Little Sally Walker

 So I guess Iggy Azalea released a song called “little sally walker” last year...I was like, hmmm that’s a game we used to play as kids....

Yep, it’s the same song. Lol.

You guys remember playing this right?

We so damn old our old games are being made into new rap songs. How tf that happen?! - Lisa

Great Job Son!

Yesterday, completely on his own initiative, Smiley  prepared a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner of ham, potatoes, stuffing, mac n cheese, roasted mozzarella brussel sprouts, asparagus, biscuits, and two, count 'em, TWO homemade apple pies.

 

Smiley is fifteen.  

At 15 I couldn't boil water. 

#GreatJobGreatKid

You Tell 'im Santa!

 

Huck Photobombs the Christmas Tree

 

 200+ murders a year but we got bubble machines and bands, lol. Still love my city! - Lisa

Treat Time

 It may have been treat time lol - Lisa

Someone doesn’t like that treat time is over lol, awww

David Cornwell, aka John LeCarre

RIP

United Colors of Benetton

 Apparently it relaunched in 2017, wonder if it would smell the same to me. I literally smelled like this for two straight years. Lol

- Lisa

Nope. Not yet, anyway.

That’s right... and that’s exactly where I’m at and that’s my choice (for now) too. The vaccine push before its even available is kinda gross honestly, especially the forms it’s taking: (addict shaming, classism, etc).

Newest: I’m not a patriot and I obviously voted for Trump, lol

- Lisa

 

Not Going Back

A quick trip in/out of a New Berlin restaurant made me love Milwaukee even more! It was overcrowded, no tables were taped off (for social distancing), there were whole crowds at the door with no mask - just reckless! - Lisa

Makk N Cheese

 If you haven’t tried makk n cheese on kk, you should. Yum. Carnitas foo extra crispy strips. Mmmmmmm. - Lisa

David Lander

RIP,  David Lander, Squiggy of Laverne and Shirley.

 My email is at AOL and idc, it works lol - Lisa

A Friday Treat

 Happy Friday! - Lisa @ Water Street Brewery

Louise is Gone

My step-mother in law Louise passed away this morning of Covid. She was a funny, classy lady and I'm honored to have known her and call her family. Rest in peace Lou. I love you. :(

Happy (Guesstimated) Birthday Huck!

THIS doggo turned ONE today and celebrated with treats, a super long walk, a birthday hat, and a puppy cake from the dog bakery. Happy Birthday Huckleberry!

And a present, doggo icecream and homemade biscuits - Junie

The Gits

The Gits is a melancholy documentary about the titular Seattle band whose rise through the industry ended tragically with the brutal rape and murder of lead singer Mia Zapata. It's not a very feel good story,  but it's one that deserves telling,  and I'm glad Zapata's life, and music,  had a chance to be in the spotlight again. #miazapata #vivazapata #thegitsband #thegits #miazapataforever

You Don't Hear About This is Mommie Dearest

Joan Crawford was asked to take over Carole Lombard 's role in They All Kissed the Bride (1942) after Lombard died in an airplane crash returning from a war bond tour. Crawford then donated all of her salary to the Red Cross -- and promptly fired her agent for taking his usual 10%.

Malorie by Josh Malerman

If I remember right, I thought "Bird Box"was a better book than a movie, but no great shakes in either format. 

I don't know what's changed for author Josh Malerman (besides all the moolah in his bank account), but somewhere along the line he really learned to WRITE.  

"Malorie," the sequel to "Bird Box," grabs you from the first page and keeps you riveted until the end. The characters are stronger and have admirable depth; the dystopian world is much more developed; the plot is less frantic but just as engaging.

I really enjoyed book, and yeah, that kind of surprised me. 

Pick up a copy.

Joe Biden by Evan Osnos

I read this book looking to get a more comprehensive understanding of Joe Biden. I can't say that was accomplished, largely because the author felt free to insert himself in the narrative and hold to no standard of impartiality; understandably, that makes it rather hard to trust what's on the page. 

The book briefly touches on Biden's personal life, races through his time in the Senate, discusses his role as VP in some detail, and ends with a thinly disguised wish list of how the author hopes a Biden Presidency will go. Flaws and mistakes are briefly presented, but only so they can be quickly dismissed by the author.  

Truly, there isn't much meat here. It's a glorified campaign piece. Shame on me for believing what were obviously biased reviews before I picked it up, and shame on the author for blowing the opportunity to convince a Republican that this is a man worth following.

Angel

Happy Golden Anniversary!

50 years ago today - November 14th, 1970 - my parents exchanged their wedding vows. Lisa and I had planned on treating them to dinner and a concert at the Fireside tonight to celebrate, but you can chalk that up to yet another plan scrapped by Covid in 2020. It may not be as public a celebration as your 25th, but I hope you both enjoy the day and don't worry - we'll rock out your 75th. I love you both. Thanks for getting, and staying, together, and for all the love you've shown me. 

Kochamy was oboje

Finally, a plan!

Fr tho.  Change the locks,  draw the curtains,  don't answer the phone.  Eezy peezy, 4 more yearsy.

Alex Trebej

RIP Jeopardy host Alex Trebek

You Don't Say

Network (CBS iirc) shows crowds of thousands in Times Square celebrating Biden's media coronation

Anchor: There's a lot of masks, but no social distancing . . . But I guess the pandemic doesn't matter anymore. 

***

I can't tell if that was snark or a confession.

What changed?

 Democrats in 2016: "Russia rigged the election!"

Democrats in 2020: "How DARE you question the validity of this election!!? The process is pure!"

