hanging w/ the kids in the backyard b4 heading to work

Grandma J: Did they complain it was 2 cold

me: nope

Grandma J: Interesting, they complained about playing in the park because it was too cold. :)

me: in fairness, as I've often said, my backyard is far warmer than most of the city given all the sun exposure it gets.

Cucumbers

Some of the yield from our garden

Cool Waters

@ cool waters

just went down the tube slide w/ lu 2x gc 1x

my family accounts for 6 of the FIFTEEN patrons in the entire water park right now

smiley is tall enough for the adult slides! And he loves them!

just went on the tube slide w/ park!

Although the air was chilly the water was warm, and w/ the park nearly empty my water-anxiety w/ the kids was nil. It was a great trip (my 1st there) courtesy of passes the kids earned from the library's summer reading program.

HH Holmes

Before work today we watched "HH Holmes, America's 1st Serial Killer", a documentary about the subject of the book "Devil in the White City". It was nothing I hadn't heard b4, but it was interesting all the same.

Centurion

I just finished watching "Centurion", a British movie about the unknown fate of the 9th Roman Legion, which disappeared from all records in the mid-2nd century. The film uses the belief that the Legion was destroyed in warfare w/ the Picts to set up a chase involving a few Roman survivors eager to return to their own lines. The film had mixed to negative reviews, but I liked it.

Bummer

Ah, to spend 7-4 at work and go home to find not one but FIVE rejection letters from jobs. At least one was actual snail-mail, so I had a glimmer of hope for a second.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

strawberry stuffed french toast for dinner

The kids hated the stuffed french toast, but tough - it was yummy and we're gonna have it again.

yeah, they're kooks. YaYa doesn't like anything anymore, Smiley ate half but abandoned it, LuLu accused us of putting cottage cheese in it, and Junie just ate all the strawberries and left the rest.

We still demand they take at least one bite of every item offered to them at dinner - no exceptions, and they abide by it. But beyond that, they can be a pill.

If you want the recipe you'll have to ask Lisa for details, I was helping LuLu with homework during the prep. But it's texas toast, cream cheese, and fresh cut strawberries. I think she said something about sugar too, hence the 'ask her' :)

Fave Songs

My children's fave songs as of the end of August a) the '80's-ish "Denim" jingle from the Target back to school ads 2) "Pumped up Kicks" by Foster the People. 3) Lovesick by Emily Osment (which is actually quite catchy) and 4) "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars (which Lauren calls "the monkey song" after seeing a Youtube cover of it)

Care for some reviews?

For the 4th of July holiday Lisa and the kids were out of town while I was stuck here working. That was also the time when Netflix stopped streaming Babylon 5. With no family to fill my evening, and in dire need of another series to watch, I picked up the Aussie/American Farscape. I fell in love, and have streamed an episode or more each night. Last night, to my sorrow, I finished the 88th and final episode.

While the original story is a clear ripoff of one I wrote in 1986 (goodness knows how they got a hold of my 6th grade binder), it quickly blossomed into a complex, imaginative, sexy drama. Well done. Well done indeed. And while I know there's a follow-up miniseries, I happen to think the finale was the perfect ending for the show.




Better off Ted is another series we just finished watching in its entirety. It is laugh out loud funny, well written, and charming. It was also knocked off the air after only two seasons. Shame on you TV viewing America.




My buddy Fred sent me the 1st half of Doctor Who - Series Six. Possible SPOILERS ahead.

"The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon" was the two part season opener, and while the former was the stronger of the two, they were both great. I loved Matt Smith's performance and the fact that (writer/producer) Steven Moffat dared to finalize the (apparent) future of the show. Not that he won't wiggle out of it, naturally, but it was fun to see down the road - even if we eventually turn off down a side street.

I thought "The Curse of the Black Spot" was lame, lame, lame, and in retrospect I shoulda/coulda/woulda fast forwarded the whole dang thing. OTOH, "The Doctor's Wife", the episode written (mostly) by Neil Gaiman, rocked. I love the notion of the TARDIS interacting with the Doctor, and I'm pleased to see a bit of the mythology expanded upon - a pretty neat trick for a show in it's 48th year.

There was nothing terribly original about "The Rebel Flesh"/"The Almost People", but you know what? I loved them both. I thought the atmosphere was creepy and the acting and writing sharp; so sharp that I failed to comment on a well used sci-fi staple (dopplegangers come to life) until after the show was over. I do hope, however, that the 'ganger is NOT the explanation for "The Impossible Astronaut".

I wasn't bowled over by the mid-season finale, nor the long-awaited reveal of River Song's identity. I agree completely with the green girl's assessment of the (new era) Doctor as being very aggressive, vengeful, and egotistical, at least by Doctor Who standards. I am sick of the whole "the universe quakes before me" vein of the show, and I'm glad Moffat outed it.

