Steak 'n Shake

Steak 'nShake, the weekend before school 

LuLu's New Coat

LuLu's new hair and coat

Pics from Bay View Bash

Our Fishtank!

Our new aquarium (before we added 3 Danio's, a white Molly, a catfish, and a red Beta). Note the nifty skull AND the Gary the Snail (from Spongebob) subtly placed in the left forefront. Thanks Dale!

NY Times Magazine

While I'm thinking of it the best magazine in America is the NY Times Magazine (their Sunday supplement). It features intriguing and well written features, quick but insightful interviews, the "Ethicist" column by Chuck Klosterman, style and food coverage, and more. It also comes with a ~$20/month price tag, since you have to buy a Sunday Times to get it. I get my copies from my father, since I'm too cheap to buy a subscription, but it's well worth waiting a week or two to get my hands on an issue. If you've got the moolah, subscribe.

This product WORKS

For the record: Side Socket - the 'as seen on TV' compact power strip that swivels the cords to the side - works as advertised. VERY satisfied with the product.

Some history on TV

Studying while the Military Channel plays in the background . . . just watched a documentary on the great battle of Cowpens and Tadeusz Kościuszko's role in getting the American army out of harm's way in the aftermath of the victory . . .

My Thoughts - Spoilers

If a TV show has already aired, a sports event has ended, or a movie is more than a year old, then it's not a "SPOILER", it's common knowledge.

Your failure to pay for cable, check your DVR, rent a film, or just get home in time to watch something does not force upon me the necessity to edit the common water cooler conversations of our time.

180 Minutes at the Dentist

Lisa and I spent three hours of our day at the Marquette Dental Emergency Clinic while Lu had two teeth removed, the result of an infection that had spread to her jaw. Olivia's fine and literally dancing around, so please don't mollycoddle her by saying how awful it must have been. You know what was awful? Spending 3 hours of your day off reading six month old issue of Time and then paying for the whole shebang out of pocket. Cry for *me* Argentina, cry for *me*!

Sisters

MLP, bringing sisters together since 1983 :)

A Memory

Melissa Slapczynski pregnant with Junie, 2007

Baseball Trivia

A bit of baseball trivia: with the retirement of Darren Oliver today, there is only one player left in MLB whose career started prior to the strike of '94. That player? A-Rod.

Junie Lost a Tooth

Last night Laurenzerz lost her first ever tooth, an event somewhat diminished both by her knowledge that we're the Tooth Fairy and the fact I didn't realize it was her first and so gave it only a brief to-do. We'll make up for that tonight :)

The Bling Ring

Watching "The Bling Ring", a gawd awful slow movie if there ever was one.

Oh Heavens!

Compare and Contrast

2013: A-Rod: 44 games, .771 OPS

         Jeter: 17 games, .542 OPS

Sleepy Hollow

Just finished watching the pilot episode of "Sleepy Hollow". Aside from Crane's miraculously seamless acceptance of 21st century life, the lame dueling covens plot, the all-explaining tape recording the sheriff just happened to leave behind, and . . . well, aside form all that it had potential. Maybe once the silt settles this will be a show worth watching.

A Dinner with a Friend

Team Slap enjoyed a nice evening with Dale C who originally came over to set up our aquarium but stayed for dinner and took not one but two trips to the pet store with the crew. Thanks Dale!

2-1

Whew. Won my week 3 fantasy matchup by only 0.92 points. Now 2 -1 on the year

LOL

A Day of TV

Watching "Dogfights" on  the DVR, this time "The Last Gunfighter", an episode about Crusader dogfights over North Vietnam. Great show, superb graphics!

UPDATE: I'm now typing up class notes and watching Ali-Frazier ("The Thrilla in Manilla") on U-Verse on Demand

Done with classwork, and the Ali-Frazier fight. Great bout, shame about the TKO; I kept hoping the ending would be different LOL

Emmy Ire

It *IS* a crying shame that the late Cory Monteith. a drug addict known only for his part on an ensemble show, gets a special in memoriam honor at the Emmy's while Jack Klugman and Larry Hagman - REAL STARS who passed away recently - don't get the same treatment. What crap. Absolute-utterly fantastic CRAP. Here's hoping that the Emmy's scrambled to change their program once word of this hit the wire.

