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!
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Sunday, September 21, 2014
60 Minutes
If you're watching 60 Minutes, good for you. Their story on ISIS is something you should be watching. It was disturbing to see former Sec of Defense Leon Panetta (2011-2013) say that he was against pulling our troops out of Iraq - for fear of exactly what happened in its wake. King Abdullah of Jordan is very articulate and a great interview subject, btw.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
James Foley
CNN is confirming that it is American James Foley, a 1996 Marquette graduate, who was beheaded on the video released by ISIS. May he RIP. And Palestinian's have launched rockets into Israel (again), ending the truce that had been in place.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
That's a Pretty Big Difference
"The difference between us is that we're using missile defense to protect our civilians and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Friday, June 27, 2014
News
From one news feed on my wall: US president Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve $500 million to train and equip Syrian rebels seeking to oust president Bashar al-Assad
News
From one news feed on my wall: US president Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve $500 million to train and equip Syrian rebels seeking to oust president Bashar al-Assad
Saturday, July 13, 2013
George Zimmerman
BREAKING NEWS: Jurors have found George Zimmerman NOT GUILTY in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
FB - the 2nd week of March *2011*
March 9th:
Yo, if news reports on the chaos in Madison interrupt or pre-empt American Idol, I'm gonna be pissed.
Breaking news: from what I understand the collective bargaining measure has been removed from the budget bill and pushed forward on its own; since it ISN'T a fiscal bill the GOP can vote and pass it w/out the Senators that fled to IL. I guess it'll happen tonight.
Last night I finished "Instant Replay", Jerry Kramer's classic diary of the 1967 NFL season. It's a fun read, with a clear and intelligent voice. (not to spoil the ending, but the Packers win the SuperBowl)
Now this Madison mess has interrupted The Wendy Williams Show. Have they no decency?
March 10th:
Five years ago I couldn't have imagined a day when I'd respect France as much as I do as of late. Sarkozy is a courageous, straight-ahead leader, and France is lucky to have him.
594K people living in Milwaukee as of 2010, the lowest total since WWII - all while the state's population as a whole grew.
Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact - William James
(Gov. Scott) Walker just finished his press conference. He was well spoken, calm, reliant on acts not emotion, and I'm pretty confident he has balls the size of watermelons. A striking contrast (no pun intended) to the cliche ridden tantrums outside the Capitol.
March 11th
I have no problem with having to watch commericals on a news site. I just think the site should be more conscious of the context in which they're placed. I'm sure Company X doesn't want their happy-happy jingle to be followed by a story of abuse and torture, as was just the case on CNN.com. It's poor taste, and the fault is CNN's, not the advertiser.
I've got this all backasswards - the busier I am in the day, the more I post. Instead of stopping for a cigarette break, I spend a few minutes clogging up your news feed. Yay for you. Just finished Morning Glory, and was shocked it was so good. I LOL'd 11 times - I counted - and Harrison Ford was superbly funny as the crochety old anchor. Loved it.
RIP Iowa Blackie. RIP.
Kate Winslet. #1 on my List of Five for 13 consecutive years.
"DO NOT bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it."
--Thomas Jefferson
--Thomas Jefferson
[Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami, resulting in horrendous loss of life]
[several links to earthquake relief agencies and news articles on the tsunami followed]
March 12th
In the wee hours of the AM we watched "Life as we Know It", a rom-com with Katherine Heigl & Josh Duhamel. It was pleasant enough, and Heigl is always good, but all in all it's a collection of cliches stapled to a formulaic script. Some good moments though. [I was a little shocked to see Josh Lucas; he seems to have aged quite a bit since Wonderland]
March 13th
Just got home. Worked til 530, then went immediately to dinner/auction/dance at my kids school. Lots of fun, lots of food, lots and lots of drinking. Good time. And best of all, it's the first time since July 11th 2010 that we've gone out w/out the kids (other than an hour here or there w/ a deadline arouind our necks). Thanks Anne for the invite!
@ wrk I had to deal with a Truther & his loudly stated beliefs - see T-shirt reading "Investigate 9/11!". Like all Americans he is entitled to his opinion, based on the absurdly tiny amount of information he bothered to learn before he formed it. But I did enjoy the fact that someone so obesessed w/ conspiracy was apparently 'taken' - a Visa gift card he accepted as pay was empty.
March 14th
While I was at work Lisa took the girls on a Scout trip to the Symphony, where Olivia won a copy of Lemony Snicket's "The Composer is Dead". Grace said she enjoyed the music, while Olivia said it was boring (but she was tired when I asked her). Then, a miserable night of subpar Sun TV, w/ no movie on hand. It was down to The Nanny (good) & '3 Ninjas' (suicide inducing).
Any guy dumb enough to label Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard as 'average' while worshiping Julia 'Secretariat' Roberts should have his man parts removed forthwith.
"in this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others" - Voltaire, satirizing the execution of British Admiral John Byng by his own country (this day in 1757). RIP.
