Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Affair by Lee Child
I finished reading Lee Childs' "The Affair". I greatly enjoyed reading it, BUT upon review I've soured on it. As it includes spoilers, I'll leave those thoughts for the comments.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tension City: Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain" by Jim Leher.
Over the weekend I finished reading "Tension City: Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain" by Jim Leher. A memoir of his own time as a pres. debate moderator, the book offers nothing new to anyone familiar with history. While the point of the book is to stress the importance of Presidential debates, it actually proves the opposite, giving ample examples of how appearance and one-liners triumph over substance.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Junie wins the costume contest!
We had a great time at the STAA Halloween Hoopla. Junie even won the costume contest in her age bracket for her "Uni the Unicorn" outfit!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
I finished reading "Double Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay, but don't feel up to a review right now.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
My Week
October 16th
"Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died today in an Indy car crash. RIP"
"Not the biggest sports story of the night, I know, but I just lost my fantasy matchup. My team matched its projected total, finishing at 97.3 points, but my opponent, alas, notched 119.68. CIN did great for me (23.5 pts) but that $@# Hillis went out w/ an injury after running all of 14 yards, and as usual my WR corps earned #'s worthy of the 1905 Rutgers squad. 2 - 4 now on the year, loser of 3 in a row. Not good. Not good at all."
"What a lousy, emphatic end to the Brewers season. All allegiance now to the Rangers nation, in hopes that they can send the Cards home without a ring. Memo to future Brewers teams, only half tongue in cheek: avoid playing the Cardinals in best of seven series. It doesn't appear to be our forte."
October 17th
"i just met Tom Oslowski, a scout (currently for the Tigers) who was responsible for Darrin Erstad being drafted by the Angels"
"Sunday we watched "Vidal Sassoon: The Movie" a documentary on the life and career of the innovative tycoon: his rough childhood (including years in an orphanage) his service in the Israeli armed forces, his innovative hair salons, his media presence and his continued influence in the industry. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and finished it with a new respect for Sassoon. Available to stream via Netflix."
October 19th
"when the pressure builds too high, even volcanoes boil over, and they are made of stone. (You) are made of slightly softer stuff - Jeff Lindsay"
October 20th
"Happy Bithday Sinatra! Xoxo"
"CNN headline: "Gadhafi is dead, according to Arab sources. CNN has not confirmed the reports." FOX's less sensationalist headline: "Conflicting Reports That Gadhafi has been killed or captured". Yay Fox for doing your job right . ."
[he was dead, murdered on camera by NATO supported rebels]
"Don't argue with an idiot, others might see you and not recognize the difference"
October 21st
"Obama, actively in re-election mode, is as we speak announcing a full pullout of US troops from Iraq. CNN, oddly enough, led off by reporting this is the result of a failure to negotiate a plan to have some troops remain in-country to train Iraqi forces. Just as well. We'll need the troops for Libya, East Africa, and everywhere else our resident Nobel Peace Prize winner wishes to kill known bad guys and replace them w/ heretofore unknown bad guys."
"i see Barnes and Noble bought Borders' Facebook accounts, and B&N is now posting under the "Borders" name. Welcome to a monopoly."
October 22nd
Busy day of errands and shuttling the kids around town. Went to Yaya's volleyball game, picked her up from a bday party, got lu ready for camp, etc
"playing little red riding hood w/ Ginger"
"(Ginger, running her fingers along a wrinkle) Daddy, why you got stripes on your forehead?"
"Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died today in an Indy car crash. RIP"
"Not the biggest sports story of the night, I know, but I just lost my fantasy matchup. My team matched its projected total, finishing at 97.3 points, but my opponent, alas, notched 119.68. CIN did great for me (23.5 pts) but that $@# Hillis went out w/ an injury after running all of 14 yards, and as usual my WR corps earned #'s worthy of the 1905 Rutgers squad. 2 - 4 now on the year, loser of 3 in a row. Not good. Not good at all."
