Colin's Coffee Employee to Ride Greyhound Bus to California and Back.

Annie Deibel isn't your average coffee shop employee. Recently graduated from Upper Arlington High School she will be attending Columbus School of Art & Design this fall. She also is actively pursuing a career in comedy and last spring spent two weeks working with Second City in Chicago.

For her summer vacation she is traveling alone from Columbus to San Francisco via San Diego and then back, all by Greyhound bus. Yeah, the actual Greyhound bus.

"I should meet some interesting people."

The bus leaves from downtown Columbus Sunday July 20th at 7 am.

If you wish to ride shotgun with Annie on her two week adventure, click here for the link to her Facebook page.

Mick Jagger Introduces Monty Python. "The Best One Died Years Ago."

Though almost a million people have already seen this clip of Mick Jagger (and Charlie Watts) introducing Monty Python via video, I just saw it recently so maybe you missed it, too. Thanks to Steve Quinn for recommendation. Good stuff. Enjoy! - Colin

Subscribe to the Official Monty Python Channel here - http://smarturl.it/SubscribeToPython Mick Jagger introduces the Monty Python Live (mostly) Press Conference Welcome to the official Monty Python YouTube channel. This is the place to find top quality classic Python videos, as well as some special stuff that you'll only find here - such as interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from our live shows.

The infamous Pet Shop (sometimes known as the Dead Parrot sketch) scene originally performed by Monty Python in Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Pencilstorm Has the Internet's Biggest Firework Display. (w/playlist)

First the good news: instead of battling traffic jams, massive crowds and random bottle- rockets being shot at your head by gangs of roving Juggalos, you can enjoy the world's greatest fireworks in the safety of your own home, compliments of Pencilstorm.  You are welcome.  (Grantland can kiss our Red, White and Blue ass.)  The less good news is the "World's Greatest Fireworks Display" happens to be from Kuwait.  Still, they appear to be celebrating some sort of "Constitution" and we did save their ass back in the original Gulf War, so Uncle Sam surely helped light a couple of these candles. Enjoy!  USA!  USA!   - Colin G.     (Wal takes it after the boom.)

For the paltry sum of just £10million Kuwait earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records last night as it celebrated the golden jubilee anniversary of its constitution in style by laying on the biggest fireworks display of all time.

Take it Wal Ozello...

 It's that time of year again. Grilling out, someone gets a keg, and then everyone piles into a car and heads out to the fireworks.  Whether you're going local this year, or heading down to Red, White, and Boom, chances are you will hear Katie Perry's Fireworks this season.  Thanks for ruining Fourth of July for us. As if Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA wasn't annoying enough.

So we here at Pencilstom have some suggestions for an alternative playlist. Some are fireworks related, some are patriotic, and some are just kick-ass to listen to while explosions happen above you in the sky.

Wal's List

T.N.T. - AC/DC

American Idiot - Green Day

Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (This is America's rock anthem, and NOT Born In the U.S.A. - that's a totally different blog discussion.)

American Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Panama - Van Halen

Colin's List

Heaven's On Fire - Kiss  or  Rocket Ride - Ace Frehley  or  God of Thunder - Kiss

Tick Tick Boom - The Hives

Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N Roses

Kick Out the Jams - MC5

Ricki's List

Fourth Of July - Dave Alvin

4th Of July - Aimee Mann

4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - Bruce Springsteen

Dirty Boulevard - Lou Reed

Summer In The City - The Lovin' Spoonful

That's it for this year's playlist.

Enjoy the Fourth. Be safe. Thank a soldier for your freedom.

Our Debut "Podcast" Coming Next Week. Stay Tuned.

Words, words, thoughts, thoughts, reading, reading. It all gets very tiring doesn't it?. In an effort to soothe yours and our overworked brains, Pencilstorm will be featuring a Podcast the week of June 23th. Now you can just mindlessly listen to your favorite Pencilstorm staff members chat about all the interesting topics we love to cover for your pleasure and forget about that cumbersome reading that is so taxing on your eyeholes. So stay tuned  and click on the link to our "Podcast" when it appears next week. I personally guarantee satisfaction and a pleasant surprise as well. - Colin

It's The Most Important Day In American History - Let's Do Something About It By Wal Ozello

Today is the anniversary of the "Shot Heard Around The World."

If you weren't paying attention during American History class in high school and have no idea what I'm talking about, you may remember this:

That's right. It's the anniversary of the start of the American Revolution. See, a few centuries ago the country was actually ruled by British Monarchy instead of Fox News and MSNBC. A bunch of Americans wanted to be free so they went to war against the British. They estimate over 50,000 soldiers either died or were wounded fighting for freedom. 

In fact, it may be news to you, but there have been LOTS of wars over the past century during which Americans sacrificed their lives so our democratic freedoms can stay intact. Almost 3 million people have been wounded or died in those battles.

Can you imagine that sacrifice? Laying down your life so that others can be free? Think about it. Chief Warrant Officer Eric W Totten probably had just a few seconds to think about it as his Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan on May 5, 2006.  He didn't live to see his 35th birthday just five days later. The only thing I have in common with this guy is we share the same birthday.

So here's my point: all these people have died for you - for your freedom and to make this country a better place. What are you doing about it?

How are you making the United States of America better?  I'm not talking about supporting gun rights, civil rights, or politics here.  I'm talking about the real things that make our nation great.

Help your fellow American. Give them a leg up. Smile to others as you walk through the park, Wal-Mart, or whatever you do on a Saturday. Volunteer at an animal shelter or senior center. Walk or bike in a Cancer Cure race. Donate to a charity. Clean up the park. Help the homeless. Give back to the world around you.

Stop pointing ideological fingers at each other and just be nice to people.

We have the greatest country on the face of this earth. Let's make it better so those Americans that died so fearlessly for our freedom didn't die in vain.

One more thing I have to ask you - whenever you see a soldier, thank them for their service and sacrifice. It doesn't have to be April 19th or July 4th to appreciate them.

Wal Ozello is the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars, a novel about World War III fought as a temporal cold war.  He's never served in the Armed Forces but is thankful for their sacrifice and all they do to keep this country great.

Learn more about Wal Ozello and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here

More News You Missed While Hearing About The Plane

This continuous reporting of the missing plane in the Indian Ocean reminds me of an eight year old giving me updates on the progress of their video game.  It seems like every 5 minutes I get a new report about meaningless progress they are making.  Listen folks, when you get to Level 12, beat the game, and actually find the plane, let us know.  Until then, let us know about some real news.

Sure, I'll give you guys kudos for starting to shed more light on the Mudslide in Washington.  But it took you three days to bring the story to the forefront and now all you're left with is interviews with family members looking for their loved ones.  Oh.... and a running tally of how many bodies they found.  Thanks for turning this sad news story into a sensational reality show.

As I was flipping through all the news stories last night, I was shocked to see another important news story buried beyond the plane, mudslide, government, Russia, etc. stories.

Did you know there was an oil spill in Lake Michigan the other night?

Yep. Seems like BP did it again. You can read about it here. Affected about a half a mile of Lake Michigan just above Indiana.

You know what's most pathetic about all this? Pencilstorm is starting to be your news source for real information. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get back to blogging about something fun.

Wal Ozello is the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars and is the lead singer of the Columbus hairband Armada. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

Learn more about Wal Ozello and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here