My Superbowl XL picks

Yeah, my picks were dead on.

Sure,  the SuperBowl is up for grabs, but forget that the Steelers are early 3.5 pt favorites - I firmly believe/hope/expect Mike Holmgren to walk away with the honor of being the first coach to win a ring with two different teams.

Sure, the 'Hawks had a decently easy post-season, and Pittsburgh had to walk through fire . .

But did they?

The Bengals lost their QB minutes into the game and (IMHO) were overrated anywho. Indy's defeat was a masterpiece, and I loved watching it, but let's face facts here: Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning are master choke artists. What a waste of talent.

And while you have to marvel at their domination of Denver, but did you ever really think Jake Plummer was going all the way?

I think Seattle will take it in relatively easy fashion, but give up part of their cushion as the clock runs down - just enough to make me sweat.

Seattle 27 - Pittsburgh 20

AFC/NFC Picks

As the National Anthem plays in Denver, I wanted to get my picks out there in cyberspace:

Superbowl Extra-Large will feature: Pittsburgh and Seattle - and I sincerely hope Holmgren earns another ring.

Let's play boys!

Quote of the Day

I've been meaning to post this one for awhile now . . a week or so ago, we let YaYa take a princess video into her school to watch at 'rest time'. I asked her about it on the ride home from school.

Me: So how did your class like the video?

YaYa: They liked it a lot.

Me: They were impressed, huh?

after a moment . .

YaYa: No . . they were Kayla and Catrina.

Yet another book review . .

No, as a matter of fact I don't sit around with a book in my hands and my feet up at work  . . well, not often :) 

Okay, humor aside, that happens not at all, despite the tongue in cheek comment Alphawoman left on my last post. Let me tell you though, for years that was the best part of working 3rd shift. There were hours were you had nothing to do but read.

Heck, at my interview the woman that hired me told me to bring a book along on my first day.

That being said, I have read a whole bunch lately. Once my library card was clear, all bets were off. I've taken to reading at night before bed, in my favorite room of the house (the bathroom), and on break at work.

It helps that I read fast (duh), but this also follows my usual m.o. of binge and purge. With books I'll go over the top and read everything an author has done, or everything on a single subject - then toss it away in disgust and not approach that author/subject for years.

Today, I finished The Closers by Michael Connelly, another in his famous Harry Bosch series. Connelly, in most people's opinion, is a master of the mystery genre. I more or less agree. My criticisms however, has always been that he does make you suspend your disbelief like no one else - which means that afterwards you stare at a hole in the plot and wonder how you enjoyed the book at all. . .

I didn't get that feeling with The Closers. It had a tight(er) plot, realistic action, and the fine writing style that is Connelly's trademark. Worth a look, and a nice book to start off your addiction to Harry Bosch.

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Update and another book review

Howdy folks -  it looks like my wife's cousin DeLaura was the 30,000th visitor. Sadly, she doesn't have a blog to promote, but a hearty thanks to her anyway . .

I just knocked off two more books in the last few days, both prose sequels to the Tom Hanks movie Road to Peridition, which began life as a graphic novel.

Both Road to Purgatory and Road to Paradise take up the story of Michael O'Sullivan Jr, the boy who accompanied his father on a bloody path of revenge against the Capone era mob. Whereas in the movie the boy forsakes all violence and boasts that he never held a gun again (which I thought odd at the time, given that WWII was right around the corner), in the books he follows his father's path into the mob, albeit with a hitch I won't give away.

Like his father, Michael is a s**t kicker, a man who can be perfectly calm one second and an unstoppable killing machine the next. There's no doubt he's the son of the man once called "The Angel of Death" - heck, in the Pacific he earns the Medal of Honor for single-handedly killing 50 Japanese soldiers in a cold-blooded frenzy.

Purgatory follows him from the war to his apprenticeship in the Frank Nitti mob through Nitti's 'suicide', while Paradise picks up the tale in the '70's, when the 50ish Michael has to account for his past while in the witness protection program.

Max Allan Collins is an underated author who's totally at ease with the printed page. Both books, like his Nathan Heller series, are worth reading. As a slight note of caution, it goes without saying that if violence puts you off, this might not be the ideal reading material for you.

