A Book and a Movie

I've finished "Bad Blood", a Virgil Flowers mystery by John Sandford I read entirely on a Nook. It was great start to finish, and those last fifty pages - whoa.

"30 Days of Night: Dark Days"? I didn't even pay for the rental, and I *still* want a refund.

Facebook - the last week of May

MAY 24TH

As Lost departs, some good news: Glee has been picked up for a 3rd season. Yes, they're still in the 1st, which means we have at least two more years to watch.

No doubt mold exposure has health consequences, but HGTV is on & the steps taken to contain & remove a *small* amount of mold seem insane. Then a revelation - the contractor started out in asbestos removal. As that biz declined, the owner says they morphed to mold removal & "got the word out about the dangers". Huh. You'll excuse me if I think that translates to "stoked America's paranoia to keep the $$ coming in."

St Adalbert Alumni - Today I ran into Miss Hutch== for the first time in 20 years. Her hair was cut close to the scalp, with a pencil thin ponytail running down her skull to her shoulders. Not quite the traditional look of a Catholic school principal, eh?

May 25th

President Obama said that we rely too much on gadgets. He gave a passionate speech about technology, but he had to stop when the teleprompter broke. - Craig Ferguson

Just finished "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters, a ghost story set in the countryside of postwar England. Waters is a heck of a writer, and her prose sings. Here's the problem: there are literally ~ 9 pages of action in the 463 pg novel, almost all of it retold by a third party. I suppose the last line of the novel is supposed to 'unlock the secret' of the house, but is it worth the effort to get there?

I DVR'd a Torchwood marathon on BBC, the first time I've had a chance to see this Doctor Who spinoff. Much darker than Who, but so far the acting and writing are top notch. The negatives? As usual writer/creator Russell T. Davies tries hard to push his personal beliefs on the audience, which always gets on my nerves.

We're watching the finale of DWTS [Dancing w/ the Stars], and in particular Kate Gosselin's 'rise to the heavens'. May I just say - WTH??? Lisa and I burst out laughing, as did Tom Bergeron, and probably most of America. Oh Lawdy.

Nicole won Season 10 of DWTS, and she deserved the title. The whole finale was over the top but fun to watch. OTOH, American Idol sucked. Bowersox's 'Black Velvet' was impressive vocally but she looked (let's be honest) like a clydesdale in that black dress. Yikes. Meanwhile Lee brought his C game at best. Bowersox will/should take the crown of a crappy, crappy season.

"Studies have shown that a strict dress code fosters a safe and stable learning enviroment with fewer instances of gang violence and vampirism" - Glee

MIB: Am I [wrong]? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress. - Lost

May 26th

The only thing worse than fiction that ignores the moral ambiguity of our world is fiction that creates ambiguity where there is none. Sometimes right is right and wrong is wrong, and watching a character struggle with obvious moral decisions doesn't inspire me: it tells me the author is lazy and ignorant of his characters motivations.

I post this [a link to a Doctor Who disappearing Tardis mug] for no other reason than I saw it on FB and suddenly remembered I owned one as a kid, although it was a much plainer design. I think I paid just as much tho' ($14.95) and that was 20+ years ago!

[re: Fergie's 'London Bridge'] I'm just saying: if you're a heterosexual man and can make it through this video without needing a box of kleenex and a cigarette chaser, then uh, maybe that time at Band Camp wasn't just to satisfy your curiosity. Not that there's anything wrong with that.



Aw, man. RIP Art Linkletter, age 97.

Lee wins American Idol?! I didn't see it coming but he's got a great commercial voice & should do fine. Congrats! As for the finale as a whole, wow, the average age of the performers was what - 81, 82? Joe Cocker, Bee Gees, Michael McDonald? Now I love me some BeeGee's, but overall this skewed far older than the audience they want/need, no? Loved seeing Alanis tho'. We should've named one of our daughters after her.

May 28th

Last night I started/finished Stephen King's new release "Blockade Billy", the story of a star MLB catcher that has his records erased forever after he does a little something . . . out of the norm. It also includes the story "Morality". An enjoyable, quick read. B+

Actor Gary Coleman is dead at age 42. RIP.

