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!
Monday, December 31, 2012
40 Years Ago Today
40 years ago today Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims. RIP.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
FB - December 2009
"Family
Ties" actress Meredith Baxter made the media rounds Wednesday confirming
the rumors that she is a lesbian.
December 2, 2009 at 12:42 pm 
No apology
needed. Where he chooses to put his, er . . club . . is a private matter
between him and his wife. The public and press can STFU and go deal with their
own baggage.
Golfer
Tiger Woods apologized Wednesday for "transgressions" that let his
family down -- the same day a gossip magazine published a report alleging he
had an affair.
December 2, 2009 at 12:58 pm
On the
phone, on hold, for 51 minutes now . . but thank God "my call is important
to [them]".
December
2, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I bought
Smiley a gumball from a quarter machine. He rejected it when I brought it home,
pointing to his teeth and starting a fit. Ten minutes later I asked if we were
cool. "na-uh," he said, patting his breast. "ooo bwoke my
[h]eart". Jeez, what a momma's boy lol
December
2, 2009 at 5:47 pm
If you
read today's Journal-Sentinel, you'll know that three of the 4 teens in this
video were killed just hours later in an East Troy car accident; the fourth,
the Andy mentioned in the title, is hospitalized with severe head injuries.
RIP.
|
|
|
December 5, 2009 at 2:49 pm
An
unusually quiet and Hallmark-y morning, with Lisa sitting with the two oldest
girls in the living room, teaching them to sew so they can make their own
costumes from some old sheets they found. Oh, and 'Bama crushed Florida. What a
nice weekend so far.
December
6, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Took the
kids to school, went to Mass (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), shoveled my
walk, now writing and working up the nerve to hit the road to get some things
done. Or, I may nap. Either/or.
December
8, 2009 at 12:15 pm
No. No. No!
ATWT is a
classic and an icon of my childhood ;(
is
reporting that As The World Turns, Procter and Gamble's lone soap opera in
production has been cancelled! According to Newcomb, the soap will cease
production in June and last airin Sept. 2010.Damn. Just damn.
December 8, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Just gave
a hitchiker a ride, which would be a first for me. He came begging for a lift
at a gas station, drunk and stranded at 7 at night. Gotta love the South Side.
December
8, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Lisa broke
her glasses, I lost five pages of newly written text due to gremlins in the
computer, it's snowing, and As The World Turns was cancelled. :(
December
9, 2009 at 1:22 am
Spent all
evening getting the house ready for a visit from Smiley's speech therapist,
only to have her cxl this morning because of illness. Good luck keeping this
house clean until the rescheduled appt.
December
11, 2009 at 10:08 am
I finally
got around to watching Glee's fall finale. GREAT episode - I literally had a
smile on my face beginning to end.
December
11, 2009 at 10:18 am
Anyone
live/work in Menominee Falls? I have a Xmas present to pick up but I'm not
relishing a 60 minute round trip in my car . . .
December
15, 2009 at 12:16 pm
RIP
Evangelist
Oral Roberts, founder of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral
Roberts University, died Tuesday from complications of pneumonia in Newport
Beach, California, his spokeswoman said. He was 91.
December 15, 2009 at 4:22 pm
So Smiley
is wrapping presents with Lisa at the dining room table, and he spots the Zuzu
pets we've kept hidden. Speech problems? Not today "Zuhzu Pets!" he
yells, inspiring his two year old sister to run around the house repeating news
of the sighting.
December
15, 2009 at 8:02 pm
RIP Roy Disney, age 79. December 16, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Just
received word I'll be in the Journal again on Christmas Day. You've got plenty
of notice, so no excuses for not buying a paper that day :) That'll be the 13th
or 14th column of the year for me. Kinda neat it's happened so often I've lost
count.
December
17, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Barnes
and Noble has at least OK'd "Merry Christmas", after what I'm told
were a few years of PC "Happy Holidays!". But note that while their
current gift card selection rightly includes a menorah for Hannukah none - not
one of the cards I've seen - includes anything but secular depictions of
Christmas. Santa, snowflake, nutcracker, odd Christmas rabbit, winter scene.
Baby in a manger? Naw - but after all, who thinks of Jesus at this time of
year? December 20, 2009 at 1:09 pm
I'm loving
the coverage in Minnesota! Childress tried to bench Favre in last nights game,
Favre refused (!) and words have been exchanged in the press. The Star-Tribune
is abuzzin'. Hillbilly done gone prima donna again. Sit back and enjoy folks,
sit back and enjoy!
