Just gave a hitchhiker a ride, which would be a first for me. He came begging for a lift at a gas station, drunk and stranded at 7 at night. Gotta love the South Side.

My Morning

Took the kids to school, went to Mass (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), shoveled my walk, now writing and working up the nerve to hit the road to get some things done. Or, I may nap. Either/or.

Broken Glasses

 Slipped, glasses flew, and then to top it off I stepped right on top of them dammitttt!! And when Dan broke his last winter he couldn't get them fixed right away because our optomologist had a snow day! So good chance that will happen for me tomorrow....and there is no fixing these, they are in itty bitty pieces, ugh. Hoping to find an old pair to wear but for now I'm an inch from the screen...ugh.... - Lisa

Question

 REALLY REALLY sick and tired of my 2 oldests attitudes, any suggestions short of choking them? - Lisa

Tell Me the Truth

 Is it true? Am I the last "normal" mom who won't let video games in her house? Tell me the truth even if it stings.... - Lisa

We Finally Have the Tree Up

Finally have the tree up, except for the finishing touches the kids will add when they get home from school. So glad it's done! I will say, I miss the real trees, this artificial one looks a little sad comparatively! - Lisa

A Great Morning

An unusually quiet and Hallmark-y morning, with Lisa sitting with the two oldest girls in the living room, teaching them to sew so they can make their own costumes from some old sheets they found. Oh, and 'Bama crushed Florida. What a nice weekend so far.

I am Legend

Not the movie folks, the book.

This is the famous work by Richard Matheson that has inspired three major movies - one with Vincent Price, one with Charlton Heston, and of course the latest with Will Smith.

Robert Neville is a husband and father in the L.A. area when mankind is wiped out by a plague that turns its victims into modern day vampires. Neville is the last known survivor of the human race, presumably because he recovered from a vampire bat bite while in the service. For three years he makes a virtual fortress of his home and wages war against the vampires, until it becomes clear that he is the oddity. As the only remaining human, the only objection to the 'new race', he is, in fact, a monster. He has become, as Dracula once was, something to fear in the night.

He is legend.

Matheson's gone on record as saying the book was just what is seems on the surface, and nothing more. Yet I have read academic essays that ran thousands of words and placed the book behind only Moby Dick and Tom Sawyer in the realm of American literature.

That's nuts.

It's a fine novella, but it has plenty of flaws. Some can't be helped: references to a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and Soviets, dates that have long since passed, etc. Others are silly. Matheson has a habit of trying to rationalize his books with pseudo-scientific explanations. That vampire bat bite, for instance, or a goofy description of how vampire's gummy blood seals bullet holes.

It was giggle-worthy science in the '50's. Now it's just foolish.

[if I may drift into adult territory here: for much of the early part of the novella Neville is very horny, and understandably so. But here's where the '50's culture constricts the character. The guys aroused, he's been without sex for years, he's so horny female vampires are looking hot, and to settle the matter he goes and takes cold shower after cold shower.

For pete's sake man, rub one out.]

As I mentioned, I am Legend is a novella, not a full scale work. Nearly half the book is comprised of short stories. Some are good (Mad House), some are ho-hum, and one (Person to Person) is damn good.

Not a book for everyone and every taste, but I enjoyed it.

Do Your Job People

On hold or voicemail, on hold or voicemail it's all I ever get.  I know I'm not a phone person, so I'm just as guilty, but I do, when required, answer the phone AT MY JOB . . .

Joey McIntyre's New Single - "Here we Go Again"

Joe Mac is back, and with a pretty damn catchy song. He is (or will be) on tour to back the album, and will be in Chicago Jan 20th.

This is the official video, and Lisa, ever the New Kid fan, was visibly upset to see Joe's face take a punch in the shoot, staged or not. LOL :)



While we're at it, here's "I love you Came too Late" from his "Stay the Same" album



and "Rain", from his follow-up

YaYa's Baseball Season

This summer we signed YaYa up for baseball through the Milwaukee Rec Division. It took place every Saturday morning for a few hours, smacking headfirst into work schedules, so a variety of folks helped us make sure she made it to each game: my Dad, Tre, and my mother-in-law. Thanks to them all.