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All Right, who was it?

Someone wasn't paying attention, 'cuz the site went over 30,000 in the last 24 hours and it went unheralded.

If you have the screenshot - or even if you don't - drop me a line at slapinions@aol.com and let me give you the credit you deserve.

 

Hey, watch this will ya?

By the way, a new Tom Selleck movie based on a book by Robert B Parker premieres tonight on CBS. Take a look and support my favorite author.

Book Reviews

Last week, courtesy of a tidy little commission I earned at work, I paid off the fines on my library card.

The results for that fine institution? Imagine keeping Babe Ruth on the bench for a year - then handing him a bat with a 50 year old scrub on the mound.

I have single-handedly raised their stats to the point where the mayor can’t touch their budget next year.

Happily, this all occurred when the planets were aligned: I’d just decided I needed to force myself to unwind at night, and my wife - normally only a voracious magazine and web reader - decided to binge on a bunch of books herself.

I have two stacks of books in my bedroom, each one 8 or 9 high, featuring most of the books I listed in a previous post. (one good thing about not having a library card for awhile; all the books I’ve been dying to read are now old news and sitting on the shelf).

I’m itching to get to Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, but because it’s a three-week rental, I’ve been busy polishing off the 7-day items.

Because I value my audience, as I know you value every single letter I type, I thought I’d give ya a short little review of the books I’ve finished.

Consider this Amazon-lite.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - overall, an impressive debut. A young girl finds an old book in her father’s library. Otherwise blank, it’s pages feature a dramatic woodcut of a dragon - and the word “Drakulya”.

From this point, three storylines emerge: the tragic 1930 adventures of her father’s mentor as he hunted the apparently very much (un)alive Vlad the Impaler, her father’s tale as he followed in his footsteps, and the daughter’s quest to locate her now-missing father.

It’s a long book at more than 600 pages, and I walked away from it with mixed feelings. The author has talent, and except for brief periods it held my attention until the end, but there are three glaring faults.

At times it read like a travel guide to Eastern Europe, as the characters followed a meandering, tedious quest to locate Drakula’s tomb. You could have cut half the travel out and it still would have been over the top.

Kostova also isn’t the best at dialogue. Who meets a stranger and decides to dump their entire life story on them within minutes? Even if there is such a person, Kostova isn’t skilled enough to pull off constructing pages of oral reminisces that recall details as small as the color of a shirt, seen for a moment forty years back . . .

The last flaw? A tepid, foppish Drakula with all the menace of the Hamburgler.

 

One Shot by Lee Child - The latest Reacher novel. As usual, Child permanently hooks the reader within only a few paragraphs. Child’s mastered that as well, if not better, than anyone.

There’s always the danger that a character like Reacher will grow stale and predictable. I don’t think that’s happened yet, but I did find the resolution of the mystery a little over the top. It’s hard to elaborate without spoiling the book, but maybe it was a bit too elaborate for it’s own good.

Highly recommended if you’re a Reacher fan, but if this is your introduction to the series, close the book and pick up some of the older ones (but not The Enemy).

School Days by Robert B Parker - a great addition to the Spenser library.

Once upon a time, Parker was mailing the novels in, pasting together clichés and calling them books. And while the plots got thinner, the font size got larger, as if Parker himself didn’t have enough left in the tank to finish the job.

That’s changed.

School Days was great. Not only was the ever-annoying love of his life Susan absent (please, please keep her out of town forever) the plot was interesting enough to keep me turning the page.

Not only was the theme of the book strong - the aftermath of a Columbine-like school shooting- it went beyond the mere ‘facts’ of the case to address the gray nature of good/evil, guilt/innocence.

Spenser is at his best when his cases involve a philosophical examination of his world, and he hit’s a bulls-eye with this one.

Plus, the wise-ass Spenser is laugh-out-loud funny at times. J

 

Broken Prey by John Sandford - This was another series that I once thought was losing steam.

I felt the book started slow, but quickly picked up the pace and restored my faith in the Prey novels.

Lucas Davenport is investigating a Minnesota serial killer, who, influenced by the ‘Big Three” (three depraved and infamous killers under lock and key at a phyciatric hospital) ravages his victims in a disgusting fashion.

