Lookin' Sharp!

Our Tree is . . . .Gone.

Unbelievable

There's some fool on Craigslist looking to hire a writer to do a 6 or 7 page psych paper. The payment terms? FIFTEEN dollars. Yeah, maybe if it was per page buddy. Here's a term you may find helpful when writing that paper all by your lonesome: go f--k yourself.

Water For Elephants

"Water for Elephants" surprised me by being a darn good, non-weepy romance set during the Great Depression. Robert Pattison, aka Twilight boy, proved to be more than just a pretty face, and Renee Witherspoon very nearly convinced me she had one. A-

Moving Malcolm

"Moving Malcom" is a film about a guy who's devastated when his fiance (Elizabeth Berkeley) leaves him at the altar. A year later she calls him - but only to ask if he could help her elderly Dad move while she's out of town. It's more of a mild drama than a comedy, but enjoyable either way. B.

Kudos to Pres. Obama

Kudos to Pres. Obama for correctly praising Bush's efforts on behalf of AIDS prevention/treatment in Africa. Said the President: "I believe that history will record [Dubya's] Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as one of his greatest legacies," he said. "That program -- more ambitious than even leading advocates thought was possible at the time -- has saved hundreds of thousands and thousands and thousands of lives, spurred international action, and laid the foundation for a comprehensive global plan that will impact the lives of millions." Thank you, Mr. President, for your honesty.

Quote

I love you more than tongue can tell - a saying of Robin Bush (daughter of George and Barbara, sister of Dubya) who died of leukemia at age 3. The family never forgot the saying, adopting it and using it often since her death a half century ago. It appears in private letters between father and son reprinted in 'Decision Points'.

judy Lewis

The secret illegitimate daughter of Clark Gable and Loretta Young; I  just saw her speak on a documentary a few months back. RIP.

NPH

Neil Patrick Harris rocks. He should take Regis' gig. He's a natural.

But I  just got called off of work because of slow sales (was 'on call'). That won't hurt my Christmas shopping. Not at all, no siree.

Becoming Chaz

Long day. As a nightcap we watched "Becoming Chaz", a documentary that followed Chaz Bono through the 1st year of his transition from a female to a male. Excepting the morbid title music, it was a happy if not carefree window into his life, made all the easier to accept by his likable personality and the presence of his quirky girlfriend. Read between the lines of the doc though, and you'll come away certain that the relationship btwn Chaz and Cher is tenuous (if loving), and that he is far more accepted by his father's side of the family. It's Lisa's opinion that this has as much to do with Cher's reaction to Chaz's weight and non Cher-ness  as his gender. I think it's a good point.

The One and Only!!!

Changes in the Mass

I went to the school Mass today, the first featuring the 'new translation', and it was a mess. Nothing sounded 'right', everyone was stumbling over lines, I was reflexively answering w/ the 'old' responses, some kid got stagefright and couldn't do his petition, the Communion lines got inexplicably turned around and out of order, and the guest Priest was so dry I think he sleeps in a dehydrator. Geesh. You'd think after 2000 years we could put on a better show . . .

The Priest

If you can overlook the anti-Catholic bigotry (some things never change in America - Al Smith says hello) 'The Priest' is a pretty good sci-fi popcorn movie. Sure, it's nothing more than a mash of The Searchers and every two bit vampire flick, but its entertaining, and in the end that's the #1 goal of any film.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year work and whatnot ('whatnot' including family that didn't return our calls re: dinner plans) conspired against a traditional sit down dinner. So instead, after work, we hightailed it down to Kenosha, about a 40 minute ride, to dine at Golden Corral, an all you can eat buffet we'd noticed on a prior road trip.

The price, even while inflated for the holiday, was reasonable. For six people it was $54, far less than I would have paid for all the fixin's at home.

The place was packed, and we g0t there only an hour before it closed, but we were seated quickly and as a buffet the food was immediate. I stuck exclusively to dinner fare - meatloaf, potato, broccoli, roll, etc - while Lisa had a salad before hitting the dinner section.

The kids on the other hand . . . well, they ate some protein and some veggies at our insistence,

but mainly they just raided the dessert table. They were ecstatic over the sight of a chocolate fountain

Oh, and cotton candy. Did I mention they liked that?

We had a blast. Hey, I even impressed Lisa, stepping in and saying something to a couple who bullied their way into the restaurant as it closed. How rude - what, the staff doesn't deserve to go home and spend time with their own families?

I think we'll dine out again for the holiday, and maybe even at the Golden Corral!

My (Current) Facebook Profile Pic

FB - the end of October

October 23rd

‎10 years ago today - at 4:20 pm to be precise - the first of the Four Greatest Kids Ever was born, inaugurating me as a Dad. Happy Birthday YaYa, and welcome to the Double Digits!

"Pujol's 3HR performance last night was awesome, and one of the best WS shows ever. But best of all time? Hell no. Albert - 3 HR in a blowout of a series tied at one, and he recorded an out. Reggie: 3 HR on 3! pitches in a WS clincher won by a score of 4-3. As usual, my YANKS retain their glory and surpass the rest of baseball. REGGIE, REGGIE REGGIE!"