"What a lousy, emphatic end to the Brewers season. All allegiance now to the Rangers nation, in hopes that they can send the Cards home without a ring. Memo to future Brewers teams, only half tongue in cheek: avoid playing the Cardinals in best of seven series. It doesn't appear to be our forte."
October 17th
"i just met Tom Oslowski, a scout (currently for the Tigers) who was responsible for Darrin Erstad being drafted by the Angels"
"Sunday we watched "Vidal Sassoon: The Movie" a documentary on the life and career of the innovative tycoon: his rough childhood (including years in an orphanage) his service in the Israeli armed forces, his innovative hair salons, his media presence and his continued influence in the industry. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and finished it with a new respect for Sassoon. Available to stream via Netflix."
October 19th
"when the pressure builds too high, even volcanoes boil over, and they are made of stone. (You) are made of slightly softer stuff - Jeff Lindsay"
October 20th
"Happy Bithday Sinatra! Xoxo"
"CNN headline: "Gadhafi is dead, according to Arab sources. CNN has not confirmed the reports." FOX's less sensationalist headline: "Conflicting Reports That Gadhafi has been killed or captured". Yay Fox for doing your job right . ."
[he was dead, murdered on camera by NATO supported rebels]
"Don't argue with an idiot, others might see you and not recognize the difference"
October 21st
"Obama, actively in re-election mode, is as we speak announcing a full pullout of US troops from Iraq. CNN, oddly enough, led off by reporting this is the result of a failure to negotiate a plan to have some troops remain in-country to train Iraqi forces. Just as well. We'll need the troops for Libya, East Africa, and everywhere else our resident Nobel Peace Prize winner wishes to kill known bad guys and replace them w/ heretofore unknown bad guys."
"i see Barnes and Noble bought Borders' Facebook accounts, and B&N is now posting under the "Borders" name. Welcome to a monopoly."
October 22nd
Busy day of errands and shuttling the kids around town. Went to Yaya's volleyball game, picked her up from a bday party, got lu ready for camp, etc
"playing little red riding hood w/ Ginger"
"(Ginger, running her fingers along a wrinkle) Daddy, why you got stripes on your forehead?"
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The first week of March on Facebook
March 1st
"The Journal editor just wrote and asked me to do a column on the fiasco in Madison, citing my POV and my ability to not sound like a nut. I was going to say 'no', but mistakenly emailed a 'yes' reply I was seeking to scuttle. Whoa Nelly, this is gonna bring some hate mail."
“If the Church is not on fire, you should not be talking.” Amen."
"Watching Gov Walker's budget address on 10.2. Good speech, well spoken."
"Working on that column. Tonight's musical selection: Andres Sergovia, Mazzy Star, Styx, Cold War Kids, Oasis. Couldn't find the Judas Priest I was looking for earlier."
March 2nd
"Customers of note: the old man who'd been at the Ice Bowl, w/ ticket stubs to prove it; the guy who spent the equivalent of my annual salary at Job Prior to buy a genuine Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar; a member of the Detroit Tigers' front office, with a World Series ring you couldn't miss."
above: Ginger spent 10 minutes balancing nuts on a balloon, then applying downward pressure with a plank of wood and shooting them, tiddly-winks style, into a bowl.
"The Journal moved up the date of publication to Thursday, so pick up a copy on the way to work. Of note, this warning from the editor: "Hi Dan, your column will run Thursday for sure. Don’t read the online comments unless you’re a masochist."
The Eastern cougar has officially been declared extinct.
March 3rd
"Sunday's paper will include the names of the 2011 crop of Journal/Sentinel community columnists. I've been asked to stay on a 3rd year, which is great, but OTOH whoopdeedoo. I appreciate the platform, and the confidence the editors place in me, but been there/done that/would like to be paid more for it. Anywho, look for me in Sunday's Crossroads section."
"Smiley & I went for a haircut Thurs evening, and he asked me if he could get a mohawk. I said no and had him ask Lisa. To my shock, she told him it was OK. In the end he and I agreed on a 'faux-hawk' - closely cropped hair on the sides, w/ the hair on top blended and sculpted into a mohawk. He loves it."