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.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Found
Clara Tung, the missing 11 yr old Greendale girl police were searching for, has.been found unharmed.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
On Gadhafi
While the world seems all giddy-goo over the likely fall of Gadhafi, I call B.S. You're ditching a known but neutered bad guy in exchange for a bunch of unknowns who will - I'm sure - install a fair, democratic gov't that is pro-US & believes in equality of the sexes, the right of Israel to exist, & freedom of speech. OR they'll install a Sharia gov't that'll serve as the Iraq for the next generation of American soldiers. Either/or. What a crock.
fred, let's try to speak tonight, once i get some more who under my belt
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
News
Forces in Afghanistan have wiped out the Taliban group that downed the US Special Forces chopper; a case of too little too late. Closer to home I'm happy I no longer have to suffer through back-to-back political ads, and even happier that the silent majority stepped up again and did what needed doing. The will of the people is the law of the land, and no amount of chanting & obnoxious protests will change that.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
April 1st thru the 11th
April 1st
B4 school we sat the kids down & told them plans for Lu to get her own room were scrapped because, vasectomy doc be damned, we found out we were going to have another baby. It was an April Fool's joke and they totally bought it. Still, their reactions were a surprise. YaYa was happy (!?), LuLu was upset, and the two little ones didn't know how to react but seemed pleased. It's a shame it was just a joke.
April 2nd
I just finished reading Felix Gilman's "The Half-Made World". It is a beautiful, lyrical novel that will never get its due because its part of the 'steampunk' genre. But know this: rarely did three pages go by before I was again awed by his ability to capture a moment or a thought with the perfect, economical use of words. Easily the best written book I've read this year.
Lisa, to a Lump dressed in a velvet skirt, mismatched oversized boots she borrowed from her siblings, no shirt, and a large multi-colored bow tie she swiped from a clown costume: "Lump, LuLu's friend is almost here to pick her up. Go upstairs and stay out of sight until they're gone. We need to hide your . . . odd ways."
Lump has dark, beautiful long eye lashes. You're welcome kid.
April 3rd my friend Erv's 37th bday
Maupassant used to advise, “Get black on white.”
James Thurber: “Don't get it right, just get it written."
Lisa bought the two oldest tiny cross stitch kits to entertain them while introducing them to the craft. Sadly, they worked on it for a day before misplacing bits of it.
April 4th
Gotta love the honesty from CBS during halftime of the NCAA Championship game: Worst half of championship basketball ever. Awful. Sad. A competition to see who can play worse. A horrible showcase for the NCAA, etc.
Not the greatest start to the MLB season, finishing today with a record of only 3 -1. Ah well, we'll do better. I speak of course, of my beloved Yankees. My hometown Brewers, OTOH, stand at 0-4. I do count myself as a Brewers fan, but 37 years of dissapointment has tempered my confidence. I'm not a Cubs fan - every half century or so I'd like to see a championship.
Arod, Greatest of the Great, sits at .357 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 3 walks, and 4 RBI's in four games. I bow to thee!
Oooo! There might be a revival of the late great Goldman's store here in town
April 5th - my Mom's 64th birthday/voting day
00:12: Ok, bedtime folks. If you're in WI, please go out and vote tomorrow (unless you plan to vote for someone other than Stone and Prosser, in which case take a siesta from voting and relax at home with a beer. Go ahead, I won't mind - and future Milwaukee County residents will thank you!)
If you want my predictions for the local election: I think Prosser takes the W, Abele grabs the County Exec, and the Bay View hating Terry Falk keeps his school board seat.
[I was right on all counts, but what a rocky road it would be to get there]
Here are some nature shots I took on the walk home from the polling place
From Lisa: I love you hunny....
April 6th
"We've done really well with teenage death songs"
- Eddie Vedder, on "Lost Dogs" liner notes for 'Last Kiss'
April 7th
Justice David Prosser picked up more than 7,000 votes and took the lead in the Supreme Court case after a reporting flub in Waukesha County. Yowsas - great news, but cue the conspiracy stories.
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” - Edmund Burke
"I like my beasts fast and my bass down low, put it on my headstone yo!" - Lisa
We just finished watching Christina Aguliera in "Burlesque". I'm not sure why the reviews I read last year were bad. Sure, the plot was predictable, but what, you rented it expecting The French Connection? The music was good, the women were hot, and the romance was sweet. I liked it.
April 8th
Manny Ramirez has chosen to retire from baseball rather than face a ban for testing postive for banned substances. Wow.
off of work and straight to doc w/ Lump for an earache/drainage
[this was a bad infection. She'd complained her 'tooth' hurt for days, and we were waiting for her dentist to return from vacation to schedule an appt, but once her ear drained the way it did - ickily, it ran down her cheek - it was obvious her ear and not her tooth was the problem. She took antibiotics for ten days and on a follow up had a clean bill of health]
April 9th
"Unless you're ashamed of yourself now and then, you're not honest." - William Faulkner
You needed to contain a story like a disease, before it spread. - Edward Conlon
Superstition brings bad luck. —Raymond Smullyan
April 10th
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras"
A beautiful warm day, a fresh column off to the paper, a short day of work ahead of me, and then a day off w/out any (known) obligations Monday. Sounds good to me.