December
21, 2009 at 10:53 am
(Dec. 21)
-- Days before Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what they said were
the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the
time of Jesus รข€” a find that could ...
December 21, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The newly
divorced mom of eight told talk-show host Jay Leno on Friday night that she
would be interested shake her groove thing as a contestant on ABC's hit dance
competition show, "Dancing With The Stars."
December 21, 2009 at 11:33 pm
[she would
appear, do horribly and come off as a mean spirited woman, and essentially tank
her career]
So a
businessman books into a travel lodge and says to the desk clerk "I hope
the porn Channel is disabled". The clerk looks disgusted and replies
"No, its ordinary porn you sick bastard!"
December
22, 2009 at 12:21 am
Publicist
Billy Laurence says Reed-Amini died Thursday at St. John's Health Center in
Santa Monica after a two-year battle with breast cancer.
December 22, 2009 at 9:46 am
I think
it's appalling that 'legitimate' media outlets like CNN and CBS are using
gossip sites like TMZ as official sources and then running pieces with no
legitimacy . . do I think Brittany Murphy died of drugs? Probably. But I
wouldn't write a headline piece about it just because a quack on TMZ (who
didn't know her or work on the case) said it "must have been drugs".
December
22, 2009 at 1:52 pm
[she
didn’t; it was pneumonia]
In the
midst of our first family fun night . . . homemade tacos, now getting ready to
play Topple and Go Fish
December
22, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Mike Leach
was the best thing to happen to Lubbock since Buddy Holly. Now, thanks to a
Daddy who works for ESPN and isn't happy that his son is nothing more than a
mediocre, part time college player, the man is out of a job. Ugh.
Texas Tech
has fired football coach Mike Leach.
December 30, 2009 at 2:21 pm
For 125
years Editor & Publisher chronicled the newspaper industry.
Top
Newspaper Publishing Stories - Editor & Publisher provides newspaper
industry headlines covering emerging and important news.
December 31, 2009 at 10:15 am
Odd
question: does anyone on FB have an old police scanner you're willing to part
with?
December
31, 2009 at 12:13 pm
FB - Jan 1 thru 20th, 2010
Happy New
Year everyone! May 2010 far surpass the suckassy '09!
January 1,
2010 at 12:48 am 
[it didn’t; to date, 2010 was the worst year of my life]
Listening
to the Glee soundtrack on the computer, with Joe Mac's new album playing in the
dining room, while Dance Your Ass off is on the TV and the Twilight Zone and
Doctor Who marathons are recording on the DVR . . how I ever got laid, much
less married, escapes belief.
January 1,
2010 at 1:28 pm
Our turtle
tank was just shattered, sending water across the floor. Franklin is OK, but I
guess I'll have to spend my morning looking for a cheap tank to replace his
home.
January 1,
2010 at 9:15 pm
I'm proud
that my two oldest are sad (and a bit concerned) that David Tenant's time as
the Doctor is coming to an end tonight. They know far more about the show and
its characters than I ever could have guessed, even ID'ing an episode after
seeing one scene. Nice to know I've done something right.
January 2,
2010 at 12:40 pm
The
Ginger's Godfather, who we haven't seen in over a year, just called to say he's
on his way over to drop off a gift for her. Yikes - and us, with a turtle in
the bathtub and Chinese takeout half-eaten in the living room.
January 2,
2010 at 2:15 pm
Worked
until midnight, came home and watched the very well done Tennant finale and the
premiere of Demons (yawn), then had to crawl into Smiley's bed for 5 hours of
sleep because my two youngest girls were sprawled next to Lisa in our bed- and
rule #1 is, and always will be, never wake a sleeping baby/toddler. Ever.
January 3,
2010 at 10:34 am
The
Journal editor just called my cell while I was grocery shopping and asked me to
stay on for another year, through the first part of 2011! Hot dog!
January 4,
2010 at 7:22 pm
A string
of earthquakes rattled the Solomon Islands Monday morning, while another quake
struck the Philippines, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
January 5, 2010 at 12:28 am
After
school I took my two oldest girls to help organize my Godson's nursery, as he's
due to arrive home in less than a day. My girls were polite, helpful, eager to
work, and kept their cool. I was very proud of them both!
January 5,
2010 at 12:33 am
Markas was
the play by play man w/ Del Crandall for the Brewers back in the early '90's.