March 5th
"Adalbert's vets: I ran into Chrissy Go- in the produce dept of the Pick 'N Save on 76th. She has four kids and seemed happy, but alas no Facebook account, claiming she doesn't use a computer at all. How you can be happy w/out FB is beyond me, but to each their own."
March 6th
Today is the 175th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo. RIP Texans, RIP.
"Tonight, after a long day at work, Lis & I watched "I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale" (aka Fredo from The Godfather). It was an entertaining tribute to him as an actor, but little else. As to Cazale as a person, we learned he was born in 1935, smoked a lot, died young . . . and that's it. The filmaker could have done a lot more with the material."
"For the record: I believe recall efforts are an ugly attempt to undermine the value of the election process & our democratic system. If you don't like the guy in office, fight their policies and then vote him out at the end of his duly elected term. There's no damn mulligans here. If my signature was the deciding factor that would get OBAMA out of office, I'd put my pen away."
12,000 year old fishing tackle has been found in California
"I just watched some new footage from 9/11, & Olivia came up & asked me if the Towers were factories (because of all the smoke rising from them). She admitted she had no idea what 9/11 was or what it meant to this country. I spent several minutes explaining what happened that day, and I think I did a good job. I'm surprised she hadn't been taught about it in school, although in fairness she is quite young."
"Tim Cuprisin is reporting that Charlie Sheen has been fired from "Two and a Half Men". What crap. If you aren't allowed to be a drug fueled sex addict, then what's the point of Hollywood success?"
March 7th
"Just finished "The Ghostwriter". It would be a dang good movie if the plot made any sense. A former PM of Great Britain demonized for having 4 known terrrorists kidnapped & waterboarded? The UK allowing a PM to be brought up on charges by the (ridiculous) internation court? A consistent anti-American plot thread (literally)? Bullsh-t."
Happy Birthday Smiley!
"Do Good And Care Not to Whom - a sign in the hallway of Lauren's school, attributed to an old Italian proverb"
"The Journal editor just wrote and asked me to do a column on the fiasco in Madison, citing my POV and my ability to not sound like a nut. I was going to say 'no', but mistakenly emailed a 'yes' reply I was seeking to scuttle. Whoa Nelly, this is gonna bring some hate mail."
“If the Church is not on fire, you should not be talking.” Amen."
"Watching Gov Walker's budget address on 10.2. Good speech, well spoken."
"Working on that column. Tonight's musical selection: Andres Sergovia, Mazzy Star, Styx, Cold War Kids, Oasis. Couldn't find the Judas Priest I was looking for earlier."
March 2nd
"Customers of note: the old man who'd been at the Ice Bowl, w/ ticket stubs to prove it; the guy who spent the equivalent of my annual salary at Job Prior to buy a genuine Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar; a member of the Detroit Tigers' front office, with a World Series ring you couldn't miss."
above: Ginger spent 10 minutes balancing nuts on a balloon, then applying downward pressure with a plank of wood and shooting them, tiddly-winks style, into a bowl.
"The Journal moved up the date of publication to Thursday, so pick up a copy on the way to work. Of note, this warning from the editor: "Hi Dan, your column will run Thursday for sure. Don’t read the online comments unless you’re a masochist."
The Eastern cougar has officially been declared extinct.
March 3rd
"Sunday's paper will include the names of the 2011 crop of Journal/Sentinel community columnists. I've been asked to stay on a 3rd year, which is great, but OTOH whoopdeedoo. I appreciate the platform, and the confidence the editors place in me, but been there/done that/would like to be paid more for it. Anywho, look for me in Sunday's Crossroads section."
"Smiley & I went for a haircut Thurs evening, and he asked me if he could get a mohawk. I said no and had him ask Lisa. To my shock, she told him it was OK. In the end he and I agreed on a 'faux-hawk' - closely cropped hair on the sides, w/ the hair on top blended and sculpted into a mohawk. He loves it."
March 5th
"Adalbert's vets: I ran into Chrissy Go- in the produce dept of the Pick 'N Save on 76th. She has four kids and seemed happy, but alas no Facebook account, claiming she doesn't use a computer at all. How you can be happy w/out FB is beyond me, but to each their own."