Uh-Oh

Huckleberry sheds a tear as Biden pulls ahead . . . #RedKingdom

Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1

I watched the Season 2 premiere of Mandalorian. Yawn. Enough of Tatooine, enough of the Boba Fett nonsense, and oh, idk, maybe try spending a minute on the overall story arc of the series.

I wont take my daughter to swing park

(Junie hijacked my phone)

Election Day is Finally Here

Am I anxious? Sure. I've probably taken in 4k calories so far today. But I've seen my candidates win, and I've seen them lose, and life will go on. I'll be PO'd, but I'll live. The girls tho are real nervous. YaYa showed up this morning with candidate cookies and ham and rolls, and Junie and her friends are sometimes cheerful, sometimes morose or fearful. But like I told them - 100 years ago, someone's daughter started the day distraught over the thought that Harding might lose to Cox, and her fears were every bit as heartfelt and genuine. The calendar page turns, and life goes on.

Election Day is Tomorrow - FINALLY

 

Tomorrow is election day, and as a special favor for you, in this Year of Covid and Riots, I shall spare you my opinion on who is worthy of your vote. The choice is yours, and all on you boo. 

I have been asked, several times today alone, who I think will win. My answer has remained the same: I don't know.

 I'm not being flippant. I have won and lost enough elections (as a spectator) to know that almost any opinion offered in the final weeks is meaningless. It's too tainted by emotion and how invested you are in the outcome. One hour you're overestimating your candidate, convinced it'll be a landslide. A half hour later, you're just as certain the landslide will bury YOUR guy. It's pointless. 

Plus, this year I just don't trust the polls. Not because tHe LaSt EleCTiOn  pROvEd PolLs ArE BUnk, because I think 2016 was an outlier. But I have grown concerned when I read pollsters, from both sides of the aisle, now argue that their 2016 predictions weren't really that off.  Say what now? You screwed the pooch. Badly. And if you and yours are unwilling to concede that point, how much could your methodology really have improved in the interim? 

I also know people this year who casually spoke of lying about their choice of candidate when surveyed, and as a rule Republicans seem to scorn taking part in polls as a matter of honor. I myself have refused to participate a few times this go-round. So how accurate could the dang things be, no matter who they favor?

If pressed for a verdict, I think it's a 50-50 shot tomorrow for both candidates, but that the decision will be relatively quick and decisive, with the fears of a protracted post-ballot contest fading as 270 appears on the board. And if pressed further for a verdict, I think Trump has the momentum here at the end and a reliable shot at reaching that 270 mark again. 

But wth do I know. I thought Hillary would win last time.  Why listen to me? 

                                              Oh, wait. Listen to me about ONE thing. This:

Too Accurate

Hubie Halloween

While mildly entertaining, this is still one of the worst movies ever made.  And you know what? We deserve it,  for snubbing Uncut Gems in Oscar season.  #corporalpunishment

A Sad Covid Halloween

More than 60 minutes in and not a single trick or treater  . . Normally the sidewalks are PACKED. It looks like everyone is obeying the Covid cancellation.  Sad. There isn't a tradition this pandemic hasn't ruined in 2020.

Sean Connery

RIP Sean Connery, aged 90. You were - and are - a legend.

A Great Quote about Anxiety

"Ain't no sense worrying: If you have no control over something, ain't no sense worrying about it -you have no control over it anyway. If you do have control, why worry? So either way, there ain't no sense worrying." -Mickey Rivers

I'm Impressed!

I was pretty darn impressed watching Junie's virtual high school entrance interview.  Period pooh.

Coco

A very good,  very sweet movie.

I Voted Today

I voted in person today. Due to strict Covid restrictions the line pictured here took an hour to move, tho those restrictions still weren't fanatical enough for one very angry voter in front of me. I imagine the speed will pick up, as after one time through I saw a number of ways to increase the speed while maintaining Covid safety.  

I had wanted the kids to go with me, as I was always honored to accompany my own parents, but apparently voting is only a right worth celebrating if the other person votes the way you wish.  

 #NotSaltyAtAllNoSireeLol

Junie and GusGus

150 Years Ago Today

Robert E Lee died 150 years ago today, having suffered a stroke two weeks prior. He was 63.

Be Careful Out There

There's a bad accident on westbound 94 just east of Miller Park. An SUV is flipped on its driver's side, and its roof appears to have been cut away by firefighters to pull out the occupants. As i drove by going east, they were strapping a man to a wooden board for transport. #prayers

Expecting Trouble

The WI National Guard has been mobilized in anticipation of the "peaceful protests" expected tomorrow in Wauwatosa.

Our Beautiful Old Lady

Angelcakes

He digs it

Gus Gus

A Sweet Gesture

Most nights one of the kids, usually LK, writes a note and puts it in my lunch.  No such note yesterday,  but when I got off work this  was left on my dash. Half an hour away from home,  and the kids still thought to drive by my work and suprise me with a message.  I gotta admit,  I was touched.

A Daytime Racoon

I just saw an adult raccoon a block east of my house. It was cute, for a rodent, but they're nocturnal, so I wasn't expecting to see one after sunrise.

Enough with the Ads

Honestly, no one is unaware of the election. No one. If you need 10k reminders from the media, your Hollywood elite, and politicians to go out and vote . . . Well, I won't interfere with your right to do so, but I seriously doubt your contribution to the process is a plus for anyone.

Bob Gibson

 

RIP to the legendary HOF pitcher

The President has Covid

My prayers are with you Mr. President, and with FLOTUS.

Enjoying the Weather

Hopefully not the last gasp of good weather.  @ Glacier Hills County Park in Hubertus 

Gussy

Gus Gustopherson, Esq.

Revisiting Chestnut Day

September 27th in 2014, and 2020.