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!
Yesterday: easily, EASILY one of the 5 worst days of my life, literally start to finish.
Among other things, Lisa's aunt passed away unexpectedly; her body was found ~ two days after her passing, and Lisa and her Mom had to wait two hours w/ the corpse while they waited for the medical examiner. Her death bumped what was already a top 10 worst day to top 5. As for the rest, it'll pass, but I don't feel like talking about it.
June 21st
Jeez-us I want a cigarette right now - the craving is just as bad as when I quit four years ago. I miss it.
To celebrate the end of one of the worst weeks ever, we took the kids (- Lu) to El Fuego for dinner, sitting on the patio and enjoying the atmosphere. Later, of course, came the tornado sirens and a quick and needless trip to the basement.
June 25th
I hate when someone from work calls & asks me to pick up a shift at the last minute. If I can manage it I'll do it, since I need the $ & don't want to be a jerk, but with 4 kids my days off are committed to one activity or another. Today we're packing for the zoo and may go swimming if the kids don't wig out, so I just turned someone down. Schedule me 100 hours and I'll show, but picking up a last minute gig . . .
June 27th
Smiley & I went shopping, then planted a (doomed) garden, which at least was a nice father/son moment. Later he made a sandwich for Lisa and gave it to her with a long face. "Why are you sad?" she asked. His response: "Me not make it well." He is a bit of a perfectionist.
{note: the garden was planted late in the season and in very poor soil. We had a very small yield from it, and if it was anything more than a child's whim it would have been a waste of time}
June 29th
We're packing for an overnight trip at my buddy Ervin's house in Rockford. Ginger's (self-packed) bag? PJ's, two My Little Pony's, a sippy cup, and three packs of ramen noodles. Priorities and all.
{we went down for two reasons. First, to continue plowing through Erv's business paperwork. Second, it was as close to a vacation as I could afford for the kids. They had a blast during the visit, especially with his dog and the theater set-up in his basement. We've returned two more times as of this writing}
July 1st
Tim Gunn just announced that next season each episode of Project Runway will be 90 MINUTES, not the 60 minutes that's been the norm. Hot dog - IMO, the more PR, the better
July 2nd
GREAT album, & fun to listen to; buy a copy! {V.V. Brown's 'Shark in the Water'}
July 3rd
Around noon today on 27th ST our car stereo picked up a slew of unusual FM channels - including about four minutes of DJ chatter from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I didn't think that was even possible outside of a Twilight Zone episode.
{10 pm}
The cops just left my house. LuLu rode her bike across a patch of grass in front of my neighbor's house (a patch that is legally city property). He yelled at her, Lisa told him to knock it off, he called Lisa a c-nt & threatened to go get his gun, and it was on. No tickets issued, but only because they would have cxl'd each other out. What a f'ing evening.
{this was the same neighbor we've had problems with before; among other things, he reported us several times to the city as an 'unlicensed daycare' because of the number of kids we have}
On a trip to my friend Erv's house in Loves Park (IL), he introduced me to Farmville. Farmville is a game played primarily through the social networking site Facebook. While you grow and harvest your own crops, you depend on friends to help fertilize your farm, purchase your products and send you gifts.
As with most things that become popular, The Haters Hate. Farmville is now the subject of scorn from 'true' gamers, among others, and has been parodied online.
Oh well. I like it. A LOT. Not only is it fun to play, it really does encourage socialization online. Moreover, it relaxes me. Sometimes, as dorky as it sounds, I imagine this is a second home of mine, one where nature and hard work trump the noise and bustle of the city.
Here's some pics I took of my farm over the summer.
Here's my farmhouse, as it appeared when I first bought it.
My FV home. I love the clothesline and cat, I think they're just the right touch.
So . . . is the mammoth statue too much? {actually, because I like to relax on 'my' farm, I try to make it relatively realistic. I plant crops native to this region, avoid things like banana trees, and put the mammoth there just to get the pic.}
I wanted the greenhouse forever, but when I finally earned enough to buy it I was disappointed to learn it was merely a prop and not functional.
Eventually, I'll get a shot with the crops full grown. I didn't realize I hadn't. Here's my farm as it appeared earlier this month. The barn is to the right, the dairy barn to the right front. The brown building near my home is my bakery. Behind it and to the left is the chicken coop. My pigpen and horse stable are on the bottom right, and the yellow building is my nursery. My beehives and garage are located in the upper left, out of the shot.
"No, no, no. Ice can burn, sofas can read. It's a big universe." - the 11th Doctor
I'm in Rockford IL, helping my friend Ervin organize some paperwork for his business. A nice ride down, aside from near constant rain.