March 6th
Today is the 175th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo. RIP Texans, RIP.
"Tonight, after a long day at work, Lis & I watched "I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale" (aka Fredo from The Godfather). It was an entertaining tribute to him as an actor, but little else. As to Cazale as a person, we learned he was born in 1935, smoked a lot, died young . . . and that's it. The filmaker could have done a lot more with the material."
"For the record: I believe recall efforts are an ugly attempt to undermine the value of the election process & our democratic system. If you don't like the guy in office, fight their policies and then vote him out at the end of his duly elected term. There's no damn mulligans here. If my signature was the deciding factor that would get OBAMA out of office, I'd put my pen away."
12,000 year old fishing tackle has been found in California
"I just watched some new footage from 9/11, & Olivia came up & asked me if the Towers were factories (because of all the smoke rising from them). She admitted she had no idea what 9/11 was or what it meant to this country. I spent several minutes explaining what happened that day, and I think I did a good job. I'm surprised she hadn't been taught about it in school, although in fairness she is quite young."
"Tim Cuprisin is reporting that Charlie Sheen has been fired from "Two and a Half Men". What crap. If you aren't allowed to be a drug fueled sex addict, then what's the point of Hollywood success?"
March 7th
"Just finished "The Ghostwriter". It would be a dang good movie if the plot made any sense. A former PM of Great Britain demonized for having 4 known terrrorists kidnapped & waterboarded? The UK allowing a PM to be brought up on charges by the (ridiculous) internation court? A consistent anti-American plot thread (literally)? Bullsh-t."
Happy Birthday Smiley!
"Do Good And Care Not to Whom - a sign in the hallway of Lauren's school, attributed to an old Italian proverb"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Facebook'ing the last half of February. Yes, February. And yes, I made Facebook into a verb.
February 16th
A big day for my Smiley. He volunteered to do a petition @ the school Mass this morning, & all props to the teacher for letting him do it despite his speech problems. We've got him all gussed up & are planning to attend in force, & he's practiced all week. "For all soldiers we pray to the Lord". Sadly, he's so worried about it he had several nightmares last night, meaning sound sleep was in short supply here.
He did great!
With reports of a Borders (bookstore) bankruptcy a "low probability event" the company began reorganizing. "Good luck to them. They have a more pleasing color scheme than B&N and I wish them all the best."
CBS New's Lara Logan was beaten and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault by a crowd of Egyptian "pro-democracy" protesters. I wish her well.
President George Herbert Walker Bush received the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor our nation can bestow upon a civilian. Congrats sir!
""Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -Anais Nin"
Feb 17th
[a few school districts closed due to teacher protest 'call ins' related to the budget battle in Madison] "MPS reports only 'slightly higher' than normal call ins, 425 as opposed to the 'norm' of 340-350. Putting aside the budget bill, just think about those #'s. On a typical Thurs in Feb, 350! teachers will call in sick in MKE. For the 100 who are legit ill on those days, I wish them all the best. For the other 250 who took a spa day, thanks for putting the kids first. Your dedication has made our schools what they are."
"Stay away from the crack . . .unless you can manage it socially - Charlie Sheen"
Feb 18th
"I've finished Charles Portis' novel 'True Grit'. It's a very short book, written as a monologue by the teenage heroine a half century after the events. I love the voice Portis gave the character; think Huck Finn with a bad temper and a cranky disposition. Well worth a read."
"I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. - the late great Fred Allen"
"Woke up to discover MPS is closed with the teacher 'flu'. Not that I'm cynical or anything, but I do note that with the scheduled day off on Monday MPS teachers have now guaranteed themselves a 4 day weekend with which to spend their average salary of $46K (for working 9 months a yr w/ wknds and holdidays off). But it's not about $ people, it's about their rights!"
"tried and failed to secure Taylor Swift tix for Grace. The only ones i could get were out of my price range, and efforts to borrow the xtra $ were for naught. So I failed my 1st born again. Wonderful.
