Yeah, the U.S should invade Brazil and Italy!, by Riccardo

The Zest Test, by Sue

In a recent comment to Jake’s Awesome Scab entry, Mary Banman made the following comparison of the Banman/Schattel’s Zack and the Sileci’s Cookie: “Seems he [Zack] has won my heart with his enthusiasm for life. I wish we could all have such spirit. Cookie's a fine dog but Zack has such.... zest.”

zest –noun
1. keen relish; hearty enjoyment; gusto.
2. an agreeable or piquant flavor imparted to something.
3. anything added to impart flavor, enhance one's appreciation, etc.
4. piquancy; interest; charm.
5. liveliness or energy; animating spirit.
6. the peel, esp. the thin outer peel, of a citrus fruit used for flavoring: lemon zest.

In Italian this would be “zestiboni”. In Portuguese, “zestitividade”. In North Carolina, “zay-est”.

Zest. Who could say that Zack lacks zest? Not I! But does Cookie lack zest and hence a place in Mary’s heart? And what of Laramie? Has he no zest? Audrey currently lives with a dog named Becky who might have zest. We can only imagine the a zest-filled life being lived under Mary’s bed. Has TJ and Jennifer’s cat zest? Where is the zest in Dad’s garden? And what of Maggie Sileci? Skinks = Zest! Perhaps the new Jammin’ Banman Stefan, living in Kansas and welcome to contribute at any time, has a pet with zest. What of the Banman/Schattel cats?

Not only animals have zest. I myself have moments of zest. I’ve seen Allison attack a box of Nerds with a certain zest. And Chris’s curling iron is used with what could only be called zest.

As you can see, it’s premature to measure zest and hence a winning place in anyone’s heart.

I’d like to now propose a ZEST TEST. Send us one or two photos of your pet doing something zestworthy. And/or send us one or two photos of yourself doing a zestworthy activity. And we will vote for the Jammin’ Banman, be he human or animal, with the most zest. Rules:
* All photos must be submitted by Sunday, September 2.
* You may add several descriptive lines if you think it will help your cause.
* The winner will receive an incredible prize, sent all the way from the Jammin’ Banman Headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil.
* All Jammin’ Banmans may vote, once the voting period has been established.
* If a Jammin’ Banman chooses not to vote or submit an entry, this person may not whine later on.
* The winner must send a photo of himself or herself enjoying the prize.

I’m on a quest to find zest. What about you?

For The Guerilla Who Has Everything, by Jim and Chris

That table is a terrific idea; however, the South Americans are way, way ahead of us.

This just in: Colombian instrument makers Jose Paredes assembles an AK47 rifle to be used as an electric guitar in his workshop in Bogota, seen in this photo taken on October 2, 2006. Musical craftsman Luis Alberto Paredes and his family have branched out from their fine classic string instruments to fashion electric guitars from shotguns and AK47s once used by fighters caught up in the country's lingering conflict.

And straight to store shelves in Taiwan...

Awesome Scab, by Jake

This is my scab that I got from a skateboard injury in August. Me and my friends were going down the big hill in front of my house, and gradually I got higher until I got to the top then I went down with enormous speed. It was all fine until I got to the bottom then my skateboard started to wobble and then I fell off and rolled down. Good thing I had a helmet on!

Anyway my new fourth grade class [Mr. Fields class] is awesome there are so many kids in that class that I know. We are studying North Carolina. Today I played with Sanjay and he is also in my class.

Here are some photos of Zack barking out of the window.

Safe Bedside Table, by Chris

It is reported that 50% of people in London are worried about security and sleep with some form of self-defence to hand, for use against intruders.

The 'Safe Bedside Table' has a removable leg that acts as a club and a top that doubles as a shield for self-defence. This is for people who are willing to take on an intruder, providing an extra sense of security whilst in bed.

Shoes and flowers, by Judy

Some of you may be wondering: Where are THE SHOES in the picture Jim submitted of T.J. and Jennifer? The answer: To get to the site for the ceremony we had to walk about 75 yards over rocks down into the canyon so none of the females wore heels. You'll notice Jennifer's bouquet, however, is red roses and green orchids that matched THOSE SHOES which she wore to the dinner following the ceremony.

Wanna contact Audrey?

Here's Audrey's mailing address:
Audrey Sileci
V. le XXV Aprile N.7
Torino 10133
Italy

Here's Audrey's phone number (that will be subject to all sorts of international codes, depending on where you're calling from):
39-011-661-5704

Here's Audrey's new e-mail address:
italiana@sileci.com

She asked me to stress that she's out traveling with her family this month and not able to get online very often. If you write her at this e-mail address and she doesn't write back quickly, be patient. She's probably not anywhere near a computer!

