The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's just announced that it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from its top rank of AAA.

A Nightmare

Junie  keeps talking about a nightmare she had. It was her birthday, and she wanted to go to a festival but instead we took her to the circus. 'mean guys' were at the circus, and they had guns and tried to kill us all. We had swords tho', and we killed them first. Then we collected rocks and put them in her school. She is very matter of fact about this, and does not seem very affected.

A Success!

For dinner I made chicken drumsticks & roasted potatoes with fresh peppers from the garden. I know it was a success, because when I stepped out of the room for a minute I heard LuLu tell one of her siblings "dinner's good tonight, eh?" It was the first genuinely decent experience of the day since that hellish trip to the pediatrician.

Quote

"Not he who has little, but he who wishes more, is poor." - Seneca

A Poem

Smiley, about a minute ago: Dad, I wrote a poem. You wanna hear it? 

 "Think of a morning light that always comes. The sun. It does."

President a Obama turned 50 today, and in celebration the markets had their worst day since the lows of 2008-2009. 

We were in the library parking lot when the Thunderbirds flew into town. The kids really got a kick out of the noise and spectacle of the jets as they went overhead a few times. Those things are a great sight to behold, unless of course you're about to be the one napalmed. Then, not so good.

A Doctor Visit

@ the doc w/ all the kids. This is miserable, being alone at the doc w/ 4 kids, and waiting for 60 min.  Grrr. Junie's been complaining of an earache for a couple of days. 

update: It was diagnosed as swimmer's ear. no pool for a week.

Farscape

As my previous post indicates, I'm a big fan of Farscape, even tho' I just started streaming it in early July. Oh, there's a few episodes that are clunkers, and more that are so-so, but when they do it right - such as 'The Way we Weren't ' (S2E7) - it is *superb*. Mind you, it's completely derivative of a story I wrote in 1986, but until I figure out how they got their hands on a copy of my 6th grade journal, I can't prove it in court. ;)

A Farscape Quote

Crichton: Hey, D'Argo, how come I'm not afraid?    

D'Argo: Fear accompanies the possibility of death. Calm shepherds its certainty.

Crichton: I love hanging with you, man.

Go The F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Like most parents in America I've read "Go the F**k to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach. I thought it was witty and dead on when I read it. I am now sad to admit that because of its overwhelming popularity, including the ridiculous Samuel L Jackson audio book version, I am no longer able to find any joy in the text. Petty, but true.

Photo Dump!!

Wqq

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

I've finished reading Pierre Boulle's novel "Planet of the Apes", the inspiration for the film series. 

There's a serious cultural gap between the French novel & the American film. In the book there's no alpha male like Charlton Heston, unwilling to go quietly into a cage; nope, the Frenchman not only meekly takes his place in captivity, he is polite in his requests for freedom. Way to fight your stereotype Mr. Boulle. Still, I rate the book a B/B-

A Question

Serious query: IIRC the income tax was enacted ~ WWI. How did the fed gov't raise revenue in the 140 yrs before that? Sure, they didn't have SS, Medicare, and 1000 useless cabinet positions, BUT it was still a world power that funded the Civil War, The Great White Fleet, the construction of canals, dams, etc. So where did the $ come from, and is it still a viable source of moolah?

Jelly Bellly

I got home from work after 12, stayed up til 3 w/ Lisa, now @ Jelly Belly w/ the family

Flashpoint

Normally I'd rather shave my ears with a rusty spoon than watch another TV show about 1. cops 2. lawyers or 3. Doctors. Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. But due to the kids losing the remote, we were stuck watching the cop drama 'Flashpoint' on CBS tonight. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

Final Sale/A Borrowed Life

A few night's ago we watched another made for TV movie "A Borrowed Life". It's a surprisingly well acted mystery about a couple who pays for an illegal kidney transplant, then deals with the repercussions when the donor dies on the table.

* I believe the film is also known as "Final Sale"

A Day at Indian Mound Reservation with Smiley

swimming in silver lake w/ my swim buddy Smiley

Want

I want a chair like this (not in that pattern tho)

Taken in the UWM Union

Confined

We streamed a Canadian TV movie called "Confined", about a woman who suspects her neighbor of keeping captives in his basement. Obviously she's right or there wouldn't be a movie, but what I kept coming back to was this: she was a paranoid, nosy, nearly delusional woman who just happened to score a W. Put her in any other neighborhood and she'd do the same things to anyone. Kinda creepy in that regard.

Bossypants

I finished reading Tina Fey's autobiography "Bossypants". It was funny and well written, and features some genuine tips on leadership sprinkled amidst the funnies. I still think her time on SNL is over-valued because of the novelty of her gender (at the time), but I have a lot more respect for her now.

Your Attention Please:

Today, at 2:06 pm CST on July 27th, 2011, at the age of 37, I had my first Big Mac.

@ the Domes

We All Fall Down by Michael Harvey

Late last night I finished reading Michael Harvey's 'We All Fall Down', a novel about a bio-terror attack on Chicago. I thought it was OK, but I won't be picking up other books by the author. The style was a little 2nd rate Spillane for my taste. It also took way too long for the main thrust of the novel to take shape, and when it did it held center stage for the blink of an eye. It grades at a C.