TV show's don't normally scare me - what am I, ten ? - but Torchwood may be the exception. Case in point, the episode 'Countrycide'. How the hell was that shown on broadcast TV, even in the UK? Folks being skinned and eaten for dinner, corpses everywhere - c'mon that was NUTS.

Got home from work, set the sprinkler out in the backyard for the kids, now cooking dinner and reading Rex Stout. A good afternoon/early evening.

Fed the kids, then took YaYa to the mall to get a new remote from Time Warner & somehow got suckered into spending $6 on scented hand sanitizer at Bath & Body Works. We got home in time to see the last 3 innings of the Brewers game and Hart's walk-off homer. Now I'm settling in for a night of Rex Stout and reruns of 'Justified'.

(radio station) The Brew is no more, ditching its 80's format. And I'll have to change my radio presets, since Smooth Jazz 106.9 has dumped jazz. Dangit.

May 29th

This morning we put our cat Billy, age 15-16 years, to sleep. Many, many tears to start this day. RIP Big Bill - you were The. Best. Cat. Ever.

RIP Dennis Hopper

Angelcakes, our remaining cat, just made a circuit of the house, I'd imagine looking for her friend Billy. She meowed to get my attention but fled rather quickly; sad. On a brighter note, I just watched Corey Hart blast his 2nd homer of the night, a sure HR the second it left his bat.

Congrats to Roy Halladay on his perfect game for the Phillies. (he would later pitch a no-hitter in the post-season)

Thanks for all the kind thoughts today. We didn't cxl any of our plans, hoping to keep the kids minds focused away from Billy. Lisa, Smiley and YaYa went up north to visit friends; LuLu went skating w/ a friend and to a party; I did some yard work, went grocery shopping, wrote, read, and watched baseball. Still, a shitty day.

May 30th

The more you put in a brain the more it will hold - Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)

I finished "The Father Hunt" by Rex Stout today, a mystery centered around a paternity case. Not the strongest of Stout's plots, but otherwise a typical Nero Wolfe mystery - which is to say, a great read.

May 31st

I just finished writing and submitting a piece for the Journal on a computer with a mouse that doesn't track and a copy of Word that error'ed out and lost the complete first draft. I'm not even sure the attachment was correct, because that was finicky too. Jeez, except for the fact that I was clean, safe, & sitting on my butt, it was one step up from coal mining.

Star Island by Carl Hiassen and White House Diary by Jimmy Carter

A few days ago I finished "Star Island" by Carl Hiassen, an entertaining but forgettable novel about a spoiled pop star. I'm now ~ 150 pg's into Jimmy Carter's "White House Diary", which would mark the 4th bk on his Presidency I've read in the last 12 months. It's fascinating stuff, and at some point I'll devote a blog post or FB 'note' to some talking points about the text.

Royette Pickett November 28, 1942 - June 15, 2010

In mid-June Lisa's Aunt Royette passed away.

Royette, who was named after her father, was a genuinely kind woman who lived on her own in a senior apartment building while struggling to control the diabetes that took her life. She enjoyed Native American memorabilia, doll collecting, arts and crafts, and anything to do with Elvis and cats.

She also took a special interest in her grand-nieces, and more than once she had LuLu and YaYa spend the night. She seemed especially close to YaYa, and it was a fondness that was reciprocated. You can glimpse some of the love she had for my children in the pictures below.

Her death marked the beginning of a rough summer, and to my shame I failed to record her passing here. She deserved better. She was a good person, and we miss her. We really do.

Rest in Peace Aunt Royette.

I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

Facebook May 19th - 23rd

May 19th

Any dog'll turn

Nine bleeping losses in a row [for the Brewers]. Macha has to go. Not because he's the worst manager ever, or because replacing him will magically save the season. He should go because in baseball fans *believe* it will make a difference, and the fans pay the bills. This is even more true here in Milwaukee, where the dramatic Rogers/Kuehn switch took us all the way to Game Seven. So - who's the eventual replacement?

Lost didn't tape this week, for whatever reason, but I finally just finished the episode on ABC.com. GREAT GREAT episode, a wonderful lead-in to the series finale this Sunday.

‎re: the sinking of a S. Korean naval vessel: "The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack." Are you kidding me? North Korea TORPEDOED one of your warships and KILLED your citizens. I'd say the truce is worth jack shit.