Rory
Markas, a play-by-play sportscaster who spent the past eight seasons with the
Los Angeles Angels, has died. He was 54.
January 5, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Not the greatest
afternoon. The girls were angry that a kibosh was put on their chance to see
the newborn and it went straight downhill from there, plus Smiley was in a
mood. Still, we sat down to French toast for dinner and Family Game night
continued (3rd week in a row now) but it was stressful, very stressful.
January 5,
2010 at 8:53 pm
BTW, for
anyone unsuccessfully calling our house: no, the home phone isn't disconnected.
The fourth-born dumped a whole jar of pickle juice on the telephone
base/answering machine, ruining it. It's replacement will have to wait until
payday, if then.
January 5,
2010 at 8:55 pm
Tonight,
in the course of half an hour we moved YaYa and the Ginger into new rooms; very
half-ass results but whataya gonna do in 30 minutes? YaYa and Lu are now
roomies, while Ginger's on her own in YaYa's old room. I objected to it because
it feels like rewarding Ginger for making nights hell, but she's actually
taking the new digs as a punishment - screaming her head off as we speak.
January 6,
2010 at 8:35 pm
"The
Ginger" - woke up today proud of "my 'oom". Good. Maybe she
won't cry and scream until 10:30 like she did last night. Like all my kids
she's used to sleeping in a dark room, but the new surroundings scared her.
January 7,
2010 at 10:08 am
Saw two
movies last night, "Hangover" which I loved, and "Paranormal
Activity". For the latter, what Lisa said: it's not half as scary as a day
with our kids. Yawn. Aside from the Danny-girl lead, there was no reason to
watch - and she not only remained clothed, she wore a bra to bed each night :(
A waste of a rental.
January 7,
2010 at 10:17 am
Still
stuck @ home, w/ 14-15 inch drifts up and down the alley. We're mid block, and
it'll take a while to dig out. Mucho thanks to Anne U. for picking up my girls
and getting them to school today!
January 8,
2010 at 10:49 am
Our
landline is now replaced and good to go . . please call us on that as the
minutes are up on the cell phones.
January 8,
2010 at 12:49 pm
KUALA
LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Three churches in Malaysia were attacked with
firebombs, causing extensive damage to one, as Muslims pledged Friday to
prevent Christians from using the word "Allah," escalating religious
tensions in the multiracial country.
January 8, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Its
official: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has confirmed that the State
of the Union will not pre-empt the premiere of LOST The Final Season on 2/2.
See you in 25 days. (from Lost's FB page)
January 8,
2010 at 4:48 pm
(YaYa) is
selling Girl Scout cookies, and any and all orders are appreciated!
January 9,
2010 at 12:59 pm
That was a
great 2nd half to watch, even if it was interrupted by Smiley throwing up Hot
Fries for about two minutes (wicked to watch - A+ for effort little dude!) and
the Ginger peeing on her Elmo couch. I no longer care who wins it all, so long
as Hillbilly is sent packing next week. Oh, and memo to my sister - howsabout
not giving a four year old an entire package of hot fries before sending him
home to his pa :)
January
10, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Air Force
Pilot Remains From Vietnam War Identified, The Department of Defense says the
remains of an Air Force pilot missing in action from the Vietnam War were
identified.
January 13, 2010 at 1:41 am
As our
culture and our nation continues its slide into full Suckassyness, one bastion
of our grand past still stands tall: The Match Game. Where have you gone Gene
Rayburn, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you (woo woo woo).
January
13, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Vanessa
Wolfe's time on American Idol was enough to break your heart. She's very
attractive, talented, and down to earth, but was so beaten down and low on
confidence I could barely watch. That line about not wanting the judges to
'look down on her' was gut wrenching. I hope she's not eaten alive in
Hollywood. I'll be rooting for her.
January
14, 2010 at 2:15 am
Wednesday
Lu called from school saying her stomach felt 'mushy', and w/in a day all the
kids were down w/ it. It seems to be a quick 24-48 bug (3 are over it) but YaYa
just puked all over my newly cleaned dining room floor. Dangnabbit.
January
15, 2010 at 10:38 am
True, the
top two designs were great, and the group seems much more talented than the
horrific LA season. Still, I wasn't very inspired by the season premier of
Project Runway, even if it does feature a Milwaukee native. Has it jumped the
shark, or was I just in the wrong Mood (nudge-nudge) when watching the episode?