My Thoughts

Some people are only happy if they can complain about something that doesn't affect them.

24 Grand Slams!

It took me a full day to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes: Alex Rodriguez ripped a 92 mph fastball into the seats yesterday for a Grand Slam against the Giants. That's his *24TH* Grand Slam, passing Lou Gehrig for sole possession of the all-time record. Twenty four career grand slams. Wow. I hope you enjoyed watching such a cherished record fall Mr. Selig - I hope you see it over and over again in your  dreams. Say it with me folks - A-Rod, I bow to thee!

The Law

Back from class. In a belated answer to a ? about it, I like it a lot. It's a ton of work, with the reading alone almost overwhelming me (which is saying something) but I'm getting the hang of managing the homework around the obligations of work and family.  

While I thought I would like criminal law best, so far I find it very boring. The professor is great, the subject just doesn't seem to inspire me. Moreover, it's the one room in the world where I appear as a bleeding heart liberal, and that takes some doing. It's typically me and two other students vs the other 15, with the 15 taking the stand that any action by the police is kosher, any charge correct (no matter if it truly fits the crime) and all crimes worthy of time behind bars. Hopefully a few years of law school knocks some of the fervor out of their system. 

Contract law, which I thought would be a horrific bore, is for the moment hitting all the right buttons. There's a lot of thinking, a lot of hands on work, and it's suddenly dawned on me that it's an area of law that affects everyone, no matter their age or income. I like it. I may not like it a few semesters down the road, but I do now. 

What do I like best about law school? The private parking in an underground garage, and all the classes confined to one gorgeous building. If only I'd had that at UWM! LOL

LOL

Lisa's FB post in response to a Mom who publicly 'shamed' her daughter for twerking: "I'm going to publicly shame my kids if they waltz. The sign is gonna say, I humiliated my Mom by not shaking what she gave me and being a big dork!

Another Thumb Update

This morning I dug a little metal sliver out of the pad of my injured thumb. That wasn't so comfortable, but as soon as I pulled it out 50% of the numbness that's been bothering me vanished. Hot dog!

A Big Day!

Big week for Team Slap. On Monday we got a new washer, ending three months of trudging over to the laundromat. Today we picked up a free 40 gallon aquarium with all the fixings from a friend who was getting rid of it Hot dog!

Ken Norton

Boxer Ken Norton, a heavyweight champion that beat Ali and has a connection to my father-in-law (Dennis was a sparring partner), died today. He was 70. RIP

Just. Too. Cute

On Tuesday Smiley's homework included writing a synonym for each of his spelling words. One word was 'cone'; his synonym? "Mommy". 

[In case you don't know Lisa's maiden name was "Kohn" and I often call her "Kohn" or "Kohnie" as a pet name, a practice that really only seems odd when you read it in print.]

Dancing with the Stars

Just watched the Dancing with the Stars premiere for the 2nd time (I missed some of the acts yesterday). It's good to have it back on the air. It was a long off-season :)

Elite Eight

Books, history, movies, reality TV, pop music, dining out, God and family . . . my Elite Eight

Disrespect

A summary of the media's disrespect for Alex Rodriguez (courtesy of BTF)

1996: 9.31 WAR, just behind Griffey (crazy credit for defense to Griffey that year) but 2nd in MVP to Juan Gonzalez despite a higher OPS, scoring 52 more runs, and playing SS instead of a poor RF.

1997: despite a 846 OPS and 5.6 WAR he didn't get even a 10th place vote while Tino Martinez came in 2nd with a 948 OPS at 1B and 5.08 WAR. Even a guy with negative WAR got 2 votes (Deivi Cruz for Detroit)

1998: 919 OPS, 8.50 WAR but Gonzalez gets his 2nd MVP while A-Rod comes in 9th. Yes, ninth! He even had a 40 HR, 40 SB season that year. He led in WAR for hitters by nearly a full win over Jeter (3rd place).