October 25th

15 years ago today, on what was the 25th anniversary of the UN's misguided expulsion of Taiwan, Lis and I were married. Thanks for putting up w/ this dork for 15 years Sinatra. Xoxo

Maggiano's for lunch today, courtesy of an anniversary gift card from my sister (thanks Katie!), followed immediately by a flat that necessitated a new tire. Then, with no sitter, we picked up the kids from school and retired to a night of X-Factor, some Smirnoff, and a McRib. Now we may/may not rent "Horrible Bosses" from Vudu. Not exactly a TMZ worthy day, but a decent way to pass an anniversary.

October 27th

Redbox is raising their daily DVD rental fee to $1.20. Bluray and game rental prices will remain the same."

Muslim students at a Catholic University are claiming the presence of crosses violates their 'human rights'. What crap. Nope, it's not a master plan to colonize in reverse. No sirree.

October 28th

"I finished reading "Double Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay, but don't feel up to a review right now."

October 29th

"We had a great time at the school Halloween Hoopla. Lauren even won the costume contest in her age bracket for her "Uni the Unicorn" outfit!"

"Breaking News: CNN is reporting 13 US Servicemen KIA from a suicide attack in Afghanistan . . ."

October 30th

"Heading to Kenosha, listening to Lisa and the kids sing along to Adele. Lu loves her."

"out for a walk w/ Smiley and Ginger"

October 31st

"Over the weekend I finished reading "Tension City: Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain" by Jim Leher. A memoir of his own time as a pres. debate moderator, the book offers nothing new to anyone familiar with history. While the point of the book is to stress the importance of Presidential debates, it actually proves the opposite, giving ample examples of how appearance and one-liners triumph over substance."

"half an hour ago i was ready 2 kill these kids . . .now I can't stop beaming over 'em"

"‎@ dance studio waiting 4 the kids. Took the opportunity to take a brisk 32 min walk."

"kim kardashian filed for divorce today - after a whopping 72 days of marriage"

No Higher Honor by Condoleezza Rice

I FINALLY! finished "No Higher Honor", the White House memoirs of Condoleezza Rice. Don't get me wrong, I think Rice is a heck of a stylist and the subject matter was compelling, but I think I'm burned out on political bios for the duration of 2011. Plus at 750 pages of meticulous detail it's a bit on the "not light reading" end of the scale.

Update

I've clinched a win in this week's fantasy game (and w/ one player left on the field Monday night, no less), bringing the Sad Sack Slapjacks to a 5-7 record. It *should* be 6 up, since I lost a game by less than a point, but I digress . . . You know the lousy part of this is I'm playing myself right out of a berth in the Toilet Bowl. If I'm not making the playoffs, the consolation tourney is the destination of choice, but I'm not about to sabotage my team to get there.

Value Village = Score!

Found at Value Village tonight: optical USB mouse $2.50. Dress pants, new, in my size (!) $2 Suit coat, dress shirt, dress shoes for Parker: $6 1970's pictorial bio of Jimmy Carter: 50 cents 2 kids books for Lauren: a quarter each. Sweatshirt for LK: $2. OTOH, the cost of a 1/2" Mondale-Ferraro button was an outrageous $2, and I refused to pay the price. Haughty ba*tards.

Frost/Nixon and Page One

Tonight after work we watched "Frost/Nixon", a dramatization of David Frost's interviews with the 37th President. It's a great film and very compelling, and the acting was top notch. Grade: A

BTW, I think I failed to mention we recently watched the doc "Page One" about the NY Times. I get off on anything related to publishing so I enjoyed it, BUT even I have to admit it got damn boring and lost its way well before the end. Of note: I was alarmed at the scene where NBC's Brian Williams is exposed 'inventing' a hook out of whole cloth, to the professional disgust of the Times reporters. Wow. Grade: B/B-

Bruno

after work I watched 'Bruno'. I did LOL @ some bits but generally it fell well short of equaling 'Borat'. Too many scenes w/ too many people who seemed in on the joke. C/C-

A Doctor's Visit

@ the pediatrician w/ LuLu and Junie  Lis asked me to call in an appt for today and, thinking they'd be closed after the holiday, said 'sure'. Grumble grumble lol

Kids are fine, total waste of time at the doc. A cold, with a brisk hacking cough, but despite the fact that its lingered for two weeks they have no temp and no sign of any infection. Mollycoddled nonsense, it was. ;) Got home, cleaned the living room and kitchen. Kids lost the remote and earned my wrath, now I'm stuck going to work in two hours and no ability to watch tv in the meantime. 

Everything Must Go

After dinner the kids were excited to watch the Ice Age Xmas special on the TV upstairs, while Lis and I hunkered down to watch "Everything Must Go" with Wil Ferrell. It's the story of an alcoholic who loses his job and returns home to find his wife has changed the locks & left all his belongings on the front lawn. W/ nowhere to go, he takes up residence on the lawn. It's a sad, melancholy film brightened by a few smiles from Ferrell (who does a great job here). We both liked it a lot, with Lisa commenting on how it didn't gloss over the 'complexities of adult life'. Grade: A

The Turkey is in the Oven

w/ Lisa gone for the morn & me wrking 2nd, the kids & & are making a 13# turkey. Smiley helped me clean it and cut citrus & apples for the cavity, Junieput butter under the skin and rubbed olive oil on the outside, LuL salt/peppered & gawked @ the neck, and YaYa, well, she sat on the computer. She will be responsible for cking its progress.

Some of Lisa's Floral Work