Cool tamed down times, by Allison

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
A big highlight was going to DC with Sue, Chris, Grandma, Audrey, Natalie, and Jake! it was SO much fun and i learned a lot from it. another would be my trip to Dallas this past weekend. It was a trip for the college age kids from church, we went to learn about new church planing and visited with lots of new Christians and it was really cool, also went to Six Flags, but i'm not really into roller coasters so i stuck with the cool tamed down rides. I finished work this past Wed. we ended with going to the Cosmosphere in Hutch, i think most of the kids liked it, but it was a good summer job, don't know if i'll want to do it next year though. Also our exchanged student came from Germany, Stefan, he's cool!

me working in a wooded area in Dallas at the new church started there. i found a tarantula and we killed it and its on the end of my clippers

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?
School and volleyball will be fun and a challenge! i move in this tues (the 21st) and we have 2 vball practices a day, then classes start on the 28th. i'm taking some social work classes to see if i'm interested in that, and a human religion and identity class. for those of you who were on the DC trip at the Holocaust Museum i bought the book Night by Elei Weisel or something, i can't remember how you spell it. i read it was it was really good! but it turns out i even need that for a class this year, so i've got one book done early!

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
Went shopping yesterday, and bought the 3rd season of the Simple Life, Audrey and Natalie will appreciate this more than anyone i'm assuming. this is by far the best season, too bad i didn't have it when we went on the trip! and today i'm going to the lake with Chad and my good friend Courtney and her boyfriend Zach. Then we're cooking dinner for the boys tonight, i think it'll be Pesto Chicken Pizza, hopefully we'll be able to grill the pizza. and maybe some nutella brownies w/ a few other things. Chad moves into college tomorrow so we wanted to do something fun.

What’s your latest YouTube fixation?
I haven't been on youtube in a month maybe...and its blocked on our computer for some reason. but when i get back to school i'm sure i'll have one and i'll send on then!

our family at the airport with Stefan

Ciao!!!, by Audrey

Ciao!!!

So umm... I kind of umm... you know... (cough, cough) lost and forgot the questions I was supposed to answer here... HOWEVER, here is some of the news from Italy:

1. I am here and I am alive!!! woohoo!!

2. The family here is amazing. They are all super nice, loving, and altogether the best family I could have possibly asked for. Ive had a couple talks already with the mom about the rest of my stay here and have relaxed a lot about it. She really does want me to have the best experience here I can possibly have. Giorgia, the older sister, is a LOT like me. We are alike in terms of the music we listen to, the movies we like (by the way, the entire family loves Peter Pan! Giorgia also went through a crazy fase about it, but they all love it!!! its crazy), clothes we like, etc. Filippo (age 14..today!) is the sweetest boy in the world. Full of energy and with the biggest heart, you always know where he is and what hes feeling. Hes lots of fun to be around. Lulu is only 8 years old and is the cutest little thing in the world! Shes the baby of the family, and I think that even when they dont agree on anything else, everyone LOVES Lulu very very much. And Dario (the father) is pretty quiet, but always trying to make sure Im okay and that I have what I need, got enough to eat, like what Im eating, etc.

3. They have a motorhome which we took to Paris!! Woohoo!! Oh, it awesome! I was there for a full three days. By the way, they even had a Starbucks and Claires there! I was pretty amazed. We visited the outside of the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame.........and even Disneyland! Lulu went there with a friend and her family (which is actually the reason we went in the first place: to pick her up.) Fi, Gio, and I used their tickets for an hour to go into the actual park (I had to pretend to be 11...=P).
4. School only starts on September 11. I know...lucky day, right? Oh well. And since Fi and Gio both have extracurricular activites (soccer and choir so far), the plan is to look for a dance place for me when we settle down again in Turin. Apparently tango is the fashion here and theres a really good school near their house, so I might do that. Who knows? I might come back a fancy tango dancer and show off to my teacher (who refused to teach tango to me while I was there). Oh, and Federica is going to get a year long bus ticket for me, Fi, and Gio, which I can use freely as soon as I learn to get around here. Plus, shes giving me a celphone so that she can contact me anytime. And rules for going out are: She needs to know where and with who. If Im gonna come back late, its no problem as long as she can pick me up herself (she stays up for a long time).

5. Im still suffering with Italian, but slowly.... io sono imparando (I am learning).

Now I think Im going to go rest and sleep... Im exhausted from the travel. Although all of this is fun, it is also very tiring.

Un bacio a tutti! (A kiss to all)

Ciao!

Can't say I didn't post anything..., by Riccardo

The Young Woman No One Understood, by Mary

I've had a busy July getting over my trip to Switzerland and then the trip to Gettysburg and Washington DC which you've read about. Took me a couple of weeks to recuperate.

I don't have much exciting planned for August - just getting back on schedule with work, picking up Jake at school which is always a joy for me and friends and church.

I have been corresponding a bit with Craig about his baseball and now football practice starts. He and I are both big Bronco fans which I love because Craig's cousins and uncles are KC Chiefs fans. Don't know about Jim - think he's a "fair weather" fan even though he has season tickets. I always look forward to the NFL season starting.

I took Jake along with a friend and her three grandson to see "Underdog" which is really a cute movie. Also want to see "Becoming Jane" - supposed to be good.

We Are People Too, by Natalie

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
I think it's kind of obvious. Going to the US was great. I learned a bunch, and had tooons of fun! I enjoyed being with Allison, Grandma Judy, Grandps, Grandma Banman, Chris, Jake. We went to a whole bunch of interessting places. I enjoyed it a lot!