Went to WalMart with Erv and found something Lisa & I have been looking for (w/out luck) back in Milwaukee. Then we grilled out and enjoyed a dinner of steak, potato, mushroom/onion, corn and dinner rolls. Time to get cracking again on that paperwork.
Last years #1 MLB draft pick Stephen Strasburg did just fine in his debut. He gave up four hits in seven innings, gave up two runs, and struck out *14* while notching his first win. Yikes. Quite impressive.
June 9th
You know Erv really needed help with his office if he sat there quietly while I sang along to NKOTB as I typed. Currently playing - Call it What You Want.
ESPN is reporting that Nebraska has agreed to jump ship and join the Big Ten.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."- Aristotle
June 12th
Ford has officially killed its Mercury line
"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." - James Baldwin
"How often in life it is a truth that we have no time for our friends but all the time in the world for our enemies." - Leon Uris
June 13th -
RIP the long running comic strip "Annie"
I believe it is my right as a man to snatch as many toppings from a frozen pizza as I like before it enters the oven. If you object to this, get yer own pie.
June 14th - Flag Day
The NY Times is reporting that Roger Clemens allegedly paid for PED's w/ $ from a charitable foundation. If true - and there is no evidence beyond hearsay - it would lead to felony charges.
Dave Cullen, the author of 'Columbine', left a comment on my blog's review of his book.
Al and Tipper Gore Break Up After 40 Years of Marriage
A school bus on the way to Fernwood Montessori tipped over near Chase & Oklahoma today, injuring at least 3 children. I saw the bus on the way to work today. Originally, because of the time of day and the location of the crash, there was some fear it was Smiley's bus. Thankfully, it wasn't, and all of his school's buses arrived safely.
Gasp - a Tues w/ out AI or Lost. I hope Glee is good. It's gotten a little heavy lately, w/ the wheelchair and long-lost Mom storylines. Plus there's the whole Kurt is gay and angry plotline - what's up w/ him? He's got a loving and supportive father, a great teacher, friends that adore him, and plenty of talent. That kid has a great support system - quit whining already.
June 2nd
God bless Progressive's roadside assistance program. It may just be the smartest purchase I've made in years. I blew a tire today on the way to work and once again they proved their worth. By my count that'd be three tows + that would have come out of my pocket since the 1st of the year.
Ken Griffey Jr has retired. One of the most exciting players of our era, and IMO the best of the '90's, Bonds be damned. I'm proud to have seen him play. See you in Cooperstown.
"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw
June 3rd
RIP Rue McClanahan, age 76.
I just finished 'Savages' by Don Winslow. It was very good and deserves a full write-up on my blog; hopefully I'll find the time soon. It's brutal, violent, sexy, and well, savage. Winslow doesn't just use the English language, he manipulates and twists it like play-doh to create the mood and thoughts he wishes to express. I envy his talent.
The mistake that cost him a perfect game was a lousy call, but on the bright side history will remember Armando Galarraga's game in a thousand trivia books.
Well damnit, I have a column published in the Journal-Sentinel today and no one told me. Go out and buy a copy, ok?
Back from Lu's Daisy Scout bridging ceremony, and it was actually quite fun. Congrats LuLu!
June 4th
The cable guy failed to show this AM, which put my day on hold. When I gave up on him Parker and I got my paycheck, went to the bank, made a few stops, and returned home with crickets for the turtle, some goldfish for Smiley, a Beta for YaYa, and Hannah Montana wrapping paper for Lu's gifts. *allegedly* Time Warner will now be here btwn 3-5.
We own a hollow kids table that has a removable top. During Smiley's sleepover his friend decided to use it - as a urinal.
RIP UCLA coach John Wooden
RIP local jeweler Marv Hussar
June 5th
Lisa and her crew are en route to Hammond, IN to see a New Kids on the Block concert. Meanwhile, we've extended Smiley's sleepover, and I took the boys to three libraries, a store, and finally to Little Caesar's for dinner. BTW thank heavens for LuLu; her Mommy skills have sure come in handy.
A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
After dinner we watched the DVD's the boys got at the library, then I packed them off to bed. 90 minutes of chaos later I had to go hard core: I shut off every light on the 2nd flr, pulled up a chair, and sat insidethe bedroom door to stamp out so much as a whisper. I think I may now have the house to myself (well, Lu's up, but she's fine). A Torchwood/Primeval marathon it is!
I can't think of a rational or legal reason why the mosque shouldn't be built near Ground Zero. But my gut says this is wrong, a slap in our face disguised as a display of 'tolerance'. If they had any notion of respect or appropriateness they'd cancel their plans, just as if we valued our civilization we'd stop accepting such slights.
June 7th
We watched "Kate + Eight", the new Gosselin show, and the 1 hr Kate special that followed. I think the woman is high strung & I wouldn't choose her company, but she's a fine mother & certainly loves her kids. Most of the flack thrown her way comes via America's long established policy of hating the successful, esp. if they happen to be women. For the record - I hate the new hair. She was hot, now (IMO) not so much.
