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!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My Evening
outside in the yard, helping Junie write thank u notes for her teachers, bus driver & crossing guard. Meanwhile YaYa is off @ her 1st night of camp . . .
Breaking News
Breaking News: the WI Supreme Court has ruled that the collective bargaining law should be upheld.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Mad About You
watching Mad About You. We are 15 min in and Helen Hunt is on her 3rd vest of the show.
Hypocrisy
2day Entertainment Tonight devoted a long segment to the intrusive & sometimes confrontational nature of papparazi. The example that compelled them to speak out? A cameraman who filmed Maria Shriver despite her request that she be left alone. ET delivered this spiel w/ a straight face & no sign of hypocricy - despite *playing (& presumably paying for) the Shriver vid themselves*. Gotta love the media.
In the Garden of Beasts
I finished Erik Laarsen's "In the Garden of Beasts", a narrative history of US Ambassador Dodd's tenure in Nazi Germany. The book was fascinating and compelling in the moment, but left me feeling empty. In the end there is no real story at work. Like most of us, Dodd's life is interesting as an anecdote here and there, but fails to accumulate the drama needed to fill 400 pages. An inferior work by Laarsen.
Gosford Park
Between loads of last minute laundry, I finished watching "Gosford Park", a Brit period piece/ murder mystery erroneously classified as a comedy by both BN & Netflix. I love the large ensemble cast and the way the script deftly weaves us into their lives with ease. But oddly, while I liked it a lot, I think it would bore most viewers w/ its slow pace and lack of action.
On this Day
On this day 100 yrs ago Robert James Murphy, a riveter working on the Titanic, died when his scaffolding collapsed. RIP
The tree out front goes "Adios!"
Since we moved into our house four years ago we've taken special notice of the city-owned tree in front of our house. While much of it seemed healthy (certainly healthy enough to generate piles of leaves and clogged gutters every autumn) one large branch was visibly dead, and as the years wore on more and more of the trunk appeared diseased.
A few calls for removal went unheeded, but a few weeks ago a city worker drove by and just happened to notice the tree. He got out of his truck to talk to me, then put in an order for the tree to be cut down. The crew showed up the day we departed for LuLu's trip to Fort Atkinson.
One guy went up in a cherry picker with a small chain saw. One by one he removed the large limbs of the tree, often lowering them to the ground with rope.
Other crew members carried the debris to a portable chipper.
Given Smiley's huge interest in botany and gardening, this was right up his alley and we sat outside and watched the proceedings until it started to rain. Lu joined us for a spell, but YaYa (claiming to mourn the tree) stayed in her room. The guy in the cherry picker waved to her when he was even with her window.
Much of the tree is still standing. The rest will be removed another day, and the stump ground down. A replacement will be planted in the spring or fall of 2012.
A few calls for removal went unheeded, but a few weeks ago a city worker drove by and just happened to notice the tree. He got out of his truck to talk to me, then put in an order for the tree to be cut down. The crew showed up the day we departed for LuLu's trip to Fort Atkinson.
One guy went up in a cherry picker with a small chain saw. One by one he removed the large limbs of the tree, often lowering them to the ground with rope.
Other crew members carried the debris to a portable chipper.
Given Smiley's huge interest in botany and gardening, this was right up his alley and we sat outside and watched the proceedings until it started to rain. Lu joined us for a spell, but YaYa (claiming to mourn the tree) stayed in her room. The guy in the cherry picker waved to her when he was even with her window.
Much of the tree is still standing. The rest will be removed another day, and the stump ground down. A replacement will be planted in the spring or fall of 2012.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
He-Man
@ his adament request, I just woke up Smiley to watch He-Han on Qubo. In fairness to my parenting, by the first commercial break he will be asleep again in front of the TV.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
True Grit
We just finished watching the remake of True Grit. The acting was wonderful, and the film closely follows the great book of the same name. Still, while I enjoyed the movie I was not overwhelmed with affection for it. Of all the Best Picture nominees I've seen, Social Network remains the clear *should have been* winner.
Taylor Swift - A Surprise for YaYa!
This evening we suprised YaYa w/ an early bday gift - a pair of tix to tonight's Taylor Swift concert! She literally screamed when we gave them to her. She's there now with Lisa. I hope they're having fun.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
What a Day
My day: took kids to school, took down the tent, went to Smiley's graduation. Went grocery shopping & to the pharmacy, rented True Grit, took the kids to library to sign up for Super Reader program, returned items left behind @ the sleepover, hung laundry outside, played in the sprinkler w/ the kids, now watching The Voice while waiting for the Nook to charge. I look fwd to returning to work tomorrow so I can relax.
Oh, Anthony, You Sure Can Pick 'Em!
I love the ABC interview w/ one of Rep. Weiner's online girlfriends. Not only did she speak like she was auditioning for the role of 'hot beauty school dropout', she chewed gum the whole time. I repeat: she chewed gum while being interviewed by a national news program about a Congressional scandal. Priceless.
The Heat Lose
If you are a Miami Heat fan, you can blame Tre for the loss. They were up by 9 when he called to talk to me; by the end of the call they had permanently surrendered the lead in Game 4. A pox upon you sir! ;)
The Voice
If you're watching The Voice, you best be voting for Jared Blake. And what's w/ Christiana Aguilera? Judging by the live show, she is universally disliked and dismissed by the other judges. Good for them. I've never cared for her.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Let's Play Two!
Exactly 15,000 days ago today, in the spring of 1970, Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run.
GRRRRR Milwaukee Rec
Over the weekend the kids came home with their final swim class 'report cards'. Not only *didn't* they pass, they all SUCKED. Smiley's sometimes a scaredy cat, so I can maybe see that, but YaYa is a fish. If she failed swim that badly the teacher was busy doing everything but her job. Thanks MPS rec - a waste of time and $.
Smiley Loses His 1st Tooth (April 11th)
On April 11th Lisa posted this to her Facebook account: Smiley just lost his first tooth! Seems so recent that I was sitting in his nursery rocking with him :(
He'd been bugging us forever to pull it out, as he was soooo excited to partake of this rite of passage. I think Lisa did the deed in the end, basically just lifting the loose tooth clean out with no fuss. Ick.
Now the little man knows there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy - if I haven't blogged about that yet, you'll find it soon - but we kept up the tradition of rewarding the first tooth lost with a small gift.
Smiley's was a 'fingertip' Spiderman skateboard with wheels that could be changed out. He was so proud the next morning of his abiilty to swap them, mentioning with pride that the package said "ages 8 and up" and that he was only 6.
We also (well, Lisa) wrote the following note to him: "[Smiley] Congratulations on your first missing tooth !! Love, the Tooth Fairy p.s.keep being kind and a good brother"
Congrats little man!
He'd been bugging us forever to pull it out, as he was soooo excited to partake of this rite of passage. I think Lisa did the deed in the end, basically just lifting the loose tooth clean out with no fuss. Ick.
Now the little man knows there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy - if I haven't blogged about that yet, you'll find it soon - but we kept up the tradition of rewarding the first tooth lost with a small gift.
Smiley's was a 'fingertip' Spiderman skateboard with wheels that could be changed out. He was so proud the next morning of his abiilty to swap them, mentioning with pride that the package said "ages 8 and up" and that he was only 6.
We also (well, Lisa) wrote the following note to him: "[Smiley] Congratulations on your first missing tooth !! Love, the Tooth Fairy p.s.keep being kind and a good brother"
Congrats little man!
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