The pictures you see here were taken throughout the summer, and I can't lay claim to remembering what game goes with what shot. She hit well in every game I attended, and most (if not all) the games I missed. As a for instance, she went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI's in the first game of the season, and followed it up with a 1 for 4 game with another double and a RBI. That meant she entered the third week of the season with a .429 batting average, two doubles, and three runs batted in.

And yet, after that second game, she cried. It takes a while to get used to the idea that success in baseball is measured not by eliminating failure, but by accepting it as a result seven times out of ten.







(this next one is from a practice)





















YaYa often had a cheering section







but I will admit to one slight episode of parental rage. During the first practice this fat kid started picking on YaYa, covering up his own insecurity by berating her because of her gender. "Why bother swinging, you're a girl. What are you doing here anyway?" etc. On and on for the whole first hour.

Well screw that. I don't know why the coaches or his Dad didn't shut him up, but YaYa was getting visibly upset. I barked out her name and motioned her over.

"Is that kid bothering you?" I said. She nodded.

"Forget him. Do you understand me? [redacted] him. He's nothing. Girls can play baseball just as well as boys, especially one of my girls. The next time he opens his [bleep] mouth I want you to think about how fat he is, and how much he'll huff and puff just trying to run the bases. Ugh, look at him, he's already sweating through his shirt! Just think of that and ask yourself if that's the kind of yahoo you need to worry about. You understand?"

Don't mess with my kid.

She grinned. And damn if she didn't get back on the field and improve dramatically. I think she actually giggled in the boy's direction after a few comments, and after awhile the kid moved on to easier prey.

At the end of the season, on the day of Ginger's second birthday party, everyone was awarded a medal for their participation.





Great season YaYa!

Today

 Afternoon everyone, busy night for me, daisies and the four kids alone at Smiley's "winter fun night"....fun huh? Need to get my Christmas deco. up b4 st nicks....Dec if flying by and shopping isn't completed yet, ugh! Have a great day fb friends! - Lisa

Books Read - 2003

Here's a list of books I read in 2003. Note the consistent binge-purge method; I fall in love with an author, consume his back catalog, and then move on. Ditto for non-fiction subjects, as you'll see with my Vietnam fetish in '03.

1. A Mist of Prophesies by Steven Saylor
2. Shooting at Midnight by Greg Rucka
3. Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka
4. Critical Space by Greg Rucka
5. Big Thaw by Donald Harstad - great writer. should be better known
6. Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley
7. Black Powder, White Smoke
8. The Stranglers
9. Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
10. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
11. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
12. Dead Cert by Dick Francis
13. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
14. The Crossroads of Twillight by Robert Jordan
15. In Conquest Born by CS Friedman - NOTE: I'd owned this one for years, having scooped it up based on a recommendation in a Waldenbooks newsletter in the '80's. A damn fine novel.
16. A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickenson
17. Small Town by Lawrence Block
18. ’46 Chicago by Steve Monroe
19. Nick’s Trip by George Pelecanos
20. The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
21. The Last Detective by Robert Crais
22. Six Silent Men by Gary Linderer
23. Last Man Out: A personal account of the Vietnam War by James E Parker Jr.
24. Back Story by Robert B Parker
25. A Soldier Reports by Westmoreland
26. Vantage Point by LBJ
27. Reaching for glory : Lyndon Johnson's secret White House tapes, 1964-1965 / edited and with commentary by Michael Beschloss.
28. Lost Light by Michael Connelly
29. Autobiography of a One-Year Old by Rohan Candappa
30 The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - drivel. Poorly done drivel and I don't care what anyone says on the matter.
31. Sharpe’s Havoc by Bernard Cornwell
32. In his Image
33. Sharpe’s Honour by Bernard Cornwell
34. TimeShare: A Time for War by Joshua Dann
35. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
36.Timeshare by Joshua Dann
37.Timeshare: Second Time Around by Joshua Dann
38. Cold Pursuit by T. Jefferson Parker
39. Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove
40. The Haunted Air by F Paul Wilson
41. Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
42. Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
43.All the Rage by F Paul Wilson
44.Hosts by F. Paul Wilson
45.The Tomb by F.Paul Wilson
46. The Touch by F Paul Wilson
47.Reborn by F Paul Wilson
48.Reprisal by F Paul Wilson
49.Nightworld by F Paul Wilson
50. The Face by Dean Koontz
51. The Marine by James Brady
52.Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind
52.Icarus by Russell Andrews
53.Stone Cold by Robert B Parker
54.Naked Prey by John Sandford
55.A fistful of Rain by Greg Rucka
56.The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald
57. Such Men are Dangerous by Lawrence Block
58. Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
59. A Long December by Donald Harstad
60. Persuader by Lee Child
61. Running Blind by Lee Child
62.Killing Floor by Lee Child
63. Die Trying by Lee Child
64. Flown Away by Max Allan Collins
65.True Detective by Max Allan Collins
66. True Crime by Max Allan Collins
67. Flying Blind by Max Allan Collins
68. Gateways by F. Paul Wilson
69. The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins
70. Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins
71. Blood and Thunder by Max Allan Collins
72. Magic Man by Max Allan Collins
73. Echo Burning by Lee Child
74.Without Fail by Lee Child
75. Auto Focus: The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith
76. Screwball by David Ferrell
77.Kisses of Death by Max Allan Collins
78.The Hanged Man’s Song by John Sandford
79. Ghost Story by Peter Straub - one of my top 10 faves of all time

