No Bueno

Man, I hate when Smiley comes home from a weekend at Grandma's (and that's no knock on Grandma). So far he's argued with the other kids, said he hated me, screamed because I won't take him to the park, and whined because I won't read a packet about ducks to him right now (yeah, no; I'm making supper, I have 3 other kids to worry about too). Grandma's is vacation land; this here is the real world. 

LuLu behind the wheel

LuLu is ecstatic that I let her 'drive' the van home from the park.

Not quite. She rode shotgun with her hand on the wheel w/ mine, and yes, when it came to our alley I let her complete the turn and guide it onto our property.

Doesn't matter; the first thing she did when she got into the house was taunt YaYa with "I got to drive before you-oo-ou".

Is Dis Summa?

 @ the park w/ lk and lu, having finally given into their pleas on a day so nice lk asked "is dis summa? Cuz winter not warm and it warm." then, off to work til close . .

53 Years Gone

53 years ago today The Music Died. RIP Buddy. The world has been a lousier place without you.

Paranormal Activity 3

We watched "Paranormal Activity 3" after dinner tonight. Given that it was the 3rd film in the series to pull the 'found footage' scenario I was expecting the law of diminishing returns to render this a dud. To our surprise, I thought it was darn good. There's an interesting plot twist and some genuine scares; we even jumped in our seats at one point. I'd rate it as a solid B/B+

The Last Great Game by Gene Wojiechowski

During a veeeerrry long wait at the Dr's office today I finished reading " The Last Great Game by Gene Wojciechowski. It's the story of the monumental Duke/Kentucky match-up in the 1992 Elite Eight. It's a joy to read, very similar in scope and style to "Game Six" (one of my favorite books of the last few yrs). 

I'll forever remember watching that game live on TV in '92. I was crushed when Duke went down w/ 2.1 seconds left in overtime - and screaming with joy when Laettner sank "The Shot" to win it for the Blue Devils. I loved that team. Hurley, Hill, Laettner, Coach K. It was good to revisit them in their prime, and to learn the background of that ferocious KY team. 

Recommended for sports fans. Grade: A.

Shark Night

Last night we Redboxed "Shark Night", a horror film starring American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee and the daughter from "Gilmore Girls". It's a film about a bunch of college kids terrorized by sharks while they visit a saltwater lake in LA.  It's not the worst shark movie ever made, and they do make the commendable effort to weave in a revenge/thriller aspect; they fail miserably, as it was a ludicrous plot twist,  but again, commendable that they tried.  Grade: C

Don Cornelius

 RIP Don Cornelius (of Soul Train) age 75, of apparent suicide

A Scary Restroom Visit

Oh man, was I worried for a second. But then I remembered: "Oh, that's right. I had cherry soda last night".

On Drug Tests and Human Poo

Passed my pre-employment drug test today. I still object philosophically to the practice; if I don't operate heavy machinery or work in a profession where safety is an issue, then it's none of your business whether I choose to spend my free time in church or snorting lines off a stripper's belly.

Anywho, the test put me less than a mile from an Olive Garden, so Lisa & I headed there for lunch. The food was good, but the memorable bit was finding a human turd sitting on the lobby floor, right outside the men's room. You won't see that on Top Chef, now willya?

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley and Taken by Robert Crais

 I finished two books today, the first being 'The Rook' by Daniel O'Malley. Myfanwy Thomas wakes up with no memory of who or what she is, but soon discovers she is a high ranking official in a centuries old British agency devoted to dealing with the supernatural. Someone in the agency betrayed her and stole her memories, and oh, by the way - mutants from Belgium are getting set to invade England. I loved the book. It had plenty of action, a great protagonist in Thomas, slime, tentacles, and a lot of humor. A.

The second book of the day? 'Taken', an Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel by Robert Crais. Cole is hired to find a young Hispanic woman abducted by the drug cartels along the Mexican border.The POV switches back and forth from Elvis, to the girl, to Pike, and let me tell you, it's a nail biter. A few times I got squeamish, anticipating the worst case scenario to come. Grade: A

School Art

 

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

 I finished reading "Raylan", the new novel by Elmore Leonard. It's a Raylan Givens story, aka the character from the TV series "Justified". I love 'Justified' and Leonard's a legend, but . . . I don't know. I've always felt Leonard is overrated. Sure his dialogue is sharp, but he relies on it too much - think Quentin Tarantino. Sometimes you just want the characters to STFU, and it wouldn't hurt to read a description of something once in awhile. I didn't love it. Maybe you will. But my opinion is the one that counts in this here box, so I give it a C.