1999: 943 OPS, 4.76 WAR (injured) and 15th place, about right for that season

2000: 1.026 OPS, 10.29 WAR and 3rd place behind 2 1B who cannot field (Giambi and Thomas)

2001: 1.021 OPS, 8.36 WAR and 6th place, Ichiro's year.

2002: 1.015 OPS, 8.81 WAR 2nd place to another SS who had a 861 OPS and 5.6 WAR (Tejada) who got it due to his team having that amazing 20 game winning streak

2003: Voters give in and let him win at last - He is 2.2 WAR ahead of all other hitters (Pedro had a great year again, Loaiza also had more WAR than non-ARod hitters) but he gets just 6 first place votes while a guy with 3.12 WAR (Shannon Stewart) gets 3 first place votes (yes, voters can be pretty dumb).

2004: In NY now, 4th in WAR but 14th in voting

2005: Wins again, led in WAR by over 2 wins so hard to ignore but 16 first place votes while Ortiz who hit worse than A-Rod by almost any measure (Avg/OBP/Slg/HR/SB) gets 11 first place votes

2006: poor year ('just' 4.46 WAR)

2007: Wins again, led in WAR by nearly 2 wins again, gets all but 2 first place votes

2008: 6.8 WAR, 2nd among hitters but 8th in MVP voting

2009 to now: 4.2 is his best WAR since and hasn't finished higher than 10th in MVP voting.

Awwwww

Last week we took the kids out to eat and mentioned to YaYa that it was the same place [Neds] where, as a 5 year old, she cried and wailed when Lisa told her she wouldn't be able to marry me when she grew up. When she was told the story YaYa  nudged me in the ribs and said "The offer still stands Dad." :)

My Thoughts

Absolutely no disrespect to the kid who walked into the Greenfield police station and donated his hard earned $10 in change - great story and  his heart's in the right place -  but where were his parents? Sure, no matter where it goes ten bucks isn't going to move mountains, but if one of my kids wanted to do something like that I'd gently direct them to donate the money where it could do some real good for the community, like the food bank, homeless shelter, etc. Use the moment to educate them about where they can make a difference in the world, even at their age.  Letting your kid walk into a police station and hand over his allowance  seems . . .well, I've leave it at that.

Health Nut

If you go by Lisa's obscene definition of 'healthy', then I guess I made an error by baking chocolate chip cookies for the kids' breakfast.

it wasn't even even breakfast, it was "pre-breakfast snack" I think you called it.... - Lisa

A Shooting in DC

At least 12 dead at the Navy Shipyard in DC; rumored to be two shooters, one or both still on the loose . . .

At least 3000 people in DC are being told to "shelter in place". CBS ID'd one of the gunmen as a Naval officer, then retracted the claim.

Congrats!

Belated congrats to Floyd Mayweather on schooling Canelo Saturday night. :) I was working but followed it round by round on the internet. 

Daddy's Back

Wide-eyed Junie, upon seeing my newly regrown goatee today: "My Daddy's back, my Daddy's back!" then skipped away

You've had it so long, I totally understand her sentiment :) My hubby's back my hubby's back ...lol - Lisa

Taylor Swift Concert, 2011

This is Yaya writing again.

In 2011, my dad was supposed to pick us up to go spend our Super Reader subs coupons. My dad came late, and the whole family had to wait on the porch. Being my normal self, when my dad did pick us up, I had to say something about the wait.

'' Ugh, dude... why'd ya keep us waiting so long? Did you get in an accident along the way or something? '' I said, plopping into the car. My dad turned around, and handed me a piece of paper-

'' I was late because I was picking these up. ''

As soon as I new what the paper was, I squealed. My dad had gotten me tickets to the Taylor Swift concert! Plus, it was in an hour... I didn't have to wait forever! My mom was going with me, too, and that made it even better.

Here's some pics.