Feb 19th
"YaYa's junior troop is doing a service project and needs to collect a few things. If you'd like to help her troop out they need: men's socks, men's underwear, wash cloths, travel size soap, shampoo, prayer cards/coins, tooth brushes/paste. Our goal is to make 50 small care packages for a omeless shelter, so it's a great cause. No donation too small :)"
"After work tonight we sat down & watched "Eleven Minutes" a documentary about the creation of Jay McCaroll's 2007 fashion line. Fascinating to watch, and Jay is certianly a character. Interesting fact: he turned down the prize $ from his win on Project Runway, citing the fact that the contract gave 10% of his earnings, in perpetuity, to the PR production company."
"Other than Molly, is anyone on here going to Madison to support Gov. Walker? Someone asked me to go, but I have to work this morning - insert lame joke about how only teachers can skip work w/out penalty. Anyhow, if you are heading to that mess, stay safe. It could get ugly, esp since unions are bringing in folks from out of state to swell their numbers. (that's a fact out of the JS front page article, not opinion)."
Feb 20th
"I had a great day post-work. Capped it off by watching 'Piranha 3D' with Lisa - believe it or not, her Redbox choice, not mine. It was campy, gory, featured a lot of boobs and an awful soundtrack. I thought it was swell."
"That's supposed to be a clear bottle of water. What you're looking at is the typical, persistent backwash of Ginger."
"After a nice dinner w/ the kids Lis & I sat down to watch "You Again". Despite some nice buzz here on FB I thought the script was paint-by-numbers, w/out an original thought to be found. BUT it did pick up steam in the last third, so not all was lost."
Feb 21st
"I find it ironic that the same day that thousands of people skipped work to rail against our “undemocratic” leader [Walker] fewer than a quarter of the registered voters in Madison bothered to vote in an actual election." - Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal"
"This evening's soundtrack: Edith Piaf, George Harrison, Amy Winehouse, Fleetwood Mac, Rihanna, David Bowie, Black Sabbath . . ."
Feb 22nd
"16 years ago today I met Lisa for the first time. 2/22/95 will always rank as one of the pivotal days of my life, and she remains the best thing to ever happen to me. Happy Anniversary."
Feb 23rd
"I watched 'Monsters' tonight. Despite its moronic choice of title, it was grand. The story involves 2 people trying to cross the "Infected Zone" & reach the US - the Zone being an area of Mexico that has been overrun with ET's who arrived when a space probe broke up on entry. Yeah, yeah, I know - but it's GOOD, even moving at times. IIRC it won several film awards in the UK, and I think it was well deserved."
"Lisa took YaYa (or Grac.E as she now writes her name) to Justice to use up a gc from her aunt katie (thanks!). She found a lot of bargains, even buying something for LuLu. Nice mother/daughter time."
"You're born an original. Don't die a copy." - John Mason"
Feb 24th
"I downloaded a virus on my home computer. Working hard to fix it as we 'speak'."
CBS has stopped production of "Two and a Half Men" due to the dispute with star Charlie Sheen
Feb 25th
"B4 work I sat down w/ the kids & watched Tyrone Power in "The Mark of Zorro", (these kids will appreciate movie history if it's the end of me). Since it features no talking dogs or singing teenagers, they wandered off 1 by 1. All, that is, except for LuLu, my doll. For her faithfulness she was treated to the greatest sword fight in movie history - Tyrone Power vs Basil Rathbone, a scene she even asked me to rewind."
"I've mentioned before how I quiz the kids about what artist is playing on the radio, in an effort to get them to pay attention and broaden their listening taste. Yesterday the radio was playing "Captain Jack". I asked YaYa who was singing. "Uh . . .Guns 'n Roses???" she said. Long silence. "That may be the only time in history," I said, "where Billy Joel was confused with Axel Rose"
South Viet Nam: Death at Intermission time - a link to a contemporary time article detailing the first combat deaths in Vietnam, Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis. It was July 20th, 1959, ten years to the day before man would walk on the moon.