Today is the MLB draft, w/ the 1st and supplemental rounds to be broadcast on the MLB Network. I'll be at work, but I'm DVR'ing it. From 11 pm on I intend to be camped in front of the TV, Baseball America in hand, enjoying the hell out of it. Dorky? Well, yes, in a way. But sexy too, no?
[re: an internet article about 'ugly ducklings' who grew up to be 'beauties', complete with before and after pics] Yeah, uh, I hate to break it to you, but except for the last woman on the page, y'all grew up to look just as doggy as you were as kids. Woof-woof. What's the point of this article? To crush the hopes and dreams of all the Ugly Ducklings out there?
Jeff Suppan was released by the Brewers today. Kudos to the organization for admitting defeat and letting him go, but major props to Jeff for the class he shows in his statement.
I've finished "Bad Blood", a Virgil Flowers mystery by John Sandford I read entirely on a Nook. It was great start to finish, and those last fifty pages - whoa.
"30 Days of Night: Dark Days"? I didn't even pay for the rental, and I *still* want a refund.
As Lost departs, some good news: Glee has been picked up for a 3rd season. Yes, they're still in the 1st, which means we have at least two more years to watch.
No doubt mold exposure has health consequences, but HGTV is on & the steps taken to contain & remove a *small* amount of mold seem insane. Then a revelation - the contractor started out in asbestos removal. As that biz declined, the owner says they morphed to mold removal & "got the word out about the dangers". Huh. You'll excuse me if I think that translates to "stoked America's paranoia to keep the $$ coming in."
St Adalbert Alumni - Today I ran into Miss Hutch== for the first time in 20 years. Her hair was cut close to the scalp, with a pencil thin ponytail running down her skull to her shoulders. Not quite the traditional look of a Catholic school principal, eh?
May 25th
President Obama said that we rely too much on gadgets. He gave a passionate speech about technology, but he had to stop when the teleprompter broke. - Craig Ferguson
Just finished "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters, a ghost story set in the countryside of postwar England. Waters is a heck of a writer, and her prose sings. Here's the problem: there are literally ~ 9 pages of action in the 463 pg novel, almost all of it retold by a third party. I suppose the last line of the novel is supposed to 'unlock the secret' of the house, but is it worth the effort to get there?
I DVR'd a Torchwood marathon on BBC, the first time I've had a chance to see this Doctor Who spinoff. Much darker than Who, but so far the acting and writing are top notch. The negatives? As usual writer/creator Russell T. Davies tries hard to push his personal beliefs on the audience, which always gets on my nerves.
We're watching the finale of DWTS [Dancing w/ the Stars], and in particular Kate Gosselin's 'rise to the heavens'. May I just say - WTH??? Lisa and I burst out laughing, as did Tom Bergeron, and probably most of America. Oh Lawdy.
Nicole won Season 10 of DWTS, and she deserved the title. The whole finale was over the top but fun to watch. OTOH, American Idol sucked. Bowersox's 'Black Velvet' was impressive vocally but she looked (let's be honest) like a clydesdale in that black dress. Yikes. Meanwhile Lee brought his C game at best. Bowersox will/should take the crown of a crappy, crappy season.
"Studies have shown that a strict dress code fosters a safe and stable learning enviroment with fewer instances of gang violence and vampirism" - Glee
MIB: Am I [wrong]? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress. - Lost
May 26th
The only thing worse than fiction that ignores the moral ambiguity of our world is fiction that creates ambiguity where there is none. Sometimes right is right and wrong is wrong, and watching a character struggle with obvious moral decisions doesn't inspire me: it tells me the author is lazy and ignorant of his characters motivations.
I post this [a link to a Doctor Who disappearing Tardis mug] for no other reason than I saw it on FB and suddenly remembered I owned one as a kid, although it was a much plainer design. I think I paid just as much tho' ($14.95) and that was 20+ years ago!
[re: Fergie's 'London Bridge'] I'm just saying: if you're a heterosexual man and can make it through this video without needing a box of kleenex and a cigarette chaser, then uh, maybe that time at Band Camp wasn't just to satisfy your curiosity. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Aw, man. RIP Art Linkletter, age 97.
Lee wins American Idol?! I didn't see it coming but he's got a great commercial voice & should do fine. Congrats! As for the finale as a whole, wow, the average age of the performers was what - 81, 82? Joe Cocker, Bee Gees, Michael McDonald? Now I love me some BeeGee's, but overall this skewed far older than the audience they want/need, no? Loved seeing Alanis tho'. We should've named one of our daughters after her.