Posing by a Taylor Swift Cover Girl ad

Smiling like the Cheshire Cat once we got to our seats

I'm not sure which song this was, but I believe it was ' Back to December ' 

Halfway through the show, Taylor walked down the aisles and got on a spinning tree- playing a BANJO.

At the end of the show. Taylor soared above the crowd in  fake balcony, singing Love Story- even got close to us, and we were in the nosebleed seats. I regret I didn't get a picture of it, but the concert itself was amazing.

The Yanks Return

I've been gaga for days after hearing that my beloved Yanks are returning to Miller Park next year (their last visit was in '05, when an infant Parker had the privilege of watching A-Rod hit his 399th and 400th home runs). I have already informed Team Slap that even if it means skipping the mortgage in May we WILL be there for the three game series, dressed in Yankees apparel and cheering them on to an easy sweep of the Brewers. 

This last point brought protests from Lisa & LuLu, both of whom said they wouldn't go if they had to root against the Crew. "Fine," I said. "You don't have to root for the Yankees . . . but if you don't, you don't eat or drink at the game. I don't feed the opposition." Lisa simply flipped me off and moved on, but Lu wisely caved and was embraced in the loving arms of the Evil Empire . . .

Mayweather-Canelo

Oooeee, I can't wait for the Mayweather-Canelo bout tonight! I wish I wasn't working - and had the $ for the pay per view - so I could watch it live. I hope Floyd puts that ginger on the canvas, but no matter how he does it, Mayweather walks out 45-0.

Roar

Ok, I didn't *want* to like the damn song, but Katy Perry's "Roar" has been bouncing around my head for four days now. You win Katy. (but as for that "natural" look in her video - I think it makes her look ten years older.)

My Yanks are Surging

The Yankees, resurgent since the return of Alex Rodriguez, are a mere one game back from a wild card slot. I hope/pray for the following: that A-Rod takes the Yanks on his shoulders and leads them to the post-season, brings home a ring, and gives a giant "F U" to Selig, Cashman, and the so-called  "Captain", Derek Jeter, who has consistently stolen the accolades and praise that Alex deserves.

A-Rod Update

If he was eligible, A-Rod's OPS (On-Base plus Slugging %) would rank 7th in the AL this year . . oh, and didya notice that after his game tying home run last night he made a "zip it" motion to a fan that had been mouthing off to him during the at bat? BEAUTIFUL. :)

A-Rod has been walked three times tonight, at least once intentionally . . . I 'ppreciate the respect, but let the man hit!

On the School Change

Well update on the new school change: The kids are loving their new school. More friends made in 8 days then in 8 years! Also, two of the four are behind in math...and one (littlest) is feeling very unprepared for first grade. I had a hunch this was the case, but hearing it still infuriates me. Nothing like the public school down the block upstaging your supposedly superior private school!!!! Ridiculous. Don't count out mps yet.....and don't believe the hype about Catholic schools. They are no where near a year ahead, and in many cases they are behind!! LIVE AND LEARN :) - Lisa

A Wasted Day

A wasted day. A morning appointment ran long, right up to the time we had to pick up the kids from school. So it was a dash across town to grab them, then a quick dinner of jambalaya, followed by . . . .really, nothing else. I did tape 'X Factor' so there's something to retrospectively recommend this day, but otherwise BLEH.

MNF

Thank you ESPN and the Houston Texans. That was a mighty fine end to Monday Night Football.

The New Arsenio Show

We just finished watching the premiere of the new Arsenio talk show. Now I remember why I didn't like the original. Arsenio tells one funny joke then tanks six but still laughs at every one, mentions his "friend Eddie Murphy" every half hour, and just bores me. Still, maybe he's just rusty. We'll see.

I kinda liked it...kinda, lol - Lisa

Fantasy Football Update

Unless Victor Brown racks up 74.95 points tonight for my opponent, the Sad Sack Slapjacks have started the season 1-0. Booyah! (current score: 139.25 to 64.30)

{Fred resolves to try Google Translate to see if it speaks Football. }

Fred, I keep telling you that a basic knowledge of sports is social lubricant and necessary for happiness.