Feb 27th
"I'm just going to say what needs saying, regardless of the boos from the gallery. Kirk Douglas made a harmless ass of himself at the Oscars, and it was downright embarrassing. Kudos to Justin Timberlake for recognizing the humour in the situation, and a big un-kudo the folks who let a senile, barely intelligible Douglas present an award. A healthy, younger Kirk would be appalled."
Duke Snider, the HOF center fielder for the Dodgers, is dead at 84. In high school I read his autobiography "Duke of Flatbush". RIP Duke.
Feb 28th
"Self Pity
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
- D. H. Lawrence"
Frank Buckles, the last living US WWI veteran, has died at age 110. RIP sir, and thank you.
Hollywood sex symbol Jane Russell has passed away at the age of 89. RIP.
A big day for my Smiley. He volunteered to do a petition @ the school Mass this morning, & all props to the teacher for letting him do it despite his speech problems. We've got him all gussed up & are planning to attend in force, & he's practiced all week. "For all soldiers we pray to the Lord". Sadly, he's so worried about it he had several nightmares last night, meaning sound sleep was in short supply here.
He did great!
With reports of a Borders (bookstore) bankruptcy a "low probability event" the company began reorganizing. "Good luck to them. They have a more pleasing color scheme than B&N and I wish them all the best."
CBS New's Lara Logan was beaten and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault by a crowd of Egyptian "pro-democracy" protesters. I wish her well.
President George Herbert Walker Bush received the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor our nation can bestow upon a civilian. Congrats sir!
""Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -Anais Nin"
Feb 17th
[a few school districts closed due to teacher protest 'call ins' related to the budget battle in Madison] "MPS reports only 'slightly higher' than normal call ins, 425 as opposed to the 'norm' of 340-350. Putting aside the budget bill, just think about those #'s. On a typical Thurs in Feb, 350! teachers will call in sick in MKE. For the 100 who are legit ill on those days, I wish them all the best. For the other 250 who took a spa day, thanks for putting the kids first. Your dedication has made our schools what they are."
"Stay away from the crack . . .unless you can manage it socially - Charlie Sheen"
Feb 18th
"I've finished Charles Portis' novel 'True Grit'. It's a very short book, written as a monologue by the teenage heroine a half century after the events. I love the voice Portis gave the character; think Huck Finn with a bad temper and a cranky disposition. Well worth a read."
"I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. - the late great Fred Allen"
"Woke up to discover MPS is closed with the teacher 'flu'. Not that I'm cynical or anything, but I do note that with the scheduled day off on Monday MPS teachers have now guaranteed themselves a 4 day weekend with which to spend their average salary of $46K (for working 9 months a yr w/ wknds and holdidays off). But it's not about $ people, it's about their rights!"
"tried and failed to secure Taylor Swift tix for Grace. The only ones i could get were out of my price range, and efforts to borrow the xtra $ were for naught. So I failed my 1st born again. Wonderful.
Feb 19th
"YaYa's junior troop is doing a service project and needs to collect a few things. If you'd like to help her troop out they need: men's socks, men's underwear, wash cloths, travel size soap, shampoo, prayer cards/coins, tooth brushes/paste. Our goal is to make 50 small care packages for a omeless shelter, so it's a great cause. No donation too small :)"
"After work tonight we sat down & watched "Eleven Minutes" a documentary about the creation of Jay McCaroll's 2007 fashion line. Fascinating to watch, and Jay is certianly a character. Interesting fact: he turned down the prize $ from his win on Project Runway, citing the fact that the contract gave 10% of his earnings, in perpetuity, to the PR production company."
"Other than Molly, is anyone on here going to Madison to support Gov. Walker? Someone asked me to go, but I have to work this morning - insert lame joke about how only teachers can skip work w/out penalty. Anyhow, if you are heading to that mess, stay safe. It could get ugly, esp since unions are bringing in folks from out of state to swell their numbers. (that's a fact out of the JS front page article, not opinion)."
Feb 20th
"I had a great day post-work. Capped it off by watching 'Piranha 3D' with Lisa - believe it or not, her Redbox choice, not mine. It was campy, gory, featured a lot of boobs and an awful soundtrack. I thought it was swell."
