'The Twelfth Imam' by Joel C Rosenburg

I stayed up late last night to finish 'The Twelfth Imam' by Joel C Rosenburg, only to have it conclude w/ a cliffhange. Apparently it's the start of a series. Phooey. I doubt I'll pick up the 2nd bk. The story was good, even if the characters were shallow, but it wandered off into End Times schtuff near the end. C'mon now, this is a CIA thriller, not 'Left Behind'. C.

A Time Traveler in 1928?

Is the woman, shown here in a still from Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film "The Circus", a time traveler?

Believe it or not, that's what some conspiracy fans think. After all, it does appear that she's holding a cell phone to her ear and carrying on a conversation. She's clearly talking to herself as she's walking down the street, and she is clutching her ear. I'll give them this: if the same candid actions were taken from a film in 1998, you'd be a fool not to say she's on the phone.

That said, it's impossible. Right? Cell phones depend on a system of towers, none of which would be present in 1928. Satellite phones would be an option, if our time traveler was also able to put a ship/satellite in orbit while she visited. But that begs the question - if her technology was advanced enough to put her back in time, what's up with having to use a cell phone? What, she couldn't afford a wristwatch communicator, or master thought manipulation?

Plus, before the era of the Obnoxious Cell Phone user, walking down the street talking to yourself was not the most subtle way to avoid attention. You'd think that would be a prerequisite for a chrono-visitor.

It's probably a '20's era hearing aid she's clutching. Or she had an earache, and had imaginary friends to boot. We'll never know.

Here's what I find far and away the most fascinating part of the story. 82 years ago a woman woke up, got dressed, and headed out the door to the grocer. Maybe she stopped to talk to someone on the way and was delayed by a minute or two. Perhaps she turned right instead of left, wanting to extend her trip and enjoy the day. Whatever the case, she happened to walk in front of a motion picture camera before continuing on her way. Even if she noticed, it was the subject of some dinnertime chat that night, nothing more.

And yet that simple, innocuous, forgettable moment in an otherwise average life would spark events nearly a century down the road. Not 'huge' events, or earth shattering revolutions, but conversations around the globe. She lives on, presumably a half century or more after her death.

I love the subtle complexity of our world, the seemingly random acts that comprise a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It is, for me, another example of a guiding hand orchestrating our existence.

Thank you cell phone lady. May you rest in peace. Or enjoy your trip to the flapper era. Either/or.

He-Man

Watching He-Man on Qubo.

Yikes

The 30ft tree in front of my house is swaying w/ the wind. Not just the branches, *the whole* tree. Gulp.

More FB - thru mid August

August 10th

I rented 'Gremlins 2' for the kids from Blockbuster. I wanted Space Camp (taken out of inventory and sold), Howard the Duck (missing from the shelf) or Short Circuit (unavailable in any Milwaukee Blockbuster), but whatcha gonna do? The kids wound up loving it almost as much as the original, and actually *thanked* me for renting it. Be still my shocked heart.

August 11th

Watching 'Babysitter Wanted' an unexpectedly good horror film starring a talented Jennifer Garner lookalike. Cannibals, Satan, some dark humor & a decent script - well worth a rental.

I tried treating the kids to a pizza yesterday only to find out Villa Roma has gone under; last week Bella's Fat Cat shut its doors too. I feel like sending a great big thank you to [Gov Jim] Doyle and [Mayor Tom] Barrett for fostering such a successful business enviornment here in Milwaukee.

{note: this led to some confusion, as readers commented that they saw Bella's still open and accepting customers. Posts from a few months later will show why we were all right}

We're watching The Rock in 'Tooth Fairy'. It's actually pretty dang funny.

'Did u hear about the Morgans?' was an average romantic comedy w/ quite a bit of genuine warmth.

We're watching the hand model/low talker/pirate shirt episode of Seinfeld. Truly LOL

[man, there was a lot of TV time that day, eh? LOL ]

August 12th

Hey - a neighborhood resident/manager at BN is the one who came to me with news that Bella's had folded. He said his wife went there herself & discovered it was OOB, and I'm 100% sure I heard him right. Still, I just got a FB note saying it seemed to be open today. I'll stop by tomorrow and find out what's going on. Meanwhile, I can personally confirm Villa is gone, w/ the inside empty and a note on the door.