April 11th
"The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. "At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached." - judge rules Facebook settlement stands
B4 school we sat the kids down & told them plans for Lu to get her own room were scrapped because, vasectomy doc be damned, we found out we were going to have another baby. It was an April Fool's joke and they totally bought it. Still, their reactions were a surprise. YaYa was happy (!?), LuLu was upset, and the two little ones didn't know how to react but seemed pleased. It's a shame it was just a joke.
April 2nd
I just finished reading Felix Gilman's "The Half-Made World". It is a beautiful, lyrical novel that will never get its due because its part of the 'steampunk' genre. But know this: rarely did three pages go by before I was again awed by his ability to capture a moment or a thought with the perfect, economical use of words. Easily the best written book I've read this year.
Lisa, to a Lump dressed in a velvet skirt, mismatched oversized boots she borrowed from her siblings, no shirt, and a large multi-colored bow tie she swiped from a clown costume: "Lump, LuLu's friend is almost here to pick her up. Go upstairs and stay out of sight until they're gone. We need to hide your . . . odd ways."
Lump has dark, beautiful long eye lashes. You're welcome kid.
April 3rd my friend Erv's 37th bday
Maupassant used to advise, “Get black on white.”
James Thurber: “Don't get it right, just get it written."
Lisa bought the two oldest tiny cross stitch kits to entertain them while introducing them to the craft. Sadly, they worked on it for a day before misplacing bits of it.
April 4th
Gotta love the honesty from CBS during halftime of the NCAA Championship game: Worst half of championship basketball ever. Awful. Sad. A competition to see who can play worse. A horrible showcase for the NCAA, etc.
Not the greatest start to the MLB season, finishing today with a record of only 3 -1. Ah well, we'll do better. I speak of course, of my beloved Yankees. My hometown Brewers, OTOH, stand at 0-4. I do count myself as a Brewers fan, but 37 years of dissapointment has tempered my confidence. I'm not a Cubs fan - every half century or so I'd like to see a championship.
Arod, Greatest of the Great, sits at .357 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 3 walks, and 4 RBI's in four games. I bow to thee!
Oooo! There might be a revival of the late great Goldman's store here in town
April 5th - my Mom's 64th birthday/voting day
00:12: Ok, bedtime folks. If you're in WI, please go out and vote tomorrow (unless you plan to vote for someone other than Stone and Prosser, in which case take a siesta from voting and relax at home with a beer. Go ahead, I won't mind - and future Milwaukee County residents will thank you!)
If you want my predictions for the local election: I think Prosser takes the W, Abele grabs the County Exec, and the Bay View hating Terry Falk keeps his school board seat.
[I was right on all counts, but what a rocky road it would be to get there]
Here are some nature shots I took on the walk home from the polling place
From Lisa: I love you hunny....
April 6th
"We've done really well with teenage death songs"
- Eddie Vedder, on "Lost Dogs" liner notes for 'Last Kiss'
April 7th
Justice David Prosser picked up more than 7,000 votes and took the lead in the Supreme Court case after a reporting flub in Waukesha County. Yowsas - great news, but cue the conspiracy stories.
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” - Edmund Burke
"I like my beasts fast and my bass down low, put it on my headstone yo!" - Lisa
We just finished watching Christina Aguliera in "Burlesque". I'm not sure why the reviews I read last year were bad. Sure, the plot was predictable, but what, you rented it expecting The French Connection? The music was good, the women were hot, and the romance was sweet. I liked it.
April 8th
Manny Ramirez has chosen to retire from baseball rather than face a ban for testing postive for banned substances. Wow.
off of work and straight to doc w/ Lump for an earache/drainage
[this was a bad infection. She'd complained her 'tooth' hurt for days, and we were waiting for her dentist to return from vacation to schedule an appt, but once her ear drained the way it did - ickily, it ran down her cheek - it was obvious her ear and not her tooth was the problem. She took antibiotics for ten days and on a follow up had a clean bill of health]
April 9th
"Unless you're ashamed of yourself now and then, you're not honest." - William Faulkner
You needed to contain a story like a disease, before it spread. - Edward Conlon
Superstition brings bad luck. —Raymond Smullyan
April 10th
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras"
A beautiful warm day, a fresh column off to the paper, a short day of work ahead of me, and then a day off w/out any (known) obligations Monday. Sounds good to me.
April 11th
"The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. "At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached." - judge rules Facebook settlement stands
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Gabrielle Giffords
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has died after being shot at a store in Tucson, Arizona, law enforcement source tells CNN. -
RIP
UPDATE: the CNN report was incorrect. She has survived!!!!!
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