I didn’t see the identity of the murderer coming, and I certainly bought much of the smokescreen Sandford created hook, line, and sinker. Twists and turns abound, and the intelligence of the killer is frightening in and of itself . .

Recommended.

 

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30,000? Hard to Believe

It is hard to believe, but very soon - possibly even today - this site will reach 30,000 visitors.

(full disclosure: more like 29,600 as I've viewed the site at least 400 times. Whoopdeedoo - I'm not going to celebrate 30,400, for Pete's sake)

Should you be the happy visitor to tip the scales, send me a screen capture and I'll promote your blog and praise your name to the high heavens :)

I'll update later today, with some luck.

Longhorns Win! Longhorns Win!

Oh man, what a great National Championship game, a classic people will talk about forever!. Vince Young is awesome, a one man wrecking crew!

Despite what I said in the previous post, 1/2 way through the 1st quarter I resented the cocky, too-sure Trojans and became a Texas fan.

I was sooo into the game my hands were shaking like a leaf when Texas was facing a 4th down with ~30 seconds left . .

Congrats to the players and fans of the Longhorns!

Norman Chad vs USC

Hey, maybe it's just because I don't follow college football much outside the Big Ten, but I really don't have anything against the Trojans of Southern Cal. So I'm not sure what all the fuss is about in Norman Chad's new column.

Who cares? On a weak day he's one of the funniest writers I follow, and with a burr under his saddle  he's over the top . . .maybe a little too over the top to be the 'ideal' column to introduce you to him, but what the heck . .

A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and asks, "Wanna hear a USC joke?"

The guy next to him replies, "Well, before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and I'm a USC graduate. The guy sitting next to me is 6-2, 225 and he's a USC graduate. The fella next to him is 6-5, 250 and he went to USC. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?"

The first guy replies, "Naw, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."

 

New Years Resolutions 2006

This time last year, along with most of the universe, I posted list of New Years Resolutions. Unlinke most of the universe, mine occasionally crossed the line into 'bawdy', for which I humbly apologize.

Before I go about lising what I'll fail to accomplish in 2006, I'd like to revisit the unfufilled dreams of 2005.

I will lose weight by exercising more and practicing self-control of my eating habits. I will go to the gym on a regular basis. I will also quit smoking.

Uh, yeah. I think I'll finish the year ten pounds heavier, and while I quit smoking (about a dozen times) it remains a monkey on my back.

I will learn to braid my daughter's hair. Nope.

I will figure out how to transfer my home videos to DVD's using my computer Nope. Sensing a trend here?

I will attend church more often  Yup, 'tho in fairness the bar was set pretty low in '04.

I will help my wife catch up on our children's scrapbooks. No, well, sorta . . I consider this blog a scrapbook of sorts.

I will no longer invest hope, excitement, or expectations in my Milwaukee Brewers Well, be proud, I accomplished this - and in return they posted the first non-losing season in 12 years.

I will make every effort to secure publication of my writing, and will accept rejection with renewed determination  No, and no.

I will read a hundred books. Try twenty or fewer - I was behind the pace but still a'tryin' in June, but after getting that promotion I managed only one the rest of the year.

I will take the extra time to relearn my parenting skills to benefit my son. I don't know - ask my wife.

 I will not lose any more teeth in the coming year What a depressing list of failures. I lost an abcessed tooth on the 5th of July.

I will attend an out-of-state baseball game with my Dad  Sigh.

I will make some effort at mental improvement Well, I did watch a lot of the National Geographic Channel.

I will successfully find a better paying, safer, more challenging day job. Done. Good thing it was probably the most important thing on the list, or this whole thing would be a wash.

Ok, enough of the past. May I  present  Slapinions Rambling List of Likely Unattainable but certainly Doable New Years Resolutions (Had I Only a Smidgen of Ambition And Personal Will Power) 2006 Edition.

Except for the Brewers' thingy, ditto 2005's resolutions. Yay for me. In additon

Repair the videocamera/christmas tree stand

Finish my dang book

Boost revenue at my business 10% (minimum), with an overall goal of a 33% increase

Move into a better neighborhood, with more room for the kids.

