Merry Christmas to all!

 Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight! BTW, Norad says Santa is in Puerto Rico! In-laws Xmas eve was fun and delicious and I got some margarita glasses, woo hoo! - Lisa

Girl, You Ain't the Boss LOL

Went sledding w/ the kids. Junie after going down 2x dictated when we came home as she began repeating "home....home....HOME!" while she walked farther and farther away from the rest of us, and closer to the way toward home, lol. The other three were not thrilled. Home-made hot chocolate cheered them up when we got home. Secretly I'm appreciative of the little whiner.

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)

Our First Family Fun Night

In the midst of our first family fun night . . . homemade tacos, now getting ready to play Topple and Go Fish

Irresponsible

I think it's appalling that 'legitimate' media outlets like CNN and CBS are using gossip sites like TMZ as official sources and then running pieces with no legitimacy . . do I think Brittany Murphy died of drugs? Probably. But I wouldn't write a headline piece about it just because a quack on TMZ (who didn't know her or work on the case) said it "must have been drugs".

 I think I'll feel more Christmasy after the house is clean, so that's the goal for today! - Lisa

News of the Weird

 BOSTON (Dec. 22) -- Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep.

Minnesota Drama

I'm loving the coverage in Minnesota! Childress tried to bench Favre in last nights game, Favre refused (!) and words have been exchanged in the press. The Star-Tribune is abuzzin'. Hillbilly done gone prima donna again. Sit back and enjoy folks, sit back and enjoy!

Ready for Xmas?

School programs done? check. Tree up? check. Presents? check. First holiday party? Check......Ready for Christmas? Hell no....lol. - Lisa

FYI

Just received word I'll be in the Journal again on Christmas Day. You've got plenty of notice, so no excuses for not buying a paper that day :)  That'll be the 13th or 14th column of the year for me. Kinda neat it's happened so often I've lost count.

Anyone?

Anyone live/work in Menominee Falls? I have a Xmas present to pick up but I'm not relishing a 60 minute round trip in my car . . .

My mother in law is coming home today....poor thing two of my kids are there to "welcome" her....muhahaha.....j/k...they won't be there too long, school tomorrow! Besides it's the two easier ones....that's not saying much, but still! - Lisa

Another Stupid List - Concerts I've seen

I'm not a big concert person, so don't expect a long list here. I don't like crowds, I don't appreciate start times that mean "two hours from the time printed on the ticket" and I don't like artists who F with their songs on stage in the name of 'art'.

Alice In Chains
Kenny Rogers
Creed
Tina Turner
Madonna
Bare Naked Ladies
Prince
New Kids on the Block
Cyndi Lauper
Billy Ray Cyrus
Black 47
Belinda Carlisle
Liz Phair
Dada
Joey McIntyre
Jordan Knight
Alanis Morrisette

I Love You, Man

"Jesus," Lisa said. "It's like they made a movie about you!"

Not true, I countered. Yes, "I Love you Man!" features a protagonist who is more comfortable among women than men, who hangs out at home with his lady rather than goes out with the boys, who doesn't drink often, and who.

But, I countered, unlike him I do have male friends, and rattled off a list.

"But you don't go hang out with them," Lisa said, "That's why your All-Star party is so important to you. It's the one time a year you do the guy thing."

"But that's my choice," I said. "It's different."

And so it is. Later in the film, however, it's revealed that the main character often slips into a cadence that resembles an Irish lilt. Lisa roared.

"That is SO YOU!"

I'll give her that. For some reason, I have developed a verbal tic where I slip into the same speech pattern. It's nuts, and I've been raked over the coals for it.

Anywho . . .

The great Paul Rudd plays Peter Klaven, all around nice guy without any male friends, and at the urging of his fiance he goes in search of a buddy to be the best man at his wedding. He finds him in the form of Sydney Fife, played by Jason Segal, and the two hit it off. Too well, as a matter of fact, because his fiance soon gets jealous. Will Klaven have keep his friend and his wife? Or will he have to choose between them both?

I thought this was a very good movie, and very funny at times. Segal is a little too laid back for the role, IMO, as you'd think it would take a complete extrovert to draw Klaven out, and not merely a more masculine introvert. There was also, as his fiance points out, a degree of awkward sexual tension between the two that seemed out of place at best.

Small potatoes really. An enjoyable film, and a 3.1 out of 4.

Tropic Thunder

This movie has everything it takes to implode the head of a Politically Correct watchdog.

There's an actor in blackface, a movie-in-a-movie portrayal of a mentally retarded man, a heroin addicted comedian who specializes in farts, a Jewish executive who's greedy and obnoxious, the kiling of a giant panda, and a whole mess of drug peddling violent South East Asians.

Yikes.

Tropic Thunder is a film about a Vietnam movie being filmed on location. Unbeknownst to the actors they are no longer part of an experimental film technique, they're actually at war with a local drug cartele. Hijinks ensue.

I thought it was a blast, a solid if not spectacular chuckler from beginning to end. And the cast was top notch - Robert Downey (who was great), Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Nick Nolte, Matthew McCaughnahay (sp?), and Tom Cruise (in a great part as the movie exec).

The drawbacks to the film are readily apparent and irrelevant - what, you wanted a complex plot and romance? - and shouldn't hold you back from seeing this movie.

2.5 out of 4.

Only One Left Tonight!