May 21st

Lisa & watched a show on Ruby Ridge; what a needless waste. Then, we watched testimony from OR v Beagley, a case of alleged negligent homicide against parents who refused med treatment for their 16 yr old son. IMO, another case of the gov't overstepping its bounds. Gov't doesn't shrink or remain stagnant, it perpetually grows, like a cancer. I shudder to think what burdens our great-grandchildren will live under.

Yikes! The Girl Scouts just charged my card $200 towards summer camp - that'd be $200 I can't spare - despite the fact that I took care of that bill months ago. They've reversed the charges ("for now") but I need to redo some of the paperwork (?!) for the camp. Apparently a large chunk of the application was lost, & so their computer records are incomplete & I was charged as part of a mass billing . . .

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. - Henry David Thoreau

Babysitting my (soon to be) Godson TJ. Took him for a walk in the stroller with Lu and Ginger, stopped at a local playground, then spent time in the backyard. He seemed the happiest outdoors, breaking into huge grins for Lisa & the girls. Now he's asleep in the bouncer, but he's been a little grumpy. From experience I'd say he's teething or constipated. Or he's po'd about the Brewers losing AGAIN; Lord knows I am.

May 22nd

Yest. morning Ginger's babysitter (a family member) suddenly tried pawning her off on another relative. When I heard this I called and asked about the sudden change of plans. She claimed this was what we'd agreed on [so not the case] "It's the information I was given," she said. "From who?" I said. "The President of Wakey-Wakey-Make-It-Uppy?"

I just walked Ginger and LuLu to the gas station so Lu could spend some spare change on candy & whatnot. On the way home she pumped her fist. "Yeah!" she said, seriously giddy. "Daddy I've never spent my own money at the gas station. This was great. THE best moment of my life." :)

While at the Dollar Store today I ran into a Milwaukee man who was featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" He was there w/ his two foster children. I asked if he'd been on 'that TV show', intentionally avoiding its name, and he said yes. His kids got very excited & said they were stars & wanted to make a movie now. I said I was glad the show helped him and we went on our way.

Cleaned the house all afternoon, capped by MAJOR fit by YaYa a few minutes ago. The kid deserves an Oscar, honest and truly. What a freakin' drama queen; you'd mistake her fits for outakes from Hostel. Alas (for her) we didn't give in and made her clean our room & take out the trash. Unfortunately alll the dust of the cleanup set off a major asthma attack for Lu, but she's back in action now.

I think it's sad that a real-time Brewers publication brags about having in the lead in the bottom of the ninth, then fiinshes the post with "Let's hope the Brewers can hang on!". Yeah, let's hope. Geesh, things went south here quickly, didn't they? {they lost the game lol]

[reacting to horrible anti-Christian comments on a scientific article about Copernicus} As usual, the anti-religious zealots swamped the comments on this article. Note that they only seem to attack Christianity; perhaps because we won't cut off their head if we find their notions heretical.

May 23rd

‎"They're not vampires. Like I said, they're fish from space." - The 11th Doctor

[on plans to outlaw drop-side cribs] What a perfect storm of crap: a gov't that doesn't know its boundaries and a group of yahoos taking a *miniscule* sample size and using it to dictate policy to the masses. ALL my kids slept in drop-side cribs and not once did we have so much as the faintest hint of trouble; then again I took more time assembling the crib than I did putting up my HDTV, which is probably the difference here.

‎80 degrees outside, a backyard baking in the sun, a kiddie pool set up and in full use - and Ginger comes outside wearing a swimsuit, snow boots, and a winter cap with tassels.

Lisa said something very insightful. She said that since Kate Gosselin is so damn stiff and difficult to watch on her gigs on DTWS, Entertainment Tonight, etc it's proof that her persona on J&K+8 was genuine. "She isn't a good enough actress to fake being real," Lisa said. And you know, she's right.

