, I'd be happy to tell you stories about it, but I really would rather not type up a full report of the trip here, so I'll stick to the essentials --

Vital Statistics of the Trip:

3 Airplanes
1 Punt
1 Water Taxi
1 Private Car
2 Funiculars
11 Subways
11 Taxis
24 Trains
41 Busses

...and...

57 Pizzas

Obviously the most important information regarding the trip, so what else needs to be said?

Still More News:

Though this blog is ending, I will be working on other projects in the near future, including a webcomic, to be found here, though I will probably move it as soon as I can find a more convenient way to host it (right now, it's a subdirectory of a friend's website), and will post a link to the new location both here and where it is now. In theory, it will update once a week, although we'll see how regular this turns out to be. Additional future projects may include a podcast, another blog, and/or another webcomic, this in collaboration with a friend of mine, all of which will be linked to here, so this blog may turn into nothing more than a stomping ground for links to other projects...
So be it.

For almost the last time, I am welcoming questions, comments, love notes or hate mail at smithw12321@gmail.com

Peace, Love, and All That Jazz,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man -- Eighth Week

So I more or less missed the seventh week, and I'm not going back...the hike was great, though -- there are pictures up on my Facebook, for those of that have Facebook. For those of you that don't....I'm lazy, and it's past my bedtime. Maybe I'll get some up later. I suppose, though, a brief summary wouldn't kill me:
I was with my brother, my dad, a friend of mine, his brother, and their dad, up in Lapland, which, for those of you unfamiliar with Swedish geography, is a section of Sweden far up north, above the Arctic circle. Most of the hike was through huge glacial valleys, which were beautiful -- there were no trees at all (except for the first and last days), so all the mountains around us looked like overgrown hills that you could run up in five minutes. Of course, to even reach the base would have taken at least half an hour; remove anything to give you perspective, and, well, you don't have perspective. It was somewhat odd, actually. On the second to last day, we climbed the highest mountain in Sweden: Kebnekaise. The peak was very strange -- the entire rest of the mountain was bare rocks, but on top of the level section was what looked like a scaled down model of the Matterhorn, or a cartoon of a snowy mountain. It was very bizarre.
That being more or less the highlight of the trip, it proceeded to rain until we got off trail, assisting the rocks in doing nasty things to my feet. But they've more or less recovered since, so all's well that ends well.

Moving on, now, here is this week's update for the BMC:

Anna, as always:


And her chin up close:


Me, post shower:


And (yawn...three twenty in the morning...) my chin:


So, beginning next week, the BMC (and, for that matter, anything related to this blog) will be more or less at random, when I can get to a computer, as I'm leaving on the third (friday) for the "grand tour" of europe -- we're going to England, and then through France, to Italy. By the time I get back to Sweden, it'll be time to pack to come home. Exciting, eh?
So don't expect too much in the way of updates, at least, not regular ones, from now on. But you can still send questions, comments, cryptic messages, love notes, and death threats to smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Sixth Week

So I lied. I did not get the Paris pictures up, and, as it seems, I'm unlikely to. In fact, if ever I say that I will post pictures of something other than the bearded man challenge, assume I'm lying, because I'm simply not that organized.
In other news, those of you who have long memories (or who feel like reading through my archives) will recall that, back before I left, I was upset, because Metallica was playing in Stockholm and I couldn't get tickets. However, I managed to see them anyways!
The show was on thursday, and took place in an open-air ampetheater. I was able to stand across the street from the entrance and see a good deal of it; I could pick out James (the singer/rhythm guitarist), Kirk (lead guitar), and Rob (bass) some of the time. The only one I couldn't see was Lars (drums), which, I suppose, given the way the man has acted, is as it should be.
Partly because I don't feel like going on for too long, and partly because my battery is not long for this world, I'm going to move on to this week's BMC updates; if you want more details on the show, email me or IM me (for those that have my IM).

So, without further ado, the Bearded Man Challenge:

Anna: that beard's coming along nicely -- and I like the mustache; looks kind of Spanish, turned up at the ends like that.

And her chin up close. Unless I'm mistaken (and I'm not; I checked), that's the first time in a while that we've had a side-chin shot like that.


And now my face, in all its glory...


And my MMMs (see week 4) -- smile!:


One last piece of news, before I depart: next week, I will be unable to update the Bearded Man Challenge on schedule, as I will be hiking in northern Sweden with family and friends. I believe we return on the 25th, which is Wednesday, and will attempt to post then (although I'm not entirely sure that's the date of return, so it may be later). Between now and then...read Deathly Hallows!!
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Fifth Week

So...this blog seems to be deteriorating; I haven't posted much in the way of anything in the past couple of weeks except for updates on the Bearded Man Challenge, which take all the effort of....I don't know, swatting a fly, or something. In any case, I am hereby resolving to, on those weeks that I am in town (of which there will be few in the upcoming month or so), put up at least one post that does not relate to the BMC. Hopefully, I will be able to get the Paris pictures up soon, and then next week, I'll rant about something random...

In any case, here is this week's update:

Anna, looking like...like...*sings* "a sweep is as lucky as lucky can be..."
Er...I mean...

And looking like a convict...or something:


And now me, with glasses (gasp!):


But not really using them....and my mug up close:


And, as always, send me death threats or marriage proposals: smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Fourth Week

I return from Paris! A full description is forthcoming, but not tonight. That must wait until I get the photos (of which there are many) onto this computer; the best of which, I will post here. The rest will be posted on my facebook, and I'll send out emails of some to interested parties (there are really far too many to email them all out).
Now on to the Bearded Man Challenge! Owen and Conner are absent as of yet, but I'm told they will be sending the pictures later, and I'll post them then.

Here's Anna....I wanted to say this last time, but restrained myself; I can't resist now: she looks like a chimney sweep:


And her chin up close (a smile!):


And me, with my ridiculous tousled hair (I've been getting grief for doing that):


And my Massively Masculine Mandibles (tee-hee):


So, until next time (tomorrow or whenever I get around to it),
PLaATJ,
--Gazebo

The Bearded Man Challenge -- Week Three

Yet another round of the Bearded Man Challenge. Since Connor and Owen (yes, they are brothers, although they hardly look like it) are in San Diego, they are unrepresented this week, but there are still two of us, and more are always welcome.

So, without further ado...Anna:


And her chin...definitely progressing, that:


And me, handsome as always for those interested (you know who you are):


And my jaw...as a friend of mine said, my "charismatic chin":


And...the usual waffle about join the BMC. Also, send the usual (questions, comments, death threats, marriage proposals) to smithw12321@gmail.com
PLaATJ,
-Gazebo