May 28th
Last night I started/finished Stephen King's new release "Blockade Billy", the story of a star MLB catcher that has his records erased forever after he does a little something . . . out of the norm. It also includes the story "Morality". An enjoyable, quick read. B+
Actor Gary Coleman is dead at age 42. RIP.
TV show's don't normally scare me - what am I, ten ? - but Torchwood may be the exception. Case in point, the episode 'Countrycide'. How the hell was that shown on broadcast TV, even in the UK? Folks being skinned and eaten for dinner, corpses everywhere - c'mon that was NUTS.
Got home from work, set the sprinkler out in the backyard for the kids, now cooking dinner and reading Rex Stout. A good afternoon/early evening.
Fed the kids, then took YaYa to the mall to get a new remote from Time Warner & somehow got suckered into spending $6 on scented hand sanitizer at Bath & Body Works. We got home in time to see the last 3 innings of the Brewers game and Hart's walk-off homer. Now I'm settling in for a night of Rex Stout and reruns of 'Justified'.
(radio station) The Brew is no more, ditching its 80's format. And I'll have to change my radio presets, since Smooth Jazz 106.9 has dumped jazz. Dangit.
May 29th
This morning we put our cat Billy, age 15-16 years, to sleep. Many, many tears to start this day. RIP Big Bill - you were The. Best. Cat. Ever.
RIP Dennis Hopper
Angelcakes, our remaining cat, just made a circuit of the house, I'd imagine looking for her friend Billy. She meowed to get my attention but fled rather quickly; sad. On a brighter note, I just watched Corey Hart blast his 2nd homer of the night, a sure HR the second it left his bat.
Congrats to Roy Halladay on his perfect game for the Phillies. (he would later pitch a no-hitter in the post-season)
Thanks for all the kind thoughts today. We didn't cxl any of our plans, hoping to keep the kids minds focused away from Billy. Lisa, Smiley and YaYa went up north to visit friends; LuLu went skating w/ a friend and to a party; I did some yard work, went grocery shopping, wrote, read, and watched baseball. Still, a shitty day.
May 30th
The more you put in a brain the more it will hold - Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)
I finished "The Father Hunt" by Rex Stout today, a mystery centered around a paternity case. Not the strongest of Stout's plots, but otherwise a typical Nero Wolfe mystery - which is to say, a great read.
May 31st
I just finished writing and submitting a piece for the Journal on a computer with a mouse that doesn't track and a copy of Word that error'ed out and lost the complete first draft. I'm not even sure the attachment was correct, because that was finicky too. Jeez, except for the fact that I was clean, safe, & sitting on my butt, it was one step up from coal mining.
Took Smiley to visit his old school & sign him up for speech. The outporing of love for him there was great - everyone from office staff to teachers came to hug him, comment on his growth spurt, & tell him they miss him. His old teach even let him spend 1/2 hr in her class w/ his old friends. Best line? She said his summer school teach emailed her to say Smileyliked being Heidi's student 'cuz she "blond and pretty" :)
A few days ago I finished "Star Island" by Carl Hiassen, an entertaining but forgettable novel about a spoiled pop star. I'm now ~ 150 pg's into Jimmy Carter's "White House Diary", which would mark the 4th bk on his Presidency I've read in the last 12 months. It's fascinating stuff, and at some point I'll devote a blog post or FB 'note' to some talking points about the text.
Royette, who was named after her father, was a genuinely kind woman who lived on her own in a senior apartment building while struggling to control the diabetes that took her life. She enjoyed Native American memorabilia, doll collecting, arts and crafts, and anything to do with Elvis and cats.
She also took a special interest in her grand-nieces, and more than once she had LuLu and YaYa spend the night. She seemed especially close to YaYa, and it was a fondness that was reciprocated. You can glimpse some of the love she had for my children in the pictures below.
Her death marked the beginning of a rough summer, and to my shame I failed to record her passing here. She deserved better. She was a good person, and we miss her. We really do.
Nine bleeping losses in a row [for the Brewers]. Macha has to go. Not because he's the worst manager ever, or because replacing him will magically save the season. He should go because in baseball fans *believe* it will make a difference, and the fans pay the bills. This is even more true here in Milwaukee, where the dramatic Rogers/Kuehn switch took us all the way to Game Seven. So - who's the eventual replacement?
Lost didn't tape this week, for whatever reason, but I finally just finished the episode on ABC.com. GREAT GREAT episode, a wonderful lead-in to the series finale this Sunday.
re: the sinking of a S. Korean naval vessel: "The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack." Are you kidding me? North Korea TORPEDOED one of your warships and KILLED your citizens. I'd say the truce is worth jack shit.