"That's supposed to be a clear bottle of water. What you're looking at is the typical, persistent backwash of Ginger."
"After a nice dinner w/ the kids Lis & I sat down to watch "You Again". Despite some nice buzz here on FB I thought the script was paint-by-numbers, w/out an original thought to be found. BUT it did pick up steam in the last third, so not all was lost."
Feb 21st
"I find it ironic that the same day that thousands of people skipped work to rail against our “undemocratic” leader [Walker] fewer than a quarter of the registered voters in Madison bothered to vote in an actual election." - Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal"
"This evening's soundtrack: Edith Piaf, George Harrison, Amy Winehouse, Fleetwood Mac, Rihanna, David Bowie, Black Sabbath . . ."
Feb 22nd
"16 years ago today I met Lisa for the first time. 2/22/95 will always rank as one of the pivotal days of my life, and she remains the best thing to ever happen to me. Happy Anniversary."
Feb 23rd
"I watched 'Monsters' tonight. Despite its moronic choice of title, it was grand. The story involves 2 people trying to cross the "Infected Zone" & reach the US - the Zone being an area of Mexico that has been overrun with ET's who arrived when a space probe broke up on entry. Yeah, yeah, I know - but it's GOOD, even moving at times. IIRC it won several film awards in the UK, and I think it was well deserved."
"Lisa took YaYa (or Grac.E as she now writes her name) to Justice to use up a gc from her aunt katie (thanks!). She found a lot of bargains, even buying something for LuLu. Nice mother/daughter time."
"You're born an original. Don't die a copy." - John Mason"
Feb 24th
"I downloaded a virus on my home computer. Working hard to fix it as we 'speak'."
CBS has stopped production of "Two and a Half Men" due to the dispute with star Charlie Sheen
Feb 25th
"B4 work I sat down w/ the kids & watched Tyrone Power in "The Mark of Zorro", (these kids will appreciate movie history if it's the end of me). Since it features no talking dogs or singing teenagers, they wandered off 1 by 1. All, that is, except for LuLu, my doll. For her faithfulness she was treated to the greatest sword fight in movie history - Tyrone Power vs Basil Rathbone, a scene she even asked me to rewind."
"I've mentioned before how I quiz the kids about what artist is playing on the radio, in an effort to get them to pay attention and broaden their listening taste. Yesterday the radio was playing "Captain Jack". I asked YaYa who was singing. "Uh . . .Guns 'n Roses???" she said. Long silence. "That may be the only time in history," I said, "where Billy Joel was confused with Axel Rose"
South Viet Nam: Death at Intermission time - a link to a contemporary time article detailing the first combat deaths in Vietnam, Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis. It was July 20th, 1959, ten years to the day before man would walk on the moon.
Feb 27th
"I'm just going to say what needs saying, regardless of the boos from the gallery. Kirk Douglas made a harmless ass of himself at the Oscars, and it was downright embarrassing. Kudos to Justin Timberlake for recognizing the humour in the situation, and a big un-kudo the folks who let a senile, barely intelligible Douglas present an award. A healthy, younger Kirk would be appalled."
Duke Snider, the HOF center fielder for the Dodgers, is dead at 84. In high school I read his autobiography "Duke of Flatbush". RIP Duke.
Feb 28th
"Self Pity
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
- D. H. Lawrence"
Frank Buckles, the last living US WWI veteran, has died at age 110. RIP sir, and thank you.
Hollywood sex symbol Jane Russell has passed away at the age of 89. RIP.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
Sunday we watched "Vidal Sassoon: The Movie" a documentary on the life and career of the innovative tycoon: his rough childhood (including years in an orphanage) his service in the Israeli armed forces, his innovative hair salons, his media presence and his continued influence in the industry. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and finished it with a new respect for Sassoon. Available to stream via Netflix.
I Just Met
I just met Tom Oslowski, a scout (currently for the Tigers) who was responsible for Darrin Erstad being drafted by the Angels
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