Ryan Braun won his appeal and won't be suspended!
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!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Business Closings
soref's carpet city just went out of business, acc. To jsonline
the Rosebud and Times theaters are also closing their doors . . As Appliance World did a few wks back
A Short Update
The new job is going fine, but I've never made a habit of talking about it online and I probably won't change now :) (but feel free to ask me privately). So far though it's just training and book learnin' in a classroom setting, so there's not a whole lot to discuss anyhow.
In other fronts, tonight was my Tiger Cut den meeting. The thrust of the meeting was communication & manners, which was fortuitous: I failed to communicate well & they were shy on manners ;) Actually, by the midway point I found my groove and the meeting picked up steam. (and the kids were actually pretty good). Still below par tho', but maybe the kids learned a thing or two.
Monday, February 20, 2012
3 Movies
Sunday night our friend Chris came over for a mini-movie marathon. We watched "Wake Wood" an Irish film about parents who broker a deal with a local villager to resurrect their daughter from the grave. Shockingly, this proves to be ill advised. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but it is well made and the actors do a convincing job of expressing the pain of their loss. B.
Also on the agenda: "In Time" a sci-fi thriler starring Justin Timberlake. In a future where lifespan is the currency of the age, Timberlake plays a poor working stiff who exists by scraping by, always hours away from literally running out of time and falling dead in the street. It's a silly premise, and really just an allegory for a perceived inequity in our own economic system. Still, I've seen worse thriller/Robin Hood tales. B
Our last flick: "The Ward", a 2011 John Carpenter film set in a psychiatric institution in 1966. There are some glowing reviews out there, and Carpenter fans seem willing to disembowel you at the merest criticism of the movie. What the hell - my stomach is too big as it is; the movie SUCKED. It's a cookie cutter plot with bits of Shutter Island, Identity, and The Ring tossed in like a poor man's 'Scary Movie', and other than the shrink I thought the acting was right up there with the best of off-off-off-off Broadway. Yeck. The only thing saving this one was that the hospital itself defied cliche, with male orderlies acting professional and refusing sexual advances, and a psychiatrist who seemed to care. That earns the film a reluctant C+.
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Today I finished reading "Zone One", a novel by Colson Whitehead. It is, on the surface, a zombie book, tracing the life of a single soldier assigned to Zone One, an area of Manhattan being cleared for reoccupation. What the book really is is a beautiful examination of our selves, our fears, and what it means to be human. It's a powerful literary work, and Whitehead can dance with the English language like he's one of the few to hear the music. I loved it. A+
Saturday, February 18, 2012
2 Films
2 films tonight.
First up: 'The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane', a 1976 suspense film staring a 13 yr old Jodie Foster. The 'shock' was plain to see from the start and honestly, the danger that powers the whole film could have been avoided if the girl had just locked the front door (not once, but many times people just walk right in). I also strongly objected to a full T & A shot of Foster. Not only was she a middle school aged minor, it was unnecessary to the plot. Grade: C
2nd billing: "These Amazing Shadows" a documentary that I streamed because I was told that it was about the preservation and conservation of our movie heritage. That's something I strongly believe in, and long ago in the pre-Lisa days I would occasionally donate some of my pay to restoration efforts at the Library of Congress. Anyhow, about 10% of the film was about that, with the rest being the standard self-serving documentary Hollywood loves to make about itself. Of great interest, however, was the shocking side by side clips of the censored & uncensored versions of "Baby Face" (Barbara Stanwyck, 1933). The censors changed the whole philosophy and drive of the film simply by tinkering with a few key moments. Revolting. Grade: C+
Friday, February 17, 2012
Hamburger Mary's
I took three of the kids (LK was at Grandma's) plus one of YaYa's friends to Hamburger Mary's for dinner. Nice place, friendly staff, decent (but not mind-blowing food), but the price . . . yowsas. (and remember I usually dine with 6 people, not 5).
FYI
For those of you in Milwaukee, at 3:30 this morning Channel 58 (the CBS affiliate) will be airing Timothy Dolan's elevation to Cardinal. Other local stations will stream it online, but this is your chance to view it live on television. I've been getting up for work at around 5:30 this week, so it'll be a stretch, but I'm going to set my alarm and hope for the best.
A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas
We watched "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas" last night. It isn't as funny as the original, but c'mon, who could match that? Anyhow it's a fair approximation and way better than the gawd awful 2nd film. I LOL'd several times and found the plot pretty decent, given it was just an excuse to get the guys in awkward situations. They all but abandoned the adoration of weed, which is sad, but in exchange the film did have a baby try cocaine and Ecstasy. B+
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Gary Carter
Gary Carter, the ever-smiling Hall of Fame catcher that was synonymous with the Montreal Expos, died today of brain cancer. He was 57.
RIP
Naturally
When it rains it pours - years struggling to find a decent job, and now that I've got one, what happens? I get a voicemail from a hotel asking me to come in and speak about an unnamed position that 'just opened'. Could be a management gig, could be a $7/hr desk clerk. We'll see, but it's worth a call.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Grammy's
Damn good Grammy's show, no? Beach Boys (w/ a shaky Brian Wilson), Paul McCartney, Adele, Taylor, Glen Campbell, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry - sweet.
Congrats, so far, to Adele, Fergie, Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters
Damn I love Paul McCartney.
Bam! Just rename the statue the "Adele" already :) Congrats yet again!
Ok Facebook. Grammy's are over, Danny-boo is freshly washed and my clothes are laid out. In 9.5 hours I start my new job, and hopefully begin my rise back to the middle of the bottom third of the middle's bottom third.;) Cya later.
Blue and Gold
Today was the Cub Scout's Blue and Gold luncheon. It went much better than I expected, even despite the fact that my kids were [redacted] grouches from the minute they woke up. They especially liked the Order of the Arrow Native American dancers, joining them for one of the dances. Of course the pics I sent from my phone never posted to FB and I deleted them assuming they had . . .
X-Men First Class
Just finished watching "X-Men First Class". Wonderful, action packed movie with a solid script. I wasn't expecting to like it at all - Marvel's obsession with mutants bores the hell out me - but there ya go. Well done. A.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
This Queen Won't Fit
I spent a good part of the afternoon moving a queen mattress/box spring across town only to discover the box spring can't be moved upstairs because it fails to clear my stairway by about a third of an inch. Debating what to do - and generally disgusted with life.
Stormhouse
We just watched a Brit horror film called 'Stormhouse' about a ghost captured and housed by the Brit gov't. How was it? Let's say this: when a character yelled "Is it over?" I prayed the answer would be 'yes'. A turd of a film. Grade: D.
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