If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.- George Bernard Shaw

RIP Jose Lima

A moment ago Smiley was crouched in the sandbox. He was barechested & tan, with khaki-army(ish) pants slung low, & his blonde hair was in a near crewcut. He was filling a containter with sand, & on his face was a barely disguised look of fatigue/contempt for his lot in life. I laughed. "Jeez Smiley," I said, "You look like an extra from Platoon. All you need is a cigarette dangling from your mouth & a chopper overhead"

Too much chaos here to watch the Lost series finale in 'real-time', so I'm DVR'ing it. I'll watch it once the kids and the Mrs. are asleep, so I can enjoy every second. One near disaster: Lisa walked into the living room to find the kids had shut off the recording of the pre-show to put on Disney. Lousy buggers!

I spent some time w/ a friend before watching Lost, and he p*'d me off by blasting Lost as 'mainstream' (as if that's an insult) and all but an opiate of the masses. Here's what I think: I think anyone who watches 'The Cleveland Show' and literally LOL's at the lame, mildly racist 'comedy' is someone whose opinion on TV matters for poop.

Not My Preferred Drink

I caught Junie having a tea party in her room. Her drink of choice (which she was chugging liberally)? The pail of water we'd used to mop her floor.

Three Quick (camera phone) pics of LuLu

Facebook May 8th - 18th

May 8th

Came home from work and, wanting to get some repairs done on the porch roof, promptly sliced my thumb on a utiity knife. Don't worry, I stopped the blood flow - by accidently crushing a tube of asphalt sealant while I headed inside, thereby covering my hands, forearms, & shirt with a layer of black tar that took 20 minutes to scrub (75%) off. Ah, well. Saved me a stitch or two I suppose.

Jody Gerut hits for the cycle! Congrats to Jody, the first Brewer since Chad Moeller to accomplish the feat. [btw I was at the Moeller game in 2004 w/ my friend Carlos - I caught two foul balls!]

‎"Big, big mistake. Huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you there's one thing you never, ever put in a trap. Not if u vaulue your continued existence, if you have *any* plans about seeing tommorow. There's one thing you never put in a trap . . . ME." The 11th Doctor, "The Time of Angels"

Milw's top mental health adminstrator *intentionally* houses female patients with known, violent male offenders to 'reduce violence'. This would explain the # of sexual assaults at our mental health complex. So would this: the adminstrator is a man who uses his position to punish & degrade women for the sake of his sick masturbatory fantasies. Given that his actions have destroyed the trust in our mental health system, and led to sexual assaults and the violent rape of a pregnant woman, he needs to face criminal charges, for negligence or whatever else they can scrape together. Once he belongs to Jerome or Rick or Mr. Big, let him argue his stance about the 'lesser' violence of sex. assualt.

May 9th

This morning my mother-in-law took Lisa out for breakfast. When Lisa said it wasn't right that her Mom pay for the meal, and certainly not on Mother's Day, this was her Mom's response: "Don't worry about it. In twenty years when you're changing my diapers, I'll Just take an extra dump and call it even."

May 10th

RIP Lena Horne

re: a negative critique of Betty White's SNL episode: This critic is on crack. Of course many of the skits exploited her age - Duh! She's 88 years old. What are you supposed to mine for comedy, her thoughts on social security? It was the first SNL I've watched in years and I thought she did marvelous. She has such great comedic timing, and that kiss - McGruber is a lucky man!

May 11th

The Big Ten has extended offers for the following schools to join the conference: Missouri, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Notre Dame. I think Nebraska would be a nice fit, and I guess Rutgers expands the B10 reach into the NY area. I'm told MO is a fertile recruiting ground for the Badgers, so screw adding them, and I'd pass on the Irish. We'll see how it turns out.

Jury duty all day, then came home to horrible children. Seriously. Horrible. Children. I sent them all to bed just after six with no supper. If they're lucky and actually show some compassion and regret, they might qualify for meals by June. July is more likely.

May 12th

Tuesday's Glee was a downer, wasn't it? Quadraplegics (sp?), John Mellencamp and Kurt going all boo-hoo over a Dad who CLEARLY loves his son despite their differences. Nut up kid. Ah well. Neil Patrick Harris guest stars next week. Should be a hoot.

Finally saw last night's Lost. I'll cop to being a little confused, which is unusual; sometimes what I 'know' turns out to be wrong, but I always walk away with a gist of it down and a decent theory in my head. I'll need to mull this one over.

May 13th

If you're in need of a good (albeit violent) drama to fill up your TV screen, take a gander at 'Justified' on FX. I've watched the first 8 episodes via On Demand and I've enjoyed every show.