Dramatic Much?

I bought Smiley a gumball from a quarter machine. He rejected it when I brought it home, pointing to his teeth and starting a fit. Ten minutes later I asked if we were cool. "na-uh," he said, patting his breast. "ooo bwoke my [h]eart". 

Jeez lol

Grumble grumble

OK, enough already. I don't know what's up with Blogger's "Scheduled" function, but on at least three occasions in the last week I've gone to bed having made sure nothing will run for a week or more, then find a random post published.

I truly don't think its user error at this point, so I may just let 'er rip, post everything, and be done with it. Bleepin' Google. This is why I Bing.

Frustrating

On the phone, on hold, for 51 minutes now . . but thank God "my call is important to [them]".

Partial list of Books Read 2004

Books Read 2004


Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
Koto by Peter Straub
Mystery by Peter Straub
The Throat by Peter Straub
Julia by Peter Straub
Shadowland by Peter Straub
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis
The Day the Music Died: The Last tour of Buddy Holly, The B.B., and Ritchie Valens Larry Lehmer
Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
Bad Business by Robert B Parker
Shall we Tell the President? By Jeffrey Archer
A Marginal Jew V1 Joseph P. Maier
If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub
The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub
The Birth of the Messiah: A commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by Raymond E Brown

Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President

I'll admit it's hard to review a political autobiography. It's in the author's best interests to ratinonalize away errors and magnify triumphs, and there's a desire to flip that on its head for her opponents. No matter how much they protest otherwise, there is always - always - partisan bias at play.

Still, take me at my word: I tried to remain objective.

As a book Keeping Faith is a bit dry at times, although Carter was never a bad writer, even at the early stage of his literary career. He uses a lot of background material and contemporary records to back up his recollections, which is obviously a plus for future historians.

From the distance of three decades, a few items stood out. One, he seemed to have a genuine dislike for Ted Kennedy, above and beyond bitterness involving the 1980 election. Oh, there's not much ink devoted to it, but when the subject comes up, it bleeds through the page.

Second, there is, perhaps understandably, relatively few pages devoted to his failure regarding the Iran Hostage situation ('few', relative to other subjects he discusses, that is). On the other hand, the Camp David Accords receive an exhaustive examination. Of note, given recent accusations of anti-Semitism, is Carter's annoyance and obvious displeasure with the Israeli Prime Minister, in contrast to his admitted affection for Sadat. Did that lead to a biased view of the Israeli conflict three decades later?

The decision to gift the Canal to Panama gets a lot of pages, and it has to be said: the amount of man hours and political captial devoted to the issue was staggering. Carter himself admits this, saying it was an issue that could have waited until a potential 2nd term.

There is one glaring, infuriating anecdote about Panama: Carter refutes the idea that he acted out of a fear that Panama would initiate bloodshed if we failed to give them the Canal. And yet, as soon as he writes of his success, he relates feeling relieved because - wait for it - he knew that Panama stood ready to attack the Canal, that very day, should the American Congressional vote fail! Weakness and a desire to avoid confrontation seems to be a Carter stereotype that rings quite true.

The book is worth a read, 3.25 out of 4.

ISO

If you've received Christmas cards from us in the past, or haven't but would like to exchange this year, please send me your address via FB message. Most of my addys have been lost. Thanks!