A New Routine

I walked the kids to school this morning. It's only about 1/3 of the distance (one-way) of their old stomping grounds, but it'll still be a nice addition to our routine. Oh - and once again, no ACL pain whatsoever. Whoot-whoot!

What If?

Controversial opinion of the day: Germany is remembered as the big "bad guy" of the 20th century, and it's a title they deserve. But did it have to be that way? Let's go back to late 1914, at the start of what *should* have been another one of the continental spats that let off steam between the contemporary superpowers. It seemed over from the start, with Germany swinging into France via Belgium and closing in on Paris, and then . . . . 

And then. 

King Leopold of Belgium, knowing his army was outmatched and doomed, sacrificed it in a delaying action against the Germans. Aside from the fact that no one wants to just roll over and let the other guy win, Leopold was acting to fulfil a British demand to buy time for their own forces. As the Kaiser found out, Leopold was a man of his word. 

The Germans were delayed, the push on Paris faltered, and a minor conflict morphed into the first World War. What's more, the German's didn't react very well to Belgian obstinacy, and their reprisals created a stream of (exaggerated) propaganda that fed Allied sentiment and eventually helped eroded American isolationism. 

So in many ways, ol' King Leopold is the true hero of the war. Right? Perhaps. 

But let's think about an alternative view. 

Say Leopold had thumbed his nose at the British and chose to grant Germany passage through Belgium, while providing only enough resistance to keep his honor - and his country - intact. What may have happened? 

France would have fallen, the British, who at the time had very little in the way of land forces in Europe, would have bowed out and the Western Front would have been over and done. While subsequent decades rightfully give you pause at the idea of German occupation, the evidence of prior continental wars (such as the German victory over France in the 1870's) would suggest that a German victory in 1914, in all likelihood, would leave behind a Europe that looked an awful lot like the Europe of 1913. 

Instead, we have WWI, with ten million dead and nearly forty million wounded or missing. We have the inevitable sequel, in which 73 million died in the time between the invasion of China and VJ Day. We have the fall of the Czar and the rise of a barbaric political system that murdered millions and enslaved billions more across Europe and Asia. We have all the dead of proxy wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. We have the collapse of political systems throughout Europe and the loss of their colonies, with all the internal warfare and famine that created. We have the Holocaust, which begat Israel, which in turn enflamed the Middle East and may well lead to the next world war. 

It's hard to imagine a German victory in 1914 spawning anything remotely resembling the horror that was the 20th century. 

So I ask you - is Leopold the hero of the First World War . . . or the grand villain of the 20th century?

You should be grateful King Leopold did delay the German march toward France, because without WWII, it's almost guaranteed Melissa would not have been born. 

Melissa's Grandpa K was 21 when he joined the Marines on Dec. 8th 1941 (day after Pearl Harbor) and didn't marry Mom until 1946 (1947?). I am not sure if they met before the war or after, but either way, things would have been different.

Had they not met before the war, given Dad was 21, he certainly would have found someone else in those 4-5 years. Thus no Dennis K (and me either) and no Melissa. If they did know each other before the war, they probably would have started a family 4-5 years sooner and Dennis would have graduated H.S. in 1960 instead of 1964. He would not have joined the Marines to fight in Viet Nam, cause there was no war at that time. He would have probably never met Jeanne and thus no Melissa. 

On a Macro level, no WWII, the US would not have built the Atomic bomb (Germany very well could have), and the US would not have been the first to land on the moon.

Butterfly effect is a nice way to exercise the mind though. - Lisa's Uncle Bruce K

Cal Worthington

Cal Worthington, a West Coast car dealer who was famous for his TV commercials - and far more importantly was used more than once as a question on The Match Game - has died at 92. RIP sir, Match Game fans thank you for your service.

A-Rod tonight: 2 for 4 with a home run

Time to Grow some Facial Hair

I've been without facial hair for a month or more, but I think that's about to come to an end. I've got a days worth of stubble now, and I'm too lazy to shave.