Friends S2/E1

 watching the 2nd season opener of 'Friends' and repeatedly LOL. Great episode. It was the 2nd episode I ever saw back in the day; small wonder I came to worship the show.

School Deocrations

a school decoration lisa's working on

A Review

Just want to thank you, I had two dear friends who were sick, and I purchased two flower arrangements at the Chase & Oklahoma Piggly Wiggly, they were awesome, and the made a big hit. Thanks again Chase Piggly Wiggly, you are my go to flower store - Grandma J

Breakfast at Tiffany's and 30 Rock

I saw 'Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first time a few days ago. I don't think it holds up very well after 50 years. But, that could just be me. I would also like to publicly announce that I believe '30 Rock' to be one of the ten best written sitcoms in broadcast history.

Three Movies

 "My Fake Fiance" is a tv movie starring Melissa Joan Hart, aka "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", and Joey "Blossom" Lawrence. I'm pretty sure the only memory they took away from the film was of cashing their checks, but it wasn't bad for what it was; a light, superficial rom-com. C

"Play the Game" is another romantic comedy this time starring TV legend Andy Griffith as a senior citizen whose playboy grandson helps make him a hit with the ladies. It was long for a rom-com but sweet and entertaining, and I'm immature enough to enjoy seeing Andy Griffith talk about Viagra and bumping uglies. B

"Larry Crowne" is a comedy starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. Hanks loses his job and returns to college, where he befriends a gang of scooter riders and falls for his teacher (Roberts). It was pleasant, but the script seemed loose (relying on too much fluff and filler early on, then forcing the romance at the last minute). It should have been better, esp. w/ these two in the lead. C+/B-

Junie lining up for Church

 

Big News

I have a longstanding rule not to talk about work online. Think about it: if you didn't know me in 'real' life, would you even know what Job Prior - my career of ten years - was? Howsabout where I work now? Probably not. "Don't sh*t where you eat" is a nice rule I picked up watching the Sopranos, but I'll break it just this once:

On Friday I received word that the long drought was over. I was offered, and accepted, a 'real' job. Not great pay, but a big swing in the right direction.

 That's about all the details you'll get out of me online, but yes, I'm very happy :)

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Late last night I finished reading "Death of Kings", the newest book in the Saxon tales by Bernard Cornwell. Uthred, the fierce pagan warrior, remains loyal, if indifferent, to Alfred the Great and his quest to unite 9th century England. With Alfred's death Wessex faces its greatest test: a Danish invasion from the north and dissension from within, and Uthred must ride forth, no longer as the shield of the Saxons, but as their sword. A GREAT historical adventure by the master of the form, and even as a devout Catholic I LOL'd at Uthred's blasphemous retorts to the Bishop's who seek to reign him in. Well worth a read. A+

Red Lobster

Just back from a rare trip to Red Lobster, celebrating news I received Friday. I am stuffed full of wasabi rubbed salmon and those damn cheddar biscuits. Busy evening ahead: me thinketh a nap might be just the right dessert.

WOT

Just a quick dork note: I think it's grand that the final book of the Wheel of Time series will see the light of day in the Chinese year of . . .you guessed it, The Dragon. 

Sister Wives

Last night we finished watching Season 2 of "Sister Wives", a reality show about a polygamous family in Utah. I have ZERO problem with a loving polygamous family that obeys the law (well, outside of that pesky 'bigamy' crap). A good show and I hope there's a season three.

Monster Truck Jam

Last night I took Smiley to a Monster Truck rally at the Bradley Center, courtesy of his Cub Scout Pack. We had great tickets only two rows back from the action. (good thing we had ear plugs!). Now personally, I was bored as hell. There's an awful lot of downtime and I have zero interest in trucks/cars/BMX's/ten minute tributes to the American flag, etc. That's just me. Smiley enjoyed most of it, but I was amused to see that he too was generally unimpressed on a whole - when it comes down to it, he's a 6 year old Danny. Still, we had fun.