Someone rifled through my car last night, which I don't understand at all. It's pretty damn obvious there's nothing there of any value, besides the car itself. I would have appreciated it if they'd closed my door tho', rather than drain my battery.

OK, so I went to Bella's myself this morning and it *IS* closed. There's a sign on the door promising they'll be open again soon, but what Milwaukee hamburger/custard stand chooses to close its doors in the middle of a 90 degree week? I fear they're kaput.

August 13th

The same people who preach the 'value of hard work, regardless of pay' are the folks who sit on their butt earning $80G while they pay their workers a subsistence wage- & then act smug when their employees can't pay their rent. Bullsh*t - the value of a job is in the standard of living it allows you to maintain. A hard days work for a fair wage, and nothing less.

What do you get if you insert human DNA into a goat? Banned from the petting zoo. (h/t Carlos)

[to which a reader responded: Speaking from personal experience Dan? My reply: I wish! Unfortunately, Farvmille won't allow it for 'ethical' reasons.]

W Lisa @ work yest.[@ State Fair] it was up to me to take all 4 kids for physicals. Immunizations for the two little ones, blood work & urine tests for all. All the kids (knock on wood) are very healthy and ht/wt proportionate, except Lu, who is only @ the 25th percentile for height. I bred with a Swedish-German because I value size, and what does Lisa give me? A 7 yr old only an 1 1/4th taller than my 5yr old. What a gyp. ;)

YaYa (age 8/nearly 9): 77.5#, 54"

LuLu (age 7): 52#, 47"

Smiley (age 5) 50#, 47.75"

Ginger (age 3) 33#, 37.75"

Among the dozens and dozens of things relegated to the mythical "When we're back on our feet": a compost tumbler.

August 14th

Lisa wimped out on me early, so I headed over to Blockbuster and rented the new 'Clash of the Titans'. I'm not sure why every modern movie hero needs to sound as if they have a bad sore throat, but aside from that it was a fine action film. I do worry that as CGI continues to improve movies risk becoming expensive cartoons, but that's a topic for another day.

Man, my kids sucked this morning. Here's a new rule I'm enforcing: if even one of them says "not me" when I ask who left the fridge open all night or who moved my phone charger, "not me" will translate to: "Only one of us is probably guilty, but just on principle Dad's gonna make all four of us regret the day we were born"

August 15th

True story: I stumbled across Jeeves and Wooster on PBS and told Lisa how I used to love watching the show before I met her. "Yeah," she said. "You and every other virgin shut-in".

To Lisa:

Happy 14th Anniversary :)

Autumn on the Farm

My farm in fall.

Goal: Unlocked

Dork alert: as of this morning I've met my annual [minimum] reading goal, finishing my 52nd book of the year. My bucket list goal has always been to crack the century mark, but as an adult I've never read more than 84 in a year.

Let the Right One In

I finished the horror novel "Let the Right One In" by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. It's the 2nd bk of his I've read, & looking over my list for the yr I think this might very well be THE best bk I've read in '10. He is a writer that can terrify you while never losing a deeply emotional connection to the characters & their world. I am in awe of his talent.

Early August - movies, music, and more!

August 5th

Raided Redbox and watched "Don McKay", then 'Afterlife' w/ Christina Riccia and Liam Neeson. Both were good, but I'd give the nod to 'Afterlife'. It wasn't scary, but it sure was creepy.

Yesterday evening I spent an hour doing yardwork sans shirt - in part because of the heat, but also so the neighborhood ladies could swoon as the sweat dripped seductively down my back hair. Anyhow, in return for my selfless act the mosquito population scored a couple dozen direct hits, so the last 16 hours have SUCKED.

August 6th

Amelia Earhart crashed in the ocean, and Hoffa was whacked by the mob. There, I solved two great 'mysteries'. Whoo-woo. You want a missing person case with zest? Try Judge [Joseph Force] Crater. RIP Judge, wherever you are.