A pic or two of Smiley

No big motive behind this post. I just felt like putting up a picture of Smiley, and his Marvel superhero backpack.

He's Just *not* That Into You

I was just not that into this movie, until about halfway through it's length. Then, it got pretty darn decent.

He's just not that into you is an ensemble piece that traces the romantic life of a group of loosely connected people in their twenties and thirties. At the center of the story is Gigi, a young woman who continuously - and frankly, rather idiotically - misinterprets every signal a man sends her way.

Forty minutes in I wrote off the entire thing as a puff piece, a slapped together collection of cliches and stereotypes assembled around nothing more than a cute saying. And then, out of the blue, it became interesting.

Oh, not Academy Award interesting. Not even MTV Movie Award interesting, but watchable all the same. As soon as the character's lives became a complicated, jumbled mess they ceased to be moronic stereotypes and developed a life of their own. And that was all it took to grab our attention and hold it the rest of the way.

In the end, I thought it was a pretty good romantic comedy (but light on the comedy).


3 out of 4, 70 out of 100.

Books Read 2001

Well, the title says it all. As always, a consistent concentration on a subject or author, followed by a rapid change to another interest.

Let me know what you think.


* * * *
Books Read – 2001

1. Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind (not good enough to inspire me to read more of the series, but for some reason I did – and I’m grateful)
2. Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind
3. Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind
4. Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind (needless S/M type torture, but a good read)
5. Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind
6. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind
7. Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind
8. The Poet by Michael Connelly
9. Void Moon by Michael Connelly
10. Gangster by Lorenzo Carcaterra (EXCELLENT)
11. A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly (implausible plot, but decent)
12. We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools by Gary Howard
13. Shattered by Dick Francis (worst Francis to date)
14. From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz (great book that Koontz didn’t know how to end)
15. Candyland by Evan Hunter/Ed McBain (not as good as the reviews suggested)
16. False Memory by Dean Koontz (Koontz is a paranoid, plain and simple)
17. Potshot by Robert B. Parker (this is why I love Parker)
18. Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz (nice read, well done)
19. Winter Moon by Dean Koontz (started off strong, finished weak)
20. The Godfather by Mario Puzo (the First Book I’ve ever re-read!)
21. Lightning by Dean Koontz (nice time travel tale with a twist)
22. Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson
23. Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz
24. Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz
25. The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz
26. The Voice of the Night by Dean Koontz
27. Hail to the Chief by Ed McBain (good book, but I learned something: if you use slang in your writing, all you’re doing is dating your work – and making it un-saleable in the future).
28. Chosen Prey by John Sandford
29. Rise to Rebellion by John Shaara (as always, excellent, but it appears Shaara is pigeonholed as a historical fiction writer)
30. Gunman’s Rhapsody by Robert B. Parker (Spenser in the Old West. Yawn.)
31. Hot Money by Dick Francis
32. Money money Money by Ed McBain
33. Let’s Hear it for the Deaf Man by Ed McBain (fun)
34. 1st to Die by James Patterson
35. Hardcase by Dan Simmons (pretty lame)
36. Death in Paradise by Robert B Parker
37. Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker
38. The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell (Great, although he cuts the end short to leave room for a sequel)
39. Sharpe’s Triumph by Bernard Cornwell
40. Sharpe’s Fortress by Bernard Cornwell
41. Hope to Die by Lawrence Block (not as strong as past Scudder novels, but a good read)
42. Sharpe’s Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell
43. Sharpe’s Rifles by Bernard Cornwell (yawn)
44. Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell (when Sharpe is set to be court-martialed and promoted instead – a great scene!)
45. Running From Legs by Ed McBain (short story collection with a few good tales)
46. Sharpe’s Tiger by Bernard Cornwell (fun, fun book to read)
47. Sharpe’s Gold by Bernard Cornwell
48. The Family by Mario Puzo (Excellent post-script to Puzo’s career)
49. Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker (unexpectedly good)
50. The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind (475 pages before any of the main characters pop up. Geesh!)
51. Desecration by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye
52. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend 1885-1945 by Martin Blumenson
53. The Emperor’s General by James Webb (excellent book by the author of Fields of Fire, written in a formal style I assume he used to mimic Asian formality)

Step Brothers

In one scene Will Ferrell takes out his testicles and rubs them on his step-brothers drum set. That's all you really need to know about the film.