As for the 'reveal', I guessed it five minutes into the program (when Rory tried to recruit River) and told Lisa, who I'd actually suckered into watching it. When we were done with the episode she held my foreknowledge up as evidence that it was poorly written. I disagree. Sometimes I just know how *I'd* write something and wager that my notion is on par with the pros.

Call it my own egotistical Doctor moment.

Wise Words

Never ignore the instincts of a coward

Quote

"a daily column is a ravenous beast that howls for content"

The Job Fair

@ job fair

2 comments: One, job fairs bring out a boatload of desperate people, myself included. Waited in line an hour & they said it would be the same or worse all day. Times are tough. 

Two: Not the greatest interview of my life, which is sad since the bar is set rather low. I had to prompt him to bring up anything other than BN, which is least impressive part of the resume by far. What a shit way to kick off the 1st day of freedom (aka school year).

1st Day of School 2011

Today is the first day of school for the year, and the first day of school EVER for Junie!

Height and Weight Growth!

In a before school weigh/measure here at home, Smiley came in at 3# later than he did at the start of summer, and gained an INCH in height. He is now 55# and 48 1/2" tall.

I think that by 14 or 15 Smiley will pass me in height, and eventually in frame (tho' not weight, hopefully). You can tell he's got a body that's built for size, and there's not much baby fat on him at all. As for football, I can't quite picture Smiley wanting to play at this point - he's the most chicken little boy in the world, God love 'im - but hopefully, by high school he'll be ready.

Ya know, come to think of it, Junie towered over a lot of her class this morning. It can't be that she's older than her K4 classmate as she just turned four this month. LuLu, on the other hand, seems to take after my maternal Grandma! 

2011 fantasy draft

Less than half an hour until my fantasy football draft . . .

update -

Results:

 1. Michael Turner RB Atlanta

 2. Peyton Hills, RB Cleveland

 3. Desean Jackson, WR Philly

 4. Mario Manningham, WR, Giants

 5. waived in trade

 6. Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis

 7. Cedric Benson, RB, Cin

 8. Lance Moore, WR, NO

 9. New England D

10. Jay Cutler, QB, Bears

10. (compensation pick) Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG

11. Johnny Knox, WR, Chicago

12. Gronkowski, TE, NE

13. Rob Bironas, K, Tennessee

14. Marcedes Lewis, TE, Jacksonville

15. Derrick Mason, WR, NYJ

16. Arizona,  DEF

Summer is Ending

@ diner w/ family celebrating the last day of summer vacation

Another Eyebrow Scar

LuLu cracked open her eyebrow, hit heads w/ a friend on the trampoline. Sigh...maybe she just wanted to be in the eyebrow scar club? She's the third of our kids to get stitches in the same spot. What's the chance Lauren's eyebrow will be scar-less? - Lisa

Summer Is Almost Over

Can't believe summer vacay is almost over. Going to miss the unstructured cuddle time w/ the kids, with no need for matching socks or alarm clocks! But I'm sure the structure of school, volleyball, dance, scouts will be a welcome change-up too. First year that all 4 will be in school all day long....wow! Time flies when you're really busy!!! - Lisa

LuLu Gets Eyebrow Stiches

@ St Francis ER w/ the family. LuLu got hurt playing w/ a friend and got a decent slash above her right eye.

That sounds too dramatic. It's stitch worthy but hardly dire. 

awww....she was so much braver then this pic depicts! - Lisa 

finally out @ 840pm. Geez. 3 stitches btw, and she was a trooper

Hurricane Irene

I just saw a radar pic of hurricane Irene. Whoa. To anyone on the East coast, take care. Our prayers are w/ u

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

On my lunch yesterday I finished reading "Dune Messiah" by Frank Herbert. Once again, I walked away stunned by how effective Herbert was at creating the universe of Dune, right down to the different language and speech patterns. I greatly enjoyed it.

22 Runs??

22 to 9? Holy 27 rings Batman. The Yanks set a MLB record with 3 grand slams in a single game Thursday.

BTW, RIP Aaliyah, ten years on . . .

Look for me this Sunday

The Journal-Sentinel is going to publish a column I wrote about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It'll be published in the Sunday edition of 9-11-11, the first time my writing will appear in the hallowed Sunday 'Crossroads' section.

Doctor Who Series 6

OK, I just finished the first disc of Series 6/Pt 1 of Doctor Who. I thought "The Curse of the Black Spot" was lame, lame, lame, and in retrospect I shoulda/coulda/woulda fast forwarded the whole dang thing. OTOH, "The Doctor's Wife", the episode written (mostly) by Neil Gaiman, rocked. I love the notion of the TARDIS interacting with the Doctor, and I'm pleased to see a bit of the mythology expanded upon - a pretty neat trick for a show in it's 48th year.