May 21st
Lisa & watched a show on Ruby Ridge; what a needless waste. Then, we watched testimony from OR v Beagley, a case of alleged negligent homicide against parents who refused med treatment for their 16 yr old son. IMO, another case of the gov't overstepping its bounds. Gov't doesn't shrink or remain stagnant, it perpetually grows, like a cancer. I shudder to think what burdens our great-grandchildren will live under.
Yikes! The Girl Scouts just charged my card $200 towards summer camp - that'd be $200 I can't spare - despite the fact that I took care of that bill months ago. They've reversed the charges ("for now") but I need to redo some of the paperwork (?!) for the camp. Apparently a large chunk of the application was lost, & so their computer records are incomplete & I was charged as part of a mass billing . . .
Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. - Henry David Thoreau
Babysitting my (soon to be) Godson TJ. Took him for a walk in the stroller with Lu and Ginger, stopped at a local playground, then spent time in the backyard. He seemed the happiest outdoors, breaking into huge grins for Lisa & the girls. Now he's asleep in the bouncer, but he's been a little grumpy. From experience I'd say he's teething or constipated. Or he's po'd about the Brewers losing AGAIN; Lord knows I am.
May 22nd
Yest. morning Ginger's babysitter (a family member) suddenly tried pawning her off on another relative. When I heard this I called and asked about the sudden change of plans. She claimed this was what we'd agreed on [so not the case] "It's the information I was given," she said. "From who?" I said. "The President of Wakey-Wakey-Make-It-Uppy?"
I just walked Ginger and LuLu to the gas station so Lu could spend some spare change on candy & whatnot. On the way home she pumped her fist. "Yeah!" she said, seriously giddy. "Daddy I've never spent my own money at the gas station. This was great. THE best moment of my life." :)
While at the Dollar Store today I ran into a Milwaukee man who was featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" He was there w/ his two foster children. I asked if he'd been on 'that TV show', intentionally avoiding its name, and he said yes. His kids got very excited & said they were stars & wanted to make a movie now. I said I was glad the show helped him and we went on our way.
Cleaned the house all afternoon, capped by MAJOR fit by YaYa a few minutes ago. The kid deserves an Oscar, honest and truly. What a freakin' drama queen; you'd mistake her fits for outakes from Hostel. Alas (for her) we didn't give in and made her clean our room & take out the trash. Unfortunately alll the dust of the cleanup set off a major asthma attack for Lu, but she's back in action now.
I think it's sad that a real-time Brewers publication brags about having in the lead in the bottom of the ninth, then fiinshes the post with "Let's hope the Brewers can hang on!". Yeah, let's hope. Geesh, things went south here quickly, didn't they? {they lost the game lol]
[reacting to horrible anti-Christian comments on a scientific article about Copernicus} As usual, the anti-religious zealots swamped the comments on this article. Note that they only seem to attack Christianity; perhaps because we won't cut off their head if we find their notions heretical.
May 23rd
"They're not vampires. Like I said, they're fish from space." - The 11th Doctor
[on plans to outlaw drop-side cribs] What a perfect storm of crap: a gov't that doesn't know its boundaries and a group of yahoos taking a *miniscule* sample size and using it to dictate policy to the masses. ALL my kids slept in drop-side cribs and not once did we have so much as the faintest hint of trouble; then again I took more time assembling the crib than I did putting up my HDTV, which is probably the difference here.
80 degrees outside, a backyard baking in the sun, a kiddie pool set up and in full use - and Ginger comes outside wearing a swimsuit, snow boots, and a winter cap with tassels.
Lisa said something very insightful. She said that since Kate Gosselin is so damn stiff and difficult to watch on her gigs on DTWS, Entertainment Tonight, etc it's proof that her persona on J&K+8 was genuine. "She isn't a good enough actress to fake being real," Lisa said. And you know, she's right.
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.- George Bernard Shaw
RIP Jose Lima
A moment ago Smiley was crouched in the sandbox. He was barechested & tan, with khaki-army(ish) pants slung low, & his blonde hair was in a near crewcut. He was filling a containter with sand, & on his face was a barely disguised look of fatigue/contempt for his lot in life. I laughed. "Jeez Smiley," I said, "You look like an extra from Platoon. All you need is a cigarette dangling from your mouth & a chopper overhead"
Too much chaos here to watch the Lost series finale in 'real-time', so I'm DVR'ing it. I'll watch it once the kids and the Mrs. are asleep, so I can enjoy every second. One near disaster: Lisa walked into the living room to find the kids had shut off the recording of the pre-show to put on Disney. Lousy buggers!
I spent some time w/ a friend before watching Lost, and he p*'d me off by blasting Lost as 'mainstream' (as if that's an insult) and all but an opiate of the masses. Here's what I think: I think anyone who watches 'The Cleveland Show' and literally LOL's at the lame, mildly racist 'comedy' is someone whose opinion on TV matters for poop.