I'm so used to your facial hair, I kind of like it on you. But not on my spouse. LOL - Grandma J

An Update on the Thumb

Re: the thumb. Lisa took the stitches out a few days ago (only rich fools  go to the doctor for that; buy tweezers and manicure scissors at the dollar store and be done with it). The cut itself is a big valley like mess that I blame on the medical intern as much as the injury, but wth, it'll match my stretch marks. I think the thumbnail will be salvaged. I do worry about the fractures though. The thumb still hurts and I can't bend it completely. Worse yet the tip is oddly numb, making it hard to grasp and open a potato chip bag, which is g'damn unacceptable. Still, all in all I'm happy. :)

GREAT play on Sunday Night Football on NBC! But I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know, since you're watching it too .. . . oh, wait? Are you on Time Warner Cable? Are you still subject to the blackout? Aww, poor bunky. Switch to U-Verse already, ya Neanderthals. ;)

The BVCC Food Pantry Walk

This morning my daughters and I took part in a charity walk benefiting the food bank at the local community center. It was the first real test of my knee since tearing my ACL three months ago, and I am pleased to report that there wasn't so much as a hint of pain :) 

Junie lasted all of about .3 of a mile before throwing a fit, but luckily I had Lisa on standby and she drove and picked her up. YaYa, LuLu, and I finished the walk on our own, and had a nice entertaining conversation along the way.Then it was a nap, Mass, and soon dinner with friends here at home . . .

25 Years of Hangin' Tough

25 years ago today the monumental NKOTB album "Hangin' Tough" was released. Please, bow your heads in awe of the occasion. :)

A - drafting Peyton Manning in my fantasy draft was not my worst idea ever and B - of the 19 members of the part-time law school program two have already dropped out

Geese on Parade

Racist Bus Driver?

This!

30 Years Gone

30 years ago,on the night of 9/2/83, I crawled into bed beside my Grandpa. I woke up the next morning and discovered that he'd died next to me in the middle of the night. 

Without question, it was one of the most awful - and pivotal - days of my young life. It was never about the manner of his death, but about losing HIM. In many ways his loss shaped who I was to become.

It's hard to believe that today marks THREE decades since that morning, but time has a habit of marching on and leaving both the good and the bad in the distance.

 RIP Little Grandpa, and thanks for the time we did have together!

Junie = Tough

Junie just came down the stairs. "Guess wat? I stepped on a piece o' glass, and it got stuck in my foot but it's ok cuz I got it out myself." We were about to rattle off a standard "That's nice honey," when she brought out the paper towel she'd used to wipe off her foot. It had a fair amount of blood on it, like that of a minor nose bleed. She dug out a chunk of glass and cleaned it up herself without so much as asking for help, much less crying. For a six year old, that kid is one bad a*s b**ch. :)

Sad but True

Sad but LOL (and true): We went looking (just looking) at new washers today, and time after time Lisa walked away from a model in disgust. "What's this 'made in America' crap? We don't know how to build things anymore. Where's all the good Chinese stuff?" she said.

Tommy Morrison

RIP Tommy Morrison, age 44, a former Heavyweight champion and star of "Rocky 5". He's had HIV for years, but the cause of death was not yet announced.

Rabbit Food

We just finished a dinner of fresh vegetables and salad . . I don't know what to say. It was lettuce and green things for dinner. For DINNER people. WTH???

What's this "we" crapola?! You refused to eat...it was me and the kids that sat down to veggies and salad for dinner, and it was delish! - Lisa

I had two bowls! - Me

Neighbor Drama

The neighbor's teenage son went a little haywire and started smashing the ceramic pots on his Mom's porch. Lisa told him to knock it off, he mouthed off to Lisa and walked towards her,  I got  in his face and said some things, etc Turns out he's angry because he knocked up his girlfriend. Boo-hoo. Now you wrecked your Mom's porch, pissed off your neighbor, got your neighbor's 300 pound husband in your grill, and, oh yeah - your girlfriend's still pregnant. Well played kid.