January
15, 2010 at 10:53 am
E&P is
back, w/ new owners and editors.
The Knight
Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin
works with Latin American journalists to create sustainable training programs
for reporters, editors, and photojournalists. ...
January 15, 2010 at 4:50 pm
It's 9:30
in the morning. How the hell can you know, with certainty, that business will
be soooo slow that you need to call me off for the day and take a days wages
out of kids bellies? Utter Bull----t. In other news, I say Indy and the Saints
move on today. And a very snarky "Very Generous!" to the NFL for
donating a combined (gasp) $2.5 mil for Haiti.
January
16, 2010 at 11:41 am
This . . .
has been a crappy of crappy days, and it's only 12:30. Joy.
January
16, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Happy
Birthday to my stepfather-in-law Jaspare, who turned 72 today, and Lisa's
friend Chris. Also - congrats to the Colts, and a thank you to the Saints for
knocking off the Cards.
January
16, 2010 at 11:17 pm
A nice day
so far. My cousin Mary and her husband stopped by to see the house and visit
over lunch, then @ 4 we had bunk beds delivered and set up for the girls (yay
Craigslist!). Sure the Dark Side won the NFC game today, and the Chargers are
down 10-7 right now, but I'm sure we can end the day as nice as it started . .
.
January
17, 2010 at 7:12 pm
|
Pope
John Paul II's attempted assassin - a man who had been convicted of murder
before - is released from prison.
|
|
January
18, 2010 at 9:54 am
I posted a
very cocky status update on how I refused to come to YaYa's aid w/ her missing
book report. It turns out I was wrong. She did it, Lisa took it to proofread,
and the Ginger used it as an art project. So . . .yeah. I threw my kid to the
wolves.
January
18, 2010 at 12:04 pm
True
anecdote: according to Rod Serling (Twilight Zone), manufacturer Kimberly Clark
turned down sponsorships for the shows "Rawhide" and "Black
Saddle" because the company sold toilet paper, fearing the inevitable
jokes at their expense.
January
18, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Serling
quoted it in his seminars at Antioch College in '62-63.
January
19, 2010 at 9:07 pm
A
mysterious visitor who left roses and cognac at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe
each year on the writer's birthday failed to show early Tuesday, breaking with
a ritual that began more than 60 years ago.
January 19, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Worst.
Headache. Ever.
January
19, 2010 at 4:18 pm
I took my
two oldest to the dentist this morning. LuLu was very dramatic &the dentist
asked me to leave the room so he could scold her w/out a 300# man glaring at
him. YaYa, vet of many stiches, bore her cavities with stoic defiance. &
good news: the 2 teeth loosened in a stumble at her Godfather's house are due
out anyhow. I'd been worried they were adult teeth.
January
19, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Call me
dumb here, but when Mountain Dew 'Throwback' heavily advertises "Made with
Real Sugar!" . . WTH is the stuff in the 'normal' can?
January
19, 2010 at 4:36 pm
[high fructose corn syrup]
Not a
great night post-dinner, as Family Night gave way to tons of homework (although
Lis taught Lu Uno). We've got plans to watch American Idol on the DVR, Pandorum
on DVD, and hopefully cheer a Brown win in Mass., but I'm not holding my breath
for any of it.
January
19, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Whoo-hoo!
Multiple sources are now calling the Massachusetts race in favor of Scott
Brown! Ted Kennedy's old seat now belongs to a Republican!
January
19, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Erich
Segal, the author of the hugely popular novel "Love Story," has died
of a heart attack, his daughter said Tuesday. He was 72.
January 19, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Parker is
my favorite author, and the man I named my only son after him. What a crap way
to start the day.
Robert B.
Parker, whose spare, eloquent sentences turned the tough private investigator
Spenser into one of Boston's most recognizable fictional characters, died in
his Cambridge home Monday. He was 77.
January 20, 2010 at 9:43 am
The Times
has a much better obit for RBP than the Globe. "Robert Brown Parker was a
large man of large appetites that were nonetheless satisfied with relative
ease. He was as unpretentious and self-aware as Spenser. All he needed to be
happy was his family and writing,” she said. RIP
Mr. Parker
was the best-selling mystery writer who created Spenser, a tough, glib Boston
private detective who was the hero of nearly 40 novels.
January 20, 2010 at 9:55 am
Wife Swap
would be a better show if they actually 'swapped' wives. Just an observation.
January
20, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)