The last of the Chilean miners has reached the surface, and I'm so genuinely happy for all of them it's nuts. What a great, honest, moving story of heroism and determination. Kudos to the government of Chile for fixing the problem, not the blame, and doing everything they could to rescue their people. I wish nothing but the best for the miners and their families. God Bless them all!
Came home from work and, wanting to get some repairs done on the porch roof, promptly sliced my thumb on a utiity knife. Don't worry, I stopped the blood flow - by accidently crushing a tube of asphalt sealant while I headed inside, thereby covering my hands, forearms, & shirt with a layer of black tar that took 20 minutes to scrub (75%) off. Ah, well. Saved me a stitch or two I suppose.
Jody Gerut hits for the cycle! Congrats to Jody, the first Brewer since Chad Moeller to accomplish the feat. [btw I was at the Moeller game in 2004 w/ my friend Carlos - I caught two foul balls!]
"Big, big mistake. Huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you there's one thing you never, ever put in a trap. Not if u vaulue your continued existence, if you have *any* plans about seeing tommorow. There's one thing you never put in a trap . . . ME." The 11th Doctor, "The Time of Angels"
Milw's top mental health adminstrator *intentionally* houses female patients with known, violent male offenders to 'reduce violence'. This would explain the # of sexual assaults at our mental health complex. So would this: the adminstrator is a man who uses his position to punish & degrade women for the sake of his sick masturbatory fantasies. Given that his actions have destroyed the trust in our mental health system, and led to sexual assaults and the violent rape of a pregnant woman, he needs to face criminal charges, for negligence or whatever else they can scrape together. Once he belongs to Jerome or Rick or Mr. Big, let him argue his stance about the 'lesser' violence of sex. assualt.
May 9th
This morning my mother-in-law took Lisa out for breakfast. When Lisa said it wasn't right that her Mom pay for the meal, and certainly not on Mother's Day, this was her Mom's response: "Don't worry about it. In twenty years when you're changing my diapers, I'll Just take an extra dump and call it even."
May 10th
RIP Lena Horne
re: a negative critique of Betty White's SNL episode: This critic is on crack. Of course many of the skits exploited her age - Duh! She's 88 years old. What are you supposed to mine for comedy, her thoughts on social security? It was the first SNL I've watched in years and I thought she did marvelous. She has such great comedic timing, and that kiss - McGruber is a lucky man!
May 11th
The Big Ten has extended offers for the following schools to join the conference: Missouri, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Notre Dame. I think Nebraska would be a nice fit, and I guess Rutgers expands the B10 reach into the NY area. I'm told MO is a fertile recruiting ground for the Badgers, so screw adding them, and I'd pass on the Irish. We'll see how it turns out.
Jury duty all day, then came home to horrible children. Seriously. Horrible. Children. I sent them all to bed just after six with no supper. If they're lucky and actually show some compassion and regret, they might qualify for meals by June. July is more likely.
May 12th
Tuesday's Glee was a downer, wasn't it? Quadraplegics (sp?), John Mellencamp and Kurt going all boo-hoo over a Dad who CLEARLY loves his son despite their differences. Nut up kid. Ah well. Neil Patrick Harris guest stars next week. Should be a hoot.
Finally saw last night's Lost. I'll cop to being a little confused, which is unusual; sometimes what I 'know' turns out to be wrong, but I always walk away with a gist of it down and a decent theory in my head. I'll need to mull this one over.
May 13th
If you're in need of a good (albeit violent) drama to fill up your TV screen, take a gander at 'Justified' on FX. I've watched the first 8 episodes via On Demand and I've enjoyed every show.
May 14th
Horrible news. Dano Plato's son, who by all accounts has strugged to deal with his mother's legacy in the decade since her death, has committed suicide. RIP.
A 42 year old actress has stepped forward claiming Roman Polanski had sex with her when she was 16. It should be noted that the legal age of consent in Paris, where the alleged sex took place, was (is?) 15. However, since she claims he forced himself on her, the age of consent is irrelevant. I'm not sure I buy the rationale behind her stepping forward now, but it certainly isn't good news for Polanski.
The Missouri legislature has given approval to strip Mark McGwire's name from the highway they named in his honor. What a sh*t move. Ugh. On the other hand, former Brewers manager Ned Yost has been named the manager of the KC Royals. Congrats to Ned, and all the best.