May 14th

Horrible news. Dano Plato's son, who by all accounts has strugged to deal with his mother's legacy in the decade since her death, has committed suicide. RIP.

A 42 year old actress has stepped forward claiming Roman Polanski had sex with her when she was 16. It should be noted that the legal age of consent in Paris, where the alleged sex took place, was (is?) 15. However, since she claims he forced himself on her, the age of consent is irrelevant. I'm not sure I buy the rationale behind her stepping forward now, but it certainly isn't good news for Polanski.

The Missouri legislature has given approval to strip Mark McGwire's name from the highway they named in his honor. What a sh*t move. Ugh. On the other hand, former Brewers manager Ned Yost has been named the manager of the KC Royals. Congrats to Ned, and all the best.

May 15th

So, let me get this straight: the Twins intentionally walked the bases loaded to face my man Arod, a HOF'er and notorious Twins killer. Brilliant. Congrats to ARod on the game winning shot, and for passing Frank Robinson on the all-time HR list.

May 16th

Lisa was super po'd at me yest. So after work, w/ our kids dispersed to relatives, I took her out for dinner and drinks, followed by a moonlight ride by the lakefront. With her again loving the Dslap, I finally got down to enjoying Saturday night the way it was meant to be spent: w/ a new episode of Doctor Who on the TV. ;)

re: "Ashes to Ashes" I saw an episode of this show last night on the BBC and while it was very good, I thought it was awfully similar to "Life on Mars". Well, it turns out it's a spin-off. A female police detective is shot in the present day and awakens in 1982, where she leads a second life as a detective in that era. Putting aside the time travel stuff, it's a solid police procedural.

LuLu is seriously in love with Justin Beiber. She has posters on her wall, and she asked me to help her enter a Teen Beat contest to win his teddy bear. She's so cute - for weeks afterwards she'd ask me if she'd 'won yet'. :)

re: Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" I couldn't get this song out of my head yesterday, and caught myself humming it while a customer was droning on. Oopsie. BTW - Ludacris seems to appear on every song produced in North America. He's the Jude Law of the music biz.

May 17th

Milwaukee, stick a fork in [DJ's] Bob & Brian. I used to love 'em, and they did their schtick - blue collar/everyday Milwaukee Joe - better than anyone. But now they're rich, 50 yr old guys who live in the burbs; they're guys who have to google pop culture references, who refuse to play ANY music, & who pander to the stick-in-the-butt Zayban (sic). Enough. And please, don't even get me started on this 'Reheated' B.S. [where there show is repeated later in the day]

May 17th

To every yahoo that went around Milwaukee yesterday saying "Whoo-hoo! Summer's finally here!" - thank your karma for the fifty degree weather today. I 'preciate it. :)

"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." - Jerry Garcia

Seven losses in a row for the Brewers, including an entire homestand. This team sucks right now. Yikes. Let's start a FB pool - barring a 180, I say Macha is fired by May 25th. [I was wrong; he lasted the season before being fired]

May 18th

Timbaland coulda stayed home - Justin carries this song. "I'll take two # 3's/ that's a whole lot of you and a side of me/now is it full of myself to want you full of me?/ . . . Do you like it well done? 'Cuz I do it well/'Cuz I'm well seasoned if you couldn't tell"



Last fall the city used stimilus $ to tear up my lawn. They replaced a functioning, intact gas pipe w/ more of the same, wiped out the small hill in front of my porch & destroyed my grass. I was set to cut the new lawn today for the 1st x - so naturally the city returned & dug it up AGAIN. They left a note on my door saying it was just to ck & see if they'd done the work right. America, your gov't at work.

An Impressive Rescue

Yay! The first of the 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine since August 5 has arrived at the surface in a rescue capsule, and were greeted by hugs and cheers. 

Family Night - Marmaduke

For Family Night this week I rented the live action "Marmaduke" and made cajun style salmon cakes with rice and broccoli. Cue the standard kid reactions to unknown food, but they all tried it. Heck, Livvie even liked it. But the best, most honest reaction to my meal? Smiley took a big bite, swallowed, and said "It taste yuck. Me feel like I 'ave to 'uke"