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?
I think sports will be hard. I'm doing JV soccer, and Varsity basketball until JV starts, then I'll do JV basketball. I have a soccer game on Thursday at Graded. And basketball game on Friday against St.Paul's at PACA. It'll be hard, especially since I hurt my right thigh during PE in soccer. We hadn't stretched, so it hurt when I kicked it. It still does.

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
Nope.

What’s your latest YouTube fixation?

I had to add this, by Sue

I think this is beyond beautiful. I love it.

Way Too Big For Words, by Craig

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
highlights of july are state baseball

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?
im really looking forward to fball in augest

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
no other exciting news

What’s your latest YouTube fixation?
i dont watch youtube

[Editor's note: Since everyone has a video in August, Craig and I agreed on one I could embed for him.]

The Man Who Never Returned, by Jim

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
There was this little trip, as everyone has seen, in which we had a grand time with Audrey and Natalie sailing to and fro on Boothbay Harbor. And then another five days with Susan as well in Boston. There we were riding forever aboard the MTA subway through the dark underground Boston. Most of you are way too young to remember the Kingston Trio ditty about the misadventures of Charley on that Boston subway system.

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?
The fun and challenges are by now behind us. That would be the marriage of Jennifer and TJ high atop Colorado National Monument on August 4 and then our trip to steamy, blistering Elkhart to watch all-star Craig play in two all-state Babe Ruth baseball games on August 12. West team lost the first game and won the second (we think) in that we left for home with an inning to go. We need to defer the details to Craig and Sandy in their August report. Here are two photographic previews of coming attractions -- Craig at bat and Jennifer and TJ at their wedding site.

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
No tidbits here. We're now focusing on our upcoming two weeks in Kenya September 12 through 29. We've got our malaria and typhoid pills. Our guide and pilot, Mark Ross, now wants us to bring him eight of his new book, "Predators," eight cans of airplane engine oil additive and some bee sting kits for friends. We shall see how all that gets through airport security.

No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive, by Paul

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
Alaska, El Paso, New Mexico, and the very cool latino people I met down in the Southwest. I went from hanging out in Anchorage with the Yupik people (modern day eskimos) to the Border Patrol in the desert Southwest. Can you say culture shock? Also, from personal experience, I now know how to cook excellent Mexican food, veggie style. And eat it, too.

What looks like fun - or a challenge - for August?
Keeping up with my schedule. I've hit a busy patch, which in the freelance world is another way of saying 'You shouldn't turn anything down -- it might get slow soon.' So I work. And work. And work. All day. For weeks. For months.

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
I recently got a ... (wait for it) ... Blackberry. Now I get upwards of fifty junk mails a day. On my cell phone. Cool!

What's your latest YouTube fixation?
As always, Bruuuce! There is no other rock god who compares. The very definition of a great guitar solo at 3:00. Try to resist!

Love Is Like A Shadow, by Sue

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?
You’ve seen a lot of what I considered fun for July and August. We had a blast on our trip to the States, starting with sailing camp and ending with a visit to John Edwards and his family in Rhode Island. There were so many fun things we did and I’d do it all again tomorrow if I could. It wasn’t all happy: the only thing that was worse than the crowds of Times Square late one Saturday night was saying goodbye to Audrey in Boston. There was nothing easy about either! But the rest? Great!

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?
* Watching Natalie play JV soccer and varsity basketball, starting this week.
* Alternating editing with sewing dog blankets from donated scraps and old clothes.
* Sleeping in my own bed with my dog, books, alarm clock and family (sometimes) by my side.
* Finding 150 more sponsors for the AmSoc Angel Party. Interested?
* Working out again after the summer break of three weeks. (Oh it hurts.)

Any other exciting tidbits to share? There won’t be a cheerleading squad at PACA for the first time in a long time. I hear they might try again next semester. Audrey, are they waiting for you?

What’s your latest YouTube fixation?
I’ve been too busy to come up with a new one so I’ll submit this oldie that a few of us dearly loved when discovered about a year ago. This is one of the all-time favorites of many Jammin' Banmans.

A Product of the 80s, by Chris

What were the highlights of the month of July (or August till this date)?

Well, the delightful trip to Gettysburg and Washington DC was a real highlight of July, with Sue, Audrey, Natalie, Grandma, Allison and Jake. Jake told Paul the other night, "Sue taught me so much about Gettysburg". He may be the only kid on the block with a Lincoln poster in his room. We had a great time. I officially have the Best Nieces Ever.

What looks like fun – or a challenge – for August?

We hope to get through this heat wave (global warming - get used to it!) since we have no A/C in this house.

Any other exciting tidbits to share?
I actually had a dream I was cleaning the bathroom sink. I really need to get a life.

What’s your latest YouTube fixation?

Revisiting my past; lots of live "Pink Floyd" (love that David Gilmour), and old 80's standby videos like "Kids in America". OK, I'm a product of the 80's! And proud of it!