Down three for a minute tonight and into the morning, very excited! Anyone want a 2 year old, make it down to none? NOW THAT'S A FEAT! - Lisa

Yippee!

 The robotic rodent race was won! Thanks to the hubby for going to Toys R Us at the butt crack of dawn, lol. We have succeeded in not paying over retail for those fuzzy little hamsters that have made so many others go broke paying 3-4x what retail was! Sad so many people had to buy them up to make a profit. Hopefully the same thing will happen to them next year when their kid wants the "must have" toy of the year! - Lisa

Barbie - a rejected Journal column

Bratz - a rejected Journal column

On the day my first community columnist piece was published (an article on swim safety on a cold and snowy day; - how’s that for timing?) the Journal-Sentinel ran a column directly above my own. Written by Jonathon V Last of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it traced the messy battle between the makers of the Bratz line of dolls and the Barbie empire.

It was a fine article, one that hit a nerve in my house. We’ve been discussing the mammoth decision against MGA Entertainment, the makers of Bratz, for some time now. To greatly simplify the issue, after winning a court decision in their favor Barbie’s owners at Mattel want all Bratz merchandise removed from store shelves. The action would remove the most serious threat in years to Barbie’s domination of the market.

It also greatly worries the resident seven-year old Bratz fan in my house.

That last sentence is what worries me. Just by admitting, - in print no less - that my daughter likes Bratz I’m inviting trouble. To some people that’s no better than bragging that I let her juggle steak knives (and obviously, for the record, I don’t.)

My daughter has gone to birthday parties where the invitation clearly stated that no Bratz toys would be accepted, and she’s gone to homes where no such toys may cross their threshold. Fine. I have no objection to that. Every parent has the right to decide what is right and acceptable for their own child.

To me and my wife, that line in the sand doesn’t begin or end with a doll.

Bratz’ signature has always been funkier than good ol’ Barbie, and yes, to most critics that difference comes off as sexual. It’s an odd world that spends forty years decrying Barbie as a sexualized and unrealistic ideal, then decides to hold her up as a model citizen, but compared to Bratz Barbie comes off as your sweet Aunt Marie.

Bratz dolls dress funkier, they have more fashionable hairstyles, their tie-in merchandise is colorful and flashy, they’re urban rather than Malibu, and their feet pop off. You read that right. Rather than force tiny shoes on the doll, leaving a hundred lost pair around as a threat to my toddler, the makers of Bratz have the dolls switch out entire foot/shoe combinations.

Let’s see Barbie do that.

Those are some of the reasons why Bratz made such inroads into the market. It wasn’t about sex, and it certainly wasn’t to aspire to the ridiculous hyperbole labeling the doll‘s ‘streetwalkers’. It was because someone finally presented an alternative to their Grandmother’s increasingly bland and predictable Barbie.

As much heat as Bratz takes in the media, there must be a great and silent majority of parents who agree with me on the issue. After all, in 2005 sales of Bratz reached $750 million. They couldn’t all have been bought by ‘bad’ parents.

Who knows. Maybe once Mattel gobbles up the Bratz line it can use some of that revenue to give Barbie a makeover of her own - but, uh, maybe skip the bare midriff

Great Episode!

I finally got around to watching Glee's fall finale. GREAT episode - I literally had a smile on my face begining to end.

Gosh Darn It

Spent all evening getting the house ready for a visit from Smiley's speech therapist, only to have her cxl this morning because of illness. Good luck keeping this house clean until the rescheduled appt.

Me and the Ginger

:(

 Frustrated, confused and overwhelmed at the same time.....sounds like the norm lately. - Lisa

Night and Day

Night and Day is the latest in Robert B. Parker's series featuring Jesse Stone, former L.A. cop and (semi)recovering alcoholic who now heads the Paradise, MA police department.

Two related troubles are enveloping the town this time around. First, the female high school principal stands accused, correctly, of forcing her female students to display their underwear. More seriously, there is a peeping Tom on the loose, one whose activities grow bolder - and more violent - with each incident.

I wouldn't label this book a masterpiece of Parker's, but it was solid and entertaining. The characters seem to have worked their way into Parker's affection, to the point where I think he's finally comfortable exploring them to the fullest.

I continue to marvel at Parker's recent output, both in quantity and quality.

And best of all, there is (finally) a development between Jesse and his promiscuous ex-wife. No spoiler here - but I was pleased.

2.75 out of 4

A Bad Day

Pretty crappy night. Lisa broke her glasses, I lost five pages of newly written text due to gremlins in the computer, it's snowing, and As The World Turns was cancelled. :(

My Best Friends Girl

This movie stars Dane Cook.

What, you're still here?

Huh. I'd have thought you'd have 'x'd out the window at the mere mention of his name. I would.

Cook plays a man who is hired by other men to date their former girlfriends. The idea is that he'll pretend to be a callous, awful jerk and therefore drive them back into the arms of their better-by-comparison ex.

Okeedookee.

His buddy, played by Jason Biggs, hires him to push Kate Hudson into loving him, but of course Cook falls in love. Blah blah, yada yada, boy loses girl, act three begins, more blah blah roll credits.

I admit I'm being a little harsh here. It was an OK movie, but I thought some of the actions - namely his performance at a wedding - would be/should be clear and permanent deal breakers.

Rent it if you have some spare time - and a free movie coupon.

2.5 out of 4