WTMJ just ran an story about a marijuana growing operation in a Brookfield house that was located right across the street from a school. Egads & gasps! The guy is facing *40 YEARS* for growing a plant, but I guarantee you could chop me to bits right where I sit & be out in 20. You know who should get 40 yrs? The narc who phoned in the tip, and a culture that devotes so much time, effort and $ to this crud. {this post met with some strong reactions from a cop friend of mine.}

August 7th

Nothing better than the smell of burnt popcorn in a breakroom as big as my closet

Yo - does anyone have a copy of *any* of the following DVD's: Howard the Duck, Space Camp, Short Circuit, or Batteries Not Included? [I would rent these for the kids in the following months]

August 8th

I heard a radio interview this morning with Tim Gunn. I wish I hadn't, because now I miss Project Runway something fierce. Anyhow, I love Tim Gunn - uh, you know, in a manly, largely platonic way.

After I dropped Lisa off at the [WI State] Fair I rented "Batteries Not Included" for the kids. Against all their (very vocal) expectations, they liked it. Olivia adored it actually, and peppered me with questions throughout. It really is as good as I remember.

Our Good Samaritan has struck again. This time they left a bag of school uniforms, and a brand new backpack filled with supplies on our porch. Whoever you are, thank you. [this was our friend Anne U.]

Me like The Like. Buy their album. As a bonus, the cover is hot.



Buy this album [Sia's We are Born]

My Estate

On Phil Simms

I'm not a fan of football coverage on CBS. How Phil Simms ever got a job speaking for a living defies common sense.

CiCi's Pizza

We took YaYa to CC's Pizza yest. for her bday, and to preview it for her bday party there today. Great price, good salad/soup, no decor whatsoever, mediocre pizza, artificially pleasant staff. The cinnamon buns rocked, I'll give 'em that. I wouldn't choose to return on my own, but YaYa and Lisa walked away as fans.

A New Game

New drinking game: take a shot whenever LuLu trips, bumps into a counter, pokes herself in the eye, or otherwise finds legitimate reason to yell "Owieee!". I guarantee even a lush would be drunk by noon. And here's the rub: she's a natural athlete and dancer. Seriously.  It just .  . . doesn't seem to carry over to everyday life. ;)

Language!

Eat shit and die, you purple wearing hillbilly Judas.

CNR

A preview of a future profile pic . . .

Thievery Corportation

Good album

Birthday Signage!

I had Smiley and Junie greet YaYa with birthday signs outside her school!

Artie Shaw on a rainy night

As I drove home tonight it was storming and I discovered, to my chagrin, that I'd left my Artie Shaw cassette at home. Since I purchased it in the early nineties, it has been *The Perfect Rainy Night* companion.

Eventually the tape will wear out, be damaged, or lost. I've never been able to find this combination on CD, so I'm including the track list here so Future Dan can compile it on his own.

Oh Lady Be Good

Deep Purple

What is this Thing Called Love

Nightmare

Indian Love Call

Begin the Beguine

Traffic Jam

Stardust

Summit Ridge Drive

Back Bay Shuffle

Comes Love

Serenade to a Savage

Frenesi

Special Delivery

Stomp

Temptation

Moonglow

(1990 Delta Music Inc, Lazerlight #79713)

Frozen

After work Lisa & I watched "Frozen", a movie about 3 skiers who are mistakenly stranded on a ski lift when the resort closes for the week. From the start you *know* it's going to get ugly - and it does - but it was a solid effort and enjoyable (for us, not them).

Bony Legs by Joanna Cole

LuLu is a big fan of 'Bony Legs' by Joanna Cole

Happy 9th Birthday!

Nine years ago today, at 4:20 in the afternoon, our YaYa came into our lives. Happy Birthday kiddo!

Happy Birthday YaYa!

Happy 9th Birthday YaYa! May you celebrate 100 more in health and happiness!

xxooxx

Dress Up

Attractive Parkey !

Disappointment

I received notice today that I *didn't* get that job. A 90 min interview that went like buttah, passed the reasoning/honesty test, good references, the right experience  & education . . . & nada. At this point I usually doubt my own worth, but in this instance, the last step (credit ck) had to be the nail in the coffin. Two yrs ago, w/ every bill pd promptly on time each month, this job would have been mine. F*ers.