Take my first real vacation in years; hopefully, a 10th anniversary cruise

Pick up XM radio so I can binge on MLB games this summer

Okay, that's  enough rope to hang myself. To everyone out there, a safe and happy 2006!

 

Quote of the Day

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
— Ernest Hemingway

Merry Christmas!

To  my visitors, be they friends, family, or casual readers: a safe and Merry Christmas to you all! God bless, and enjoy the season!

More assorted links

Look, I hate to fall into the blogging trap where all you do is post link after link to stuff that catches your eye - we have the Drudge Report for that, thank you - but I'm going to do it anyway.

First, there's the Milwaukee connection to the Bermuda Triangle debates. I've lived here all my life and had never heard of this, even with some pretty steady dealings over the years with the Air Force group in question.

On a more conterversial note, here's a scathing investigation into Tom Cruise's 'religious' life.

In Britain, there's a study that says girls routinely mutilate their Barbie dolls for giggles. They needed to fund a study to prove this? Socialized countries are the bomb.

And here's a neat little bit of karma - the same day I read about Racine WI's wooly mammoth controversy, I came across a link that says scientists are keen on resurrecting the species.

With thousands of intact carcasses frozen in Russia's soil, researchers may be able to inject mammoth sperm into elephants, eventually creating an animal 88% mammoth. They're also working on decoding the genetic code of mammoths.

Sure, it's very Jurassic Park, but this doesn't trip my ethical meter too much. a) mammoth's were around until at least 10,000 years ago (and some anecdotal reports indicate as late as a few centuries ago) and were eliminated primarily by man, not nature b) a reasonable facsimile of mammoths still exist (elephants) and thus, it isn't such a giant stretch of our world's natural order and c) mammoths are pretty darn cool.

How's that for a convoluted, hypocritical ethical position?

Later :)

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What is the closest star to the Earth?

I hate to think of what this means for Mankind . . .a fun little article, courtesy (in a roundabout way)  of Tom at Tomsastroblog.

Blockbuster Resumes Late Fees

Well, some Blockbusters anyways . . . here's the link. Consider this a public service announcement, as they've allegedly been ambushing customers with the new fees.

You know, of all the alleged Evil Empires I frequent - WalMart, AOL, etc - the only one that lives up to its horrid reputation is Blockbuster. Though I'm a Gold member and consider it one of my favorite stores, I've been screwed many a time - and I've lost track of how many coupons/discounts I've received as part of one lawsuit settlement or another.

I do agree the no late fee's policy had one drawback. Since it started, you had to play hooky from work if you wanted any chance of getting a new movie off the shelves. By 5'oclock they were all gone, not to be seen again for the better part of a week or more.

Oh, btw I have indeed updated the Amazon Wish List, as I discovered Dead Like Me's second (and final) season is now on DVD . . . naturally my Blockbuster doesn't carry it as a rental.

In other news, William Proxmire, a former Wisconsin senator voted one of the 20 most influential WI politiicans of the 20th century, passed away at 90. I disagree with much of his work, from his assault on NASA to his ridiculous 'Golden Fleece' awards (a publicity stunt to its core). Still, the guy had the knack for making his constituents love him, and he's a part of WI history that can't be ignored.

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My Greedy Xmas List

If you're planning on getting me a gift this year - oh, and I know you are - here's some ideas for you.

You'll note that despite the sarcastic comment my Mrs. left on a previous post , there are very few books on the list.

I don't want to own more books, I just want my library card paid off so I can get them for free.

I'm sure I'll add more to the list in the days to come. ;)

What the??

Look, I don't know if this woman is just plain lonely, desires her 15 minutes of fame, or is looney tunes . . . decide for yourself.

Suzy Walker found the love of her life in her husband, D.B. The only problem: He makes his living deep below the waves on a submarine.

So to help her endure the separation, Suzy Walker found a temporary companion -- a 40-pound mannequin who, with a mustache slapped on, looks just like her husband.

Tookie Williams

While it's nice to see Hollywood doing their normal 'kumbaya' dance around Tookie Williams, I hold that Gov. Schwarzenegger's statement cuts the arguement to its core.

"Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case, Wthout an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption."