May 15th
So, let me get this straight: the Twins intentionally walked the bases loaded to face my man Arod, a HOF'er and notorious Twins killer. Brilliant. Congrats to ARod on the game winning shot, and for passing Frank Robinson on the all-time HR list. May 16th
Lisa was super po'd at me yest. So after work, w/ our kids dispersed to relatives, I took her out for dinner and drinks, followed by a moonlight ride by the lakefront. With her again loving the Dslap, I finally got down to enjoying Saturday night the way it was meant to be spent: w/ a new episode of Doctor Who on the TV. ;)
re: "Ashes to Ashes" I saw an episode of this show last night on the BBC and while it was very good, I thought it was awfully similar to "Life on Mars". Well, it turns out it's a spin-off. A female police detective is shot in the present day and awakens in 1982, where she leads a second life as a detective in that era. Putting aside the time travel stuff, it's a solid police procedural.
LuLu is seriously in love with Justin Beiber. She has posters on her wall, and she asked me to help her enter a Teen Beat contest to win his teddy bear. She's so cute - for weeks afterwards she'd ask me if she'd 'won yet'. :)
re: Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" I couldn't get this song out of my head yesterday, and caught myself humming it while a customer was droning on. Oopsie. BTW - Ludacris seems to appear on every song produced in North America. He's the Jude Law of the music biz.
May 17th
Milwaukee, stick a fork in [DJ's] Bob & Brian. I used to love 'em, and they did their schtick - blue collar/everyday Milwaukee Joe - better than anyone. But now they're rich, 50 yr old guys who live in the burbs; they're guys who have to google pop culture references, who refuse to play ANY music, & who pander to the stick-in-the-butt Zayban (sic). Enough. And please, don't even get me started on this 'Reheated' B.S. [where there show is repeated later in the day]
May 17th
To every yahoo that went around Milwaukee yesterday saying "Whoo-hoo! Summer's finally here!" - thank your karma for the fifty degree weather today. I 'preciate it. :)
"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." - Jerry Garcia
Seven losses in a row for the Brewers, including an entire homestand. This team sucks right now. Yikes. Let's start a FB pool - barring a 180, I say Macha is fired by May 25th. [I was wrong; he lasted the season before being fired]
May 18th
Timbaland coulda stayed home - Justin carries this song. "I'll take two # 3's/ that's a whole lot of you and a side of me/now is it full of myself to want you full of me?/ . . . Do you like it well done? 'Cuz I do it well/'Cuz I'm well seasoned if you couldn't tell"
Last fall the city used stimilus $ to tear up my lawn. They replaced a functioning, intact gas pipe w/ more of the same, wiped out the small hill in front of my porch & destroyed my grass. I was set to cut the new lawn today for the 1st x - so naturally the city returned & dug it up AGAIN. They left a note on my door saying it was just to ck & see if they'd done the work right. America, your gov't at work.
Yay! The first of the 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine since August 5 has arrived at the surface in a rescue capsule, and were greeted by hugs and cheers.
For Family Night this week I rented the live action "Marmaduke" and made cajun style salmon cakes with rice and broccoli. Cue the standard kid reactions to unknown food, but they all tried it. Heck, Livvie even liked it. But the best, most honest reaction to my meal? Smiley took a big bite, swallowed, and said "It taste yuck. Me feel like I 'ave to 'uke"
This picture, taken October 3rd, is of YaYa's silly bandz collection. Silly Bandz are thin elastic bracelets/rubber bands that are manufactured in different shapes - cars, animals, and the like. They're peaking in popularity right now and are highly collectible in elementary schools, where they're traded like baseball or Pokemon cards.
As you can imagine, they aren't quite as popular with teachers :)
I'm 12 ft into digging a 2ft deep/30 foot long drainage trench w/ no shade in sight. Anyone want to come over and help? For gosh sake's I'm a fat guy - I'll have a heart attack any second
"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - C.S. Lewis
The [BP] oil spill in the Gulf is horrendous, & the enviornment will suffer needlessly. But to those who claim this is *the* reason to abandon drilling: unless you live w/out a car, plastics, lawn mower, etc - YOU NEED OIL. We can continue to delude ourselves that letting other countries pump oil for us is somehow saving Mother Earth (?!), but its not. Plus all the economic & security reasons . . .
Just finished watching "Victory of the Daleks", ep. 3 of this season of Dr. Who. It features Winston Churchill, a devilish Dalek plan, and Spitfires (!) in a dogfight around the moon LOL. Grand. Good to see the new team jettison Davie's obsession w/ stamping out the Dalek race; this ep. made it clear the Daleks are back & here to stay.
Rented a movie but Lisa's already asleep & I'm pooped from digging. I might call it a night. Got a lot done in the yard (but not everything) the kids went to Home Depot for the monthly project w/ Grandma J, Lu went to a swim party, & we set up the sandbox & pool. Tonight Smiley's the only kid home. We've enjoyed the heck out of our 'quality' time w/ him. Life is good. It'd be better with $, but it's good all the same.
MAY 2ND
Helen Wagner, the actress who's played Nancy Huges on 'As the World Turns' since 1956! has passed away. She was 91. RIP.