Still with me? Good, then you're one of the great number of Americans who dig Ferrell, the comedic use of testes, or both. Welcome to the club.

Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as grown men still living at home who become step-brothers when their parents marry. The marriage isn't helped by their antics, and neither is the maturity level of the plot. It's one silly little thing after another, from a hyper sexual sister-in-law to the adolescent bullies who make them eat dog poo.

Silly. Stupid. It barely requires an IQ to watch.

And it's funny. Not their best work. Not their second or third best work either, but 2.5 out of 4

My Mom and the new (temporary?) kitty

Yesterday evening I saw my Mom for the first time since her surgery. She's been transferred to a nursing home for a few weeks of rehab. How was she? She was watching Dancing with the Stars, was irked that my Dad forgot to bring a root beer, disappointed in the clothes my sister packed for her, and demanding of the nurses. So, pretty much at full steam by my reckoning ;)

It was good to see her, and I said I'd try to stop by Thursday night after the big feast if I wasn't fast asleep on the couch.

On the way home I stopped at Socialist's house to hang out for a bit and wound up taking home a stay kitten his wife had found abandoned in a local park. I called home first and asked Lisa for a "yes/no" and to my surprise she was quick to offer a temporary home to the beast.











So the search begins for a good home for the kitty. Socialist had given him my son's name, in honor of where he was found, but obviously that won't fly here. I've temporarily named her Veruca (if it's a girl) or Atticus/Spenser.

Anyone need a kitty-cat?

The Baby Einstein Debacle

When my nephew was born fifteen years ago I wasted no time in trying to secure his future. I didn't run out and buy stocks or bonds in his name, none of which I could afford as a college student. Instead I drove to the bookstore and scooped up anything with titles like "Your Baby Can Read!" and "Teach Math to your Infant!".

I remember knowing, with a faith bordering on the religious, that these tomes would give my nephew the head start he'd need to succeed in life.

Did it work? Well, no actually. He didn't read a book or do long division until elementary school (gasp!). While he's a bright kid, I'm afraid the only way he'll qualify as the next Edison is if the definition of 'genius' expands to include World of Warcraft skill.

I thought of those books when I read that the Disney corporation was offering rebates to customers who purchased their popular Little Einstein videos between 2004 and 2009. The videos feature simple images of toys, colors and shapes accompanied by music, and Disney shrewdly chose to market the product as educational for infants. That led to a a group called the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood filling a complaint with the FCC in 2006. As a result, Disney complied with their demand and dropped the claim about its educational value.

According to the CCFC's own website, it wasn't enough. “We thought parents deserved better, “ the website said. And so, under pressure Disney agreed to a rebate for customers who bought the films “mistakenly believing the videos would make their baby smarter.”

Let's gloss over the fact that the 'rebate' only seems to encourage an investment in the product line, seeing as it primarily comes in the form of coupons or exchanges. What bothers me is the fact that this argument got any traction at all.

By the era of Little Einstein I was a parent myself, and yes, I bought a few of the tapes. I no longer had any illusions about tweaking IQ's, but my daughters found it fascinating and , if nothing else, it exposed them to classical music at an early age. Or so I said at the time. If I'm honest, it also kept them out of my hair for a few minutes, which made the videoes worth every penny. If most parents were as blunt, I'd think they'd concede the same thing.

As for the 'rebates', argue an objection to “screen time” for infants, and I might concede your point. But to base the objection on a failure to make a baby “smarter” strikes me as ridiculous. More so than even my thoughts that day at the bookstore. My goal wasn't to raise his intelligence, it was to jumpstart his education. Tomatoes/tomatoes? I disagree.

How do you define “smarter” in an infant? What standards constitute success or failure? And smarter than whom? Mom? Dad? The neighbor's cat? Remember, these are babies we're talking about. If you express disappointment that they 'only' possess their native intelligence – to the extent you ask a corporation for a refund based on that fact -what kind of message are you establishing for the next eighteen years?

There will always be products that cash in on our desire to help our children. Some will be sincere, some will be nothing more than patent medicine. Shut them down when they encourage harm, but I'd be careful about being smug when you do. Remember: in the end, they do nothing more than fill the need our own egos demand.