"Based on the cumulative weight of the evidence, there is no reason to second guess the jury's decision of guilt or raise significant doubts or serious reservations about Williams' convictions and death sentence."

Williams also dedicated a 1998 book to a black militant, casting doubt on his rejection of violence as a social tool; he may have lied about founding the notorius Crips to claim credit for their bloody resume, and is reported to have laughed hysterically over the memory of how one of his victims sounded as he died.

The folks in Hollywood should have found a better use for their time and energy - Williams didn't deserve it.

Our trip to Ohio on December 10th

Not that I begrudge my kids, but as of this past weekend my four year old's been to six states. Not driven through six states, mind you, but spent a decent amount of time in each.

I was twenty-one before I spent the night outside of Wisconsin.   Anyway, we decided to venture 7hrs east and visit my wife's brother, a long time member of the Air Force, in Ohio. We left in the middle of the night, loading the kids up while they were half asleep.    

Here's a pic proving that 10 years of dental work can erase any memory of how to smile - I swear, when I try to grin I look as natural as a toupee.    Our goal: get there in time to see Santa disembark from a plane at the base Christmas party.  

Alas, while we were prompt enough I didn't have the proper paperwork - insurance card, vehicle registration, yada yada - to get past the guards.   

 So, we scrapped that and headed back to my in-law's house. The ladies took the kids to the mall to see Santa, while my brother-in-law and I hunkered down to watch some action movies.

In the evening the ten of us had a great dinner at Carraba's, passing the hour wait for a table by perusing the Goodwill next door - and picking up a Reds helmet for Parker.  

 All the kids got along like great friends rather than relatives that see each other once a year at best. They certainly have a fascination with Princesses in common .. .

   One neat thing was that my nieces, who've lived only in Texas and Georgia before moving to Ohio this year, had never experienced a real winter.
So once we got home from dinner we took them sledding for the first time in their lives

 

 - and the grown-ups got into the act too.   After a great breakfast we were on the road again, this time joined by my mother-in-law,who'd injured her hip on a business trip in nearby Kentucky and asked for a ride home.   Some memorable sights on the way home: YaYa's first glimpse of the Sears Tower, a fireworks display (!!!) in southern Wisconsin, a truck accident in Indiana, an Auntie Annie's pretzel for the kids at the Lake Forest Oasis, with traffic flowing beneath us.

  And just for kicks, here's a pic of the just completed Christmas tree from the day after Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I successfully avoided having to do anything to decorate it by leaving it to the ladies.  

Student Suspended for Blog

Now I know the student in question was subject to the ethical obligations of his future profession, but this seems a little on the Stalinist side to me (then again, I do hate Marquette - Go UWM!)

Marquette Student Suspended Over Blog

My Personal Quote of the Day

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people.

- Orson Wells, as quoted on The Mad Perseid

Useless Web Nonsense

Sure, it's pointless - but it's fun.

 

My blog is worth $12,984.42.
How much is your blog worth?

YaYa's 4th Birthday

I know it seems like I talk a lot about my oldest here, and I do - but in fairness, the baby's pretty darn boring and Middle Child's only now producing good copy .. . I'll update on those two soon :)

Last month was YaYa's 4th birthday. It was a bit of a bust, as of the nine kids invited the only two who showed up were my own. Everyone else came down with a cold, got scooped up by their father for the weekend, or had a death in the family. So at the last minute (literally with an hour to spare) we called some kids from her class, and darned if some didn't show - and during a Packer game no less!

Neatest of all was the fact that my brother in law drove his girls 5 hours to Milwaukee to surprise their cousin on her birthday. That goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Anywho, the main reason for this post is to show off the grand cake my wife baked for her:

My wife also conducted a treasure hunt (a well written quest courtesy of my brother in law) . .

and read the Princess and the Pea ('twas a Princess party, don't ya know).

She followed that up by playing a game where the kids reenacted the story, with the winner being the one who felt the prize beneath the pillow they were sitting on.

Wouldn't you know it though, midway through the party my birthday girl sucummbed to the flu, getting sick midway through dinner. Didn't stop her from enjoying her gifts though.

As I said, more on the other munchkins soon. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

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