Full Dark No Stars

Is anyone reading Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars"? I am, and right now it feels a lot like work. The first novella is so derivative of Poe it reads like student work from a creative writing course. The 2nd story is better, but naturally has a writer as the protagonist, just like, oh, Dark Half, The Shining, Bag of Bones, Misery, The Body, etc. Way to think outside the box Steve.

Lauren Conrad is Da Bomb

Lauren Conrad = Yum da YumYum.  She looks like Marcia Brady, only not fifty and poor. Better yet, she's the super hot Marcia Brady as you *imagined* her to be when you were a kid.

Passin' Time

I spent part of the morning surfing FB on the new NOOK color.

Lu, a model?

I took LuLu to get a haircut today, & while she was in the chair I went next door to do some shopping. When I returned a man approached me and asked if I'd be interested in having Lu model for him.  

I know - instant creep factor, & I brushed him off. 

But he left a business card behind & to my surprise he cks out, w/4  decades of legit art exhibitions (assuming he hasn't rigged a half dozen websites). In fact, he's the brother of Lance Sijan, the Medal of Honor winner whose name is honored throughout Bay View. 

Huh. Weird.

Lost: The New Man in Charge

I finally saw the LOST epilogue, "The New Man in Charge". Eh. So-so. 12 minutes is too short a time to answer any question worth asking. I'd like to see Hurley's 'reign', and Walt and Ben's employment, explored further in other media as the years go by.

A Temper Tantrum

Junie got off the school bus in a dark mood. We sat outside on the porch, enjoying this warm Nov day, but when I stopped Ms. Grump from writing on a fundraiser form she picked up a flowerpot LuLu had made over the summer & intentionally shattered it on the ground. She is now screaming at the injustice of my anger & her banishment to her room - oh, she just yelled that she hates me. I must be doing something right.

Ah, just a moment ago she yelled "Daddy - you can die!". Charming lass.

Congratulations to Archbishop Dolan!

In an upset, former Milw. (current NYC) Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been elected Pres of the U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops! "It means the bishops have decided to opt for a confident Catholicism. They had a choice, & they chose the boldest, most outspoken bishop. U wouldn't choose him as ur leader unless u thought what he was doing in the capital of the world (NY) is what we want the church to represent."

btw, this was a clear and bold rebuff of the passive, submissive wing of the American Church, the folks who try to get by with wringing their hands and saying "can't we all get along, even if it means we give up everything we believe in???"

No Luck

Just tried and failed to win tickets to the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys [NKOTBSB] concert in June. Crap. Still, it's not like I won't buy tix eventually. At least the winner is a Joey fan, although I'm not keen on her bringing up Jon's sexuality on-air, and I sure as hell don't like Alley's anti-Jon bias. A woman cursed with kankles should have better manners - words to live by Alley, words to live by.

A Royal Congratulations!

Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced their engagement. 'bout time you made her an honest woman William!

Football and Dancing Baby

With a win this past weekend I'm now 3-7 in my fantasy football league. I could go all petty and mention I lost 2 games by under 10 pts, but big wup - change the outcome and it would still only take me to .500. Meanwhile, three weeks in I'm 12-6 in my fantasy basketball league. Yawn. Wake me when spring training starts.

Meanwhile, a 'Dancing With the Stars' upset - Bristol Palin sends Brandy packing. Wow. Good for her, but there's no way she was a better dancer than Brandy. Not that I care; IMO folks that spend more than half their workday dancing have an unfair advantage that skews the results (cough Nicole Scherzinger, cough). But again, congrats Bristol. Good luck next week in the finals.

Full Dark, No Dawn

I'm 50 or 60 pages into Stephen King's new story collection and yawn yawn yawn. Hopefully it picks up. BTW,  I hate when King writes about sex, even in passing. I don't care how many kids he has or how long he's been married, the text always comes off crude, like it was written by the ugly kid in high school who has to pretend he knows what boobies look like.

LuLu - the jigsaw queen!

Lu with a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle she finished 11-15-10

Good and Bad

The bad? I didn't land (yet another) job I'd applied for, making me quite grumpy for a minute. Then, a small burst of good news. The Journal-Sentinel has asked me to do a holiday column, w/ the editor stating that "From previous columns of yours, I think you could do one with the right feel, be broad enough to appeal to all readers, and also steer clear of politics." So there's a coupla bucks in my pocket.

Awww

Junie after dance class 11/15/10

The Photon Series

Well, this means shit over diddly to anyone else, but I just discovered (via the magic of the wiki) that a series of books I read in my childhood were penned by a pseudonym of none other than Eisner winning writer Peter David. It's good to know I was drawn to the good schtuff even in my youth.

I can barely say this w/out cringing in embarrassment, but the Photon series, the 'backstory' to the Photon lazer tag game. The series ran for 5-6 young adult novels around the time we'd have been in middle school.

Ginger's first school bus ride

Despite attending K3 for the first time the week prior, September 8th was the first day Ginger took the bus to and from school. Unlike our experience with Smiley, who was both picked up and dropped off in front of the house, Ginger must travel to a bus stop a few blocks away each morning (although she is dropped off at home).

The good thing about all of this is that it forces up to be up earlier, and because of that all the kids have been getting to school on time for once. Yay!

Here's how I captioned the following photos: My scared baby takes the bus for the first time




She was only upset for a minute or two, but I was nervous to see how she'd handle the day. This caption? A change of heart; Ginger after her bus trip home.

My Farm

What Beauty!

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to them, and may they enjoy 25 more together!

Towers of Midnight

I just finished Towers of Midnight, the 13th book in the Wheel of Time series. As expected, it's a well written, engaging storyline populated with characters you know better than you know yourself (and small wonder, unless you've written 13 autobiographies of 1000 pgs each). The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age; Tarmon Gai’don is near. May the Light preserve us all.

YaYa and LuLu's Troop

Stem Fest

Stem fest with brownie troop 3057 and junior troop 1373, sooo much fun. Silk screened our own bags, and made our own perfume. The girls were about as excited as the adults, lol. Can't use the perfume til Tuesday, and they're chompin' at the bit! Good times with great kids and even better fellow lady-scouts, lol. - Lisa

Nightmare on Elm Street

Just finished watching the new "Nightmare on Elm Street". It was pretty good, but I'm not a fan of the new Nancy, or the humorless Freddy. 

The worst part? The preschool picture, w/ all the kids in the ancient outfits? It was dated *1994*. I was wearing flannel and mourning Kurt when those buggers were being potty trained. Ugh.

Meadow's Birthday!

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

We watched "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore". It was fine, if you can stomach watching a fantasy world where dogs are remotely as smart as cats.