I'm trying hard not to be the snarky pre-2009 Danny, but the populace isn't making it easy. Before work I waited in a 7 person line at a convenience store. Along comes an elderly woman, who cut in front of 4 of us with her Hoveround. She shot us a glare and *announced* that she is elderly & hence will assume that spot. Hey, lady, why does it matter to you how long you wait in line? You've already got a seat.
MAY 3RD
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them. - Reagan
"What people say behind your back is your standing in the community." - Edgar Watson Howe
Unions in Greece are threatening to strike rather than agree to curtail gov't spending. BTW, I skimmed an article in yesterday's NYT claiming that part of the problem is that Greek citizens hide much of their income from the tax man, presumably leading to a short change of gov't funds. Of course, if taxes were fair there would be less societal acceptance of the cheating. Or not.
On this day in 1791 Poland established Europe's first national constitution - only the second such document in the world (after our own). Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja
LuLu just called from school asking for her inhaler. I know people from my school days are rolling their eyes and remembering me as a hypocondriac (sic), but things change. I've missed two days of work in 12 yrs, & while I'll keep the kids home to go see a concert or a ballgame, I'll be damned if they'll stay home for any illness that isn't fatal. But her asthma/allergies are becoming an issue . .BTW, her inhaler was in her backpack, right where I"d put it. She just hadn't seen me put it there.
"This'll be OK. I'll just do the thresome tonight, then break up with her. Bit ungentlemanly that, but then it's a threesome. Not exactly Romeo & Juliet, innit?"
The [Modjeska) youth theatre group has folded. YaYa audtioned for them a few years ago, and we have fond memories of several of their productions. Ugh. Dangit.
MAY 4TH
This morning's [tongue in cheek] status update from a FB friend & local cop: "I met a 14-year-old girl on the Internet. She was clever, funny, flirty and sexy, so I suggested we meet up. She turned out to be an undercover detective. How cool is that at her age?!"
lU had trouble breathing when she woke up & so they were late for school. The secretary gave them detention when I dropped them off, which set YaYa off in tears. Whatever. My kids have served more detention than all the members of the Breakfast Club put together. I consider it almost a badge of honor at that school - if you avoid it altogether you are,IMO, a meek and servile tool of the Man.
I'm done w/ the ditch for today, or more precisely the 10 ft part of it that runs in the narrow gap between my shed & the neighbors fence. Good news there - the neighbor came out and said his fence was encroaching on my lot by 14", and asked me to help him move it this weekend. So, if I don't finish by then, I'll have a lot more elbow rm to dig .
P--s on you AI for running overtime AGAIN and cutting off the end of Glee. Buy a g'damn watch already.
RIP Ernie Harwell
MAY 5TH
You know how I know Glee is a great show? Because every Wednesday morning I wake up to take the kids to school, think of the show I watched 12 hrs before, and break into a huge grin.
Cinco De Mayo is so different in this neighborhood. Back on Mitchell Street it was parties & fireworks & guys stalling traffic by driving around w/ huge Mexican flags hanging out of their cars and leaning on their horns. Here, there's not a whisper. I much prefer it, of course, but we did do one half-a*s but well intentioned nod to the event: the family enjoyed the take home Taco buffet from Taco Bell. BTW, if you think "going to Taco Bell had nothing to do with Cinco De Mayo", nuh-uh. Lisa pimped the idea all day as a cheap way to feed the family and discuss the holiday, and I finally caved. Not so cheap either, when feeding 6 people.
MAY 6TH
*spoilers* I finally got around to watching this weeks Lost. THREE principal characters killed off in a single episode - what other show would have the ba**s to do that? The death of the Kwon's was moving, as was Jack's last speech with Locke in the hosp.It was good to see Sayid shake off the 'fugue' - and wonderful to hear Jack named, however unofficially, as Jacob's successor. Wow.
Grim Reaper by Steve Alten will be released 10-10-10 *AND* will feature Bridgett, a friend of mine, as a character (two characters, actually) Leigh Nelson and Bridgett Deem. Her family Doug, Parker, and Autumn will be characters as well. You can pre-order copies now from Barnes and Noble!
MAY 7TH
Borders enters the E-Reader fray with the Kobo, priced $90 less than B&N's Nook.
[on the retirement of local newscaster Mike Miller] Danny Trivia: In 2005 I was late for a flight to DC and hurried down the aisle of a packed plane. I whacked Miller in the head with my carry-on as I passed him. He was clearly annoyed. Later when he saw me at an invite only GOP dinner he did an actual, classic double-take. That was the first and last time I've seen that action outside of a cartoon.
Where war and woe and wonder/Have been known frequently/And by turns bliss and despair/Have changed places suddenly
